(Minghui.org) Sixty years ago, I was 8 years old and my grandma was in her 60s. She often told us there will be a Buddha living in the world in the future offering salvation to people. She said we must cultivate our character well to survive, because 8 out of 10 people will be weeded out.
My grandma also predicted other things that happened. For example, she said there would soon be a movement to sweep away all “cow demons and snake spirits.” So she destroyed the big Buddha statue in her house and sold the copper it was made of. When the Red Guards came to her house during the Cultural Revolution to demand the statue, it was already gone.
My father had three brothers and a younger sister. My aunt gave birth to twin girls. In 1993, one of the twins was hospitalized in Beijing and diagnosed with throat cancer. My aunt rented a place in Beijing so she could visit her daughter every day.
A neighbor felt sympathy for my aunt and told her, “There is a qigong Master spreading the Fa, and it heals illnesses very fast. You should take your daughter to His lectures.”
My aunt asked, “Who is this Master?” The neighbor replied, “Master Li Hongzhi. He is very kind. You can tell from his appearance – very benevolent!”
My aunt exclaimed, “I will attend for sure. He must be the Buddha that my mother told us about when we were little. She said a Buddha will walk the earth offering salvation to people!”
My aunt’s son-in-law was a military officer; he didn’t believe in spiritual things. My aunt said, “You should believe. My mother told us about this when we were little. I must take my daughter to his lectures.”
They attended four Falun Gong lecture series in Beijing. Her daughter’s cancer was cured. My aunt and her husband told everyone in their extended families about this, and encouraged them to attend a Falun Gong lecture series.
My aunt said, “We all should go. This Master is a Buddha! We all have the inborn quality. This is Buddha Fa. If you learn it and become a good person, when the big disaster strikes, you will be safe!”
Attending My First Lecture Series
I was a poor widow living in the countryside, raising four kids and several cows. I had endless work every day and was careful to avoid becoming a part of people’s gossip. I was often physically and mentally exhausted.
My aunt told me, “You should attend the Falun Gong lectures.” I said, “I have too much work to do. Who’s going to take care of my kids if I go?” She said, “You must go. You will find everything has an explanation. I guarantee you will feel better!”
She signed me up for the lectures in Harbin in 1994. However, a big flood that year kept me from crossing the river, and I didn’t go.
Prior to the Falun Gong lecture series in Yanji, my aunt cautioned, “You must go this time. If you miss it, you will miss it forever! The Guangzhou lecture series will be the last one, and you cannot afford the air tickets.”
I said, “I only have 40 yuan. The trip costs hundreds of yuan.” My aunt lent me her life savings of 200 yuan, which she earned by selling popsicles.
My brother and I made it to the city of Yanji. Everything seemed expensive to us, so we ate steamed buns with mustard root in soy sauce every day.
When Master Li arrived at the stadium, everyone watched Him walk toward the stage. Tears streamed down my face. I had an urge to greet Master, but my human thoughts stopped me: with such poor inborn quality and poor status, I dared not to get close. I had low self-esteem and stood at a distance watching others greet Him.
The stadium was huge, and we sat far away. There was nothing but a chair and a table on the stage with a bottle of water on it. However, Master did not drink anything during the lectures.
Master cleansed our bodies. He told us to think about our illness or the illness of a family member while stomping our foot in unison. I was healthy. I thought, “If only my husband was alive, wouldn’t he be cured by now?”
After my husband passed away, I worshiped something written on a piece of yellow paper with black ink for him. I now knew it was related to “foxes, weasels, ghosts, and snakes.” I no longer wanted to worship this at all. So I thought about cleaning it out while stomping my foot.
When Master Li got off the stage to teach the exercises, He looked as tall as he was on the stage. But when a practitioner was teaching the exercises, the practitioner looked much shorter. I was amazed how tall Master Li always looked. I was convinced He is not a normal person and must be a Buddha!
I once saw Master Li buying a pen in a shopping center, and He did not have any staff with Him. Master Li was always so kind and I wanted to greet Him, but my doubt stopped me again: I am nobody! I didn’t dare to walk over. When I came back, I regretted it so much, “Why did I not even greet Master?”
After attending six lectures, my brother asked me if I missed being home. I said, “It didn’t even occur to me.” Indeed, I did not miss home at all. I had several old cows. My younger children were 14 and 16, and my 21-year-old daughter was pregnant and could have used some help.
More than 5,000 people attended the Yanji Lecture series, and 41 were from my extended family. I liked listening to Master Li, although I did not fully understand the teachings. Some relatives, including my aunt’s daughter, who had attended multiple lectures helped me understand a little bit. Since her cancer was cured, she had been attending every lecture series Master Li gave.
There were 17 to 18 people practicing Falun Gong in our village. Only three to four had an elementary school education and could read. I never went to school and could read only a few characters, but I did not want to put the book down.
My aunt organized a Fa study group, but she was also anxious about being illiterate. She said no matter how tired she was after work, as soon as she read “the book,” she was not tired anymore.
I copied some characters on my palms every day and asked people on the street to teach them to me. I got up early and stayed up late to make sure I did all the exercises. I also listened to Master’s recorded lectures and recited “On Dafa.”
Clarifying the Truth amid the Persecution
The persecution began after I practiced Falun Gong for thee years. When someone came to our village to confiscate Falun Gong books, my village official said to him, “Please be nice to them and only ask for things such as broken cassette tapes so you can report back that you did your job. Please don’t confiscate everything. This is the Buddha Fa!”
My village official told me about this. I said, “You’re so kind. A righteous word from you will enable all of us to practice Falun Gong.”
Later on, he was diagnosed with cancer. I told him, “When I attended Master Li’s lectures, I saw Master Li was tall, while others were short.” He said, “I believe you. Master Li is different from others. He has to be a Buddha.”
I asked, “Why don’t you learn Falun Gong? I have Master Li’s main book – Zhuan Falun.”
“Can you bring it to me some day? I want to read it.” He finished reading the book in four days and remarked, “The book is so good! Really good!”
About six years after the persecution started, I went to live in the city to take care of my grandson. I hardly knew any practitioners there. Being illiterate and lacking a cultivation environment, I slacked off. Everyday people’s things filled my schedule. Over time, I almost stopped practicing, even though I always knew in my heart Falun Gong is good.
Occasionally, I did the exercises with my other aunt. She was illiterate, too. We asked my sister-in-law (who didn’t practice Falun Gong) to read a passage from Zhuan Falun for us. We did not want to burden her too much, so most of the time we listened to Master’s lectures on cassette tapes.
I ran into a practitioner who began to clarify the truth to me. I told her I also practice Falun Gong. She introduced me to a Fa study group, and they taught me how to read. I can now read the entire Zhuan Falun. However, I have not yet systematically studied Master's supplementary Fa Teachings.
One day a practitioner shared Master’s Fa with me,
“Spiritual perfection is only possible for a Dafa disciple who takes the Fa’s teachings as his guide and doesn’t lose the heart he had at the start!” (“A Strong and Urgent Warning”)
I told myself I must be diligent because I want to follow Master home.
Master Protected Me from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
During the time I was caring for my grandson, I asked my son to take his child to his maternal grandma so that I could take a break for a few days.
I took out Zhuan Falun and read as much as I could. I also did the exercises and continued reading. At about 8 p.m., I checked to see if the heating stove was doing okay and fell asleep.
In the end, I did not remember how I got out of the bedroom, crawled through the hallway to the living room, and then past the kitchen to the bathroom. I then somehow managed to make it back to the living room and lay down on the floor. I only remembered the floor was cold.
I called my son, and everyone rushed back and found me sitting in bed. They asked me what happened. “I had carbon monoxide poisoning. I remember nothing from last night. The stove looked fine; I had no idea it was leaking. If I had stayed in the bedroom with the door closed, I would have died for sure. I am so lucky to be alive because I practice Falun Gong. I know Master saved me. I am so grateful to Master!”
After returning home, I thought, “I can be diligent by listening to the tapes and doing the exercises.”
Although I'm still anxious because I cannot read smoothly, I must advance diligently by taking the Fa’s teachings as my guide and not lose the heart I had at the start!
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