(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa in 2001, after a retinal hemorrhage left me blind in my left eye. I consulted all the local well-known doctors, but none of them could restore my sight. It was when I was in this hopeless circumstance that I pleaded with my relative to show me how to practice Falun Dafa.
My relative gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun and a videotape of the exercises, and that is how I started cultivating.
Due to my poor sight, I started practicing the exercises before I began studying the Fa. But after a week of just doing the exercises, Master restored my eyesight! He was already looking after me, even though I hadn’t mastered the exercises and could only meditate in the half-lotus position.
At first, I wasn’t serious about studying the Fa and didn’t attend group Fa study. Thus, I had a poor understanding of the Fa principles and only did the exercises to keep fit and cure illness. I was in this state of semi-cultivation for a long time. It was only in the latter half of 2009 that, through a relative, Master arranged for me to visit another practitioner's home. At the time, there were three other practitioners visiting her. When they learned about my situation, one practitioner asked me if they could establish a Fa study group at my home. I agreed, and from then on practitioners frequently came to my home for Fa study.
With my fellow practitioners’ help, I finally learned to send righteous thoughts, attend group Fa study, and accompany other practitioners in Fa-rectification activities. I know that all this was arranged by Master, to give his non-diligent practitioner some encouragement. Words can’t express my gratitude to Master. Now, my mission before me is to waste no time in truly cultivating myself.
1. Diligently Studying the Fa and Clarifying the Truth
With the help of other practitioners, I reformatted my computer system and installed anti-firewall software so I could access the Minghui website. I read sharing articles by fellow practitioners and learned from their cultivation experiences. I systematically studied Master’s overseas “Teaching the Fa at the Conference” lectures, and could read one chapter of Zhuan Falun at a time. Through studying the Fa and interacting with other practitioners, I began to understand how great and wonderful Dafa is.
After a period of serious cultivation, I felt great changes to my mind and body. My worries all disappeared and my mind was very clear. It felt truly wonderful to be in that state of calm and wakefulness. I wouldn’t feel tired even after working for an entire day. I thank Master from the bottom of my heart for His merciful salvation and thank my fellow practitioners for their help. I wanted to share this wonderful practice with other people.
All Dafa disciples must clarify the truth. It’s the greatest act of compassion one can do. I started with talking to my colleagues. There's a female colleague at my work who often comes to my office. Shortly before she was due to take the civil service exam, we ate together at a fastfood restaurant where I explained the facts about Falun Gong to her. She told me that she was envious of my good complexion, and for some reason she always felt really comfortable when talking to me. I told her that I practiced Falun Gong. She stared at me in surprise.
But I immediately recalled Master’s lectures, in which he said Dafa disciples should do the three things. So I mustered up the courage to tell her about how I had become blind in one eye eight years before, how I came to practice Falun Gong, and how my eyesight was restored within a week. I said, “All my ailments have gradually disappeared. If you want to know whether Falun Gong is good, all you have to do is to look at me to know the answer.”
I continued, “Don’t believe the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) lies. On July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin, acting out of jealousy, used his position to launch a persecution of 100 million Falun Gong practitioners who cultivated compassion. He even fabricated the Tiananmen self-immolation to deceive the people of China and around the world, to incite groundless hatred towards the practice. Falun Gong has been victimized like no other practice in history. Countless Falun Gong practitioners have been unlawfully imprisoned and brutally tortured. Falun Gong teaches people to be good, and its practitioners are the best people of all good people. Think about it, what sort of society persecutes a good practice and sends good people to jail? Today, society’s morals have degraded, and corruption is rampant. If people don’t correct themselves then heaven will. The natural disasters that have been occurring lately are a warning from heaven. The destruction of the CCP is inevitable, it’s only a matter of time.
“When Heaven destroys the CCP, all of its members – of the Party, Youth League, and Young Pioneers – will be dragged down with it. Only by declaring that you quit it can you be saved and be protected by gods.” I knew that my colleague was a Party member, so I said, “If you quit, you’ll have a bright future and will score well in your exam. During the exam, if you sincerely and respectfully recite ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,’ miracles will happen.”
She nodded in agreement and said, “I’ll heed your advice. I’ll remember that Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
With Master’s help, I successfully managed to clarify the truth to my first person. Not long after, she came to me and told me excitedly that she had come in second place in the civil service exam.
2. Clarifying the Truth to Family and Friends
Clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings is a joyous thing. Once, I visited an aunt who had been hospitalized after injuring her leg in a motorcycle accident. When I entered the ward, I noticed that two beds were occupied. The other patient's family was there. I first sent righteous thoughts to clear all the evil beings and elements behind the people in the ward and asked Master to reinforce my righteous thoughts.
I then went to greet my aunt. I shared with her the miraculous stories about Falun Gong and also asked her if she was a member of the Party, Youth League, or Young Pioneers. She said that she had never gone to school or gotten an education, so she had never joined any of those organizations. I asked her to recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” and told her that reciting this would help her leg heal faster and reduce her suffering.
I then spoke to the male patient in the other bed. When I asked him why he was hospitalized, he said that he had been in a vehicle accident the night before, and had to have one leg amputated. I said, “Yes, there have been many disasters recently, and it can happen to anyone, anytime.” I asked him if he had heard of Falun Gong before. From what he was saying, I could tell that he was deceived by the Party’s lies. He said that he didn’t believe in such things. He had visited Hong Kong and Taiwan before, where he met Falun Gong practitioners who tried to clarify the truth to him, but he refused to listen.
I immediately sent righteous thoughts to clear the evil behind him, then clarified the truth to him. I said, “Falun Gong teaches people to be good, and good people will be rewarded. People who believe that Falun Dafa is good will be protected during major disasters. The CCP is a fraud; don’t be deceived by the fabricated Tiananmen self-immolation that Jiang Zemin orchestrated. You're a fortunate person, so why didn’t you listen to the Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong and Taiwan? To make an informed decision, you must listen to different viewpoints. If you wish to have less suffering and recover faster, please listen to me. If you are a member of the Communist Party or its affiliated organizations, you must withdraw from those organizations. Only then can you be helped.” He said he lived in a very poor area when he was still studying, and so had never joined those organizations. I decided not to pursue the subject for the time being, so I went back to my aunt’s bedside where I clarified the truth to the people sitting with her. I again sent righteous thoughts to eliminate all the evil elements, dark minions, and rotten ghosts behind the people in the ward and asked Master to save them.
A little later, the male patient said excitedly to me, “Madam, I believe in Falun Gong now. Falun Gong is really miraculous. Ever since you arrived, my head and lower back have stopped hurting. From now on, I will never say another bad word about Falun Gong.” I asked him if he knew any Falun Gong practitioners personally, and he said that there were some people in his village who practiced. I then asked him if he really felt better, and he said, “I really do, I do. Thank you, thank you!” He then used his real name to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
When I left the ward, the person who was helping my aunt ran after me and caught up with me outside the elevator. She asked if she could talk to me. She asked if Falun Gong was an organization, and I said it wasn’t. I added that Falun Gong is wonderful in removing illnesses and improving health, and it also teaches people to be good. "Only people who are good will avoid calamities. The CCP has done so many bad deeds, and karmic retribution is heaven's law. Don’t be dragged down with them. By quitting the CCP you will avoid disasters." She agreed to use an alias to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. I gave her a Falun Dafa amulet and told her to recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” when she encountered calamities. I told her that I hoped she would share what I told her with her relatives.
After the persecution began, my immediate family was deeply poisoned by the CCP’s lies, particularly my father, who was a Party member. Even when I talked to him about the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, he would say, “You're opposing the Party. If Falun Gong is just a practice then just practice your exercises; don’t get political.”
In 2011, my mother was hospitalized twice for cardiovascular disease. Both times, I shouldered most of the burden of caring for her, and it was through Falun Gong’s miraculous powers that my mother would get well and be discharged quickly. However, whenever I visited my parents, they always refused to accept a copy of Zhuan Falun. After returning home, I often reflected on their unwelcoming attitude. Through studying the Fa, I discovered that I had yet to reach a cultivator’s level of compassion. I wasn’t caring enough to my parents and had resentment because they would not listen to me. My attachment to self was very strong. I had to cultivate away all these negative attachments.
My mother was hospitalized again in April 2012. This time, she was much worse. Her heart valve failed, and she had hypertension, heart disease, and a blood clot in her heart. My mother kept tossing and turning in the hospital bed, and she looked like she was suffering greatly. The doctors said that her condition was difficult to treat. The blood clot in her heart was like a time bomb that could kill her at any time.
Four days after being hospitalized, my sister-in-law – who was taking care of my mother – had to go home. My elderly father was on the verge of tears, and so the burden of caring for my mother fell to me again. Master said,
“A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion.
With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy.” (“Realms” in Essentials for Further Advancement)
In His lectures, Master has constantly told us to be compassionate. I reassured my father and told him to believe that “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” By doing so, my mother would be able to get well and be discharged. During that period, I had to study at least one chapter of Zhuan Falun every day in order to bear the strain.
One week later, the doctors found that my mother’s pancreatic cancer blood markers were three times above normal. When my younger brother got home, he told my father the results and said that pancreatic cancer was incurable. The doctors said they had already done their best and there was nothing more they could do. Given that my mother was already 80 years old and had lived a full life, they said we should let her spend her last days in peace. Blood had also appeared in my mother's urine, and this was likely also due to the pancreatic cancer. She was due for an MRI scan the next day, which would confirm the diagnosis. After that, she would be allowed to go home but would not be told about her cancer.
That night, I couldn't sleep. I sent righteous thoughts to clear all the evil beings and elements, dark minions, and rotten ghosts in another dimension that were behind my mother. I could not let myself be trapped here by my mother’s illness. I still had to go out and do the three things that Dafa disciples must do. I said silently, "Mother, you must listen to Master’s lectures well, and sincerely and respectfully recite, 'Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!'”
The next day, before my mother went in for her MRI scan, I told her that as long as she sincerely and respectfully recited “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” Master would help her, and she would recover and be discharged quickly. I told her not to think of anything else and that I would recite it with her. I calmed myself down and sincerely and silently recited the Fa. My heart was very calm and I didn’t have a single distracting thought in my head. About two hours later, we learned that my mother was fine. I told my mother that Master had already saved her life, and to thank Master for his mercy. I immediately called my father to tell him the good news, upon which my father gladly exclaimed, “Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is good!”
During her subsequent treatment, my mother constantly listened to Master’s Lectures in Guangzhou, and after taking her meals I would teach her how to read Hong Yin. My mother had a strong predestined relationship with Dafa. She had some level of literacy due to some education when she was young, and so she was able to memorize Hong Yin fairly quickly. After a week of in-hospital treatment, the doctor gave us the good news that her blood clot had disappeared, and her heart disease was gone. She could be discharged after observing her for a few more days. I passed on the good news to my father, who was so glad that he spent several days listening to Master’s Lectures in Guangzhou.
My father gratefully said, “Thank goodness you took care of your mother.” I said, “You really should thank Master, as it was Master’s mighty virtue and mercy that saved Mother and cured all the illnesses riddling her body. No one else has such an ability. Don’t be deceived by the Party. Since coming to power, the CCP has engaged in violent and persecutory campaigns that have destroyed China’s traditional culture and moral values. People are like this today, because they no longer have moral constraints. If I did not practice Falun Dafa, I wouldn't have been such a good person and would have said that I had no time to take care of Mother. Mother was discharged from the hospital three times under my care. But I was only able to do this because of the Fa. This Great Law saves sentient beings. Shouldn’t we repay Master for His mighty virtue and mercy? Shouldn’t we speak up when Master and Dafa are being unjustly maligned like no other practice in a thousand years? Falun Gong practitioners clarify the truth to save people, not to get political. Do you still want to be a member of the Party?” My father said with emotion, “I quit!”
I have done very little in terms of clarifying the truth and saving people. I must put more effort into this and save more people. This is the first time I've submitted an article to the Minghui website. My understanding is limited, so please correct any errors I've made!