(Minghui.org) I have practiced Falun Dafa for 28 years and want to tell Master Li about my cultivation experiences.
In 1998, I learned that Falun Dafa’s lecture videos were being played every evening in our local cinema. I went to the cinema and watched the nine-day lecture series, convinced afterward that Falun Dafa was very righteous. It teaches people to be good by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and not fighting back when hit or cursing back when insulted. I had never seen such a good practice. That was when I began to cultivate.
Before that, I suffered from stomach problems, a herniated disc, and rheumatic disease, plus I had trouble sleeping. Sometimes, I could not get out of the bed without help. I developed rheumatoid arthritis after the birth of my child. My fingers became deformed, and it hurt to touch cold water. To cure this, I took a lot of Chinese herbal medicine and did physical therapy, but nothing helped. The suffering was beyond words. At the time, I was only in my 20s. I worried all the time.
By studying the Fa, I learned how to cultivate by following Dafa’s requirements, looking inward and not being resentful. I became kind and didn’t hold people’s faults against them. Even though my father-in-law cursed me, I stopped holing a grudge against him and was nice to him—as though nothing had ever happened.
When my mother-in-law was asked how I treated them, she said with a smile on her face, “She is very nice to us.” Falun Dafa changed me. It would have been impossible for me to treat them nicely otherwise. After a short while, all my ailments vanished without my even realizing it.
On July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin’s regime started a nationwide persecution targeting Falun Dafa. A self-immolation was staged on Tiananmen Square to defame Falun Dafa and incite people to hate its practitioners, Dafa, and Master Li. The goal was to encourage people to commit unpardonable crimes against Dafa.
Many practitioners went to Beijing to appeal for Dafa. They went to Tiananmen Square to tell the public that Falun Dafa was righteous, Master was innocent, and that the “self-immolation” was staged, even at the risk of being beaten, arrested, held in a forced labor camp, and/or sentenced to prison.
In December of 2000, practitioner Amei and I decided to go to Beijing to appeal for Dafa. Since train passengers were under close scrutiny, we decided to take a bus. It was almost dark when we arrived in Beijing. We looked for a place to spend the night and eventually settled in a large gully. It was the middle of winter and really cold, but we did not feel the cold, and our hands and feet did not get frostbitten. We knew Master protected us.
The next morning, we had to ask for directions to Tiananmen Square. As soon as we arrived, a plainclothes police officer caught Amei. I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good” and was also hauled into a police vehicle. Amei was later sent to our local detention center, while I was sent to a brainwashing center.
In the brainwashing sessions, the guards tortured us in an effort to force us to give up Falun Dafa. During the winter, they refused to provide any heat, deliberately leaving us to freeze. They didn’t give us enough to eat, so we were always hungry. We were forced to watch videos slandering Falun Dafa and endured constant verbal abuse and beatings. We were forced to participate in military-style drills. In the winter, we had to stand in the snow. Some were dragged into small rooms or secluded areas and beaten within an inch of their lives, while others were burned with red-hot iron shovels. Many were bound with ropes so tightly that their arms were nearly crippled.
Once, the guards wrote slogans defaming Falun Dafa on the wall, so we wiped them off. To punish me, a guard shocked me with an electric baton. The electric shock made a crackling sound and generated blue sparks, but only a few red dots appeared on my thigh. Seeing that the shock did not work, he left me alone. I knew Master had protected me again and suffered for me. Thank you, Master!
When we later started a hunger strike to protest the persecution, the guards force-fed us. It caused extreme pain when the feeding tube was inserted into the stomach, but I persisted with the hunger strike. Some practitioners said, “They are still seizing practitioners. Maybe they could release you.”
I said to myself, “Master will let me go home once my xinxing meets the requirement.” Many days passed, and leaders of the brainwashing center were afraid that I would die, so they called my family to come take me home. I am very grateful for Master’s protection.
From studying the teachings, I understand that people came to this world for this Fa. Enduring life after life of reincarnation, they were waiting solely for this Fa. But Jiang Zemin’s regime cooked up the Tiananmen self-immolation hoax to defame Falun Dafa. The people who have been deceived hate Dafa, Master Li, and Dafa practitioners, which means they have no future. I need to tell them the truth about Dafa and save them, as Master has asked us to do.
At first, I did not know how to approach people. I spent more time studying the Fa and reading fellow practitioners’ experience-sharing articles and was eventually able to talk to people. In the beginning, I only talked to women, especially women my age, because I was afraid young men would report me to the police.
Master said,
“The old forces don’t dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What’s key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2002 Conference in Boston, U.S.A.,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume II)
After understanding this Fa, I started to approach everyone I saw and tell them the truth about Dafa, even if they were young men in their 20s or had unkind-looking faces.
When I encountered difficulties, I sought Master’s help. One day, I spoke to a man in his 70s. I asked, “Have you heard about quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)?” He told me that he had heard about it, but did not do it. Through our conversation, I learned that he had joined the Young Pioneers, the Youth League, and the Party. I said, “I will help you quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations with the pseudonym Jiankang (good health).” He liked the name and said, “Nothing is more important than good health.”
Then he asked me my age. I let him guess, and he said I looked like I was in my 40s. I said, “I am already 60 years old.” He was very surprised. I shared that I had had many ailments, but Dafa helped me regain my health. I encouraged him to quit the CCP to gain good health. He responded, “I don’t need to quit. I don’t pay the CCP’s membership fees anymore.”
I didn’t give up and said, “When you joined the CCP, you swore to give your life to it. The CCP has done so many bad things. When heaven eliminates it, you will be implicated since you are a member of it. Quitting will ensure your safety.” He still hesitated, so I asked for Master’s help. I then said in a loud voice, “Only by quitting the CCP can you be safe. Sincerely reciting ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good’ will help you. At your age, you surely know that sincerity brings results.”
Finally, he agreed to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. His life was saved. I sincerely thank Master for strengthening me.
Looking back on my cultivation path, I know I still have a lot to catch up on. Compared to the diligent practitioners, I am far behind. In the future, I will put more effort into doing the three things, do them well, catch up with the Fa-rectification process, and follow Master to return to my heavenly home.