(Clearwisdom.net)
I am very fortunate to have obtained Falun Dafa, acquiring a new life.
I obtained Falun Dafa in June of 1996.
Before I became a practitioner, I had a severe protruding lumbar vertebra. At that time, I was in such pain that it was hard to express in words. Because the protrusion pressed on the nerves to my left leg, the muscles in that leg became severely withered and remained numb for a long time. I was a driver, but I could not drive a car or go to work. I was sent to stay in the hospital in August 1993 to get massages and medical treatment. However, after staying in the hospital for four months, my condition did not improve. On the contrary, it became worse. During those years, I spent a lot of money trying to find a cure but to no avail.
I decided to give Falun Gong a try and went to a practice site to learn the five exercises. In the meantime, I purchased a copy of Zhuan Falun. While I was learning the exercises, the coordinator told me that I should not have any attachment of pursuit when I did the exercises or studied the Fa. I began showing up at the practice site at 5 a.m. every morning. The practice site was over two miles away from my home. At first, my left leg felt very heavy as I walked. After three to four days, I did not feel any heaviness in my left leg anymore, and I could walk very quickly again. Before learning Falun Gong, I would get very tired after working for less than half day. After I learned Falun Gong, I began to work like I did before. I could walk more and did not feel any tiredness. I truly experienced the feeling of being healthy. This motivated me to go to the practice site every morning. In the evening, I would go to a fellow practitioner's home nearby to study the Fa and do the exercises. After studying the Fa and doing the exercises, my mindset began to change.
After the persecution began, I began to slack off in cultivation practice and my illnesses became severe
After July 20, 1999, the communist authorities began to persecute Falun Dafa and Dafa practitioners. Because I did not stay determined and keep my mind firmly on the Fa, I was interfered with by a human mentality, and I began to become slack off in Fa study and doing the exercises. For a period of time, I was in an ordinary person's condition. Thus, I had severe illnesses and went astray. Examining the root cause of my situation, I found out that I had the attachment of fear, which bothered me and prevented me from following Master's Fa rectification process. Master once said,
"If you don't follow the Law's requirements you don't belong to our Falun Dafa. Your body will be returned to the level of ordinary people, and we'll return the bad things to you, because you want to be an ordinary person." (Zhuan Falun)
In 2003, I went to another county to work. Because my environment changed, I did not have much contact with other practitioners. In addition, I did not spend much time in Fa study. Although I continued in Fa study, doing the exercises, and sending forth the righteous thoughts, I could not do these things persistently and diligently. In my dreams, I often felt I did not have any strength in my legs. Sometimes I was walking on a slippery, muddy road. Sometimes I was walking downhill. It was very obvious that Master was trying to give some hints to let me know that I was not diligent enough in my cultivation practice. However, I was not enlightened by that. In mid-April, 2007, whole body started to ache. I felt chilly and coughed a lot. For a practitioner, obviously it was a test for me. At first, I insisted on enduring it for a few days. Later, I was afraid. Because my family members were afraid that it might be infectious (in fact, I was already using a human mentality to view my condition), I went for a check-up and CT scan. The doctor said it was pneumonia and told me to take some medicine and get some injections. Then the hospital diagnosed me with lung cancer.
Because I was not enlightened, the old forces took advantage of me, and I truly followed an ordinary person's road. I began to get radiation therapy and chemotherapy. From December 2007 to November 2008, I went through five chemotherapies and one radiation therapy. According to the doctor, I had to have at least two more chemotherapies. I became extremely weak and felt very cold even if there was the slightest bit of wind. I had to wear many layers of clothing. I had to wear a warm hat and face mask if I went outside. Once after a chemotherapy, I returned home and lost consciousness for three hours. Chemotherapy made me lose all my hair. My face became so swollen that it seemed that it would break open at any time, and my eyes were also swollen, and tears kept rolling down my face.
When I suddenly awakened and let go of the fear of death, Master once again saved me.
During those painful medical treatments, a wrong thought crossed my mind: "I acknowledge that I did something wrong. If I cannot finish my cultivation in this lifetime, I would like to continue in my next lifetime." I tried to find excuses for dropping down to be an ordinary person. In fact, wasn't I trying to find an excuse to ruin my own cultivation? Master once said,
"You seem to be quite determined, but actually you aren't determined at all. What happens if your current state appears again in your next lifetime? Would you again go on cultivating in the lifetime after the next, then? You need to be determined not to miss this predestined opportunity, and then you will definitely be able to succeed in this lifetime." ("Teaching the Fa at the Conference in New Zealand, May 8, 1999")
However, Master did not give up on me even though I was not diligent in cultivation. I struggled in extreme pain. Our benevolent Master arranged for several fellow practitioners to come to my home and talk with me and share cultivation experiences. Practitioner A said, "How can you validate Dafa in such a condition? You are damaging the Fa if you stay like this." Her words woke me up very suddenly. As a Dafa practitioner, I should not be depressed. Therefore, I decided that I must follow Master's guidance and begin to cultivate again, let go of the fear of death, and follow Master's arrangement for me. I must do the three things well, which is what a good Falun Dafa practitioner should do: clarify the truth and save sentient beings. Fellow practitioners and I studied the Fa together several times and we exchanged our cultivation experiences with each other. Through Fa study and sharing, I understood Master's request for us to do the three things well and that our cultivation improvement would all be included in that.
There was no reason for me to slack off like that! Once I made up my mind, I immediately changed into another person. I felt lighthearted and rejuvenated--with energy. I stopped taking medicine and seeing the doctor. Besides studying the Fa and doing the exercises, I would go out to distribute truth-clarification materials, clarify truth about Falun Gong, and persuade people to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated associations. My everyday schedule was like this: in the morning I would distribute Dafa truth-clarification brochures, materials, and CDs and clarify the truth to people; in the afternoon, I would study the Fa; at night I would go outside to post Dafa banners or posters. Once I was done with all that, I returned home and did the exercises. I also sent forth the righteous thoughts. Now I feel that my body is very light and energetic, and I do not feel tired no matter how far I walk.
During that time, Master purified my body several times. One day after I got up, I felt my head was stuffed, ready to explode, and painful. I touched my head with my hand and felt something black and sticky, like black muddy oil. That remained for a whole week. After that, hair began growing on my head. Moreover, my hair became thicker and darker than before. Then the area around my nose and mouth became itchy and painful. A few days later, the skin around my nose began to peel off. After that, I clearly saw a person in a dream who took away something from underneath the edges of our house. Around noontime the next day, my wife saw a Falun (law wheel) rotating in the center of the yard. After sharing that with fellow practitioners, I understood that Master had taken away bad things from our home and purified our home. Later, while I was sending forth the righteous thoughts in a sitting meditation position, I felt a burst of warm energy came down from my head and spread out to my whole body. I felt very comfortable. I knew it was Master purifying my body further. That experience also made me feel that the Falun Buddha Fa is extremely compassionate and infinitely kind. I cannot express Master's vast Buddha kindness and endless compassion with words.
When I recall my cultivation journey over the past ten years, I am very moved. It was our benevolent Master who once again saved me from Hell by eliminating karma from my body and giving me a chance to continue being a Dafa practitioner and to cultivate Dafa. Master said,
"Don't worry, and this includes some of those who've stumbled. Just hurry up and get up." ("Explaining the Fa during the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")
Today I wrote this article about how I stumbled and took a detour, how I learned my lesson and began to truly practice Dafa again and have caught up with the Fa rectification process. At this critical moment in the Fa rectification period, I hope that those who have had similar experiences but still have not stepped out from the difficult situation arranged by the old forces quickly let go of human mentality, step forward, and follow Master's requirement to do those three things well and fulfill our prehistoric pledge.
I also want to express my sincere appreciation to those fellow practitioners in my area who gave me such selfless help and care.
