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Selection from Call for Articles: I Experienced Immeasurable Joy During Tribulations

March 25, 2011 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China

(Clearwisdom.net) Once, I went to a remote village to distribute Falun Dafa materials, but lost my way due to poor lighting on the street. I asked Teacher for help; His image appeared close by, so I walked quickly towards it. I followed Teacher closely, then He disappeared about 40 minutes later. I saw the path home directly in front of me.

During the past several years, I've studied the Fa and done the exercises in the morning. I distributed Falun Dafa truth clarification materials at night, then returned home before dawn. Sometimes I didn't sleep for days. I felt tired at first, but when I thought of my vows and the people waiting to be saved, I knew that I couldn't afford to sleep. For these past years, unless it was pouring rain or snowing heavily outside, I've rarely slept while at home. I've ridden my bike for many miles to other villages, encountered bad weather conditions and authorities who've tried to arrest me. These were difficult times, but I've experienced immeasurable joy through these hardships.

One night, I went to a village of about 20 homes. Every house had a dog. I sent righteous thoughts and asked Teacher for help. I didn't want the dogs to bark and wake up anyone while I distributed the materials. When I opened a door to a yard, a big dog quietly looked at me, wagging his tail. When I placed the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and a booklet outside a window and was about to walk out of the yard, the dog picked up the materials with his mouth, pushed open the door to the house, and brought his owners the materials. I cried. This dog was also a being of the universe.

Besides my household duties, I've only done the three things. I did the Dafa work with a pure mind. I rarely slept, but was never tired. I knew that Teacher had given me the energy to continue. Sometimes, I'd come home early in the morning and take a nap; then I'd see Teacher smiling at me with care and compassion. At that moment, I was no longer tired, and would get up and continue to do the three things.

I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1993. I would like to share my experiences of the cultivation practice with Teacher and fellow practitioners.

1. Learning Falun Dafa

In 1992, my brother-in-law suffered from intestinal adhesions, and couldn't eat for a week. My second sister had congenital heart problems; doctors said that it wasn't curable and refused to treat her. Someone told my oldest sister that there was a person who could cure any disease like a divine being, and found the person. After my oldest sister explained to him what had happened to the family, he told her to go home and that everything would be fine. My sister went home with doubts in her mind, but found that both my brother-in-law and my second sister were cured!

One day, I went to my oldest sister's home and met that person there. The minute I saw him, I felt that I was very close to him, but I couldn't explain my feelings. He was tall and radiant; my mind was blank as if the air was frozen. He was our Teacher, the person that I'd been looking for all my life. I attended His lectures twice. When Zhuan Falun was published, Teacher gave me a copy in person. I read the book day and night. I will always remember my encounter with Teacher, and it has been the driving force for me to progress diligently on the path of practice.

2. Miraculous Falun Dafa Purifies My Physical Body

I suffered from many illnesses before I practiced Falun Dafa and was very weak. I couldn't do much work, although I was expected to because I'm a man. None of the medical treatments that I tried worked. After I became a practitioner, all the illnesses disappeared and I became strong. Now, I do all the heavy work at home, which was something I'd never dared to even imagine. People who saw how dramatically I changed raised their thumbs and were amazed by the power of Falun Dafa.

3. Enlightened by Teacher

My father was a very soft-spoken person when he was with other people. He was helpful and everyone liked him. However, he was not like that at home. He yelled and beat his children and acted irrationally. Everyone in the family was afraid of him. He was especially mean to me, no matter what I did to please him. I often felt that this was unfair and held a grudge against him.

After I practiced Falun Dafa, I understood the concept of karmic retribution and the cause and effect of predestined relationships. I tried to change the relationship with my father but it didn't work. I couldn't help but complain in my mind occasionally. Teacher enlightened me in a dream: I saw myself wearing a golden emperor's robe equipped with a suit of armor and tall boots. I wore a red tasseled hat and held a red tasseled horsewhip sitting on a rattan chair. There was a fine, well-equipped horse in front of me. A servant in his 60s knelt down with his hands on the ground and his back flattened, waiting for me to step on his back and get on the horse. I arrogantly stepped on him to get on the horse. He stood up shaking and handed me the halter. I whipped the horse and rode away, then looked back at the servant. He stood in the cold wind looking miserable and waved at me. I looked at him carefully—he was my father in this life.

I was shocked and woke up, understanding everything. From then on, I held no grudges against my father and let him yell and beat me as if I were still a teenager, although I was in my 50s. I truly wish that one day, my father and I can live together in peace.

4. Taking Good Care of Relationships in the Family

Before I practiced Falun Dafa, I often argued and fought with my wife. I was ill-tempered, and my wife and children were afraid of me. After I practiced Falun Dafa, everything was the opposite. My wife often gave me trouble. She took away my book when I wanted to study the Falun Dafa teachings and hid it; she frequently wanted me to do a lot of trivial work, locked the bike up and would not let me use it, hid or threw away my Falun Dafa materials and scolded me, trying to prevent me from doing Dafa work.

I knew that it was time for me to improve my xinxing, and that I might have mistreated her in previous lives. I tried not to fight back and argue with her, however, I resented her and felt helpless. Later during my Fa study, I realized that I had to eliminate the evil forces and couldn't just passively accept it. I didn't want her to commit any offenses against Dafa, so I sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil forces in other dimensions. At the same time, I looked within to find my human notions. I realized that I didn't normally look at things from her perspective when problems arose. I often prioritized my own work—nothing was allowed to get in my way, and I didn't care how she felt. I barely spoke to her, so she felt cold and left out.

Teacher said,

“Under all circumstances, we must be good and kind to others, not to mention to our family members. We should treat everyone in the same way. We must be good to our parents and children and be considerate of others in all respects. Such a heart is thus unselfish, and it is a heart of kindness and benevolence.” (Zhuan Falun)

I gradually eliminated the attachment of selfishness and changed my attitude towards her. After a while, she changed as well. She watched the time for me when I sent righteous thoughts. When I left home, she asked me to be careful and to come home early. I realized the importance of righteous thoughts and looking within.

5. Honor the Vows and Save People

I used to walk to remote areas. One time, I carried a lot of materials in my backpack and walked for 12 hours. My feet had large blisters, and I was still five miles away from home. I wanted to take a bus, but there were none available, so I gave up and continued walking. Suddenly, someone asked me “Are you tired and suffering? Is it worth it?” I was surprised and replied, “Not at all. It's worth it to help Teacher rectify the Fa.” I got home and quickly fell asleep. In a dream, I saw Teacher radiating golden light with compassion on his face. I woke up immediately and felt immeasurable comfort. All the fatigue was gone, and I did the exercises. It was truly “Let joy be found in hardship.” ("Tempering the Will" from Hong Yin)

6. Righteous Thoughts Turn Danger into Safety

One day I planned on going to a village. Before I left, I heard someone say “danger,” but I didn't think much of it. With my attachments of working and showing off, the evil forces exploited my gap. As I was distributing the materials, a dog barked. Two men grabbed me and took me to a police station. I sent righteous thoughts and didn't acknowledge the evil persecution, thinking that if I made a mistake, only Teacher and Dafa could correct me.

The police handcuffed me to a pipe and asked me where the materials came from. One officer was about to whip me with a belt, while another read the Nine Commentaries that I was carrying. I sent righteous thoughts, wanting him to understand the truth about the persecution. He read the book for awhile and said, “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is truly evil.” At that moment, a woman came in and pleaded for me, “Falun Gong practitioners are good people. Let him go.” I knew that she must have read our materials before and understood the facts about Falun Dafa. I became more confident in my actions.

I looked within and realized that I had a strong attachment of fighting and wasn't benevolent when I talked to the police. I corrected myself immediately and explained the facts about Falun Dafa to the policemen. I refused to cooperate with them or give up my beliefs. One day, an officer came in and told the rest of them, “He is not going to say anything, even if you kill him. Do whatever you need to.” They released me after 15 days.

Selected from "Call for Articles about Divine Occurrences in the Human World"