(Minghui.org) Greetings, benevolent Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I obtained the Fa in September 1997 when I was 60 years old. Sixteen years have now passed and I am 76. Without Master’s benevolent salvation I wouldn’t be alive today.
In 1995 my sister-in-law came from Beijing and brought me the book Zhuan Falun. Although I only read some of it, I was impressed by the three words: Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Thus, when I went to the US to visit my son in 1997 I brought the book with me.
In 1997, when I was 60, my life almost ended. I couldn’t fall asleep, either at night or during the daytime. It seemed that I had lost the ability to sleep, and I went to many doctors for a cure. I didn't understand the consequences of other methods I tried for relief. I practiced something evil, and attracted an animal spirit. To make things worse, the animal spirit sapped my essence every day.
At this critical moment, I suddenly had the thought, “I want to practice Falun Dafa. I want to do things based on Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and I want to return to my original, true self.” The next day I started to read Zhuan Falun. A week later, I decided to go back to China and cultivate.
After I arrived in Beijing, I went to a Falun Gong practice site close to my sister's home to learn the exercises. About ten days later I went back to my hometown in Hubei Province and found a practice site. A week later, Master started to cleanse my body. Two weeks later, Master helped me to eliminate thought karma and I saw his image as a Buddha. Any atheistic notions I had were gone and I firmly decided to cultivate. After I had cultivated for a month, Master eliminated the animal spirit. I personally experienced all these amazing things. I knew it was not a dream but what my main spirit saw in another dimension. Three months later I could fall asleep, and I no longer needed to worry about sleeping.
I was in China from September 1997 to July 1999, then returned to the US. During the two years in China I did the exercises in the morning and the evening with fellow practitioners. We went out to spread the Fa, and shared experiences. My xinxing quickly improved. With the help of veteran practitioners, I had a clear understanding of why we need to study the Fa. During the two years I was in China, I read Zhuan Falun almost 100 times, and transcribed the book twice. I laid a relatively good foundation for individual cultivation and for future cultivation in Fa Rectification.
I returned to the U.S. on July 3, 1999. On July 20, the Chinese Communist Party started to persecute Falun Gong. When I heard the news, I burst into tears and knelt down in front of Master’s photo. I said, “Master, I will follow you. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the universal Dafa, can’t be undermined by anyone.” Later the Falun Dafa Association in North America sent the message that fellow practitioners needed to go to DC to validate the Fa, so I went to DC with fellow practitioners. We, as well as practitioners from all around the world, clarified the truth to U.S. congressman and the media, that "Falun Dafa is righteous! It is wrong for the Chinese Communist Party to persecute Dafa--it is against the Constitution. It violates human rights. The truth will prevail and evil will be defeated!"
My fellow practitioners and I have walked on the path of Fa rectification ever since. We went to different cities, Taipei, Geneva, etc., to attend Fa conferences and clarify the truth. In 2001 I participated in the SOS activity to rescue Falun Gong practitioners in China. We walked from Seattle to San Francisco and clarified the truth along the way.
In March 2002, I picked up the phone and started to call Chinese people in China to clarify the truth. I have been doing this for 11 years. The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published in 2004, and I thought it was well written because it completely explained the evil nature of the CCP. I wanted to spread the information to China. During the daytime I faxed copies of the Nine Commentaries to people. At night I called China to clarify the truth so that more Chinese could learn how evil the CCP was and quit the Party. Since May 2005 I have persuaded over 49,000 people to quit the CCP. Calling China over these past 11 years is how I have validated the Fa and how I have cultivated. Every single step is taken with Master’s benevolent care.
I remember that when I called China the first time, I was afraid to call from home because I was afraid the evil could find me based on my phone number. I took a bus to the transit center and used a public phone to make the call. The first phone number was the office of the persecution of Falun Gong in Beijing. No one picked up and then the answering machine came on. I read a script I had prepared in advance. I condemned the CCP for persecuting Falun Gong. I told them Falun Gong was good and did not harm China or its people. I condemned them for persecuting good people. I demanded that they put down the knife and release all Falun Gong practitioners. The second call was to the Minister of Public Security. His secretary answered the phone. I asked her to convey the message “Stop persecuting Falun Gong” to the Minister of Public Security. And I read the script again. She asked where I was calling from, and I said the U.S.
I was very happy after I read the script. I thought it was very good to frighten the evil. Because of my zealotry, I took the bus going in the opposite direction. When I got off the bus, I realized I was in a park I had never been to. I was told I had to wait an hour for the next bus. I then realized that I had the attachment of zealotry.
My first experience of calling China is still vivid, even after 11 years. I later realized that I couldn’t keep going out to make phone calls every day. I needed to do it at home. The call was placed through a calling card company, so I had no reason to be afraid of anything.
To not bother my family members, I sat in the bathroom making phone calls every night. As I made more and more phone calls, I realized that reading the same script didn’t work in all situations and for all people. So I began talking to them. At the very beginning, due to the fear, I didn’t know what to say. Later I spoke haltingly. Eventually I was able to speak calmly and rationally.
It took a long period of cultivation to let go of the attachment of fear and the competitive mentality, and not to talk back when others cursed me. It's easy to say but difficult to do, but I remembered Master said,
“It’s hard to do, but you can do it; it’s hard to endure, but you can endure it.” (“Teaching the Fa and Answering Questions in Guangzhou," Zhuan Falun Fajie)
Little by little I could achieve it. One day after a young Chinese lady listened to me explain the facts, she asked me many questions. I answered them all. She was very glad and said, “Thank you very much. You explained everything very well.” I knew Master was encouraging me through her words.
From March 2002 through late 2004 I focused on clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa. From the end of 2004 to the first half of 2005, I focused on the Nine Commentaries. From the second half of 2005 to today I have been clarifying truth and helping Chinese to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
I get the phone numbers online. Every night I spend four hours making phone calls. I've now helped over 49,000 Chinese quit the CCP organizations. Actually, Master does everything. Master saves people. I just have the wish to help.
In the second half of 2012, I read Master’s lecture “20th Anniversary Fa Teaching” and felt the urgency of time,
“You’ve all seen that, going forward, the evil doesn’t have enough strength for it to be made use of. Gradually the evil climate that the old forces use to test Dafa disciples, as well as the setting in which you save sentient beings under evil pressure, is disappearing. That’s because the evil is now insufficient to make use of.... But we will still do our utmost to save more, to save them quickly, to rush to save still more lives before the time arrives.”
Master taught us,
“Once someone declares his withdrawal from the wicked CCP, he is no longer under the control of the wicked CCP's evil elements or the gods in this universe that Fa-rectification hasn't yet dealt with, and he becomes a being that has taken a stance. Such people belong to the future, and will be looked after by gods who play positive roles.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of the Minghui Website’s Founding”)
However, many of my relatives, friends, coworkers, and students hadn’t quit the CCP. They all have a predestined relationship with me, so I mustn’t forget them. I collected their phone numbers, including the phone numbers of my husband’s friends and students, as well as my son’s friends. I spent a month calling them with great results.
The school where I used to work in China is famous locally, and it has many employees. I first called a retired principal. I had clarified the truth of Falun Gong to him before. I said, “I'm very sorry that when I worked at the school, I had conflicts with you. Now I am ashamed of myself and want to apologize to you. Please forgive me.” He was very moved and said, “I also did something bad to you.” I said, “That’s all right. It's in the past. I am now cultivating Falun Dafa and doing things based on Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I would never do anything to hurt someone.” I asked him how his son and grandson were. He was very glad to talk about his grandson. I took the opportunity to talk about quitting the CCP to save one's life and ensure a wonderful future. I helped him choose an auspicious pseudonym to announce his withdrawal from the CCP.
The second principal had relocated to another organization. She got my call when she returned from Beijing. She said, “I didn’t expect to get your call. I haven’t heard your voice all these years. I am so glad to hear from you.” I started to talk about the past when we were young. Finally I told her that I now practiced Falun Gong, and that although I was 75 years old, I was still healthy. She was envious. I then told her about protecting oneself by quitting the CCP. She said she had heard about it in Beijing. I found a name for her and helped her quit.
The third principal had retired from education and was working somewhere else. I first thanked her for testifying that I am still alive. In China there is a provision at banks that the manager of the organization has to testify that the person is still alive before the retirement pay can be transferred to that person’s relative. Every year when it was close to holiday season, I wrote her a letter or called her to express my appreciation. This time I said, “I thank you very much for what you have done for me. How can I thank you? I hope your whole family can have a safe future.” Then I explained the movement to quit the CCP, and how some people had survived the deadly earthquake that hit Sichuan Province. She said she believed what I said. I helped her and her husband quit the CCP.
I graduated from a teachers' college 57 years ago. My politics teacher is 94 years old. Over the years we had seen each other several times. I still contacted her over the phone. In the last several years I had clarified the truth about Falun Gong and the Nine Commentaries to her, but she became scared when I did. Every time she said “Don’t talk about it. Don’t talk about it.” But when I called her the next time, she still answered the phone. Perhaps it was because of her inborn kind quality.
When I called her this time, I wondered if she was still alive since she was already 94 years old--and would she be able to hear? I sent righteous thoughts and then called her. She answered the phone in an old but vigorous voice. She was still alive and had been waiting for my call. I told her I was happy that she was still able to hear. Then I talked about quitting the CCP. Because I had called her to clarify the truth several times before, this time she immediately agreed to quit.
She had been a Party member teaching politics and endorsing the CCP her entire life. But she also experienced the pain it caused. Long ago her husband had joined the Kuomintang Party and was therefore a target in every political movement. He was depressed his whole life and passed away very young. She and her husband had had a good relationship, and his death pained her deeply. Her oldest son was forced to go to the countryside and work in a mine, where because of the overexploitation, a landslide occurred. Her son and her son’s whole family, as well as the entire village, were buried by the landslide. Only her grandson survived because he was not home at the time. It was a heartache she'd never gotten over. After she listened to the Nine Commentaries and the truth about Falun Gong, why wouldn’t she quit the CCP that had caused her so much suffering? I was really glad that day.
I had a student who had studied for a PhD in Beijing. I called him several years ago to clarify the truth about Falun Gong and tell him about the Nine Commentaries, but he didn’t quit. Now heaven is about to eliminate CCP, and I needed to find him and help him quit. I found his phone number and called. The person who answered was a stranger. I asked him if he knew the person who had owned this phone number before. He said he didn't because he got the number from the phone company. I said that was OK and then clarified the truth to him. I started with how Falun Dafa teaches people to be good based on Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and has now spread to over 100 countries, that there's nothing wrong with teaching people to be good, that only the CCP persecutes good people and defames the Fa, and that in Guizhou Province there is a big stone with six Chinese characters on it that say, “Chinese Communist Party dies.” Many scientists went there to investigate and found that the characters were formed naturally, and were not hand-carved, so this is God’s will, and no one can stop it; only if one follows God’s will and quits the CCP can one be safe. The man agreed. He, his wife, and his two children quit the CCP and promised to remember that Falun Dafa is good.
I continued looking for my student. I called the phone number of the dormitory where he used to live. The person who answered said the student I was looking for was their older colleague and now an associate professor. He gave me my student’s phone number, then asked where I was calling from and why. I said I had been his teacher and that I was in the U.S. He was interested and asked what I taught. I knew they might want to find ways to get to the U.S. I told them that I was his elementary school teacher. They were very surprised that I could still remember an elementary school student. I said his face very often came to my mind, just like my other students. I still remembered them and hoped they would be safe. That’s why I'd made the call. They asked how they could also be safe. He told me there were six PhD students living in the room, so I started from the fact that Falun Dafa had spread to over 100 countries, and then talked about the Nine Commentaries, and that loving one’s country is not the same as loving the CCP. I explained that quitting can save one's life. They listened quietly. In the end I helped all of them quit.
While I was looking for my student, I saved six PhD students! This was all arranged by Master. I eventually found my student and helped him quit. I had similar experiences helping my other students quit the CCP, but I won’t give all the details here.
I am able to continue saving people only because of Master’s benevolent care. For example, on Mother’s Day in 2008 my niece came to pick me up to dine out in Chinatown. I was boiling water on the electric stove. There wasn't much water in the kettle, only about an inch. My niece asked me to go, so I left, but I forgot the stove was still on.
Three hours later I came back and saw the burner was still on, but when I touched the handle of the kettle, it was not hot! I opened the lid and there was no water inside, but the bottom of the kettle was not damaged. I put more water in the kettle and it did not leak. I knelt down in front of Master’s Fa image. If Master hadn’t intervened, the consequences could have been disastrous. Because if the kettle got too hot, the handle would have burned. Then the towel hanging nearby would have caught fire. Then the carpet would have burned and maybe the whole house! We had bought the house only several months before. At that time my husband was in China. Before he left, he repeatedly reminded me of the danger of fire. Without Master’s benevolent care, the house could have burned down. How could I have explained that to my husband? How would I then be able to validate the Fa?
It is not surprising that everyday people get sick when they get older. One time, I seemed have problem with my heart. I felt my throat was burning and tight after walking over a hill, or even on a flat road. It was like after a long run. I couldn’t breathe and my heart was uncomfortable. It was as if I was about to pass out. Later it got worse, and I had the symptom even after walking in the house. If I admitted it was sickness, then it would get worse, so I completely negated it. I am a cultivator, and Master takes care of me. I am assimilated to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and death has nothing to do with me. I knew the heart problem was hereditary, as my father had passed away because of heart disease before he turned 60. My big brother passed away due to this at the age of 63, and my other two brothers had cardiac bypass surgery. But that doesn’t hold true for a cultivator. I didn’t have the fear of death. I still did what I needed to do: clarify the truth, do the exercises, and call Chinese people at night. A couple of months later all the symptoms vanished, and I was back to normal.
In the winter of 2010 we had Shen Yun shows. I was part of the team to send righteous thoughts. Every day I took the bus to a certain place to send righteous thoughts with fellow practitioners, which took me around seven hours daily counting the ride time. After I got home, I still needed to study the Fa and call Chinese people at night. I could sleep only three hours every day. One morning when I got up, I felt dizzy. I immediately sat down and sent righteous thoughts, "Completely negate the evil interference. I will be able to do what I need to do."
After sending righteous thoughts, I took a walk outside and felt refreshed. I took the bus to send righteous thoughts. That night when I got up to make phone calls, I felt very dizzy and heard drumming in my ears. I wanted to throw up. I lost control of my legs. I took several steps and sat down to send righteous thoughts. Calling the Chinese to help them to quit the CCP is to save people, and the old forces weren't worthy of interfering with me. So I picked up the phone and made calls. After I made over 20 calls, I suddenly felt that my ears were clear and the noise stopped. My head was clear, too. I continued to call until dawn. I passed the test of sickness karma. Master stopped the old forces from persecuting me and suffered so much karma for me. I realized what Master said,
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughts
Master has the power to turn back the tide”
(“The Master-Disciple Bond,” from HongYin Vol. II)
While I did the three things, Master enlightened me that I should let go of many attachments, including the attachment of zealotry, showing off, the competitive mentality, holding grudges, etc. I need to eliminate all these selfish attachments. Only when I completely get rid of that selfishness can I have selfless kindness and compassion, and save more sentient beings. Nowadays when I call the Chinese, the results are not as good as before. Many people don’t answer the phone or won’t listen to me, or don’t quit the CCP. It is because I haven’t cultivated to that level. In order to save more sentient beings, I need to study the Fa and send righteous thoughts in a better way. I have to let go of my attachments so that I can meet the requirement of that level, and then I can save the people of that level.
Master said,
“That is why Fa-study is still the most, most important thing—it is the fundamental guarantee for all that you are to do. If you cannot keep up in Fa-study, then there is no hope.” ("Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa")
I thank Master for his benevolent salvation. I shall walk the last steps of my path well, study the Fa well, and send righteous thoughts well. I will save more people to fulfill our prehistoric vows. I must live up to Master’s benevolent salvation and reach consummation to return with Master.
(Presented at 2013 US Western International Fa Conference)
