(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa in February 1999. When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong in July of that year, I dared not continue. But it really upset me to do that, and I didn't understand why such a good practice was not allowed. So I didn't give up the thought of practicing Dafa.
Returning to Dafa
A practitioner explained to me why the opportunity to cultivate Dafa was so precious during this time in history. I was very excited to learn that many people were still practicing. She brought me Master Li's new Fa teachings and practitioners' experience sharing articles. I then decided to return to my faith.
But when I went to do the exercises, I couldn’t get my legs crossed. I told the practitioner, “I can't cross my legs; I don't want to learn it anymore. I will just read the book and be a good person.”
She said, “If you don't practice Falun Dafa, you will miss the chance to help save people who have a predestined relationship to meet you.”
I wondered, “Just because I don't practice Falun Gong, I will let these people down. What a pity! From now on I must practice diligently.” I made up my mind to be able to cross my legs.
This practitioner also lent me a copy of Master's Touring North America to Teach the Fa. When I returned the book, I met an elderly practitioner in her home who was learning the sitting meditation. She took a strip of cloth from her pocket, tied her feet to her waist, and crossed her legs. I thought, “If someone in her 70s can endure the pain from crossing her legs, why can't I?”
When I got home, I made a similar cloth strip and tied my legs to my waist. Although it really hurt, this woman gave me a lot of help and encouragement. I finally succeeded in crossing my legs!
Facing My Husband's Opposition
In the past, my husband did not want me to practice Falun Dafa. After the persecution began, he believed the CCP's lies on TV and became even more fervent in not allowing me to practice. I didn’t dare to read the teachings in front of him. Only after he was asleep did I get up and read Dafa books. I also made the most of the time when he was at work.
One day, my husband found me reading Zhuan Falun at home. Although I held onto the book with all my strength, he grabbed it away from me.
He started to tear the book up, saying, “I told you not to practice, and you're going against my wishes.” Then he threw the book into the stove. “I'll burn it and not let you practice Falun Dafa!”
I rushed to take the book out. “If you burn this, I won't want to live.” When he heard that Zhuan Falun was more important than my life, he recovered it.
After that, although I could read the teachings in front of him, I was still fearful and trembled. When he was upset, he often called me names. He also interfered with my practice. Once he threw my exercise music player on the floor. It was not uncommon for him to hit and curse me for practicing Dafa.
Once I had a dream in which there were mountains on both sides of me. In the middle was a spacious road, a peaceful place. I thought it was really a good place to study the Fa and do the exercises. After I woke up, I thought, “This is a hint from Master that I should have a good place to study the Fa and do the exercises.”
I had been thinking day and night about how to study the Fa with dignity. Before dawn one day, I got up and drove my donkey cart to an elderly practitioner's home about four miles away. We studied Master's Fa teachings together and listened to recordings of his lectures in Jinan.
One day when I was reading the Minghui Weekly, it started to lightning and thunder and then it poured. I used to be afraid of weather like that, but that day, it was as if the weather had nothing to do with me. I held the booklet in both hands and saw that every word was golden. My mind was very peaceful and focused. I didn't think about the chores at home or other distracting things.
By studying the Fa, I realized that I came to this world not to be an ordinary person, but to help with Master's Fa-rectification and save sentient beings. My husband opposed me because of the karma I accumulated in my previous lives, so he was actually helping me eliminate it!
Encouraging Former Practitioners to Resume Cultivation
After reading the article “Awakening Former Fellow Practitioners” in Minghui Weekly, I went to find a former practitioner, Bao, in my village who stopped practicing when the persecution began in 1999. I shared with her what I learned from the Fa and told her about the current situation of the Fa-rectification. Bao then decided to resume Dafa cultivation.
Later, I read another article that explained that, before we came to this world, we vowed to remind each other that everyone has the responsibility to awaken others who are lost in the ordinary world. That really made an impression on me, and I went to talk to Cao, another former practitioner who had stopped practicing in 1999. I read Master's new teachings to her. She ignored me but later told me not to read the Fa teachings when her husband and children were at home.
Cao said that she had never attended school and was illiterate. But before the persecution started, she could read Zhuan Falun. Her husband was poisoned by the Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident and was not happy to see me. I finally thought of a way. “Could you please,” I said, “come to my home and help alter my child's clothes. You can come over later.”
I went home and took out Master's teachings and copies of Minghui Weekly. When Cao arrived, I confided, “The reason I asked you to come over is so I could read Master's Fa teachings and practitioners' experience sharing articles to you.” Cao had a good understanding of the Fa and decided to start cultivating again. These two women and I now study the teachings in my home.
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