Understanding the Relationship Between Cultivating Oneself and Saving Sentient Beings

I'm a practitioner who has taken a detour from his cultivation path. I started practising Falun Gong in spring 1997, but stopped cultivating in 1999 because of the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I stepped back on the cultivation path again on March 27, 2004. I had many attachments, spent very little time on studying the Fa, the exercises or sending forth righteous thoughts. I was afraid to clarify the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong and had no desire to save sentient beings. Teacher taught us:

"From now on, the Dafa disciples in China as much as anyone, both new students and veterans alike, should let go of their long-standing human attachments and start to seize the day and comprehensively save the world's people. Once the current time period is over, the first large-scale process of weeding out sentient beings will begin. For a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, personal liberation is not the goal of cultivation: when you came, saving sentient beings was your great aspiration, and that is the responsibility and mission history has bestowed upon you in Fa-rectification." ("Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World's People")

After reading this lecture, my mind became clear. I realised the importance of saving sentient beings and finally understood what cultivation was all about. I became more diligent in studying the Falun Gong books, sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth to people. But I continued to harbour attachments and it was hard to give them up. I had difficulties with my leg and was very nervous walking in icy conditions at night. When I had to walk faster, I felt tremendous pain. I realised this is interference by evil beings. So I began sending forth righteous thoughts while distributing truth clarification materials about the persecution of Falun Gong. After sending forth righteous thoughts, I didn't feel the pain, nor the nervousness. This allowed me to finish distributing the materials very quickly.

I have a neighbour who had suffered a stroke and since then he couldn't bend his leg, nor lift his arms over his head. It was very difficult for him to walk. I told him what Teacher said,

"Even when an ordinary person shouts out 'Falun Dafa is good' today, Master will protect him, since he's shouted those words I can't not protect him amidst the evil."("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")

I asked him if he believed this or not. He answered, "I believe. What I don't believe is anything the Communist Party says. I am not afraid of saying that Falun Dafa is good in front of the police."

Then, he said, "Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good."

Now, he can lift his arms over his head, and close and open his hand. He can bend his leg, sit in the Lotus position and stand up by himself, and his blood pressure has normalised. He thanks Teacher and Falun Dafa. He tells his story to whomever he meets, "If you don't believe, look at me, the facts are worth more than a thousand words." He has become a living example of the benefits of Falun Gong.