(Clearwisdom.net) I finally saw Teacher for the first time at the Oriental Health Expo in Beijing in December 1993. In that twinkling of a moment I thought, "Where have I seen him before?" He looked very kind and familiar.
Teacher wore a dark blue suit and looked like he was in his 30s. He was solemn and graceful as he signed his autograph. People in one line were waiting for Teacher to treat their illnesses, and those in the other line were waiting for Teacher's autograph. When it was my turn, I stood in front of Teacher and handed him a sheet of white paper, because I had not brought any Falun Gong books with me. I positioned the paper to lie squarely on the table. Teacher returned it to me after he signed his name. A thin woman, a worker at the Expo who stood next to Teacher said to me, "Take good care of it when you go home." I said I would, but I didn't want to leave, so I walked around near the booth.
I saw lots of people swarming around the Falun Gong booth. But not many people were at the other booths nearby and even less people were at the booths further away. I saw people standing around reading a class schedule. I also came up and registered for a class. A veteran Falun Gong practitioner gave me a ticket to Teacher's lecture.The next day I came to a small auditorium for the lecture. There were too many people and not enough seats. Many people stood in the back of the auditorium and listened to Teacher's lecture. When Teacher finished the lecture and came down from the stage, many practitioners stood around him and held up their books asking for Teacher's autograph. On the following day I went back to attend another lecture.
I attended the Falun Gong class in Tianjin City in January 1994. The tuition was 50 yuan for first-time attendees and 25 yuan for veteran students. The staff members arranged the students' hotel rooms. The food and living expenses were very cheap and convenient. My body had been in the state of cleansing even before the class began, and this lasted until the last phase of the class.
While Teacher was giving a lecture, some of the practitioners sitting near me saw elaborate ancient pavilions, terraces and towers in the Falun World behind Teacher, and the scenes were also seen in the photos taken. Some practitioners smelled intermittent flower fragrances that gladdened the heart and refreshed the mind. Some saw Buddha Sakyamuni sitting on one side of Teacher and Lao Zi on the other side. Some saw that Teacher looked like an old Taoist master from time to time.
Any money and items that people lost in class were all successfully returned to the owners. These items were found by practitioners and handed over to the staff members. The owners were then notified and retrieved their lost items. I got my wallet back after I lost it. From the lost-and-found, it manifested that the practitioners had purified their minds and improved their realms.
I met many practitioners after class. Some talked about the tremendous physical changes they experienced. Some spoke about their feelings when their celestial eye was opened, and some saw things with supernatural abilities. One practitioner said he had a dream in which he saw a map of China. He was told that Falun Gong would spread throughout China.
One day before class several of us agreed that since there was only one way by which Teacher could enter the auditorium, we would wait there to have our picture taken with Teacher. We waited for a long time but never saw him. It was almost time for class, so we ran to the auditorium. Teacher was already standing on the stage. Now that I think about it, we were too attached to having our picture taken with Teacher at the time.
Teacher wore a light blue down coat and looked neat and tidy among the crowd. There were many new practitioners. They asked for a group photo with Teacher and invited Teacher to join in while they were not yet ready. Teacher was pushed and shoved around by the practitioners as they tried to get assembled for the photo, but he always remained very calm.
After the class in Tianjin City ended, five of us took a train to Dongying, Shandong Province. The Chinese New Year was approaching. We were going to Kenli, to wait for Teacher instead of going back to Beijing. One older woman practitioner had been cultivating with her celestial eye open and was extremely sensitive. She could see many things but she rarely talked about them. She said that Teacher's Fashen was sitting on the front of the train, and the five of us were sitting inside Teacher's pocket. Teacher told her to guide us well, and she reported to Teacher at each stop.
We had rooms on the third floor of the Kenli Hotel. When Chinese New Year had just passed, Teacher, his wife and daughter and staff members came and stayed on the first floor. Teacher gave evening classes in Kenli in order to accommodate practitioners who work during the day. In the morning, Teacher asked the veteran practitioners who came with him to teach us the exercises. During that period, Teacher went to Daqing City to give a lecture. We followed Teacher and went there too.
One day, several of us wanted to go to the Yellow River Bridge. Before we left the courtyard, we saw Teacher walking quickly toward us. We made the heshi gesture [the palms pressed against each other, a form of greeting]. Teacher returned the greeting and said something to a older man standing next to him. Teacher held a roll of red paper in his hand. The man said it was used to write down the class schedule. Later, a young practitioner saw Teacher writing in Kai Shu [regular script, a type of calligraphy] inside the room. The schedule was posted in the auditorium in the evening.
One night at around 11:00 p.m. we were going to forgo the Falun Gong exercises and go straight to bed. A young practitioner stared at the ceiling. We asked, "What are you looking at?" He said a huge Fashen of Teacher's was sitting on top of the building and doing the exercises. We realized that Teacher was reminding us to do the exercises.
Teacher told us to focus on the lecture during the class and not to take any notes or record anything. Several of us sat in the front row. An older practitioner tried to record the lecture but failed. He asked me to do it because he thought that a younger person like me would be permitted to do it. I was sitting in the row right across from Teacher with a tape recorder in my hand. Of course I failed to record anything. Later we gave up and realized that Teacher was caring for us and wanted us to concentrate on the lecture.
A couple of farmers attended the Tianjin class with their 11-year-old daughter who had leukemia. The parents had to carry her on their backs. The young girl's condition improved greatly after Teacher adjusted her body. While in Kenli, she was able to run around and play with the other children including Teacher's daughter. Her lips turned from white to red, and so did her cheeks. Her mother was really grateful toward Teacher and cried whenever she talked to us about it.
All of us wanted to talk to Teacher. One day, we asked the staff members for a meeting with Teacher. We quickly cleaned our room and brought fruits. Soon, Teacher came. He sat down and smiled while we sat around him. Some practitioners stood outside while Teacher talked to us. One woman sat across from Teacher and excitedly told Teacher about her feelings while doing the exercises.
Everyone felt like a child in front of Teacher and didn't feel strange at all. Sitting inside Teacher's powerful energy field, we were so happy and so at ease, and our minds were so pure. It's true that we feel closer to Teacher than any of our family members. We forgot everything and simply felt joyous. Teacher encouraged us to cultivate diligently.
Later we had a group photograph taken with Teacher. A young boy bolted out the door and quickly brought back a picture of a Falun he made himself and leaned against Teacher. We will forever cherish the memory of this meeting.
The practitioners ate in the cafeteria, and so did Teacher and the staff members. From then on we paid more attention not to waste any food and to always pack up the leftovers.
The next morning, after the last lecture, Teacher took a group picture with us in front of the building. Since there were not too many practitioners from Kenli, after practitioners from Beijing took a group picture with Teacher, we were able to take individual or small group pictures with Teacher. Teacher smiled and waited for us. In the afternoon, we had to say goodbye to Teacher. Teacher and the staff members got into a van. The practitioners made the heshi gesture and watched Teacher leave. The young boy mentioned above chased after the van for a very long distance.
I remember that there were always disruptions during each class that Teacher held in China, especially during those prior to early 1994. Sometimes, children suddenly started to cry in the auditorium, sometimes noises came from the outside, such as metal pieces banging against each other, or cars honking their horns, and occasionally people with ulterior motives came into the class. Teacher was always able to eliminate the interference so we could listen to the lecture uninterrupted.
I attended the class in Zhenzhou City in June 1994. The class was initially held in a quite small, old and dilapidated auditorium with a concrete floor. Concrete seats were built all around the auditorium. A wooden table was used for Teacher. On the second day, Teacher gave lectures in the morning as well as in the afternoon. I thought he was doing it to lower the practitioners' cost. That day it had kept drizzling outside. Around 1:30 p.m., when Teacher was talking about animal spirit possession, the sky suddenly turned dark, and huge hailstones and drops of rain hit the asbestos tiles on the roof and also banged against the windows. Some parts of the roof leaked, and the electricity was suddenly cut off. The hall went very dark. People who were sitting about five feet away from Teacher could not see him clearly, but Teacher continued with his lecture.
A while later the roof right above the podium leaked. Water poured down on the podium. Teacher said to us, "Back then when Sakyamuni was giving a lecture, a gust of wind blew out the candle, but none of his disciples moved." We understood that Teacher was telling us not to panic. We quietly sat there and watched how Teacher dealt with the interfering demons. Teacher sat quietly for a while and drank the spring water from a bottle of water that a practitioner had given him before the lecture. Teacher usually didn't drink water during classes. Then he got on the podium and sat down. He made a large hand gesture for a while and as he finished the movement he pulled something into the bottle. The lecture was resumed afterwards. Teacher also said something to the effect that these demons make trouble when the lecture involves them. The electricity immediately came back on and the rain was reduced to almost nothing.
The next day, we went to the brand new Zhenzhou Stadium to listen to Teacher's lecture. The scene was so grand with many people in the stadium. I was surprised that the same number of people was able to fit into the small old auditorium on the prior day.
One sunny day Teacher and the practitioners stood outside. Teacher radiated vitality and his smile was filled with infinite confidence. He was looking at a distance place. His manner was extremely auspicious. I walked up to Teacher and looked at him from a close distance. His face was so smooth and his complexion was so fine as if his face was radiating light. He looked immaculate and perfect. I think that Teacher must feel pleased that so many practitioners have matured.
After we settled in at the hotel, one day a hotel staff person told us that a tall, middle-aged man led a group of people and had looked at the hotel before we came. From his description we knew it was Teacher who must have come to clean out the field at the hotel to ensure our safety. We were so moved!
I saw Teacher again during the class in Jinan City, probably before the class in Zhenzhou City. Teacher clearly looked thinner and often had a serious and heavy look on his face. He looked slightly tired. He was wearing a brown jacket. I heard that Teacher was under tremendous pressure and was working extremely hard.
Twice I was in grave danger after I obtained the Fa. Both times I was safe because Teacher was looking after me. The first time I let my mind wander when I was walking in the street. Suddenly I heard someone yell, "Do you want to die?" When I looked up, I saw a steel bar about 1 cm thick coming down in front of me. Construction workers were nearby unloading steel bars. The steel bar would have hit me if I hadn't cultivated Dafa. The second time, I was riding a bike when I saw a truck loaded with huge blocks of wood at quite a long distance ahead of me. But unexpectedly I suddenly hit the wood blocks. Later I realized the truck had stopped. I fell off my bike. Luckily, I was wearing a hat, otherwise my face would have been disfigured. I only felt a little dizzy and was fine after shaking my head a little. I don't know how many more tribulations Teacher has resolved for me.
One practitioner I knew had a three-year-old daughter. Once, Teacher lightly touched her face between the girl's eyebrows with a fountain pen, and the child's celestial eye was opened. She often urged her mother to practice diligently.
I attended a morning class in Changchun in 1994. We also wanted to go to the evening class but the tickets were sold out. We strolled around outside the Mingfang Auditorium and didn't want to leave. After Teacher began the lecture we put our ears to the crack of the gate to listen to him. Soon a staff member came out and said to us, "Come in!" Teacher was so nice!
After the class, Teacher had his picture taken with practitioners from all over the country. Suddenly I heard people clapping. Someone told me that an older woman was able to stand up from her wheelchair.
Teacher personally cured some of the practitioners' illnesses and sometimes cured them without their knowledge. There are countless examples. Two women practitioners who were often with me used to be bedridden all year long, but they recovered quickly after they studied the Fa and practiced the exercises. They were now healthier than most people. They followed Teacher during several classes. Their families also knew that they benefited from Dafa. After practicing Falun Gong, chest pain and gynecological problems that used to afflict me disappeared. I got healthier day by day, and I was very energetic.
I remember Teacher saying during the last lecture in Changchun that we would be the main force in the future.
Teacher said early on that practitioners should not just follow the lecture series around and that we should go home and genuinely practice cultivation. I didn't understand the meaning of true cultivation at the time and thought I would try my best to attend all of Teacher's classes. After a while I went to the class in Guangzhou City. Sometime after class we went back to the hotel, but I didn't feel hungry at all when We knew that Teacher's energy field was very strong. I heard students say that they saw Teacher and his daughter eating instant noodles in Guangzhou and in Jinan.
I felt that Teacher had aged a great deal in the year 1994. He was enduring tribulations for sentient beings!
Teacher made invisible and seamless arrangements for every detail of my cultivation path. He solved many problems for me, including those that I never imagined. When the Zhenzhou class ended, I hadn't bought the train ticket on time. I rushed to the train station before the train was about to take off. I saw a person returning a ticket at the ticket window and bought the ticket from him. When I got on the train my seat was right among other practitioners whom I knew. When I stood at the Yunqing train station and was worrying about where to find a hotel, I saw an acquaintance waving at me from the back window of a bus. When I first went to another city to attend classes, I didn't think about where to stay. However, before the class, a practitioner came to me on a motorcycle and helped me to find a hotel. Although my financial situation was quite tight, I was always able to squeeze out the money needed for the class. Even if I had to borrow money from others, I could always return the money soon after I returned.
I always received materials from practice sites at the times when they were being handed out and could always borrow tapes when I wanted to listen to them...in short, I was merging into the supernatural Dafa and everything was so miraculous.
Looking back at my early period of Dafa practice, I feel incomparable joy because of Teacher's protection and the help from fellow practitioners! My writing cannot express even one tenth of my experiences. I hope I can do better in order to be worthy of Teacher's tremendous sacrifices and compassionate salvation.
I wrote about this for my own encouragement and also to share with others. I want to encourage all fellow practitioners to do well.
August 1, 2006
