(Minghui.org) I am 71 years old and began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. Looking back on my life and everything my family and I have endured, I see that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is the source of numerous disasters, inflicting immense suffering on my family and countless others across China. In contrast, Falun Dafa, with its Buddha-light, has dispelled the darkness and brought illumination to millions of people.
Here, I would like to share my childhood experiences of my family’s suffering at the hands of the CCP, as well as our experiences since practicing Falun Dafa—especially the blessings of Master’s compassionate protection. My hope is that people can distinguish between good and evil, awaken their conscience and kindness, and embrace Falun Dafa while standing up for justice.
When I was seven or eight years old, my father worked as a clerk for the county magistrate, and my mother was a high school teacher in the local people’s commune. This was during the Cultural Revolution, and teachers were labeled “stinking ninths,” a term used to describe intellectuals, who were widely persecuted at that time. One day, a student deliberately pushed my mother to the ground, which left her bedridden for 14 years and ultimately caused her to resign from her teaching position. I had a brother seven years older than me and still in school at that time, a sister who was three years younger, and another brother seven years younger. We also had two grandmothers, one aged 86 and the other 87. Because I had to help care for my family and my ailing mother, I couldn’t attend school. The burden of taking care of the family fell almost entirely on me. At a young age, I had to take care of the household chores. Fortunately, my mother was a teacher, and she taught me to read whenever she could.
Speaking of the Cultural Revolution, is was a truly chilling time. My family and I suffered greatly because of it! For example, in 1966, simply because my father was the deputy secretary of the people’s commune and my brother was the secretary of the village brigade, they were both labeled “capitalist roaders in power.” Large placards were hung on their chests, and they were paraded through the streets for public criticism. Both my father and brother suffered extreme physical and mental torture. My father was confined to a cowshed for two years and subjected to “struggle sessions” for three years. My brother was subjected to struggle sessions for three years, dragged out for criticism almost every night, forced to kneel on a chair, and beaten with cottonwood sticks. He was humiliated by being forced to wear a large paper hat with insulting words at home, even during the Chinese New Year celebrations. My mother and I, along with other family members, endured the utter torment of witnessing such torture of our loved ones. One can only imagine the heartache and grief we felt.
I was only 14 years old at the time, yet I was forced to become the pillar of my family. The pressure and stress nearly brought me to the brink of collapse. I was ready to fight to the death to save my loved ones. To protect my brother, I gathered a group of village women. And my cousin, who was a class monitor at the village middle school, gathered over a hundred students. We printed 300 red “rebel” armbands. My cousin and I secretly decided that if they beat my brother with cottonwood sticks again, we would rally these 300 people to fight them. Seeing that I was serious, those who planned to beat my brother softened their beatings of my brother, and began to target other villagers whose families were affluent before the CCP took over China. (During the Great Cultural Revolution, wealthy people were considered bad people.) Then my cousin and I stopped “rebelling.” During that era of rampant communism, countless Chinese people suffered tremendous physical and mental damage! Countless families lost loved ones!
I started practicing Falun Dafa in the spring of 1997. Due to my limited understanding, I thought Falun Dafa was just another type of qigong practice. I simply believed that it was particularly effective in curing illnesses and improving health. I enjoyed practicing it. I did the exercises every day, and my previously ailing body became healthy and light, and I was cheerful all day long.
In July 1999, the CCP launched its persecution of Falun Dafa, casting a dark shadow over the country. At that time, my son was in the army and serving in the honor guard at Tiananmen Square. He told my husband and me, “Our unit specifically targets Falun Dafa practitioners. Do you still dare to practice it? If you continue, it could affect my future.” My husband and I pondered the situation, believing that the persecution was like a replay of the Cultural Revolution. Remembering the horrors of that era, we hesitated and temporarily stopped practicing for the sake of our son’s future. However, during the two years he was serving in the military at Tiananmen Square, I called him almost every day, urging him not to arrest Dafa practitioners. I encouraged him to help practitioners return home if he saw someone arresting them.
After I stopped practicing Dafa, all my troubles returned. Take my health, for example. While I was practicing Falun Dafa, I was free of illness and felt light and energetic, without any illnesses. However, after I gave up the practice, I faced numerous health issues, the most serious being heart disease. My son took me to renowned hospitals nationwide, but they told me it couldn’t be cured. I had no choice but to stay at home and leave everything to fate.
Compassionate Master had not forgotten me. On May 26, 2005, five or six practitioners came to my home and encouraged me to return to Dafa cultivation. They explained that Falun Dafa is a high-level practice for cultivating Buddhahood and the Dao, and that it is extremely precious and rare. It is precisely because of this that it faces tribulations and persecution, serving as a test for the disciples. They told me that we must not lose this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cultivate because of a momentary misconception! Their compassionate calls awakened my forgotten memories. Falun Dafa is the Buddha Fa, a path to cultivate Buddhahood and the Dao. If I had understood this earlier, I would not have given it up.
I decided to pull myself together and return to Dafa cultivation. From then on, I once again picked up the precious book Zhuan Falun and studied Master’s lectures given in various locations. The more I read, the clearer everything became. I then understood that the historical mission of Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period is to help Master save sentient beings. I committed myself to cultivating diligently, making up for lost time, and doing the three things well that Master instructed us to do, thereby living up to Master’s compassion and meeting the expectations of sentient beings. Master saw that I had a genuine wish to cultivate, and a month later, my severe heart disease was miraculously healed. My life was renewed when I was on the verge of death.
Fellow practitioners and I worked together to distribute truth-clarification materials to people. At that time, I carried two to three hundred copies of these materials each time we went out, distributing them in residential hallways at night or at village markets. I also clarified the truth to people about Falun Dafa and encouraged them to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Inspired by me, my husband also returned to Dafa cultivation.
A month after I began practicing Falun Dafa again, I found myself completely free of all my health issues, feeling as light and healthy as I had in the past. Then, a test came. One day, I felt a sharp pain in my heart, as if a handful of chili peppers were burning in my chest. I was covered in sweat, my face was pale, and I felt like I was about to faint. I immediately sat down in the lotus position (a meditation posture where each leg is crossed above the other) and sent forth righteous thoughts, eliminating the evil persecution against me. After three days of intense righteous thoughts, the symptoms of the illness karma completely disappeared.
About two years after I returned to Dafa cultivation, my heart was very pure. Master encouraged me, and as I read Zhuan Falun, each word appeared as large as an apple, bright red, and spinning. One time, as I concentrated on sending forth righteous thoughts and entered a state of tranquility, I saw a beautiful, clear waterfall cascading from the sky. It was breathtakingly beautiful. When my grandson was two or three years old, he often mentioned seeing a figure in yellow clothing sitting on a lotus throne above our wall. I realized it was Master’s law body, constantly watching over me.
In the fall of 2018, I went to the market to clarify the truth and returned home just at the global time to send forth righteous thoughts. As soon as I sat down in the meditation position, I felt as if my body was tied up with steel ropes. The more I breathed, the tighter my body became. I almost couldn’t breathe. In that moment, I quickly prayed in my heart to Master for help. As soon as I thought of this, the discomfort in my body disappeared, and I felt very comfortable. After sending righteous thoughts, I shared what I experienced with my whole family. They were thrilled and amazed by Dafa’s miraculous qualities.
On March 2nd of this year, around 2:00 p.m., I prepared dough to make steamed buns. I kneaded the dough, placed it in a basin, and then put it on my bed. After covering it with a small towel, I turned on my electric blanket and set it to high. Then I went to study the Fa. I had a habit of sitting in the full lotus position while studying the Fa, and I could do this for three and a half hours without much pain. That day, I decided to study Lecture Four. I didn’t think much about the dough rising, as I just wanted to finish the lecture before making the steamed buns. I sat down in the lotus position and began to study the Fa in earnest. After completing the lecture, I looked at the clock and realized I had been studying for an hour and a half. I thought to myself, “I should check on the dough. I wonder how it’s rising.” I uncovered the towel and was pleased that the dough was rising perfectly. The bed was still warm, but the electric blanket was off. It then struck me that it must have been Master who turned off the blanket for me, as no one else was there. Typically, the electric blanket required some effort to turn it on and off. I was incredibly moved by this incident. Words could not fully express my gratitude. All I could say was, “Thank you, Master. Thank you, Master.”
I have a nephew who works as a prison warden. One year, he came to visit me. I persuaded him to quit the CCP, explaining that the Party had committed countless evil deeds and that heaven is about to destroy it. During our conversation, he recounted that he once hit a practitioner, slapping him 60 times in a fit of rage. I was furious when I heard this: “You hit a Falun Dafa practitioner?”
He replied, “Yes, but how could I stop? My superiors told me to do it.”
I responded, “Please don’t do it again. These individuals are good people who practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Hitting them is a crime!” I began to explain the principles of Dafa to him, emphasizing the concept of retribution for doing evil deeds. Finally, I said, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is the highest manifestation of the Buddha Fa and are universal principles. It’s not for you or me to decide their validity. They are what created you and me. You must sincerely believe in and act according to these principles. You cannot hit people. How much virtue did you lose by slapping someone 60 times? Without virtue, people have nothing.”
My nephew truly understood that Dafa is good and knew I was sincerely telling him this for his own sake. He then chose to quit the CCP’s organizations, affirming that he would listen to me and treat Falun Dafa practitioners kindly in the future. He also promised to reduce that practitioner’s sentence by five years—the one he had previously slapped.
Under my influence, my mother, brother, sister, and several other relatives began to practice Falun Dafa. The teachings of Dafa dispelled the dark clouds in their hearts, helped them find the true meaning of life, and helped them understand that the purpose of human existence is to return to one’s original nature. My mother, who had been ill for a long time, regained her health and lived to the age of 91, passing away peacefully.
I cried many times while writing this article, feeling sympathy for my family members who have been through such unfortunate experiences. I also shed tears for the Chinese people who continue to suffer under the CCP’s oppressive rule. The turbulent storm of the Cultural Revolution plunged countless families into a sea of suffering. Isn’t it the same today? The CCP still persecutes those with righteous beliefs, cruelly targeting practitioners who uphold the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. They harvest organs from living Falun Dafa practitioners, committing crimes that are unprecedented on this planet! Countless families have lost loved ones. The Party is the root cause of all suffering in the world. The principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is like a clear spring, cleansing people’s long-stalled hearts and minds. Falun Dafa is the source of all human happiness!
I want to urge all kindhearted and just people around the world to recognize the harmful nature of the Communist Party as soon as possible. I encourage individuals to quit the Party to ensure their safety, and to remember these words: “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”