(Clearwisdom.net) I began Falun Dafa cultivation in 1996. Looking back on the path I have taken for the past several years, I am grateful for Teacher's compassionate protection. I always firmly believe in Dafa and Teacher. I know Teacher is always protecting me. "Firm belief in Dafa and Teacher" isn't just talk -- it is accomplished gradually through cultivation.
1. Believing in Teacher and Dafa One Hundred Percent
I learned to read "Zhuan Falun" by myself. From the very beginning I simply believed in Dafa and Teacher. Before I began Dafa cultivation, I had many illnesses, such as headache, neck pain, rheumatism, aching in my thighs and stomach, and other ailments. Sometime after I started cultivation, all these illnesses vanished all of a sudden. Through Dafa cultivation, I understand the principles of the Fa. I strictly follow the standards of a cultivator to guide my behavior. I have not taken a single pill or shot since learning Falun Dafa. Because of my cultivation, a large amount of medical expenses were saved for the government. My experience also made me realize that Dafa cultivation is truly extraordinary.
Every time I meet with my classmates from college, middle school, or elementary school, they all say to me, "You look the youngest of our class." I tell them proudly, "It is because I cultivate Falun Dafa. After I began Dafa cultivation, I became healthy and full of energy." I am older than sixty now, but my hair is pitch black. From the outward appearance, I look younger than people my age. My skin is delicate. I ride a bicycle as swiftly as the wind. When our classmates gathered together recently, I introduced Dafa to them and persuaded them to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its associated organizations. Six or seven of them have joined Dafa cultivation.
On July 20, 1999, the CCP started the persecution of Falun Dafa. The Ministry of Public Security announced that CCP members were prohibited from practicing Falun Gong. My area party committee sent four people to interrogate me. I told them with justice in my heart: "Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa. It teaches people to do good deeds and it is a great law of high virtue. Since I began learning Zhuan Falun, my view has changed a great deal. I have personally benefited from practicing it." The interrogation became my opportunity for clarifying the truth to them. I told them how I began Dafa cultivation and the great changes in me afterwards. "My realm has been raised. I used to only think of my own benefits. Now, I consider others first when I do things and I am no longer selfish. My cultivation of Dafa is to get rid of bad things and attachments. Dafa is so good, why not practice it?" Seeing me so firmly believing in Dafa, they notified the general secretary to make me withdraw from the party. I agreed and signed my name as Dafa practitioner so and so. The secretary told me that I couldn't sign my name this way. I said, "Whether it will do or not, I will just sign it this way. I am a Dafa practitioner, how can I lie? I cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I can only do it this way." They then suspended my retirement pension for one year. I didn't yield to their pressure. I will continue my Dafa cultivation to the end, even if they execute me. No one can shake my persistence in Dafa cultivation.
Later, I was illegally arrested and sent to the "Reform" Class of the Railroad Detention Center. The CCP dispatched teachers and principles to give a slanderous talk, in an attempt to convince Dafa practitioner to give up cultivation. As they were talking, I recited in my mind: "Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good." When they realized what they were doing wasn't working, they sent my family to see me. My family either cried or tried to force me give up my cultivation. But it didn't change my mind in the slightest. They told me that if I wrote a guarantee statement I'd be allowed to go home, otherwise the authorities would keep me there. All other practitioners had gone home except me. One day, a policeman, who was watching me from outside a window, asked me: "What's the matter with you? Others have all gone home." I told him I was as firm as ever. The policeman didn't say anything and left.
In September 2001, after I was detained at the detention center, I continued to memorize "Hong Yin" and Zhuan Falun, and do the Falun Gong exercises, even under such severe conditions. I refused to cooperate with the authorities. The practitioners who were detained at the detention center all realized that we couldn't listen to the evil and actively countered their persecution.
On September 17, 2001, I called the party secretary of the plant and clarified the truth to her. I told her: "I learned to be a good person. I am retired. Why do you keep my retirement pension? You are not doing the right thing and are being unreasonable. I will appeal. I benefited a great deal from practicing Dafa. I will continue to cultivate Dafa with a heart as solid as a rock." After hearing what I said, the party secretary became edgy. She came to my home the following day and said to me hypocritically, "Elder sister, if you think it is good to practice Dafa, just do it at home, but don't do it outside. I have a contract with Linghe Section. If I don't take care of this thing, I will be fired." She was afraid that I would go to Beijing to appeal (I had gone to appeal at Shengyang and Beijing before to appeal for justice for Falun Gong) and was afraid she might lose her job. I told her my personal experiences and how I benefited from Dafa. She said, "Elder sister, you have a good daughter, and your son-in-law is a good officer. You shouldn't do things to affect them." She seemed so amicable. But after she left, she went straight to the Linghe Police Branch Bureau to report me. Later when the police interrogated me, they asked me why I told the party secretary about Dafa.
That night three policemen came to arrest me and sent me to a detention center. I had only one thought: I am a Dafa practitioner and I will only listen to Teacher and follow everything arranged by Teacher. I thought to myself that there was much Dafa work I needed to do and that I had to get out of there. Fellow practitioners and I taught prisoners to do the exercises and taught them to read Hong Yin. We used scrap paper to write poems from Hong Yin for them. We sent forth righteous thoughts and didn't care about being watched. Prisoners said they would practice Dafa when they got out and wouldn't do bad things any longer. With my mind in the Fa and firmly believing in Teacher and Dafa, I was able to get out of the detention center after ten days and rejoined other practitioners to validate Dafa. No matter how vicious the situation was, our minds never wavered. We believed in Teacher and Dafa so totally that all the efforts being done by the evil became futile.
2. Follow Teacher's Teaching and Do the Three Things WellTeacher always told us in His lectures to do the three things well. Through constantly studying the Fa on how to do the three things, I had a clear understanding of this Fa principle. I was able to do the three things actively and seriously. The utmost important thing is to study the Fa well. I realize we have to study the Fa with a quiet mind and read the book systematically, instead of skipping over anything. When we study the Fa with a pure heart, we will ascend very quickly and understand more. When we study the Fa well our minds will be filled with Fa; we will know what to do and do it well.
I have only one daughter. My son-in-law is a party cadre leader and stations out of town. My daughter and grandson live with me. Many household duties, like shopping for food, cooking, and other things fall on my shoulders. What can I do? I can only squeeze time to study the Fa every minute and every second I have. I cannot afford to waste any time. I use an MP3 to listen to Teacher's lectures from Zhuan Falun. I carry it with me all the time and listen to lectures every free moment. I wrote out Hong Yin on a large piece of paper and placed it in the middle of the room so that I can memorize it when I do house work. I am able to utilize every moment. I started memorizing Zhuan Falun at night and had a breakthrough from feeling sleepy when studying the Fa at night. I basically sleep only two to three hours each night, and the rest of the time I either study or listen to the Fa. I thus have enough time for Fa study. Even when I sleep very little, I do not feel sleepy. It is truly like the state of mind of a divine being.
Let me mention our group study. We are following Teacher's guidance as we formed a small group of five to six people to study the Fa. It was a bit difficult at the beginning. We had five people over fifty years old and one young person. Some practitioners gave up on group study after July 20, 1999, when the CCP started the persecution of Dafa. Later, they came out with help from fellow practitioners. Since they studied the Fa very little, several of them were afraid they might hold up others and wanted to leave the group. When we study the Fa together we realize that Teacher wants us to improve and advance as a whole and we should help those practitioners who are falling behind. There is a seventy-year-old practitioner who lives pretty far from our study site. Her husband didn't want her to join us to study the Fa and she couldn't read on her own. But she has a very strong desire to study the Fa, so much so that she walks to the group study site. Her spirit has moved us greatly. We have all realized that we need to study the Fa as a group. Everyone needs to establish his or her mighty virtue. Dafa practitioners need to get rid of their selfishness. We are cultivators and are extraordinary. We need to advance together. Each particle needs to advance. It is marvelous to be part of a large body made up of several small particles advancing as a whole.
After studying the Fa together, we have arrived at a common understanding. We began to do group exercises diligently. Our improvement is displayed in our helping each other. Those practitioners who couldn't read before, can now read Zhuan Falun fluently and understand the meaning. We have advanced as a whole. Every morning from 8:30 to 11:30 we study Zhuan Falun, and every Tuesday and Thursday evenings we study Teacher's new articles, starting from articles issued this year. We have studied Teacher's new articles from this year more than once and some articles many times. Through Fa study, every one has improved to gain a better understanding of Fa principles and is able to clarify the truth more diligently. We study the Fa in the morning and go to various locations like prisons, reformatories, and hospitals to send forth righteous thoughts in the afternoon. Our righteous thoughts shock the persecutors and we have formed a strong whole body. We also write letters and distribute pamphlets and booklets. We clarify the truth face-to-face and persuade people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its associated organizations. Everyone in our group now has kept up with the Fa rectification process.
The second thing is sending forth righteous thoughts. Teacher said in "Teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Fa Conference,"
"Another thing is that from now on at group practice or when there's another big conference like this one of ours, our students can quiet their minds for five minutes, sitting with their hands in Jieyin and thinking about eliminating the bad thoughts, karma, bad notions, and external interference in their minds. As you're like this, think that they die, and then they will be eliminated. Five minutes will do. When we get together for group practice, think about eliminating the evil in the Three Realms, while holding one hand vertically (li-zhang) in front of the chest, and just think with True Thoughts for five minutes--this should do it."
Teacher has taught us how to eliminate bad thoughts and thought karma. Because the old forces have their own intricate arrangements planted in our bodies and minds, we must totally negate the old forces and follow Teacher so that our power will be great. During the persecution, we apply the Fa's mighty power given by Teacher and send forth righteous thoughts so that we can avoid crisis and persecution. We now study the Fa until 10:00 at night and then send forth righteous thoughts. We act as a group to rescue fellow practitioners.
The third thing is to clarify the truth. Teacher said in "Teaching the Fa at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America,"
"You've done very well in clarifying the truth to the people of the world. At the same time, I can tell you that this is also magnificent and merciful. It looks like we're giving a flyer to an everyday person, and it appears that we're telling everyday people what the truth is. Let me tell you, when this Fa-rectification matter is over, humankind will enter the next stage, and those people and beings who in their minds think that the Great Fa of the cosmos isn't good will be the first weeded out. It's because no matter how bad some beings in the cosmos are, they are even worse, for what they're against is the Fa of the cosmos."
We must cultivate ourselves and study the Fa well to be able to save sentient beings, clarify the truth, and urge people to quit the CCP and its associated organizations. Everyone should use every available means and opportunity to do it.
We need to clarify the truth to our families. My son-in-law is a cadre in the army and was deeply poisoned by the CCP. I thus used my personal experience, my good health through Dafa cultivation, and my behavior to show the goodness of Dafa. My son-in-law's family live in the countryside and is poor. His parents are not in good health either. When my daughter was getting married we didn't ask them to pay for the wedding. My daughter is also practicing Dafa and my son-in-law does not oppose it. He once said, "My father-in-law is just like my own parent." When he didn't agree with us on distributing truth-clarifying material and wasn't too happy about it, I told him repeatedly that what we were doing was to save people. Now, when he sees a pamphlet lying on the floor he will pick it up and read it. When his family came to visit us, we entertained them enthusiastically. I also played a truth-clarifying CD for them so that they could be saved.
Our neighbors see our righteousness and good health, so that when we tell them to quit the CCP, some of them have quit and some have started Dafa cultivation. After learning the truth, our neighbors often help us. When police came to harass us, they told them that we weren't home.
When I meet with my classmates from elementary school, middle school, or college, I clarify the truth to them. Now I persuade them to quit the CCP. Some have withdrawn. I am still trying to convince some of them to quit and I am not discouraged. I have decided to continue to do my best. When I go to the market or shopping, I clarify the truth whenever there is an opportunity. I do it every day and have never slackened. Teacher gave me a hint the other night in a dream. Teacher and my brother appeared as glittering golden Buddhas. Teacher said to me in the dream: "Your brother needs to obtain the Fa." I thus made long distance calls to him. After calling him three times, he came home. My parents and I clarified the truth to him and he has begun Dafa practice as well as withdrawn from the CCP. He took a copy of Zhuan Falun and an exercise tape with him when he left. I once dreamed about a large "Fa Boat" made of transparent glass. Many people were in it. Some were hurrying trying to get on it and some were not boarding. The boat seemed to be waiting for others to board the boat.
This is my own understanding. I am still far from reaching Teacher's requirements, but I have confidence that I will rectify myself in the Fa. I will practice persistently and diligently. I want Teacher to rest assured that I will do my best and fulfill my grand wish and historic mission. I thank Teacher for his compassionate protection.
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