On My Thirty-Year Path of Cultivation

(Minghui.org) I began Falun Dafa cultivation practice in July 1996. I feel a bit ashamed for not meeting the requirements for a diligent Dafa practitioner. I never submitted a sharing article for the annual China Fahui, thinking I hadn’t done well and did not have anything to share.

I was deeply touched, however, when I read the “Call for Articles for the 22nd China Fahui on Minghui.org” published on Minghui Editorials & Notices. I thought, regardless of how well or poorly I have cultivated, I should answer this request. This way I can truly identify my gaps, catch up in cultivation, and truly do the three things well before the Fa-rectification ends.

I would like to share the following with Master and fellow practitioners.

Dafa Showed Me the Way

I was weak and sickly since childhood, but I had a strong desire for spiritual growth. I often wondered what the meaning of life was, especially at night when I thought of death. I was scared, wondering where I will go after I die.

During my university years, I suffered many health issues, including neurasthenia, headaches, insomnia, etc. Since I could not sleep well, my heart, liver, and kidneys were also unhealthy.

After giving birth, I also developed rheumatic pain, and became sensitive to cold and wind. I had pain all over my body and was often short of breath. In addition to all this, my marriage was failing.

Just as I was utterly disheartened and had lost all hope, I was extremely fortunate to come across Falun Dafa. I learned the exercises on the same day, and felt something rotating in my abdomen area when both palms were held over my lower abdomen. I got a copy of the book Zhuan Falun immediately, and from reading the book I understood why people suffer misfortunes and tribulations, and the true meaning of life. I knew that both my child and I had been saved, and my heart was filled with indescribable joy and happiness.

My colleagues were surprised at the subsequent changes in me. I told them that I no longer needed to go to the hospital, and from Falun Dafa, I now understand the true meaning of life.

At that time, people were still able to exercise in groups and study the Fa together. We often shared our cultivation experiences, especially in terms of letting go of attachments, so our xinxing improved quickly.

I was working in a CCP government department at that time, where there was a lot of corruption, and people were scheming against one another with little sense of righteousness. Working in such a setting, it was very hard for me to remain untainted.

After I took up the practice of Falun Dafa, I worked at living by the standards of the Fa, and remained unmoved when facing temptations, such as gift-giving, bribes, personal favors, etc., and firmly committed to integrity and fairness in my work. My performance was also well recognized and praised by both the leadership and my colleagues, and I was consistently rated as outstanding in annual performance evaluations.

I focused on Fa study and doing the exercises when I got home from work. I started to recite the Fa in 1998, and my mind was filled with the Fa wherever I was, either on the bus, or when doing household chores. This helped lay a very solid foundation in my cultivation and enabled me to remain firm in my faith in Dafa in the face of the nation-wide persecution by the evil CCP, and its vicious slandering rumors and lies.

Exposing the Persecution to Validate the Fa

On the afternoon of July 22, 1999, the CCP TV stations began to spread lies to slander Dafa and Master. All workplaces were required to gather their employees to watch. I felt very upset in my heart, and walked away. With only a copy of Zhuan Falun in my handbag, I went to the local train station, bought a ticket, and was on my way to Beijing.

I arrived there early in the morning the next day, and went straight to Tiananmen Square. There were many people there, but I couldn’t tell who were Dafa practitioners, and didn’t know what to do. So, I decided to return home the next day.

At the Beijing Railway Station, I bumped into a former classmate from back in my university days, who was working for the Beijing railway police. He was surprised that I was practicing Falun Dafa and had come there to seek justice for the practice.

I told him why I took up the practice and how much I had benefited from it, as well as the facts of Falun Dafa. He was very receptive. The second time I went to Beijing, when I was persecuted and mistreated, this former classmate called to offer his sympathy and good wishes.

I went to Beijing the second time to appeal for justice for Falun Dafa on October 29, 1999, on which day the CCP’s mouthpiece “People’s Daily” published an editorial that further smeared and defamed Falun Dafa and our Master.

Before leaving for Beijing, I wrote a letter to my workplace, explaining why I was going to Beijing and the facts about Falun Dafa. I also mentioned that even though what I was doing was not illegal, it might lead to detention and the loss of my job. I believe that because of this unrighteous thought, as soon as I arrived at Tiananmen Square, I was arrested by police and held in a basement under the Tiananmen Police Station. That same afternoon, someone from my workplace took me back to my hometown.

Under enormous pressure from my supervisors, family, and relatives, I agreed not to go to Beijing to protest again, and was suspended from work. Later, the CCP Party branch in my workplace asked me to withdraw from the CCP, which I gladly agreed to, because I had already seen the evilness of the Party.

At a meeting some colleagues tried to argue on my behalf, hoping that I could keep my CCP membership, but I declined their effort because I couldn’t wait to cut my ties with the CCP. I explained to everyone why I practiced Falun Gong and the positive changes I experienced, both physically and mentally. Due to the slanderous rumors and lies by the CCP, they still said I was wrong, and tried to “help” me, through criticism. Only one colleague said something with conscience.

He said, “I don’t know much about Falun Gong, and have never practiced it. So I cannot comment on something I don’t really know, the same as I cannot say that grape is sour unless I have tasted it.”

I did not have much contact with this colleague at work. He developed stomach cancer in early 1999 and had to have ¾ of his stomach removed. He hadn’t been back to work long when I was targeted at work. Hearing what he said, I looked at him with respect and gratitude.

This colleague took early retirement in 2002 and became a lawyer. He is still alive today. I once bumped into him when he came to our workplace. I said, “Because of what you said at the meeting, my Master protected you, and that’s why you have enjoyed good health even now.”

“It’s true that many cancer patients have died, but I’m still alive. I must have been blessed.” He said.

“It’s our Master who has protected you,” I assured him, and he was happy to accept what I said.

After Master published the article “Towards Consummation” in June 2000, I realized I was wrong to give in to the pressure earlier. So, I wrote a statement to my workplace, stating that what I wrote about giving up Falun Gong practice earlier was against my conscience, and that I was now determined to practice Falun Gong to the end.

Leaders in my workplace became angry and reported me to the “610 Office” in our city. A colleague told me that the police department might put me in detention. I was shocked upon hearing this, but I calmed down almost immediately.

“They cannot detain me because I haven’t committed any crimes. I have dealt with criminal cases before and know that by law, one cannot be detained without evidence of crimes being committed. Although they don’t follow the law in treating Falun Gong, when they are aware that we know the law, they also become scared.” I said this to the colleague, who then went quiet. The “610 Office” didn’t bother me in the end.

Through later Fa study, I understood that Master protected me because I denied the persecution at the time.

I started to hand out truth-clarification materials in July 2000. It was a time when many Dafa disciples often went to Beijing to validate the Fa, and most of them were unlawfully detained and sent to labor camps for persecution.

Fellow practitioners realized that we should not accept the persecution, and should actively clarify the facts about Falun Gong to people. I didn’t know how to use the Internet at that time, and didn’t have access to it, so I got materials from fellow practitioners, had them printed out in print shops, and distributed them to households in residential buildings. Later, due to police intervention, print shops started refusing to print Dafa materials.

After the fake “Tiananmen Self-immolation,” persecution of Falun Dafa became even more severe, and truth-clarification materials also became very scarce. So, I bought some self-adhesive material, cut it into palm-sized pieces, drafted the facts of the fake “Self-immolation,” and asked my mother (also a Dafa practitioner) to copy them onto the self-adhesive material pieces.

I posted them in public places, such as phone booths, bus stops, utility poles, etc. I also called the listener hot line of Radio Free Asia to expose the facts of the so-called “Self-Immolation.” That night I had a dream, in which Master said to me, “You wrote a good article.”

I later got to know fellow practitioners who were making truth-clarification materials, so I began getting materials from them and distributing the materials in residential buildings, market stores, schools, etc.

Once, as soon as I left a booklet at a building materials stall, the lady owner picked it up and gave it to a man dressed like a construction worker, “Here you are, read this.” The man sat on a chair and started reading attentively.

On another occasion, I was on my way to a fellow practitioner’s place. When passing a farmers’ market, I left a booklet on a crate at a market stall. When I came back, I saw a girl reading the booklet out-loud to a group of people.

I felt very happy for them. It was just like what Master said:

“Beings that have come to understand the facts become mobile media, and they too clarify the facts. It’s had a big impact on society.” (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Midwest-U.S. Fa Conference)

I have moved a number of times in the last 20 years, and my workplace also moved out of town, so I was able to distribute truth-clarification materials in extensive areas. When on business trips or going to tourist spots with relatives or friends, I would leave them in shops, hang them on the car door handles or under the windshield wipers, or put self-adhesive stickers in places easily seen by tourists.

I was on a business trip to Beijing during the “Suing Jiang” campaign, so I posted stickers about the campaign at bus stops, on street trash bins, as well as on the frames or baskets of shared bikes, to tell people that Jiang Zemin was being sued around the world, and about the evil crimes of organ harvesting from Dafa practitioners.

I carry truth-clarification booklets and self-adhesive stickers in my handbag wherever I go, and use them whenever I can to help people learn the truth. When I don’t have any materials with me, I also clarify the truth to people face to face from time to time.

Setting Up Our Own Materials Site

Materials sites have always been targeted by the CCP. Over the years, fellow practitioners who provided me with truth-clarification materials were persecuted one after another. By April 2016, I was no longer able to get materials from fellow practitioners in our area. I began to think about how to make such materials ourselves.

Not long afterwards, someone introduced me to a young female practitioner, Dong (alias), who had been practicing Falun Dafa on her own earlier. She told me that she had an empty unit, which we could use for a materials production site. I felt very grateful to Master for arranging me to meet Dong.

We set up the materials site on New Year’s Day of 2017. At first, we only had a color inkjet printer. Dong was responsible for making the materials, and I did the distribution. Later, I showed Dong how to distribute the materials, so she could do it on her own too.

As we needed more materials, we bought a business printer, which was much faster. We mainly made truth-clarification booklets from Minghui.org, which were easy to read, comprehensive in content, well illustrated, and suitable for all ages.

After we set up the materials site, Dong was totally committed, and improved in cultivation very fast. Through Fa study, she realized the mission and responsibility of Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period, and made good use of all possible time to validate the Fa. On weekends, she would send her child to her mother-in-law’s house and spend a whole day or two working at the materials site. She also went out three or four times a week to distribute booklets, up to over 100 copies.

As for me, I normally made use of my lunch break at work to print materials at our site, and went out to distribute booklets a couple of times a week. I could sometimes distribute up to 30 copies, and sometimes 50 or 60 copies.

We mainly distributed booklets in residential communities with high-rise buildings, which had surveillance devices. For security reasons, we usually just went in one entrance of a building, and only left one or two copies on each floor. After a while, we would go to other entrances and floors.

Our materials site was running smoothly and we could fix any problems with the printer without having to bother others.

Dong was targeted by the CCP in April 2023, and a fellow practitioner warned me not to distribute booklets as usual because we might have been spotted by surveillance devices. He suggested that I focus on clarifying the truth to people face to face. I also thought that I needed to make new breakthroughs and validate the Fa in a different way.

Letting Go of Attachments to Fame and Gain

Before the persecution started in 1999, there were nine people practicing Falun Gong in my workplace, but later eight people gave up the practice due to fear, and two of them took refuge in Buddhism. I was the only one who continued Dafa cultivation. I made up my mind that I would validate Dafa in my workplace.

After I was brought back from Beijing in November 1999, I was suspended from my position at work for four years, during which time promotions, rank upgrades, or any kind of recognition always passed me by, until 2007 when I regained those opportunities.

However, due to the corruption in the personnel system in China, it’s common practice for people to seek promotions, including non-leadership positions, through means such as inviting others to dinner, giving money, or offering gifts. Of course, on the surface, they would still go through the “open” and “fair” procedures, such as “democratic recommendation,” “campaign speech,” etc.

As a result, those who were thick-skinned and good at currying favor got more support, while voters also lacked a sense of fairness, thinking: If you don’t ask me, I won’t vote for you.

As a Dafa practitioner, I was never bothered with such things, but I still felt annoyed and aggrieved when it came to “promotions” and “rank upgrades” each year, thinking that in terms of education, competence, eligibility, and work performance, I should have been promoted long prior. When I was already a section chief, others had just gotten into a cadre position, but now they’ve all ended up above me.

I realized that it was jealousy that made me feel this way, so I made up my mind to eliminate it.

Another round of promotions began at my workplace in 2011, and a number of department leaders had a chat with me, encouraging me to put aside my pride and go ask for votes. They told me that the then top leader’s term would soon come to an end, and once the leadership changed, there would be fewer opportunities.

I declined their good-willed advice, saying that as a Falun Dafa practitioner, I would not do anything against the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. With such a mindset, I felt very calm, and carried on as usual.

The unexpected result came as a surprise – I ranked second in the comprehensive evaluation and was promoted to Deputy Investigator (equivalent to a Deputy Division-Level cadre).

In 2019, our workplace had six positions available for promotion to the rank of Division-Level, with 13 people qualified. However, four positions were kept for Deputy Division heads, leaving only two for the nine non-leadership candidates to compete with one another.

The leader in charge had a chat with me again, saying that he would strongly recommend me to be the top leader, and asked me to do my best to get votes. I remained very calm, as I knew that all would be arranged by Master. When the result came out, I was one of the two non-leadership candidates to be promoted.

Among those who were not promoted, four would retire the next year, so they felt rather bitter and resentful. One colleague went to the personnel section and asked, “Why did you promote a Falun Dafa practitioner instead of those who would soon retire?”

The personnel section replied, “This round of promotion was focused on ability and work performance, and it was done on a merit basis.”

Many others at my workplace also gossiped, “You see, a Falun Dafa practitioner didn’t lose anything.” Some even wondered if I had any special connection with the leaders. They did not understand that Dafa practitioners are looked after by their Master. What’s meant for you will come, what isn’t cannot be taken. I only follow my Master’s teachings and arrangements.

Conclusion

Reflecting upon my 30 years of cultivation, there was the great joy when I first obtained the Fa, the improvement through diligent cultivation, as well as pessimistic depression when I failed to pass tests due to human attachments. It has been a bumpy journey, and I feel deeply in my heart that without Master’s compassionate protection, I could not have made it to today.

Although I have been doing the three things required by Master, I haven’t put my whole heart into them due to the blocks of various attachments I still have, and have missed many opportunities to save people.

For example, I often feel inadequate when it comes to clarifying the truth to people face to face, or encouraging people to quit the CCP organizations. I have also failed to make good use of the precious time on Fa study, and wasted much time on entertainment, scrolling through videos on my phone, paying too much attention to everyday people’s politics, chatting, and shopping, etc.

When studying the Fa, my mind is not always focused, and often distracted by stray thoughts. I also have an attachment to comfort, as well various attachments to fear.

In short, I’m still far behind in fully meeting the requirements of Dafa and Master. However, I know that I have come for the Fa in this lifetime, and I’m determined to cultivate myself well, assist Master in Fa-rectification, and save people. No matter how long my remaining path is, or how difficult the tests may be, I will not stop on the path of Dafa cultivation till the end.