(Minghui.org) I’d like to share some parts of my cultivation path to validate the extraordinary nature of Falun Dafa, and Master Li’s wonderful, compassionate saving grace.
I began cultivating Falun Dafa in July 1998, when I was 50 years old. On that day, a good friend of mine saw that I was in low spirits and introduced Falun Dafa to me. He told me how great the practice was, with amazing effects in healing illnesses and keeping fit.
Seeing Master Li for the First Time
The first day I went to a Fa-study group was to watch Master’s recorded Fa lectures from Jinan City. When I saw Master, I felt happy and very secure. I enjoyed so much of what he taught. Even though I couldn’t remember everything Master said, I was truly drawn to it.
I also saw that Master’s body was surrounded by something like flames, and there were flames all around his fingers. Whenever he spoke, the flames flickered. I thought that everyone saw the same thing, but when I checked with the other practitioners afterward, they told me they didn’t see anything. They remarked that my enlightenment quality was good. I felt so fortunate to have such a wonderful Master. I made up my mind to follow Master Li to cultivate until the very end.
Master cleansed my body after I had been practicing Falun Dafa for about a month. I was cured of several illnesses that I had spent a lot of time and money trying to get rid of. I was relaxed and had boundless energy. No words can express my happiness and gratitude for Master.
Before practicing cultivation, I was always sad, and whoever talked to me felt depressed. After I began cultivating, I smiled all day long. I was happy from the bottom of my heart. I sometimes woke up laughing even when I was asleep. People who knew me said that I was like a different person. Dafa is truly extraordinary!
Not even a year after I began practicing, however, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Dafa. As a result, we lost our group Fa-study environment. I felt very bitter. When Master saw my heart to persist in cultivation, he arranged to have me study the Fa with another two female practitioners, which delighted me.
I have a limited education, but these practitioners were both highly educated. They read the Fa fluently and rarely made mistakes. But when it came to me, I often added or omitted words. They patiently corrected me. I felt I didn’t know how to enlighten to the Fa, and was very anxious. But the more anxious I became, the more mistakes I made. I couldn’t stand my vanity and attachment to saving face. I was under a lot of pressure and wanted to quit, so I shared my thoughts with them.
They were so kind, and encouraged me not to leave the group. They said, “As long as you put your heart into it, Master will take care of you. Then you will for sure read well!”
Their selfless hearts deeply moved me. I didn’t want to leave them either. Especially at that time, it was so hard to find a Fa-study group. So I changed my mind and continued to study with them.
Over a period of time, I was empowered by Master and patiently helped by other practitioners. I could read the Fa better day by day and no longer lagged behind the others.
Eliminating My Attachment to Self-Interest
My god-sister’s mother was hospitalized in March 2001. Because her eyesight was not good, I took a shift to help take care of her mother at night. Her brother owned a company and was busy working. He saw me taking care of his mother in the hospital several times and gave me 1,000 yuan, saying that I could use it for transportation. I couldn’t refuse it.
The next day, I woke up in the middle of the night with severe pain. It felt like many needles were piercing the left side of my chest, and it became more and more severe. I couldn’t lie down at all. I began to feel the seriousness of this matter, then started doing the Dafa exercises. After I finished the first, third, and fourth exercises, the pain was alleviated. When I started doing the second exercise, I thought, “There must be something wrong with me. But where did it go wrong?”
After I thought it over, suddenly that 1,000 yuan gift hit me. Should I have accepted it? As a practitioner, we should not seek returns for what we do, but didn’t I not ask for any returns? The reason why I helped my god-sister was to repay her kindness to me. I was wrong, as I shouldn’t have taken the money. When I realized this, I was about to move my hands down to the next position of the second exercise then, “swish,” it felt like a bowl of cold water was rushing down the left side of my chest. It was so comfortable! I felt so good in my heart. The lightness of holding the wheel (in the second exercise) was very wonderful. I had found the issue, so Master was encouraging me.
When I was doing the sitting meditation, it was just like what’s said in Zhuan Falun. It felt like I was sitting in an egg shell, and I felt very comfortable and wonderful. Both my arms and legs were very light and enveloped by energy.
With this hint, I knew I needed to correct my mistake by giving the money back. When dawn broke, I told my husband what had happened and what I decided to do. He was very supportive. After we finished dinner, we went to the hospital and gave the money back to my god-sister’s brother. After that, my chest pain was completely gone.
Facing a Physical Tribulation to Eliminate Karma
One morning after I finished breakfast at 6:30 a.m., it was still early for work, so I sat in the full-lotus position to study the Fa, and was going to head out at 7:30 a.m. But I forgot about the time. By the time I checked, it was almost 8 a.m. I unfolded my legs, got up, and was about to head out for work. But before I could stand firmly, I heard a “click” and fell down. I sat up and saw that the sole of my left foot was twisted, which shocked me.
Instantly, Master’s words cast into my mind:
“We have said that good or bad comes from a person’s initial thought, and the thought at that moment can bring about different consequences.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I thought that as a practitioner I had Master to safeguard me, and I would be fine. So I bent my foot, and it straightened.
I stood up to take a look, realizing that when my foot touched the ground, it didn’t hurt much and was just a bit numb. I quickly ran downstairs and rode my bike to work. Ten minutes later, I arrived at work. Then my foot started to hurt and became more and more swollen. It was a bit difficult to walk, so I decided to go back home. When I got to my building, I had to hold onto the stair railing, and managed to get to the fourth floor where I lived.
As soon as I entered my apartment, I thought: Would this affect my doing the exercises? I quickly sat on the bed in the full-lotus position. My foot didn’t hurt at all. After I did the meditation for a little while, I felt something like an air current running down from my left thigh to the tip of my toes, and the cold air was expelled from the tip of my toes on my left foot. I believe this was Master using the tribulation to eliminate my karma. I was very happy. I sat in meditation for an hour, and my foot didn’t hurt much, except there was a purple patch on the top of my foot.
My husband came home around 1:00 p.m. When he saw my foot, he wanted to take me to the hospital. I didn’t agree. So he went to a pharmacy and bought a bottle of ointment and told me how effective the medicine was. He put down the bottle and left. I began to study the Fa and do the exercises. Every time I finished doing the sitting meditation, the purple color on my foot expanded.
My husband came home that night and saw that my foot was getting worse. He picked up the medicine and noticed the bottle had not been opened. He got upset and said, “You don’t want to go to the hospital or apply medicine. Do you want to die?” He didn’t eat and just lay in bed in anger.
After he had calmed down a bit, I said, “Don’t be angry. I know you are doing this for my own good, but I’m a practitioner and I know what to do. Give me three days. If it still doesn’t heal after that, you can do whatever you want with my foot.”
I put my heart down and left my fate to Master. I studied the Fa and did the exercises intensively. My foot was still swollen and covered in bruises. I then did the sitting meditation for longer periods. The following night, my whole foot was as swollen as an eggplant, and the sole and toes were purple. It wouldn’t even fit into my slipper. But my foot hardly hurt at all. I knew this was Master suffering for me.
My husband kept looking at my foot on the third morning, but he didn’t say a word and went to work. When he came back in the evening, he looked at my foot and said, “Wow! Your foot is normal! There is no mark at all.” He was stunned. I only put my mind on studying the Fa and doing the exercises. I didn’t even notice when it got better. My husband exclaimed, “This is amazing! It was so swollen this morning, how can it be healed so quickly? This is truly amazing!”
Creating My Own Cultivation Path
A requirement of the Fa-rectification period is to set up materials production sites all over. With practitioners’ help, I set up one at my home in 2009 and began to supply some senior practitioners with Minghui Weekly and other informational materials, including bundles of fliers for practitioners to take to the countryside. Even though I was very busy, I felt fulfilled.
Clarifying the facts to people face-to-face was my weak point. I truly admired those who could handle that well. Master asked us to step forward to talk to people about Falun Dafa, yet I never made the breakthrough.
Master said:
“Clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings are what you need to accomplish. There is nothing else for you to accomplish. There is nothing else in this world that you need to accomplish.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)
After reading Master’s Fa, I became more worried. When Master saw my heart for saving people, he arranged for two practitioners who were experienced in talking to people, to go with me every day. We studied the Fa in the morning and then went out to clarify the facts to people—rain or shine.
One of the practitioners was close to 80 years old. She has talked to people about Dafa face-to-face for many years, and is very experienced. She wasn’t picky and talked to anyone she ran into. She was also a wise person and had strong righteous thoughts. While clarifying the facts, she chatted and laughed, just like chatting with relatives she hadn’t seen for a long time. Her rate for helping people quit the CCP was very high. I wanted to copy her, but it didn’t work no matter how hard I tried.
Through Fa-study, I came to understand that this was her cultivation realm. Her righteous thoughts and wisdom came from the Fa, and I understood where I fell short. I tried to learn from others, as opposed to elevating myself based on the Fa. I often told myself, “Only Master is omnipotent. I must study the Fa seriously and study more often.” With this mindset, I’d be confident in doing the three things, which would also help me to improve my xinxing.
I figured out a way to help Master save people, by following what I enlightened to on the basis of the Fa. Even though I haven’t been able to achieve the same effects as the other practitioners, I created my own path. During the process, some of the people I talked to believed what I said, as if they were waiting for me. Soon after I started talking to them, they decided to quit the Party.
However, it was rather hard for some others. No matter what I said, they didn’t believe me, but they did not treat me badly. There were some others who cursed at me, or reported me to the police. I ran into all kinds of people. Under Master’s benevolent protection, I always returned home safe and sound.
I still have many attachments and shortcomings. For example, I tried to avoid talking to people from my own area; I was reluctant to talk to those whom I disliked, and I didn’t dare talk to people when it was crowded. All these circumstances came down to my own attachments. Since there are still many attachments that I haven’t eliminated, I should study the Fa and elevate my xinxing as quickly as possible.
Thank you, Master, for your benevolent protection over these many years.
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