(Minghui.org) To cultivate in the Buddha Fa, a cultivator must return to his or her true self, which requires both perseverance and determination. And one must not waver in the face of various tests and must make the right choices.
I remember a dream I had in the early days of practicing Falun Dafa. In the dream, it was a summer day, and my sister-in-law and I were sitting in the shade of a tree in the yard enjoying the cool air. There was a well next to us. Suddenly I saw thousands of ants crawling into the blood vessels of my calf. In an instant, they were crawling all through my body in the transparent blood vessels. I was disgusted and felt they were very dirty. I quickly started to pull out my blood vessels. My blood vessels were thrown all over the ground. My sister-in-law begged: “Sister, stop pulling out your blood vessels! You will die!” I said firmly, “I’d rather be shattered to pieces than have these dirty things inside me!”
As I said this, I pulled everything out of my body, leaving only a layer of empty skin. When I saw that blood vessels with ants crawling inside were all over the ground, I stepped on them in disgust and crushed them to pieces.
Suddenly, I woke up from my dream, and my whole body was soaked in sweat. I realized that Master Li (Dafa’s founder) had purified my body. I was reborn and was no longer an ordinary person! I only had a layer of human skin on the surface. I understood that no matter how many difficulties and obstacles I encountered in my cultivation, I would follow Master and without a doubt return to my true home!
After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution of Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) practitioners in July 1999, without hesitation, I embarked on the path of anti-persecution, validating the Fa, clarifying the truth, and awakening people.
On my path of cultivation, every obstacle and difficulty I encountered was about making the right choice.
One day during my summer vacation in 1999, a leader of the factory I worked at came to talk to me. I was a teacher in the school the factory operated for employees’ children. The leader asked me whether I wanted to keep my teaching position or adhere to my Falun Dafa belief. I chose Falun Dafa without hesitation. I then lost my teaching position at the school and was taken to the factory to do labor work as part of a “re-education.” My family, relatives, and friends didn’t understand my choice. At that time, I felt helpless. I tried to find time to study the Fa. Dafa gave me endless hope and courage.
I was the oldest person working in the factory workshop. I was in my 40s, while most of the workers in the workshop were young temporary workers. Every day, I started work at 5:30 a.m. and got off work at 10 p.m. It was a fast-paced assembly line operation, and workers only had 10-minute breaks for meals and the restroom. In general, workers had the day off during holidays, but I was not allowed to take holidays. I was monitored all the time.
During that time, I felt I was tortured physically and mentally, and each day felt like an eternity. Yet I never regretted my choice. As a cultivator, I knew that tribulations were opportunities to eliminate karma and human attachments and improve my xinxing.
Every day I thought: I am Master’s practitioner and have benefited directly from Dafa. How can I just take without giving anything back? As a Dafa practitioner who understands the truth about Dafa, I shall take the initiative to safeguard Dafa and seek justice for Master! This is the basic conscience of a human being.
A fellow practitioner and I headed to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa on October 1, 2000, intending to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa, and seek justice for Dafa and Master. I was arrested by the local police when they saw me on the road and taken directly to a detention center. I was illegally detained for 10 days.
My father, who was in his 70s and retired, was shocked to hear that I was detained. He was extremely upset and angry. He hid on the balcony and shed tears in distress. After I returned home, I told my father what happened. He did not blame me; he just said that the CCP had its ways of governing people and told me to be careful. A day later, my father said: “Yesterday, when I was riding my bike to the flower market, I thought about you. I thought my daughter was amazing! I am very proud of you!” I knew this was Master using my father’s words to encourage me.
In the summer of 2001, because I refused to give up my faith in Falun Dafa, the local 610 Office threatened my mother and husband, and asked them to force me to go to the provincial prison’s brainwashing class. They threatened not only me but even said that my husband would lose his job if I didn’t give up my practice. My family members and fellow practitioners advised me to leave home and hide somewhere to avoid being persecuted. At that time, I put everything aside - fame, fortune, family, and life and death. I decided I would not leave home and hide; I would face everything with dignity. I believed Master was by my side, and Master had the final say in everything. I maintained my righteous thoughts and did not compromise. I went on a hunger strike at home to protest.
The local police and leaders at my workplace forced my husband to visit the provincial prison’s brainwashing center, and they lied about how “successful” the brainwashing class was. As soon as my husband got out of the car there, he saw several thugs dragging a middle-aged woman out of a car and dragging her to the courtyard. A man said mockingly: “She will learn to obey after several days.” In fact, the Falun Dafa practitioners who did not "transform" in the brainwashing class, were immediately taken to prison. Some became disabled due to persecution, and some were even tortured to death.
When my husband returned from visiting the brainwashing center, the police and leaders at my workplace followed him directly into my home, preparing to take me to the brainwashing center. My husband pointed to the food on the table and told them that I had been on a hunger strike for three days, not eating or drinking. They saw me lying on the bed with my eyes closed and not saying a word. In the end, they left without forcing me to go.
What stopped the police from persecuting me was not my virtue or abilities, it was because I had a heart that adhered to the Fa, and then Master protected me!
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Category: Improving Oneself
