(Clearwisdom.net) Fellow practitioners in our area mostly began practicing Dafa cultivation in 1996. Before July 20th 1999, every morning and evening, we gathered together to study the Fa and do the exercises on a regular basis. More and more people came in as the days went on. Since July 20 of 1999, the terror came down from the sky, and such a compassionate environment for group study and exercise was broken. Many practitioners did not know what to do. Since we lost the environment to exchange experiences to encourage each other, everyone could only rely on one's own xinxing to do one's best to keep cultivating and do Dafa-related work. However, under the evil's severe persecution, half of us were not able to keep up, and as of now, there are still one-third of former practitioners who have not come back yet. Some of them went into ordinary religions, some of them simply stopped, and some others went to join other kinds of activities. Those mentioned below are former practitioners who lost the group practice environment, and they went into other schools of teaching. They did not come back to Dafa cultivation until 2004, and the progress for helping them change their thinking was very slow.
I hadn't been with these fellow practitioners for years, and occasionally, when I saw them for a few times, we did not talk to each other, and we tried to avoid each other as we walked by. At that time, I thought: before, it was so nice that we studied the Fa and did exercises together, but why do we now look at each other like strangers? I had an indescribable feeling and felt terrible. One day, I stood in front of Teacher's photo and a thought came out: "Teacher, please strengthen me. I want to get back my fellow practitioners from the old days. These practitioners left Dafa because of the persecution, and I cannot just sit and watch the old force place obstructions against them. I must bring them back."
Another day in the evening, I went to a former fellow practitioner's home. Knocking on the door, she had a blank look as she opened the door and acted like she did not know me. I said: "You have forgotten me, but I haven't forgotten you. I came to see you specifically; how are you doing?"
She replied coldly, "Come in to talk."
Once I went in, she showed her depressed face and said, "My husband was hospitalized for a long time. My health has not been very good, either, and I had to be hospitalized twice a year. My body is about to go south."
I replied to her, "When we were studying the Fa and doing exercises together, both your health and your husband's were so good! When the evil began the persecution, other practitioners and I looked for you. We tried to deliver Teacher's articles to you, but you refused them and said that you stopped cultivation and wanted to be left alone. At that time, why were you so afraid?"
She said, "I was persecuted before during the 'Great Cultural Revolution' and almost lost my life. I knew how evil they (the Communist Party) are. There was no rationality to it. If it told us to stop, you'd better stop quickly, or it would go after you until your death. So why should I bother to get myself into this trouble? My children were also afraid and told me to stop cultivation. So I am now practicing in the School of Pure Land Method, which is also a Buddha School teaching."
I told her, "I am not here to tell you to switch schools. I am here really for your own good and interests. Our meeting today is not accidental, and I have brought some copies of materials. Please take some time to read them and see. I think you may not necessarily be able to get such information in those religions. I also brought an amulet for you, and some Minghui Weekly Newspapers, too. The paper is quite good, and you really should read it. I am not saying that you have to practice Dafa cultivation, but I think at least we can still by friends, right?" I also told her that I would come back two weeks later to get the newspapers back since safety was still a concern. She did not say much and accepted the materials I gave her.
A few days later, in the afternoon, I went to her home again. This time it was very different from the last time. She looked at me with kindness and trust and spoke out all her real thoughts. She literally cried all the way as she spoke from the beginning till end. I believed that it was Teacher's mercy and the power of Dafa that touched her heart.
She told me, "I actually wanted to get in contact with other practitioners for a long time, but I just felt embarrassed because each of you looked so glowingly healthy and energetic, but my health was getting worse day by day and I felt so close to death. I could not compare with you, and I was afraid to talk to you. Another reason was some people from my religion dragged me around everywhere to temples, and it was hard to get rid of them easily." She said, in ordinary religions, she also heard things such as that Maitreya would come down to the world to save people, but nobody in ordinary religions knows the truth. Monks in temples said that Maitreya would come, so some people do obeisance from one place to another, day by day. From prophecies and some other materials, she believes that the Maitreya who comes to the world is Teacher. The Holy King Who Turns the Wheel, the Master of all Masters, the King of all Kings, came down to the world to teach people the "Three-Word True Scripture," and Dafa disciples are truly "The Disciples of Maitreya." She felt very sad and hated herself for going through a tortuous path. She had great pressure in her mind because she made one of the greatest mistakes: she was so afraid that the evil Communist Party would find evidence to persecute her that she burned the book Zhuan Falun and Teacher's photo. She thought that Teacher would never forgive her, and she would also get retribution. She was too afraid to come back.
I saw through the evil old forces' plan. They used her leftover ordinary person's mentality on the surface to try to destroy her. I also saw, deeply in her heart, her willingness and the hope of getting the Fa. So I said to her peacefully: "To explain to you directly, I feel that it was Teacher's Fashen who guided me here. Teacher said before:
"As their master, I won't leave behind a single Dafa disciple in Mainland China, except for those who've gone over to the opposite side and can no longer be saved. I'm thinking of all of them." (Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference)
You have practiced Dafa for 3 years, how could Teacher not look after you? You did not do well in the past; that is not all your fault. Part of it was caused by the old forces. As a cultivator, I am also responsible as I haven't tried to find you and bring you back earlier. I also did not study the Fa well and was so selfish, and I only considered my own safety. It looks like there are many more former fellow practitioners just like you who want to come back! As you understand now, let go of the past and do not think too much about it because Teacher has great mercy and will not blame you. However, on the other hand, the old forces will not let you off so easily. You have already been like this (bad health, etc.), the old forces and evil almost took your life, so you must come back to Dafa cultivation quickly and walk only the path that Teacher arranged for you. What Teacher suffered for us is not something that we could imagine, and because of that, he was able to lead us step by step till today. Teacher said:
"Of course, this undertaking hasn't been completed yet, Fa-rectification hasn't been concluded, so there's still a chance for you to do well again. Indeed, as long as there's still one day when the persecution hasn't ended, that day is an opportunity. Use it well, do better, come back sooner, and don't miss any more opportunities. Don't dwell on your past mistakes--if you've made mistakes, then do well from now on. Don't think about the things that have happened. Think about how to do well from now on, and become truly responsible to yourself and to sentient beings." (Touring North America to Teach the Fa)
Her heart was deeply touched. She quickly wrote a Solemn Declaration and also announced her withdrawal from the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) affiliated organizations. In a short time, I brought her a complete set of Dafa Books, Teacher's recent teachings of the Fa, new scriptures, and the audiotapes for exercises. I helped her to recall how to do the exercises a few times. This time, her heart was fully into Dafa and she practiced and studied very hard. She was full of tears all the time and stayed away from the hospital and medicine. When people from her religion tried to get her to go out somewhere, she would not go anymore. She always thought about how to follow Teacher's arrangement to do the three things, and she said that she would work really hard to make up for the damage she did to Dafa. Later, she found another former fellow practitioner and asked me to bring some more books and materials. The practitioner that newly came back also wrote a Solemn Declaration and announced a withdrawal from the CCP (and its related organizations). She brought back three former practitioners just like this, and they are now studying the Fa, practicing the exercises, and clarifying the truth together.
Her children asked her: "Mom, you look better these days and you do not go to hospital anymore. You also gained some weight. What medication did you take?" She happily replied: "I haven't taken any medicine. I just restarted practicing Falun Gong, which is really wonderful! We saved at least 1000 yuan of medical costs over the past 3 or 4 months." Her children's attitudes were totally changed: "Mom, you feel well as you practice Falun Gong, just keep going. There is nothing we are afraid of, and your well-being is the most important thing. We will support you and protect you, and you don't be afraid." She told her children: "I have Teacher and Dafa to protect me, who can also protect our whole family!" Seeing her change physically and mentally, her whole family (14 members in total) now all understand the truth. They all announced their withdrawal from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
I wrote out this little experience to share with fellow practitioners, hoping that if other practitioners are facing similar situations, they would please use my experience as motivation to help other practitioners. I felt that this was a chance for me to improve my own level of cultivation, as well as a chance to validate the Fa.
