Breaking Through a Severe Illness Tribulation, Discovering True Cultivation

(Minghui.org) My mother was in poor health and taking many medicines when I was young. Often she couldn’t get out of bed when she was feeling very sick. My cousin was healed from liver cancer after practicing cultivation in Falun Dafa. He suggested that my mother also give the practice a try to improve her health. 

Miraculously, in just a couple of days, my mother began to experience the symptoms of karma elimination. After that was over, all her illnesses disappeared. She came to truly feel Dafa’s beauty, and encouraged my father, sister and me to cultivate as well. Back then in 1998, I was but 13 years old and I only knew to follow what she told me to do. Even though I often studied the Fa and did the exercises with my family, I didn’t have a clear understanding of the Fa, but rather went through the motions. 

In July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners and our Fa-study group had to be canceled. Thus, we lost the environment for a group Fa-study and my family had to cultivate on our own. 

I started working in 2009 and began to indulge myself. I stopped studying the Fa and neglected performing the five Falun Dafa exercises. I behaved just like a regular person at that point. Not until 2013, when I got in touch with practitioners from other areas, did I learn about sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the facts to people. At that time, there was a construction project going on in a school near my home. I went to the site to clarify the facts to the workers there. Almost all of them were saved. One construction worker shouted out loud in the courtyard, “Falun Dafa is wonderful! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful!” To my surprise, the high temperatures and coughing that I had suffered for two years completely disappeared! 

I went to work in the city after graduation from school. With little fear, even though at my workplace, as long as I ran into people with predestined relationships with me, I talked to them about quitting the CCP. One time, I ran into the family of a fellow practitioner. After that, occasionally, I went to this practitioner’s home to study the Fa and share cultivation experiences with them. 

Later I was offered a job in a public sector. My new working environment had surveillance devices installed everywhere, and I became fearful. Therefore, I didn’t clarify the facts about Falun Dafa to people as often as before. 

Since the breakout of the pandemic, due to the lock-down in our community, I lost the environment of having a group study. Even after the lock-down was lifted, due to my poor cultivation state, I didn’t participate in group Fa-study. 

I slacked off in cultivation practice and eventually behaved like an ordinary person. For instance, I frequently participated in parties held by coworkers. As I climbed the career ladder, both my base salary and bonuses were higher than before, which triggered my attachment to self-interest, fame and a competitive mentality. When bonuses were distributed at the end of each month, I’d pay attention to whoever earned a little bit more or less than me. I became quite occupied with plans to buy a decent size condominium. In addition, since my coworkers were all ordinary people, they talked about nothing more than ordinary people matters, which made my attachments grow even stronger. 

One time, while at a coworker’s party, I unexpectedly just couldn’t stop coughing. Having been away from Falun Dafa for a long time, the first thought popping into my head was that I was experiencing pulmonary edema. That night, fear kept flaring up. I tried to dispel it, as I realized that I was a practitioner and should be fine. After that, I asked for a few sick days off, and had a practitioner come to my home to study the Fa with me. 

After two days of studying with me, this practitioner couldn’t come for the third study session. It was probably because of my attachment to relying on others that I couldn’t get out of bed that morning. I tried to get up so that I could study the Fa and do the exercises, but I failed. In that critical situation, my sentimentality gained the upper hand. I began calling my relatives one by one. I asked my sister to come look after me. All my relatives first responded to me by trying to talk me into taking medication. They also strongly suggested that I go to the hospital for a checkup. My symptoms gradually progressed. I couldn’t stop vomiting and my temperature rose quite high. 

Driven by fear and pressure from my relatives, I was taken to a hospital in Beijing for a checkup. The diagnosis showed that I had a pulmonary pneumothorax, and I was told that the left lobe of the lung had to be removed. The doctor also informed me frankly that this was a major operation, which required cutting open my ribs in order to complete it. Without this operation, my life would have been at risk. During the process of waiting for this surgery to be done, I suddenly decided to give it up, while having this firm thought in mind - I would go home to cultivate Dafa. 

After I left the hospital, a local practitioner arranged for me to stay with Ms. Wang for two weeks. In the beginning, I felt that my body was completely enveloped by some sort of black substance. I experienced continuous tightness in my chest, difficulty breathing and a productive cough. Only when I studied the Fa or did the exercises did I feel undisturbed by these symptoms. At night, I couldn’t lie down or sleep.

Fellow practitioners saw that my eyes were hollow and my whole body was like a puppet on a string, hanging there with only one breath left. During that period of time, several practitioners came to my place and studied the Fa and did the exercises with me. One practitioner reminded me that with Master and Dafa present, nothing could disturb me. I just needed to hold onto this thought! Another practitioner said: “Do you remember what is mentioned in Zhuan Falun? There was an elderly woman who was hit by a car and after she got up and dusted herself off, she let the driver go. With that thought, she indeed turned out to be fine.”

In addition to senior practitioners, young practitioners also came to share with me. They sat beside me in a circle with very strong and righteous energy. Every word they said turned out to be very powerful and this shattered the shell covering me. I felt myself breaking out of the darkness and finally coming to the light. 

I continued to study the Fa and practice the exercises with fellow practitioners every day. My righteous thoughts became stronger and stronger day by day. I felt my main consciousness gradually awaken. All these years, I had lagged behind in the Fa-rectification process and now I had reached a rational and clear understanding of the Fa. I understood the importance of group Fa-study, sending forth righteous thoughts, as well as sharing with fellow practitioners. These understandings came down to my true feelings, as opposed to something on the surface. When I studied the Fa now, the Fa-principles were clearly manifested in front of me. In contrast, before when I studied, I just went through the motions without taking it to heart. With the transformations that I had gone through, my physical conditions were also improved, for instance, my insomnia disappeared. 

A couple of weeks later I was almost healed and able to leave Ms. Wang and return to my home. Fellow practitioners still worried about me and arranged for a senior practitioner to stay with me to study the Fa and do the exercises. During the process of sending forth righteous thoughts for an extended time, I could feel that the righteous thoughts from both my mother and another two practitioners formed great compassionate energy, which instantly surrounded me and spread from my legs upwards. This warm substance helped me in terms of purifying my body. Everywhere it went, the negative substance rapidly dissipated, and I could feel that the root of my disease was gradually removed. When this power rushed to my chin, the alarm went off, which meant an hour of sending forth righteous thoughts was over. So everybody stopped. At that time, I should have asked them to carry on with sending forth righteous thoughts. But instead of doing that, I said with some sadness, “I feel something was about to break through my neck, yet it got stuck there. Too bad, it didn’t go out.” 

Only because what I said didn’t comply with the Fa, I indirectly acknowledged the persecution in the form of an illness karma towards me. As a result, two days later, while doing the fourth exercise, I vomited. The stuff I vomited, in addition to blood, filled two basins. Right then, I felt I was at the brink of death. So I said quickly to my mother, “Mom, please quickly ask Master to help me!” She responded, “Why don’t you call Master for help yourself. Why ask me?” But I had no strength to respond. Gradually I couldn’t hear anything, then I passed out. 

Afterwards, I could not remember anything about what transpired. Later, I only heard from my mother that my gaze was already fixed at the time when I was talking to my mother. My mom then quickly asked Master to help me. The lights were out since it was nighttime and we had just finished the exercises. Facing Master’s portrait, she held me in her arms and kept begging Master to help me. Suddenly, the whole room lit up; the light encircled our bodies and the floor, walls and ceiling were bathed in light. She felt Master had come to us with this golden light. Instantly we were wrapped up by a warm current. Both my mother and I floated up, we were as if being placed in the palms and arms of Master. While still muddle-headed, I regained my consciousness, lying in her arms and asked if she was tired. She said excitedly, “I’m fine. Master is holding you and me.” She was still so excited and easily became teary. 

Even though I was at the brink of death, because of Master’s saving grace, I regained consciousness. I was still a bit weak and could only eat preserved vegetables and rice soaked in water. 

There were a couple of practitioners who came to study the Fa with me every day. After they learned about my dietary needs they brought me all kinds of preserved vegetable dishes and milk. There were other practitioners who came to my home to visit, or send forth righteous thoughts with me. At that time, it was the middle of winter and a big snowstorm hit us. It was very icy on the road. Practitioners had to walk on the icy surface to come back and forth visiting me, plus persistently accompanying me in studying the Fa and doing the exercises. Whenever I felt down, they encouraged me. When they saw any of my thoughts not on the Fa, they gave me a stern warning and my righteous thoughts were strengthened. Every time I recalled these scenes, my heart was full of gratitude. In today’s society, even one’s family couldn’t do this, yet many practitioners by only knowing me, were willing to devote themselves to help me out of the tribulation without seeking any return. This made me realize how holy and great the universal Dafa is. Only beings cultivated in Dafa can be so kind and beautiful.

With help from practitioners, in two weeks time, I was able to return to work. On one occasion while working a night shift, I suddenly had a relapse of vomiting and the feeling of near death came up again. This time, I learned to ask for Master’s help. Thus, I shouted with all my strength, “Master, please help me! Master, please help me!” Instantly, my weak body was filled with power. Under Master’s protection, I managed to pass this trial. 

I began to treat cultivation more seriously from then on. So I hardly ever slacked off. Now I could clearly feel that the root cause of my illness was completely removed. Occasionally, some symptoms appeared when any remaining karma was gradually being cleaned out. My complexion used to be yellowish, but now my skin was as tender as a teenage girl. 

After my relatives who previously pushed me to go to the hospital saw my recovery, they were all very surprised. Thereafter, they all believed Dafa to be miraculous and were willing to recite “Falun Dafa is wonderful!” My youngest aunty came to respect Master very much. Another aunty told relatives, “Please do not go to her home and disturb her anymore, let her focus on her cultivation practice.” 

When I went to my hometown to celebrate the Chinese new year, my sister who had stopped cultivation for a while saw that I was recovered. She was inspired and wanted to return to Falun Dafa cultivation practice. My parents went from not knowing the Fa principles clearly, to completely understanding the differences between personal cultivation and Fa-rectification cultivation. It’s fair to say that under Master’s benevolent protection, a bad thing turned into something good. It has not only helped people around me understand the truth of Dafa so as to be saved, but also helped my parents firm up their faith in cultivation, as well as having a brand new and clear understanding towards Dafa. 

Now, when I think back on that period of time when I was stuck in this karmic illness illusion, I feel like it was a dream. What’s left in my memory is Master Li’s grand compassion, fellow practitioners’ selfless help and the miraculousness of the Buddha law.

I would like to thank Master for his saving grace. I have been allowed to establish a new life. And continue in Falun Dafa cultivation practice. In the time to come, I will do well the three things in a solid manner, realize my sacred vow, and save myself from stumbling again.