(Minghui.org) I am a 61-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner from a poor remote rocky mountain area of China. This is a place where we used to have running water only once a month. My crops of corn and wheat are my food supply. I pick some wild dates in the mountains in the fall, and sell them to buy salt and other daily supplies.
We rarely have any vegetables to go with the main staples, and never use any oil for cooking. Young people leave our village and do not want to come back because of the poor living conditions. However, since I started practicing Falun Dafa, I feel I am the happiest person in the world, because I have Master and Dafa.
Master told us,
“As the Great Enlightened Beings see it, being human isn’t the purpose: a person’s life isn’t for being human, but to have you return. People think that they suffer a lot. But they think that the more you suffer, the better—it pays off your debts faster. That’s how they think.” (Zhuan Falun)
Because of my life in that remote area, my understanding of suffering is different from those who live in less poor environments. I now know that enduring hardships pays off karma and transforms it into virtue and energy. Hardship is exactly what a cultivator wants. I'm blessed to get this opportunity easily. Compassionate Master must have chosen this place for me. I thank Master from the bottom of my heart!
Getting Rid of Affection to Family
My husband used to be very ill-tempered, and often swore at and beat me. I used to fight back and I was full of resentment. I almost died because I hemorrhaged when giving birth to my daughter. A 90-year-old doctor of Chinese medicine saved my life. I was diagnosed with several illnesses, but since we were poor I could only wait for my death.
My husband and I fortunately started cultivation in Falun Dafa in February, 1999. I read all of the Dafa books and did the exercises. My health improved and soon all my illnesses disappeared. Therefore, I firmly believe in Master and Dafa. After the onset of the persecution, almost all practitioners in my village were too afraid to continue their practice, including my husband.
My husband's disabled brother passed away during a year when his workplace rewarded each employee with a big bonus. Because my husband looked very much like his brother, my sister-in-law asked him to pretend to be his brother and claim the bonus for her. I strongly opposed it because my brother-in-law had passed away. My husband thought he was doing a good deed, and refused to listen to my explanation based on Dafa principles.
Master said,
“You can’t interfere with other people’s lives, you can’t control their fates, be it your wife’s, your kid’s, your parents’, or your sibling’s. Is that something you decide?” (Zhuan Falun)
Since my husband had pretended to be his disabled brother, he got sick and became disabled himself. He deeply regretted it, but it was too late, and he passed away.
Soon after my husband's death, I learned that my daughter had married a person who abused and controlled her. I told her a way to leave him, but she did not listen. I was so sad that I would knock my head against the wall while crying. My daughter is the only family member I have in this world.
When I cried, I suddenly heard Master's voice,
“Those who are attached to affection for family will definitely be burned, entangled, and tormented by it. Pulled by the threads of affection and plagued by them throughout their lives, they will find it too late to regret at the end of their lives.” (“Cultivators' Avoidances, Essentials for Further Advancement Cultivators”)
His voice was filled with compassion. I stopped crying and calmed down. I realized cultivators should eliminate the attachment to affection. How could I make any progress while being entangled in affection? If I don't let it go, I would be like an everyday person and cultivate myself in vain. I decided my attachment would do me no good. I had to follow Master's words to let go of my attachment.
I decided not to torment myself over my daughter's marriage, since I could not see their karmic relationship. It was up to her to decide what to do. Since then, I calmed down, and became a more diligent cultivator.
Strong Faith in Dafa
An elderly lady in her 90s in my village also did not give up her cultivation after the onset of the persecution. She became a widow at 42, and endured a lot of hardship, because she raised seven children. All of them had left the village and I often visited her and studied the Fa with her. Even though it was difficult for her to read, she tried daily. She could meditate with both legs crossed for a couple of hours. However, she also experienced a test because of her affection to her children. It appeared as if she had a stroke one day. Her children visited and wanted to take her to a hospital.
On hearing this, I went to her home immediately, and read to her the paragraph in Zhuan Falun about eliminating karma. I asked her if she wanted to go to a hospital and she shook her head no. I gathered my courage, and told her children, “Your mom doesn't want to go to the hospital. You have to accept her decision.”
One of her sons asked, “If my mom doesn't go to hospital, and we can't stay here to take care of her, would you take care of her?” I knew that he implied that I would be responsible if his mom died, given her age. His sibling also agreed with him. His question suddenly put me on the spot. But as a cultivator who has strong faith in Dafa, I had no room to retreat. I said, “If you trust me so much, I would definitely take good care of your mom.”
We studied the Fa, did the exercises, and sent forth righteous thoughts every day. If I had to leave to distribute Dafa flyers, I would tell her to repeat in her heart, “Falun Dafa is great! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is great!”
She slowly improved, and could talk and move again. I strongly believed that Master was with us. The lady's health was completely restored after six months. Her recovery validated the power of Falun Dafa to her children and their families. Seven families were saved. They admitted their hidden thought when entrusting their mother to me, and took turns to come and take care of her from then on.
People from Mountain Areas Are Honest and Simple
Cultivation during the persecution made me realize that I had to clarify the facts about Falun Dafa to people in my area.
There are hundreds of people in my village. I visited every household one after the other, talked to them about Dafa and helped them quit any Communist organization they had joined. Those who had left our village, I visited them as soon as I heard they came back to see their families. Most people who grow up in the mountains are honest and simple. It's not difficult to help them see the nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
One villager asked, “Your teacher went abroad. Why doesn't he come back?” I told him, “People in more than 100 countries openly practice Dafa. Their government leaders are supportive. Does the Communist Party dare to invite them to China?” He said, “No, as even the Chinese who were wronged aren't allowed to appeal in Beijing.”
Another villager asked, “I heard your teacher doesn't allow people to take medication?” I replied, “My teacher doesn't care if you take medication or not. If we cultivators don't have any illness, why should we take medication?”
Some of them repeated the propaganda lies about Master having accumulated a huge fortune. I told them, “As Master's disciple, I haven't paid him a penny. Don't listen to the CCP's lies. They are deceiving people. They have committed so many crimes that they won't be tolerated by heaven. Stay away from the party to be safe.”
All of my fellow villagers, except one, have quit the CCP.
I also coordinated with my fellow practitioners to talk to people in our county and the nearby cities about Dafa and the persecution. We posted Dafa slogans on lamp poles, by the roads and on walls in markets. I was one of those who filed one of the first lawsuits against Jiang Zemin.
Even though I did not have much schooling, I bought high-tech equipment, which allows me to produce Dafa informational materials. I installed a satellite dish so I can receive television programs from NTDTV. I bought a cell phone, an MP3 player and video players.
Since the Internet is now available in my village, I am saving money for a computer. It would help me get Master's latest scriptures and news from the Minghui website. It also helps me stay in touch with my fellow practitioners around the world. I'm determined to closely follow Master's pace, and bring what's best to this remote mountain village.
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