(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in the spring of 1999 when I was in elementary school. My mother had started cultivating Dafa because of illness. One day she left a copy of Zhuan Falun on the windowsill. I opened the book and saw Master Li’s photo. I remembered the three words: Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
After that, as soon as I closed my eyes when I went to bed, I could hear the deafening sound of a propeller—it was as if I was standing in front of an aircraft. The sound seemed to draw me in, with everything around me shaking violently. Now I know that it was a Falun.
My mother gradually recovered from her illness by practicing Falun Dafa. I played with other kids at the practice site every day. At home, I often listened to Master Li’s lectures and recited Hong Yin. That was truly a wonderful time. Recalling that time, I felt as if I was surrounded by golden light.
Before I truly understood what cultivation was, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Dafa. On July 20, 1999, my family and I set out for Beijing to appeal for the right to practice, but we were stopped at the provincial capital. I was fearful and yet felt a sense of determination far beyond my years. What was foremost in my mind was to protect the Fa!
Returning to Cultivation
After graduating from college, I looked for a job. I faced hardship and suffering. I then began to pursue a promotion and fell in love. I struggled, holding on to human attachments, and was lost for about 10 years. I was depressed, in pain, and helpless. Even worse, I became haggard and irritable. I often asked myself: “Is this how my life is supposed to be?”
I resigned from my job and went home. I still held on to the relationship that I could not get myself out of. My mother’s fellow practitioners tried to counsel me, but everything went in one ear and out the other. Then they took me to study the Fa. At first, I was very resistant, although my mother tried to help me. As long as I studied the Fa and did the exercises, she seemed relieved. Eventually, I began to study the Fa on my own and recognized my attachment. Finally, I was able to free myself from the bondage of my relationship.
A window opened in my heart. The sky looked blue in my world again. My heart was at peace when I closed my eyes. Life became easier, and I was happier. I knew that, with Master’s help, I had begun to cultivate again.
Maybe it was Master who saw my determination to cultivate. I always felt encouraged after I meditated and studied the Fa. I once saw two dragons hovering in front of my head when I was doing the standing meditation exercise. I was wearing a Taoist robe and black boots. Two Fa guardians stood on either side of me. I felt greatly encouraged to cultivate.
Master said:
“We cultivators always let things happen naturally. If something is yours, nobody will take it away, and if something isn’t yours, you won’t be able to get it even by fighting for it.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
I finally got the job that I had dreamed of since I was a child. I promised in front of Master’s portrait that I would validate Dafa in this profession. I was quite excited when I started.
I met other practitioners. Their kindness made me feel that they were real practitioners and that I had a lot of room for improvement to meet Master’s requirements. I hoped that those days would go on forever. I even had a skip in my step as I walked.
Dark Clouds Gather
Before long, I was arrested and detained along with several other practitioners. Locked inside gray walls and iron gates, I had a moment of doubt. I was frightened when it was dark and silent. I didn’t know if violence or freedom would greet me the next day. However, I could clearly feel that, whenever the darkness passed, there was always a beam of light in front of me. I knew it was Master.
I was taken to a cell with an open window. It was early winter, and I only had on thin clothes. Beside me sat a tattooed prisoner. I really suffered in this cold and dirty place. The old forces wanted to use this to put me through “fear” and “hardship.”
I recited Master’s poem:
“A Great Enlightened One fears no hardshipHaving forged an adamantine willFree of attachment to living or dyingHe walks the path of Fa-rectificationconfident and poised”(“Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions,” Hong Yin Vol. II, Translation Version A)
I remember one extremely difficult night. Around 7:00 p.m., four or five policemen took turns interrogating me. They bullied me and threatened to beat me. It was 2:00 a.m. and I was in a strange, dark room with a cold iron chair. I heard the metallic clink of handcuffs and weird cries of feral cats outside the window. I became aware of my declining physical strength and righteous thoughts and felt that I was close to my limit. However, Master strengthened me again, and I survived the night.
The Reason for This Persecution
A hint in my dreams showed me the reason I was being persecuted. It was lust. In the dream, I lived in a beautiful big house with many lovely beings. However, I exhibited lust so I was driven from the house. I was standing out in the open about to cry, but no tears fell from my eyes. I was so ashamed. I could not raise my head to face those who trusted me. The looks they gave me are still fresh in my mind: sadness, disappointment, reluctance, and so on. After I woke up, I regretted having held onto lust. I decided to eliminate lust and purify myself.
When I was next interrogated, I told the police the truth about Dafa in my own way. I told them about the beauty of Dafa and how it changed my life. At the beginning, the vast majority of police officers hated Dafa because they believed the Party propaganda. They thought those who practiced it were elderly and lower class. But that day they met practitioners who were college students and young people with good educations and great personalities – all of us practicing Dafa. They were curious and admired us.
I tried to stay calm as I talked about the preciousness of Dafa. Gradually, they started to listen and began to change. They became more polite, even protecting me to a certain degree. Witnessing how they changed, I was in awe Master’s magnificence. Soon, I was released.
Master Appears and Brings Hope
After returning home, I immediately began to cooperate with fellow practitioners to rescue my wrongly imprisoned family members. I hired a lawyer, communicated with the police, prevented illegal court sessions, and so on.
However, when one layer of “fear” was removed, another layer invaded me, so I studied the Fa intensively and sent righteous thoughts. The rescue process was arduous and tedious. Hardship and hopelessness were two big obstacles. The process of cooperating with the local practitioners was really like Guan Yu’s crossing five passes and slaying six generals [a story from Chinese history that represents overcoming all difficulties]. Because of my firm belief in Dafa, I broke down layers after layers arranged by the old forces.
The effort that went into this rescue got all local practitioners working together as one body and dissolved the persecution environment. We clarified the truth to any agency or department related to the rescue. More and more practitioners joined us. With Master strengthening us, our actions were positive. However, emotion interfered with me and disturbed my ability to concentrate on studying the Fa.
I remember one time I got home at around 1 a.m. and it was raining. I sat in the car, exhausted. A thought suddenly hit me: “Why do I have to suffer so much? I wished that no one had to suffer.” I then realized that something was not right. I was harboring sentimentality for my family! How could I eliminate the persecution by the old forces with that emotion? I needed righteous thoughts, not emotions. Only lives without the Fa felt lonely and helpless. I had Master!
I looked out the window. There was Master. His tall figure stood in the rain and looked at me with compassion, as if to say, “Kid, don’t be afraid. Master is here.”
Dafa Brought Beauty and Light to Our Family
Master said, “Dafa will bring good fortune to its disciples after they let go of ordinary human attachments.” (Lecture at the First Conference in North America)
Soon after that, I found a good job. Although there were still difficulties, I was on the right track: improving my professional level, forming karmic relationships, and laying a foundation for the future.
The persecution of my mother hurt our family. Relatives belittled us and thought that cultivation only resulted in discrimination and pain. Some relatives treated us with pity, thinking that it was cultivation that hurt us.
I made a really good income, more than what many of my elders earned. Because of cultivation, I looked younger and had more energy than others my age. In time, our relatives changed their attitudes. They realized that it was Dafa that brought us good fortune. Our standard of living improved. Sometimes we helped our relatives, and they no longer maligned Dafa in front of us. All of these were blessings from Master.
Finally, I would like to quote Master’s Fa to encourage everyone:
“Anyway, I just want to tell you that, as Dafa disciples, you should know how enormous your responsibility is, and this is not a child’s game. This undertaking has already come to the last stage, and I am extremely worried, yet you still do not treat it seriously. In the end, however, it will be too late even if you cry. Everything in the human world was arranged purposefully so as to arouse people’s attachments; there are so many things that prevent you from being saved. You do not consider yourself a cultivator and follow along with those things?! You are the hope for all sentient beings, and you are the hope for lives in your area!” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference”)
Thank you, Master, for allowing me to enter Falun Dafa cultivation!
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