(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Dafa in July 1999, like many practitioners, I experienced tribulations and endured tremendous pressure from both my family and society. Guided by Master’s Fa principles and with fellow practitioners’ support I passed one test after another.
After my husband started practicing Dafa, he brought Zhuan Falun home. I eagerly read it, and my heart became clear and open – this was exactly what I had been looking for! I learned that the purpose of coming to the world is not just to live a human life, but to return to one’s original, true self. We lived on a university campus, and there was a group exercise site there. We also had a weekly Fa study group, where practitioners of all ages read Zhuan Falun aloud. It was always very peaceful; both my body and mind melted into the Fa. Everyone was very happy.
We did the exercises at 5 a.m., and the energy field was very strong. After I did the exercises, my body felt light, and I felt cheerful. One side of my head was numb and I received treatments for it, but they did not help. After I started practicing Dafa, I had an experience while in a half-asleep state: I saw several people standing in front of my bed, and I heard a voice say, “Adjust her a bit better.” When I woke up, I knew Master’s Law Bodies (Fashen) were adjusting something for me. Afterward, my head no longer felt numb, and I stopped frequently catching colds.
When I first started to do the fifth exercise, the seated meditation, the pain from sitting in the full lotus position was intense, and I had to uncross my legs almost immediately. As I continued studying the Fa and improving my xinxing, I was able to sit in the lotus position for longer and longer times, from five minutes to ten minutes, fifteen minutes, half an hour, and eventually I could sit for an entire hour. Practicing the exercises requires enduring hardship, both physically and mentally—when the leg pain was severe, my heart also felt agitated. I often wept for no reason when I meditated. Perhaps my knowing side understood the hardship Master endured to save me. Thank you, Master, for your boundless compassion!
When we had time, we went to the street to do the exercises to let others know about our exercise site and to spread the Fa to the public. We also organized sessions to watch Master’s Fa lecture series on video. Practitioners learned from each other and encouraged one another in cultivation, and everyone’s xinxing improved quickly.
Months before the persecution started on July 20, 1999, we had already begun to feel pressure from the CCP. Strangers often appeared at the group exercise sites; we later realized that they were special agents who were monitoring practitioners. There was a planned group exercise at the city’s industrial and commercial center. The afternoon before the event, a supervisor from my workplace called me and said, “Don’t go to the group exercise tomorrow. The police already know about it. If you go, you’ll be responsible for the consequences.”
I felt somewhat anxious, so I recited Master’s Fa:
“Mighty Virtue
Dafa does not leave the body,The heart harbors Zhen-Shan-Ren;In the world is a great Arhat,Spirits and ghosts fear greatly.”(Hong Yin)
I thought, Dafa is most righteous – what is there to fear? Early the next morning, before dawn, I arrived at the industrial and commercial center. Practitioners lined up and did the exercises, accompanied by the melodious exercise music. Our bodies and minds were immersed in the Fa. After we did the exercises, we saw police cars parked around the perimeter and plainclothes officers walking around in small groups.
After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, practitioners had to resist the persecution, cultivate themselves well, and save sentient beings all at the same time.
Because of my interactions with my family, friends, and coworkers, they declared their support for practitioners. I’d like to share a few examples.
My nickname is Lian and I’m the second oldest girl among our seven siblings. My mother was very hardworking, she worked in the fields until she was 85 years old. I always held myself to Dafa’s principles. During the university’s winter and summer vacations and other holidays, I went home to help her in the fields. In my interactions with my siblings, I always tried to give them more, and yield to them in things like personal interests. I was able to do this only because I practice Dafa.
I was a petty person who calculated gains and losses carefully. After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I always tried to contribute more whenever money was involved, such as celebrating my mother’s birthday. I also tried to take on more work and responsibilities. I knew my siblings were busy so as a practitioner I should think of them and do more to ease their burdens.
In 2015, shortly after I was released from illegal detention, my mother said to us, “My dentures don’t fit well, it’s difficult to eat.”
My siblings didn’t say anything but I said, “Mom, don’t worry, I’ll take you to get new dentures.” I took her to the dentist many times, until she had a set of dentures she was happy with.
During a casual chat, my fourth sister said, “Among the siblings, Lian is Mom’s favorite.” I was a bit surprised when I heard this; perhaps because my mother never said this to me, but she talks to my sister on the phone about things related to me. When my youngest brother encountered financial difficulties, I helped him and gave him more than 10,000 yuan, even though my own financial situation wasn’t great. He sincerely thanked me.
One night when my mother was seriously ill, my older brother said, “Mom, quickly recite the phrases.”
My mother said, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I felt very happy to hear this. I had given her a copy of Zhuan Falun. She was illiterate, but she carried the book with her everywhere she went and asked others to read it to her. She got through the whole book that way.
My husband has many siblings and I get along well with them. My father-in-law was somewhat partial to his third son Jian, and gave most of his savings to him. For example, when Jian bought an apartment, he gave him 80,000 yuan in cash. As a practitioner I knew I shouldn’t argue with others over material interests.
As my parents-in-law got older, and renting and moving became increasingly difficult for them, we renovated an apartment we just purchased and let them live in it. When my father-in-law passed away, there was more than 10,000 yuan left in his bank account, and Jian quietly withdrew it. My mother-in-law had no pension and received only a little over 100 yuan per month. We took her into our home and took care of her for several years. Jian rarely visited or called her.
Master teaches us to cultivate into beings who put others first, and who are selfless. Thus practitioners should consider others when doing things. My husband told Jian, “Just focus on your work. We’ll take care of Mom.”
When Jian bought an apartment and when his son got married, he borrowed money from us. But when my husband was illegally detained, Jian didn’t ask about him so I felt a bit resentful. My other sisters-in-law also said, “Don’t lend him money. How does he have the nerve to ask?”
I reminded myself that I’m a cultivator and shouldn’t assess things like ordinary people, let alone harbor resentment. Immediately, that sense of imbalance disappeared; instead, I felt he was quite pitiable, so I gave him the money.
Last year on the first day of the Lunar New Year, many people on my husband’s side of the family gathered in our home, and Jian also came. While they were toasting, he stood up and said, “Lian, aside from Mom, you’re the one who’s treated me the best!”
I said, “It’s because I practice Falun Dafa that I can do this. You should quickly quit the CCP.”
In the past, when I urged him to quit, he either stayed silent or changed the subject. This time, one of my sisters-in-law, who already understood the truth, urged him, “Do it quickly. What do you need the CCP for?”
Jian said, “I stopped paying the CCP dues long ago. I told the village CCP committee that I quit.”
I said, “You still need to declare it here, to erase the poisonous oath. Only then will Heaven recognize it and provide you with a good future.”
After hearing this, he said, “Yes, I’ll quit it.” We were all happy for him.
We rented a large apartment on campus so we could help take care of our granddaughter. People in the building said my landlord was very difficult to deal with. However, as a cultivator, I thought that things can be resolved regardless of how difficult they seemed. The landlord was very stubborn. He and the downstairs neighbor had a deep-seated grudge over an issue with the drainpipes. The day I moved in, the downstairs neighbor came up and asked us to be careful with our water usage so it wouldn’t leak downstairs.
I said, “Don’t worry, if there’s a problem, we can discuss it.” We inspected the apartment and found that the cast-iron pipes were rusted and leaking, and the pipe joints were also leaking.
My upstairs neighbor said, “Everyone wanted to replace the current pipes with PVC pipes, but your landlord didn’t agree to it, so we couldn’t do it.” I was very careful with my water usage, but it still leaked downstairs.
I discussed repairs with our landlord, but he insisted, “The drainage issue should be repaired by the school. You should contact the logistics department.”
But all the neighbors said, “Your landlord should repair the drains and he should pay for it.” They had long since fallen out with him over this issue. I wondered: how can we resolve this?
I discussed it with my husband and we decided, “Let’s pay someone and solve this problem ourselves.”
We hired someone to repair the drain. The downstairs neighbor was very happy and said, “I’ve asked around – everyone in the whole compound said you are a good person!”
After we moved in, these repairs cost us more than 2,000 yuan. Later, when we moved out, there was more than one thousand yuan left of our security deposit, but the landlord refused to return it to us, citing various reasons. Our son-in-law was mad and argued with him. But we told our son-in-law, “If he doesn’t return it let’s just forget about it.”
I gave a USB drive loaded with truth-clarification information to the landlord’s wife. I also chatted with them and urged them to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. After they returned home, they both looked at the Dafa websites and gained a clear understanding of the nature of the CCP. They said, “We really sympathize with Falun Dafa practitioners. The CCP is truly evil!”
My cultivation path of more than 20 years may seem plain and unremarkable, but I know that it is Master’s compassion and the greatness of Dafa that transformed me from someone who was calculating and selfish into a Dafa cultivator who is healthy, puts others before myself, and takes fame and gain lightly. It allowed me to find my true self in this turbid world and become a sacred Dafa disciple who assists Master in rectifying the Fa and saving sentient beings.