(Minghui.org)
Suffering Through Tribulations
I learned about Falun Dafa in the spring of 1998. After studying the Fa and practicing the exercises, my health improved dramatically. I soon felt it was much easier to walk on the roads and climb stairs; however, my understanding of Dafa remained perceptual, so I was not a true Dafa practitioner at that time.
Later, I was busy preparing for the accountant certification exams. One time when I was in town, I used the opportunity to introduce Dafa to my parents and in-laws. Just when I had some spare time and wanted to go out to practice the movements, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime began persecuting Dafa in July 1999. I was concerned that the crackdown was like China’s Cultural Revolution, so my wife and I hid our Dafa books and materials to avoid harassment or arrest.
I had the habit of reading about a lot of different subjects, and I especially liked the ideas of royalty and great achievement expressed in traditional Confucianism. I soon became more and more attached to fame and profit. Suddenly, two people who helped me a lot in my official career passed away. One died of a heart attack and the other was killed in a car accident. These incidents woke me up, and I was no longer attached to fame and profit. I began to study ideas from Buddhism diligently in hopes of cultivating myself. However, I was not able to stop worrying and being anxious.
In 2011 and 2012, my parents passed away. In 2013, my daughter failed her college entrance exam, so she had to study for one more year. These tribulations were so hard on me that I became very ill. In the summer of 2015, I was transferred from a municipal hospital to a provincial hospital for treatment.
I was very weak and thin and could not sleep well at night. My condition was so poor that a simple chore like mopping the floor would increase my heart rate to dangerous levels, making me exhausted. In desperation, I thought about jumping into a lake to end my miserable life.
Returning to Dafa Cultivation
Fortunately, with the help of my wife and in-laws, I began to study the Dafa books again. A fellow practitioner, who’d recovered from breast cancer, helped clear up some misunderstandings I had from the CCP's evil propaganda about Dafa.
In the past, although I knew Falun Dafa was good, I thought that withdrawing from the CCP was unpatriotic. Now I knew that the CCP was not the same as China and that Falun Dafa teaches people to be good and guides them to improve and fulfill their cultivation status to become selfless higher beings who always put others first.
The CCP persecuted Falun Dafa and caused many people to lose the opportunity to become good and succeed in cultivation. Withdrawing from the CCP, I realized, is just that, a patriotic act! The point is related to one's conscience, not politics.
I also gained a clearer understanding of Teacher’s lecture on eliminating illnesses. In the past, I thought that it was more efficient to do exercises and take medicine at the same time. I eventually understood that taking medicine is suppressing karma, while only providing temporary relief from pain.
Once I realized the truth about illnesses, I burned a load of Chinese and Western medications that we had accumulated over the years. I made up my mind to return to Dafa, and I calmed down to focus on cultivation. Teacher said: "Having heard the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening." (“Melt Into the Fa” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Given a New Life by Dafa
One night, I dreamed of several doctors in white coats doing treatments on my heart. After I woke up, I realized that Teacher was purifying my body. One time the alarm went off at 3:46 a.m. Still, I wanted to sleep for a couple of more minutes. As I dozed off, I heard Teacher’s voice from the lecture: "It is absolutely impossible for you to move up in cultivation and reach a level as high as you want by sitting there comfortably, drinking tea while watching TV." (Lecture in Sydney) So I jumped out of the bed and saw the time was 3:50 a.m. Teacher reminded me to get up and do the exercises on time! Great, compassionate Teacher watches over his disciples all the time.
Later, I met several diligent practitioners to validate Dafa together. I studied the Fa, did the exercises, and sent forth righteous thoughts day by day. When encountering any conflict, I looked inward to review myself. I followed Dafa’s guidance while removing selfishness and other attachments derived from sentiment, such as fighting, showing off, envy, jealousy, hatred and so on. My health improved quickly and all my ailments went away. I could sleep well again, and I became healthy physically and mentally. I really feel that I was given a new life. I learned that the genuine purpose of a human life is to return to one’s true self and to wake up one’s divine spirit!
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