(Minghui.org) My profession is medicine—I am a doctor, but I consider myself a Dafa disciple first. I used to have many illnesses that I was unable to cure. After beginning to practice, however, all of them disappeared. In “Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference,” Master said,
“Though seemingly ordinary, these acts are all magnificent, remarkable, because all professions in the human world and all settings are your cultivation site.”
I would like to share my cultivation experience, in the hope that I can discover my gaps and do better on what remains of my cultivation journey.
Beginning cultivation
I used to have many illnesses, starting from when I was young. I went to a Chinese Medicine College and practiced many forms of qigong, but they did not improve my health. I also began my faith in Buddhism, and that did not help either. By 1998, I had run a private clinic for six years after early retirement due to illness. Many people heard about me because of my clinic. However, I could not cure my own health problems, which included high blood pressure, heart disease, migraines, and bone fracture caused by osteoporosis, for which I needed crutches. The pain medication led to ulcers and caused severe stomach pain. At that time, one of my friends said that she had begun to learn Dafa and found it to be very good. She asked me if I wanted to give it a try. I agreed and went to the practice site that evening. Later, a miracle happened: the stomachache I had had for 30 years did not bother me that night. By the 12th day, I had diarrhea more than 30 times, but I felt relaxed and energetic when I went to work. I knew Master had helped clean my body. Gradually, my headache was gone and I no longer needed my crutches. After witnessing the miraculous effects of Dafa, I decided to cultivate wholeheartedly. In Zhuan Falun, Master said, “We teach that a person must practice only one cultivation way.” I gave away my qigong books and materials and began to cultivate Falun Dafa diligently.
Introducing others to Dafa
After I began to cultivate, I joined the group practice to do the first four exercises at 5 a.m. every morning and then joined the group meditation at 7 p.m. every evening. I worked at my clinic during the day and read Zhuan Falun during noontime, as well as in the evening.
I told many people about the miracles of Falun Dafa, and my sister also became a practitioner. My clinic is located in a low income region, and many of our patients are elderly, with stubborn or chronic diseases and no money to go to a hospital. I told them what Falun Dafa was, and some of them began to recite “Falun Dafa is good” as well as “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
Some patients experienced progress and realized that Falun Dafa is good. Some wanted to practice, so I showed them the exercises when no other patients were waiting and helped them to obtain Dafa books and exercise music. I also gave away at least 1000 truth-clarification postcards.
Telling people the facts
Because many people knew that I was a practitioner, after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the persecution, some of them told me to stop. They said the CCP was too vicious and that we could not win. I said that Master asks practitioners to be better people and all of my illnesses were gone after I began to practice, so how could I stop?
Someone reported me to the police. One day, the head of the residential committee came to ask me to fill out a form required by the local police. At that time, I had two patients in the clinic who had practiced in the past but later gave up due to fear. They told the residential committee head that Falun Dafa improved their health and after they stopped due to fear, their illnesses returned. When the residential committee head saw this, he said that I no longer needed to complete the form.
In June 2001, a practitioner was arrested and the police got my contact information from her cell phone. The police told me to go to the police station, so I kept sending forth righteous thoughts. The agent who interrogated me was a patient that I had seen the day before. He asked for my name and what kind of job I did. I laughed and said that I was the physician he had seen the day before. I also told him that Falun Dafa was good. Another agent then asked me if I knew the arrested practitioner, since my phone number was on her cell phone's call history. I was undeterred and continued to clarify the truth to them. Later, the police released me and did not bother me anymore.
I did not have fear and clarified the truth to everyone. One day, a police agent from another city came with his son, who could not walk due to hemophilia. I told him the facts and asked him not to mistreat practitioners. I also recommended that he recite “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” to improve his son's situation. He agreed, and eventually his son recovered.
I hired a doctor and a nurse, and I gave them Zhuan Falun to read and the exercise video to watch. My clinic is responsible for the delivery of truth-clarifying materials in the local area. Both the doctor and the nurse have read the materials. They have quit the CCP and it affiliated organizations and have benefited from it.
With today's moral decline, running a private clinic has certain risks, and some ill-intentioned people may come looking for trouble. My clinic has been running smoothly all these years because of Dafa. My staff knows that Dafa is good and I am able to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Because of this, we have a positive working environment. In addition, when treating patients, I often clarify the truth to them and sometimes ask them to recite “Falun Dafa is good” as well as “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” Many patients were saved in this way.
I also take advantage of opportunities to attend different social functions to meet friends and relatives, and tell them the facts. I always prepare in advance and rarely miss such events despite my busy work schedule. Plus, I join other practitioners in distributing informational materials and regularly using paper currency with truth-clarification messages.
Fa-study
Being a Dafa practitioner, one of the most important things is to study the Fa well. I did not do this well in the past. I read the Fa and transcribed the Fa by hand. I spent eight months transcribing Zhuan Falun twice, but I still had difficulty memorizing the Fa. I asked myself why I could not cultivate as diligently as I did when I first began. It seemed one reason was that I was too occupied by things in everyday society. On the surface, I spent lots of time studying the Fa, but in reality, I was thinking about patients even when I read Dafa books.
As I looked back, I realized that, although I was a doctor, I was a Dafa disciple first. Master gave me good health not for me to make money, but to do the three things well and reach Consummation. My Fa-study situation was indeed very poor. Therefore, I closed the clinic in late 2007 and studied all of Master’s articles from the previous several years at least three times. I also study Zhuan Falun every day. I will do better in the future and remain diligent.
Gap
In “Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference,” Master said,
“As you already know, Dafa disciples have gone through the process of Consummation, and history today has bestowed upon Dafa disciples an even greater responsibility: not your own liberation and Consummation, but saving more sentient beings. That's why you deserve to be Dafa disciples.”
In “What is a Dafa Disciple,” Master said,
“You are cultivators. I’m not talking about your past, what you once were, or what you display on the surface. I am talking about your core and the meaning of your life, the responsibility you shoulder, and your historic mission. Only thus are you truly a Dafa disciple.”
On the issue of completing our mission as a Dafa disciple, I have done rather poorly compared to the Fa's requirements. For example, when I ran into someone, my first thought was not about doing my best to save the person, but, instead, wondering if the person would be easy to save or not. In the past, it felt natural clarifying the truth to my patients, but now I am a little hesitant in telling the facts to strangers. On the surface, I am afraid of losing face, while in reality it is due to my selfishness and fear. In other words, I did not fully recognize the urgency of saving people and did not consider it as my mission. In “What is a Dafa Disciple,” Master said,
“It may be because normally they won’t see another human being for dozens of miles around. So they’ll feel close to whomever they see.”
I will do better in the future to fulfill my vow. The above are my personal understandings. Please point out anything inappropriate.