(Minghui.org) I’m a 75-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner. I started cultivating before 1999. Due to the persecution of Falun Dafa, I lost my cultivation environment. My understanding of the Fa was limited at that time because I had never gone to school. Compassionate Master didn’t give up on me. I eventually resumed my cultivation after 14 years. Thank you, Master!
Miserable Early Life
My mother passed away when I was little. My oldest sister was in school, and my second sister was disabled. I also had four younger siblings. Our father had to work day in and day out to feed the whole family. Though I had reached the age to start school, my father couldn’t afford to send me. I never attended a single day of school and couldn’t even write my own name. I grew up illiterate.
Because my mother had passed away, the bulk of the housework fell on my shoulders. I had to cook for eight people, clean the house, wash our clothes, and feed a group of chickens, two pigs, a donkey, and cattle every day. I also had spin and weave fabric until late at night. I made clothes for my entire family completely from scratch. I also had to process wheat every couple of weeks. It was time consuming to pick out the little stones and grind the wheat. Grinding was hard work. While adjusting the mill and sweeping the flour and screen, I had to watch the donkey carefully so that it wouldn’t eat the wheat or stop working. Given the amount of food my family ate, I had to grind wheat every couple of weeks.
Our father worked the farm with the cattle and donkey, so I had to cut dozens of pounds of grass for the cattle and donkey. It was a long, hard task for me to lug the grass home. I had to stop often and would eventually inch my way home. After cooking and eating dinner, I had to cut grass. I got up at 5 a.m. to feed the cattle and the donkey, so that they would be ready when my father needed to take them to the field.
I was exhausted and breathless every day. I envied other kids for their happy childhood, but what could I do? Day in and day out, year after year, I cried countless times throughout my agonizing childhood.
After I grew up, my father arranged for me to marry a young man who had moved to our neighboring village from another province. It was against my wish, but I didn’t dare disobey my stern father. I gave in to fate. After I got married and moved away, no one was able to take care of my younger brothers and sisters. There was no school in the village either, so I had to bring them to live with me, and I sent them to the school in my village. My husband’s entire family was unhappy about it. Conflicts continued to happen.
Life was not easier after marriage. I had my own children and worked hard making vinegar. I had to carry water more than 20 times a day and stir vinegar every few hours around the clock. To save time, I slept in my work clothes and got up after a few hours every night. I also had to carry my painstakingly brewed vinegar to stores in the town with my bike, rain or shine. I was soaked with sweat in the summer and I froze in the winter. The money I made was spent on the kids’ schooling.
No one could understand how much I sacrificed for my family. My mother-in-law was stern and demanding. My husband was ill-tempered, and he could explode with rage at any time. Bickering and fighting became routine. I couldn’t bear it any longer, and we eventually divorced.
None of my four children were willing to live with their father after the divorce. All of them lived with me. I had to support all of them by myself. My oldest child was 14, and the youngest was seven. I continued to make vinegar by myself for more than 20 years. My ex-husband didn’t pay a penny to support us.
Saved by Falun Dafa
Years of hard labor and little sleep eventually crushed my health. I was diagnosed with uterine cancer at age 45. I had a surgery in a hospital in our provincial capital, and before I was released, the doctor told me to come back for chemotherapy. But my family had no income during that time of my surgery. How could I come up with the money for chemo?
My health deteriorated as time went by. I couldn’t eat, lost a lot of weight, and became weak, but my tummy grew bigger and bigger each day. Within a year of the surgery, I looked like I was 10 months pregnant. I couldn’t bend or wash my feet. I realized I didn’t have much time left. I was sad for my children who were in middle school at that time. I had brought them into the world, but I couldn’t finish my job of raising them. What would they do if I died?
One day, my 80-year-old aunt came to visit me. She was surprised to see how sick I was. She asked me, “What disease has made your tummy so big?” After hearing my story, she said, “Come with me to learn Falun Gong. Your life will be saved.” I agreed without hesitation.
My journey of self-cultivation started that day. My aunt taught me how to do the Falun Gong exercises. We listened to recordings of Master’s lectures after doing the exercises every day. On the morning of the seventh day, I got up and realized that my tummy had returned to its normal size. I couldn’t believe my eyes! I touched my tummy with my hands. It’s true! My bulky tummy is flat! I was in tears with excitement. I cried, “Auntie! Look! I’m fine now. My tummy is flat. I didn’t know!” My aunt was so happy that tears came to her eyes. “I told you you would be fine if you practiced Falun Gong. Isn’t it true? Master has started taking care of you. You must have the predestined fate to cultivate yourself. It’s amazing how quickly it happened! Continue to cultivate yourself!”
After staying in my aunt’s home for 20 days, I not only learned Falun Gong, but also was able to help my aunt with some housework. By the time I left, I was healthy, and my body had lightened. Thank you, Master, for your profound grace and compassionate salvation! Thank you, auntie, for your selfless help!
I found a Fa study group nearby and bought a copy of the book Zhuan Falun. However, I didn’t know how to read. As fellow practitioners read, I stared at the words closely and tried to follow along. I put my whole heart into learning, listening, asking, and memorizing. Master must have seen my earnestness and gave me wisdom. With Master’s enlightenment and help from fellow practitioners and my children, I could read the entire book by myself after a couple of years, though I didn’t understand the meaning well.
The Persecution Stops My Cultivation
The persecution was launched in 1999, and Master was slandered. Fellow practitioners and I went to our provincial capital to tell the government about our personal experiences with Falun Dafa. The government offices were heavily guarded, and we weren’t allowed to see any officials.
Since I could barely recognize the words in the book, I didn’t understand what these words meant, much less understand the meaning of Master’s teachings. All I was able to do was pronounce the words one by one, but I didn’t understand the meaning of life or the importance of cultivation. After we lost our cultivation environment of group study and exercises, I felt like a lost child. My cultivation paused for 14 years.
I moved to my daughter’s city and worked a temporary job for seven years. After moving back to my hometown, I was attached to comfort and learned how to play Mahjong. I lived aimlessly for 14 years, completely like a non-practitioner. My health became problematic again. My legs became so weak that I could walk only a few steps. Various medicines and injections didn’t help. I couldn’t take care of myself. It was so hard!
Resuming Cultivation
Compassionate Master helped me again. One day, I “accidentally” met an elderly Falun Gong practitioner. She said to me, “Come study the Fa with me. I’m sure your legs will be fine!” My eyes brightened upon hearing it. I told her, “I know Falun Gong is great! Falun Gong saved my life from cancer. Where can I go to study the Fa and do the exercises?” The elderly practitioner told me to follow her. I was so happy to return to Master’s compassionate care again!
After losing 14 years, I especially treasured the opportunity for cultivation. I knew deeply that compassionate great Master doesn’t want to leave any disciple behind, though I was uneducated and had poor enlightenment quality! How amiable and honorable our Master is!
With fellow practitioners’ help, I studied the Fa, did the exercises, and clarified the truth with vigor. My legs became stronger and stronger each day. I got up at 3 a.m. every day to do the exercises. After sending forth righteous thoughts at 6 a.m., I spent an hour and a half memorizing the Fa. Fellow practitioners and I went out in the morning to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and studied the Fa together in the afternoons. I memorized the Fa by myself in the evenings and sent forth righteous thoughts at midnight.
I can now read all of Master’s teachings by myself and have memorized Zhuan Falun several times. I’m the fastest at memorizing the Fa in my Fa-study group. A fellow practitioner once said, “You never attended any school, but you have gone straight to reading a book from Heaven!” I feel most fortunate to be a Falun Dafa practitioner.
One day, a fellow practitioner and I went to deliver truth clarification calendars to a village door-to-door. As soon as we stepped into a courtyard, a man came out of the door with a mean face. While asking us viciously, “What are you doing here?” he reached for our bags. Instead of panicking, I smiled at him sincerely and said, “We are here to deliver a message of blessing.” He changed his attitude, invited us into his house, and offered us water. We politely declined. After hearing the truth about Falun Dafa, the man and his entire family quit the communist organizations they had joined.
Facing Tribulations with Righteous Thoughts
I was walking on the sidewalk one day, when a motorcycle traveling in the opposite direction drove to my side at a high speed and ran me over. I didn’t have any time to dodge it. The motorcycle hit me and flew away, along with the driver, before they both fell to the ground. However, I was standing in the same place, unhurt. I was stunned. The driver got up and insisted I pay for his broken motorcycle. He blamed me for causing damage to his motorcycle.
One of the people who witnessed the accident said, “Young man, you are the one who ran her over. How could she damage your motorcycle while walking on the sidewalk?” It dawned on me what had happened and that the young man was trying to extort me. He insisted that I had to pay him. I asked him how much. He said the repair would cost around 500 yuan. I said, “I don’t have that much with me, but I can get some money from home.” He followed me. As we got close to my home, he changed his mind and said, “Fine. I won’t make you pay.” I asked, “Didn’t you say you don’t have any money to repair your motorcycle?” He said “never mind” and left.
I could have died. Compassionate Master protected me again. I didn’t even feel any pain. I noticed some large bruises on my arms and legs when I washed in the evening, but it didn’t feel painful. I must have repaid a life and passed a test of my character. I didn’t argue with the young man and indeed planned to cover the cost of his repairs. After I let go of my attachment to personal interest and my fighting mentality, the young man changed his mind.
Another time, I found a lump on my throat. A fellow practitioner also noticed it. It was as big as a walnut and sometimes hurt. I knew that cultivation would involve dissolving karma, so I remained undisturbed. I treated it as a false appearance and ignored it without any fear. The false appearance lasted three months and eventually disappeared. I learned from this experience that we have to measure ourselves against higher standards as cultivators and view everything from the perspective of cultivators.
My legs became weak again early last year. It affected my truth-clarification activities and my exercises. I couldn’t climb any stairs. My human notions surfaced. My daughter said that I probably had osteoporosis. She bought me calcium supplements costing more than 1,000 yuan. I initially took some, thinking that calcium wasn’t medicine, and that I really needed to be able to do exercises and clarify the truth. However, the supplements didn’t help at all and even made it worse.
Master’s words came to my mind:
“Calmly reflect on the attachments you haveRemove your human thoughtsand evil will naturally die out”(“Don’t Be Sad,” Hong Yin II)
As I reflected calmly, I found many attachments. I held a lot of complaints for my suffering from a young age. My brothers and sisters were able to go to school, but I wasn’t. I envied them strongly. I wished my children would repay my hard work, and held grievances against my ex-husband and his family. I had been harboring so many attachments. All of these attachments were degenerate material that I needed to eliminate.
By studying the Fa and sharing with other practitioners, I realized that my extra suffering was due to debts I had owed from my previous lives, and that my creditors had come to demand payment because I would elevate in Falun Dafa. I realized I should pay my debts without any complaints. How could I feel it was unfair, or be envious, or wish for a reward? I had to uproot these notions and completely eliminate them. My health improved drastically afterward. I decisively threw away the calcium supplements. A cultivator is free from diseases. Looking within is our key. My legs became stronger and stronger. I resumed truth-clarification activities with other practitioners. The experience taught me that every test I pass leads to elevation!
The above is a tiny part of my cultivation experience. I wished to report it to Master and share it with fellow practitioners. Please kindly point out anything that is not in line with the Fa.
