(Minghui.org) I am 72 years old, and was fortunate enough to have attended Master’s lectures in person. What I experienced is an indelible memory. Master’s kind and compassionate countenance frequently appears in my mind’s eye.
To be able to hear Master teach the Fa in person was a very special privilege. I still feel that the joy is impossible to put into words.
I want to report to Master by way of Minghui and share my journey with fellow practitioners.
I was drowning in a sea of bitterness so bad that I considered suicide.
My husband and I were farmers, and life was very difficult. At the time, my monthly income was a mere 7 yuan while my husband’s was 10 yuan. We had two children to raise and were barely able to make ends meet.
We worked from dawn till dusk for the production team. I was so exhausted that I didn’t even want to live.
Years of hard work had left me with severe muscle strain and endless back pain. It was so bad that I couldn’t even straighten my back. I also suffered from a frozen shoulder, headaches, and dizziness.
I remember the year I had just given birth, the production team decided to open up a small factory, and summoned up all the male laborers and shipped them off. The women folk were left behind to handle all the heavy work that the men previously did.
Still weak from childbirth, I was in no condition to work, but in order to survive, I had no choice.
As a result I came down with a serious, long-term, and incurable gynecological ailment.
A difficult life, coupled with my multiple ailments, made me feel helpless and hopeless. I found no meaning in life, yet deep in my consciousness I was still looking for something, waiting for something.
I longed for the relief of death, but I did not choose death.
In the late 80s and early 90s, qigong had become a hot item in China. I believed that qigong could cure me, so I went around searching for qigong masters and learned a variety of qigong practices, but all to no avail.
I had believed in Buddhism since I was a child and used to go to many temples. But eventually I discovered that the monks were really just seeking money. On top of that, many of them actually smoked and drank, and have wives!
One day in 1994 when I came home from working in the fields, an acquaintance with whom I had once learned qigong was waiting for me.
“What’s up?” I asked.
He told me without any fanfare, “A Buddhist qigong, called Falun Gong, is going to hold classes here. 50 yuan. Do you want to go?
“I’ll go,” I said without delay and handed him 50 yuan. I felt a warm current coursing through my body.
In class, listening to Master talk, I felt inexplicable joy. It was a heartfelt joy I had never experienced before in my entire life. The more I listened, the more I wanted to listen. I didn’t even want to leave.
After just the first class, I felt that all my ailments had been lifted off of me. My body felt very light, and my heart was filled with gratitude.
“There is no way this is qigong. Master Li Hongzhi is without a doubt a god!”
Those words came from the bottom of my heart and soul. I was so filled with joy!
During the first two days of class, my enlightenment quality was low, so I continued to burn incense and pay homage to the Buddhas I used to worship.
Until one day during class, my knee came into sudden contact with the chair in front of me. The sharp pain was my wake-up call.
I finally realized I was practically a bona fide Falun Gong practitioner. How could I still worship other Buddhas? I got rid of all my Buddha statues and qigong books and other paraphernalia.
I lived in the countryside. It wasn’t easy to study the Fa and do the exercises at first. There was no one to correct my movements, and I didn’t have the exercise music. So as soon as I had a spare moment, I traveled to the city to do the exercises with the group there.
One day, the city site coordinator said to me, “You live so far away. It’s very inconvenient for you to run back and forth like this. Why don’t you set up a practice site where you live? You can be the coordinator.”
I said, “Me? A coordinator? I’m just a simple country girl. What do I know about coordinating anything?”
The coordinator said, “Nothing to it. You just buy a recorder, play the music every day, and have everybody else join in. That’s all.”
So I bought an old-fashioned recorder and set up the first practice site in my rural district.
I thought, “This Falun Gong is so wonderful. I must have everybody join in the practice.”
Everyone around knew of my health problems, and had also witnessed my full recovery, so many people wanted to try Falun Gong.
Later, as more and more people found out about the practice, more joined in. Eventually, several practice sites were set up.
As a rather uneducated woman from a rural district, I knew I had no ability to be a coordinator and lead so many people to obtain the Fa. I knew that everything that happened was the result of the power of Falun Gong.
Master asks each practitioner to be a good person, so I followed Master’s bidding. I stopped struggling for personal benefits, and I backed off whenever I ran into any conflicts. I looked inward.
I reminded myself, “I am a coordinator and have to be a good example, especially when it comes to raising xinxing.”
People who knew me started commenting, “You seem like a different person now that you are practicing Falun Gong.”
They were right. I used to have a bad temper. I used to fight and yell. I used to be very keen on protecting my personal interests and benefits.
After I started practicing Falun Gong, I turned over a new leaf. When people took advantage of me, I maintained my composure and let things slide without complaint or grievance.
When my husband used to yell at me, I would yell back. When he hit me, I would hit him right back.
After becoming a practitioner, no matter what my husband said or did, I was able to not fight back when beaten or sworn at. Everyone said I was a changed person.
The days of peaceful cultivation passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, July 20, 1999 descended upon us. Evil was everywhere, defaming Dafa and persecuting Dafa disciples.
I became the main target in my district. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sent people to keep an eye on me around the clock. They were stationed at the entrance to my building. Sometimes two people, sometimes five or six. The pressure was intense.
I maintained one thought in my heart, “I will practice to the very end.” That thought helped me pass many trials and tribulations.
There were those who were ordered to come “talk” with me. I told them how good Falun Gong was and related my personal experiences. They left with nothing to say.
They asked me to attend a “learning class.” I refused. Our village public security officer was a righteous man who was well aware that I was a good person, so he tried his best to protect me. When he asked, he said I was tied up dropping off and picking up my children to and from school.
One day when I got home after work, I found the village director of the local committee of the Women's Federation waiting for me.
“You’re home after work?” she asked.
I said, “Yes.”
She said, “I’ve been ordered to keep an eye on you, to see if you come home after work.”
I said to her sternly, “Why don’t you do something useful? Why are you doing this? Have I committed a crime? Have I broken any law?”
She had nothing to say.
Finally, my husband was fed up with the surveillance and constant harassment. He called the police to make a complaint. Those people no longer showed up. I knew that Master had resolved the problem for me.
Since no one was watching my every step, I hurried to look for fellow practitioners who had given up their practice out of fear. I talked to them one by one, and shared Master’s Fa with them.
Master said:
“When you say it’s good, I say it’s good, and everyone says it’s good, how can you see a person’s heart? Only at the critical moment can we see his heart. If he doesn’t let go of certain attachments he might even dare to betray a Buddha—could this be a minor problem? Some people were scared. But what were you afraid of?” (“Huge Exposure” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I pleaded with them not to give up their cultivation, and to trust Master.
At the time, people were extremely fearful and dared not even get close to Falun Gong. Everyone was avoiding me. Nobody wanted to speak to me, afraid of being implicated.
My heart was in great pain. I didn’t know what to do.
I later obtained Master’s new writing and slowly regained contact with practitioners in the city. They were able to supply me with a small quantity of Dafa materials. I distributed these to help save people.
One May evening in 2001, I was distributing Dafa materials when I was arrested and taken to a detention center.
I started to clarify the truth to the police and shared with them Falun Gong’s healing power that I had personally experienced.
I looked around and said, “You police officers only dare to bully the weak. You have here two Falun Gong practitioners, a firecracker vendor, and a child who was caught using a fake bill.
“The child didn’t print the bill. The bill is sure to have been given to him by an adult. Yet you arrested him instead. Aren’t you bullying the weak and helpless? Why don’t you dare to go after the really bad people?”
The police had nothing to say.
When I was released, my husband acted like a madman. He yelled at me, saying, “Are those people who stopped practicing all dead now?” I told him, “I don’t care about them. I will continue to practice.”
I sat on the bed to send forth righteous thoughts. My husband approached me like I was obsessed and slapped me several times on the face.
I refused to be intimidated. “Beat me if you will, I will continue to study the Fa, do the exercises, and send forth righteous thoughts.”
I hung on firmly to my faith in Master and overcame the tribulation.
My husband stopped beating me. The evil that controlled him was disintegrated.
I know what I do is the most righteous thing. I’m following Master’s request to help save sentient beings. No matter how difficult, I will walk this path.
For several years after the persecution began, I continued to travel to the far off city to get Dafa materials, two big bags each time. It was cumbersome and dangerous.
The city coordinator said to me, “Why don’t you set up a materials production site where you can produce the materials yourself?”
I hesitated, “I’m from a rural district and not well educated. I know nothing about computers or printers. Could I manage?”
The coordinator said, “Dafa is extraordinary. If you have the heart and will, Master will grant you the wisdom.”
With encouragement and help from the coordinator, I bought a computer and a used printer. At the start of 2005, I set up the first materials production site in my rural district.
With an uncertain heart but a determined will, I began learning everything there was to know.
Dafa’s mighty power was manifested in me once again, this time in the mastery of technology.
Even the old, used printer worked its magic. It hasn’t failed once despite the amount of work it has had to handle. It steadfastly carries on its sacred mission.
I know it is all Master’s mercy, blessings, and support.
Thank you, Master!
Because many practitioners depended on me to supply them with Dafa materials, I had to spend long hours every day to produce them, greatly reducing my time spent studying the Fa and doing the exercises.
The city coordinator said to me, “You are way too busy and can’t guarantee time for Fa study. That won’t do. The Minghui website has promoted the concept of ‘letting flowers blossom everywhere.’ Why don’t you help other practitioners set up their own materials production sites?”
So I did.
This was easier said than done. We ran into quite a few difficulties and setbacks, but under Master’s watchful eye, we succeeded in overcoming them all.
There were incidents that sorely tested my xinxing. I realized that all these incidents were arranged by Master to help me elevate.
There was a highly educated young female practitioner who decided to set up a materials production site in her home. When she had all the necessary equipment ready, I started to teach her how to proceed.
But she couldn’t remember anything! She was pushing my patience to the limit.
I thought to myself, “I am an uneducated rural old lady and I was able to learn the skills. You are young and educated and you can’t learn? How very stupid!”
I started to lose my composure. I could not even concentrate when studying the Fa. My mind was filled with, “How stupid can she be? When will she learn?”
I realized something was very wrong. At first I didn’t think it had anything to do with me, but when I started to look inward unconditionally, I uncovered my many attachments. I was attached to assigning blame, to feeling superior, to showing off, to impatience, and to looking at others with such human notions as age, education, and intelligence.
Where was my heart of compassion? Had I looked at things from her angle? Was I regarding this whole thing as a job to be done? Was I feeling, thinking, and acting in accordance with Dafa’s requirements?
Merciful Master was opening my eyes to have me see into my heart. I made a firm determination to rid myself of all human notions and attachments.
When I discovered my attachments and tried my best to eliminate them, the young practitioner was soon able to learn all necessary skills.
This helped me to truly appreciate the wonder of Dafa, and I enlightened that we cannot look at things merely superficially when we encounter anything, but must look inward unconditionally. When we dig deep into ourselves to uncover the root cause, the problems will generally resolve themselves.
When materials production sites started to spring up, I had more time to study the Fa and even to go out to distribute Dafa materials and spread the practice.
In 2006, my husband also decided to start practicing Falun Dafa. He became a good helper in every project I was engaged in.
Fellow practitioners were beginning to use bills with truth clarification messages printed on them to make purchases. That truly had a great impact on our efforts.
A friend of a relative was engaged in the vegetable wholesale business. We approached him to see if he would be willing to provide us with his small bills in exchange for our large bills. He promptly agreed.
My husband took over the transactions. Each time we exchanged over 2,000 yuan for 1 yuan bills.
The two of us flattened out every 1 yuan bill with an iron before printing a truth clarification messages on them. Practitioners exchanged their small bills for ours and spent them.
I sometimes wondered, “When people get these bills and read the messages on them, will they realize how much Dafa disciples have quietly contributed to this effort? Will they cherish what they have been given?”
My materials production site has been in operation since the day it was set up. An untold number of Dafa books, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party booklet, Minghui Weekly, Minghui and local periodicals, pamphlets, amulets, calendars, and truth clarifying posters, flyers, and bills have been produced and distributed.
This little flower will continue to blossom until the end. This disciple will live up to Master’s expectations, help Master save more sentient beings, fulfill her prehistoric vow, and return home with Master.
In 2015, I wrote out my criminal complaint to sue Jiang Zemin and successfully submitted it.
In November 2015, I was home, working as usual on producing Dafa materials. For no reason, my printer stopped working. That hardly ever happened. I spent some time trying to fix it but had to give up.
I didn’t enlighten to anything, but moved on to another project. I decided to work on the 2016 desk calendars.
I took out the paper cutter and was just about to start when there was a knock at the door. I didn’t put anything away and went to the door to ask, “Who’s there?”
“We’re from Property Management, here to check on your heating system.” I told them, “No need. The heat is working fine.” “It’s still a good idea to let us take a look,” they insisted.
In the past when the management came to check on the heat, they would just have me sign some form at the door. I figured it was just routine procedure and opened the door.
I was face to face with several people in police uniform. One of them waved his ID card and barged in before I could react or say a word.
They were all over the place at once.
“What are you doing?” I demanded, but was ignored.
They confiscated my computer, printer, Dafa books, paper cutter, cell phone, recorder, charger, and lotus lamp and carted them off.
One of them asked, “You filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin?”
I said I did.
He said, “Let’s talk at the police station.”
I told him, “I’m not going. If you have anything to say to me, say it here.”
He said, “This is not an office.”
They took me to the police station anyway.
They told me to sit on the interrogation chair. I flatly refused.
I said, “I am not a criminal. I have not done anything wrong. Why should I sit on that chair?”
They took me to another room and told me to sit down.
I told them, “No, I’ll stand. I’ll talk standing.”
One of them asked, “How did you get your computer and printer?”
I said, “I bought them.”
“Where?”
“I don’t remember.”
He was going to ask something else, but I stopped him, saying, “Stop asking questions. Do they have anything to do with my suing Jiang Zemin?”
“Why did you sue Jiang Zemin?” one of them finally asked.
“Because he persecuted me.”
“How did he persecute you?”
I said, “I was denied four years of wages. Isn’t that a form of persecution?”
He said, “What did that have to do with Jiang Zemin? It wasn’t he who denied you your wages.”
I said, “It was Jiang Zemin who gave the order for Falun Gong to be eradicated. He is the one who said to ruin its practitioners’ reputations and render them destitute. If not for his diabolic edict, who would have dared to deny me my rightful wages for four years?”
He asked, “”Do you know who Jiang Zemin is?”
I answered, “Jiang Zemin is Jiang Zemin.”
He informed me, “He is our country’s leader.”
I said, “Is he still our country’s leader?”
He said, “No, but even if he is a former leader, you still cannot sue him.”
I told him, “Our Constitution guarantees its citizens the right to sue. I can sue anyone.”
The police later handed me a document to sign. My loss was so great, I knew I had to request that all my belongings be returned to me as soon as possible. When I saw that the document had all the answers in my own words, I decided to sign it.
I was released at about 7 that evening.
When I was home, I took time out to seriously look inward. I realized that during all these long years of smooth sailing, plus having successfully produced so many Dafa materials, I had been gloating about what I was able to achieve, and I had unconsciously gotten lost in my attachments to complacency, pride, and self-satisfaction, so much so that I had even ignored Master’s warnings.
I could not slack off in producing materials, so I quickly purchased a replacement computer and printer. Helping Master to save sentient beings was my top priority that nobody and nothing can interfere with.
I learned my lesson. I now concentrate when I study the Fa. Only through genuinely elevating myself can I help save people and not let Master down.
Throughout my years of cultivation, I have known deep down that without Master’s constant support and enlightenment, I would not have ended up where I am today.
There are no words to express my gratitude to Master.
I can only resolve to continue to improve and advance, do well the three things, and attain what is expected of a Dafa disciple.
I bow deeply and respectfully to Master!