(Clearwisdom.net)
1. Coming Across Dafa When Life Was Difficult
I am a middle-aged woman from Lanzhou City, Gansu Province. Before I began my cultivation of Falun Gong, I was plagued by numerous illnesses, including stomach problems, migraine, sinusitis, and nephritis. On top of that, I had to endure pressure from my mother-in-law and three sisters-in-law.
In order to escape my suffering, I once looked into Christianity and even bought some books, but my mother and grandmother kept me from practicing it. Later, I wanted to become Buddhist a nun but couldn't find a good temple. Then I thought I would just be a lay Buddhist, but the few people I talked to didn't have time to help me convert to Buddhism.
I met a woman by chance on August 17, 2003. When I asked her to help me convert to Buddhism, she asked me to learn Falun Gong instead. The third night, on August 19, she found me a transcribed copy of Zhuan Falun and I have never since put the book down. When I finished reading it for the first time, I thought it was so great, because every sentence was about teaching people how to be good and every word touched my heart. The many questions I had about life were all answered and all of my past grudges were gone. When I came across the second line on page 16 while reading the book again, a golden character about the size of a grain of rice suddenly popped up. I was utterly amazed and couldn't believe the book contained a golden character!
I came to enlighten more the third time that I read it. I knew all that I was looking for my entire life was in the book, and I felt content and at ease. My illnesses gradually disappeared without any trace. My life had a purpose and I embarked on my journey to return to my true self.
One day my mother came to visit me, so I thought I'd read such a great book to her, but suddenly there was a blackout. I then lit a candle to see the book. When I turned to page 64, every word of the sub-title "Beyond the Five Elements, and Leaving the Three Realms" became very big and shone brightly. Surprised, I asked my mother to take a look, but she couldn't see anything. I double checked four more times, but still I was the only one who could see the words beaming. I suddenly realized that Master was offering encouragement to me, a new disciple. Master was showing me the wonders of Dafa. In the seven years that followed, every time I encountered difficulty, I remembered what Master said in Zhuan Falun,
"And that's really how it is. When you go back you might want to give it a try. When you're going through an awful tribulation, or maybe a critical juncture, give it a try. When it's hard to endure, try to endure it. When it seems impossible to do, or just hard to do, give it a try and see just what you can do. And when you can really do it, just like that worn and weary traveler, you'll see, 'the shade of willows, the blooms of flowers, a place to rest my head'!" (The Ninth Talk, Zhuan Falun, 2003 translation version)
No matter what tribulations I faced, I overcame them with Master's Fa in mind. Words cannot describe my gratitude towards Master for saving me. I can only follow Master to cultivate more diligently and help save more sentient beings.
2. Saving Sentient Beings with True Thoughts
When I clarified the facts to a colleague early this year, he was very unhappy and said many bad things, to which I didn't pay much attention. Then one day in May, I noticed he didn't look too good, so I asked him what was wrong. He said, "I'm sick. I couldn't fall asleep for several nights in a row." I replied, "You're only 42. You should go to a good hospital to have a check up." He sighed, "Where can I find money for medical care? I make only 620 yuan a month and I have to support my mother and son. My wife divorced me. It's hard to make a living nowadays. I'm taking life one day at a time." When he came to work on the morning of June 23, his face was dark and he had to squat down. Seeing him in so much pain, I went over to him, saying, "I suggest you recite Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is good." He was doubtful, but I encouraged him to give it a try, saying, "Dafa is here to save people. As long as you are sincere, you can avoid calamities. Now Heaven is set to eliminate the Chinese Communist Party and only by quitting it can you be saved."
He was eager to withdraw from the CCP's Youth League and Young Pioneers. The second morning he told me, "It really works! Last night when I felt pain again, I recited the words you told me and soon fell asleep." I gave him a DVD of the Shen Yun Performing Arts a few days later. After viewing it he told me, "No more than 20 minutes into the DVD, a scent came out of nowhere and I couldn't find the source of it anywhere in the house. I figured it must be from the TV screen on which the show was playing. I couldn't help but inhale the scent, and my pain went away afterward." I later gave him another DVD titled "We Tell the Future." He told me after watching it, "It's so great. I watched it the entire night and everything in it is true. The CCP has been deceiving people all these years. I also shared the DVD with my siblings and their children. They all watched it." I felt so happy that his whole family was saved.
I went from being afraid of clarifying the facts to people to talking to everyone face-to-face, and from covering just with family members to including friends and even strangers. Now, every time I meet someone, I think about how to clarify the facts to him or her. So many sentient beings are still mired in their everyday lives but the knowing sides of them are waiting to be saved.
3. Becoming a Little Flower Blossoming in Dafa
I obtained the Fa relatively late and was not well educated. My understanding of the Fa is shallow, but I strive to do my best to whatever I enlighten to or Master hints for me to do. When I noticed that Master instructed us to set up small truth-clarification materials production sites everywhere in China, I wanted to do it as well. However, I led a very difficult life. My husband died in a car accident on August 31, 1999, and I lost my job the next year. I had to do odd jobs to support myself and my two school-aged children. With only 300 yuan every month to cover school expenses, rent, utilities and food, I could barely make ends meet. I then decided to pick up and recycle plastic bottles. The first month I did this, I made 30 yuan. I figured I could spare 20 yuan from my living expenses, plus the 30 yuan from recycling plastic bottles, to use on making truth-clarification materials.
Compassionate Master saw this thought of mine and arranged for a fellow practitioner to come to my place to install the New Tang Dynasty TV. I mentioned my desire to set up a truth-clarification materials site at my house, and he said he'd help with the technical part. But I didn't have money to buy a computer, so I turned to my mother for help. She was hesitant at first. "You can't even put the food on the table sometimes," she said. I told her, "I was a pill popper in the past, but Dafa made me illness free. How can I just take advantage of Dafa without giving back when Master and Dafa are being slandered and people are being deceived?" She was moved and gave me 5,000 yuan, which I used to buy a computer and a printer. But the Internet fee of 128 yuan per month was too much for me. Then Master arranged for the Internet provider to lower the monthly fee to 40 yuan. Thus, with Master's arrangements and care, a material production site was set up in my house. The above-mentioned fellow practitioner taught me how to download, print, and burn the CD truth-clarification materials. My financial situation didn't allow me to buy ink cartridges and copy paper all the time. After learning of my difficulty, my local practitioners began to supply these consumables or even give me cash so I that could operate my family-based material production site without interruption.
Recalling my cultivation experiences, it is truly that Master scooped me up from hell, purified my body, and arranged my path to return home. Without Master I couldn't have come this far. I really know that Master has arranged everything and the rest of our cultivation depends on how we position our hearts. As long as we have firm belief in Dafa, Dafa can do everything and anything for us.
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