My Six-year Journey of Cultivation and Fa-rectification

(Clearwisdom.net) I obtained Dafa in March of 1997. Since then, six years have passed. During those years I have walked a tough and bumpy road. Everything that has happened during those six years is still vivid in my mind. In order to share with fellow practitioners, I have decided to write about the events. I hope this can help us to improve together.

Before I practiced Falun Dafa, I was known as a sickly person. I was ill throughout my body. In particular, the gynecological disease I suffered from made me unable to live without Chinese medicines. My face was always swollen and sallow, and I had a very bad temper. Soon after I began practicing Falun Dafa, all my illnesses were cured and my xinxing [moral character] improved as well. My colleagues said that I had turned into a completely different person.

Study the Fa and Cultivate Xinxing

I started studying the Fa and doing the exercises in March of 1997. Shortly after, I felt that Master had purified my body. Through Fa study, I understood that cultivation practice is to cultivate one's heart. When encountering a xinxing test or difficulties in the workplace I measured my behavior using Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. My righteous behavior won me the trust and support of my supervisors and colleagues.

Steadfastly Cultivate Dafa and Follow Master Closely

After July 20, 1999, I realized that I should assist Master in the Fa-rectification. I began spreading Dafa to people around me. I clarified the truth to them by talking about my cultivation experience and telling them how Master taught us to be noble people with high morals. I helped them understand that the propaganda on TV was nothing more than rumors and slander. Through studying the Fa with a calm heart, I realized that I should go to Beijing to validate Dafa.

In December of 1999, my son and I took the train to Beijing with two other practitioners. We stood for eight straight hours on the train. Whenever there was a seat available, we gave it to other passengers. Although we stood all the way to Beijing, we didn't feel tired; instead, our bodies were light. We knew we were doing a most divine thing. The following day, as soon as we entered Tiananmen Square, we were dragged into a police car. The police slapped the faces of the fellow practitioners in the car. They also beat them and swore at them. My son wears glasses. As soon as he got into the car, he was beaten and his glasses were taken away. Later, they sent us to the local government office in Beijing. A police officer with badge number 11117179 held my son in the car. They drove back to Tiananmen Square to arrest more practitioners. On the way there they tortured my son brutally. The policemen forced him to kneel down, put his head under the back seat and then they beat his hips. The jeans he wore were ripped; there were three long tears. They also stood on his back and trampled him. They asked him whether he would continue to practice. He said, "Yes." They used a piece of sheet metal to whip his face around the eyes. Then they whipped the back of his hands until they bled. They took turns beating him.

When we arrived at the local government office in Beijing, the police searched everyone. At that time, I had 500 Yuan* in my pocket. I had one thought, "I should not allow the police to take my money. The money should be used to print Dafa materials." As a result, they didn't find the money. I was detained in a room without food or water the entire day, along with other practitioners. The following morning, the police sent us to a local detention center, where we were interrogated one by one. While interrogating my son, they kicked him so hard that he fell to the ground. They slapped his face, and later detained him for 15 days. The neighborhood community people asked my husband, who doesn't practice Falun Gong, to bring 1,500 Yuan as a release fee. He refused. In the end, the detention center forced us to pay 375 Yuan for living expenses, and they released my son.

After I was released from detention in Beijing, the leaders at my place of work took me to the security section. I told them that it wasn't wrong to speak some good words about Falun Gong; I had gone to Beijing to restore the reputation of Falun Gong. I told them that even if they were going to fire me, I wouldn't give up practicing Falun Gong. In the end, they had to let me go home. They deducted 500 Yuan from my salary as the release fee for the detention center.

Before New Years of 2000, the neighborhood community people came to my home and wanted to take my son to the brainwashing session. My husband firmly refused.

As the Fa-rectification process progressed, many practitioners went to Tiananmen Square and the appeal offices to speak on behalf of Dafa. After sharing experiences with other practitioners, I decided to go to the appeals office also.

Doing Without Pursuit

In June 2000, my son and I went to Beijing again. As soon as we arrived in Beijing, we mailed a letter to the premier. I said to Master, "Master, I have come here to appeal. I would never cooperate with the evil." Upon arriving at the State Appeals Office, we saw police sitting on both sides of the office gate. Whenever someone went up to the office, a bunch of police would come over and question them. The police could also arrest you and not allow you to appeal. At this moment, an old man from the area saw us. He approached us and said angrily, "They are all sent here from different places. Those guys are so brutal that a college student was forced to jump into the river due to their brutal beating. I also saw a police officer badly trample a woman's feet..." With Master's arrangement, we entered the gate without any problems. The Appeals Office established a special room for Falun Gong. Their purpose was not to allow us to appeal but to make arresting practitioners more convenient. We filled out a form, submitted our appeals letter and then left. Later on, a practitioner told us that after we left, the police started to call people's names on the application forms. They tore up the forms if the applicants were not present, and took the rest to local government offices, where they were sent back.

"Then, as a cultivator, you should make use of all feasible conditions to spread Dafa and validate Dafa as a correct and true science, rather than preaching or idealism--this is every cultivator's obligation." ("Validation" from Essentials for Further Advancement) Through exchanging understandings, we realized we should not wait at home. Instead, we should go out and practice the exercises to validate Dafa. So I started practicing the exercises in the park in the complex where I lived. On July 22, 2000, at 5:00 a.m., I was practicing the exercises in the park. A person in the neighborhood reported it to the police, and the police came and arrested me. At that time, many people were buying food for breakfast, so I clarified the facts to them. The police sent me to the detention center and detained me for 15 days. They also confiscated my new tape recorder. In the detention center, I didn't cooperate with them. I recited Hong Yin with other practitioners and held a hunger strike for five days. Later, our hearts were all beating abnormally. The police had to let us go home.

On November 15, 2000, my son and I went to Beijing for the third time to validate Dafa with two other practitioners. After exchanging our understandings, we enlightened to using our divine side to validate Dafa and never acknowledging the evil's arrangement. We were doing the most sacred things. We went to the Golden Water Bridge at Tiananmen Square. With the police close by, we hung banners on the bridge. My son hung his banner on the fence beside the street since we had lost track of each other. With Master's help, we all returned home safely.

After we returned from Beijing, we continued doing truth-clarifying work, distributing flyers, and telling the facts to people around us. We wanted them to learn about Falun Gong and awaken to the lies.

As time passed, I became more and more brave, but developed the attachment of zealotry. One day after the Lantern Festival of 2001 (Feb. 7, 2001), I was distributing flyers about the self-immolation. A policeman followed me and later took me to the detention center. The following day, my father passed away but they didn't allow me to go home. My son went to the detention center and asked them to release me. They set two conditions for my release. First, they said that I needed to write a letter guaranteeing that I would not practice Falun Gong. Second, they said we would have to pay a huge amount of money in fees. My son denied their requests. They then went through the procedures for criminal detention very quickly and sent me to the criminal detention center. I was detained for a month. During the detention, I held a hunger strike for two days. The officials there force-fed me twice. One time I couldn't even breathe during the force-feeding. Also, a policeman violently kicked me in the leg.

In the detention center, I clarified the truth about the self-immolation to the director. I also clarified the truth to prisoners. The detention center had not detained many Falun Gong practitioners. Fellow practitioners had spread Dafa to the director and prisoners. They all knew about Falun Gong to differing extents. During my hunger strike, the local police station sent two collaborators [former Falun Gong practitioners who have gone astray due to brainwashing and torture] to brainwash me. I didn't listen to them at all. Seeing that their work was useless, they left gloomily. I recited Master's articles "Mighty Virtue" and "Melt into the Fa." When the police officers attempted to videotape me while interrogating me, I refused. In the detention center, some of my attachments were exposed, and I also found that I hadn't enlightened to many things. I realized that I needed to study the Fa more while clarifying the truth, as well as get rid of the bad stuff through my cultivation.

One day in April 2001, about 9:00 p.m., police officials from the detention center came to my home to take me to a brainwashing session. They didn't succeed in breaking in. Two police officers stayed on the stairs for two days and still were not able to arrest me. Shortly after that, I left home and went from place to place to avoid further persecution. But I continued to do the truth-clarifying work.

In May of 2001, a policeman found me reading Zhuan Falun on the train. He searched my bag and found truth-clarifying flyers. He took me to a room and questioned me. I then promoted Dafa, and clarified the truth to him and the others in the room. Afterwards, they sent me to a railway police station that was on the way. The police officers there asked my name and where I was from. I didn't answer their questions but clarified the truth to them. I recited Mater's scripture, "No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil's demands, orders, or what it instigates" ("Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful" from Essentials for Further Advancement II.) The police were changed one after another, some being more vicious than others. When they asked what my name was, I answered "Dafa disciple." I kept reciting Master's scriptures. Their viciousness disappeared little by little. The power of Dafa is great. Master said, "...because those so-called evil beings are in fact nothing" ("The Effects of Righteous Thoughts" from Essentials for Further Advancement II.) I was detained for only one day.

The following day, they transferred me to a city police station and continued to interrogate me. I continued to recite Master's scriptures in my mind and asked them to release me unconditionally. With Master's help, I left through the door of the police station.

On September 26, 2001, three plain-clothes policemen from the district police station broke into my home in an attempt to arrest me. By then, I had already left home. Later, my husband was forced to leave home and join me.

Clarify the Truth and Offer Salvation

It has been two years since I left home . Master says, "Every person you come into contact with in society is someone to clarify the truth to, and what's manifest in clarifying the truth is Dafa disciples' mercy and their salvation of the world's people" ("To All Students at the Nordic Fa Conference" from Essentials for Further Advancement II.) I went to the markets in rural areas to distribute truth-clarifying flyers. I also distributed flyers and CDs on street corners in rural areas. I told them the truth about Falun Gong face to face. With a smile on my face, I handed flyers and CDs to them. There were many good-hearted people who asked me to be careful. Every time I went out, I took some flyers and CDs so that I could clarify the truth at any time. I concentrated on quality, not quantity. I tried my best to offer salvation to people. If I ran out of flyers, I clarified the truth still, telling them about the miracle of Dafa as well as the change in my body and mind after I began practicing. I told them Master was slandered and the propaganda on TV was full of lies. Wherever I went, that was the place to clarify the truth. I didn't want to miss any opportunity.

Once, after a driver of a three-wheeler heard the truth, he said, "Falun Gong practitioners are good people. Look what Jiang did to this country! They arrest good people but let bad people go free. They are really evil. When your Master comes back, we will all go to welcome him." There was a woman who made her living by selling tickets. After she heard the truth, she told her co-workers, "Please let her tell us more." Her clear side was really anxious and she was waiting for us to save them. After a vender who sold fruits saw the CD, he said, "Now I know the real story of the self-immolation." In my daily life, I clarified the truth everywhere, all the time. Clarifying the truth became part of my life. In doing so, many people became my friends.

There was a small grocery in the complex I lived in. People working there all knew the truth. Once, when I was detained in the local police station, a lady and her son went to the station and tried to bring me coats and shoes. She said to the police, "Why do you arrest good people? She is a good person."

Make Good Use of the Time to Clarify the Truth

Since Master's "Hurry Up And Tell Them" article was published, I felt the urgency and Master's boundless compassion. The time Master extends is to create opportunities for us. We should treasure every day.

I decided to go to my hometown to clarify the truth. I bought two VCD players and brought some truth-clarifying materials and CDs with me. I told the facts about Falun Gong to my brothers and sisters, and let them read the materials and watch the CDs. My oldest sister said after seeing the CD, "I believe everything you have said is true."

Master said, "Cherish the present time and make the best use of it--this time is meant for the disciples." ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference"). I realized that the spring festival is a good time to clarify the truth. On the first day of the lunar calendar year of 2003, we took banners and greeting cards with truth-clarifying CDs inside with us and distributed them to people on the streets. Whenever we saw a person, we said "Happy New Year! This is a greeting card for you." They all accepted it. Along the way, we distributed greeting cards, put up posters and hung banners. Later, we distributed flyers in a building complex and didn't go home until five o'clock. That day was very fruitful.

As SARS appeared, I felt the urgency to offer salvation to people. Now people are becoming more and more clear-headed, so it is easier to clarify the truth to them. While I was distributing the flyers, they asked, "Is it about Falun Gong? If it is, I want to have it." I told them "Yes" and continued saying, "Be a good person. Support kindness and justice. Remember in your heart 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance' and you will be safe. Heaven is very fair and knows who's good and who's not."

My experience is that it is easy to speak the truth face to face. People will understand after you talk to them. I also encountered some people who refused to take the flyers. I said, "Take a look, then you will know what Falun Gong is about. Don't just listen to the one-sided propaganda on TV. Learning the truth is good for you. We do this for your well-being. I have brought this for you. Why don't you just take a look?" In the end, they took it and even told me to be careful.

During the Fa-rectification, I have felt the miracle and power of Dafa as long as I take the Fa as my teacher. With righteous thoughts and actions, I have distributed flyers to many people. I need to study the Fa more to correct the shortcomings in my clarifying the truth, rectify myself, and get rid of the bad stuff in my mind. I will do the three things well and not let Master down. I will try even harder to accomplish the sacred mission endowed by Master -- assisting Master to rectify the Fa.

Please correct me if there is anything incorrect in my understanding.

*Yuan is the Chinese currency. The average monthly salary of an urban worker in China is 500 Yuan.