(Minghui.org) Our weekly Fa study group in Hunan Province came to an abrupt halt when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999.
Master Li has reminded us of the importance of group Fa study as part of our cultivation, so I decided to start a study group in my home in 2003, which has continued to this day. Some nights my home is packed with practitioners.
I first heard about Falun Dafa from a customer of mine who frequented my tailor shop. She told me that she used to suffer from numerous health problems, including gynecological diseases, kidney failure, and arthritis. All her symptoms disappeared shortly after she began to practice Dafa in 1996.
I immediately took an interest in the practice, as I had been feeling unbearably cold for months, no matter how many layers of clothes I put on. Less than a month after I took up Falun Dafa, I no longer felt cold and my energy level soared. I was amazed!
I diligently follow Dafa's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in my daily life. My kindness changed the surrounding environment and validated Dafa to the people around me.
My neighbors began to understand why I refused to stop practicing Dafa, despite the fact that I was frequently detained and even incarcerated in labor camps.
Also, the people that were monitoring me, on the behalf of the local police, stopped when they became more aware of the truth about Dafa and the persecution.
Nothing Can Stop Our Fa Study
Over 20 practitioners attended group Fa study at my home three times a week.
One day my son asked, “Why do you have breaks in group Fa study? Why not study every day?” I understood that this was a hint from Master Li. We then all began to meet every night.
All of this activity at my home attracted unwanted attention from the local security personnel, who began stationing themselves at the entrance to our courtyard. One policeman even told me, “A monitoring station has been set up in front of your home.”
Since we practice Dafa to become better people, we must behave in an upright and dignified manner. I told all the practitioners, “As long as you come to my home, we will have group Fa study. Everyone should send righteous thoughts while on the way here.” I sent strong righteous thoughts to eliminate the interference in other dimensions.
Many practitioners had ample righteous thoughts and kept participating in group Fa study. The surveillance personnel even began to greet the practitioners and remind them to be careful.
In time, the surveillance station was completely disbanded. More and more practitioners started coming to my home again. As the number of participants increased, I brought up the idea of starting other Fa study groups nearby, as my home was no longer big enough.
Several practitioners then began to hold group Fa study sessions in their homes. The environment in our local area greatly improved. Some practitioners from far away even came to participate in our group Fa study.
Master Is Always Looking after Us
I always felt that Master Li was looking after our group. The following incident helped to confirm this.
My old wooden home is not insulated, so I make a habit of placing newspapers on the walls to help everyone keep warm. The electric wires running throughout the house were severely damaged.
A wire in the wall caught fire one day. We watched in horror as the place caught fire. We didn't know what to do. The flames then suddenly died out, as if extinguished by some external force.
Without Master Li's protection, I know that the fire would have quickly engulfed my home, as well as the homes surrounding mine. I am eternally grateful to Master Li.
Group Fa Study Helps Us Improve Together
I had more time to read Dafa books after I retired in 2012. I could do the exercises more, send righteous thoughts, and raise awareness of the persecution of Falun Dafa.
Practitioners in our Fa study group send righteous thoughts, read two lectures of Zhuan Falun, and study Master Li's other teachings every day. Group Fa study provides a favorable environment for those who are not so diligent in their cultivation.
One such example involved an elder woman who had just started to practice. She often took medicine and went to the hospital even when she had a slight fever. We shared different cultivation experiences with her, and shortly after, we began to see her make some major improvements in her cultivation.
She once noticed blood in her stool and told us about her sickness karma. We shared our understandings and sent righteous thoughts for her. Instead of going to the hospital, she kept reading Dafa books and sending righteous thoughts. She eventually overcome her tribulation, and now regularly sends righteous thoughts.
Another important role that our group Fa study plays is that everyone is kept up-to-date on local matters regarding practitioners, such as the need to send righteous thoughts to rescue a practitioner who has been arrested or imprisoned.
One day, a practitioner came to my home and dropped off some blank copies of the criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the CCP who started the persecution of Falun Dafa. Over 100 local practitioners heard about it and came to my home to pick up a copy.
When eight practitioners in our group filed complaints against Jiang, they went to different post offices for security reasons, and were accompanied by at least one other practitioner.
The complaints were mailed to the Supreme People's Procuratorate via express mail, and confirmation of delivery was received the following day.
