(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa with my parents in 1998 when I was seven years old. They became free of ailments soon after they began to cultivate and truly experienced Dafa’s beauty.
On July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin, the then-leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), launched the persecution of Falun Dafa. My parents were harassed and repeatedly persecuted by the CCP because they refused to give up their belief. Our family had no choice but to leave our hometown and began a life of forced displacement in 2004. I had just started my freshman year of high school.
One day, a question suddenly occurred to me. Master Li Hongzhi (Dafa’s founder) had always told us to look inward, cultivate ourselves, and remain unmoved in any conflict or situation. I looked at Master’s portrait and asked in my heart, “Master, what does it mean to be unmoved? What state of mind is that?”
I didn’t expect our benevolent Master would allow me to experience what it was like to be truly “unmoved” in a dream that very night. In the dream, my parents accused me of something, and their expressions were so fierce that, normally, I would not have been able to put up with it and would have defended myself.
But my heart was unmoved, and I did not harbor any resentment. I was extraordinarily calm and peaceful; it was as if those accusations and insults had nothing to do with me. However, I knew very well I was unable to achieve that state in real life.
When I woke up, I still remembered that wonderful feeling of being calm, peaceful, and unmoved—something I had never experienced before. I could not find the words to describe it. I was truly grateful to Master!
Two Stories of Practicing Tolerance
When I first began to cultivate, I kept telling myself that I must be able to tolerate, or at least I must learn to hold my tongue even if I was angry or resentful. I slowly became accustomed to keeping my heart unmoved and often reminded myself to remember Master’s words:
“Don’t argue when people argue with youCultivation is looking within for the causeWanting to explain just feeds the attachmentBreadth of mind, unattached, brings true insight”(“Don’t Argue,” Hong Yin III)
I had a quarrel with my father, and as soon as I remembered I was a practitioner, I held my tongue. I then looked inward and gradually calmed down. But my father was still angry and didn’t want to talk to me.
I looked inward and realized I reacted the same way when I had conflicts and argued with others. I did not look inward, which was awful. I was instantly awakened and told myself, “I thought I was treated unfairly and believed I was right. I really shouldn’t have done that.” It felt great to raise my xinxing when I looked inward and cultivated myself.
We lived in a rented apartment and, for safety reasons, we had to be careful with everything. My father was concerned about how bright our computer screens were when it was dark outside, fearing people across the courtyard would see us.
It was overcast one day and we were on our computers. My father dimmed his screen. He saw my screen was still at normal brightness and got upset. He told me to dim it. If this had happened in the past, I would have argued with him. But I held my tongue and asked myself, “Why can’t you tolerate it? Why can’t you cultivate yourself? This time you must remain unmoved!”
As it turned out, I was indeed unmoved, and my state of mind was calm and peaceful. The wonderful feeling of improving my xinxing was beautiful and soothing. I have no words to describe it! I realized my biggest enemy was myself when I couldn’t tolerate or get over something!
I shared with my father the wonderful feeling of xinxing improvement. He said, “I have practiced tolerance in similar situations, but I’ve never experienced the feeling you’re talking about!”
I replied, “Perhaps you were tolerating on the surface without doing it from the bottom of your heart. So, deep down, you didn’t tolerate it, right? That would be why you couldn’t experience the feeling.” He nodded.
Master said,
“Forbearance is the key to improving one’s xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator. ” (“What is Forbearance (Ren)?” Essentials for Further Advancement)
Thank you, Master, for your merciful salvation!
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