FRANK X.

Revered and merciful Master, fellow practitioners,

I am honored to have this opportunity to share with fellow practitioners about my experience in cultivation of the past year. Time flies and it has been one whole year since we last had this conference. My sharing has four parts: 1. Learn from fellow practitioners and cultivate the heart, 2. Miracles in cultivation, 3. “Tis Dafa that resolves everything at the source”, and 4. Validating the Fa in ordinary people’s job.

1. Learn from fellow practitioners and cultivate the heart

No negative thoughts

Last year, five Shen Yun shows was scheduled in Atlanta initially, and then a sixth show was added later. Before the addition, there was a discussion among some practitioners as to whether we should add another show. Some including myself thought we should, but others including the coordinator felt more reserved, intending to postpone the decision to a later date. After the meeting, I developed some negative thoughts about the coordinator, thinking that he was caring more about himself, his reputation, occupancy rates, etc. and not putting saving more sentient beings as top priority. I did realize that this was a test for our whole group, because our arguments and gridlock in decision-making in previous years were all caused by our attachments to our own methods and opinion and not yielding to that of others. I did not continue to express my opinion, but the feeling of uneasy, helpless, and grievances lingered for quite some time, feeling difficult to heal. Later, a fellow practitioner had a conversation and exchange with me in private, she also felt that it was necessary to add another show, but she felt that no matter how we disagreed with each other, at present, we must support the coordinator wholeheartedly, we just have to continue to communicate and discuss with much patience. Whether or not we add another show is not important, what is more important is that we cooperate to save sentient beings and form a whole body. Her words shook me, and I realized my gap. I felt ashamed of my having those negative and bad thoughts toward other practitioners. I accepted her suggestion without hesitation, and sent forth righteous thoughts sincerely to maintain our ticket sales of 100-200 per day, to ease the concern of those who disagreed with adding another show. Of course, we all know the outcome, the decision to add another show was made smoothly and naturally by the coordinator, and our SY for 2017 was an unprecedented success.

No complaints

In March, after a large group study session, many practitioners left right after Fa study or soon after Fa study, before participating in the group discussion and sharing. I was disappointed in seeing that and chatted with some practitioners, complaining about those who left as being selfish, only wanting to gain in cultivation for the self, without contributing to the group environment. I even had some negative thoughts that it would be “hard” for those practitioners to reach consummation. Later, I talked to my wife, another practitioner about this and hoped that she would agree with me. To my surprise, she never had such a thought and never even thought this way. Instead, she said to me that they left early probably because they had personal or specific difficulty. Her answer surprised me, I realized I did not have enough compassion toward others and was not tolerant enough. I looked down upon people and failed to think of others first and I am far away from the state of being selflessness. I felt embarrassed of myself and decided to change my view and get rid of the notion of looking down on others, and learn to try to think of others from their perspective. Later, in a small group sharing, discussing the group study and discussion issues, I suggested that we all look within and never complain about or resent other practitioners. To my pleasant surprise, other practitioners had similar ideas and thoughts. I am very happy that we as a whole body have made progress in cultivation and elevated ourselves. After those thoughts of complaints and resentment were removed, I found that no matter how many people stayed after group study and participated in discussion, I could always join the discussion and listen to others with a calm and peaceful mind. In fact, I believe our overall cultivation must have improved, since from what we can see now, more and more practitioners stayed over after Fa study to join the discussion, and our discussions have become more open and candid in nature, it seems to me.

No pursuit of fame and profit

A while ago, fellow practitioners pointed out to me that I had the attachment to fame and profit; I accepted it and said I wanted to get rid of it completely. Gradually, I felt I did get rid of some of them. Then in February of this year, at an academic conference, I found my attachment to fame and profit still quite strong, and it is buried very deeply.

This is the story. In February, I went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to attend the annual conference of Southeast Case Research Association, and submitted my case paper for presentation at the conference. There was a Best Paper Award that was to be given at the conference and I noticed it when I submitted the paper. I knew if I submitted my paper by the deadline in November, my paper would be qualified for consideration for the award. So I submitted it by the deadline. I was using Dafa as a disguise, saying to myself that it would be not bad if my paper won the award, because the case was based on a management-consulting project that I did with a Malaysian company in 2015, where I introduced the Fa to company employees and clarified truth. Therefore, if the paper won the award, it would be nice for validating the Fa, and if it did not, that is okay too as practitioners should care less about fame and profits.

At the conference in February of this year, at the award banquet, just when the host was about to announce the winner of the award, I suddenly found my heart started pounding very fast and heavy! It is beating so fast and heavy that I felt the blood is rushing to my head! Realizing that this is due to my human attachment, attachments to fame and profit, and attachment to winning the award, I found myself so silly and funny. I thought I had let go much of my attachments to fame and profits, but I did not, and it was not done thoroughly, it is still deeply buried in the bottom of my heart. I thank Master for giving me the chance to look at myself to find those deeply rooted attachments.

2. Miraculous story in cultivation

In the evening of February 1, 2017, I was on my way home after classes. I had some editorial work to do that night and I needed to ensure that all the works done in time so the layout group could work on them the next day, and we planned to leave and go to Montgomery, Alabama to report on Shen Yun performance the following day. At about 10 pm, my 12-year-old car suddenly went completely dark inside, with no lights at all on the dashboard. However, the car was still running, so I felt very strange and not knowing what happened. I had a GPS on the car, which has its own battery so I could still tell the speed and directions of the movement. Fortunately, it was close to suburban area and there were streetlights, so I kept driving on the road. At this time, someone behind me kept blinking at me in an effort to remind me that my lights were out. I waved at him to thank him. When I tried to turn on the emergency blinking lights, nothing happened, as there was no electricity in the entire system. Strangely enough, the car was still running and there were no signs of slowing down from my cruising speed. My thinking at that moment was, if I parked the car by the curbside, as there was no emergency lights, it would be a danger to the vehicles passing by. May be I should just keep driving and stop when I had to. What’s more, I already arranged with other practitioner to go to Alabama the next morning, so I must get home at night.

After a while, electricity in the car suddenly returned, as if nothing happened and everything was normal. I continued driving and I was then about 20 minutes away from home. But after a few minutes, the power was completely lost again and everything on the dashboard went dark again. The power went off and came back on and it repeated a few times. The last time it went dark was when I finally got home and just parked the car. This time, it was completely dark and the engine shut off as well, all quiet and silent. The good news was I just got home.

I went on to finish my editorial work at home and when it was all finished, it was very late at night. I remembered the car problem and tried to restart the car. But there was no light nor electricity in the vehicle and it seemed both the battery and the starter were completely dead. Next morning, I called the fellow practitioner and said that I would try to start the car again, if it works, you can go to the shop to pick me up; and if it does not, please come to my home to pick me up. I then tried to star the car, and it started! I drove it to the repair shop and stopped at the lane. Shop personnel signaled me to turn off the engine; I was afraid to but followed their instruction anyway. I went inside and talked to a service manager about it, he tried to start the engine but it did not work, so they had to tow it to the garage. Later the shop told me the generator failed and that caused the battery to fail as well. I told them of what happened the night before and asked them why the power was lost and then came back. He said that if the battery is weak, it may regain power after some time; but if the generator is dead, it is dead completely and unable to recover by itself. I then asked him how come the power went off and back on and it took place a few times and the car completely stopped working upon arriving home; and then worked again and stopped working completely upon arriving at the shop? He kept shaking his head and felt that it was quite inconceivable. He said he had never seen anything like that and he could not give an explanation.

Later, I asked a few experts on automotive works and they could not explain what happened either. Shen Yun reporting was done well in Alabama, and when I returned, the car was repaired and back to normal, nothing important was affected.

3. “‘Tis Dafa that resolves everything at the source”

I serve on the Judicial Procedure Advisory Board of the Faculty Assembly in my school. The purpose of the Board was to serve as advisors to students when they have issues with their professors and wanted to complain or appeal. We are supposed to give them guidance on judicial procedures and let them know their rights and how to exercise those rights. As board member, we do not participate in the appeal and ruling process, and cannot side with either the student or the faculty, but only serve to uphold the legitimacy and fairness of the appeal process. In spring semester of this year, I was appointed advisor for CJ, a senior who is appealing to the university because he felt that some professors were treating him unfairly. I listened to his story and arguments and gave him the guidance according to the procedure, yet I still found him full of anger and the sense of being wronged badly. I knew it was no coincidence that he met with a Dafa practitioner; he must have come for the Fa. Therefore, I made an appointment to meet with him again, and in the meeting, we discussed and went over some spiritual issues beyond his complaints.

During those discussions, I introduced him to Dafa, clarified the truth about Dafa, and shared with him some of the wonders happening in Dafa cultivation. I also shared with him how we practitioners would react had we come across unfair treatments in society and what we as cultivation practitioners would do when people treated us unfairly, and the necessity of following Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance.

I soon found that CJ was a person with deep spiritual belief, and he even had some supernormal capabilities. When he was a kid, his celestial eye opened once, and he saw some mystic scenes in the sky day and night, but nobody could understand or explain it. In another instance, he saw a dog rushing toward a group of people including him, and the dog was barking feverishly toward one person in the group and even trying hard to jump over that person. Everyone was shocked and nobody understood why. CJ told me that, at that moment, his brain and consciousness suddenly opened, and he saw the reason behind. It was because the person did something terrible to the life of that dog in previous life and, in this life, the dog is seeking revenge.

CJ was shocked to see the scene that was revealed to him, and he started to understand past life, reincarnation, and retribution. Even though he was stunned at what he saw, but living in a society with Christian belief, when he told others about these, no one believed nor understood him. He was very happy to tell me that, finally he found someone who can understand him and believe him, and the Dafa that explains the supernormal phenomena that he came across.

I suggested that he study the Fa and become a practitioner. He has now started to study the Fa and we have discussed many issues and topics. After Fa study, he became more calm and peaceful, and eventually he decided to forgive everyone and understand everyone involved, and withdraw his appeals. I was very happy for him, and grateful to the mighty power of the Fa and compassion, which resolved resentments in the human world. It is just like what Master said in Hong Yin II that,

“Undoing the Disaster

Countless are the chaotic things in this human world
Gratitude and resentment now heaped atop one another,
No hope had the wicked of heart, their karma massive
‘Tis Dafa that resolves everything at the source."

(February 22, 2001)

Finally, after 4 months of tedious and tiring struggle and brawl, CJ escaped from that, solved the puzzle in his mind, and was able to focus on his schoolwork. He is the executive director of a local, non-profit organization. We have reached an agreement that we will soon hold a seminar in his group and introduce Dafa and exercises to their members.

4. Validating the Fa in ordinary people’s job

Last year, I offered a short course to introduce Dafa cultivation to the Academy for Lifelong Learning in my university. The course started in September of 2016 and attracted about 30 people, including former chancellor of our university, professor, Savannah River Site (SRS) engineer, banker, Yoga enthusiast, and homemakers. About half of them completed the course and learned all five sets of exercises, and accepting a dozen English edition of Zhuan Falun. After the course was finished, the coordinator told me that the feedbacks from the students were great, and they wished to continue the course the year after. Naturally, I welcomed that and accepted that, and I will teach the same course again in September 2017.

Beyond courses with the Academy of Lifelong Learning, in January of 2017, thanks to the great help of Master, a new opportunity emerged. There is a program in my school called Honors Program, which is designed to offer academically talented, highly motivated students opportunities for enriched learning experiences both in and outside the classroom. Honors students participate in a unique learning community that enjoys small classes and independent study under the direction of USC Aiken's teacher-scholars in a program that cultivates critical thinking, analysis and creative expression.

USC Aiken's Honors Course was established in 1991 and expanded in 2005. Honors education ignites passion for lifelong learning and encourages student creativity, collaboration, and leadership in the classroom and beyond. It is characterized by in-class and extracurricular activities that are measurably broader, deeper, or more complex than comparable learning experiences typically found at institutions of higher education. Our Honors curriculum was part of National Collegiate Honors Council that was founded in 1966 and including nearly 900 member institutions and several hundred individual members, impacting over 330,000 honors students.

I submitted an application to offer an Honors Course on introducing Falun Dafa cultivation, but the Honors Program Committee did not approve it right away. They felt that the course contents were good but asked for additional requirements, such as testing and evaluating in the syllabus, to examine the effectiveness of student learning. Dafa cultivation is voluntary and there should be no rigid requirement nor tests and examinations, so how could I add tests and exams in the syllabus? I felt it a little challenging and difficult to do, and thought about that for several days. Then one day, after Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts, an idea emerged. From the Fa we know that in the future, humanity will all learn and study Dafa and Dafa cultivation will be part of the curriculum in all education. So for people of the future, when they study the Fa and learn the exercises, there should be tests and exams as well right? I was thinking, and this was enlightened to me by Master, that I could use the sitting meditation time as a “test”, and make writing a cultivation experience sharing paper as a “thesis” for their exam, then I would be able to meet the requirements of the committee. Right, that is exactly what I am going to do!

I then listed in my syllabus the duration of doing the 2nd exercise and 5th exercise as a benchmark, with 100 pts for holding arms 30 minutes and sitting in meditation for 60 minutes, and, if the students can’t do that, it is still passable but with some reductions in the overall grades. In the end of the course, every student is required to write an experience sharing paper and everyone will share his or her experience during the experience sharing mini-conference at the end of the semester. As long as one shares, one can “pass the exam”. After I added “testing and evaluation” in the syllabus, the Committee was very pleased and approved it right away. HONS 201, an honors course with one credit hour entitled “An Introduction to Falun Dafa Cultivation” is now included in the academic bulletin and the course will start in fall, 2017. Deep in my heart, I am again genuinely grateful to Master for His immense, benevolent compassion and support of disciples. This is just like what Master said, “When disciples have ample righteous thoughts, Master has the power to turn back the tide.” (“The Master-Disciple Bond”, Hong Yin, Volume II)

Please kindly point out any inappropriateness in my sharing.

Thank you Master, thank you fellow practitioners.