A Swedish Falun Gong Practitioners' Cultivation Experiences

Greeting to Master,
Greetings to fellow practitioners,

I started my cultivation in Falun Dafa in the spring of 2000. I had been searching for several years for a system that could give me inner peace and answers to all the questions I had been pondered. After having read the Falun Dafa book, Zhuan Falun, a few times I now had all the answers and I gradually came into what is called Fa-rectification.

A large scale persecution of Falun Gong was happening in China. Practitioners told me about it and I read about on the Internet. There were many questions and I didn’t really understand relating to why Falun Gong is being persecuted. When I later realised how Falun Gong cured my illnesses and I became more comfortable and peaceful and that I had changed from someone selfish to gradually becoming more altruistic. Therefore it was only natural that I wanted from the bottom of my heart to help clarify the truth about the persecution so as to influence the Communist regime in China to stop persecuting Falun Gong.

After several practitioners moved away from the little town where I lived, it meant that now there was only two practitioners who were actively helping to stop the persecution and letting more people know about Falun Gong. We arranged various activities, talked to politicians, collected signatures for petition letters, handed out materials, gave talks in schools and put up materials at public notice boards. But during those days I had the big mentality of showing off and was afraid that my old friends would see me when I did my “strange” activities. But after a while as I deepened my understanding and my compassion grew, the less I cared about it. It was, after all, important to clarify the truth and to give people a chance to take their stand in order to be saved. I matured a lot in those days and I also learnt to take responsibility – something that I could never do before.

Later I moved to another city and met some new practitioners. My cultivation developed into a new phase and I started to find my call in the Fa-rectification. I started to translate articles from English to Swedish for the new website Clearharmony. I also wrote articles and sent letters to the editors of various newspapers. However, the translation process could be strenuous and it also time-consuming. And in addition, it could be hard to find the right words. But shame on him who gives up! I still take the time to sit and translate articles for Clearharmony when I have the time.

At the moment I live in an apartment building for students, it also happens that a Chinese girl lived their. She was really poisoned in the beginning by the propaganda issued by the Chinese Communist Party in China and it was hard to clarify the truth to her. Even though I gave her a lot of leaflets and a VCD in Chinese and even the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, she didn’t really believe in the materials. But the more I talked to her and the more time I spent time with her the more calm she became. I once showed her the exercises and she tried them out. I told her how I had changed due to Falun Gong and that this system is practised in more than 60 countries. I also showed her the staged self-immolation that occurred in Tiananmen Square. After that she became more receptive and even more curious. I sent her Zhuan Falun via e-mail and a few links to some Falun Gong web sites. She seems to have a heart for Falun Dafa and now she wants to see our art exhibition about Falun Dafa and the persecution that we’re going to hold.

I have noticed that it is important to study the Fa (Law or Principles, the teachings in Falun Gong) when you are going to translate and even in terms of other Falun Dafa activities. If I haven’t studied the Fa for a whole day and sit down to translate, it goes really slowly and there is much adversity. As soon as I have studied the Fa and sent forth righteous thoughts my translation process is a lot smoother. But it is also easy to fool yourself in terms of thoughts that aren’t a product of my own. Sometimes when I have felt tired I have thought about not translating, thinking that others will take care of it. I now see that this is a loophole that the demons are using to make me indolent and to weaken my righteous thoughts. Yet when I send forth righteous thoughts and I am determined to translate, reminding myself that it is important to translate in order to give people a chance to learn about Falun Gong and the persecution, the translation is much easier and I find the words quite easy to translate without even having to look them up.

I always carry some materials about Falun Gong in Chinese with me when I am out and about so that I can hand them out to any Chinese people I meet. Most accept the material, but there are also those who don’t, and I notice sometimes that I don’t have enough compassion. One time I handed some materials to a Chinese woman. Then I saw that she throw it in the litter bin. It hurt so much in my heart to look at this scenario that I started to cry. I wished that I could speak Chinese and explain how good Falun Gong is. After having looked into myself I saw my attachment to fear. I could have, as a matter of fact, explained in English and used my compassion. But I didn’t do it. I have realised that I have to deal with my fear if I am to save people. My fear is been exploited by the demons, shadowing my true thoughts. Master Li says in Zhuan Falun, “Today I am telling practitioners that you should not keep yourselves in the dark without being enlightened to it.” Thus, I don’t allow the demons to exploit me anymore, but rather I try to send forth righteous thoughts as soon as any form of fear or problems surface.

More than a month ago I saw an advertisement in a newspaper that a prison in Hall was looking for holiday substitute warders during the summer. I applied for the job and had the opportunity to come for an interview. The day before, I felt a certain fear and I didn’t really want to go. But I defied my fear and went anyway. One of the interviewers asked me among other things what the thing that I have accomplished in life that I am most proud of. I told him right away that the most proud thing in my life was to clarify the truth about the persecution that is occurring to Falun Gong in China. He also asked me about my upbringing and how my point of view is about criminals and narcotics. I told him that I myself used to be a criminal and took drugs – telling him truthfully how I used to be, while also emphasising to him that I am now a peaceful and law abiding citizen with a calm heart thanks to Falun Gong. I felt for the first time how these words arose from the bottom of my heart. After that I felt an incredible freedom and ease in my body that was beyond words. I felt that Master was with me and helped me to get rid of my attachments. I never got the job but I wasn’t disappointed one bit, for the purpose was to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and realise my attachments.

I have noticed lately that I have been stuck in my old way of thinking and let myself be controlled by my terrible upbringing and my more or less loveless childhood. It is a frequent occurrence for me to come up with various excuses when something does not agree with my line of thinking. For instance, when a practitioner pointed out my clothes, saying that I must look more neat when I represent Falun Dafa, it upset my heart to hear that. But I looked inside and saw my attachment. Throughout my life I have more or less blamed much that has happened to me due to my childhood and lack of love and protection. But I have realised that these are just excuses in order for me to avoid seeing the reality of the issue. The same fellow practitioner also told me that I considered myself not worthy of fine cloths and lack self-esteem. How am I supposed to save people if I don’t take care of my appearance and I lack self-esteem? How can I progress towards enlightenment if I still hold on to old notions which are created by the old forces?

I feel that it is of utmost importance now to let go of everything we cling on to and finally even the idea of self, and instead just be in the Dao. It now time to let go of the illusion and to have the utmost faith in Master. It is also of utmost importance to do well the three things that Master asks us to do. Thus, we shall as practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts and thereby eliminate all bad elements and disturbances that is hinder us in the Fa-rectification so that people can be saved and enter the next period. As practitioners we must cultivate ourself well and study the Fa with a calm heart so that we have an understanding of what we are doing in the Fa-rectification. Only when we are deeply rooted in the Fa and have eliminated all the disturbances around us, can we let wisdom and compassion flow forth and thereby be able to clarify the truth to the people of the world and return to our original true selves. Isn’t that what we came for?