(Clearwisdom.net) I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude towards Master. I began practicing in 1997 and I have subsequently gained much wisdom. Although I only have two years of elementary school education, I was able to improve from being illiterate to being able to use a computer for preparing truth-clarification materials, including DVDs. I would like to share how I began to practice, studied the Fa, introduced the Fa to other people, and brought back practitioners to form one body to save more sentient beings.
1. When I Began Cultivating, My Body Was Purified
A good friend of mine recommended Dafa to me in September 1997. I thus bought Zhuan Falun and other Dafa books. After reading the books, I began cultivating, and disciplined myself in order to become a better person. In the beginning, I had difficulty sitting even in the half-lotus position, with one leg crossed, for meditation. After about a month, and when I saw that many elderly practitioners were able to cross both of their legs in the full lotus position, I became determined and forcibly pulled up my legs. It was very painful and felt as if my legs were breaking. So I began to recite Master's words from Zhuan Falun, “When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.” Soon afterward, I felt the circulation in my feet, as if a compressor was beneath my feet and was pumping air out of my body.
One month after I had began practicing, Master helped me to purify my body, and all my previous illnesses appeared again, from a toothache and fever, to having pain in my bones throughout my body. Later, I was bleeding from my nose, mouth, and skin. I knew it was karma elimination, and I was not afraid. I continued doing the five sets of exercises and everything returned to normal by the fifth day.
I knew that Master had eliminated much karma for me and suffered for me tremendously. I previously had heart disease, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, and kidney stones. Although I was only in my 40s, these illnesses bothered me and my face even looked purplish. All of these illnesses have since disappeared and even my hepatitis changed from positive to negative. This is miraculous, as I don't know of any medicine that can change hepatitis B from positive to negative. I am already in my 60s and my health is much better now than before I started to practice. Many people have said that I look energetic, as if I am still in my 40s.
From September 1997 to April 1999, I did the exercises for two hours in the morning and studied the Fa each day in the afternoon. I also went out on Sunday to introduce Falun Gong to more people. I posted Falun Gong information in areas with big crowds and demonstrated the exercises along with other practitioners. We taught the exercises to whomever came by and showed interest. I also collected some videotapes showing the popularity of Falun Gong in Changchun, Dalian, Shenyang, Beijing, and Shenyang, and asked the county TV station to play them over the course of six evenings. More and more people learned about Falun Gong and more than two hundred people practiced at my group exercise site.
2. The Persecution
When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999, many practitioners were confused about what to do, but we knew that there was nothing wrong with following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
During the years 2000 to 2001, we had no access to Master’s articles, and all we heard was the CCP's defaming propaganda. In late 2001, a practitioner from another area came by and told us about the things they were doing to validate the Fa. He also brought us some truth-clarification fliers and new articles from Master. We were very happy and distributed photocopies of the fliers in five cities, where the persecution of Falun Gong was the worst. We didn't think much about it and simply hoped that people would wake up from being poisoned by the CCP’s media propaganda.
3. Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions
After Master published the poem “Hurry Up And Tell Them” in August 2002, we began telling more people in my county the facts about Falun Gong. Two practitioners were reported to the police, and officers found truth-clarification materials during a search. When the officers asked them where the materials came from, at first the two practitioners did not answer. But after they were tortured, they told them that I had given them the materials. The police arrested me that evening, and held me in a local detention center.
Police officers from the Political Security Division interrogated me many times and deprived me of sleep. I told them they were persecuting innocent, good people and their bad deeds would cause retribution. These agents told officials at my workplace that they were unable to "transform" me, as I in turn tried to introduce Falun Gong to them. Officials at my workplace knew that I was a good person and posted bail for me within several days.
Following orders from above, people at my workplace established a team that attempted to "transform" me, so that I would give up my practice. My coworkers knew that after I began to practice Falun Gong, my health improved, which saved my employer lots of money. They also knew that I was always considerate of others. The police later decided to send me to a forced labor camp for one year. I asked Master to help me to avoid being persecuted by the old forces. In the end, the labor camp officials decided to restrict me to activities outside the labor camp instead of detaining me there.
4. Bringing Practitioners Back to Dafa
Many practitioners had fear when the persecution began. I found several such practitioners as well as some who had not yet stepped forward, and formed a Fa-study group in my home. Several of us went out together to clarify the truth and ask people to quit the CCP. We had seven practitioners in the beginning and five joined us later on.
As I helped practitioners, I truly came to understand the importance of being patient. This was true whether I was introducing Dafa to people or bringing practitioners back onto the right path. Master said,
“If in the end the person is not able to complete his cultivation, then there will be nothing, and there will not be a cosmic body for him in the future, nor will there be a place for him; all that he had represented will cease to exist, and he will be exactly like an ordinary person.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of the Minghui Website’s Founding”)
I then understood that an everyday person, who knows the truth, will be able to practice when the Fa rectifies the human world. But if a practitioner does not do well during this period of time, he or she will have no more opportunities to practice.
In 2006, an older practitioner suddenly took up a religion. Because her son was facing a promotion in the army, the officials said that if his mother continued Falun Gong practice, not only would his promotion be canceled, but he could be dismissed from service. As a result, the practitioner's entire family was pressuring her to give up Falun Gong. In her home was a picture of Mao, which was about one meter wide. I knew it was the evil specter that was controlling them, and I went to her home three times. But she didn't agree to remove the picture. In addition, she no longer interacted with other practitioners. She remained with that religion for about two years, and one day she broke her leg on the way to a temple. She also developed diabetes. When I went to visit her the fourth time, her family finally agreed to remove Mao's picture. I also helped her daughter and husband to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. I gave her Master's new lectures to read, and I studied the Fa, did the exercises, and clarified the truth with her. She resumed her practice about three years ago and her daughter also began to practice. Although this practitioner is over 70 years old, she often distributed truth-clarifying materials to people and sometimes had to walk several hours in the evening. She studies three to five lectures of the Fa every day and also tells others face-to-face the facts about Dafa.
5. Forming One Body
During discussions, we often shared our understanding on doing the three things. On the eve of the Chinese New Year and the next evening, a practitioner went to the residential area for police and county officials and distributed truth-clarification materials. As soon as she put up materials on a door, streams of golden light immediately emitted between her fingers. She was very surprised by that. When she was about to leave and looked back, the materials were still shining with golden light. She said that this phenomena appeared several times, always at times when she let go of herself and was anxious to save sentient beings. She realized that Master was encouraging her this way. Later, other practitioners also saw materials shining with light. I usually prepared materials at home, while other practitioners went out to distribute them or clarify the truth face-to-face.
Many people in the mountainous areas like to keep dogs, which caused some inconvenience for us in distributing materials. One practitioner said that she wasn't afraid of dogs barking. Instead, she often whispered to the dog softly, “I am here to save your owner. Please work with me so that both you and your owner can be saved.” The dog then stopped barking. When she moved from one house to the next, a dog jumped in front of her and arrived in advance, as if it had discussed this with the other dog. The other dog also didn't bark. This happened several times. When she left the village, the dogs followed her as if bidding her farewell, and she told them to go back. Three of them left, but the first dog still stayed and this practitioner said to him, “Thank you very much for your help. I have to visit some villages now.” The dog then left. Master said,
“Thus, lives of higher planes have reincarnated as animals and even plants. Many of the lives here at this human place are not simple, they are no ordinary beings.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa”)
There is an 81-year-old lady who attends my practice site, who didn't go to school for even one day, but is now able to read Zhuan Falun. She reads about one to three lectures per day. When she memorized Zhuan Falun, she saw that the words in the book were shining. Over the years, she has been to many places to distribute materials, from big streets to small lanes. In tall buildings, she often climbed to the top and walked down while distributing materials. Once when she placed materials at a door, the resident suddenly opened the door from inside. The practitioner smiled at her while handing her the booklet, and said, “This will bring you peace.” That person also smiled and said, “Thank you.” One day when she was crossing a street, a motorcyclist ran over her feet, and she fell to the ground. The driver was scared and offered to take her to a hospital. She got up from the ground and said, “I am all right since I am a Falun Gong practitioner. You can leave now.” The person who was riding on the back seat of the motorcycle, on the other hand, could not get up. That practitioner said, “If I didn't practice Falun Gong and Master wasn't protecting me, I would be in real danger at such an old age.” Despite her age of 81, she has no wrinkles on her face, has fair skin, and she still has all of her teeth.
When a practitioner was distributing truth-clarification materials in 2008, someone reported her to the police and several police vans were dispatched to apprehend her. Police agents put her in a detention center and asked where the materials came from, but she refused to answer. Domestic Security Division agents threatened to send her to a forced labor camp, but she was not disturbed. When the agents asked her why she was practicing Falun Gong, she told them many facts, which they didn't know. We local practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts every day in attempts to rescue her. With Master’s help, she was released one month later. Even during her detention, six people agreed to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations after she clarified the truth to them. On the day after she returned home, we visited her. Many spies were around her house, but they didn't see us. I always thought that we should help practitioners when they needed us most. Soon afterward, this practitioner was able to step forward again and continue doing the three things.
6. Doing More Dafa Projects to Save People
After I started helping people to quit the CCP in 2005, I visited many people and told them the facts about Dafa and the persecution. I collected a list of names of people who had agreed to quit, and delivered it to a practitioner in the provincial capital for publication online. This was not convenient since the train tickets alone cost more than 100 yuan per trip. After buying a computer and a printer in 2005, I invited that practitioner to come and show me how to operate it. Master helped me to gain more wisdom. This way, a family materials production site was established, where we prepared truth-clarification materials and DVDs, and submitted announcements of people who quit the CCP.
The truth-clarification materials I prepared had diverse topics in them. They exposed the vicious persecution, talked about typical physical improvements after one practices Dafa, explained why quitting the CCP brings people peace and safety, as well as cases of retribution after someone persecutes Dafa. During the past several years, I have distributed these materials to the Politics and Judicial Committee, the 610 Office, and Domestic Security Division.
I often went out to clarify the truth, whenever I had a chance. When I bought daily necessities and clothes, I often switched stores so that more people could hear the truth. When people came to visit me, I always told them the facts, so that no one was left behind.
We used to study the Fa as a group once a week. We were later harassed by the police and we had to change to another location. We now have Fa-study once every two weeks. Nonetheless, many practitioners study by themselves every day. We know that without the guidance from the Fa we can't cultivate ourselves well, let alone save other people.
7. A True Scene
Once when lying in bed, I felt myself lifting up, and saw myself flying up into the sky. I saw many Buddhas and gods, and they all sat on lotus petals, floating. I stopped in the middle and looked down. The houses there were very beautiful. I thought about coming back and thus returned.
Several days later, I went out again. This time, I traveled to a place and saw many people doing the exercises. I went closer and noticed that they were practicing Falun Gong. They stood in rows and were doing the first set of exercises. Their movements were very accurate and synchronized.
I also flew out many times after that. Sometimes I sang Falun Dafa Hao [“Falun Dafa Is Good”] as I was flying, and I was able to move even faster. This time, I saw giant flowers—about one meter in diameter—in various colors. I also saw several dozen fairy ladies playing the pipa. It was really amazing. I knew that Master was encouraging me to do better and fulfill my vows.
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