(Minghui.org) I am a veteran practitioner who began cultivating Falun Dafa in 1996. I am impressed when I look back at the path I have traveled for more than 20 years.
I've experienced the joy of obtaining Dafa, the hardships of getting rid of attachments, and the happiness of uplifting my character (xinxing). This also includes profound regret when I strayed from my path, as well as exhilaration after seeing so many people being helped because of Dafa.
Above all, I am tremendously thankful to Master Li Hongzhi. Words cannot express my gratitude for His compassionate protection and salvation. I feel so fortunate and honored to be a Dafa disciple during the Fa-rectification period.
Following Master, Studying the Fa, and Helping People
I didn't do well when the persecution started due to not studying the Fa well. I regret that to this day.
Master Li said,
“The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.” (“Drive Out Interference,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
So I decided to memorize and recite the book Zhuan Falun. Every day since 2007, after I finish reading one lecture, I have been memorizing and reciting it, paragraph by paragraph.
So far, I have recited Zhuan Falun in its entirety 19 times, which helps me sense how broad and profound Dafa is. This deeper understanding also allows me to see many of my shortcomings more easily, so I can improve myself. As a result, my righteous thoughts have become stronger and stronger.
Master said,
“For a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, personal liberation is not the goal of cultivation: when you came, saving sentient beings was your great aspiration, and that is the responsibility and mission history has bestowed upon you in Fa-rectification. Thus great numbers of beings are to be saved by you.” (“Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World’s People,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III)
I now realize the great responsibility I shoulder as a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple. I am determined to assist Master to help save more people and fulfill my mission.
I have been telling people the facts about Falun Dafa since the spring of 2005. We go out walking, looking for predestined people who are waiting to hear the truth about Falun Dafa and for the opportunity to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations.
At first, I didn’t dare to even say “quit the CCP,” because I was afraid people would accuse me of being political and report me to the police, and then I might be put in jail again.
Since I was still fearful, I couldn't convince people to quit. I realized fear was getting in my way and making people unwilling to listen.
I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate my fear. Gradually, it dwindled, and more and more people wanted to quit the CCP after listening to me. The number of people I helped quit grew from a few people a day, to a dozen a day, then dozens of people every day.
For more than 10 years, I have been going out every day to tell people the truth about Falun Dafa and to distribute materials in all kinds of weather.
I’ve endured a lot. I was cursed and ridiculed by people who did not know the truth. I was also reported to the police and even slapped in the face. I often felt wronged, and tears welled up when I first encountered these situations.
However, I knew from the Fa that hardships were all good things meant to eliminate karma. At the same time, I found my attachments to impatience, fighting, and a competitive mentality, which were related to the CCP culture I grew up in.
I had to get rid of these attachments and improve myself and always treat myself as a true practitioner. Master said, “...balance well relations with others, always maintaining and upgrading xinxing.” (Lecture Eight, Zhuan Falun)
I started to convey more compassion and smile at people calmly when I encountered adverse reactions. I realized this is also the process of assimilating to the Fa and improving oneself.
Due to fatigue and feeling unwell, I sometimes thought, “I will take a day off tomorrow.”
But the next day, I would take the truth-clarification materials with me and walk out of my house as soon as I thought of my responsibility and mission: I can't slack off!
There are so many people who do not know the truth and are still in danger. As soon as I leave home, I send forth righteous thoughts and devote myself to telling people the truth about Dafa.
I am full of joy at the end of each day, with a list of people who understand the truth and wanted to quit the CCP. I feel that more people are awakening, and I am grateful for Master's boundless benevolence.
Disintegrating the Persecution with Compassion and Righteous Thoughts
In 2009, the police often called to harass me. One day when I was outside telling a man about Dafa, someone suddenly grabbed my arm and said, “Are you (my name)?”
I was shocked but quickly calmed down and realized it was a policeman. A passage of the Fa then appeared in my mind:
“...just by having your heart unaffected you will be able to handle all situations.” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s),” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I looked at the officer calmly and smiled without panic or fear. He then let go, and I walked away. He stood there, frozen, holding his bicycle for a long time before he left. When I got home, I sent righteous thoughts to disintegrate all the interference from other dimensions that hinder people from being helped.
Meanwhile, I also focused on disintegrating the fear in my field, as well as my attachment to doing things. The next day I went out to talk to people as usual.
When I was on my way home a few days later, I saw the same policeman as I walked through the gate of my community. He called out my name and said, “I've tried to find you several times. Where have you been today?”
I smiled and said, “What's up? Why have you tried to find me? Do we know each other?” He said, “I am a police officer in your district.”
I then realized that he was the one who had harassed me on the phone and thought to myself, “Police officers are also sentient beings. They should be helped, too!”
So I said as if to a good friend, “We have talked many times on the phone, and I have always wanted to meet you but didn't have a chance. Today is just the right time for us to have a good chat!”
I reached out my hand to invite him to my house. At the same time, I asked Master to help him understand the truth.
All of a sudden, he shouted in panic, “Don't get near me! Don't talk to me!” It was very strange. I wondered, “When I was not afraid, why was he so scared?”
I later understood that the evil factors behind him were disintegrated by my righteous thoughts. As a result, he quickly fled. After that, the officers from that police station never harassed me again.
Helping People in the Detention Center
In the spring of 2010, we were video-recorded when I helped a group of practitioners hang truth-clarification banners. More than a dozen practitioners were arrested.
My home was under surveillance, too. I asked Master for help and went to my daughter's in another city.
But three months later, I was arrested and sent to the detention center anyway. From the beginning, I didn't cooperate with any orders, refused to wear the prisoner’s uniform, and didn't identify myself as a criminal during roll call.
When the officers talked to me, I told them the truth about Falun Dafa. Some of them agreed to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
I spent every day reciting the Fa, doing the exercises, and sending forth righteous thoughts. I seized every opportunity to clarify the truth to the detainees as well.
Later, some officers threatened to increase my term by several years after they discovered what I was doing. I lost my usual sense of peace and calm, and I could feel my attachment of fear rearing its ugly head.
It felt as if a messy lump was sitting on my chest. That evening, when I was doing the second exercise, something Master taught us came to mind:
“Upon awakening, people will stare at one another, only to realize the stage was being set for the Fa.” (“The Big Stage,” Hong Yin II , Translation Version A)
I became clear-headed and thought, “Yes, everything is up to Master. How can I be afraid of them?”
After that, I no longer felt the lump on my chest, and my mind became clear. I continued doing the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts and slept well that night.
The next day, I continued to tell the other detainees the truth about Falun Dafa. I learned a lesson and talked to each person individually with wisdom.
After being detained for four months, I left the detention center with a list of 45 people who’d quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
Helping People During the Pandemic
I visited my daughter in another city for the Chinese New Year on December 25 last year. But I didn't expect the Wuhan virus to break out on New Year's eve.
Cities were closed and roads were blocked, and I was stranded at my daughter's. In the first few days, I took advantage of this time to read more Dafa books.
But the epidemic was getting more and more serious, and the death toll was rising. I thought I had to return home to help people. However, the cities were in lockdown and I couldn't go back; I didn't know what I should do.
One night, I had a clear dream that I was standing in a waist-deep manure pit. I called the practitioners on the shore to save me, but no one came. Then I noticed the ground under my feet was very firm, so I walked ashore on my own. I asked them why they didn't save me.
I then heard a voice say, “All are divine beings—who to save?” I woke up and realized that Master had revealed something to me! I am stuck in the life of ordinary people; isn't this a big manure pit? As a Dafa practitioner, we should always take responsibility for helping to save people.
I thought, “There are no truth-clarification materials in my daughter's house, and there are no pedestrians on the street. How can I help people? I can't stay here, I must go home!”
My daughter said, “The trains and buses aren’t running. How can you go?” I said, “I will follow the railway line and walk home by myself.”
My daughter knew she couldn't stop me, so she let my son-in-law drive me to the rest stop on the highway between the two cities, then my son picked me up there and drove me back home.
The next day, I went out with other practitioners to put up posters and distribute truth-clarification materials to each household. When I met pedestrians, I explained the truth about the persecution.
Through this experience, I realized that, as long as we have the will to help people, Master will arrange everything for us.
Although I have experienced ups and downs over the past 20 years, my heart is full of joy because Master has always been holding my hand!
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