(Clearwisdom.net) My cousin did not have much education, but she did have a predestined relationship with Dafa. Her process of attaining Dafa was full of hardships and was very moving. I helped her to organize her stories to share them with all Dafa practitioners. The following is her story.
This year I am 70 years old. One day in July 1997, a relative of mine introduced me to Dafa saying, "Dafa is very good. It teaches people to be compassionate and goodhearted according to the principles of 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance'. It is a high level Buddha school cultivation method. While a practitioner cultivates oneself mentally, one's body will also be purified." Having heard that Dafa teaches people to be kindhearted according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and purifies one's body, without charging any money, I was sure that Dafa was good and righteous.
I wanted to learn, but I was illiterate. My relative said that I could learn by listening to the audio recording, so I went to listen to the Dafa tapes in her home everyday. The more I listened, the more I wanted to take in more. Teacher's words penetrated deep into my mind. After listening to the tapes once, I finally understood the true meaning of life, which is to return to our original true selves. I knew I couldn't remember everything by just listening once, so I wanted to read Dafa books. Even though I was illiterate, I got a copy of Zhuan Falun and started attending the group study and practice. I learned to read word by word. At the practice site, I asked fellow practitioners for help. In my home, I asked family members. If nobody was available, I went to the street to ask passers-by.
I learned Dafa and studied the words with my heart and soul. It didn't matter if I was eating, sleeping, walking or doing chores; my mind was always focused on Dafa. If my hand was not on top of the Dafa book, then the Dafa book was on top of my hand. Gradually, I learned more and more words of the Fa, and my kidney disease was cured unknowingly. I experienced the true happiness of being healthy, and I became more diligent in my practice of Dafa. In less than a year, I was able to read the whole book of Zhuan Falun, although at a very slow speed. I dared not to read at the group study site for fear of taking too much of other's time, so I read in my home. After one year, my home became a group study site, and I was finally able to read together with other practitioners. As of July 1999, I had already studied Dafa for two years. During those two years, most of my time was spent on Dafa study and practice, and my body and mind experienced tremendous positive changes.
Then Jiang's regime started an all-out persecution against Dafa. Policemen arrested Dafa practitioners everywhere. Radios and TVs slandered and defamed Dafa and our Teacher overwhelmingly. I could not just stay at home anymore, and went together with other fellow practitioners to Beijing to ask for fair treatment of Dafa. But in Beijing, we could not find anyone and did not know what to do. We had to come back home after staying in Beijing for one week. On December 23, 1999, I heard that the Dafa practitioners in charge of the Falun Gong Research Association would be sentenced to imprisonment. I asked my daughter to bring me to Beijing again to protest the illegal trial.
On December 25, 1999, my daughter and I went to Tiananmen Square. I saw many Dafa practitioners forced into police vans but I was not scared. One policeman came and asked me, "Are you coming to appeal for Falun Gong?" I answered that I was, so they forced me into a police van and asked, "At your age, why bother to come here?" I said, "I heard that evil people plan to sentence Dafa practitioners in charge of the Falun Gong Research Association. I know Dafa is good and our Teacher is innocent. I came to ask for fair treatment of Dafa." They asked, "But what can you do by coming here?" I replied, "I cannot do much, but I came to show that one more person supports Dafa, to prove that Dafa is good."
Police officers sent me to the Beijing Liaison Office. The second day, I was sent back to the local police station and was detained for half a month. When interrogating me, policemen said, "Grandma, you broke the law." I responded, "I did not! What law I have broken by following 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance'and being a good person?" They tried to force me to write a guarantee, but I refused and said, "What guarantee should I make to you? If you want a guarantee, I will guarantee that I will go to Beijing at my will." They argued by saying that the government has banned Falun Gong. I said, "It's for me to decide what I will do. If I want to practice, then I'll practice."
When the detainment came to an end, they asked me for bail and said I would be released after I paid the bail. I said, "I don't have any money. If I did have some, I would use it to go to Beijing. I am old and not afraid of death. I am not wrong for learning to be good. What I am learning is righteous, and I have committed no crime. They then said that I was against the government. I told them, "At my age, what's the benefit for me to overthrow you. What is shown on the TV is all lies. Dafa has no political intentions, and is not against any governments. We do not want to be government officials. I will definitely keep on practicing Dafa." They had to release me.
Later, local police officers came to look for me twice, and did not allow me to go home. My daughter went to ask the local street communist party secretary for me, and said, "My mother is old. If anything happens to her I will hold you accountable." They were sacred and released me but threatened to search my home. My daughter called home in advance, so the Dafa books were safeguarded and they did not find anything.
Evil forces in our area have been rampant. Many Dafa practitioners have been arrested, sent to the forced labor camps, sentenced heavily, or even tortured to death.
No matter how long the road in front of me will be, I will continue to do my best with the three tasks as taught by our Teacher. I will closely follow our Teacher until the day when Fa has been rectified on the earth.
Feb 9, 2003
