(Minghui.org) I'm a Falun Dafa practitioner in my 60s. I would like to share my cultivation experience of practicing Falun Dafa.
I grew up in the culture of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and used to struggle for fortune and fame. I had many diseases and lived a stressful life raising children and working on the farm. I had a lung disease, frozen shoulders, bone hyperplasia, and a gynecological disease. I often questioned the meaning of life and thought we humans came to this world to suffer.
I got sick while visiting my family in March 1997. My older brother had just started cultivating Dafa. He told me the benefits of Dafa and urged me to start cultivation when I returned home. He also demonstrated the fifth exercise for me. I was fascinated. As I was watching him, a warm energy penetrated my body. I felt like I had seen this exercise a long long time ago in another life.
I found a Falun Dafa exercise site after I got back home. Three days later, I was fortunate to attend an experience sharing conference in my town. I heard amazing stories that happened to people: A patient with femoral head necrosis recovered by practicing Falun Dafa. An illiterate woman in her 70s was suddenly able to read Dafa books. A woman's abdominal dropsy was gone after she started practicing Falun Dafa. Broken families resolved their conflicts by following Dafa's principles.
I got a copy of the book Zhuan Falun on that day, and read it twice at one sitting. I learned how to be a good person. Even though I had a very shallow understanding of cultivation at the time, I was determined to fully devote myself to cultivation and strictly follow Dafa's principles. I became a happy person. My diseases disappeared. I started looking for my own faults when facing conflicts and never wanted to do anything that could hurt others.
As more and more people joined us in doing the Falun Dafa exercises, we established several group exercise sites in our town. One of them was right in front of a garrison. We often introduced the benefits of Falun Dafa to soldiers and military officials. An official read the book Zhuan Falun and said, “It's a great book. I would like to practice someday. You are welcome to do your exercises here as much you like.”
Our group exercise site got larger and larger. New people joined us almost every day. A new practitioner said he could see red auras around all practitioners, but nothing around spectators. It was beautiful!
A Fa study group met in my home regularly. My husband got to know many practitioners. Having witnessed the changes we practitioners experienced, my husband also took up Falun Dafa cultivation. Soon after that, he experienced a big change. He used to drink a lot of alcohol, but all of a sudden, it seemed to be tasteless to him. His numerous diseases, including cerebrovascular insufficiency syndrome and sinusitis, disappeared.
One of the body purifications he experienced lasted 14 days. He couldn't eat anything. His skin color turned orange. He knew he was eliminating karma and continued to study the Fa with the group. Two weeks later, he got up by himself and started chatting and laughing like normal. We thought it was a miracle. Compassionate Master cleansed his body. All his diseases have disappeared since then. The next day when he took a shower, he shed so much skin that he was like a completely new person. He was able to walk five miles easily even though he hadn't eaten for 14 days.
Before I started cultivating, I was a very competitive and a jealous person. I did my best to protect myself and my family's interests. Falun Dafa taught me Truthfulness- Compassion-Forbearance. I learned how to look for my own faults, let go of attachments to fame and fortune, and tolerate others.
We used to have many disputes with one neighbor on issues related to building new homes. The woman would stand in front of our house and cuss for hours, and accused us of something she made up. Our two families were enemies for years.
After my fellow practitioners and I introduced Falun Dafa to others, the woman's husband came to learn Dafa. I took the initiative to talk to him and taught him the exercises. Those who knew about our conflicts in the past gave me a thumbs-up and praised the power of Dafa. Master taught us to treat everyone nicely. How could I deserve to be Master's disciple if I held a grudge? I was so happy that he could learn Dafa. Even though the women kept ignoring me when I greeted her, I kept trying. One day this year, she finally smiled back at me when I greeted her with a smile.
Through Fa study, I learned that everything has a predestined relationship. Keeping this in mind, it helped me be more tolerant. My husband has three nephews that needed homes after they got married and wanted to buy houses from me. I told them they could live in my houses for free, as long as they took good care of their mother. So, they moved into one of my spare houses. My second sister-in-law said she would like to do the same thing. I told her I had a vegetable garden and a lot of trees. She could have them if she needed them. She leased the garden and made extra money off of it.
Eventually, they took more things from my home without asking, including utensils, furniture, and even water vats of various sizes. My husband was upset about it. I was upset at first, especially when I thought about the fact that they didn't ask me.
Master taught us, “If something is yours, you will not lose it. If something is not yours, you will not have it even if you fight for it.” (Zhuan Falun, Lecture Seven)
So, I told my husband, “Do these things really belong to you? If they aren't here, they aren't yours.”
My daughter and I started practicing Falun Dafa together, but she didn't continue practicing after she went to school out of town and because of the persecution. But she always believed that Falun Dafa was great.
When I was imprisoned for practicing Falun Dafa in 2000, the CCP sent someone to watch her at school. Her teachers and classmates treated her differently. She suffered unfair treatment but kept her chin up, and ignored those who talked behind her back.
My daughter managed to find me in 2007 when I was abducted by the CCP and taken to a brainwashing session. The guard temporarily stepped away for some reason. A fellow practitioner at the same brainwashing session asked my daughter to make a phone call to alert another fellow practitioner about the police's plans to abduct more practitioners.
My daughter made the call right away and barely finished before the guard returned. The timely information helped fellow practitioners from being abducted. My daughter was blessed for helping Dafa practitioners. She has a successful business. Everything seemed to go well for her. She is grateful for Master's compassionate care. Every time she comes back home, she would bring some good food and respectfully put it in front of Master's portrait.
My daughter had a baby boy in October, 2011. Her son looks very cute, but he kept having a substance build up in his left eye. It made his eye red and swollen. The doctor suggested surgery on his tear duct. But it didn't fix the problem.
I told my daughter, “It shouldn't be this way.” She lowered her head and said, “It's my fault. I can't face Master because I didn't fulfill my vow. Master has granted me all my wishes. But I didn't study the Fa and do the exercises as I promised Master.” I told her, “It's good you know the reason. It's not too late to correct yourself. Master is so compassionate. Follow Master's teaching of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, cultivate your xinxing, and change your bad temper. You have to remember to always validate the Fa.”
I was about to feed my grandson later in the afternoon when I surprisingly noticed that his eye was completely fine. I asked my daughter, “What did you say to Master? Look, your son's eye is fine now.” She said in amazement, “I admitted my mistake to Master earlier. Yes, his eye is fine now! Thank you, Master! Dafa is miraculous!
She picked up the phone and called her in-laws to tell them the great news. They could hardly believe it. After my daughter returned home, she told them the details. Having witnessed Dafa's power, her husband started wearing a Dafa keepsake and told his friends to always think good of Falun Dafa.
My family and I never forget to tell the people around us about the power of Falun Dafa. Many of them have watched Shen Yun DVDs and have heard the facts of Falun Dafa and the persecution. No words can describe our gratitude to Dafa. The grace of the Buddha Law shines upon sentient beings and awakens people's consciences. Compassionate Master saves people with the mighty virtue of Dafa!