(Clearwisdom.net)
Learning Falun Dafa in My Seventies
I am nearly 80 years old. I began to learn Falun Dafa in 1996.
I was an orphan and was raised by many different families. I was a lay Buddhist for a while. Since there were personal conflicts in the group and it became quite chaotic and messy, I found that I could no longer stay there, so I came back home. I attended various qigong classes, but no matter what I learned I could tell that they were all pursuing fame, gain and emotion. My xinxing had not improved at all and my health suffered. I had all kinds of illnesses.
In 1996, a Falun Dafa practice site was set up near my home, so I went there and began to learn the exercises. On the first day, my celestial eye opened and I saw some fan-like things spinning around an elderly practitioner. I learned from the practice site assistant that they were Falun that were adjusting the practitioner's body. It was really miraculous. Therefore, I persisted in practicing the exercises, as well as listening to and watching Teacher's lecture videos every day. I realized that the true purpose of our life is to return to the original true self.
I found what I had been searching for all my life. I learned this great law of the universe when I was over 70 years old. How lucky I was! In fact, this opportunity does not come along in one thousand years or ten thousand years.
I felt the rotation of Falun not long after I began practicing the exercises. I felt it at my lower abdomen and then all over my body. Teacher was adjusting my body. Within a brief period of time all my illnesses disappeared. It was really a miracle. No human language is able to describe Teacher's grand benevolence and mighty virtue.
At the time, our practice site was a bit too small and we could not study the Fa there properly, so I cleaned out two rooms at my house for the group exercises and Fa study. The majority of the practitioners in our area were elderly. After a period of study and practice, we all had experienced remarkable changes both mentally and physically. We upgraded our levels through Fa study and our xinxing levels also improved. I bought a cassette recorder and joined others to introduce the practice to the families around our local area so that more and more predestined people could have the opportunity to learn the exercises.
Through Fa study and doing well the three things that Teacher asked us to do, my xinxing has been upgraded and my compassion has also grown. In the past when I saw bad guys doing bad things, I would instantly have bad and uncompassionate thoughts or expressions. After studying Fa, whenever I met people like that again, I did not have any thoughts of hatred, but would only feel pity for them since they have been poisoned by the Chinese Communist Party the most. As a matter of fact, I would be even more compassionate and clarify the facts to them and persuade them to quit the CCP and its subordinate organizations so that they can be saved by Teacher and become new lives in the new universe. At the same time, I have let go of my competitive mentality, the mentality of showing off and various other mentalities one by one. My forbearance and forgiveness have been growing strong and I found it is easier for me to find my own attachments. As a result I became increasingly pure and benevolent. All this has been bestowed upon me by Teacher's infinite grace and Dafa.
A Falun Dafa Practitioner Must Validate the Fa
At the time when the practitioners were improving themselves in Falun Dafa cultivation and people were being taught to be kindhearted, thus improving moral standards in society, the political scoundrel gang headed by Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan, together with the CCP, began to ruthlessly persecute Falun Dafa, each using the other for its own ends.
At the time when Teacher was wronged, Falun Dafa was victimized and practitioners were arrested, detained, sentenced or inhumanly tortured; we, as practitioners who had benefited from Falun Dafa in so many ways, took the initiative to go to the provincial government and city government to validate the Fa and clarify the facts. We wanted to say from the bottom of our hearts, "Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance are the highest virtues of the great law of the universe!" As a result, the authorities mobilized police to lock us up in a big room and sent us back to our neighborhoods the following day. The Party secretary of our neighborhood committee asked, "Falun Gong has been determined to be [slanderous term omitted]. Therefore, you cannot practice it any more!" Then he asked, "Who led you to go there (to the government building)? Who is your leader?" I cut in instantly, "I led them there, and I am fully responsible for it." He asked me, "Do you dare to sign your name?" I said, "Yes." Then I signed my name. Facing the danger of illegal arrest and detention by the CCP, I had no fear at all but was concerned only for the safety of Teacher, Dafa and my fellow practitioners. Thereafter, the lawless officials forced us to watch video programs that slandered Falun Dafa. I called on the other practitioners, "Let's go. We should not watch this. They [the persecutors] are the ones who belong to an evil cult." This call "let's go" was really righteous and it shook heaven and earth and frightened the evildoers. As a result, I walked out of the police station righteously and nobly.
Since then, the lawless officials from the neighborhood and the police station often came to my home to interfere with my Fa study and practicing the exercises. I treated myself as a practitioner and held myself to high standards, and did "...not hit back when attacked, not talk back when insulted." (Zhuan Falun) Instead, I told them kindheartedly that Falun Dafa is good and Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa. I cited examples to show to them the health improvement of the elderly practitioners after having learned to practice Falun Dafa exercises, and I did not cooperate with them. They thought that I was an assistant, but actually when I said that I was a leader, I only did so to protect fellow practitioners.
One day a lot of people from the district Party committee and the local police station came to see me. However, they failed to find me. What was amazing was that when they came from the east I would be heading to the west and vice versa. The Party Secretary of the district Party committee told the head of the neighborhood committee angrily, "You must keep an eye on her! Whenever she wants to go out, she must go to the police station to ask for leave." My neighbors who were looking on said, "This is ridiculous. She did not do any thing bad. She is known as a good person. Why do you treat her like this?" Even the children present defended me. Only then did they leave.
In response to the horrible propaganda campaign against Falun Gong during the height of the persecution, many practitioners and I went to Beijing to validate the Fa. On Tiananmen Square, I told everyone that I came across that Falun Dafa is good and it's the righteous Fa. I also told them about how I benefited from learning this wonderful exercise and exposed the criminal conduct of the policemen. The policemen stopped me and searched my bag. I said to them, "What are you searching for? You should do good deeds instead of persecuting good people." One day I met three or four policemen. I told them calmly and kindly that Falun Dafa is wonderful. One of them shouted at me, "I'm warning you, old lady!" I said to him, "Child, isn't your mom an old lady too?" They kept silent. I then left Tiananmen Square and safely returned home under the compassionate care of Teacher.
At the beginning of 2004 many practitioners came to my home to study the Fa and share experiences. Someone reported us to the neighborhood committee. On the following day, someone was knocking on the door, saying that he was collecting the charges for water. When I opened the door there were three of them, including the Party secretary of the neighborhood committee. They said, "We are here to see you." I told them there was no need. They asked me not to be afraid. I said, "I have nothing to fear." At that time, they opened one of my bags and found some truth-clarification materials and two copies of Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. They asked, "Where did you get these? You have to tell us honestly or we will take you with us." I had no fear at all and said to them with compassion, "You can take these materials and the Nine Commentaries back with you and read them carefully. Don't do bad deeds and choose a good future for yourselves." They left in a hurry. I sent forth the righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors behind them. At around 2 p.m. many more people came and knocked on the door. I sent forth the righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors. I did not open the door since I did not want to cooperate with them. Thereafter, they stopped coming.
My Family Members Awakened to the Truth
I suffered more trouble after returning from Beijing. The neighborhood committee and the police listed me as one of their key figures for supervision. One day they asked me to go to the police station, saying that I was the third most important key figure. I said that I would not go. Then they called in the head of the police station. He said, "Can we talk?" I told him, "There is nothing to talk about. I am a good person and I have my right of freedom of belief. You should not deliberately violate the law." I did not cooperate with them. Then the head of the police station softened his attitude and said, "If you want to practice, just do it at home and do not go out."
Because of the interference and persecution from the neighborhood committee and the police station, my family members were very worried about me. My eldest daughter watched me every day and did not let me go out and contact other practitioners. I repeatedly clarified the facts to my sons and daughters and told them that Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa. I asked them not to believe what the TV programs said. I said the CCP had never fulfilled its promises to the people. The CCP lies constantly. The evil nature of the CCP is "deceit, evil, strife."
My eldest son is a government official. When he went to Hong Kong and Macao for a tour he saw a lot of truth-clarification materials including the Nine Commentaries. After returning home he told me, "What you have said is true." I said, "Since you've learned the truth, then you must withdraw from the Party and its subordinate organizations." My three sons all quit the Party and my daughters and sons-in-law all withdrew from the Youth League and the Young Pioneers. Therefore, all of my family members have quit the CCP and its subordinate organizations. They have all have chosen a beautiful future. I felt happy for them to have learned the truth and am grateful to Teacher for rectifying all of my family members.
Clarifying the Truth to Predestined People
Though I was neither an assistant nor a leader, I took over the responsibility of picking up and distributing the truth-clarification materials. I am over 70 years old, but I still managed to deliver Teacher's new lectures and recent articles to fellow practitioners and distribute truth-clarification materials to predestined people, no matter whether it was during the scorching hot summer or biting cold winter. My righteous thoughts are getting ever stronger, and I also have some supernormal powers. I often pass by the policemen with bags of truth-clarification materials, however, I have no fear at all. Therefore, I have never encountered any problem. I was able to get them to leave or get them to read the truth-clarification materials with my strong righteous thoughts.
Sometimes when I went to get the truth-clarification materials, I needed to get a taxi which was very expensive. I set very high requirements for myself and covered all the expenses by myself. I have never touched a penny that was donated by fellow practitioners. Many retired employees have a very low income and their sons and daughters are all unemployed, however, they saved on food and clothing and used the money they saved for printing truth-clarification materials. I deeply respected their sacrifices and so I would not use that money for anything but the production of the materials.
One day when I went to the countryside to hand out truth-clarification materials, I was spotted by a man while I was entering a courtyard. He asked me what it was that I was handing out. I did not say anything. He then said that I could not go before I gave him an explanation. At the time, I had a lot of truth-clarification materials with me, so I said in a very loud voice, "You will know after you read it carefully." He said he would read it. I left while he was reading the materials. I returned home safe and sound after handing out all the materials thanks to Master's protection.
One day I went to the city to hand out the truth-clarification materials. Just as I put the materials into a mailbox and was about to go upstairs to put up some posters, I saw a middle-aged woman take out the truth-clarification materials from the mailbox. She asked, "Why are you doing this? Don't be used by other people." I told her that at my age I knew how to distinguish good from bad. I told her that I am a good person and asked her to make a choice with a clear mind. While sending forth righteous thoughts, I went to other places to continue to hand out truth-clarification materials.
During these years of practicing cultivation, I felt that Teacher has been right beside me the whole time. He looks after me, protects me and gives me hints to guide me. Therefore on the path of assisting Teacher to rectify the Fa, I have done what I must do openly and righteously. There were alarming situations, but I was not in danger. I must constantly look inward, be more diligent and do well the three things Teacher asked us to do. In other words, I should intensify my Fa study and exercise practice, eliminate the evil forces with righteous thoughts and save sentient beings so as to honor the grand vows I made before history. I am fully aware that all of my abilities to do these things were given by Teacher and Falun Dafa. I will strive to overcome my shortcomings and do better in the days to come.
