(Minghui.org) How time flies! The founder of Falun Dafa, Mr. Li Hongzhi, whom practitioners call "Teacher" or "Master," has spread the practice for close to 23 years. Many people have accepted the principles of Dafa, remain diligent in their practice, and have advanced in their cultivation.
I remember that Master participated in the Oriental Health Expo held in Beijing in 1993. The Falun Dafa booth was crowded with visitors.
At that event, Master won the top prizes, “Cutting Edge Scientific Progress Award” and “Special Gold Prize.” He was also awarded the title of “Most Popular Qigong Master,” and Falun Dafa was recognized as the “Star Qigong” school.
Master gave three seminars, and every one was packed. People were excited, responded with thunderous applause, and praised Master endlessly. Falun Dafa caused a sensation in Beijing.
Stepping on the Path of Cultivation
One of my relatives visited us during the 1994 Chinese New Year. He brought with him a VCR and a Falun Dafa videotape that introduced the practice and its exercises.
Four of us took up cultivation at that time. We watched the video and learned the exercises every night. None of us gave up, even though we felt cold, hot, started to cough, vomited, or had diarrhea and headaches.
My third eye, which is associated with enlightenment or spiritual insight, opened. When I meditated, I saw Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, water, and mountains.
Then I saw a Buddha with curly hair and his hands conjoined, surrounded by golden light. I realized sometime later that this was Master. To strengthen my will to cultivate, our compassionate Master showed me such images again and again.
Attending Master's 10 Lectures in Changchun
I was fortunate to have attended Master's lectures in Changchun from April 28 to May 8, 1994. About 3,000 people attended. Due to limited space, Master held both daytime and evening sessions for 10 days.
On the first day we took the tram to class, but it stopped due to a power failure. We had to get off and walk to the class.
One person, who was diagnosed with cervical nerve hyperplasia oppression, had seen doctors for over a month before the class, but she did not get any better. As soon as she heard about Master's seminar, she decided to attend. On her way to the class, she did not feel any pain, and all her symptoms disappeared.
We talked to Master during the break and at the end of the session. He was so kind and easygoing. I still see him as he looked then. He was serene with rosy cheeks and delicate skin. He looked like he was in his 30s.
Master agreed to have his photo taken with groups of practitioners on May 1. When Master came to our group, he looked at my father, who had been depressed and had fallen ill since my brother's death. When he saw that Master was busy, he kept quiet. Yet, he no longer felt ill and depressed after Master looked at him.
Master said:
“Some people cannot let go of their sons and daughters and claim how good they are, and then they pass away. One may speak of how good one’s mother is, but then she also dies. This person grieves so much that he almost wants to follow her for the rest of his life. Why don’t you think about it? Aren’t they here to torment you? They use this form to make you unable to lead a good life.” (Zhuan Falun)
When Master said the above, my father realized that Master also addressed him. He forgot all his anxieties. “It is amazing—Master looks after me,” he said. “I am no longer heartbroken about my son's death. Thank you, Master, for your boundless compassion!”
One of my relatives predicted in the 1980s that in the future, human beings could cultivate into Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Gods, and that the greatest Buddha would be born in northeastern China. He also said that our family would be among those who would step on the path of cultivation. This prediction has come true.
After I returned home, I said to Master in my heart, “Falun Dafa is rooted in my soul and has become part of my life.”
Master taught:
“Actually, you’ve already assumed the role of the main force; especially in this recent period you’ve definitely been the main force.” (“Explaining the Fa for Falun Dafa Assistants in Changchun”)
I understood that, as the first people who obtained the Fa, we had to tell the people in our local area about Falun Dafa.
Volunteering to Help People Learn Falun Dafa
Five months after I started to practice Falun Dafa, I had a dream. A voice asked me if I would do volunteer work, and I said yes without a second thought. I did not understand what it meant, but realized later that I was to help people learn Falun Dafa. So we established an exercise site, and I became the assistant. This was the volunteer work I had agreed to do.
The Changchun Assistant Center organized a training session for assistants from different cities and counties nationwide. The session was held in the conference hall at Jilin University.
Practitioners watched Master's lecture videotapes and did the exercises every day. Master gave every assistant center a set of his lecture tapes. We were told how to talk to people about Falun Dafa, how to teach the exercises, and that we had to do it at no cost to anyone.
Spreading the Fa by Word-of-Mouth
More and more people came to learn the exercises at the practice sites after 1996. Practitioners spread the word and passed on Falun Dafa materials to their friends and relatives. Falun Dafa spread quickly throughout China—without any advertising.
In my spare time I traveled to other cities to buy Falun Dafa books and materials for fellow practitioners. I followed Master's instruction and sold them at cost. I traveled to neighboring counties and helped practitioners establish an exercise site.
The Changchun Assistant Center got ready for the “Painting, Calligraphy, and Photography Exhibition to Commemorate the Fifth Anniversary of Master Spreading the Fa” in March 1997.
We delivered about 200 articles from our local area. The biggest article was a 1.8-meter-long plaque. We won two prizes, and 500 practitioners went to see the exhibition, which lasted 10 days and was seen by about 10,000 people.
When the Communist Party started persecuting Falun Dafa in 1999, the police and Procuratorate officers often asked me who reimbursed me for my travel expenses. “I paid my own expenses,” I said. “I didn't earn anything from the books or materials. I sold them at cost.” They could not understand it and asked me why I did that. I told them that I did it because I wanted people to become kind again.
The police left me alone after that 1999 discussion.
Everlasting Memories
As a veteran practitioner and an assistant, I was fortunate enough to have attended the Changchun Assistants Experience Sharing Conference.
Whenever I read the book “Teaching the Fa at the Assistants' Fa Conference in Changchun,” every scene at the conference appears before my eyes, and Master's voice resonates in my heart.
The conference was held in the Shangri-La International Hotel. I was among the first practitioners to step into the auditorium, and it was wonderful to see the beautiful flowers on stage. The atmosphere was solemn, serene, and warm. It was different from every other conference I had ever attended. The auditorium was packed, yet it was very quiet.
I said to a practitioner beside me that I suspected that Master would come. He did not think it was possible, since Master was in America at the time.
At 5 p.m. our compassionate Master appeared at the door. Thunderous applause erupted, and Master smiled as he entered the auditorium and shook hands on his way to the podium. Practitioners presented flowers, and when he stepped onto the stage, he greeted practitioners by holding up one palm. Master asked practitioners to sit down after a long applause.
Master knew that practitioners wanted to see him, so he sat on a high stool. We listened to Master's lecture with happy hearts. The following words touched me the most:
“You think that the things you do seem pretty simple and are unlike an everyday person’s supervisory job, which one gets paid for. You are doing things entirely out of your enthusiasm and your understanding of Dafa. Those things appear to be quite simple and seem to have nothing earth shattering about them. Yet I can tell you that the things that seem mundane on this ordinary human side might be truly dramatic in the realm of your cultivation—a realm that you can’t see. (“Teaching the Fa at the Assistants' Fa Conference in Changchun”)
A warm current ran through my body. How sacred it was to do this volunteer work! During the 10-minute break, practitioners surrounded Master and asked questions. Master answered each one patiently. The conference lasted over 5 hours.
We were told later by the organizer of the conference that Master had paid the fee for the auditorium.
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