(Minghui.org) I became a Falun Dafa practitioner in 1997 at the age of nine, thanks to my parents’ positive influence. After I began my cultivation, I felt peaceful and at ease. Compassionate Master gave me encouragement by removing the stomach problem that had often bothered me in the past.
Lost in Sudden Horror
Not long after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution of Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999, the local police came to ransack our home and took away our Dafa materials, TV sets and CD players. At the time of the police raid, only my grandfather and younger sister were at home, while I attended middle school out of town. My sister’s teachers and classmates intimidated and looked down upon her after what had happened to our family. My sister was only six years old then, and she was deeply scared. Shortly afterward, my mom was put in a detention center for several weeks and later demoted from her position at work. The most saddening thing was that my dad gave up cultivation because of fear, and my mom, though still reading Dafa books, just didn’t know how to improve her xinxing. The rest of our family, myself included, also gradually drifted away from Dafa. Deep down inside, however, there was always a place for Master and Dafa; thus, I never hesitated to clarify the facts to my classmates when they said bad things about Dafa.
Returning to Dafa After Receiving Master’s Hints
During the years when I stopped practicing Falun Dafa, I grew from a teenage girl into a college student. As I worked hard to win people’s recognition, I began to experience old sickness symptoms. Whenever I felt ill, I recalled the comfortable sensation I had while listening to Master’s Fa on tape. I longed to listen to the Fa and see Master’s portrait again!
However, when I returned home for summer break, I wasn’t too happy when my mom tried to order me to read Dafa books and practice the exercises. My rebellious mindset prevented me from resuming cultivation.
One night during my junior year I had a dream. While looking up to the sky, I saw three giant Buddhas appear from afar and form a straight line. The one in the middle was the biggest. All three of them had a lotus stand under their feet, blue halos around their heads and spinning Faluns and srivatsa symbols on their bodies. The scene was incredibly wonderful and magnificent. Words could not describe how I felt at that moment.
After I went to graduate school, compassionate Master arranged for a classmate to clarify the facts to me. When I asked a question which had bothered me for a long time, she only had one thing to say, “Do you have any idea of how much Master has suffered for the worldly people?” Tears ran down my face. My knowing side had so many thoughts at that moment. Just like that, I returned to Dafa. My classmate reminded me that only by cultivating solidly and doing the three things well could I catch up with the Fa-rectification and make up for the loss I had caused to Dafa.
Miracles Manifest in Moments of Danger
About the second week of my return to cultivation, I began to have excruciating toothache. My gums were so swollen that I couldn’t bite my teeth together. My throat was also badly swollen. Knowing that this was for me to remove karma, I was determined to not take any medicine. Three weeks later I was totally fine. I haven’t had any major problems since. Sometimes I still have minor health problems when I slack off in cultivation, but they go away as soon as I begin to look within.
Another time I fell at a sharp turn while skating together with my friends. Because of the strong force, those near me also took a fall. One skate blade slid right by my head. My friends all turned pale and became speechless, but I didn’t feel any fear and was indeed fine after I stood up. I knew that Master had shielded me from harm.
Helping My Loved Ones Return to Cultivation
The classmate who had helped me return to cultivation decided to go to my home during winter break. She wanted my not-so-diligent mom, as well as my dad and younger sister who were both still in the everyday people’s maze, to also return to cultivation. She kept saying one thing, “As long as you do well in cultivation, your family members will also come back.”
With Master’s strengthening, my parents and sister resumed cultivation. Yet, their cultivation state was unstable, and sometimes I was so disappointed in them that I simply walked away.
I knew that my emotions toward my family were too strong; I needed to adjust my mindset. With kindness I advised them to cherish the opportunity to cultivate and to pass the test with courage. After a while things changed for the better. My parents began to enjoy a harmonious relationship and no longer spoke angrily to each other. My younger sister was attending college out of town. She told me that she made sure to read Zhuan Falun every night before bed. In the meantime, my grandmother and aunt also returned to Dafa cultivation. Master’s compassion brought true blessings to my whole family.
From Human Notions to Divine Thoughts
My laziness and tendency to depend on others were two huge roadblocks on my cultivation path. I always hesitated when it was time to practice the exercises and felt sleepy when it was time to study the Fa. I also had trouble sending forth righteous thoughts at set times.
Back then my residence hall had just been connected to the Internet. I couldn’t resist the temptation to surf online when everyone else was doing it. In a couple of days I began to have a toothache again. Strangely, the pain usually started close to midnight and became stronger and stronger. At first, I didn’t give it a second thought and instead felt that I should just go to bed, since the pain was so bad. Contrary to what I expected, I couldn’t fall asleep until around two or three in the morning.
This situation lasted three days, during which my computer just couldn’t connect to the Internet, though my roommates’ computers could. I began to realize that there must be something wrong with my cultivation state. I no longer wondered about my computer problem. That night the pain appeared again around the same time. While tossing and turning in bed, I realized that it was time to send forth righteous thoughts. I immediately sat up to clear my field. The evil saw my determination to eliminate it and used all of its might to resist. My head and teeth began to have such sharp pain that I shed tears. I wasn’t deterred though and reminded myself to keep sending forth righteous thoughts. The pain then disappeared in just five minutes. I’ve never had any toothache since.
I witnessed Dafa’s miraculous power and the importance and effect of sending forth righteous thoughts. I said to Master in my heart, “I know I was wrong and I’ll no longer slack off in my cultivation!” How serious cultivation is! The next day, when I browsed newly downloaded Minghui articles, I came across an article written by a young female practitioner about my age. What she wrote was almost exactly what I had just experienced, such as Internet problems, laziness in studying the Fa and practicing the exercises, and dating issues. I suddenly realized that it was Master reminding me with this fellow practitioner’s article to be diligent.
Clarifying the Facts
One male student whom I had met once often sent text messages to me. I knew his knowing side wanted to be saved. One weekend I texted him, saying I was nearby. He came to see me without hesitation. I saw that he was deeply poisoned by the Party culture, as he was carrying a backpack with a portrait of former CCP head Mao on it. I said to him: “I don’t like him [Mao]. Without him, China probably would be many times better now. He brainwashed Chinese people.” He replied, “Well, that makes sense.” After a little while he told me: “A couple of days ago I received a phone call, asking me to quit the CCP. I was so frightened.” I immediately replied: “What’s there to be afraid of? My friends and I all quit already. The CCP has done many bad things and is doomed. I’d say you should quit as well.” He agreed, “OK.”
Striving Forward
Master later arranged for me to meet two other practitioners. We often shared experiences together. We also reminded each other to get up at 3:50 every morning to practice the exercises. One day I felt extremely sleepy and didn’t want to get up. Then I heard exercise music in my ears, very loud and clear. I immediately jumped out of bed, since I knew that Master was hinting to me not to be lazy.
During my three hours of sleep every night I had many dreams, some of which were tests for me. One night I saw two demons of lust in my dream. I was not happy and thought, “Why am I being shown these things?” Then I realized, “I am a Dafa disciple and I do not want to see lust demons.” With this thought, the two beings turned into powder and disappeared right away. I was very pleased with myself after I woke up, knowing that I passed the test of the demons of lust.
In another dream, my mom, younger sister and I were on a train. Mom went off the train to rest when it stopped at a train station. The train conductor, however, then started the train before she returned. I anxiously yelled to him, “My mom is not back yet!” Miraculously, the conductor stopped the train at that moment and my mom rushed back. Then at another stop, everybody got off the train for some reason. Suddenly it began to pour and people panicked. I was very calm though, knowing what to do as a Dafa disciple. I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” People began to follow me to say these words and the collective voice shook the earth and heaven. I next led everyone to do the exercises. Before we knew it, the rain stopped.
After I woke up, I realized that time was getting tighter and tighter, and those not rescued yet were in grave danger.
I also had dreams about clarifying the facts to my classmates, friends, teachers and family members.
There are just too many of my cultivation stories to share. No matter how hard each test is, I always feel happiness in my heart because I have Master and Dafa with me. Such happiness would not have been possible before I returned to cultivation. I hereby make my solemn promise to Master: “I’ll cherish the time to cultivate solidly and do the three things well. I vow to follow Master to return to my true origin upon reaching consummation.”
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
