(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners lost their environment for group study and practice when the persecution started on July 20, 1999. Most of the group study sites were dissolved. Yet, a group study site was established in my home at that time and has continued until today, despite interruptions.
Seeing every familiar face and every new face at each group study session, I could not help become emotional. We made it through the roughest times.
“Master,” I thought, “it is exactly the cultivation practice form of group study and group practice that you left us that has enabled us to share understandings with each other and help each other improve.”
Master said, “Study the Fa and gain the Fa, / Focus on how you study and cultivate” (“Solid Cultivation” from Hong Yin) and “Advance together, ever diligent, / To a glorious future.” (“One With the Fa” from Hong Yin)
Encouraging Each Other
Many Dafa practitioners, especially the practice site assistants, were arrested and kept in detention from the onset of the persecution. We lost the environment for group Fa study and group practice, and we lost contact with each other.
Many Dafa practitioners wondered what to do? Some went to Tiananmen Square to appeal for justice for Dafa. Some became confused and did not know how to carry on. Some hid their Dafa books, stopped practicing, and lived like an ordinary person.
Given our needs, I talked with a few practitioners: “Group study and group practice are the cultivation practice form that Master has left us, and we cannot lose it.” So I offered my home for group study. Despite the risks and obstacles, a group study site was established at my home.
There were only a few practitioners in the beginning. But gradually, more and more began to join us, and we were more than 10 practitioners. I knew we all wanted to see each other and longed for the cultivation environment.
We studied the Fa conscientiously, shared understandings, and corrected each others' exercise movements. Everyone's mind was pure and clean and we encouraged each other.
Some practitioners did not show up because they were arrested, but there were also new practitioners joining us. For safety reasons we had to close the door and windows, even in summer. It could get very hot with a roomful of people, but no one complained. We didn't turn on any fans either, because the noise would have disturbed our Fa-study.
I was taken to a brainwashing center by the 610 Office, and my home was unlawfully ransacked several times. Several other practitioners were also detained in brainwashing centers or labor camps. Our site was shut down, but we met again as soon as we were released.
Producing Dafa Informational Materials
We realized that we needed to clarify the facts to people, expose the evil lies by the Party, and save sentient beings that have been poisoned by the propaganda. We contacted practitioners in other areas and got Dafa truth-clarification materials, video discs, and banners.
At group study, we set up a time and location where one could pick up the materials. Then we distributed them or hung them up that night.
Later on, with the help of technologically savvy practitioners, some practitioners established material production sites in their homes. Gradually, much of our fear was removed, and practitioners became more and more comfortable bringing bags of materials to the Fa-study site for distribution.
After we covered nearby areas, I asked my husband to drive some practitioners to the countryside to distribute materials. We did this almost every week and have covered almost all the surrounding townships and villages.
Overcoming Fear
Prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, over 100 practitioners were arrested or harassed. Quite a few were given heavy prison sentences, and more than 10 practitioners were taken to forced labor camps without a trial. I was also one of the targets. With Master's protection, I escaped before the police showed up.
To avoid persecution, I lived in another city for over a year. When I returned home, I joined a group Fa-study at another practitioner's home. Once my fear was gradually removed, I resumed the site at my home.
Family Attitude Changed to Supportive
My son held a mid-level management position in a bank. He became a victim of a swindle case and got himself into huge debt. He lost his job, was arrested, and held in the detention center. We sold almost everything valuable, including our cars and my son's house, trying to pay back his debt.
We also borrowed money from almost every relative and friend. My husband's and my salaries, except for basic living expenses, were used to pay his debt. My family fell from well-off to poverty, and debtors visited us to collect the debt almost every single day.
My son is not my biological son, and someone suggested I disengage from him so as to not be dragged down by him. I said, “I'm a Dafa practitioner. Since we have a mother and son relationship, I will not desert him.”
“The paths of cultivation are variedBut none is outside the Great LawWhen one is attached to nothingThe path underfoot is naturally smooth” (“Unimpeded” from Hong Yin Volume II)
Things started to turn for the better because I immersed myself in the Fa.
My son told me that he would not have made it without my help. I said, “I wouldn't have made it if I hadn't practiced Dafa. It is Dafa that saved us.”
Even though my son, daughter-in-law, and daughter do not practice Dafa, they were extremely respectful toward Master. Their attitudes toward my Dafa work has changed from being scared and worried to supportive.
Persistent in Group Fa-Study and Practice
We had inherited two single-story houses in the city. It would have been very easy to lease them out to make some extra money. But we needed a materials production site. I resisted all pressures and established a materials production site in one of the houses. I became part of a team to maintain it. At the same time, we established a Fa-study group in both houses.
The materials production site has been providing all kinds of truth-clarification materials for practitioners. We produced truth-clarification discs, software to overcome the internet firewall, pamphlets, flyers, calendars, banners, and self-adhesive signs. We also produced copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and printed truth-clarification messages on paper money. Meanwhile, we also took on the responsibility of the Dafa book production.
Our site is in full operation almost every day. Regardless of how busy we are, we persist in group Fa-study at both of my houses and practice the exercises every day.
Master said,
“For a Dafa disciple, cultivation is first priority. That’s because if you fail to cultivate well, you will not be able to accomplish what you are to do; and if you fail to cultivate well, your power to save sentient beings will not be that great.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference XI)
Master also said,
“No matter how busy you may get, you still must study the Fa. This is why I am recommending that the Dafa disciples who are immersed in our various projects find time to participate in the local Fa-study.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference XI)
Group Fa-study and group practice are the cultivation form that Master has left for Dafa practitioners. With assisting Master during the Fa-rectification and with the era of the Fa rectifying the human world around the corner, my fellow practitioners, especially those who are still confused and have slacked off, please quickly join your group Fa-study.
Let us all participate in group study, group practice, and experience sharing. Let us all advance diligently, relive the state of “cultivate with the heart you once had”, do the three things well, and fulfill our prehistorical vows.
Master said, “Cultivate with the heart you once had, and consummation is certain.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference”)
Category: Improving Oneself
