Understandings Gained Through Helping a Fellow Practitioner

Recently, a fellow practitioner in my family was not serious about following the Fa teachings. Whenever I spoke to him about cultivation, he became very impatient. Furthermore, he made statements such as "Please don't talk to me about cultivation matters. Do I have to stop practicing in order for you to stop?" Statements like this made me angry, and we argued frequently.

Later, I realized that nothing happens accidentally. I needed to look inward, but was concerned about the negative statements he made. I thought that he could be inviting some form of persecution. Such thoughts created a lot of anxiety. Whenever I spoke to family members about Dafa, I watched their reactions. When they reacted negatively, I felt bad for them. I was not at peace and lacked compassion. I was ready to blame them for the way they reacted.

After realizing that I was too emotional, I decided to use righteous thoughts to view the problem. My attitude should be to help a fellow practitioner who was going through a tribulation. I should not view him as a family member, but as a Dafa practitioner. In addition, I sincerely stated, " Evil entities must not persecute my fellow practitioner because Teacher is looking after him. Any mistake he made could be corrected by studying the Falun Gong teachings. Evil spirits have no right to interfere; otherwise, they will be committing a crime."

When I told him about my new understanding, he was scornful. His facial expression was dark, but I knew that this was not his true self and I shouldn't be misled. At this point, I remembered what Teacher said:

"This is because amidst everyday people, different ordinary human attachments could interfere with her. When she cured a patient's illness, the patient might not appreciate it. When she treated the patient, she might have removed a lot of bad things from this patient's body. Although she healed this patient to such an extent, there might not have been any obvious changes at that time. The patient, however, would not be happy in his mind. Instead of expressing gratitude, he might accuse her of cheating. With these problems, she was undergoing psychological tribulations in this environment." (from Zhuan Falun)

I understood that all these incidents were designed to upgrade my xinxing (heart and mind nature). As I looked inward, I noticed that when I spoke to fellow practitioner, I had a tendency to show off and a desire to validate myself. After I removed these incorrect thoughts from my mind, he suddenly made a 180 degree change and smiled at me. Lately, we have been sending righteous thoughts and studying the Falun Gong teachings together.

Another point I would like to make is that a practitioner must not say, "I don't want to cultivate." Such a statement will invite evil spirits to strengthen one's attachments and eventually break him. In this case, Teacher and other divine beings cannot help, because it is the "pursuit" of that practitioner. Cultivation is a serious matter. Do not act on a sudden impulse and deny what Teacher has done for us. We must follow Teacher and the Fa in order to achieve our final consummation.