(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1996 and I’m now 65 years old. I’ve experienced many positive changes and I often remind myself to cultivate well.
I’d like to tell you about some of my cultivation experiences so people know how great Falun Dafa is.
I Begin Practicing
I used to be riddled with illness and even people in the nearby communities knew I was barely surviving. I sometimes fainted while I worked in the fields. When I went to the hospital, the doctor told me there was no medicine that could treat me, and I should just go home and rest. I understood that my illnesses were incurable.
I became depressed after I suffered from both physical and mental torment for so many years. I was mentally confused, and I sometimes cried or laughed uncontrollably. When I cried, it was endless, and when I laughed I could not stop. The children were so frightened that they cried, and I felt very sad. I just endured the days like this.
In July 1996, an elderly villager told me, “Today we’re showing a video of lectures given by Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa. Please come and watch. Falun Dafa can improve one’s health and resolve illnesses.” I thought, I’ve been ill for such a long time—even a divine being might not be able to cure my illness. Plus, I couldn’t sit still, and if I lay down it would bother others.
Three days later, this woman’s daughter-in-law asked me to accompany her to watch the videos. Because she didn’t get along with her mother-in-law, she was embarrassed to go by herself and wanted me to go with her. I felt awkward refusing this time, so I went.
The moment I saw Master in the video, I was so excited—it was as if I finally saw a family member! Every word Master spoke was deeply imprinted in my mind and engraved in my heart. I realized that my suffering was caused by the karma I’d accumulated over countless lifetimes, and that being sick and uncomfortable was a way of repaying that karma. When others treat me badly, they are actually helping me eliminate karma. I should be grateful to them, not angry.
I understood that my purpose in this life is not to be human, but to return to my true self. Master is paving the way back to the divine for us. The more I listened, the more I wanted to hear. I sat on the bench, completely still. As I watched the video, Master’s body radiated golden light. When Master raised his palm, a white light appeared before my eyes. At that moment, I knew that Master was not an ordinary person.
I felt light as I walked home, and I had no trouble preparing dinner. That evening, I only felt a slight headache. I knew Master was adjusting my body. I immediately lay down and fell asleep. When I woke up, I felt a cool breeze on my head, and then my headache was gone. Compassionate Master removed all my ailments. I was overjoyed and I felt incredibly blessed.
Sharing the Goodness of Dafa With Others
After we watched Master’s nine video lectures, Falun Dafa practitioners taught us the five sets of exercises. The practitioners who organized the workshop came from out of town. They noticed that I was learning diligently, and I was young. One of them asked, “Could you help organize everyone to study the Fa and practice the exercises here from now on?” I gladly agreed.
My home was quite spacious. At first, there were about twelve people, then dozens came, and later there were up to 80. Since Dafa is so good, I thought that the more people know about the practice, the better. So the other practitioners in the village and I went to nearby villages, and we showed people Master’s lecture videos and taught them the exercises. Many people in the region started practicing Falun Dafa and almost everyone knew about the practice.
Some practitioners and I also traveled to my mother’s village to tell people about Falun Dafa. Back then, the only mode of transportation was bicycles, and practitioners were exhausted from riding such a long distance. I would cook, and after we finished eating, we played the videos of Master’s lectures. Then we had to return because I needed to cook for my family. It was dozens of miles back and forth, and I was constantly busy. But we didn’t feel any hardship or fatigue. Seeing how people benefited from Dafa filled us with immense happiness.
At that time, I had only two things on my mind: studying the Fa and spreading the Fa. But I did not neglect my housework. During the busy spring planting season, I sowed seeds, and I also helped anyone who needed help. After the spring planting, I would go out to spread the Fa. I didn’t tend to my land much, but my crops grew better than others—my fields were lush and green. The other villagers sometimes commented, “Look at how well people who practice Falun Dafa are doing. Not only have their illnesses been cured, but their crops are also doing well.”
Everyone in the village knew I had been sickly, but after I began practicing Falun Dafa I became capable and healthy. Seeing my transformation, many people asked me to show them how to practice, and a wave of enthusiasm for practicing Falun Dafa swept through our village.
“You Need to Continue Practicing Even If Some Quit”
After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Dafa in July 1999, the village officials cooperated with the police to search every house and to force Dafa practitioners to write guarantee statements promising not to practice. I told all the practitioners in our village to say that I had given them the Dafa books and materials. At that time, the practitioners who came to our village to spread the Fa were from the city, and we didn’t want to implicate them and for them to lose their jobs.
Due to the intense pressure, some villagers stopped practicing, while others continued to practice at home. The village Party secretary came to me and asked, “Do you still practice?”
I replied, “What do you think?”
He knew how sick I was before I started practicing, so he said, “You need to continue practicing even if some quit.”
Helping Save People
To further expose the CCP’s lies and have more people know the truth about the persecution after the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party were published, I moved my family to the city. After renting a house and settling in, I looked for work. I thought, “The kind of work I do is not important; the most important thing is that it helps me validate the Fa so I can help save people.”
I thought collecting recyclables was a good job: flexible hours, no restrictions, no one paid attention, and no surcharges. But I knew it was hard, tiring, and dirty. It was a lowly job that people looked down on. But I didn’t care. As long as I could validate the Fa and help save people, that would be my greatest happiness and joy.
When I first came to this city, I was unfamiliar with the place and had no connections with local practitioners. I could only bring truth-clarification materials from my hometown. I selected locations while I collected recyclables during the day, and at night I would distribute truth-clarification materials and hang banners. One night, I distributed 400 copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. When people were around, I pretended to be collecting recyclables; after they left, I would continue hanging truth-clarification banners and distributing informational materials.
Back then, most of what our family ate, drank, and used was scavenged. Our landlord often came to our house and sometimes ate with us. She saw we had nothing. Our home was bare. Yet even though we worked so hard, our family lived in harmony; we respected and loved each other. She said it was very heartwarming, “Your family is so kind. If it were me, I would have been finished long ago, yet you are still so optimistic.”
I was frequently harassed by the police and we had to move several times. Every landlord I encountered said, “Your family is so kind. We wish you could live here longer.” These landlords included members of the Domestic Security Bureau and police officers. They all knew that Falun Dafa is good and they withdrew from the CCP and its affiliated youth organizations. We still keep in touch to this day.
My whole family, including relatives and friends, have never spoken ill of me. They all agree with Falun Dafa. They praise me and say that practicing Falun Dafa has turned me into a different person. All my illnesses disappeared, I don’t feel tired or repulsed by work, and Master Li is so great.
During holidays like Chinese New Year, I thought of my fellow practitioners suffering in prison, so I quickly distributed truth-clarification materials to help people understand the truth. We never make dumplings for Chinese New Year, because we feel it’s a waste of time. We’d rather distribute materials. We only made dumplings after our two children got married. My son and daughter-in-law went out with me to distribute materials and hang truth-clarification banners. One day after we hung the banners, my uncle said, “The words on them are shining with gold.”
I later met some local practitioners and I no longer needed to go back to my hometown to get truth-clarification materials. With their help, my family also set up a materials production site and a Fa study site in our home, which made it much easier to do things to validate the Fa. Some practitioners did not pay attention to safety and were arrested by the police. When the police asked where the materials came from, they said I gave them to them.
I had to move frequently back then, and my husband was too scared to live with us. He said, “This is terrifying! The police are always showing up at our door.” He rented a place in another city. When I went to see him I saw that he was incredibly thin because he didn’t take care of himself. So I brought him to live with us.
Validating Dafa With My Own Experience
I didn’t want my family to live in constant fear and uncertainty. We cultivators are blessed, and I wanted my family to see that. So I decided to buy an apartment. No one in my family agreed; they were all scared, saying, “The police are looking for you. How dare you buy it in your name?” I replied, “Master is protecting me. I’m not afraid.” I handled all the paperwork and I transferred the title myself.
On our first day in the apartment, my husband lay in bed and said, “Is this real? Am I dreaming? I never imagined I would live in an apartment building in my lifetime. It feels like I’ve gone from hell to heaven.”
Seeing the disbelief, the long-lost smile, and the excitement on my husband’s face, I took the opportunity to tell him the truth of Dafa. I said, “Master has been protecting us all these years. Although there have been dangerous situations, Master has resolved them all. You don't need to be afraid. If anything happens, you can tell me. It has nothing to do with you. Don’t be afraid.” My husband was relieved after hearing this.
I Treat All Family Members the Same
My husband has four brothers and one sister. The eldest brother, who is mute, never married. After my parents-in-law passed away, when asked who he lived with, he gestured that he lived with us. Whenever there’s something good to eat, I always make sure he has some.
After my son got married, my eldest brother-in-law came to live with us. Later, my mother passed away, and my father had nowhere to go. I have two younger brothers. My older brother and my father didn’t get along and they always fought. My younger brother has uremia, and his wife left him, so I have to take care of him. My father had no choice but to live with me.
My mute brother-in-law disliked my father and would threaten to kill him whenever he came over. Once, my father was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), and he grabbed my father’s ankle and tried to pull him to the ground, while he made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand. I saw this and quickly stepped in to stop him, gesturing to him to let my father go and asking him not to be angry.
There was no other way, so I had to rent a small apartment next to mine for my father to live in. My brother-in-law often gave me a thumbs-up, meaning to thank me and saying that I was such a good person. I told him in sign language, “You have to thank Master Li. It was Master who taught me to be a good person. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have done this."
My brother-in-law is very supportive of my practicing Dafa. He never objects when fellow practitioners come to my house. I told him, “If anything happens and someone asks you, just gesture that you don’t know. Don’t be afraid. Master is protecting us!”
My grandson is about to start school, so I bought another house in a good school district. I also bought a small apartment for my father. After my brother-in-law passed away, my father was older, so I brought him to live with me. He was able to take care of himself at first, but his legs recently became weak and he needs someone to accompany him to eat, use the toilet, and go outside. As he’s aged, he sometimes gets confused and wets the bed, so I clean him.
My father frequently listened to Master’s lectures and Minghui broadcasts. On two occasions, his health was in grave danger, and I reminded him to say “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” My father miraculously recovered without needing to go to the hospital. He passed away peacefully at the age of 90.
“Falun Dafa Is So Good!”
When it was time to harvest the rice, I also went out to help. This way, I could both spread the truth and supplement my family’s income. The rice farmer asked me, “Have you ever harvested rice before?” I said no.
Seeing that I was short and thin, he asked, “Can you do it?”
I replied, “I’ll try.” The farmer didn’t say anything more and assigned everyone a plot of land.
Since I had never done this before, I watched how others did it before I started. From the moment I started until the entire plot of land was harvested, I didn’t eat or drink any of the food I’d brought; I harvested the rice all in one go. After harvesting, I tied the rice up, and I tied it up properly. After the boss came over and inspected everything, he said, “Your harvest was the best, and your tying was the most to standard.”
I took the opportunity to tell the him the truth about Falun Dafa. I said, “I practice Falun Dafa. Look how healthy I am. I used to be riddled with illnesses. A strong wind could blow me away. The hospital wouldn’t admit me and told me to go home. It was Master Li who saved me and my family. Master teaches us cultivators to live by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, to be considerate of others, not to fight or contend, and to be better people.”
The boss said, “Falun Dafa is so good!”
I said, “Yes. Look at how much the CCP persecutes us. Why are there still so many people practicing Dafa? About 100 million people practice Falun Dafa all over the world.”
He replied, “You’re right.” Then I explained the significance of withdrawing from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. He gladly withdrew from the CCP organizations he’d joined.
Blessings From Practicing Falun Dafa
Before I started practicing Falun Dafa, my family had no house, no money, and no savings. We lived in abject poverty. Not only was I ill, but my daughter and son were also frequently sick. My son, in particular, was once so ill he was unconscious, and the hospital issued a critical condition notice. I was extremely anxious, so I went outside, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed to the heavens, saying, “Heaven, please save my son! If you can save my son, I will believe that there is a Buddha in this world.” Later, my son truly recovered, and our whole family came to believe in Buddha.
After I started practicing Falun Dafa, my family lived a happy and fulfilling life. My son’s and daughter’s businesses flourished. Everyone in the family was healthy, and my grandson and granddaughter were both excellent students and never had to go to the hospital. Although the police came to find me and harassed me at that time, I was not afraid. With Master guiding us, I’ve been able to do what I am supposed to and it did not affect my ability to clarify the truth and do housework.
Now our family has a house, a car, and savings in the bank. We made a profit selling apartments in the buildings I bought. Falun Dafa has blessed my whole family.
Although I have encountered many dangers and tribulations on my cultivation path, I have safely made it to this day under Master’s compassionate protection. I am grateful for all these blessings. I have no way to repay this kindness but to diligently cultivate, walk the final path of cultivation well, and return home with Master.
(Selected submission for the 23rd China Fa Conference on Minghui.org)
