(Minghui.org) I learned Falun Dafa in 1995, when I was in the second grade. I would like to share how I happily grew up as a practitioner of Dafa.
Prior to July 20, 1999, I would do the exercises with my mom almost every morning at an exercise site in our neighborhood. Then I would go to school. After school, my first stop was the exercise site again. We would do exercises one through four and then the meditation before we went home. I joined the adults to promote Dafa almost every weekend. We went to nearby parks and traveled to remote rural villages. I evaluated myself according to the Fa principles at all times and was a genuine little Dafa disciple.
A Life and Death Experience
When I was in the fourth grade, I experienced severe sickness karma. I had a high fever and I had a rash on my skin. I couldn't go to school, so I joined the group Fa study.
When I could stay awake I listened to the Fa while others studied, but sometimes I lost consciousness. Because of the high fever, my face was purple. I would pant and could only breathe with my mouth open.
My mother is a fellow practitioner. She didn't bother to measure my temperature and she maintained her xinxing well. My grandparents were not cultivators and so they insisted that I be taken to a hospital. I strongly resisted their suggestion.
Even though I didn't know many Fa principles at the time, my righteous thoughts were strong. I knew that as a Dafa disciple, I was taken care of by my Master. There were not going to be any problems. Therefore, I refused to go to the hospital or take any medicine. I was even beaten by my grandparents because of this.
This went on for a week. When my mom took me to the group Fa study, the other practitioners didn't recognize me, and they asked me who my mom was.
My skin started to dry out and crack all over and my face became so wrinkled I looked like an old person. After several days went by, my originally dark-colored skin became white and rosy; like a China doll.
I didn't go to the hospital or take any medicine. My body miraculously transformed into a very good state.
Later, several practitioners told my mom that they were affected when they saw me looking so old. They were afraid that I wouldn't be able to overcome the tribulation. However, when they saw that I had recovered so well, their faith in cultivation was reinforced.
I knew that without Master and Dafa, I would have never recovered. My whole body changed. Without the help of Master and Dafa, the bad substances in my body might have caused trouble later on.
In the summer of 1999, lies about Falun Gong blanketed China. One time my mom and I, along with some other practitioners, went to the local government to appeal for Falun Gong. We were late. The square was already full of Dafa disciples. They lined up in perfect order just like we did at the exercise site every day. Many soldiers surrounded them.
Some of the practitioners cried. I was still very young and I didn't understand what happened. I only knew that I would continue cultivation with my mom, no matter what happened.
Face Distorted after Slacking off
As I grew up, I slacked off in cultivation. Even though I knew deep in my heart that I was a Dafa disciple, I succumbed to my human attachments. During my senior year in college, my face became distorted because I didn't maintain my xinxing and didn't study the Fa well or do the exercises very often.
This was a big tribulation for me because I was quite attached to being beautiful. I almost collapsed when this happened. My mother asked me to choose between acupuncture in the hospital or resuming cultivation diligently at home.
Resuming Cultivation
I calmed down and recalled Master's words “without any energy channels or acupuncture points.” (Chapter 8 in Zhuan Falun)
I thought: “Cultivators no longer have acupuncture points. Where would the needles go if I had a acupuncture treatment?”
Master said:
“As a practitioner, if you always treat yourself like an everyday person and always think that you have illnesses, how can you practice cultivation? When a tribulation comes in cultivation practice, if you still treat yourself as an everyday person, I would say that your xinxing at that moment has dropped to the level of everyday people. At least on this particular issue, you have dropped to the level of everyday people.” (Chapter 6 of Zhuan Falun)
I told myself that I would cultivate diligently. I was a Disciple of Master. I would be OK.
Master said:
“Whatever you experience during your cultivation--whether good or bad--is good, for it comes about only because you are cultivating. A cultivator cannot achieve Consummation when laden with human thoughts, laden with karmic debts, or laden with attachments. Gold's luster increases as it is refined over time.” (“To the Chicago Fa Conference”)
I was encouraged and resumed daily Fa study, practicing the exercises, sending forth righteous thoughts, and cultivating xinxing.
I looked at myself in the mirror every day. But then I realized that this was also an attachment. When I looked in the mirror, if I noticed I was getting better, I was happy. Otherwise, I would be unhappy or worried.
I read Master's words in Chapter 6 of Zhuan Falun:
“Once you are scared, it is an attachment of fear. Isn’t that an attachment? Once your attachment surfaces, shouldn’t it be removed? The more you fear it, the sicker you will look. This attachment of yours must be removed. You will be made to learn from this lesson so that your fear can be removed, and you can advance.”
I thought: “Master's words are talking about me. Why hasn't my face recovered? It's because I haven't done well. I have so many attachments! How can I go home with Master if I don't relinquish them?”
Master told us in “Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting:” “the appearance stems from the mind.”
I thought: “How can I recover when I'm so worried and in my heart I know there is something about me that is causing this? Is my heart pure? Is my heart righteous?”
In retrospect, during my years in college, I wasn't any different than an ordinary person. The attachments I had to competitiveness, zealotry, looking down upon others, and jealousy made me subpar when compared to genuine Dafa disciples!
I studied the Fa, did the exercises, sent righteous thoughts and looked inward and my face recovered without my really realizing it. I learned a significant lesson:
If I don't study the Fa or do the exercises, am I still a cultivator? If I'm not a cultivator, how can Master take care of me?
Master told us in “The Master-Disciple Bond” in Hong Yin volume II:
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughts Master has the power to turn back the tide”
When I focused on cultivating myself well, Master rectified me.
I have stumbled quite a few times on my path of cultivation. Even now I still harbor a lot of human attachments. I will remove them one by one!
