(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa on New Year's day, 1998. I am so fortunate to have obtained this most precious Fa. This has motivated me tell people about Dafa wherever I go.
I have lived through 17 years of brutal persecution in China, relying on my absolute trust in Master and the Fa, and being sustained by my desire to fulfill my prehistoric vow to assist Master in Fa-rectification.
There has been much joy as well as regret on my journey of cultivation. I want to share some of what I have experienced with fellow practitioners.
Making Fa Study a Priority
Master said:
“In order for Dafa disciples to walk their paths well and do the three things well, they must study the Fa well and take Fa-study seriously. The regions that have done well saving sentient beings and validating Dafa, and where great changes have transpired, are always places where people have studied the Fa well. And the Dafa disciples who have improved quickly are always those who have made Fa-study a priority. That is because the Fa is the foundation; it is what’s fundamental for Dafa disciples; it is what ensures everything; and it is the avenue by which a human being journeys toward godhood. Thus I would like to take the opportunity of this Fa conference in Australia to tell all Dafa disciples around the world: Whether you are a new or veteran student, all the same you must not neglect Fa-study on account of being busy. Don’t just go through the motions when you study the Fa. You should study with a concentrated mind, and you must really be studying.” (“To the Australia Fa Conference” from The Essentials of Diligent Progress VOL. III)
I was bogged down with a lot of responsibilities at work and home when I first started practicing, and could only guarantee daily Fa study by joining a Fa study group. My understanding of Dafa was mainly at the perceptual level at that time.
My employers removed me from an executive leadership position because I practice Falun Dafa, and I was forced to work as a cleaner. On the upside, this meant that I now had more time to study the Fa, so I began to memorize Master's Hong Yin and Essentials For Further Advancement.
I started memorizing Zhuan Falun in 2006, and have kept that up without interruption these past 10 years.
Through memorizing the Fa, I have gotten rid of my attachment to fear and many other human notions; I've realized that my responsibility is to save sentient beings; my righteous thought have grown stronger, and I know that my real purpose in life is to assist Master during the Fa-rectification.
Around the dates that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) consider “sensitive”, I found myself under surveillance by people sent by the 610 Office and from my work unit.
I refused to be affected by their actions and continued talking to people about Dafa and the persecution, and distributed Dafa informational materials to whomever I came into contact.
I walk out of my office building calmly and with dignity every day after work. When I saw a surveillance vehicle parked at the entrance, I would walk over to investigate.
One time, the vehicle sped away as I approached. That kind of surveillance then stopped.
I started to search for practitioners who had stopped practicing when the persecution began on July 1999, to encourage them to start practicing again. I invite them to my house so we can study the Fa together.
On weekends and holidays, I urge them to come out with me to talk to people about Dafa, the persecution and quitting the CCP's affiliated organizations.
Officers from the National Security and the local police constantly showed up at my work unit to harass me.
Two officials paid me a visit at home one day. I smiled and invited them for a cup of tea. They took pictures, asked questions and took notes. I ignored their questions and simply talked to them about Dafa.
I told them how the CCP is responsible for the deaths of 80 million people throughout its violent political campaigns; how the Party has destroyed Chinese traditional culture and replaced it with atheism, resulting in people having generally lost their sense of morality and with corruption rampant. The air we breathe, the water we drink, and even the food we eat are all polluted.
I talked about how Jiang Zemin and his cohorts trumped up the self-immolation hoax on Tiananmen Square to incite hatred against Falun Dafa.
I spoke for two hours. When I finished, they erased all the pictures and notes they had taken. They even apologized for having disturbed me, and one of them quit the CCP. The other left the National Security Bureau soon after.
Cherishing Our Group Study Environment
During this time, I lacked a group Fa study environment and had no contact with local practitioners. I asked Master for help.
Within a few days, a practitioner came looking for me. The two of us started going out in the morning to talk to people about Dafa, and then we studied the Fa together at her home in the afternoon.
There used to be quite a few practitioners in her district, but they all stopped contacting each other when the persecution started. We decided to go looking for them and invited them to join our Fa study group twice a week. At one point, our group grew to eight or nine practitioners.
Group Fa study offers great opportunities for raising our xinxing. Practitioners have different personalities, perspectives and opinions, so when sharing thoughts and experiences there are plenty of opportunities to rub each other the wrong way.
If we do not resolve these small things, they could lead to major conflicts. So it’s important that we look inward and truly put ourselves in the Fa with our every thought and action.
In doing so, we cultivate together and elevate together, helping each other to find even the slightest attachment so we can take note and work to get rid of all of them.
We must cherish this group environment that Master has arranged for us.
No Resentment
I experienced unimaginable pressure when the persecution first started, and suffered various forms of torture and mistreatment. I was forced out of my job, detained, my house was ransacked, I was forced to attend brainwashing sessions and was detained in a forced labor camp.
However, I never felt resentment toward my persecutors. I feel sorry for them, and was genuinely worried for their future. I think and act according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance in everything and with everybody.
As a result, I earned the respect of those around me.
Before the 2001 New Year, a colleague talked to me about her conflict with another colleague. I recommended that she treasure their working relationship, and told her that being tolerant is a virtue.
“Tolerance, tolerance, tolerance,” she replied. “Look at the way you have been persecuted, and you still talk about tolerance. How good can your cultivation practice be?”
She reported me to the authorities, and I was imprisoned for six months.
When I returned to work, I treated her just as before, without any resentment.
“You're too compassionate,” a supervisor told me. “She helped send you to jail, but you're still so nice to her.” Another supervisor commented, “You're repaying people who have hurt you with goodness. You are truly kind.”
There was a person in my work unit by the name of Zhang who had done a lot of bad deeds. He died in 2002. His wife even reported me to the National Security Bureau. I had talked to the officers in the Bureau before about Dafa. They know that Falun Dafa is good, so they just told me to be careful.
Zhang’s grandson came down with meningitis in 2011, and was hospitalized for nine days. Zhang’s wife came looking for me. I recommended that she and her family sincerely recite “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!”
Two weeks later, she came to tell me, “My grandson is fine now. The doctor said it's a miracle of miracles. We’re so grateful to you.”
I corrected her at once, “You should be grateful to Dafa’s Master instead. It’s our Master who saved your grandson’s life.”
Since then, whenever I run into her, she greets me enthusiastically. I also helped her and her family quit the CCP. They gained blessings, and her son and daughter-in-law both were promoted to higher positions in the city government.
The father of a colleague at work just returned home from the hospital when his mother became ill. I went to visit them, and took informational materials about Dafa with me.
The whole family ended up quitting the CCP. His parents soon recovered from their health problems.
I always treat people with genuine compassion and kindness, and everyone I have spoken to about Dafa in my work unit, from supervisors to colleagues and retirees, have all quit the CCP.
Everything I've done, I've done with Master’s help and support.
Please point out anything that might be inappropriate.
