(Minghui.org) I obtained the Fa in August 1995. Seventeen years of personal cultivation experience has convinced me that Falun Dafa is truly the superior Dharma, capable of saving sentient beings from the final disaster of the universe. That is why in over 100 countries around the world, one can find Falun Dafa practitioners who are also raising their moral standards.
Practitioners of Falun Dafa are able to cultivate away all suffering, receive rewards for their sacrifice and obtain great blessings. This is my understanding from 17 years of cultivation. For example, cultivation is able to cure all illnesses and pain, and righteous thoughts and supernatural powers obtained during cultivation can protect practitioners from trouble or persecution, ensuring their safety. Cultivation can eliminate the root causes of tribulations.
Below, I would like to share my understanding of eliminating tribulations through cultivation. Master mentioned,
“But although you can’t see me in person, as long as you practice cultivation, I’m actually right by your side. And as long as you practice cultivation, I can be responsible for you all the way to the end; what’s more, I’m looking after you every single moment.” (“Teaching the Fa in New York City” in Falun Buddha Fa: Lectures in the United States)
Master's words are absolutely true, and I will explain using my personal experience.
1. Witnessing the Miracle of Dafa
In the past I suffered from stomach problems, otitis media (ear inflammation), hemorrhoids, rhinitis, and various other illnesses. After cultivating in Falun Dafa, these illnesses were gradually cured by Master. In the process of cultivation, a practitioner's karma can manifest to appear as though it is an illness. However this illness is actually a manifestation of your attachment, to test your belief in Master and the Fa. If at the critical moment one can let go of the attachment to life and death, and continue cultivation practice, a person will quickly recover. By overcoming this barrier, you would have elevated greatly in level, and one will also understand the experience of having Master watch over you.
Within half-a-year of cultivation, my right ear began to ooze water, then pus and finally blood. I was unable to bear the pain and went to the hospital. (At that time my understanding was very poor.) The doctor said, “Your eardrum has perforated; left untreated you will soon become deaf.” He prescribed a regime of 3 injections, and I was given the first injection on the spot. Later I met practitioner Cui and was soundly advised. Upon reflection I realized my error; my understanding was inadequate, and I had too little trust in Master and the Fa. I never returned to the hospital, and my right ear became deaf, as though blocked with something which prevented my hearing. Not long after, my left ear also started to discharge water, pus and then blood. If my left eardrum became perforated as well, wouldn't I be deaf? My hearing had greatly deteriorated by then. An ordinary person would have worried, “What if both ears became deaf?” At this critical juncture, I held steadfast in my belief in Dafa.
Master said, “I do not talk about healing illness here, and neither will we heal illness. As a genuine practitioner, however, you cannot practice cultivation with an ill body. I will purify your body. The body purification will be done only for those who come to truly learn the practice and the Fa. We emphasize one point: If you cannot relinquish the attachment or concern for illness, we cannot do anything and will be unable to help you.” (“Lecture One” in Zhuan Falun)
At that point, I released my attachment to illness and placed my unwavering belief in Dafa. I diligently studied the Fa and practiced the exercises. One day while practicing the second exercise and h olding my palms facing my ears , I felt a puff of air emanating from my ears to the palms of both hands. I paid little attention to this, and after completing the exercise, discovered both my ears had recovered. I was once again able to hear clearly. Isn't this miraculous? My feelings then were indescribable. In other words, during critical junctures, if you can raise your level to meet the standard of the Fa, you will recover swiftly. After this experience, my level was greatly elevated, and my belief in Master's Fa was greatly reinforced.
Initially, my hemorrhoids bled a lot and caused much pain. For a long period of time, I was unable to sit or ride a bicycle. However my steadfast faith in Dafa never wavered. My hemorrhoids caused extreme pain one day. Unable to bear the discomfort I went to the toilet and passed a lot of clotted blood. Immediately after, I felt comfortable, and my hemorrhoids were cured.
As for my stomach disorder and rhinitis, these illnesses were completely and miraculously cured. Since I was young, I suffered from duodenal ulcers. Even up till today, there are little treatment options for this disease. But I have not experienced any episodes of pain after Master's cleansing, and my stomach functions as though replaced with a brand new one. During my illegal arrest and imprisonment under the evil party's persecution, I fasted for 20 days without experiencing any gastric pain; such was the extent of my complete healing.
The way my rhinitis was cured was nothing short of miraculous. Not long after I started studying the Fa, I used the bathroom to wash my hands and blow my nose. To my surprise, what appeared as I blew my nose looked like furnace ash and wood dust. But afterward, my nose remained unblocked and comfortable. I have not experienced another attack since then.
2. Righteous Thoughts and Actions
Above I have described how Master cleansed my body. Below I will share my experience on using righteous thoughts to overcome tribulations.
My relative, who is also a practitioner, has been imprisoned for the past 10 years. For the first two years, her husband's many attempts to obtain permission for a visit were consistently denied by prison authorities. The prison only allowed her husband to drop off items for his wife.
Around the designated monthly visitation date, I expressed my wish to accompany my relative's husband and children. The female officer in charge of registration asked my relative's husband, “Are you a Falun Gong practitioner?” He unwillingly replied, “No.” I felt that this reply was unacceptable. When the question was posed to me, I replied, “Yes.” She then asked, “Are you still practicing?” I replied, “Of course, for it is very good.” She then said, “There is a standing rule that Falun Gong practitioners cannot be allowed in for visits.” I replied, “She has been imprisoned for two years, and not even her family is allowed to see her. What crime has she committed in choosing to practice Falun Gong?”
The female officer pointed her finger at me and said, “You should leave.” I refused to move, saying, “I have yet to meet my relative; how can I leave?” She picked up her phone and ordered, “There is a Falun Gong practitioner here; take her away.” I immediately sent forth righteous thoughts, “Eliminate those evil factors preventing us from seeing each other. At this point, the other officer entered and turned to address his colleague, “She has done nothing; why should I arrest her? You should talk to the prison warden.” He turned and left while I continued to send forth righteous thoughts. The female officer in charge of registration then picked up her phone and instructed, “Bring out this prisoner; her family is here to see her. But there is a practitioner of Falun Gong with them. Once anyone starts saying anything related to Falun Gong, terminate the visit.”
During the visit, we were separated from my imprisoned relative by a large glass panel. There was an officer sitting nearby who was monitoring our conversation by phone; I thought, “It would be good if she was distracted.” With this thought, the female officer's eyes became unfocused. I told my relative, “Remove your human thoughts and evil will naturally die out.” (“Don't Be Sad” in Hong Yin Vol. II) My relative knowingly replied, “We all constantly see this inside.” In this way we chatted for half-an-hour about many cultivation-related issues; the distracted female officer did not interfere with our visit as if she heard nothing. Isn't this a miracle born from righteous thoughts? We were finally able to see her after two years of imprisonment due to strong righteous thoughts. If I had not sent forth righteous thoughts, perhaps we would have been imprisoned ourselves. The gap is just so huge.
Once I bought some fruit from a stall on a main street that sells fruit, I handed the vendor a truth-clarification leaflet. He responded, “You still dare to get yourself involved in this?” I replied, “There is no harm for you to read through it.” I handed it to him and walked over to the road. Turning back, I saw him holding the leaflet while gesturing for a nearby police officer to come over. I sent forth righteous thoughts and immediately saw the fruit vendor bend over to arrange the fruits in his basket. He did not lift his head once, even as the officer stood before him. The officer himself reached over and picked up the truth clarification leaflet to read it. I boldly walked to the end of the street, and as if in a trance, not once did the fruit seller lift his head. This shows the power of righteous thoughts; under Master's protection I cleared this dangerous situation.
3. Master Constantly Watches Over Practitioners
The evil Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spreads rumors promoting their atheistic propaganda, poisoning Chinese citizens and hastening the decline in moral values. Do Gods truly exist? They do. I can prove it having encountered several situations where Master's Fashen protected me.
During the evil CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, I stood up to defend Dafa and as a result was illegally arrested and thrown into a prison for more than a month. Hence I started a hunger strike to protest. After three days of the hunger strike, I started dreaming of eating highly nutritious food. This continued over the next three days, and after nine days of the hunger strike, I was released. My body remained fit and well, and I did not appear to have gone through nine days of hunger strike. Isn't this miraculous? I believe Master's Fashen was protecting me.
Cultivators of Falun Dafa are forbidden from drinking alcohol, as doing so can make one irrational and addicted. When I started cultivating, my addiction to alcohol was especially great, and I had difficulty quitting it. But after cultivating for two months, I choked on alcohol twice within one week. It was a terrible experience, as I felt like I was choking to death. I realized that Master was trying to tell me not to drink anymore; therefore I quit. Most amazingly for someone so addicted, once I decided to quit, I never thought about drinking again. Miraculously, I have not consumed alcohol within these 17 years.
Sometimes Master would point out my mistakes when I encountered difficulty in my understanding. For example, for some time I regularly soaked my feet in warm water with the belief that this was beneficial for my health. But not long afterwards, large gashes which oozed blood started opening up on both my feet. For a normal person, such a condition would certainly warrant a trip to the hospital. I searched inward for my deficiency and realized that using warm water to soak one's feet is a health therapy used by non-practitioners. I am a practitioner; so how can I believe that methods belonging to everyday people can strengthen my body? Isn't this bringing myself down to the level of an everyday person? After enlightening, I stopped soaking my feet and instead used this time to study the Fa. The wounds on my feet healed rapidly. This shows that Master is constantly at our side, identifying and pointing out our mistakes, helping practitioners to elevate in level.
While I was writing this article, the evil tried to interfere by taking advantage of my cultivation gaps and karma to create interference. Numerous small, red dots started appearing in patches on my body, making me feel unbearably itchy. I recalled that when I was young, I had encountered a similar rash which was resolved after taking some medicine. Normal people do not know that every time they consume medicine, though they appear healed on the surface, the sickness karma actually remains and is just compressed back into the body. Now as a practitioner, I want to eliminate all the karma within my body to achieve consummation. So this sickness karma was pushed back out from my body for elimination. At the same time I searched within for gaps the evil had taken advantage of, and I discovered my strong attachments to personal gain and vengeance. I want to take this opportunity to cultivate away these attachments, reject the old force's arrangements and walk the path arranged by Master. For certain, the old forces will not succeed in their schemes to make me doubt Dafa, consume medicine or fail to write this article. Though feeling itchy was unbearable, I persisted in finishing this article.
Because I conducted myself as a practitioner and followed the requirements of Dafa, the red rash disappeared from my body after four days. I have fully recovered and once again, this is a testament to the wonders of Dafa. True practitioners will never encounter any real danger. As Master mentioned,
“My fashen will protect you until you are able to protect yourself. At that time, you will practice cultivation in Beyond-Triple-World-Fa, and you will have already achieved the Tao. But you must treat yourself as a true practitioner, and then you can make it.” (“Lecture Three” in Zhuan Falun)
I am grateful for Master's merciful compassion, and no mortal words can express my respect for esteemed Master. Whoever cultivates this great dharma will definitely derive much benefit. I strive to adhere to the teachings of Dafa, do well the three things to fulfill my predestined vows, assist Master in rectifying the Fa, save sentient beings, reach consummation and return with Master.
Due to my limited understanding, please kindly point out any mistakes I may have made.
