Watching our Cultivation as Well as Cultivating our Hearts

I began practicing Falun Gong in 2002. When I began my practice, I decided that I would cultivate to the very end. Teacher said,

"Each and every barrier must be broken through,
And everywhere does evil lurk."
("Tempering the Will" from Hong Yin, Version A)

When we began practicing we understood there would be tests everywhere, whether at work or at home. No matter what kind of problem we encountered, we must get rid of our attachments. Cultivation practice is just so serious!

In the beginning, my husband strongly opposed my practice. He said that whenever he saw me, I was reading Zhuan Falun. He thought that I devoted too much to practicing, and neglected the housework and our children. Some colleagues also reminded me that my supervisor was unhappy because I read Zhuan Falun at work.

At that time, I realized that I was acting like what Teacher¹ said in Zhuan Falun,

"Let's talk about a problem. It has to do with being too engrossed. A lot of people have practiced qigong for a long time, and there are some other folks who haven't practiced qigong but who've been searching for the Truth their whole lives and trying to figure out the true meaning of life. When they learn our Falun Dafa they immediately resolve lots and lots of questions they had and that they couldn't find answers to. And as their thinking climbs a little higher they might get really excited. That's pretty much a given. I know, true cultivators realize the Law's significance, and they know you should cherish it. But there's a problem that comes up a lot: because of his happiness the person gets too engrossed, which just doesn't have to be, and it leads him to not act normal in the way he does things, or when he interacts with other people out in the ordinary world, or just when he's out and about. I'd say that's just no good."

I realized that I didn't conform as much as possible to the state of everyday people in my cultivation. We live in this human world and we are validating the Fa (law or principles in Falun Gong) using our words and deeds. If we are not rational, we will bring a negative impact to Falun Dafa. So I changed my fundamental understandings and decided to play my roles in life well and be a good person in society.

Teacher said in "Teaching the Fa at 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference,"

"That's because when people talk about good or bad it's all based on human interests. Human principles are reversed: when people think something is good, it is not necessarily truly good, and when people think something is bad, it is not necessarily truly bad, in other words, cultivators didn't heed what people said. But today's Fa-rectification is different, and whether someone says Dafa and Dafa disciples are good or bad determines that person's future."

Teacher also said in "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston,"

"If we don't pay attention to our own behavior in our daily lives, everyday people will see our actions and, since they can't get to know you at a deep level such as by studying the Fa, they will just look at how you act. And it's possible that one sentence or one action of yours will make them unsavable or create a bad impression of Dafa."

At home, I did what I should do as a mother and wife. At work, I did my work very well and was nice to everyone. I let people see the goodness of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" of Falun Dafa. Gradually, my husband did not oppose me and I got on well with my colleagues and supervisors. I distributed Falun Dafa related materials to people who came to me for business so that I could enable them to learn about the practice and the persecution. Some of my colleagues, as well as other people, have now begun to practice

On one occasion, I went astray because I didn't change my basic understandings of validating the Fa. Some time ago, many practitioners went to Manhattan to expose the persecution. As a Fa-Rectification period disciple I thought I should go to New York also. However, I didn't have the conditions to go from the perspective of my financial situation, my work, and my family. My husband is a policeman and unable to be away from work unless on an approved vacation. Sometimes, even his vacation is canceled because of his work responsibilities. I once asked him to ask for leave to help look after our children so that I could go out to validate the Fa. He responded, " It is not because I do not want to help you that I cannot comply with your request. I can't even control my work time tomorrow! How can I arrange time off in advance? In addition, my work is really very busy and I cannot ask for a very long leave. The nature of my work is different from others, so please understand this!"

I felt ashamed of myself because I realized that I didn't think about him. What he required was really not too much. He just wanted me to look after our children when he was not at home. The requests I made only gave him more trouble. My mother and my mother-in-law could not come and help because they were either ill or busy. At that time, I was very upset and could not keep a clear mind. I could not do the three things well and became attached to how to make the trip to New York to validate the Fa.

Afterwards, I went to a practitioner's home and shared this with him. He said seriously, "You were too attached to it! I am not able to go there either! As long as you are moving along with the process of Fa-rectification, you are validating the Fa! I know you did very well in exposing the persecution on the Internet. You should do things according to your own conditions and not cause difficulty for your cultivation." Upon hearing this, I knew that Teacher was reminding me of my attachments using that practitioner's mouth.

Everyone has his own cultivation path and all practitioners needn't do the same thing. It is correct that we should take advantage of every chance to validate the Fa in every setting. After I was enlightened to this, I felt my energy was very strong when I sent forth righteous thoughts with that practitioner in the evening. There would be a great change in other dimensions after my understanding upgraded. I was so grateful for Teacher's care and for practitioners' encouragement and support. They helped me eliminate my attachments.

Teacher said in "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York,"

"What I just said does apply to clarifying the facts in Manhattan. Those who have the ability and whose circumstances allow them to come may come, and those whose circumstances don't allow them to come shouldn't. It's not that all of you have to do things the same way. When all of you are doing things from your hearts, then that is genuine. Master has never ordered you to do anything. All I've done is to tell you what you should do, and some students go and do it. Just do what Dafa disciples should do based on your situation and your ability to do so. It won't work if you force things when your situation doesn't allow. If you do that, you will bring about problems in both your daily life and your cultivation, and that's no good."

Teacher also said in "Teaching the Fa at the Meeting on Writing Music,"

"Most of our Dafa disciples are validating Dafa and walking their own paths in cultivation by using their special talents and what they have learned. All social strata and different occupations in human society can serve as settings for cultivation"

My path of validating the Fa became clearer after I eliminated the attachments. I could handle things very well in many projects, no matter if it was to clarify the truth to people in China, or spreading the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party¹ and helping people quit the CCP. It is just as Teacher said,

"With a preoccupied human heart, crossing the ocean proves arduous."
("The Knowing Heart" from Essentials for Further Advancement II)

We should not just follow others or validate our own abilities. We should take all factors into consideration. Our starting point of validating the Fa is to save sentient beings while we cultivate ourselves. I think that is what Teacher wants to see. I would like to finish my sharing with what Teacher said in "Rationality,"

"Validate the Fa with reason, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and offer people salvation with benevolence"

and his words in the poem, "No Obstacles,"

"Cultivation paths are different
Yet all are within Dafa
With no attachment to anything
The path underfoot is naturally clear"
( Hong Yin II, provisional translation subject to improvement)

Note:

1. Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party: Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party is a series of essays published in late 2004 that reveal the true nature of the Communist Party. The Nine Commentaries have led millions of people to renounce their membership in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and come to gain a clearer understanding about the wrongful persecution against Falun Gong. "A book that has shocked all Chinese around the world. A book that is disintegrating the Communist Party." http://ninecommentaries.com