PureInsight | August 27, 2006
[PureInsight.org] (2006 Experience Sharing Conference in Ireland)
My name is Guoyan and I am a Dafa practitioner in Ireland. Initially, I
didn't know what to write in this experience sharing article because I
had always thought that I didn't cultivate very well and wasn't doing
well in this tribulation. I felt that I was not worthy of Master's
merciful salvation. Then one day, after reading a practitioner's
sharing article, which said that writing an article is also a chance to
report our cultivation progress to Master, I made up my mind to write
my experience sharing article.
I have been here in Ireland for about a year. It might be because I was
not very diligent in mainland China that Master has provided this
overseas cultivation environment for me, which is relatively easier
than in China. But here, I have to cooperate with other practitioners
when doing Fa rectification things together, during which I have
discovered many attachments that I didn't realise before. I would like
to share how I realised and eventually eliminated some of them.
Overcoming the mentality of fear
In China I always distributed truth clarification materials when there
was nobody around. When I came here, I attended an activity to support
withdrawals from the CCP. This was the first time I attended such an
activity and there were not too many other practitioners attending. One
of the practitioners took out a white T-shirt with "Tuidang" (Quit the
CCP) on it. It was the only "Tuidang" T-shirt there and the
practitioner then asked: Who wants to put it on? I thought that I
didn't want to wear it as it was so eye-catching, and everyone would
see it. Another practitioner pointed to me and said that I was wearing
a red skirt and it would be nice with the white T-shirt. So, I put it
on reluctantly and with the thought that everyone passing by would look
at me. At the same time fear came out and I thought about what would
happen in the future if someone from the Chinese embassy or a spy saw
me. This type of thought appeared in my mind during later activities
also from time to time. I even did not dare to go and talk with Chinese
people. Gradually, I realised this fear and asked myself: Why did you
come here? Isn't it to validate Fa? Do you not want to do the three
things? Do you want to stay at home because of fear? "Fear is a death
trap on a human being's journey toward divinity"("Pass the Deadly
Test"). After realising this, I rectified myself by studying the Fa,
and the fear has been eliminated little by little.
Realising my attachment to complaining
During Fa rectification, good cooperation and coordination are needed.
However, at the beginning, I always felt sorry when I saw there were
only a few practitioners attending street activities.
I remember that, one time, only two practitioners went to the street to
clarify the facts to people. At the time, police officers also asked us
to temporarily change our location for clarifying the facts, the
electricity generator didn't work, we needed to move the heavy TV to
the new location and not many people took our fliers. I didn't have
strong righteous thoughts and was very much affected. I felt that the
situation of Fa rectification outside Mainland China is sometimes
widely contrasting. I felt very disappointed and cried. It was the
first time I wept during cultivation.
At that time, although I realised it was a kind of emotion, I could not
control myself. Later by studying the Fa, I said to myself, You
wouldn't be able to do the three things if only you were here, would
you? Moreover, some fellow practitioners do things together. It is not
fruitless even if only one person took the paper. As long as you make
the effort, Master will let those people who want to assimilate to the
Fa come and learn the truth." This showed me my attachment to
complaining during street activity.
Later, with the improvement of fellow practitioners, many of them
attended the activities on their own accord. However, I have found that
I complain from time to time. I complain that the whole cultivation
situation is not good, such a practitioner is not very diligent, and so
on. I realise from this that I have an attachment to showing off. One
practitioner kindly reminded me that sometimes each practitioner will
have a period of complacency and that we should be happy when we see a
little bit of improvement from them.
Our Master said, "Yes, you are cultivating in [this realm of] illusion,
so sometimes you manifest a state wherein you slack off, sometimes you
are interfered with, and sometimes you seem very much like ordinary
people. Of course, these, too, are manifestations of the states that
you go through during the process of cultivation. If it weren't that
way, it would not be cultivation, and it wouldn't be human beings
cultivating--it would be gods doing so. ...Passing some tests well and
some poorly is normal, and just because a student does something wrong
because of a momentary lapse, or a student isn't diligent during a
certain time or can't make it through during a period of time, or has
even made mistakes, you can't say that this student is no longer
cultivating or is no longer good enough." (From "Teaching the Fa in the
City of Los Angeles")
Yes, Master has told us clearly that cultivation is about looking
inside and has also asked us why we always look at other people?
Teacher also mentioned in Zhuan Falun
that: "If everyone searched inside himself, and if everyone thought
about how to act better, I'd say society would stabilize and people's
moral standards would rise."
Searching inside unconditionally is what our Master wants us to do.
Since we are Master's Dafa disciples, why do we not follow what Master
has said? We do not need to complain when fellow practitioners do not
do very well.
Master especially mentioned this in "Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital:"
"Think about it, then: wouldn't it look as if this person is always
cultivating--and doing so fruitlessly--and not making any marked
improvements? Why is it that he can't display his divine side?"
Master also said:
"So during your cultivation process, as long as the side of you that
has been fully cultivated goes over and is partitioned off, everything
that you haven't fully cultivated will still manifest. Human
attachments will still show themselves, just as will bad elements."
Only Master knows which level our fellow practitioners are at and we
shouldn't judge or evaluate our fellow practitioners according to our
own understanding. Everyone may have a period where they slack off
during cultivation. I was also not very diligent before so why can I
not understand other fellow practitioners with benevolence? The only
thing I can do is to follow what Master has said, to search inside
unconditionally. Only by doing so, we can become a "Dafa disciple," the
supreme title in the whole universe.
Actively participate in Fa rectification activities
At the beginning I attended the activities passively. Sometimes fellow
practitioner said that something needed help, and so I would help, but
I never did any thing on my own to share the pressure. With
participation in Fa rectification activities, I gradually realised that
I should take on some work. Master also said that every Dafa disciple
should walk his/her own path. So I took responsibility to help organise
street activities with another fellow practitioner and also began to
work with Sound of Hope radio. It might seem very simple to organise
street activities, but every time we need to make many phone calls to
encourage more practitioners to take part so that we obtain a good
effect. Still, sometimes I feel frustrated when there are only a few
practitioners participating.
On one occasion, I didn't attend the street activity because I was
preparing materials for the car tour. On that occasion, only three
practitioners went to the street, with one younger practitioner being
continually busy with petition letters during the activity. At the
time, I thought that it might not have had a good effect. However,
several days later a practitioner who teaches the exercises at the
class at Trinity phoned to say that someone new had come to the class
because of the street activities. He wanted to learn more about the
persecution and the practice. I was surprised by what this practitioner
said. I understood that it was our Master encouraging me. Later,
through talking with other practitioner, I realised that we should not
consider distributing even one flyer as useless because the effect is
different in other dimensions. People who have strong karmic
relationships will make use of this chance to assimilate to the Fa.
Measuring myself with the Fa, treating conflicts with righteous thoughts
I always think that I do things easily and don't have too many
tribulations. Sometimes I snigger and think that maybe I haven't made a
lot of karma before and it will be unnecessary for me to face bigger
tests. However, one thing happened recently and helped me realise that
cultivation is serious and that the old force will make use of any
loophole we haven't got rid of. This thought is such a strong
attachment that the old force can find it and then interfere.
Because I came here from mainland China, I wanted to do more things in
Fa rectification in this relatively easy environment. Recently a
practitioner told me that someone was suspicious of me and thought that
I was a spy. This really affected me a lot at the beginning and I felt
very angry and resentful. I thought, that "I have done so much. Why am
I being thought of as a spy? If I stayed at home to do the three
things, then there would be no suspicion or conflict." However, after
calming down, I realised I would be just walking the path arranged by
the old forces if I did this. The old force tries to create conflicts
between us and hopes that we don't cooperate well so as to negatively
influence the Fa rectification. However, would I not be walking the
path arranged by old force if I stayed at home?
After realising this, I studied the Fa and sent forth righteous
thought, but it still felt difficult to break through. Master said:
"Let each and every thing be measured against the Fa. Only then, with
that, is it actually cultivation." (From "Solid Cultivation" in Hong Yin).
It is not enough to just understand. When conflicts appears, do I truly
search inside? Do I truly behave righteously? Nothing is accidental, do
I get rid of those attachments to showing off, to being too engrossed,
to doing things? Do I put all my energy into Fa rectification? Do I put
Dafa first at all time? Do I treat fellow practitioners
compassionately? The answer is definitely no! Now that I [know I] have
not done well, why can't I resolve the conflict and improve myself
using the tribulation?
Master said：
"The conflicts and tensions that Dafa disciples encounter are solely
for the sake of cultivation and the sake of validating the Fa. Even
though human attachments, the attachment of showing off, the
attachments of the individual, and the elements of human beings that
want to validate themselves are involved, [Dafa disciples] know about
these and once they are discovered, they will fix them. That is
completely different from ordinary people. So there will be problems
between Dafa disciples, and, moreover, such things play an additional
role. Namely, once the conflict or tension surfaces, it will affect
other people. Once others take notice of it, the conflict or tension
will intensify, which will then make the cultivators involved take
notice it. If [a cultivator] can look within when going through that,
he will be able to find his shortcomings. If the conflict or tension
were not brought to the surface or didn't appear, you wouldn't be able
to discover your attachments and identify them. When all is calm and
smooth, can you cultivate yourself?" (From "Teaching the Fa at the Fa
Conference at the U.S. Capital")
"Whatever you experience during your cultivation--whether good or
bad--is good, for it comes about only because you are cultivating. A
cultivator cannot achieve Consummation when laden with human thoughts,
laden with karmic debts, or laden with attachments." ("To the Chicago
Fa Conference")
"But that doesn't mean that as you improve a smooth path is in store
for you. Say you went up to the heavens with a lot of karma and were
hauling along a huge load of baggage (audience laughs), how could that
be permitted? I have to set up certain tests for you and have you let
go of those attachments of yours, have you get rid of all that baggage.
As you go through one test after another, you are to continually shed
your attachments and human thinking, and you won't be able to carry
those things into the various tests [and still pass them]." ("Teaching
the Fa in Canada, 2006")
Before, when I read Master's lecture I always thought it spoke about
someone else, however, since these things have occurred to me, I have
felt each and every word. Every sentence in Master's lectures relate to
me. Rectifying myself after discovering a shortcoming is one of our
Master's requirements, it is a requirement of the Fa. Doing this, we
then become cultivators and Dafa disciples who walk towards divinity. I
have found that when I do this I can break through this tribulation.
The only thing then left on my mind is how to cooperate well to finish
the task together with others.
Finally, I want to finish my article with Master's words in the hope
that we can all study the Fa more, study the Fa well and walk our own
final cultivation path well:
"The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa
can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts."
(From "Drive out interference" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
