Cultivation Experience

Greetings Master, greetings fellow practitioners!

It has been 3 years since I obtained the Fa. That was in July, 1999. Today I would like to share my experience of those 3 years of Fa-rectification cultivation.

In November, 1999, I attended the Seattle experience-sharing conference. A certain practitioner’s article, 'Let life be glorious in the Fa-rectification' encouraged me, and I wished to go back to China and safeguard Dafa. In mid-December that year, several practitioners and I did go back to China. At that time, however, I had a shallow understanding of the significance of Fa-rectification. At that time, I still focused more on personal cultivation and only considered that my cultivation progress would move more rapidly if it was related to the Fa-rectification. I thought that the best way to improve my personal cultivation would be if I went back to China and joined the Fa-rectification. The thought of going back to China and safeguarding Dafa was still based on selfishness since I was safeguarding Dafa for my personal cultivation. I only wanted to bear hardship and improve myself and achieve consummation more rapidly.

At the same time, I was also afraid. When I shared experiences with practitioners in China, I could not distinguish which of their words were or were not based on the Fa. Instead, I felt complacent in my heart and, worried that I would miss the bus. I took all of what they said as truth. I didn’t think for myself. Since I studied the Fa diligently during that period, I gradually became clear-headed and soon I was able to recognize which practitioners' words were or were not based on the Fa. Then I would discuss with other practitioners these issues to remove incorrect understandings. My understanding of Fa was sublimating by constantly studying the Fa and sharing with other practitioners.

One day when I read Zhuan Falun, I was suddenly enlightened by Master's words, 'As a practitioner, if you always think that it is an illness, you are actually asking for it. If you ask for an illness, it will come inside your body. As a practitioner, your xinxing level should be high.' I understood that it is incorrect to have fearfulness as well as the wish of bearing hardship. I should get rid of attachments and safeguard Dafa.

At that time, a practitioner was sentenced to some prison time. Our whole family planned to go as visitors, including our two-and-a-half year old son. But that day, before we could visit, the police detained several hundred practitioners at the Shijingshan Sport Field. They let agencies of various areas stationed in Beijing take practitioners back to their own neighborhood police stations. Due to insufficient understanding of the Fa, I thought that I needed to return to my ancestral home. But the benevolent Master gave us another hint. No agent stationed in Beijing from my husband’s or my ancestral home provinces appeared. That night, we left the Chaoyang Detention Center and were free to go. After several days our whole family went to Linglong Tower Park and practiced Falun Gong. I had only one wish: to let visitors see Falun Gong. When I was practicing, I heard heavy footsteps passing slowly in front of me. My heart began to beat loudly. At the same time, I clear-headedly told myself 'Do not be afraid'. Then the footsteps gradually diminished. After our practice, when we walked to the gate of the park, a policeman stared at me. I also looked at him without a sense of fearfulness. My pure heart was a sublimated manifestation of Buddha-hood that I cultivated from Dafa.

By constantly cultivating and studying the Fa, my understanding of Fa-rectification was also deepening. The sense of safeguarding Dafa and of saving of all sentient beings was becoming stronger. Master said in the article 'Cautionary Advice' that 'If every one of you can understand the Fa from the depths of your mind, that will truly be the manifestation of the Fa whose power knows no boundary-the reappearance of the mighty Buddha Fa in the human world!' In March, 2001, two members of the Chicago Chinese Consulate went to the University of Colorado at Boulder. They wanted to brainwash the students by showing the 'self-immolation' tape which had been concocted by Jiang Zemin. At that time, practitioners understood that we should suffocate the evil. We decided to set a display of posters revealing the truth about Jiang Zemin's persecution of Dafa disciples in China. We also distributed flyers about the truth of the 'self-immolation' incident. Later, the chairperson of the Chinese student union called the police. At that time, I had only one thought: I wanted to prevent the student’s mind from being poisoned. We decided we would leave only after all the students had left. But two policemen came and asked us to leave. I told him that we had done nothing wrong. My husband and I were both members of the Chinese student association and we paid the membership fee. The policeman said three times that he wanted to send me to jail. I said to him three times that we should not be driven away. At that moment, I felt that I was at an extremely high level. My inner heart was very peaceful and my mind was totally open and empty. As it turned out, the police asked all the students to leave and they also asked for Dafa materials.

I believe that Dafa displays its mighty power before all who are present. In Zhuan Falun, Master said, “If you are a true practitioner, our Falun will safeguard you. I am rooted in the universe. If anyone can harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe.' I understood the fact that nobody can shake us if our righteous thought is strong. The low-level evil beings are nothing whatsoever. We can better use the wisdom that Dafa gives us at our levels to offer salvation to people.

In July 2001, an American man married a Chinese woman. Thus he was also poisoned by the Chinese government-controlled media. Under the control of the evil, he came to our exercise site, took pictures and intended to destroy us. At that time we maintained a very strong and pure thought. We felt we must stop him from his purpose. We called the police, and the police forced him to expose his film. The policeman said that this kind of thing had never happened before. Usually only if a person wishes to expose his own film will the film be ruined. Others don’t interfere. In fact, a practitioner had called the police and a policeman said that everyone has the right to take pictures in public areas. Actually we all know that similar events have happened before. We could truly see the power of righteous thoughts. Just as Master said in the article 'Also in a Few Words,' 'However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is. Dafa disciples are truly stepping forward out of ordinary humanness'.

Previously, I doubted my ability to speak English and did not promote Fa or tell the truth to the government or media. As the process of Fa-rectification progressed, I also broke through this human concept and started to do that work. During that period, I firmly resisted the evil's persecution. I looked inside and removed attachments lest the evil could find loopholes and use me for evil purposes.

We then joined the global activity of sending forth righteous thoughts. When we had any kind of disturbance, such as noise, rain, or anything during Fa-promotion activities, we immediately sent forth righteous thoughts to eradicate the evil. That was my understanding of 'A Dafa disciple completely opposes everything arranged by the evil old forces' (“Dafa is Indestructible”) at my level at that time. As time passed, I realized that the situation was not quite right if we waited to clarify the truth only after the evil started disrupting us. However, I did not know why this situation was wrong. Now when I look back, I understand that I needed to improve myself based on the Fa. 'Awakening, people look at one another, and realize the stage was being set for the Fa' (“The Big Stage”). Everything is set for Dafa. Dafa and Dafa disciples are the leading roles.

After studying the Fa, discussing with other practitioners and reading the cultivation experiences on Dafa websites, I have gradually come to understand. Master said, 'As a practitioner, if you assimilate yourself to this characteristic you are one that has attained the Tao-it's just such a simple principle' (Zhuan Falun). I understand that a cultivator is only a person who is proactively assimilating to the principle 'Zhen-Shan-Ren', not a person who just wants to avoid evil's disturbance. It is an evil and degenerated concept to allow negative beings to test cultivators. This is the principle of the old cosmos. Our Dafa disciples should completely reject this concept. When we conduct ourselves according to 'Zhen-Shan-Ren', we are cultivating the path paved by the Master. This path is not to be interfered with by the evil. Master also said, 'There's something I told you before. I said: what is a Buddha? ’Tathagata‘ is what human beings call someone who's come with the truth and the power to do what he wants, whereas real Buddhas are guardians of the cosmos and are responsible for all righteous elements in the cosmos' (Guiding the Voyage, “Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference”). I understand that as Dafa disciples in the Fa-rectification period, our mission is to clear all degenerated elements in the Universe, and we should be responsible for all righteous elements in the cosmos. We shall have the righteous thought that the evil is not allowed to exist in the universe. At this time I have new understanding of 'A Dafa disciple completely opposes everything arranged by the evil old forces'. Manifested at the human level, we do things like this or like that. In actuality, everything is systematically arranged by Master's fashen. We merely rectify ourselves when we do specific things based on our righteous faith to Master and the Fa. Master said in 'Lecture Tour in North America' that 'Master can do everything for you if you are doing right'.

From the Clearwisdom.net website, I saw that some evil persecution had happened in Germany. Here I would like to share my understanding. In the Fa, Master has already told us not to consider this persecution as human to human. It is the evil beings at higher levels controlling people to do bad things. I think that the evil persecution happening in Germany is as vicious as the one happening in China. The only difference is that the police in China have been brainwashed by the media. After all evil elements are removed; we need to clarify the truth in great detail to make them understand. However in Germany, when we clarify the truth to them, the police very easily accept the truth as long as the evil elements controlling them are removed. 'When a problem arises, we have to examine ourselves first to see whether things are right or wrong on our part. If we determine that it is interference or in any way damaging to the Fa, when we deal with the specific problem we should try our best to be calm and kind to those people who are at the surface, because when the evil uses people, they usually aren’t aware of it themselves (although the people who are used are usually either people whose thoughts are bad or people who have bad thoughts arising). As for the interference by evil in other dimensions, we must seriously eradicate it with righteous thoughts' (“Fa-Rectification and Cultivation”). If we are able to recognize the nature of the evil, we can seriously eradicate the evil completely and save sentient beings.

As Dafa disciples in the Fa-rectification period, we need to rise above personal cultivation and be responsible to the Fa based on the global situation of the Fa-rectification. We need to be responsible to all sentient beings in the cosmos and to let go of all elements of selfishness and thus achieve the realm of selflessness.

We are cultivating the same Fa as a whole regardless of areas and countries. We are only fulfilling our duty as a Dafa disciple. Master said in the article 'Digging Out the Roots,' 'Let me tell everyone: This Fa is inconceivably enormous, and you will never completely know or understand its laws and principles.'