Cultivating Myself and Passing Life and Death Tests During the Pandemic

(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1992, and I’m now 80 years old. I’d like to tell you how I was able to continue going out to talk to people about the persecution despite the strict pandemic lockdown in China.

With the outbreak of the CCP virus (coronavirus), the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) implemented all kinds of measures, including locking down cities and residential areas. When people left or entered their neighborhood they had to have their temperature taken and show their ID and health card. Because everyone had to stay home and the streets were deserted, I had a hard time finding anyone to clarify the facts to.

Since I went out to stroll around every day, a security guard in our district finally said, “You go out every day. Why don’t you stay home? Are you looking for trouble?” The local police came to my home to harass me, claiming that I handed out informational materials. My husband also tried to keep me from leaving the house.

Time was pressing and people were dying! What should I do? Although this virus targets the Party and its supporters, many people were affected and faced elimination. They are the earthly representatives of huge celestial bodies in the universe. Master has told us many times in his lectures that Falun Dafa practitioners are the only hope for sentient beings to be saved. We cannot just sit by and watch them being eliminated.

In early February 2020, I had a dream. I saw many people lined up to take an exam. A voice shouted at me, “What are you standing there for? Why don’t you go to the exam center and buy a pen!” So I paid one yuan for a pen and quickly entered the exam room. This scene was very clear and I felt Master was giving me a hint: “Wasn’t this plague a big test for us? Whether or not we stepped forward to save sentient beings—wasn’t it like taking an exam?

But how to get in and out of our area? I couldn’t always claim that I was going out to buy groceries. Master’s words flashed in my mind:

“I have taught in the Fa that in Dafa cultivation one’s supernormal abilities are developed the most comprehensively because Dafa disciples are to cultivate to higher levels—the higher the level one breaks through, the more he is freed from matter, and he will thus fully demonstrate his innate abilities (supernormal abilities). Dafa disciples have already been bringing their supernormal abilities into full play in Fa-rectification.” (“What Are Supernormal Abilities,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)

Afterwards, each time I left or entered the district, I sent out the thought that no one could see me. It worked! I was able to walk through the gate right in front of the guards. Even though I didn’t have the health code, I still went to the market and clarified the facts. Empowered by Master, I was able to make a breakthrough and continue talking to people about Falun Dafa and why the CCP persecutes us.

Nothing Can Stop Me

The pandemic was raging across China and the world. On February 7, 2020, we had a big snowfall in our area. Nevertheless, I quickly put on my down jacket, grabbed my umbrella, and headed out. I used to have to need two hands to keep this umbrella open, but this time it remained open no matter how hard the wind blew.

There was hardly anyone on the street. Whenever I ran into someone, I felt as close to them as if they’d been a member of my own family. I greeted them first and then told them I wanted to tell them something important.

I explained that many people stay safe by sincerely saying, “Falun Dafa is wonderful, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful.” I also said that millions of people had renounced their memberships in the CCP. It was very windy and snowing hard. While sending forth righteous thoughts, I asked for Master’s help to direct people with predestined relationships to me.

I slowly walked the streets looking for people until I reached a pharmacy where people were lined up to buy masks. I got in line and said to the lady next to me, “Are you here to buy masks?” She said, “Yes, I am. Because of the snow there aren’t that many people, so it should be easier to get some.”

I said, “Masks can solve some problems, but not all. Let me tell you the best way to avoid the plague.” She was immediately interested. I said that during this special period, it’s most important for people to stay safe.” I quickly told her the two phrases. I also told her about the staged self-immolation incident, the fact that Falun Dafa is practiced in more than 100 countries and regions, and that it is welcomed worldwide.

When I asked her if she’d joined any CCP organizations she said she had. I said, “You made an oath when you joined and vowed to give your life for the CCP. When the Party is held accountable for its crimes, anyone associated with it will be implicated. Only by renouncing your membership in it can you void your vow and stay safe.” She immediately agreed. I helped more than 10 people quit the CCP while I waited in that line.

Then I went to a supermarket. Despite the snow, people were still shopping, so I waited at the entrance and talked to whoever came in or out. In the end, I helped more than 10 people quit the CCP.

In just over three hours that day I helped 31 people quit the CCP.

I only have the wish to save people, it was Master who brought people with predestined relationships to me. When I clarify the truth, I can feel Falun Dafa’s compassionate power.

A Life and Death Test

When my husband returned home from the bank on March 22, 2020, he told me that my pension payment had been stopped. It happened so suddenly that I was caught off guard. He was agitated and said, “What should we do? As long as I’m alive, we have my pension. But what if I die before you? What are you going to do? Can you rely on our children to help you?”

I thought, “It’s true. What would I do?” But for practitioners, nothing we experience is coincidental. I must have loopholes. I realized that the old forces were using them to persecute me.

Master said, “For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX)

I’d practiced for so many years. Although I’d eliminated many attachments, I still had a strong attachment to self-interest. I liked to compare prices when I shopped, and I looked for bargains. I repeatedly tried to correct myself, but I hadn’t succeeded.

I recalled what Master said,

“Master said that if deep inside a cultivator still stubbornly holds on to his most fundamental interests, his cultivation is not genuine.” (Teachings at the Conference in the Western U.S.)

“What’s a fundamental attachment, then? Human beings acquire many notions in this world and are, as a consequence, driven by these notions to pursue what they yearn for.” (“Towards Consummation,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)

As to my attachment to self-interest, wasn’t that pursuit? I hadn’t eliminated my fundamental attachment! Master mentioned many times in his lectures - “...If you can let go of life and death, you’re a God; if you can’t let go of life and death, you’re a human...” (“Teaching the Fa in New York City,” Lectures in the United States)

If I could remain calm when I lost my income, then hadn’t I let go of life and death?

As soon as I made up my mind to let go of it, my heart suddenly felt lighter, and I relaxed. It was as if nothing had happened. I continued to do what I was supposed to do while leaving everything to Master.

About three weeks later, on April 14, 2020, my husband returned from the bank in a good mood. He told me that my pension payments had resumed. I smiled and silently thanked Master.

Thank you, Master, for offering me this xinxing test!