(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Growing up in Northeast China, I lost my mother at age five. I don't even remember what she looked like. After getting married, I had two daughters. My husband passed away when our younger daughter was eight, so I had to raise my daughters all by myself. I was willing to do any job to support us, no matter how difficult, including mining coal.
No words can describe the hardships I endured raising my daughters. Nevertheless, I could always feel a miraculous force protecting me, even though I couldn't explain how or why.
I was on a mountain road leading to the coal mine where I worked one spring day, when I suddenly felt the warmest loving care was with me. I was deeply touched. It made me want to cry. My life was filled with so much suffering! Who on earth was giving me so much care—and how? I couldn't tell.
There was nobody on the road. I couldn't control my emotions and started to cry as I held onto a tree. I murmured to the sky, “Merciful heaven, are you the one who is so kind to me? Are you trying to save me?” I had the same feeling each time I walked on that section of the road for a whole month.
But my life didn't get any better. My older daughter quit school at 16 and found a job to bring in more money for our family. She went to work in Tianjin, where my brother lived. My younger daughter and I went to Tianjin a short time later.
Our lives didn't improve in Tianjin. In early 2000, a four-inch-long tumor was discovered in my stomach. Several hospitals gave us the same prognosis that I would only live five months. I was completely out of money after all the examinations and tests.
My sister-in-law took me to see a tumor specialist as a last resort. The doctor took her into another room and told her that I only had three months to live, adding that he was surprised I had been able to ride a bus for so long in such serious condition. I overheard their conversation through the door. All my hopes were dashed. My poor daughters! What would they do without me?
Since I didn't have any money, I could only wait for death to take me away. At this critical time in my life, I could see a Buddha in a purple kasaya and a Bodhisattva in a white robe as I lay in bed every night. They fanned me and smiled broadly. It happened every night. Once, I even flew above the bed and slowly fell down. I didn't understand what was happening. One day followed another, and five months passed. But I didn't die. Instead, I recovered gradually. I was convinced by this wonderful experience that Buddhas do exist.
I met a Falun Dafa practitioner in 2003. She gave me a book, Zhuan Falun. However, I didn't realize how precious it was. I was too busy trying to earn a living to support my family, and I only read a few pages. But I took care of it by putting it in a safe place.
In early 2010, I met another Falun Dafa practitioner at a friend's home. He told me, “A person will be able to go beyond this world if he studies this book. There is so much suffering in the world, but your soul will be saved if you are able to obtain the Fa and go to heaven.” I had always believed in souls. Listening to what he said, I felt as if my body were being shaken. I thought I had to go beyond this world, because there was too much suffering here. I suddenly remembered I had a copy of the book, so I promised the practitioner that I would read it three times.
At home, I seized every opportunity to read Zhuan Falun. The more I read it, the more I enjoyed reading it. I could concentrate even when my daughter made noise. The more I read it, the more I regretted not having read it earlier. I had owned this book for so long, why didn't I read it earlier?! I cried and cried. I hated myself for obtaining the Fa so late!
I learned from the book that there were five exercises associated with the practice. I asked around and found someone who had done the exercises before and begged her to teach them to me. She gave me a book called The Great Way of Spiritual Perfection. I copied the exercise movements from the pictures in the book. Even though my movements weren't accurate, I felt so comfortable after doing them. I did the exercises by myself for several months.
Due to Master's arrangement, I finally got in touch with a fellow practitioner. She introduced me to more practitioners. I was so excited that tears came to my eyes. I had finally found other practitioners! I was so thrilled! I tried to follow them to help people understand the truth about Falun Dafa. We would share rides and go to the woods on the outskirts of town to spend the whole day making truth-clarification phone calls. Despite mosquito bites in the summer, we made phone calls for seven or eight hours a day. I was usually the one who could help the greatest number of people quit the communist organizations every day.
As I seized the time to save more people, the evil factors in other dimensions retaliated. I was meditating one day when I saw a group of beings in another dimension. They were all dressed in gray or black. They shouted at me, “What are you doing?” I answered in my mind that I was doing the exercises. They started hitting me and pulling my hair.
“Why did you save so many people?” they yelled. “Answer!” I didn't know how to reply because I was a fairly new practitioner and hadn't studied the Fa that much. They continued to hit me until I couldn't stand it anymore. I don't know how, but an answer appeared to me, “I study the Fa, do the exercises, and fulfill my mission! It's my responsibility [to save these people].”
As soon as I said these words, the beings disappeared in a flash. I lay down on the bed and felt unwell for a whole week. As a new practitioner, I didn't know to beg for Master's help or send forth righteous thoughts. I simply rushed to clarify facts about Falun Dafa without knowing how to deal with interference from other dimensions.
Since I don't have a proper job, my only income is 500 yuan a month from an insurance company. In order to spend more time clarifying the truth, I try to live on that. It costs 200 to 300 yuan a month to buy calling cards, so I thought it would be better to save more people without spending any money. The senior practitioners in our Fa study group would go out to clarify the truth face-to-face after our Fa study. I asked them to take me with them, but they were concerned it might not be the best thing for a newcomer to do. For three days in a row, no one would take me when I asked. I thought I shouldn't rely on others and decided to go out to clarify the truth face-to-face the following day, because I was a Falun Dafa practitioner, too.
As I had planned, I went out to tell people the facts about Dafa for a couple of hours after our Fa study. I simply approached people in stores and bus stations and told them the facts about Falun Dafa. I was thrilled that 13 people followed my advice and decided to quit the communist organizations. I knew it was Master's work. I only did what I was supposed to do.
Ever since then, I go to the group Fa study in the morning, study one lecture of Zhuan Falun by myself, and then go clarify the truth in the afternoons almost every day. Between 10 and 30 people can learn the facts about Falun Dafa through me every day. Even though my legs really hurt for a while, I kept doing it, because I knew Master was cleansing my body and dissolving my karma.
There is a huge farmers market once a week in my area. I can help 40 to 50 and sometimes up to 80 people quit the communist organizations every time it is held. On one occasion, the first two people I talked to refused to quit. I stepped aside and sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate interference. I thought, “I'm here to validate Dafa. No one should create any interference. Master, please help!” It worked very well! Many people I talked to afterward decided to quit the communist organizations, including a policeman.
One day close to the Chinese New Year, a fellow practitioner brought me desk calendars with truth-clarification information printed on them. The next day happened to be the day of the farmers market. I thought it was a perfect opportunity. I went to clarify the truth with some calendars and gave each person who quit the communist organizations one calendar. I treasured these calendars very much and only gave them to people who believed what I told them. If someone wouldn't quit the communist organizations but specifically asked for a calendar, I would give him one and tell him to read the facts about Falun Dafa on the calendar. Pretty soon, all the calendars were gone.
I went back to the fellow practitioner's home and took 40 more. After going back four times, the practitioner suggested that the rest should be kept for other practitioners to distribute the next day. I thought, “Fine, I will be able to help people quit the communist organizations without any calendars.” I went back to the market and helped 20 more people quit. A total of over 170 people quit the communist organizations that day.
There have been dangerous situations, but I've stayed safe under Master's protection.
I once went and clarified the truth with more than 20 calendars in my bag. I kept the last calendar for someone who lived near my residential area. As I approached the entrance to my residential area, a tall young man ran up to me, yelling, “What are you doing? What do you have in your bag?”
“Why should I tell you?” I asked. “Are you a Falun Gong [practitioner]?” he demanded to know. I said nothing.
He grabbed my bag and searched it, saying, “Look! What's this? I'm here precisely to arrest people like you. Where did you get this?” I replied, “Someone gave it to me.” “Where and when?” I pointed in the direction I'd come from and said, “Just a second ago.”
He said he was there to catch “those people,” and he started to leave with my calendar under his arm. I caught up with him and said, “That is my calendar. You can't take it.” I pulled it out from under his arm. He ignored me and ran in the direction I had pointed. I laughed.
Another time, a tall dark man grabbed my arm when I was clarifying facts to him. He claimed, “I'm a retired police chief. You have to turn yourself in at the police station, or I can call the police. You tell me which.” “Neither,” I said, “I have to go home. It's fine if you don't want to listen to me, but let me go. I'm a good person. There is nothing wrong with what I am doing. Don't be a follower and do what you know is wrong!”
More and more people gathered around to see what was going on. An older woman told the man, “Let her go. Don't grab her arm.” I said, “Look! My arm has turned red.” Others said, “Let her go.” The man loosened his grip. I pulled my arm away and left quickly. He didn't try to chase me.
I send forth righteous thoughts before going out to talk to people about Dafa every day and beg for Master's protection and blessings of wisdom. I make time to reflect on where I have fallen short with my truth-clarification. With Master's enlightenment, I gain more and more wisdom.
After I did especially well one time, Master showed me a vision in which I easily threw people into heaven with one hand. But when my daughter came to stay with me during the summer, I didn't spend as much time going out to talk to people. I didn't have as much energy as before. I saw a vision in which I painstakingly grabbed people by their backs and laboriously carried them to heaven.
Thinking back over my experience of obtaining the Fa and cultivating myself, I've realized that the reason I suffered so greatly in the past was for my cultivation in Falun Dafa. Master has been taking care of me throughout my life. I'm filled with endless gratitude! The best way for me to thank Master is to fulfill my mission by studying the Fa well and saving more sentient beings.
Thank you, Master!