(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 1)
From a newborn to a wobbly toddler learning how to walk, to an adolescence, and a grown-up, these stages of a human life perfectly represent what I have experienced in my journey as a Falun Dafa practitioner over the past 20-plus years.
From the excited new practitioner to the steadfast mature cultivator I am now, this journey is filled with growing pain, but also full of joy and achievements. All the ordeal and agony have been turned into blessings by Master. I can’t say enough about being bathed in Master’s great compassion.
Dafa’s Power: Surviving an Accident
One’s cultivation path is not always flat and straight, and I have encountered unexpected events along the way.
I picked up my daughter from school one afternoon and planned to make a stop at work before heading home. I rode my bicycle with her on the back seat, and as I got close to work and getting ready to cross the road, I looked left and right and then left again, and didn’t see any cars coming. The street was empty and there was not even a pedestrian. Just as I almost reached the other side of the street and almost made it to the gate of my workplace, I saw a motorcycle charging toward me in my peripheral vision. I tried to speed up to give the way to the motorcycle, but as if flying, the motorcycle reached the front of me. “Bang!” I was hit.
When I came to my senses, I realized that I was sitting on the ground and my daughter was standing by me. I asked her, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She calmly said, “I’m fine mom.” I was relieved. I tried to get up and walk.
The two young men riding on the motorcycle were stunned. They came to check on me, “Ma’am, sorry for the scare to you and your child. What do you say? Let’s go to a hospital. Sorry. We didn’t do it on purpose.” I told them, “I know you didn’t purposely hit me. We’re fine. You can leave now.” I got up and found my bicycle which surprisingly was not damaged, but had slightly twisted handles. I twisted the handles back in place and was ready to leave.
The young men, however, blocked me and their attitude was different now. “Ma’am, you’re fine but we both got hurt. Look, our clothes are torn and our new motorcycle is badly damaged.” I took a closer look and found what they said was true. They even had bloodstains on their clothes. Their motorcycle was lying more than ten meters down the road. One of them suggested, “How about you help us fix our motorcycle? Or you can pay us 200 yuan and we’ll take it in ourselves.”
Without thinking too much, I paid them. Quite a lot of people had gathered around us by this point and a lot of them were my co-workers. They didn’t think it was fair for me to pay the young men and told me I should have asked to be compensated. One co-worker tried to call the police. I told them, “It’s more important than anything that my daughter and I are okay. We’re Falun Dafa practitioners and Master protected us. Master taught us to be kind and we don’t want to cause trouble for anyone.” Everybody around smiled and nodded.
As I returned to work years ago, the staff at school learned about Falun Dafa and how I was given a second life. This accident proved to them even more that Dafa not only has amazing powers in healing and keeping fit but also resolves dangerous situations and provides protection. My actions showed them that cultivation elevates a person’s moral values. My co-workers gained a deeper understanding of Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong).
Through me, everyone at work learned that Falun Dafa is good, many read Zhuan Falun, and more than 20 of them started practicing.
Master Looked after My Daughter
I vividly remember another incident. When my daughter was younger, she walked home by herself after school. Sometimes I was home to welcome her but more often than not she got home before I did. She usually sat in front of the door to wait for me to get home.
In the late ’90s, the average household in our area had an additional heavy metal security door installed to prevent burglaries. My daughter couldn’t unlock the security door so she never bothered to bring a key. One night in the winter of 1998, I got stuck at work dealing with something that came up at the last minute. It was already dark when I was done so I hurried to get home. As I got close to our building, I started scanning for my daughter in the community but didn’t see her. I thought she must be waiting for me in front of our apartment. But when I didn’t find her there, I became worried.
I shouted her name and looked everywhere for her. I called my husband and told him that our daughter was missing. He went to look for her at her school but was told that she had left in the afternoon when school was out. The teachers had not seen her and had no idea where she was.
My husband was ready to report a missing child to the police. Having been running around worried sick all night, I was cold and exhausted. I thought, “There is no other way. I have to ask Master for help.” I hung my head and dragged my feet but when we got home and unlocked the doors, I was surprised to see the child sitting on the couch, watching TV and eating snacks.
“How did you get in?” With a mouthful of food, she said, “I waited and waited for you but you never came home. I was hungry. I wanted to get in so I bumped the door with my head and it just opened.” I was curious, “That is a really heavy door made of metal. Even a grownup would have difficulty opening it without a key, how did you open it with your head?” Still shoveling food into her mouth, my daughter said innocently, “I don’t know. I wanted to get in and I opened the doors with my head.” I put my hand on her head and checked it. It didn’t seem to hurt her and was not bleeding. I knew that Master had helped my daughter.
Master’s compassion is omnipresent and he is watching over and protecting us down to the most minute details. There have been many times in my cultivation where I felt like I had come to a dead end and there was no way out. But as long as I remained clam, placed my complete faith in Master and the Fa, and focused on doing the right thing, I was quickly pointed to a way out of the situation.
Immersed in Master’s great compassion, I have gained a wonderful sense of belonging, and I’m filled with warmth, security, and bright outlook in life. I do the exercises each morning, study the Fa each night, and keep busy with work and family during the day. I feel energetic and am always happy. I feel so content in life. It doesn’t matter how much I suffered physically and mentally before, and how many hardships I had to get through to cultivate in Dafa in this lifetime.
Petitioning for the Right to Practice Falun Dafa
When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, I felt that the sky had fallen, and there was darkness everywhere in the country. Newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, and social media helped carry out the government’s propaganda programs slandering Falun Gong. Right and wrong were completely reversed. I firmly believed in Master and the Fa since day one and never wavered. I just didn’t know what I could do for Master and the Fa.
A TV news program reported the arrest of a few Falun Gong practitioners in October 1999. The handcuffed practitioners in the footage looked peaceful and calm. I was touched and happy to see fellow practitioners upholding Falun Gong and the truth. After much contemplation, I decided to follow suit and go to Beijing to show support for Falun Gong and petition the government to stop the persecution. My health, my life, everything that I had was given by Master. When Master and Falun Gong were being attacked and slandered, how could I sit there and do nothing? It is such disgrace to our race and our nation to suppress the universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
I talked to two other practitioners, and the three of us had the same idea. We decided to go to Beijing later that night, so I immediately went home to pack. My daughter was already asleep when I got home. I tried not to wake her, but right before I stepped out of the door, she woke up and begged me to take her with me to Beijing. I explained to her that it was not a good idea, and that she should stay behind, but she insisted.
Traveling with a seven-year-old would certainly be inconvenient. I grew impatient and shouted at her, “This is not a vacation, Mom is going to Beijing to uphold the Fa. I will run into all kinds of situations and obstacles. I may even die and never come back again!” Not about to back down, my daughter raised her voice as well, “I don’t care if I die! I am not afraid!”
Trying to scare her off, I said, “Wouldn’t you be scared if a bad guy held you at gunpoint and was going to kill you?” She looked me dead in the eye and declared, “I am not scared. I am also a Falun Gong practitioner, and I too have the responsibility to uphold the Fa. I am willing to give my life for Falun Gong.”
I could no longer argue with such conviction, and I had no excuse not to bring her along. The four of us set out for Beijing in the dark.
Jiang Zemin, then leader of the CCP, had abused his power and employed the country‘s entire law enforcement system to crackdown on Falun Gong. To prevent Falun Gong practitioners from going to Beijing, all roads leading to the capital were blocked, and many checkpoints had been set up.
We didn’t take a direct train nor a long-distance bus to Beijing in order to avoid being arrested before reaching our destination, Instead, we hitchhiked and rode in private cars. When we couldn’t find rides, we walked for miles and miles to keep moving. We ate and slept outdoors and traveled day and night, sometimes without a proper meal for the entire day. When my daughter was too tired to walk, the three of us took turns carrying her on our backs. Even so, she wore out a pair of shoes.
After taking several detours and getting through multiple checkpoints, we finally arrived at Tiananmen Square. However, the many plainclothes police officers quickly arrested us. We were detained for several days before being escorted back to our hometown. The three of us were detained and the police decided I was the one who organized the trip. My daughter was threatened and interrogated by several police officers before being released to my husband.
Arrested, Sentenced, Detained, and Tortured
Our trip to Beijing became the headline in the local newspaper, radio stations, and TV stations. A city-wide meeting was held to reprimand us for our actions. Though the trip brought quite the ordeal and we were publicly humiliated, I felt relieved for having achieved our goal.
I wanted to uphold the Fa and was ready to give my life before going to Beijing. I didn’t think I would come back alive. Just the fact that I was back in my hometown and still alive was a much better outcome than I expected and was worth celebrating. Although the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) tried so hard to brainwash people with its lies demonizing Dafa, many now know that in the face of adversity, the practitioners are not afraid to uphold their belief, and appeal for Dafa and Master.
My life has since been turned upside down and my days are no longer peaceful. The local authorities and police officers show up frequently to harass and intimidate me. They ransacked my home, arrested and detained me, and monitored my family. I have been arbitrarily arrested and detained three times, sentenced to forced labor and prison, and endured countless abuse and brutal torture.
During the six years I was imprisoned, my health deteriorated rapidly. My lower back was injured and I became paralyzed from the waist down. I could no longer take care of myself. It was such a dark life, but the truth of the universe never ceased to brighten up my day. The compassionate Master was always watching over and taking care of my body and soul.
Regardless of when it was, where I was, or what type of danger I was in, I was never lost. I held on tight to my spiritual belief. My life and my everything was given by Master. No matter what I have lost or sacrificed, it is all worth it. Plus, I realized that all my sacrifices will bring blessings. Even when I lose a tiny bit for upholding the Fa, I will be surprised with blessings by the tenfold.
Being Diligent in My Cultivation
When my college-aged daughter carried me out of the prison and put me in our car, I felt as if wrapped by Master’s profound compassion, and many Falun quickly rotated around me. It was wonderful.
As soon as we got home, my daughter gave me Zhuan Falun—a long-lost treasure. I couldn’t wait and started reading right away. It had been too long. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I read. I felt that Master was right there with me and teaching the Fa to me—I could almost hear his familiar voice. Every character and every sentence was so powerful.
When I put down Zhuan Falun to take a break, I felt the sky was clear and my entire body was transparent. To everyone’s surprise, I stood up after being paralyzed for years. My family members were all so grateful toward Master.
I do have my regrets. In fact, before the prison sentence, Master had given me hints many times and tried to wake me in different ways, but I didn’t enlighten to it. I didn’t eliminate the evil’s arrangements with righteous thoughts and didn’t walk the straight path arranged by Master. I was too foolish.
However, Master never gave up on me even when I was in prison. He encouraged me and helped me enlighten to the Fa principles. I didn’t get them right away, still looked externally to solve my problems, and had many human notions and attachments. Through continuously reciting the Fa and sending righteous thoughts, I learned to examine myself over time and found a huge loophole in my cultivation. I finally got to the root cause of why I was imprisoned, and many of my shortcomings in cultivation.
If I had understood all this, I could have avoided going to prison. However, nothing can turn back time. Spending so many years in the CCP’s correctional system was a waste of my time and my opportunity to cultivate and saving sentient beings.
When the local practitioners heard that I had been released, they gave me great help and support and got me the complete set of Master’s new scriptures.
Through studying the Fa, I gained a deeper understanding of the Fa principles and found where I fell behind in my cultivation compared to others. Through watching The Ultimate Goal of Communism, I learned that communism is an evil spirit from the West that is made up of hatred and low-level things of the universe. This evil spirit possessed the atheist members of the Communist Party and its youth organizations, and its ultimate goal is to wipe out the human race.
In order to save sentient beings and fulfill my sacred mission as a Dafa practitioner, I have learned to download from the Internet and print truth-clarification fliers and booklets. I spend all my free time doing the three things.
The local police planned a large-scale arrest of the local practitioners one year and I was on the list. Several young officers came to my home looking for me. Just as they entered the door, I slipped into the bathroom and locked the door from the inside. I sent righteous thoughts and asked Master for help. I could hear them stomping and searching through every room in my home. I heard them questioning my family and my husband’s clever responses. Half an hour later, they left empty-handed.
My husband later told me that the police searched everywhere, even behind the curtains, except for the bathroom. I was so grateful for Master’s protection. Things usually happen for a reason—I examined myself and found my deep resentment toward my husband and fear. I had also been too focused on truth-clarification projects but didn’t study the Fa enough, and when I did study, I didn’t study with a clear mind.
The storm has not stopped, and the persecution is still ongoing. However, on this difficult but rewarding path of Dafa cultivation, I continue to move forward with Master on my side.
As I improved in cultivation and elevated my xinxing, I understood that as a small particle of Dafa, no matter how much we sacrifice it is all part of the plan. Since we’re beings of this level, we do everything for others and everything we do should be selfless. We’re not doing any of the things we do for Master, instead Master is helping us to achieve our status through them.
Since we had the honor to obtain the Fa at this crucial time in history, we also shoulder the great responsibility of Dafa practitioners.
During the past 20-plus years, I’ve experienced hardships, obstacles, joy, and sorrow, and have seen almost all the evil of the human world. However, it’s a joy to be alive. If I had not practiced Dafa, I would have died long ago. Master gave me a second life and saved me time and time again. Master regularly purifies my body and helps me elevate my level. Whenever I slack off in my cultivation, Master always gives me hints and tries to get me back on track. When I cultivate diligently, Master always rewards me for my effort.
Master said,
“The beings that have come to this world, [including those that] couldn’t become human beings and became animals or plants—all of them are waiting for Dafa disciples to save them. If you don’t do well, it’s not just a matter of you yourselves not doing well—the beings that you have vowed to save will lose their chance. Your responsibility is great. The future is waiting for you, and numerous beings in the cosmos are waiting for you.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference”)
During this unprecedented time in history where Master is here to save sentient beings, we have no reason not to do well as Dafa practitioners.
(The End)
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