(Minghui.org) Although I knew about Falun Dafa a long time ago, I didn't begin cultivating until very recently. When I was a bit desperate in 2016, it was Dafa that filled my heart with hope. After going through many obstacles, I finally embarked on the path of cultivating and returning to my original true self.
When I first met my wife in 1994, she introduced me to Dafa. She told me that her mother had been bed-ridden with a herniated disc. Although doctors told her there was no cure for it, her back was completely healed after she attended a lecture given by Master Li Hongzhi.
Her father's left arm was atrophied due to cervical spondylosis [arthritis in the neck]. After practicing Falun Dafa for one month, he was healed. She told me that she was also a practitioner, and lent me a copy of the book Zhuan Falun.
When I realized that the book contained the principles of cultivation, I became very interested. As a child, I wanted to go to a mountain monastery to cultivate the Tao. However, when I was older I gradually let go of that idea. Zhuan Falun helped me recall that childhood memory. But unfortunately, I didn't begin following the teachings at that time.
On July 20, 1999, the then-president Jiang Zemin began a brutal persecution of Falun Dafa. Since then, my wife and in-laws have been subjected to persecution, surveillance, and harassment by agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Police officers arrested my father-in-law for the second time on March 16, 2001. A month later he was transferred to a brainwashing center. I was worried about him, so I visited him often. By August he was on the verge of death because of maltreatment. Afraid of taking responsibility for his death, the prison released him after extorting 1,200 yuan from us. I felt so sad seeing him emaciated and in poor health.
At home, he was able to study the Fa and within four days he became healthy again. After seeing this, I felt Dafa was truly amazing.
My father was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer in April 2012, and admitted to a cancer hospital. After the first chemo treatment, his whole body became swollen, especially in his head and neck. Both hands were shaking non-stop. His doctor decided to discharge him and told him to come back in two weeks for the next chemo treatment.
At home, my wife began to play Minghui podcasts for my father, containing many stories about people being miraculously healed after practicing Falun Dafa. My wife also shared with him the things she had witnessed in her family to help him rebuild his confidence in life. From then on, every night, he read Zhuan Falun with my family.
After that, my father did both the standing exercises and the sitting meditation with my wife every morning. When he didn't read Zhuan Falun, he would often recite “Falun Dafa is great, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is great.”
On May 13, World Falun Dafa day, we invited practitioners to our home for an experience-sharing conference. When my father heard many instances of people regaining their health through practicing Dafa, he was touched and truly admired our benevolent Master. He also read Chapter Six in Zhuan Falun with us. Despite the fact that his hands were shaking, he held on to the book till he finished reading the lecture.
After reading together, my wife asked him to recite “Falun Dafa is great, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is great” until he fell asleep. The swelling in his body went down on the next day and his hands stopped shaking. He was thrilled.
When my brother brought his family to visit, seeing our father miraculously healed, everyone knelt down in front of Master's portrait and kowtowed to express their gratitude.
During a medical check-up, arranged by my company, in January 2016 I was diagnosed with hepatitis B cirrhosis. Feeling shocked and very depressed, I was admitted to the hospital. Because of my illness, I was extremely weak and started coughing blood.
The doctor told me that there was no cure for cirrhosis; all I could do was take antiviral medication for the rest of my life; and I could expect to be hospitalized every once in a while. The associated cost would be 800 to 900 yuan per month just for the medication. Adding the hospitalization fees meant a large expenditure for our family as the monthly disability allowance was only a little more than 1,000 yuan. Thus, I decided to not take treatment, but rather start practicing Dafa.
At first, my intent for cultivating centered around healing my illness, and I hoped I too would experience a miracle. However, that didn't happen.
In fact, for more than two decades I had read most of the Dafa books, yet hadn't followed the teachings or tried to eliminate any of my bad behaviors such as being short-tempered and having a strong competitive mentality. I also smoked and liked to gamble. I had to start at square one.
Seeing my incorrect motivation for cultivation, Master arranged for me to work as a security guard at a bank in August 2016. On the job, I couldn't show my temper to clients any more, I had to treat them with kindness. Every night, I studied the Fa with my wife and did the exercises at another time. In September, I began growing a few pots of flowers. While I watered my flowers, I listened to cultivation stories on Minghui podcasts.
Gradually I realized that my flowers were growing well, better than those of my friends who were painstakingly growing their plants using fertilizer. This phenomenon implied to me that my flowers benefited from listening to the podcasts. However, I still had pain in my liver from time to time, and I had to use my right hand to massage my lower abdomen to alleviate the pain. Sometimes coughing woke me up during the night.
Last June, my younger brother lost his appetite and consequently dropped a lot of weight and felt weak. Upon examination at the hospital, the doctor told him that he had a growth in his lower abdomen. He passed away 10 days later.
This incident completely wiped out my reliance on modern science. With the change in my notions, my heart became purer, and the Fa principles kept manifesting to me.
Master said:
“What we have seen is the following situation. Why do people get sick? The fundamental cause of one’s being ill and all of one’s misfortune is karma and the black substance’s karmic field. It is something negative and bad. Those evil beings are also something negative, and they are all black. Thus, they can come because this environment suits them. This is the fundamental cause of one’s being ill; it is the most principal source of illnesses.” (Zhuan Falun)
I realized that I always used my cell phone to read information on liver diseases, which wasn't the right mind set. By pursuing an illness, it became real. This illness was incurred by a spirit in my karmic field that was residing in a very deep dimension. How could any medication at the molecular level ever treat it?
Master also said:
“In order to cure illness or eliminate tribulations and karma, these people must practice cultivation and return to their original, true selves. This is how all the different cultivation schools view it. One should return to one’s original, true self; this is the real purpose of being human.” (Zhuan Falun)
I finally woke up and completely let go of the attachment to illness. From then on, the Fa principles kept unfolding before me. When I talked to my wife, I used the Fa standards to measure my words. I also stopped looking for a cure for my illness online.
My wife saw the changes in me and said, “You have improved greatly.”
I said to her, “Master said,
“The Fa gained, you now stand divine ...” (“Salvation Far and Wide,” Hong Yin)
Of course I am a different person now.”
Master is truly benevolent. He used every opportunity to make me completely let go of treating illness. It was just as Master said:
“Once you upgrade your xinxing, your body will undergo a great change. Upon xinxing improvement, the matter in your body is guaranteed to transform.” (Zhuan Falun)
I truly came to feel the immense power of the Fa. When you are going through a tribulation, the outcome depends on whether you see yourself as a practitioner and reach the requirements of the Fa at different levels. As long as your xinxing improves, the situation will change immediately.
Now I feel uplifted. A few days ago, a practitioner told my wife that I had become a new person, as my face had a fair and rosy complexion. I gained some weight, and I appeared to be calm and peaceful. When my wife told me, I also shared with her that I seldom complained about things now and my environment was optimized as well.
One of the female janitors at work told her husband that she hated me because I was a bit mean. She couldn't stand me and wanted to quit her job. Later, she came to me and said:“After being around you for a while, I realize that you are someone who is easy to get along with and nice. Sorry for thinking less of you before.” She didn't know that without Dafa, I would have been nowhere near where I am today.
My family is enveloped by Master's saving grace. I feel very happy as my life is filled with joy and hope. Within such a short period of time, Master has transformed me into someone noble. I truly appreciate Master helping me embark on the cultivation path for returning to my original, true self.