(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I feel so blessed to have found Falun Dafa 22 years ago. Before I began practicing in 1997, I suffered from all kinds of illnesses. I tried both traditional Chinese as well as Western medical treatments. I took all kinds of medicines and had surgeries, but nothing helped.
A co-worker who practiced Falun Dafa then suggested that I read Zhuan Falun. I felt everything written in the book was truly good. Before I began cultivating, I had always wanted to be a good person but didn’t know how. After I began reading Zhuan Falun, I felt that it was what I’d been searching for. I listened to the recordings of Master’s lectures, learned the exercises, and studied the Fa. I stopped thinking about my illnesses, and one day I realized that they were gone.
Overcoming Family Hardship
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Dafa in 1999. Many practitioners were subsequently illegally arrested and detained. I was not reported by my workplace. My husband was living in Hong Kong, so I left China and immigrated there. However, my husband was influenced by the slander being spread by the CCP. He strongly opposed my practicing and threw away all my Dafa books.
In 2001, he became ill, lost his vision, and he was too sick and weak to continue making trouble for me. I played the recording of Master’s lectures for him. After he finished listening, he said, “Falun Dafa is very good!” He learned to do the exercises and continued to listen to Master’s Fa. For the next three years, he practiced Dafa, but the tests were too difficult for him to endure, and he gave up cultivation. However, he had changed from someone who used to believe in the CCP to a person who believed in Dafa.
Safeguarding Our Truth Clarification Site
Because we wanted to tell people the facts about the CCP’s persecution, several practitioners and I set up a truth-clarification site in Hong Kong in 2003. We hung banners and displayed placards to let people know how brutal the persecution was. Establishing a truth-clarification site wasn’t easy because the site was located where many people walked, and some stalls and hawkers were nearby. The stallholders, hawkers, and some residents who were pro-CCP came to interfere with us. Some even cut our banners into pieces. But we were unshaken and held fast to our position. The site gradually stabilized and even gained some support from local residents.
There was later some construction in the area, so we set up a new site in a different location. No vehicles were allowed on the street after 4:00 p.m. The street was always busy, with people busking and hawking items on both sides. The new site was spacious, so we could display more placards, and truth-clarification was very effective as well. Since few practitioners could work at the new site, manpower was short, so I took a trolley to the new site every day. It was hard, but being able to save sentient beings is a blessing, and I knew the opportunity should be treasured.
At the new site, several hawkers fought for spots, but some kind hawkers who understood the truth of Falun Dafa helped me and would not let others take our spot. Since the site was outdoors, there were rainy days. Whenever it got cloudy, I asked Master to have it rain later. Several times the rain held off until I closed the site. I truly feel that Master is looking after us at every moment.
Since our truth-clarification site is on a busy street, many passersby read our placards. Some people said, “We now understand that Falun Dafa is good and that you’re only trying to help people. The CCP is very brutal!”
However, things did not always go smoothly. One time while I was sending forth righteous thoughts, a man suddenly ran at me and knocked over the table. When I started to talk to him, he punched my right eye and ran away. I chased after him. With the help of passersby, the man was caught and reported to the police. I told the man that freedom of speech is allowed in Hong Kong. I told him the CCP persecutes Chinese people but we were exposing what was happening in China. He apologized, and I didn’t file a case against him. Instead, I just told him not to harass us again. The next day, I went to the site as usual as I knew that I couldn’t quit.
Wrongfully Sued
In 2012, a gang of CCP thugs began harassing us. They used all means to disrupt us. For instance, they covered our truth-clarification placards with blankets so passersby could not read them. They also cut our banners into pieces. They often physically or verbally harassed us. They also tried to intimidate us by taking photos and videos of us. During one period of time, in order not to let them occupy our site, practitioners had to stay there all night.
One day, one of the gang leaders came to disrupt us again. She kept filming me with her mobile phone. I lost my cool and started scolding her, demanding that she leave. She suddenly dropped her phone and caught it. She claimed that I had slapped her phone and reported me to the police for assaulting her. I was sued for assault. Since I had no money, the court appointed a lawyer to defend me. But the lawyer just went through the motions, and I was found guilty.
I was innocent… How could I be found guilty? Hong Kong has rule of law. Most importantly, I’m a practitioner, but I was found guilty. Wouldn’t people think badly of Falun Dafa? I immediately appealed.
When I applied for an appeal, I encountered obstacles. I don’t have much money, so where could I get the legal fees? To prove the accuser was lying and framing me, I needed to collect evidence to prove that she wasn’t a reliable witness. This process of evidence collection was also difficult. Throughout the process, some practitioners stood by my side, supported me, helped me look for lawyers, and did research. However, some practitioners were against the appeal. These were all xinxing tests. I held one thought: as a practitioner, I shouldn’t be sentenced for something I did not do. I could not bring shame on Dafa.
Maybe due to my determined thought, merciful Master helped me. A practitioner helped me by applying for a free law consultation service at a university law school. A law professor would represent me in this lawsuit. Later this professor also successfully acquired supporting evidence from the police. The evidence showed that the accuser had filed over 90 complaints to the police within the past 3 years. All her complaints were against Falun Dafa practitioners, and thus she wasn’t a credible witness. At last, the court ruled that my appeal was allowed, and my conviction was withdrawn.
This lawsuit went on for three years, during which time I endured great pressure. Money was a constant worry, and I had many xinxing tests. Whenever I encountered difficulty, I sent forth righteous thoughts and asked Master for help. Even though I endured this lawsuit, I kept going to the truth-clarification site every day because I needed to save people.
I searched within, asking, “Why did this happen to me?” Perhaps I didn’t have enough compassion for the gang leader. I also pointed my finger at her. If I could have stayed calm and benevolent with a smile on my face, no matter how she filmed me, she would have seen my compassionate and benevolent side.
Master said,
“As practitioners, you will suddenly come across conflicts. What should you do? You should always maintain a heart of compassion and kindness. Then, when you run into a problem, you will be able to do well because it gives you room to buffer the confrontation.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I came to deeply understand this teaching as well:
“For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX)
Whenever conflicts occur, whenever grievances surface, I have to cultivate myself and look within.
Overcoming Tribulations
A few years ago while I was at work, a co-worker was cleaning the area. I fell as I walked across the slippery floor. My pants were wet, but I didn’t mind. When I sent righteous thoughts, I sat in the lotus position. My thigh began to hurt soon after. Later, the skin became dark. Other coworkers said the disinfectant used to clean the floor could be strongly corrosive and that there was a chance that my skin had been scalded.
I remembered what was said in Zhuan Falun: A practitioner was almost hit by a car while crossing the street, but he was not afraid, and nothing happened. Although I was injured at work, I did not notify my boss, and I did not claim compensation for my work injury. I thought that the person was only cleaning and did not hurt me intentionally. I did not want to cause trouble for others. This was my own tribulation, and everything would be fine.
But this test was not easy to pass. The skin was severely scalded and began to bleed. The skin and my pants were glued together. When I tried to pull the fabric away, I bled. It was very painful! I encouraged myself by remembering that enduring hardship would eliminate karma. I could handle it. This situation went on for a while. I tolerated it and didn’t let the pain prevent me from validating Fa. I went to the truth-clarification site every day as usual.
Even though I’ve cultivated for over 20 years, I know that there are many areas where I’ve fallen short. But no matter what, Dafa always comes first. Neither family, nor work, nor tribulations, nor anything else can disrupt my cultivation or stop me from validating the Fa.
Thank you, Master, for your merciful salvation and care. I will be diligent and fulfill my mission as a Dafa practitioner.
If there’s anything inappropriate in my understanding, please kindly point it out.
Thank you, great Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2019 Hong Kong Fa Conference)
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