Becoming a Practitioner of True Cultivation

 

First Experiences with Personal Cultivation 

 

After being introduced to Dafa by my wife's cousin, I immediately began practicing the exercises daily. Right from the beginning I could feel a powerful energy field around me, and could feel our great Master's presence, encouraging me forward. In addition, just like it says in Zhuan Falun, my body was cleansed. Everyday I awoke in a pool of sweat, as my body was pushing out all of that bad stuff that had been accumulating for so long. The changes in my life were immediate, and multiple. Knee problems which I had had for years and years, which had stopped me from running and other sporting activities, quickly healed up. In fact, 6 months after finding Dafa I competed in a tri-athlon, after not being able to run for 4 years! Skin eczema, which I'd had for years cleared up. One month after starting Dafa, I was finally able to stop smoking, after 13 years of smoking. The amount of energy I had also dramatically increased, my mind and body full of strength.

 

Then there were the many mental and spiritual transformations. One big change I saw early on was my patience with my daughter. Before Dafa I was average in this regard, not so bad, not so good. Like many people I felt stress, or annoyance when my daughter was continuously crying (as a baby). After only three months of practicing, I felt no stress when she was crying, only compassion. To me that was a big step forward, as a father, and as a human being.

 

My organization at home and at work drastically improved soon after learning Dafa. Before Dafa, everyday was in some way stressful, because I didn’t organize my time well. After Dafa, I began to prepare for my whole weeks work on Monday morning. Consequently my work week went smoother and my mind became calmer. In business ( I co-own a language school) I began to enlighten to important spiritual principles quickly, and was able to put them to use and improve my company. My self-discipline and work capacity also went up sharply. A few months after Dafa, I started using most of my free time to improve myself, practice, or help others. In the past I needed more recreation, going to see films, relaxing. After learning Falun Dafa I was soon able to sit down at a table and learn a language for a few hours at a time on the weekend, instead of watching a movie. I also became a better person, and began looking for opportunites to help those around me, for example my wife's grandmother, who lives alone and needs the help.

 For the next year I worked through attachment after attachment, casting off layer after layer of all that filthiness, from smoking, to watching pornographic films, to lying, to wanting others to like or approve of me, attachments to laziness, to money, to human entertainment, to procrastinating. I am so grateful to our Master for bringing us a system which really takes people to high levels. It's just amazing that a system so incredible really exists.

 

 

After practicing Dafa for 6 months, I began to have the desire to participate in truth clarification activities. I began with some small Hong Fa's, putting fliers in peoples mailboxes, telling my students, family, and colleagues about the persecution, and about Falun Dafa. After a few months my young daughter began to help me. My daughter had shown her very strong connection to Dafa from a very young age, from about 11 months. When she first saw Master’s photo (she was 11 months) her eyes opened wide and were wild with excitement. She started pointing at the picture and excitedly exclaiming, Father! Father! It's Father! Also when she opened Zhuan Falun, she kept pointing at the words, and turning the pages, crying Father! Father! After that she was always picking up copies of Zhuan Falun, and handing them to me and my wife, encouraging us to read it. When watching Master’s lectures on television, she would hug the television and kiss Master's image. When she was playing she wanted to play in front of Master's photo on the wall, so that he could see her. When my daughter was 18 months old she began telling me which villages needed fliers the most, by telling me that Master isn't here, give out the fliers. She was really incredible.

 

After one year of practicing, I became a proofreader and narrator for a TV network. It was really difficult in the beginning. I had a lot of mental blocks about technology and computers, but eventually I learned what I needed to get started. Since then I have been doing the narrations, and helping the other practitioners by fixing their English in the reports. Also after one year I began to write Dafa music. I had stopped playing music a few months after starting Dafa, because I didn't need it anymore. In the past music helped me feel more complete, or rather people's compliments and the attention made me feel more complete or important. Now, I no longer needed that. One year later, under the circumstances that it would not effect my work with other Dafa projects, I began again to write music again. I wrote about the persecution.

 

After going to the New York Fahui in April 2007, I became much more inspired to step forward in truth clarification. This was due to two things: Seeing Master at the Fa Conference, and meeting another practitioner, who was involved with a radio station. Seeing Master at the Conference was an unbelievably wonderful experience, and one I will never forget. To be in such close proximity to our great Master, to feel the great compassion and kindness that surrounds him, was really inspirational. After Master left the Conference hall, my mind was completely empty, completely devoid of human thoughts, really clean. It was really powerful.

 

At the Conference, I was helped by the practitioner from the radio station to get a really good seat. I believe our meeting was pre-arranged to help me catch up with the other practitioners. The practitioner taught me many things connected to media and encouraged me by giving me ideas for new projects, and involving me in other things. A few months after meeting her, I began to do a weekly radio English class on the radio. In addition I am still doing the narrations and proofreading with the TV station, but I know that I need to improve with the quality and professionalism of all these things.

 

Concluding   

 

In conclusion, my life before practicing Dafa was nothing compared to what it is now. The quality of cultivation, the continual advancements and self improvements is light years beyond what I was doing before. When I look back on myself, I see a lost soul, in comparison to the knowledge of purpose, and the clarity of cultivation that I feel now. To wake up every morning and know that I am a disciple of the great way of Falun Dafa, is an incomparable blessing. Although I am trying hard to raise myself up, I know I have a very long way to go, however I now know that the destination is attainable, because i am cultivating with this righteous Fa, which genuinely guides people to high levels.

 
In conclusion here is a quote from our great Master, which I often remember when I am having trouble letting go of my attachments to something. From Essentials for Further Advancement, under the heading "True Cultivation," "You fell here from a holy, pure, and incomparably splendid world because you had developed attachments at that level. After falling into a world that is, in comparison, most filthy, instead of cultivating yourself to go back in a hurry, you don't let go of those filthy things that you cling to in this filthy world, and you even panic over a little bit of loss. Did you know that in order to save you the Buddha once begged for food among everyday people? Today, I once again make the door wide open and teach this Dafa to save you. I have never felt bitter for the numerous hardships I have suffered. Then what do you have that still can not be abandoned? Can you bring to a heaven the things deep down inside that you can't let go of?"