(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings Master! Greetings Fellow Practitioners!
My husband and I began studying the Fa in February 2006, and the joy we felt was beyond description. When my husband finished reading Zhuan Falun he said, "This book, Zhuan Falun, is exactly what I've been looking for all my life. Every word and every sentence is the truth!"
The way we got acquainted with the Fa was miraculous. One day in 2006, we unexpectedly ran into a woman named Ms. Xiao. As soon as we started our conversation, she gave us her house number but forgot the street name. The next day we were eager to find her home to visit. But, not knowing the street name, we were not able to find it. It took us four days to find her home. She warmly welcomed us. We felt like old friends from the first minute. I mentioned we would stay in the United States for about three to four years this time and really, wanted to find someone who could teach us Falun Gong and had had no luck thus far. Ms. Xiao told us that she is a Falun Gong practitioner. She taught us the exercises right away and gave us a copy of Zhuan Falun. Thus we entered the door of Dafa.
We have read Zhuan Falun and practicing the exercises daily at home ever since. Before beginning cultivation practice, my husband suffered from lumbar disc stenosis and was prepared to have a surgery in the U.S. Our children and I did not agree, fearing the surgery might not go well. But he suffered miserably with pain and numbness from the waist down and could barely stand for a short time. When he went outside, he would have to bring his handy-seat walker along so that he could sit down and rest after walking a few steps. His suffering caused us great concern.
Ever since my husband obtained the Fa, however, his health has improved daily, and other minor ailments have disappeared. During the 2006 Fa conference in San Francisco he was able to participate in the parade. Compared to six months ago, relying on a handy-seat walker just to take a few steps, now he can walk for hours. It was amazing. We thank Master from the bottom of our hearts for giving us this wonderful Dafa and for leading us toward the way of happiness. Seeing all these changes, we really wish we could go back to China and encourage all of our family and friends to practice Dafa.
Another miraculous thing happened. I was resting on a bench in front of a Chinese supermarket once. On the other end of the bench sat another woman. She greeted me and began to talk to me about how Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted in China. I was very excited and told her that I practice Falun Gong. She wasted no time introducing me to other practitioners who were there with her. Meeting them I felt they were so kind, so warm and affable. I really felt as if I had been reunited with a big, happy family.
Master has told us to do the three things well. Studying the Fa and doing the exercises at home was never a problem for us. But clarifying the truth was hard, since we had no idea what to say to others. We were not very good at interacting with others. Talking to people by phone was even worse. Earlier this year, Amnesty International held a panel discussion at two Denver universities on organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China. I heard we older practitioners had been asked to hand out flyers on the street. I grew quite nervous the night before the event.
The day came for us to distribute flyers. While driving to the location I said to two other older practitioners, "Let's do this together." But soon after we arrived and got out of the car they disappeared in the crowd. My husband went off to park the car, so I just stood there at the intersection, looking silly. I had never felt that way before. As people walked by I could not muster the courage to step forward and hand them a flyer; rather, I just stood there, watching. A fellow practitioner found me after a while and encouraged me, "Go ahead; just go ahead and do it!" So I stepped forward and handed out one flyer. I followed her later everywhere she went. I didn't hand out many flyers that day and felt really bad. I could not manage to do even such a simple thing.
The next day the four of us went to Colorado University at Boulder to distribute flyers. When I saw a young Chinese man I bravely walked forward. However, he would not take my flyer and quickly walked away. I was furious and thought, "Chinese people don't even care about things that have something to do with them." I wanted to catch up with him and teach him a lesson. Luckily he walked fast, or I might have negatively impacted Dafa with my conduct. I realized later on that I should not have negative thoughts like that about another person. Master has taught us to treat others with kindness. How can I clarify the truth well when I am angry?
It snowed pretty hard for the next few days, and the weather turned bitter cold. Yet all the same, an older practitioner and my husband endured the cold snow and tirelessly handed out our materials with smiling faces. The older practitioner told me I could go into the nearby library and stay warm. I did so and went online. But after a while it dawned on me that I had been afraid of the cold, afraid of interacting with strangers, afraid of losing face, afraid of hurting my reputation. Aren't these all attachments of fear? I came to truly see that handing out our materials clarifies the truth; it is part of cultivation. Realizing this, I went back out and handed materials out with the other two.
The day the Amnesty International event took place it snowed even harder. Walking in the snow to where the panel discussion was held took us 45 minutes. It was the first time I had ever attended such an event. I was excited and happy about it. While veteran practitioners were busy doing things all I could do was sit there, watching. Since the language spoken at the event was English I couldn't understand the speakers at all. But I knew they were doing a good deed on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners in China, clarifying the truth. When the event was over, other practitioners offered to give us a ride home. Knowing they had been busy all day long, and they could not get back to Denver until midnight if they gave us a ride we politely refused their offer. We slowly walked home through the deep snow. As it turned out, I did not feel one bit tired from it. Instead, I felt really happy inside. As soon as we got home, a fellow practitioner called to make sure we had arrived home safely. Now that's a cultivation environment.
Later on we heard about the upcoming Los Angeles Fa Conference. We thought about it and figured if waited to go to New York instead we might have an opportunity to see Master there. So, we didn't want to go to L.A. When I examined my true thoughts, however, I discovered that my thinking made me fear hardship. I had been afraid of suffering hardships ever since I was a child--three meals a day, warm rice, hot soup, warm foods, and early to bed. But, when I heard we would have to spend a total of two nights at the airport, I had even less desire to go to L.A.
We eventually did decide to go to L.A. where fellow practitioners took excellent care of us four older practitioners and drove us wherever we went. There was nothing we needed to worry about. We went to the conference and participated in the parade. I can say that in all my life I had never felt so much happiness. Every practitioner I met seemed like an old friend. Whether we knew the other people or not, others always asked the four of us if we needed any help whenever they saw us. I was full of energy during the parade and did not feel tired at all. I ate crackers and drank plain water, and I felt good.
At the conclusion of the conference we arrived at the airport at 6:00 p.m. and had to wait there for a flight leaving the next morning. I sat in a chair in the waiting area and slept soundly. Before I knew it, it was time for our flight. Fellow practitioners noticed that we had not dressed warmly and thoughtfully offered us some of their clothes. When we eventually arrived home we were still excited about the journey. I shared with my daughter how my first Fa conference went. It was wonderful beyond words. So, from now on, as long as we have money, we want to go to every single Fa conference. My daughter told me, "You look so happy! I'll pay for your airfare next time."
The mere thought that soon we could attend the Fa conference in New York and share cultivation experiences with fellow practitioners has made us extremely excited.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, everyone!
