Click on the below-mentioned, numbered subjects:

1. Welcome


2. What’s Happening?


3. Only by Letting Go of Who is Right and Who is Wrong Can We Truly Cooperate Well


4. Not Cultivating Compassion Can Bring Sickness Karma


5. Overcoming Qing Rationally


6. 80-year-old Practitioner Breaks Through Sickness Karma


7. Selfishness Is the Root of Unrighteousness


8. On How to Look Inward

1. Welcome

Welcome to the March 2014 Falun Dafa India Newsletter.

In this issue, we have a compilation of experience-sharing Articles gleaned from Clearwisdom that always shine through because of their insights and fine quality of sharing. It is important to read the Clearwisdom, Pureinsight and other Dafa sites.

We make an effort to select Articles from the Archives which people don’t go back to and are relevant even today. Contributions are welcome from practitioners.

Heshi! Hope, you like the selection of Articles and gain some new insights!

Note: "All the contents in this newsletter - except for quotations and excerpts of writings of the founder Mr. Li Hongzhi - are only ideas and experiences of practitioners and do not represent Falun Dafa in itself."

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2. What’s Happening?

FREE CHINA Documentary won the Best Documentary Award at the Noida International Film Festival 2014. A practitioner residing in Noida collected the Award.

There was a National level get-together at Diksha Bhoomi, Nagpur from 6 to 9 Feb. Practitioners had a Stall and they came to know about Krishi Vasant (http://www.krishivasant.in/) from 9 to 13 Feb. 8 to 10 local practitioners were present there daily with huge numbers of flyers for distribution. People came from all over India. Around 2.75 lacs flyers were distributed with contact numbers of all cities. One participant at Krishi Vasant commented that “He did not feel that his trip got wasted as it seemed that he arrived here to get the FA”

Yet another event of 45 evenings is over for the fifth consecutive year at the Numaish World Trade Exhibition, Hyderabad. There were many people interested to know more about Falun Dafa, and many said that they already know about the practice. This time each evening there were quite a few people asking questions about the Persecution and wanting to know more about the practice.

Hyderabad practitioners got a free stall in Millet festival. They distributed fliers to many visitors and informed them about the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China.

Practitioners from Hyderabad also got a free stall in NIRD MELA 2014(National institute of rural department). They distributed fliers to many visitors and clarified the truth. Falun Dafa was introduced to 20 ladies of NIRD including the wife of Director General (of NIRD) for one week after the Mela, who appreciated the practice.

Practitioners also distributed fliers to participants of Harithon run 2014

At the recently concluded International Book Fair in Delhi, the Falun Dafa Stall drew a lot of people wanting to learn the exercises. Several thousand flyers were distributed every day and there is a plan to follow up on the many enquiries regarding learning the exercises.

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3. Only by Letting Go of Who is Right and Who is Wrong Can We Truly Cooperate Well

By a practitioner in Canada

(Minghui.org) I used to only work for the Epoch Times in my spare time when I had a full-time job. However, I resigned from my job two years ago and started working full-time for the Epoch Times.

While working as a reporter, I felt a bit unbalanced in my heart towards certain fellow practitioners, and always managed to look at what others did not do well and never truly faced my own problems. I thought that I was cooperating well because I did what I was told. So each time a conflict arose or my heart was moved, I would just accept it, but still felt resentment inside. The latest incident gave me a warning and helped me understand that only by improving one's xinxing and stop focusing on who is right or who is wrong can we cooperate better.

My editor recently asked me to do a job, which I believed was quite difficult for me. In the past, we would approach this situation with various measures, but this time, the editor insisted that I should just go and do it. I got really angry and refused. I’m sure each of us could find an excuse to fit our own circumstances, and we might even try to find Fa principles to justify our own views. My heart was deeply moved at the time, and I felt I could not take it. I failed to keep up my xinxing and lost my temper.

I thought of how others were not treating me well, how unfair they were towards me and how I should argue with them. I realized that this was because each time I felt unbalanced in my heart and had a fighting mentality, I did not let go of such attachments. The problems then slowly started to accumulate and form strong thought karma.

So I started to send forth righteous thoughts towards these bad thoughts that were pointing the finger at others, and denied that they were mine. Each time, shortly after I sent forth righteous thoughts, the thought to argue with others appeared in my mind again. So I sent forth righteous thoughts again to eliminate it. As soon as this thought appeared in my mind, I would immediately eliminate it and keep my mind in a calm state. I had not cleansed myself this way for a long time. Each time I sent forth righteous thoughts, I felt that I could strengthen my righteous belief, and it also helped me to strengthen my main consciousness so that I could see even more clearly which thoughts were not my own.

When I first started to write this sharing article, I still had feelings of resentment towards fellow practitioners. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts, but still felt a bit unbalanced deep down inside. So as I was writing, I started to describe the situation, how I was thinking and what was causing the problems. Then suddenly, I stopped and realized that I was still moved by those bad thoughts and was still unable to extricate myself from trying to figure out who is right and who is wrong. I thought: “As a cultivator, if I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. When I find a problem, I should just correct myself. Why do I still try to justify myself ? If someone can help me improve and point out my problems, isn't that a good thing?”

Master said:

“Don’t argue left and right, and don’t emphasize who’s right and who’s wrong. Some people are always stressing that they’re right, but even if you are right, even if you’re not wrong, so what? Have you improved on the basis of the Fa? The very act of using human thinking to stress who’s right and who’s wrong is in itself wrong. That’s because you are then using the logic of ordinary people to evaluate yourself, and using that logic to make demands on others. As gods see it, for a cultivator to be right or wrong in the human world is not important in the least, whereas eliminating the attachments that come from human thinking is important, and it is precisely your managing to eliminate those attachments rooted in your human thinking as you cultivate that counts as important.” (“Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan”)

I realized that I had not let go of resentment in my heart, and still thought that others were in the wrong when conflicts arose. I believed that I was cooperating by not arguing. But I was never able to relinquish my attachment and held on to my opinion about others. I always believed that I was in the right and failed to see that my heart was moved. As a result, I felt quite content as long as I could find fault in others. In retrospect, I was only fooling myself.

Now I realize that very often when I believed others were in the wrong, I was in fact judging others by my own understandings. We must not use what we have enlightened to in the Fa to measure others, but to use it to measure ourselves. Why do we get angry or complain when we see others' shortcomings? Why do we feel wronged when we think we are being treated unfairly? In fact, we should look inward instead of thinking about how wrong someone else was.

Master said:

“...even trivial things might set off big arguments. Afterwards your spouse will be confused over his or her loss of temper. As you are a practitioner, you should be clear as to why that kind of incident takes place: It’s because that thing came—you are being asked to pay for your karma. To resolve such incidents, you have to keep yourself under control during those moments and mind your character. Be appreciative and thankful that your spouse has helped you pay for your karma.” (Falun Gong, 5th Translation Edition)

The editor made a rule at a later meeting, which was to keep a record of the news she had arranged. But I refused to do it. I then realized that the reason behind this was because I did not pass the test the last time, so this time it was an even bigger test. As I was very clear about why this happened, I remained very calm and did not say anything.

This time I was able to eliminate the bad thoughts I had about how others, and I also realized that if I do not let go of my attachment to jealousy, it would be very hard for me to embrace and be tolerant of others. I also found that I have a strong attachment to self-protection, which also created the division between myself and fellow practitioners.

From this lesson I realized that having strong righteous thoughts and looking within should not be just words. True cultivation does not rest on how many Dafa projects one is involved with, much less on the titles and the roles that one has in those projects. Solid cultivation means that throughout our life's journey of cultivation, whenever we come across conflicts, either amongst everyday people or practitioners, whenever we encounter things that touch our hearts, no matter who is right or who is wrong, we can look inward and try our best to find out where we have fallen short and which attachments and notions we still harbor. Then we should try our best to restrain them and eliminate them.

Master said:

“I hope that you all cherish yourselves, cherish others, and cherish this environment that you have. Cherishing the path that you travel is cherishing yourselves.” (“What is a Dafa Disciple”)

I did not really understand what cherishing others and our environment meant. But I've come to the understanding lately that how we handle ourselves, and how we treat others and our environment, is a reflection of our realm. As we improve our xinxing, we will be able to further enhance our capacity to embrace the things around us.

To cooperate does not mean to only obey arrangements by the leaders, and only by letting go of the mentality to arguing who is right and who is wrong can we achieve better results in what we do.

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4. Not Cultivating Compassion Can Bring Sickness Karma

By a practitioner in China

(Minghui.org) I would like to share my understanding of sickness karma.

I have had sickness karma for a period of time. Every time it appeared, I would send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate it, but it was not effective. I thought it was because my righteous thoughts were not strong, and I didn't keep up with the exercises due to laziness, thus, my energy was not strong enough to eliminate the bad elements. Therefore, I would spend more time doing the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts, and sought help from Master. After many days, the sickness karma would eventually go away. This is how I dealt with sickness karma but I didn't look inward and ask, “Why do I have sickness karma? Why are the bad elements able to interfere with me?”

Recently, many practitioners in our area have had serious sickness karma, and some even lost their lives. This propelled me to focus on my own situation, but I wasn't able to find the answer. Although I looked inward I only found some superficial attachments.

The sickness karma reappeared after a period of time. I had sharp and severe tonsil pain, and it didn't go away after I sent forth righteous thoughts for many days.

I didn't know what to do, so I asked Master for help. On my way to work, a seven-year-old girl sat next to me on the bus. She was playing with a big ugly bug. Someone asked her, “What is your name? Aren't you afraid of the big insect?” The little girl replied, “My last name is Shan (Kindness). I'm not afraid of the bug at all.” Although I heard the conversation, I paid no attention. Later I thought, “The little girl's last name is Shan and she was playing with a scary-looking insect. Master is pointing things out to me, that all evil beings are insignificant when they are faced with kindness.” As soon as I understood this, my throat was not sore anymore. I was shocked! I realized that I had not been cultivating a compassionate heart and had been fostering evil elements.

I enlightened that the cultivation process is the process of eliminating one's attachments, thus increasing one's gong. When a practitioner does not cultivate kindness, the evil side will continue to grow. It is like the demon kings in the universe—although they do not have attachments, they aren't kind and exhibit cruelty. When a practitioner's bad side is strong, the energy emitted from his gong also contains bad elements. Therefore, when he sends forth righteous thoughts or clarifies the truth, the result might be negative.

An energy field containing a strong evil side would attract more evil elements. Therefore, when a practitioner fosters bad elements and demonic attributes, he is also asking for interference from the evil lives.

When we do not cultivate compassion, our behavior could manifest as being overcritical, selfish, indifferent, or irritable. These are demonic attributes. We may not even think that we are wrong, and will not feel good until we have vented or won an argument. Thus, aren't we seeking demonic and evil elements? When the demonic lives in the universe see that we are pursuing them, they come into our dimension and emit their black energy. The manifestation in the human dimension is sickness karma. When we fail to look inward in a timely manner, our negative behavior can become worse. This is the same as acknowledging and accepting their existence. Therefore, they will emit more bad elements, which could result in more serious sickness karma, and cause some practitioners to lose their lives.

These are my current understandings, and I hope they can help other practitioners. Please kindly point out anything that is inappropriate. Heshi.

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5. Overcoming Qing Rationally

By a Dafa disciple in Mainland China

(Minghui.org) Some practitioners say that qing is a type of matter. Not only is it matter, but also a type of low-level god within the three realms.

Overcoming Qing

Two years ago, a fellow practitioner called me from another province. She told me the practitioner she was in love with married another woman. She was crying and said that she was going to sell her property, and urged me to go abroad with her. She was trying to avoid the pain she felt. I thought she was irrational and being influenced by the old forces. She was the person in charge of the local large-scale truth-clarification materials site. If she left, there would be problems producing Dafa materials and the local situation would suffer. We couldn’t allow this to happen!

I suggested that she ask Master for help. Before we hung up, we decided to send righteous thoughts together to disintegrate the old force arrangements that were persecuting her. After I hung up and looked at the time, I noticed that she had cried for 53 minutes.

When I sent forth righteous thoughts, I experienced a lot of interference. During the five minutes of self-cleansing, I was very sleepy. I tried standing up, but I was still sleepy. The next day, a lot of sentimental thoughts came up in my mind. I knew that the old forces were trying to get to me. I continually sent forth righteous thoughts. For the next few days, when she called me she would ask me to help her find a way to leave China. Each time, I would have her agree to send forth righteous thoughts with me for half an hour.

Four days later, she called me and asked if we could have a good laugh together. I knew she had come back to her senses. I asked her if she still wanted to leave. She said: “No. I will stay at my position here.”

The time has passed to see things only from the standpoint of individual cultivation and removing our attachments. We need to evaluate things based on the Fa-rectification. Then we will have a clear understanding and be able to send forth righteous thoughts with the maximum impact.

Feeling good and comfortable is selfish and composed of karma. It is an illusion and not something divine. Why can the cultivators with “true insanity” cultivate so fast? Because they are no longer affected by their feelings. They cultivate their assistant consciousness. We cultivate our main consciousness. We must work to be knowingly unaffected by feelings.

Happiness is also a form of qing in the human world. For example: I feel good if others are nice to me. I feel close to him. This sentiment is selfish as well. Therefore, I often examine myself to see if I have any qing.

Demon of Lust

In 2001, I was tested by the demon of lust in a dream. I didn’t pass the first time. I was very sad. After that, every time I sent forth righteous thoughts, I added the thought: “Cleanse any lust from my field.” I kept doing this for over a year. For many years now, I have not had any dreams or tests involving the demon of lust.

In the past I liked to look at pictures of beautiful women. I knew it originated from the attachment to lust, but I didn’t take it seriously. I made up the excuse that because I was a woman it was okay. I indulged myself in looking at these pictures without thinking about the karma these beautiful women carried.

I didn't set strict requirements for myself, so problems occurred. And, they were not small problems.

Looking inward, I remembered that I visited a web site and looked at some pictures of beautiful women the night before the practitioner called me about her lost love. I had never been so affected. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the pictures. Later I thought of a story: Two practitioners walking down the street. One of the practitioners made a licentious comment about a woman and then couldn’t maintain his xinxing. The other practitioner saw that the woman’s karma immediately started to attack the practitioner who had made the comment.

Master said in “Teaching the Fa at the Discussion on Creating Fine Art:”

“Think about it everyone, humans have karma--you all know this as you're Dafa disciples--and everything that human beings draw or paint includes elements of the artist himself. In an artist's work, everything about that individual and about the person being portrayed is attached to that painting. When an ordinary person paints just one stroke, I know what kind of person he is, what kind of illnesses he has, how much karma he has, his state of mind, his family situation, etc. And all the thoughts the subject of the painting has and all of the factors associated with his body are fully displayed as well, including how much karma he has. Whenever someone hangs a painting of that person in his home, the karma of that person in the painting emits from the painting. So when someone hangs something like that in his home, is he benefiting or being harmed? Karma emits and spreads, it's connected with the person, and it will continuously emit in the home of the person who has hung up the painting there.”

My attachment to lust brought the karma to me. After this severe lesson, I realized how strong of an attachment I had to lust. I understood Master’s Fa principles vividly.

Balancing Relationships

Nowadays, people “love everything.” The Chinese Communist Party uses this mentality to degrade the morality of the Chinese people. Traditional marital values were very different from the modern distorted notions about marriage. There were strict taboos and etiquette to follow for marriages in both Eastern and Western countries. The purpose of a man and a woman being married was to produce offspring. There was not a lot of thought about being “in love.”

When we talk about marriage, some practitioners are inclined to associate marriage with lust and desire. They think that once a practitioner gets married, their cultivation level drops. Isn’t this view a bit too rigid? As far as I know, a lot of married Dafa disciples are no longer intimate. Even veteran practitioners who are married to ordinary people don't have the urge for intimacy.

How can we balance the relationship between being cultivators and our family obligations with ordinary people?

Remain unaffected.

Master told us in Zhuan Falun: “Do you want to change other people’s fate? Everyone has his or her own fate!”

When I cultivate Dafa steadfastly, I know there is nothing else to worry about. Master says: “When one person obtains the Fa, the whole family will benefit.”

When I was detained in the labor camp, the police tried to use the emotions I had for my family to “transform” me. When they asked me whether I would like to see my child, I said “Of course.” My heart was unaffected, but I knew that seeing my child was my right as a parent. Seeing my daughter and comforting her was what a mother should do. Not being able to see my child was a result of the persecution. I was not going to be grateful to bad people for being able to see my child.

When I saw my daughter, I expressed interest and care about her life and her studies. The police officers saw that I had shown affection for her, so they thought the “transformation” had been successful. Afterwards, I told them: “Thank you for allowing me to see my daughter, but I will keep cultivating Dafa. It is a matter of principle.”

They were speechless. I balanced cultivation and family well. There was no loophole for the old forces to take advantage of. The officers lied and told others that I had strong family connections; therefore they had made a special effort for me to see my child.

When we steadfastly cultivate Dafa we let go of emotions. We should do this without going to extremes. If a person can't let go of emotion, but tries to hide them by ignoring their family members, it looks awkward in ordinary society. The evil will take advantage of the loophole. We need to stay unaffected and balance all of these relationships. Even though the attachment to family and love between a man and a woman are different, there are similarities in how we balance the relationships well.

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6. 80-year-old Practitioner Breaks Through Sickness Karma

By a practitioner from Sichuan Province

(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa in May 1997 and now I am 80 years old. Before the practice, I suffered from many ailments such as rheumatic heart disease, coronary heart disease, neurasthenia, and kidney diseases. No improvement came of long-term medications and treatments. In 1997, I suddenly suffered serious coughing that would not stop. I went to see a doctor and was told that I had lung cancer. I became emaciated. I couldn't walk normally and lost my sense of taste. I was hospitalized, but the doctor couldn't do anything to help and had to discharge me.

The president of the hospital told my daughter that I only had a matter of days to live. When I got home, my neighbor told me someone gave her some books and she couldn't read them. I borrowed the books (Zhuan Falun, Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa and some of Teacher's other writings from her.

I started reading the books on my bed. The more I read, the more energetic I became. I finished Zhuan Falun in two days. My neighbor told me she also had an exercise diagram. I borrowed that as well and asked my wife to learn the exercises with me. I read the instructions under the diagram and she followed them. After two times, we remembered most of them. This is how I first began studying the Fa and practicing the exercises. After the practice, we both felt very relaxed. My wife had suffered from liver cancer, but she quickly recovered. We both enlightened that Falun Dafa is not an ordinary technique, but a high-level cultivation practice.

Soon, we were going out on the street to tell elderly people who were sick to practice Falun Dafa with us. We got over a dozen people to join us on the first day. We taught them the exercises. Two weeks later, we invited some assistants from other regions to come and show us Master's video lectures and exercises. We also got everyone a copy of Zhuan Falun . Then, we established our group Fa study and practice site. We studied the Fa for two hours daily at 2 p.m., and practiced the exercises daily at 3 a.m. Everyone's illnesses disappeared quickly. Many of our elderly practitioners were then able to help with household chores, which they would never have dreamed of before. We all felt the joy of not having any illnesses. In 1999, we had over 200 practitioners in our town alone, in a county with a population of only 1,000.

After the evil Chinese Communist Party started cracking down on Falun Dafa, we started practicing the exercises, studying the Fa and sharing at our homes instead of doing it outside. We collaborate with each other in distributing truth-clarification materials, hanging banners and convincing people to quit the CCP. We all follow Master's teachings closely and try to do the three things well. In 2008, I established a truth-clarification material production site at my home. We have stumbled, gotten up, and moved forward amidst the evil's persecution.

My wife and I started to burn truth-clarification disks from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 17, 2012. After we ate lunch, I started to feel dizzy, weak, and coughed a lot. I went to bed to rest and it got worse. I experienced high fever, repeated coughing, and I vomited white foam. My breath was short and rapid. I felt tired and I couldn't close my mouth to keep breathing. I couldn't move, and coughed up a lot of phlegm. My mouth was very dry and I had to drink a lot of water. I needed my wife's help to do anything. I couldn't walk or talk. I had to use hand gestures to communicate. I didn't eat anything for three days and stopping going to the toilet for eight days. But my logical thinking and senses were clear. I knew it was the evil interfering with me.

I quietly tried to look inward. I thought to myself that I must have loopholes that the evil was taking advantage of. I forced myself not to acknowledge or cooperate with it. As I kept looking inward, I told Master that I wouldn't acknowledge the evil's interference and asked Master to strengthen me to dismantle it.

Three weeks passed. My face looked pale and disfigured. Because I didn't study the Fa, practice the exercise, or eat anything, I was emaciated. Some practitioners from our practice site came to see me. They brought me a DVD player and played Master's lectures for me. They helped by sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the interference. They also studied the Fa and shared with me. But they thought what happened to me was too sudden. Because I couldn't move, eat or sleep, some practitioners seemed to lose hope and confidence in me.

It was the Qingming Festival and our children came home from out of town to visit. Seeing me in this condition, they didn't want to leave, and were ready to prepare for my death. I insisted that they leave. My oldest son left, but my third daughter didn't want to go. She cried and wanted to stay so she could take care of me for a few more days. I told her that I was fine and didn't need to be taken care of. I said I wouldn't die.

I calmly recited Master's poem “Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions” (Hong Yin Vol. II) :

“A Great Enlightened One fears no hardship Having forged an adamantine will Free of attachment to living or dying He walks the path of Fa-rectification confident and poised”

In the poem “The Master-Disciple Bond” (Hong Yin Vol. II) , Master wrote:

“When disciples have ample righteous thoughts Master has the power to turn back the tide”

In “Dafa Disciples’ Righteous Thoughts are Powerful” (Essentials for Further Advancement II) , Master said:

“No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil’s demands, orders, or what it instigates.”

As I recited the Fa, I became more energetic. I began to understand why Master talked about “not cooperating” with the evil. I thought to myself: Have I cooperated with the evil? Have I walked my Fa-rectification path in a confident and poised manner? Actually, I had unwittingly cooperated with the evil, because truly “not cooperating” is disintegrating it.

In “Drive Out Interference” (Essentials for Further Advancement II) , Master said

“The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.”

I thought to myself: “I must negate the evil's arrangement and follow what Master wants with confidence and poise. I must start now.” I began to study the Fa and asked my wife to help me sit up. When we studied the Fa together, she read the Fa out loud, while I read the Fa silently. We studied the Fa every day. After three days, I could read the Fa out loud, and hold the book in my hand. When it was time to send forth righteous thoughts, I asked my wife to help me sit up.

I began to eat at meal times. When I had been very sick, I could only eat a little banana and a few spoonfuls of egg soup. Now, I needed to have determination. I must force myself to eat, even though it was hard to taste. I ate fruits and lotus roots even though they tasted bitter, spicy and pungent. My stomach couldn't even handle rice porridge. I told the molecules in my body, “You are also a part of my body. You must cooperate with me in validating the Fa. By eating, you are disintegrating the evil's persecution. And you will have a good future. Even though it is hard to eat, you must eat. You have to sustain my body and other sentient being in it.” Gradually, I could eat more and the food tasted better.

For the Qingming Festival, many people came home from out of town to sweep the graves of their ancestors. There were not enough truth-clarification materials such as brochures and Shen Yun disks to meet the demand for these people. My wife rushed to make truth-clarification materials and didn't sleep for three days. Meanwhile, she spent a lot of time taking care of me. I felt extremely guilty that I was a burden to her and couldn't help. I said to myself, “The evil persecutes me right when it is most critical to save more people. It wants to destroy sentient beings. When we save them, the evil meddles with us. If I just lay in bed, it means I acknowledge the evil's persecution. If I do nothing but interfere with my wife, won't the evil achieve its goal in ruining me and other sentient beings? I am a Dafa disciple and the things I do are to validate Dafa. I must not show my weakness when faced with the evil.” I sternly warned the evil, “Even if I have loopholes, I am still a cultivator. I will let go of my attachments using the power of the Fa. My Master will take care of me. No evil being is worthy of interfering with me. Otherwise, I will disintegrate you. I want to be a disciple with dignity, not a demon trying to sabotage the Fa. You must leave me alone now, otherwise I will eliminate you.”

I remembered what Master said in Zhuan Falun :

“I say that they are not formidable and are nothing before a true practitioner. Though you may find one that has practiced cultivation for nearly one thousand years, a tiny finger will be more than enough to crush it.”

I told Master, “Master, I was wrong. I didn't listen to your words. I have fallen, but I will pick myself up and do what it is right from now on.”

I wanted badly to get up on my own, so I asked my wife to prop me up. I tried to stand up but my legs were too feeble to support my weight, let alone walk. I asked my wife to hold my arm again, thinking that no matter how hard it is, I must walk. After I took a few steps, I started to cough and got so tired. I told my wife that it was time to save more beings, and that she must not let me interfere. She had to supply materials to save sentient beings. I asked her to allow me to help burn the disks, so that she could concentrate on making the pamphlets and weekly magazines. Initially, she did not agree. But then I told her that burning more disks is a serious matter and I must do it. I laid down on my bed, and with the help of my desk, I started to make Shen Yun and other disks. I made about 17 VCDs and 9 DVD in one hour. I could burn about 300 VCDs in one night. Although my pace was quite slow, we were able to meet the needs of the practitioners who used them to save more sentient beings.

When it was time for practitioners to practice the exercises globally, I asked my wife to lift me up so that I could sit on my bed to do the practice. I found that I couldn't do it because the bed seemed very shaky. I thought that the cushion must have some problem so I changed it for another cushion, but it got worse. I enlightened that Master didn't want me to sit on my bed to practice the exercises, and that I must stand up. So I asked my wife to hold my arms so that I could stand up. My legs were too weak to support the weight of my upper body, so I leaned my knees against the edge of the mattress to help me stand.

When I practiced the first set of exercises, the stretching movement made me so tired that I needed to take deep breaths. Sweat poured out all over my body. My feet were pulled downward by a force and shook. I stopped and sat to rest for a while. It took me 30 minutes to finally finish the first exercise. The second set was so difficult that I skipped it. When I practiced the third set, I was so tired that I could hardly breathe. When I did the fourth set, I felt okay when I squatted down to make the circle, but when I came up, I felt as if I ran out of breath. My sweat was like rain. I only meditated for about 30 minutes. This was the first night I tried to do the practice since the interference began. One day later, I told myself that I didn't finish all the exercises the first night, although I had made some progress. Tonight, I would finish every set.

In Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York, Master said:

“If a cultivator can truly let go of [the fear of] death, then that death will forever be far removed from you.”

In “Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions” (Hong Yin Vol. II) , Master said:

“A Great Enlightened One fears no hardship Having forged an adamantine will”

I told myself: “I won't give up on doing the practice just because it is hard to do. If I'm not even afraid of dying, why should I be afraid of anything?” When it was time to practice the exercises, I slowly got up by myself. I didn't need the help of my wife, nor did I lean against the edge of the mattress. I stood up normally. I asked Master to reinforce me and swore to Him that I would finish practicing all of the exercises no matter what. Although I was exhausted and sweat covered every inch of my flesh, I managed to finish almost all the exercises except the fourth set, which I only practiced one out of the three times. The third night, when I did the practice, sweat soaked my body again. But this time I finished all of the exercises without stopping in the middle.

I continued practicing the exercise every night. From sitting 30 minutes in meditation, I finally managed to sit for an hour. I tried to walk around the house without the help of my wife and do things on my own. Seven days later, I was able to make truth clarification materials without anyone's help. Two weeks later, I could go downstairs and walk a few blocks and climbed to the fourth floor. I was recovering very quickly.

Why did this happen to me?

Through Fa study and looking within, I came to understand why I was persecuted by the evil in the form of sickness karma. Some of the reasons were that I only pursued quantity in my Fa study as opposed to studying it with a calm and sacred heart. I had too many ordinary people's notions and attachments such as showing off, complacency, jealousy, fighting and lust. I was often interfered with by the “no second cultivation way.” Additionally, when the Wang Lijun and Bo Xilai incident came out, I developed the attachment of dependence on others, thinking that the red beast (Chinese Communist Party) was killing itself. I went online every day trying to search for articles to share with other practitioners. I completely lost the state of a genuine cultivator, and interfered with other practitioners. Because of this, I had delayed saving more sentient beings. This was a serious problem, and a huge loophole!

In fact, whatever happens on this earth is arranged by Master, who creates opportunities for us to upgrade our xinxing, save more sentient beings, and build up our mighty virtue. How can we depend on ordinary people to do anything? After I dug out my attachments, I felt so sad for my lack of diligence that tears washed my face. I found that I still have so many attachments even after over a dozen years of cultivation in Dafa. Nevertheless, I was determined to get rid of them.

In fact, as soon as the sickness demon interfered with me, I should have negated it and sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate it. I should have studied the Fa instead of falling into my bed. When I went to my bed, it meant that I wanted to cooperate with the evil. When the evil made me feel tired, I didn't want to move and forgot about doing the “three things.” When the evil made me unable to talk, I used hand gestures. When the evil made me unable to taste, I stopped eating. If I don't practice the exercises or study the Fa, I am just an ordinary person. Can an ordinary person live if he stops eating? What I did was actually cooperating with the evil. That's why I was persecuted. I invited it and wasted a month of time. If it weren't for Master's compassion and care, I would have fallen into the evil's trap. How dangerous!

The reason I am writing this sharing is to tell practitioners who suffer from sickness karma that they shouldn't passively cooperate with the evil. A human or god, it is determined by one thought. If we truly stand firmly by the Fa and eliminate the evil's interference with our righteous thoughts and actions, it becomes nothing. The more righteous our thoughts, the quicker we can eliminate it. I have let Master down. But I promise Master that from now on, I am determined to get rid of my human attachments and walk well on my cultivation path. I will always look inward and strive to become a selfless person who always puts others' interests first. I will cherish the last leg of our journey, study the Fa and do the “three things” well, fulfill my historic vow and return home with Master.

I didn't have a lot of schooling and this is my first sharing ever submitted. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.

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7. Selfishness Is the Root of Unrighteousness

By a Dafa practitioner from China

(Minghui.org) Recently, I've often felt unsettled when I talked to fellow practitioners. Although sometimes I didn't argue with them and seemed rather friendly on the surface, I didn't really agree with what they said and felt they were simply boasting.

I've also had some small conflicts with a few practitioners that I have a lot of contact with. I didn't wish to talk to them or see them again afterwards.

I felt there was something wrong with me, but what was it and why did I feel this way?

I remember it wasn't like this between practitioners before the persecution began. At that time when practitioners gathered together, we all liked to hear each others' sharing. We also weren't as picky, whether the practitioner's understanding was correct or not. It truly was a peaceful group.

Now when we discuss something, everyone talks about his or her own understandings. Plus, our conflicts have increased. It seemed to me that everyone thought their own enlightenment was the most correct. Is this “becoming mature” in cultivation?

One day, several practitioners mentioned that another practitioner from our area had had a negative impact on practitioners and non-practitioners. They said, “What will happen to such people?” Everyone began to talk about their own understandings on this matter, like doctors giving advice to a patient. Someone said this, and others said that. Everyone had their own thoughts, and they all thought their own understanding was correct.

While they were talking, I was thinking to myself, "I don't approve of what they are saying. My understanding is different from all of theirs. However, if I speak up, I might hurt the feelings of some of the practitioners." (You see, I was trying to protect myself as well.)

There was one thought deep inside me: “None of their understandings is correct, and none of them have talked about the essential nature of it. Only my own understanding is right and consistent with the Fa.”

That thought was controlling me, and many things I've done were because of that thought. Even on some very small matters, my human thinking and attachments were all controlled by that thought deep inside me.

What was it? Now I finally see it clearly, it is “Self.” As long as it exists, it controls everything on the surface.

When talking about how lives from the old universe looked at Fa-rectification, Master said:

“That is why they're thinking, 'Since this matter involves us, how could we let you do whatever you want with us? I, like others, have countless sentient beings, and I too want to try to be chosen.'” (“Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles”)

When I first read this paragraph, I couldn't understand why a being at such a high level would have such thoughts? How could beings who had such thoughts be at such a high level?

Now I realize that, no matter how high a life is, as long as it carries the notion of “self,” it will make others feel uncomfortable. Only when we completely relinquish this “self” can we truly display the magnificent and grand beauty at that level.

After I enlightened to this, my heart suddenly became very light. When I sent righteous thoughts again, I included one thought: “Completely eliminate the layers and layers of selfishness within myself. Let every particle of me, from the most superficial to the most microscopic, assimilate to Truth-Compassion-Forbearance unconditionally.”

Later on when I had different opinions from fellow practitioners, I thought, “I won't compete for that 'self' again. When we have different opinions, it's not to have practitioners assimilate to my understanding, it's to let everyone's understanding assimilate to Truth-Compassion-Forbearance through sharing. Everyone has different understandings at different levels--what's the use of arguing?”

Because of that “self,” I've made several major mistakes in cultivation. When I had a xinxing test, I always wanted to argue with practitioners about who was right or wrong on the surface. Actually, it's far from satisfactory just to look at the surface. What's more important is rooting out the “self” that is hiding deeply within ourselves. Every human thought, every attachment, and every unrighteous action all have deep connections with that “self.”

The most difficult part for me isn't the lack of courage to cultivate away that “self,” but sometimes it's the inability to recognize the manifestations of that “self.” Only by following Master's requirement to “consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature” from Essentials for Further Advancement), am I truly becoming mature in cultivation. Only in that way can I better fulfill my prehistoric vows.

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8. On How to Look Inward

By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China

(Minghui.org) Seeing practitioners around me not look inward correctly has led to tribulations. Some practitioners even say that they do not know how to look inward. I feel very bad. I myself have finally learned how to look inward after going through so many troubles. I would like to describe my experiences in hopes that it will be beneficial to fellow practitioners.

1. Looking inward to examine one’s xinxing

First, one “shouldn’t hit back when attacked, or talk back when insulted.” (Zhuan Falun) Not only does one need to achieve this on the surface, but one must be entirely unaffected. Some practitioners have had tribulations caused by interactions with their families that they could not overcome, and the reason is often because they only looked inward superficially. One should check to see if one’s heart is affected when things happen, rather than entangling oneself in the matter itself.

For example, our family members may blame us for not mopping the floor well enough, not cooking delicious food, not keeping the refrigerator door shut, wasting fuel, or not making enough money, or they may even berate us for no apparent reason at all. If we focus on the matter itself, we will see no end of it. For example, a family member of mine once exploded when I only cooked one dish in the morning. He slammed the door after he had berated me. Some fellow practitioners suggested that I cook more dishes. But that was not truly the issue. My family's finances were not that great. One dish was good enough to feed everyone. It all depended upon whether I was affected. I wasn’t, and I did what I had always done as usual and remained benevolent toward him. Things turned out okay.

I saw many practitioners arguing with their family members, trying to explain things. Some were upset, and some believed that they were interfered with by old forces. As a matter of fact, whether or not the problems arose from one’s own tribulations in cultivation or from interference by the old forces, all we need to do is to regard them as good opportunities for us to elevate our xinxing when they appear. As long as we are unaffected, we will be considered as having met the requirement.

Some practitioners have looked inward and have found many attachments, but their minds remained quite unsettled. This is not cultivation. If one’s heart is like a floating lily, no matter how many attachments one finds, it will not mean that one has cultivated. If one can be truly unaffected, then one will pass the test.

“When a tribulation arrives, if you, a disciple, can truly maintain an unshakable calm or be determined to meet different requirements at different levels, this should be sufficient for you to pass the test.” (“Expounding the Fa” from Essentials for Further Advancement)

2. Being unaffected should manifest in every aspect

In looking inward, we are to look for the attachments that we still have. With these attachments remaining in us, we are sure to be affected when things happen. Once they are all removed, then we will not be affected. For example, are we affected when we are faced with sentimentality, affection, friendship, or personal interests? When we are getting close to reaching consummation, are we truly calm and unmoved? Some practitioners say that they have hatred, sentimentality, or this and that attachment. This means that they are affected. Teacher said that only when one lets go of the attachment to sentimentality can one develop a heart of benevolence.

One will not be affected by anything in the ordinary people’s world when one reaches the Arhat fruit status. We are affected because our attachments have manifested. I enlightened to the fact that if we can remain unaffected when we are faced with anything, our xinxing will have met the requirement. When an attachment shows up, first we need to recognize it and then eliminate it. In the meantime, one needs to study the Fa more during cultivation. For example, if we have a problem somewhere, as long as we have the desire to improve and be focused when studying the Fa, the Fa will tell us where the problem is. Studying the Fa itself is a process of elevating, and it is the most important.

If we are truly unaffected and the tribulations persist, we should then look to see if a loophole of ours is being taken advantage of somewhere, if one is confused somewhere on the Fa principles, or if one’s notions are somewhere mistaken. One should examine oneself to see if one has problems somewhere. Teacher has taught us the Fa on this.

Above is my realization at my limited level. Please point out my deficiencies.

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