(Minghui.org) Greetings Master, greetings fellow practitioners!

I began practicing Falun Dafa in my first week of college, in August 2019. For the first three months, I mainly just attended a weekly group Fa study for two hours, but I didn’t really know what Falun Dafa or cultivation was all about. 

Even when I didn’t understand much, I could tell there was something very special about Falun Dafa. A few times after I attended group Fa study I had a feeling of being light and refreshed, unlike any feeling I'd ever had before, and I felt this way for the next few days. Everyone that attended the meeting was friendly and lighthearted, which created a very soothing atmosphere.

When I started to study Zhuan Falun more on my own, I was able to organize and do much better with my schoolwork, which I was lagging behind with at the time. My thoughts also became clearer, and I was able to eliminate many distractions and bad habits, such as too much time spent on video games and reading anime. Only when I looked back a little later did I actually notice the many changes I went through, as at the time they were all gradual and subtle.

Over time, as I volunteered at the local Shen Yun shows, read other lectures by Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa), and Minghui articles, and focused more on improving my xinxing, I continued to experience the profundity of Dafa, which was unlike anything I could have imagined before. I’d like to share some of my major experiences and realizations with you.

Clarifying the Truth

I didn’t know about the importance of clarifying the truth until March 2020, when I started to help with the local Shen Yun shows. It was around this time that I first became aware of Master’s other lectures and other Dafa websites like Minghui. I gradually came to have a more in-depth understanding of the importance of clarifying the truth, but due to my timidness and fear, my progress in this area remained slow. 

I started with trying to do truth clarification on social media. I'd hardly ever used social media websites before and didn’t really have any connections on them. When I realized how awkward things were because of that, I wasn’t able to achieve much or persist in clarifying the truth through social media.

For the next few months, I didn’t participate in any activities to clarify the truth, and my understanding of the Fa was also not very deep. I was held back by the attachment of fear. I later found another method to clarify the truth to people online through anonymous chatting. I only used it periodically, since people on the chat could easily disconnect or come on with all sorts of motives. Later, I was able to get through to some people, so I felt that it was a method I could persist in if I was patient and endured, but was often held back by my notion that it was difficult and because of fear.

Truth clarification and my lack of diligence in this area was an issue that often plagued me. After all, throughout his other lectures Master repeatedly emphasized the importance of truth clarification and how it is our historic mission. I thought of going out to clarify the truth somehow numerous times—then I came across some quotes from Master that encouraged me:

“It’s not about the size and scale of what you do. It’s about the results, the heart you put into it, and whether you go about it as a cultivator.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference”)

“For all Dafa disciples it’s a matter of what you do with yourself.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference”)

“Also, you should know that there are many things you can work on if you want to. There are things you can do in your own setting; for example, even if you just write a few good articles [that raise awareness] and get them posted online, it will have an impact. You should, as a Dafa disciple, be doing whatever you should.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference”)

I then tried going out to collect signatures for an End the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) petition. I did this periodically, but without much result. Eventually I was able to make breakthroughs and gradually I was able to start opening up to talk to people more. I still wasn’t that proactive with it, and later relied more on accompanying practitioners while sending forth righteous thoughts. But, in the end, fellow practitioners and I were able to collect many more signatures than I ever thought we could, and I improved greatly in my own truth clarification.

Later, we were confronted with not being able to collect signatures near or on private property. So, we decided to shift our efforts to public property like parks. Recently, thanks to the efforts of my mom, a fellow practitioner, we were able to figure out how to set up a tent and booth in a local park for truth clarification. We got help with this project when my mom decided to visit a park one day, just as a person who'd set up a tent providing religious services was about to leave. He told us how easy and simple setting up a tent and booth can be at the park. Through this experience we really felt the guidance of Master and the Fa.

At the time of this writing, we are finishing preparations to do truth clarification in that park and we plan to start in a few days. I’ve also been looking into using the online method I used before to do more truth clarification on my own. I’ve felt how truth clarification and our progress in this area is directly tied to our personal progress in cultivation—I now realize how all of the three things Master asked us to do are tied together and go hand in hand. 

As Master said,

“Then what does the title “Dafa disciple” signify? Who came here to be a Dafa disciple? [You earned that title] because you have taken on the mission of saving all sentient beings. The cultivation that you have done as a foundation, and the righteous thoughts that you’ve developed through cultivation, are for the purpose of saving all lives. I’ll put it even more clearly: the cultivation that you are doing in this lifetime is to strengthen the righteous thoughts that your being at the surface has, and that is so that you can save all living beings.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2015 West Coast Fa Conference”)

Learning Chinese to Study the Fa

When I first began practicing I never thought about learning Chinese to study the Fa. When I got to see the Chinese version of Zhuan Falun I was drawn by how attractive the characters seemed, something that I never felt with any other text. Soon after I heard and read other practitioners’ experiences of learning Chinese to study the Fa, I started learning Chinese in May 2020.

I tried various different methods to learn Chinese, such as online courses, help from a local practitioner, and by taking a university class. Throughout the process, numerous passages of the Fa helped me persist in learning:

“In fact, it couldn’t have been more appropriate for us to choose Chinese as the language for teaching this today, because Chinese is the most expressive and has the most inner meanings of any language in the world.” (“Teaching the Fa in San Francisco,” Lectures in the United States)

“Chinese is a special written language, and it is similar to the written language in the heavens. And oral Chinese is similar to the language spoken in the heavens, because it is a form of culture that gods directly created for mankind. Also, since what was established in China was a semi-divine culture, the form and sound of Chinese characters are interconnected with the cosmos.” (“Teachings at the 2004 International Conference in New York”)

Through reading others of Master's lectures, I also came to understand the profound significance of China and its ties to the history of mankind. I felt that Chinese was a really a special language and I wished to learn it. Master said, “Then consider this: who was it that established China’s five thousand years of civilization? All of mankind.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI ) This further strengthened my resolve to learn Chinese to study the Fa.

Starting in February this year, I found an online software that translates Chinese characters as you hover over them with a mouse and I used it to study Zhuan Falun. I already understood many characters in Zhuan Falun at this point, but there were still many that I didn’t know, so my reading was slow. Despite this, I managed to persist in reading at least one lecture a day this way. 

The first few times I read Zhuan Falun like this, I learned many more characters, and not long after I was able to read the book fairly fluently with Zhuyin or Pinyin. Now I can understand most characters in Zhuan Falun, and there continue to be fewer I struggle to understand on my own. 

Overcoming Lust

Throughout my cultivation I’ve struggled with the issue of lust. Due to negative influences from the Internet and other notions acquired from modern society, lust created a considerable barrier at the beginning of my cultivation and continued to interfere with me.

When I first began to practice I made numerous mistakes with lust and even indulged this attachment on a few occasions. Later, I was able to better recognize the severity of this issue, especially when I noticed it was really draining my energy. I also realized it was related to my attachments of comfort and ease. I struggled to endure when faced with a lot of stress and fatigue.

Even though I resolved to not be affected by lust, it still surfaced in various forms, particularly in my dreams. When I couldn’t handle myself well, it was quite upsetting, but I was gradually able to overcome this attachment through intensified Fa study and learning to stay unmoved in the face of interference by lust. At one point, I was barely interfered with by lust for about two to three months.

Later, I wasn’t able to handle myself well again during a lust test and was quite shocked. Looking back on it now, I know it directly had to do with the state of my righteous thoughts and not having studied as much Fa at the time. I was able to persist in continuing to study more Fa and eliminate more interference coming from lust for some time.

Eventually, I was still affected by another test of lust. These tests soon started to come and affect me periodically. Around this time, there were other areas my righteous thoughts had been struggling in, as well as some other attachments that sprang up. I felt these were related to my not passing these lust tests well. There were also times when I wondered if I was plagued with my past mistakes with lust, which made me feel increasingly anxious and frustrated. Together, these factors allowed for increasing interference from lust, even in my regular thoughts and interactions throughout my daily life.

Over time I read numerous passages of the Fa to help me overcome this issue. Master said,

“It’s not a big deal if you haven’t done well. Just do things well next time and try to find out where the problem was. There’s a prominent phenomenon in you folks’ cultivation, which is, after you haven’t done something well, you’re only overwhelmed with regret, and you don’t do it over. If you regret it too much then that’s another attachment. Once you’ve done something wrong, seen where it was wrong, and recognized it, then do it well next time, do it over. If you trip and fall, and just keep lying there instead of getting up, (audience laughs) then that’s no good.” (Teachings Given on Lantern Festival Day, 2003)

“The Wudang Mountains was where Zhenwu, or "Xuanwu"—the Great Emperor Xuanwu, as they called him in the Dao school—practiced cultivation.” (“Explaining the Fa for Falun Dafa Assistants in Changchun,” Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa)

“One day, in his dream, a demon came to disturb him in a surreal realm, turning itself into a beautiful, naked woman. He was groggy, didn’t guard himself well, and he was stirred. Afterwards he was really mad and full of regret. He thought: "Is there any hope for my cultivation? I’ve cultivated for so many years but still haven’t accomplished anything and still can’t stay in charge of my own mind." He thought that he was a failure, became angry with himself, and went down the mountain. On his way down, he saw an old woman grinding a needle—grinding an iron rod into a needle.” ” (“Explaining the Fa for Falun Dafa Assistants in Changchun,” Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa)

“The old woman told him, "After a long time, it will inevitably be ground into a needle." Zhenwu was struck. As this old woman was grinding the needle she poured water into her bowl, and she kept pouring even when the water was already full. So he said to her, "The water is overflowing." She said, "When it’s full it naturally flows out." She was actually giving him a hint. Her words were to tell him: "During your cultivation, you shouldn’t think too much about it. You didn’t do well one time, but next time you will do well."” (“Explaining the Fa for Falun Dafa Assistants in Changchun,” Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa)

There was also one Minghui article I read that helped me, Thoughts on the Issue of the Demon of Lust. I enlightened that I needed to focus on giving up all attachments and take this matter more lightly, as I was overemphasizing the issue like the practitioner who wrote the article described. 

I’ve now done relatively well regarding the issue of lust for some time. Writing this part of my article has also helped a lot to resolve difficulties in this area. As I experienced resistance in writing this, I came through by being determined to keep writing despite interference. I think when we truly want to pass a barrier, Master and the Fa will be there to help us every step of the way.

Breaking Through Personal Barriers

Throughout the process of writing this article, I’ve learned to overcome negative thinking and forge ahead more diligently in my cultivation. I’ve also learned that regardless of any difficulty or barrier I come across in my cultivation, I need to maintain my xinxing and a positive attitude. I know that as long as I keep working on my shortcomings bit by bit and calmly study the Fa, there will always be a path forward.

Thank you, Master, for your saving grace and continual guidance. Thank you, fellow practitioners.

(Presented at the 2021 Online International Young Practitioners Experience Sharing Conference)