Cultivating Oneself Diligently

I started practicing Falun Gong in July 2004. At that time, I had some illnesses. One of my colleagues told me, "You should try to practice Falun Gong," so I started to read Zhuan Falun. During my reading, my illness karma was significantly reduced. But at that time, I did not have a thorough understanding of the Fa and I merely felt that Falun Dafa was good. One day, I sat on the bus and read Teacher's "Lecture at the First Conference in North America." A few words touched my heart. I felt that my whole body had been shaken. I realized that this was what I had been looking for and that this was the way I wanted to live. I decided to cultivate in Falun Dafa.

Soon I read all of Teacher's lectures on the Fa. I also led my ten-year-old daughter to study the Fa. During that time period, every day after I came home from work, I read Teacher's Fa. I felt that my mind was very clear and I regretted that I had not acquired such a great Fa earlier. Two months later, my illnesses had totally disappeared. I wanted to go into the streets and shout that Falun Dafa is good. I was over 30 years old when I acquired the Fa and my life was changed in a very beautiful way.

I always wondered if I could still be a Falun Dafa practitioner in the Fa-Rectification period, since I acquired the Fa so late. When I read Teacher's articles, I paid special attention to Teacher's answers regarding my question. But each time, Teacher's answer gave me the impression that maybe I am able to, maybe I am not. So I thought that since I already acquired the Fa, I could cultivate myself gradually. If I could not cultivate to Consummation in this lifetime, I would continue to cultivate in my next lifetime. But then I read Teacher's "Teaching the Fa at the Conference in New Zealand,"

"Question: I'm worried that I won't be able to succeed in cultivation. I have made up my mind that if I can't succeed in this lifetime, I will continue my cultivation in the next lifetime.

Teacher: You seem to be quite determined, but actually you aren't determined at all. What happens if your current state appears again in your next lifetime? Would you again go on cultivating in the lifetime after the next, then? You need to be determined not to miss this predestined opportunity, and then you will definitely be able to succeed in this lifetime."

I felt embarrassed about my thought. Since then, I have studied the Fa more diligently and gone to group practice.

Validating the Fa

After I had cultivated for six months, I told fellow practitioners that I wanted to pass out truth-clarifying materials. At that time, I did not have any fear. I carried the materials with me every day and went through most of the city to pass them out.

At the end of 2004, after the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published, I started to clarify the truth and convince people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The first person I talked to about this was a former colleague. I first talked about my progress of cultivating in Falun Dafa and the changes I underwent after cultivation. Then I told him to quit the CCP to keep safe. He was convinced and used his real name to quit the CCP. I was very encouraged. Since then, I have clarified the truth to almost all of the people who have come to my office, and encouraged them to quit the CCP. At work I interact with many people from various companies. Each time I get an assignment to contact those people, I first think of clarifying the truth to them. While working with them, I always consider them first. Once at work, a person told me, "I have worked with a lot of people in the government. You are the first one who really cares about our company." I told him, "Do you know why? It's because I cultivate in Falun Gong." Then I clarified the truth to him and encouraged him to quit the CCP. He happily agreed to do so.

At work, some people frequently send me cash and gift cards. I first kindly decline them, and then I tell them why and clarify the truth to them. The effect has been very good. Those clients all eventually became my friends. Recently I was on a business trip. I knew this company had many farm labourers, so I asked two other practitioners to go with me to this company. In two days, my fellow practitioners and I clarified the truth to over 50 people. One of them did not hear enough the first day. Then on the second day, he asked me to clarify the truth to him again and other people who did not have chance to hear it on the first day. A few of them wanted to learn to practice Falun Gong. I saw the sentient beings' eagerness to be saved and felt my great responsibility.

In 2005, after I had acquired the Fa for nearly a year, I had a reunion with my high school classmates. Since I had only acquired the Fa for a short time, I only clarified the truth to five or six people. In 2007, I had a reunion with my college classmates. I clarified the truth to all of them. Nearly all of the people agreed to quit the CCP, except for three. This year I had a reunion with my middle school classmates. I also clarified the truth to all of them. Sometimes I thought that among all of my classmates, I am the only Falun Dafa practitioner. I really need to work hard to save them.

Cultivating Diligently

When I had just acquired the Fa, I was very excited every day. I always wanted to spend more time studying the Fa and truly placed the Fa first. But actually I was attached to myself, just like the attachment of elation which Teacher mentioned in Zhuan Falun. When my office organized people to travel, I did not want to go. I did not want to waste time to travel and delay my Fa-study. When my relatives and friends asked me to have dinner at a restaurant, I did not want to go either. I thought I had already clarified the truth to them and having dinner together would really waste my Fa-study time.

Sometimes I asked my child to go to school alone because I did not want to waste my Fa-study time. It looked as if I placed the Fa first and studied the Fa diligently, but actually I had already deviated from the right path.

One day, my husband said, "Our home has nearly become a temple." I realized that I did not harmonize with the Fa and I did not fully utilize the environment that Teacher arranged for me as the environment of cultivation. I did not maximally conform to ordinary people's society. I only considered studying the Fa, sending forth righteous thoughts, passing out truth-clarifying materials, clarifying the truth as cultivation and considered the rest as interference. It actually exposed my selfishness. At first, I did not realize that. After I studied the Fa and shared experiences with fellow practitioners, I gradually came to realize it and walked out of that kind of situation. But I still did not learn how to look inward, which is the great way that Teacher has taught us.

In the beginning, I did not know how to negate the old forces' arrangements. Teacher said that the cosmos in the past was based on selfishness. Our every thought had been arranged by the old forces and our righteous path is very narrow. So I started to examine my every thought, and I was clearer in my understanding of the Fa principles. When I encountered something arranged by the old forces, I knew how to negate it. Later, I read articles regarding cultivating ourselves, eliminating desires and getting rid of jealousy, which greatly shocked me. In the past I thought that I had done well in these things and felt that Teacher's Fa lecture regarding this was for others. Since then I have started to learn how to look inward. But sometimes my looking inward was still just on the surface. I looked inward with the attachment of finishing the task, so I did not cultivate myself steadily. I had illness karma for a few years. Sometimes I felt frustrated and found it hard to continue my cultivation. I thought that I spent a lot of time studying the Fa and reciting the Fa, but why did I still have so many tribulations? Enlightened beings should have great freedom, but why was it that the more I cultivated myself, the more pain and tribulations I went through?

"Throughout the whole course of cultivation we should lose all those attachments and different desires that ordinary people have." (The Fourth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

Teacher taught us that during our cultivation, all of the things we encounter are good things, no matter if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Ordinary people's principles are the opposite to the principles of the universe. But I got lost in ordinary people's principles. I always considered ordinary people's suffering as real suffering. I did not look inward or consider this a good opportunity for me to get rid of my attachments and move forward diligently on my path of cultivation. This is why I felt that my cultivation was more and more difficult. I always held onto my attachments and human notions, and did not let go of them. I could not, as Teacher asked,

"Be considerate of others when you do things, and look at yourself when you get into disagreements". ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference")

I did spend a lot of time studying the Fa, but I did not concentrate during Fa-study and I did not compare myself to the Fa's requirement. It was just as if I had to finish a task. Since I did not study the Fa well, I could not look inward unconditionally and I could not get rid of my attachments and human notions during cultivation. When tribulations came, I had to look inward passively and solve the problem for the sake of solving the problem. I actually cultivated myself within the scope of the tribulations arranged by the old forces, and thereby walked the path arranged by the old forces. Because of this, I was in a poor state of cultivation many times. Cultivation is both difficult and serious. Cultivation is absolutely no small thing. So during my future cultivation, I must truly cultivate more diligently, steadily improve and strive to do the three things well.