(Minghui.org) I meet with practitioners every day in my home to study the Fa. We don’t meet on Chinese New Year and New Year’s Eve. We study the Fa for two hours and send forth righteous thoughts on the hour three times. We then go out to distribute truth clarification materials and talk to people face to face on a regular basis.
I feel that while we do the three things well, we shouldn’t neglect our own cultivation. I’d like to tell you about two small incidents in which Master showed me the wonders of Dafa after I looked inward.
Truly Looking Inward When Facing Problems
I needed to pick up my child after we finished Fa study around 9:30 one night. I walked to the parking lot and found that my car was blocked by a commercial vehicle. I knew if I was delayed, I would be late. But I reminded myself that I’m a cultivator, and that the situation happened to help me eliminate my impatience. I calmed down and decided to solve the problem.
I went upstairs to ask a resident who the vehicle belonged to. He said it belonged to a person on the fifth floor. When I knocked on the door, no one answered. I was a little anxious; it was already late. I ran downstairs again, and silently begged Master for help.
As soon as I ran to the car, a bright light shone on me. It was the doorman. He suggested I look for the owner’s phone number on a hidden part of the commercial vehicle. It was there. I thanked him and called the car owner, who said he would come down and move the car. After waiting a few minutes, I looked at the time and it was 9:46 p.m. I usually would have arrived at the school gate by this time.
The car owner came down slowly. I was polite, but I complained in my heart: “Not only did you park badly, it took you so long to come down after I called.” He said he got up as soon as I called him.
I thought, “Oh, aren’t I looking for other people’s faults?” I complained and was not kind. I felt bad that my cultivation state was superficial, as I looked outward when the conflicts got bigger. I did not always look inward like a true cultivator. Why didn’t I think about others? Why did I complain after I woke people up in the middle of the night? I felt ashamed, and felt I wasn’t worthy of Master’s mercy. I decided: “From now on, I’ll examine myself when something goes wrong. I’ll stop looking outward, and I’ll rectify myself within the Fa!”
I calmed down and looked for my own shortcomings as I drove. I forgot I was running late. When I got to the school, I found the trip had only taken three or four minutes, as apposed to the fifteen minutes that it normally took. What’s even more amazing was not only was there no traffic jam at the school gate, but I found an empty parking space, as if it was reserved for me.
Finding My Attachment
I felt sleepy while studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts. At first, I strengthened my willpower and rejected this state, but it did not help. I even felt sleepy during group Fa study. My consciousness also became blurred before I finished the verses while sending righteous thoughts. When I meditated, I felt I was unable to hold my hands in the correct position. This never happened before.
I thought: “I used to go to bed after sending forth righteous thoughts at 10 p.m., and I sent forth righteous thoughts again at 11:55 when the alarm sounded. Because another practitioner and I now go out and clarify the truth in the morning, I changed my schedule to copying the Fa until 11:55 p.m. and then I sent righteous thoughts before going to bed. I got up at 3:50 in the morning to do the exercises.
I became used to it after a few days and was in great shape. But one day I had the thought that maybe my schedule was too full, and I was a little tired. I slept for two hours at noon. Not only did I not feel better, but my mind became blurred.
I realized that something was wrong. I was looking outward for help. Why did my good cultivation state disappear? I tried to calm down and look within, but I couldn’t find my attachment.
One night I couldn’t stay awake while driving home after I picked up my child and I almost fell asleep when I stopped at a red light. After getting home, I reflected on the incident and traced it back bit by bit. I found my attachment: My cell phone.
I’d been browsing for seven minutes on shopping platforms every night while waiting for my child in the car. This was an attachment that wasn’t easily detected, because all the practitioners in our Fa study group are more or less obsessed with their phones.
I eliminated my attachment to my cell phone and only used it for basic necessities. I was no longer attracted to my cell phone, and I couldn’t understand why some practitioners were obsessed with them.
But recently, while I was waiting for my child in the car, I listened to some experience sharing articles on Minghui but, at the same time, I browsed shopping platforms. Afterwards I felt ashamed. I quickly corrected myself according to the Fa and got rid of this bad habit. My heart suddenly felt light and the sleepy state disappeared.
Something magical happened: I woke up at 3:47 the next morning, turned off the alarm, and got up to do the exercises. I forgot to set the alarm for the next day. At 3:51 the next day, the alarm sounded in my mind. It was the same music, but it was softer and more soothing than the real alarm. I knew this was Master calling me to get up and do the exercises. As I exercised and followed along with Master’s voice guiding the exercises, I sighed from the bottom of my heart: “I’m so lucky; I must work hard to be worthy of the title of Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period!”
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