(Clearwisdom.net) I started to cultivate Falun Dafa after witnessing how Master saved my wife. Since 1998 I have firmly believed that Dafa is the most righteous law of the universe and have had several personal experiences of Dafa's amazing power.
Dafa Compassionately Saves Sentient Beings; In Despair, My Wife Was Rescued
Following university graduation, my wife and I worked together at a large state-owned enterprise. Both our families are poor. We really struggled to make ends meet after we paid our rent. Our salaries added together totaled just over two hundred yuan. To make things worse, my wife developed a serious heart disease. The hospital diagnosis told us that there was almost no hope for a cure. My colleague said that one of her fellow army buddies had died of the disease at about 30 years old. Everyone felt sorry for the misfortune I had to face.
I didn't want to give up and always imagined that tomorrow would be better. I asked for help from all my relatives, friends, and colleagues. I tried my best to borrow money to find a cure for my wife. We tried Western medicine as well as Eastern medicine--anything we could find, we tried. But it seemed that every kind of medicine we tried was only effective in the beginning. There was no sign of recovery. Without any other options, my wife even self-prescribed treatment for herself according to a Chinese folk medicine book and asked me to buy the herbs and cook them for her.
My wife's illness became even more serious. In desperation I went to a spiritual healer, but returned in vain. I was told of the effectiveness of certain commercial medicines. I spent 6,100 yuan per month on them, but once we stopped the medications the symptoms returned.
More than ten thousand yuan in debt and with nowhere to borrow any more money, I was simply desperate about my wife. One day, out of the blue, my wife's colleague told her that practicing Falun Gong could cure illnesses. My wife bought a copy of Zhuan Falun and read it diligently. Within one week, my wife's face showed some pink color and her pulse improved a lot. Less than a month later, not only was her heart disease cured, but her chronic illnesses such as skin disease, bursitis in the shoulder, and arthritis were all healed as well.
Master Reminds Me in a Dream; Abstaining from Wine and Cigars with a Sincere Heart
Although I started reading Dafa books, I still had lots of attachments and didn't cultivate diligently. I always wanted to show off and later on just found excuses not to be diligent. I tried several times to stop my bad habits of smoking and drinking, but failed.
Master's Fa often echoed in my ear, but I simply didn't have a sincere enough mindset to make myself abstain from smoking and drinking. I really regret this now and feel ashamed to be the recipient of Master's great compassion. I eventually had a dream that I remember: With a sword in my right hand and bean curd in my left hand, I cut the bean curd piece by piece into a pan. I said to myself in the dream: "You said you were cultivating but deceived Buddha with your conduct. What kind of cultivation is this?"
I woke up and realized that Master was reminding me. Whenever I smoke and drank I felt guilty and ashamed toward Dafa and Master, but later on I always had some excuses and consoled myself. Thinking of Master's Fa, I suddenly understood that I didn't truly cultivate myself. If I couldn't even control myself in these small things, such as abstaining from smoking and drinking, how could I cultivate Dafa? My conscience prompted me to promise Master, "From now on, I will abstain from smoking and drinking!" From that moment on, the addiction to smoking and drinking, which I tried so many times to abandon with the methods of ordinary people, disappeared at once, and I didn't even feel any discomfort. The average person may not believe it, but 19 years of smoking and the absolute need to drink during business meetings and friends' gathering left me completely.
When people mentioned that I had strong willpower to abstain from my addictions to smoking and drinking, I felt greatly ashamed. Master does not hold past mistakes against us and simply wants to save us by exposing every detail! I realized further the truth: "Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master." (Zhuan Falun)
Master only wants to see our pure mind for true cultivation. All are actually done by Master.
After abstaining from smoking and drinking with Master empowering me, I made great progress in cultivation. I would look inside myself whenever I encountered any issues. My attachments to recognition and fame and personal advantages faded greatly, and I have gradually learned to tolerate others. My supervisor and colleagues appreciate me more and more. My family is in harmony, and my career sails smoothly.
Taking Advantage of Opportunities; Closely Following the Progress of Fa-rectification
Master is creating opportunities for me during my cultivation process to improve and offer sentient beings salvation and also gives me hints through my practitioner wife to remind me. Gradually I learned to cooperate with fellow practitioners. Because we have a common chance, we basically act like this: One sends forth righteous thoughts while the other one "clarifies the truth" and tries to persuade people to do the "three withdrawals" (withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party, the Youth League,and the Young Pioneers). The results are often quite good. With Master's help, my wife and I set up a family-based truth materials production site and download and make materials for truth clarification.
Our attachments initially created troubles with the printer, such as paper jams. We were too eager to succeed; we did things for the sake of doing them and sometimes failed to considered things from the perspective of Dafa. When we became surefooted in our thoughts, the printing quality stabilized and the printer functioned properly to carry out its important mission. I have had several realizations along my cultivation path: the precondition for doing the three things well is to believe in Master and Dafa. The more you believe in Master and Dafa, the better you do the three things. I often asked myself, "How profoundly do I believe in Master and Dafa? How pure am I in my belief?" I cannot help thinking of the story "Fried Dough and Golden Buddha."(1) Master knows the depth of your belief, divine beings know it, and you also know it.
Note:
(1) The story of "Fried Dough and Golden Buddha" goes as follows: A butcher ran into two people who were cultivating Buddhahood. The two said that they were on their way to the West to see the Buddha, and tried to convince the butcher to go with them. The butcher said, "I'm just too filthy and not worthy. But, please, take my sincere heart with you." So the butcher took out his own heart and gave it to them. The two people who were cultivating Buddhahood agreed and took his heart to the West. After they came into the Buddha's presence, the Buddha pointed to a giant pot filled with boiling water and asked them if they dared to jump in. The two were both very hesitant, so they thought: "Maybe it would be best to throw that heart into the pot and see what happens." So they threw the butcher's heart into the pot, and it became a golden Buddha. Seeing this, the two people immediately jumped in. But they became two pieces of fried dough, the reflection of the realm of their inner beings. (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/10/29/41757.html)
Category: Improving Oneself
