PureInsight | May 8, 2019
[PureInsight.org]
Greetings to Revered Master and fellow practitioners!
After teaching at Feitian Academy’s Taiwan branch for three years, I felt my knowledge in arts was not sufficient, and I wanted to know more about the environment for students’ further studies. Without hesitation, I applied to study at a famous art university in northern Taiwan. Although I’ve already had a master's degree at the time, I still felt nervous about the result of the entrance exam. I made a silent wish: "I’d like to continue to contribute to the school." Perhaps it was because Master seeing my determination that, while driving to work a few days before the result was released, I had a feeling that I would pass the exam. Luckily, after I obtained my second master's degree in Art in July 2018, I was also admitted to the doctoral program at a national university. During my four years of studies, my cultivation went through a transformation due to frequent travel between "north and south". On top of that, the relationship among my family members went through a subtle change. Here are my cultivation experiences:
1. My Hepatitis B is cured
I suffered from hepatitis when I was a child. Because I used to live in a remote coastal area in Yunlin County, the medical resources were lacking, I didn’t know what was wrong with my body back then. I always felt tired and was in low spirits, which seriously affected my studies. When I was in high school, I was terrified to find out from the school’s medical checkup report that I got hepatitis. Knowing the fact that hepatitis B is contagious, my young mind was overshadowed with low self-esteem, so I didn’t know how to face the future.
Before graduating from university, I often burned the midnight oil preparing for the graduate school entrance exam. My chaotic life made me suffer from insomnia, and I was on the brink of having depression. Just a few weeks before the exam, I went to a hospital for a checkup, a senior doctor said seriously: "You are so young, but your liver index has already exceeded 700. What are you going to do in the future?" Fortunately, further test results showed it had not reached cirrhosis (liver hardening) state.
Shortly after I studied in the north, the university’s physical examination report showed that my Hepatitis B was negative, which means my 20-year-old tribulation had been miraculously cured. Upon sharing this great news with my wife who is not a cultivator, she said plainly, “It means the test report is incorrect. You need to have one more checkup in another hospital.” Worrying that after hearing this miracle, ordinary people might have the same response like my wife’s, so I seldom share it with others.
Why was I afraid of sharing it with others? After looking inward, I found a strong mentality deep down in my mind, feeling ashamed of my family background and my childhood. This mentality has long interfered with me. In particular, it made me uncomfortable when interacting with people. Though I had noticed it, I was unable to get rid of it. Whilst writing this article, I’ve enlightened to the seriousness and magnificence of cultivation. I am ashamed of myself for clinging to the old force’s arrangement. I told myself that from today onwards, I’ll completely negate the old force’s arrangements, and be steadfast on the path arranged by Master.
2. Surviving a major car accident
During the 8 years of my teaching at Feitian Academy in Taiwan, because I need to help my wife taking care of the children, I drove to the school every weekday. It took me one and half hours to and from work everyday. In addition, my further studies in northern Taiwan made me even busier. Therefore, I was under tremendous pressure. I was unaware of my deficiency in cultivation. As a result, the old forces took advantage of my loopholes, and made me have a serious accident.
The accident occurred when the school was holding a joint exhibition of dance, music and fine arts. One day after work, I was driving to pick up my kid. While making a U turn, a speeding car slammed into the side of my car near the back seats. I lost consciousness instantly, and after a few seconds I woke up again and felt my forehead and right thumb hurting. But my mind was calm, without any panic or anxiety. Then, I got out of my car, and took the initiative to help the female driver. Since her car’s airbag had been deployed, and there was smoke coming out from the front of the car. I was worried about her safety, so I knocked on her window and reminded her to leave the car quickly. We left our contact information to each other, and then let the police took over to deal with the case. The next day, I appeared in the exhibition venue in Taipei as if nothing had happened. After knowing my ordeal, some parents were amazed by my experience.
When the accident occurred, I was very calm. But looking back, if her car had hit me 3 seconds earlier, it would have been right at the driver’s seat, and if 3 minutes later, then my kid would have been in the car, whichever way it would have been a terrible disaster. I really had a fear after the accident. But I’m pretty sure that my fate had been re-arranged, right from the moment I decided to take up the teaching career as my Fa-ratification project.
Master said at Teaching the Fa in The City of Los Angeles, “Put another way, the debts and grievances that are owed need to be returned with blessings and/or [the affected beings] have to be saved during the course of one's cultivation toward Consummation--for sure. Master did this when he arranged a cultivation path for every Dafa disciple; I have arranged [the paying off of] the grievances and the like.”
In addition to the story, about half a year before the accident, my younger brother had a dream while staying at our old house. Three ancestors came in the dream to warn him that “your brother will die in a fatal car accident.” He woke up terrified and immediately told my parents. Few days later, I received a phone call from my mother with sadness, saying, “After asking a fortune teller, he confirmed that you cannot pass through this ordeal, unless you live in the school, and don’t come home. We’ll take the kids to see you during school breaks, and you must stay there for a year.” In the phone call, I declined my mother’s request, because I wished to continue my studies in the north, and once I discontinued it, I might eventually give it up altogether. By doing so, I might miss the opportunity to contribute what I’ve learnt to the Academy. I understood that a cultivator’s life has been re-arranged, and my sole responsibility is to live up to Master’s wishes toward the Academy.
3. Let go of my attachments and helped my child to learn music
In February of 2011, I happened to learn that Feitian Academy’s Taiwan branch was looking for practitioners who were qualified as a division chief. As my wife was already a division chief in a junior high, I thus encouraged her to sign up for the interview. The night before, I was also asked to go for the interview. Since I had an attachment to fear, I hesitated to take up that role. Soon after I watched Shen Yun, my mindset went through a dramatic change. One of the scenes portraying the story of a teacher who was persecuted to death but was later resurrected by Gods. Suddenly, I felt my fear had been eliminated completely right after seeing the Shen Yun. Before I left the car park, I rang the school and told them with an affirmative voice that, “I’m willing to teach at the Niao Song High School (also known as the Feitian Academy’s Taiwan branch)”.
I always hoped that my kid could one day enter Feitian Academy’s Taiwan branch. While he was a fifth grader, he agreed to find a Suona teacher for him. In this way, my kid started to accept the training for the traditional music smoothly. One day when he was a sixth grader, his beloved aunt told him, “High school is the golden period for learning. If you don’t study the curriculums well, it will be hard for you to proceed to your further studies.” These words made him hesitate to enter Niao Song High School, and his practice in Suona playing went backward. He suddenly had difficulty playing the notes that were familiar to him previously.
One time when exchanging views with my kid, I realized the seriousness of the matter, as “cultivation is one’s own choice.” I immediately apologized to him and said, “Daddy shouldn’t have imposed my cultivation path on you. It’s up to you as to whether you want to study at Niao Song High School or not.” After that, I had a sad feeling for a long while driving to school. I’ve always wanted the best for my kid, but I couldn’t make the right decision for him. After studying Fa persistently, I realized that although I seemed to respect my child’s decision, but I still had the attachment to sentimentality. On one hand, I wanted him to be a cultivator, and on the other, I worried that his learning in art might hinder his studies on other subjects. Even we had exchanged views, my kid’s situation hasn’t changed much. I thought the fundamental reason lies in the fact that “I still have the Qing imposed on my son”.
Afterward, another incident made me further realize that respecting kids’ decision is a test parents should go through. My kid’s aunt is a teacher in another big city. She is concerned about my kid’s education very much, and strongly recommended him studying in a prestigious senior high. She even prepared the entrance exam application form for my son. I also wished him to give it a try to see how well his overall scholastic performance was. To my surprise, he was admitted to that school. Then, the whole family began to favor him, to the extent that if the kid wouldn’t study at that prestigious senior high, his grandpa would cut off the family relationship.
During the process, I exchanged views with my kid several times. He was worried that Niao Song High School’s facilities for science subjects might not be sufficient. He said, “As I want to become a scientist, why should I spend so much time practicing music?” However, after a weekend’s Suona practicing session, he eventually decided to go to Niao Song instead. Perhaps it was because that his learning in traditional music made his knowing side awakened. I believe it must be the expressive power of Chinese music that had touched my child’s heart.
4. Harmonize my relationship with my wife
My wife started to support me to practice Falun Gong 15 years ago when she was still my friend. During the process, we often chatted over the phone. One time, it happened to be the time for FZN, so we thus sent forth righteous thoughts on each ends of the line together. Looking back, the seed of cultivation had long planted in her heart.
Soon after we had our first kid, I was fully devoted to truth clarification projects as usual. I was always running around helping practitioners with computer issues and solving technical problems at various sites. As I remembered, I once went to Taipei to attend a Dafa parade. Shortly after I arrived there, I received a call from my wife, saying that she wanted a divorce because she couldn’t stand me spending so much time in truth clarification work. I was too shocked to respond to her on the spot. I called my sister for help right away. Luckily, after I returned home from the parade, everything was back normal. Though it seemed that nothing had happened, but the crisis in our marriage had taken place then.
Both my wife and I are certified teachers once teaching the same subject at the same school. We should have had the same ideas in teaching kids. But because she wasn't a practitioner back then, we had numerous conflicts on issues such as whether we should take the kid to see a doctor when he caught a cold. As a result, we were estranged from each other gradually. But after our kid started to study at Feitian School this year, my Xinxing has improved, our relationship then turned around 180 degrees.
However, something happened on the first week after my kid started at the school. He forgot to bring along his musical instrument. Since we were in a hurry, I asked my wife to drive home to bring it to me somewhere between the school and my home. Upon arriving at the spot, I saw her pull over, so I quickly grabbed the instrument and ready to go. But she yelled at me and asked me to take another bag for another kid studying at the same school. Meanwhile, I found that my wife met that kid’s father in the morning, while attending an outdoor activities. He had become very friendly with my wife. I was feeling uneasy about the whole thing resulting in conflicts between my wife and I.
On the way back to school, my mind was full of negative thoughts about my wife. But just before I approached the school, a message struck my mind. It was something like, “Your wife is someone whom I want to save.” Suddenly, my mind turned blank, and all my negative thoughts toward my wife disappeared. Until now, I still vividly remember that when I parked the car in front of the library, my mind was filled with joy. I said to Master in my mind, “Master I’ve understood now, I’ve awakened now. All things in this world are for our cultivation, so as to return to our true self.” From then on, I could hardly remember anything about my wife’s short comings. Master said in Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference, “You're each a particle. And in my eyes nobody is better than anyone else, since I scooped all of you up at the same time.” Gradually, my wife and I are getting along better and better, and the tense relationship has gone. I think it is because of Master’s benevolence and Dafa’s mighty power that taught me how to treat precious sentient beings like my wife with compassion.
Finally, I’d like to share with everyone something in True Cultivation from Hong Yin:
“Zhen Shan Ren held in the heart
Falun Dafa will fulfill
Cultivate xinxing each moment
Consummation—boundless wonder.”
Thank you, Master and thank you, everyone. Should there be any shortcomings, please point them out to me with compassion.
Chinese version: http://www.zhengjian.org/node/248144
