(Minghui.org) I have been practicing Falun Dafa for 11 years and am over 70 years old now. Before I became a practitioner, I not only valued fame and material gain, I also had a bad temper and was in poor health. I suffered from seizures, cervical spondylosis, rheumatoid arthritis, a bronchial cough, and decreased bile flow. Neither hospitals nor folk prescriptions helped.
Within a year after I began to cultivate, all my diseases were gone without my having taken any medicine. I had fewer wrinkles on my face, and my skin was soft and rosy. My whole body was light. I was disease-free, relaxed, and full of joy!
I always reminded myself to follow Dafa's principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. At times, it was easier said than done. Sometimes my mind was not righteous, and I let up in studying the Fa teachings. My attachments of selfishness, resentment, a competitive mentality, zealotry, and lust all emerged. When this happened, Master often used different ways to give me hints to improve my xinxing.
In my second year of cultivation, the residential community collected funds from each household to rebuild the roads. When the pavement in front of my home was done, a two-foot-wide gap between my home and the street was not paved. I repeatedly negotiated with the contractor in charge of the project. He refused to pave it, and I couldn't help arguing with him.
Later, after the person in charge of the community criticized the contractor, the repair was completed. But something strange happened. That evening, I suddenly had a stomachache and felt like vomiting. The pain was so severe that I started to sweat, which had never happened before. Because I am a practitioner, I looked inward and realized that I shouldn't quarrel with people over self-interests. I immediately said, “Master! I know I did it wrong.” Within a few minutes, the pain disappeared. It was truly amazing!
On another occasion, my roof was leaking in three different places. After being repaired several times, the roof still leaked. My neighbor recommended a skilled bricklayer to do the repair. When I pointed out the three areas that were leaking to the bricklayer, he looked at them and said, “I guarantee that the repair will be done at once and no payment is due until after the next heavy rain to verify that there are no leaks. If more work is needed, it will be done at no additional cost.”
It rained heavily soon after. The roof still leaked in the original three spots, plus four more places! One was especially bad, where water ran down a wall. I called the bricklayer and asked him to come and take a look. After he inspected the leaks, he said that water was deliberately poured down the wall and expressed his reluctance to do further repairs. I was shocked by his accusation and got very angry. I then tried to patiently reason with him and said that I would pay him for any rework. But he refused to do it and poked me with an umbrella.
I couldn't stand it and quarreled with him. Less than an hour after the quarrel, I had stomach pain similar to the previous time. I again said, “Master, I was wrong. I beg for your forgiveness.” After a while, my stomachache was gone.
I’d had an unhappy marriage and was divorced for many years. My children had their jobs and families, and they rarely visited me. I was lonely and longed for a partner. I had been looking for a partner before practicing Falun Dafa but hadn’t found anyone suitable. After practicing Dafa, some practitioners suggested that it may be an attachment and questioned if I should continue looking. I ignored them.
A friend introduced me to a lady who lived out of town. We arranged for a time and place to meet, and I bought a bus ticket the afternoon before. That evening, I looked at Master's picture and talked about going the next day to meet this woman. Strangely, in less than two hours, my buttocks and thighs were itching and painful, as if they’d been scalded. I thought it was weird. Why did this suddenly happen?
On the long bus trip the next day, I was in too much pain to sit. After getting off the bus, I fell down on the flat station platform and hurt my feet. My legs bled and I was limping, which made people laugh.
Reeling from the pain, I sat to rest in the station waiting room, where I looked inward and thought, “I should have realized from the pain and swelling in my buttocks and thighs. I just now fell down for no reason. How could this be accidental? Isn't it Master giving me a hint to eliminate my attachment? The time to cultivate is so short and saving people is so urgent. Shouldn't I focus on my cultivation? Giving up sentimentality and desires is the first barrier that a true Dafa disciple has to pass.” So I decided not to go to the woman's home.
Master said:
“You will be made to abandon all those attachments that cannot be given up among everyday people. As long as you have them, all of those attachments must be removed in different environments. You will be made to stumble, whereby you will become enlightened to the Tao. This is how one goes through cultivation practice.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
Two new practitioners and I went to distribute truth-clarification materials in the suburbs. There was a sudden downpour, and we didn't bring rain gear, nor was there a place to seek cover. They asked me what to do. I said, “Because we're going to help save people, let's ask Master to stop the rain.”
They said with dubious smiles, “Really?” I asked them to calm down and send forth righteous thoughts with me to ask Master to stop the rain. A few minutes later, the rain stopped, and they were more than surprised!
Another time, a practitioner and I distributed truth-clarification materials in an urban district. At the last home, a man was making a call at the door, so we were going to skip it and go to another street. Just then, a black dog rushed out of the gate. My companion was afraid and ran about 25 feet away. I stood in the middle of the road and tried to stop the dog.
When the dog reached me, it dropped its head and tail and started to whine. It then jumped up and put its two front legs on my chest to lick my face. I realized it meant no harm. I pointed at the other practitioner and said to the dog, “Say hello to her! Don't scare her!” It went over to greet the other practitioner. Then I called it back and said, “I haven't yet delivered materials to your home. Take this and show it to your owner. I hope your owner can understand the truth and be saved.” I then put the materials in the dog's mouth.
The dog looked at me with a whine. I bent down and touched his head and said, “When encountering Dafa disciples who are delivering truth-clarification materials, you can help them to save people. Now go back!” It turned around and looked back when it was near the door. We were really moved by this!
One night, I rode a motorcycle to a large residential area to distribute the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. After I finished, I was going back to where I’d parked my motorcycle. I thought that it was about 10 minutes away. But there were so many roads in the area, and many of the intersections looked the same. After walking around for more than 50 minutes, I still couldn’t find it. Then I suddenly realized, “Why don't I ask Master to show me the way?” So I stood on the side of the road and asked, “Master, your disciple can't find his motorcycle. Please show me the way.” After a while, there it was!
A couple of practitioners and I were planning to go out and hang banners at night. We went out during the day to find a suitable place, which was on a hill next to the main road with a lot of pedestrians and traffic. There was a steep rock wall about six stories high on the side of the road. The banner was 10 feet long and read “Sue Jiang Zemin!” Each character was one square foot.
We went back that night. One practitioner watched the car. The other one and I went to the back of the hill. There was no road, only waist-high weeds. The bushes were covered with small round spiderwebs, and the spiders were large. I went first, pushing down the weeds with my feet and then pushing away the thorns with a stick. The other practitioner followed 30 feet behind. After nearly 1,000 feet, the thorns had torn my clothes and shoes and I’d fallen down twice. Finally, we made it to the big pine tree.
After hanging the banner, I told the other practitioner to go back. I checked the rope that was holding the banner and then headed back. After only 60 to 70 feet, I slipped and fell on a steep slope. I rolled down and landed in the grass below. I got up and checked myself. I didn't have any pain but lost my flashlight. After taking a closer look by moonlight, I thought, “Wow! That was dangerous!”
I had fallen into a very deep pit. It was like a well and was three stories deep. The walls were covered with weeds and thorns. I tried to climb up, but the sharp thorns cut my hands. I fell back down several times after climbing only two feet.
I called out to the other practitioner, but no one answered. At that moment, there was a voice in my ear that said, “Why not call Master?” I thought, “Right!” I immediately shouted, “Master, help! Master, help me!” After shouting a few times, I felt confident and started to climb up with both hands and both feet. I didn't feel the thorns, nor did I slip. I climbed up and out of the pit in a few minutes.
Sitting at the top of the pit and looking down, it looked very scary. I thought to myself, “I wouldn't be alive if Master didn't protect me.” I burst into tears and shouted out several times: “Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!”
On another day I was planning to distribute truth-clarification materials to a guarded community compound in the city. In the morning, I looked at Master's picture and said, “At three this afternoon, I am going to a certain district to distribute the Nine Commentaries and other truth-clarification materials. If there will be any danger in that district this afternoon, please give me a hint.”
After lunch, I first studied the Fa in the backyard. Then I was going to send forth righteous thoughts. When I got up from the chair, I heard birds flying overhead and a big bird's droppings fell on me. I realized that there might be a safety issue where I was going that afternoon. I said to Master's picture “Thank you, Master, for your hint!” However, I thought about the sentient beings there who were waiting to be saved. I decided I would go as planned and asked Master to reinforce me.
When I got there, I saw a security guard on duty at the gate. I kept walking to the last row of the residential buildings and started to distribute the materials in a seven-story building. When I’d finished delivering everything, I saw a woman at an intersection six feet away talking to a security guard. She said she was looking for an elderly man wearing a jacket and carrying a travel bag. She said he was distributing the Nine Commentaries and that they must not let such an “anti-Party element” escape under their watch. She told the security guard at the gate to remain vigilant.
I threw the travel bag into a rickshaw on the first floor and concealed it and turned my jacket inside out. Then I sent forth righteous thoughts and asked Master for help.
When I walked casually between the two of them, they both acted as if they didn't see me and kept talking. When I approached the electric fence, a security guard standing at the door of the duty room shouted for me to stop. The electric gate was opened two feet wide. Another guard standing next to the gate also called for me to stop. Although they were shouting, “Stop,” they were immobile, like wooden figures. I ignored them and walked quickly out the gate.
After I returned home, I went to Master's picture and thanked him profusely. When I looked up, Master was smiling!