(Clearwisdom.net) I am from Shandong Province and I began practicing Falun Dafa in the spring of 1998.
After the Chinese Communist Party launched the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, I reminded myself that I am Master's disciple and need to go to Beijing to appeal for Dafa and say, "Falun Dafa is good! Master is good!"
My family was poor, so I decided to walk to Beijing with only a little over 20 yuan in my possession. I heard that at all checkpoints everyone must step on Master's picture when they board any public transportation. I used public transportation near my home for several stops, but I got off soon as I ran out of money.
I started walking and developed blisters on the soles of my feet, leading to burning pain. I held onto trees and moved from one tree to another along the roadside. My thought karma was bothering me, too. I then recited Master's Fa. Master saw my determination and helped me eliminate the thought karma.
I had never been to Beijing and did not know how to get there. I only knew the general direction. I thought that as long as I walked along the road I would get there eventually. I only had food on my first day. During the remaining two weeks. I didn't eat anything else, nor did I feel hungry. Occasionally I asked for a cup of water when I was thirsty.
One section of the road was under construction, and both sides of the road were full of limestone. With the wind blowing, limestone dust was everywhere. It felt like being in the desert. Before nightfall I finally walked out of there. The next morning when I woke up I could not open my eyes. It was as if I had glue in my eyes. I managed to get the limestone dust removed from my eyes. I washed my face in a puddle of water, and immediately felt a burning sensation on my face. I realized that the water had activated the limestone dust. I recited Master's lecture while walking,
“Having fully experienced thousands of kinds of hardships,
Two feet tread on a thousand demons;
Upright the palm, heaven and earth quakes,
In the air stands a giant Buddha.” (“The Great Enlightened,” from Hong Yin)
Although my pace was slow, looking back, it seemed that I had walked far. I had one determined thought: Master, nothing can stop me. I must reach Beijing.
One evening I arrived at a gas station next to the highway. I knocked on the door. A man and a woman on duty were inside the room. I reassured them, “Don't worry, I am a Falun Gong practitioner.” They were surprised to see me. The woman was friendly. The man heard that I was a practitioner and advised me to go back home. He saw that I didn't listen to him and said, “Last winter the police stripped a woman Falun Gong practitioner, handcuffed and shackled her and publicly paraded her on the streets to humiliate her. The cold made her look purple. If I make a phone call now, the police will be here within ten minutes. Do you believe it?”
I stayed calm and said to him, “I believe it! But you will not do that!” “Why?” I said. “Because you are a kind person!” “You are absolutely right!” he smiled and continued, “We have refueled trucks from your county here. Tomorrow you can go back with them.” I smiled and didn't say anything. The woman said, “No need to say anything else. She is not even afraid of death. What else could it be? Let's sleep!” The man was holding a blanket and was sleeping on a bench. The woman gave me a new blanket and moved the only heater closer to me. We fell asleep, leaning on the table.
The woman woke me up after a while, “You should go now.” I asked to wait for a little while more. About half an hour later it became foggy, and one could see nothing across the road. I told the woman it was time for me to go.
Another time I came to a three-road intersection. While wondering which way I should go, I saw a man squatting not far away. I asked him for directions. He seemed friendly. I told him that I was a Falun Gong practitioner and was going to Beijing to appeal for Dafa. He advised me to go home. I said, “I have walked this far. I must go to Beijing.” He saw that I was determined and said, “You are really going?” I answered yes. He said, “I'll tell you the direction then.” He then drew a map on the ground, showing a shorter route, which would take much less effort. I thanked him.
I usually slept at night under bridges, or next to stacks of corn stalks or grass, or in restrooms. I slept with my head on a brick, woke up from the cold after midnight, then continued walking. Each time I started walking again my feet were in pain. The pain subsided only after walking for a while.
One day at dawn I looked at the surroundings as I walked. What I saw looked like a small town. There were some stores along the roadside. Suddenly I saw a door plaque that read, “No fear of the test, true color manifested.” Immediately I felt a warm current going through me. I nodded, “Master, I understand!” My feet no longer hurt much. I walked far, with tears in my eyes. I was not alone. I knew Master had always been with me.
One day while walking two people on bicycles looked at me as they passed by. They were waiting for me a short distance ahead. These two individuals did not look like good people. They demanded to know, “Where are you going?” I didn't respond and continued walking. They waited for me again not too far further ahead. As I walked closer they said, “Stop walking. You don't have money to take a train, right? Why don't you come to our village? We will find someone so you can earn some money before you go again.” I said to them, “I have no money. I do not need the money.” I continued on my path. They waited for me a third time and repeated what they just said. This time I told them, “What are you trying to do - by stopping me over and over again? Do you know who I am?” They looked at each other and said, "No." I said, “I practice Falun Gong!” They hurriedly left before I got a chance to say anything else.
One afternoon I was tired and fell asleep on a stone bench in a green divider strip in the middle of a highway. I dreamed that I was following someone to a clothing store. This person was tall and wearing a suit with a tie. He went into the store and told the shop clerk, “Another one is here. Prepare one for her, too.” I looked into the store and saw rows of monks with red robes. Once awake and walking again I pondered my dream. I saw a huge board in the middle of the divider strip, “Going through all the pain is only for one path.” My eyes filled with tears.
After two weeks, on March 16, I finally arrived at Tiananmen Square. Plainclothes agents put me into a police car and took me, along with other practitioners from different areas, to a police station. There were many practitioners--some were elderly, some holding children. Although we didn't know one another we were like a family, because we were all disciples of Master!
A man there asked me where my home was. I told him. He said he was from the Beijing Liaison Office of a city in Shandong. He was responsible for getting the practitioners who came to Beijing back to Shandong. He asked me how I got there. I told him I walked and had not eaten anything since the second day I was out. He asked why I came. I told him that I wanted to tell the officials that Falun Dafa was good and that they should not persecute Falun Gong. He made the "thumbs up" gesture without saying a word.
That night two people from our county's representative office in Beijing took me to their dorm and handcuffed me to a heating pipe for the night. Later they alerted our village committee. A man from our village arrived. I told him of the circumstances, and why I came to Beijing. He also admired my courage. He took me to our local police station and told the people there, “Please treat her nicely. She has suffered a lot on the way.” I then went home.
Once at home I saw a long poem on the table, written by my husband while I was gone. He wrote that with the ten years of marriage, his wife was hard working, a [typical] great wife and mother. I put it back with a peaceful mind. My husband asked me, “Why didn't you find someone to accompany you on your way there? What if someone had taken advantage of you?” I smiled at him, “No worries! I have Master!”
With my strong righteous thoughts, my family no longer attempted to force me to give up my belief in Dafa. Especially after seeing the miracle of my surviving two weeks without any food and walking to Beijing to appeal for Dafa, my husband changed his attitude toward Dafa. He took pride in his wife's experience and proudly shared it with his co-workers. My husband was then taking oral medicine and injections. I showed him the Tiananmen Self-immolation CD. He understood the truth and said to his friends, “The Tiananmen Self-immolation is a lie. It was directed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). We have all been deceived by the CCP. I have a Falun Gong practitioner in my home. She would not even kill a fly--not to mention murder.” Six months later he no longer took medicine or injections and became healthier every day. He returned to work.
This is my experience and thoughts on my cultivation path. Staying on our paths from the beginning of our practice to today is already a miracle. These miracles come from Master and Dafa.
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