(Clearwisdom.net) I became a Falun Dafa practitioner 1996. Under Teacher's protection, I have made it through many dangerous situations without harm over the past 12 years.
Praying
When I was a young child, I was very weak and often fell ill. My grandpa always worshiped Buddha and offered incense at the temples for me. Soon after, my sicknesses disappeared and I showed my sincere respect to Buddhas and Gods. I often discussed with others whether there was a cultivation way that would free us from birth, old age, illness, and death; help us to eliminate the pain of being alone; and get rid of the desire to obtain. Later, along with my wife, I practiced all kinds of Chinese qigong and also read all kinds of books about Buddhas and Taos and Confucianism. Once, an elderly monk, who claimed that he had seen many living Buddhas, told me, "Very soon in Eastern China a Living Buddha will descend from Heaven to save many people and sentient beings." From then on, my wife and I kept praying and hoping that we could have a chance to be saved by Him.
My dream came true
In May 1996, I was diagnosed with the early stages of cirrhosis, and the doctor in charge said that I needed to be hospitalized for at least three months. At that same time, my wife brought me a copy of Zhuan Falun and some other articles written by Master Li Hongzhi. When I saw the benevolent smiling face of Master Li in the picture in the book, I felt very happy--as though I had seen him before. I eagerly read Zhuan Falun and all the other articles. Master Li has taught,
"One should return to one's original, true self; this is the real purpose of being human." (Zhuan Falun)
"Ours is a genuine cultivation practice of both mind and body." (Zhuan Falun)
"Our cultivation practice is based upon the principles of the universe's evolution, and it is guided by the standard of the universe's highest characteristic, Zhen- Shan-Ren." (Zhuan Falun)
When I was reading these words, I couldn't keep from crying. I thought, "Ah, this is exactly the mighty virtuous Fa that I have been looking for my whole life!" This is what Teacher wrote in the poem "Predestiny Leads Back to Sacred Fruit:"
"Seeking Master for how many years
One day seeing him in person,
Obtaining Fa, cultivating to return,
Reaching Consummation, returning with Master." (Hong Yin)
Eliminating my karma
In May 1996 when I was laying in the hospital getting treatment with injections, my wife read Zhuan Falun to me. I listened to her carefully and felt very comfortable. Very soon I fell asleep. Later, when I awakened, my wife told me, "You suffered from neurasthenia. Right now, Master is adjusting your brain." A few days later, my wife told me that she was going out of town to attend a Falun Dafa class for nine days. I said, "Well, go ahead. Your mission is like the one in the classic Chinese story The Journey to the West that tells about obtaining the scriptures. Please share the teachings with me when you return."
In the following days I diligently studied Zhuan Falun. Not long after, I started having diarrhea with a lot of dark pus several times a day. I knew Teacher was purifying my body. One day while I was reading the book, I suddenly felt severe pain in my belly. The piercing pain caused me to writhe in my bed. The pain was so intense I couldn't bear it, so I said in my heart to Teacher, "Thank you, Teacher, for eliminating karma for me; however I cannot endure the excruciating pain right now. Would you please let the pain go away for now, and I will endure it slowly later on." The pain disappeared little by little. Less than a month after I entered the hospital, my cirrhosis symptoms were gone and I was healthy again. By only reading the Dafa books, my illnesses had disappeared. Dafa is so miraculous!
Eliminating my spirit possession
One day while I was studying the Fa, I suddenly felt that something was moving inside my body and an image of a big snake appeared in my brain. I was so frightened that I shouted out in my heart, "Master, please save me! Please get rid of that big snake for me!" A very loud sound of "Bang!" hit me like thunder and immediately the big snake was broken into pieces. I felt very relaxed and comfortable afterwards. I was moved to tears by the experience and didn't know how to show my immense gratitude to Teacher. Right away I called my sister-in-law, who had obtained the Fa before me and has studied the Fa very well, and told her what happened. She said, "Don't be afraid. Teacher eliminated the spirit possession for you. Since you previously practiced sham qigong and you pursued other things, you may have brought spirit possession upon yourself. In the future, you should follow only Master's teachings, and you'll 'gain without pursuit.'" Later my wife and I burned our many other qigong books.
Believing in Master
Just after I finished burning all the other qigong books, I suddenly felt a bloody taste in my mouth. When I looked in the mirror I saw black blood coming from between my teeth. I was frightened and astonished! Since I hadn't been studying the Fa for very long, I didn't know that this was also a form of my karma being eliminated. Instead I remembered that my doctor had told me that if the liver disease became worse, my teeth would bleed. So I wondered whether my liver disease had come back and was worse, and I wanted to go back to the hospital for an exam. My wife said to me, "Cultivation is a personal affair. Believe it or not, it is up to you, and so going to a hospital or not is also something that you, yourself, decide on." I rushed out of my home and sat down by the side of the road. I thought to myself, "I have practiced Falun Gong for more than a month. As a result, my liver started to function normally again, the spirit that possessed me has also been eliminated, and I felt relaxed and comfortable all over. Aren't all these benefits granted by Dafa? Isn't it Master who has saved my life? There's nothing to be afraid of while Master and the Fa are with me." I returned home and said to my wife, "It's all because my xinxing level was low and my enlightenment quality was poor. The blood coming from my teeth is only a form of karma elimination. I'll be all right." A month later when I returned to the hospital for a check up, my liver was functioning well. After that, I resumed my job.
From this affair, I enlightened to what Master taught:
"Why does a new student who has just begun studying the practice, or a veteran student whose body has been adjusted, experience physical discomfort in his cultivation, as though he were seriously ill? And why does this happen once in a while? I told you in my Fa lectures that this is to eliminate your karma and to improve your enlightenment quality while eliminating the karma from your different previous lives. Besides, this is also to test whether you are determined in following Dafa; this will continue until your cultivation reaches Beyond-Triple-World-Law. This is putting it in general terms." ( "Sickness Karma" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Opening my Celestial Eye
Knowing that my wife was coming back from the Falun Dafa class after nine days, I sent a car to pick her up. It was raining that morning, but as soon as she returned, the sun shone brightly and the air was very fresh. To my surprise, she brought with her many of Master's pictures, a copy of Zhuan Falun, and other Dafa materials. This was a happy day for my whole family and also for the good fortune of the people in my hometown. With my wife, I hung all of the pictures on the walls of my bedrooms and living room. The pictures included one of Master, a big one of "Lunyu," the Falun emblem, and the five exercises. Later that day, my wife and I watched the videotapes of Master giving the Fa Lectures and the videotapes and audiotapes of the five exercises. My wife taught me how to do the exercises according to the videotapes of the five exercises taught by Master Himself.
One morning as I was doing exercise two, Holding the Law Wheel, with my eyes closed, I suddenly saw shadows in neat rows on the opposite wall. In the center of each of those one-meter-squared shadows was the big Chinese character "Fu," meaning fortune. Every "Fu" character emitted shining golden light. Suddenly, all of the "Fu" characters gathered together like a shining golden belt and flew into the big picture of Lunyu on the wall, then disappeared. I immediately realized that Master had opened my Celestial Eye for me and what I had seen told me that I was very fortunate to cultivate Dafa. Master showed me that I should cultivate myself in Falun Dafa diligently and steadfastly and progress step by step so that I could eliminate all the attachments of ordinary people without any omissions, and only then could I reach the Consummation of my cultivation.
Studying the Fa
After I became a practitioner I always regarded studying the Fa as my priority in my everyday life. As a result, besides my regular job, I spent all of my spare time reading Zhuan Falun and studying the Fa. Basically I read Zhuan Falun every day. Since Master has taught us in "Teaching the Fa at the Founding Ceremony of the Singaporean Falun Dafa Association,"
"Also, I wanted to tell you all that I have infused the mighty power of the Buddha Fa and my various abilities into the book, into this Fa."
I also spent my time repeatedly studying all of the Dafa articles written by Master and all the Fa lectures given by Master. I not only studied the Fa by myself, but I also attended all the study groups in town and out of town so that I could study the Fa with my fellow practitioners. I also found time to study the Fa with my family members, who cultivated themselves better than what I had done, and we shared cultivation experiences and improved ourselves holistically. I tried my best to recite poems from "Hong Yin" and other articles written by Master. I tried my best to have my every thought conform to the Fa, respect the Fa as Master, and rectify each and every single thought, action and behavior of mine in accord with the requirements of Dafa. In my daily life, I tried hard not to watch TV or play poker and to pay close attention to cultivating my speech.
Practicing the exercises
One night my wife woke up and tried to wake me up so that we could meditate together, but I was so lazy at the time that I didn't move. Suddenly I got cramps in both of my legs, and they were extremely painful. I realized that this was Master calling me to wake up, so I quickly got up and meditated. Then, my leg cramps stopped. Another time when my wife was practicing the exercises while I remained in bed, I felt a sudden piercing pain in both of my ears. I shouted, "I'm coming!" My ears stopped aching as soon as I did the exercises. Ah, I thought that Master must notice that I was so lazy and not diligent enough, so He used my ears to awaken me. I knew that my xinxing was poor at that time. I was so lazy that my wife had to push me to practice the exercises. Otherwise, I would keep sleeping. The demon of sleep always interfered with my sitting meditations. I became enlightened by my experiences that I should improve my xinxing, let go of all kinds of human attachments, practice the exercises diligently and temper myself physically and mentally in order to reach Consummation. I subsequently began rectifying my attitude and doing the exercises with other practitioners in a group. I have been getting up as early as 3:50 a.m. every morning to do the exercises globally with Falun Gong practitioners. During the global practice, I feel that the energy field is very powerful. I am very relaxed and benefit a lot. Before, I had suffered from heart disease, hepatitis, inflamed kidneys, a protruding lumbar vertebra, and inflamed and bleeding tissue between the toes of my itchy feet. However, all of my diseases have been gone for 12 years, ever since I started practicing Falun Gong. I am an old man in my 70s, but people who meet me claim that I look younger than my actual age. I am energetic and I always hold my neck and back straight so that I have a positive appearance.
Cultivating my heart
On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong. In order to seek justice for Master, Falun Dafa, and Dafa disciples, as well as to help create an open and free environment to cultivate Falun Gong, my fellow practitioners and I went to the local government and the government in Beijing to peacefully appeal for Falun Dafa. As a result, several times we were illegally arrested and detained and tortured in the detention center and the brainwashing center by CCP agents of the 610 Office and policemen. Since I hadn't studied the Fa very profoundly or thoroughly and also had an attachment of fear, I said some untruthful things and did something against my better judgment. This made me feel so regretful that I couldn't forgive myself. One night when I was doing the sitting meditation at home, I suddenly saw a scene with my Celestial Eye. It was in the detention center, and two policemen were staring at the guarantee statement I had written. I became enlightened that this was a hint from Master to tell me that writing that guarantee statement was totally wrong. I immediately, wrote an open letter to my supervisors in my workplace to nullify the guarantee statement. As a result, officials from the Department of Organization and Discipline at my job had conversations with me to try to persuade me to take back my declaration and to write an open letter to apologize for my behavior and to guarantee that I would no longer practice Falun Gong. I calmly refused to comply with their requests. I said, "I won't do what you are telling me to do since in our workplace, three officials have died, two of them from hepatitis. However, since practicing Falun Gong, I have eliminated all the diseases I had, including hepatitis. I have benefited a lot physically and mentally from practicing Falun Gong and have also improved my moral standard. It is Falun Dafa that saved my life. My Master is coming to save sentient beings. 'Once one has become your teacher, you should respect him as a father all through your life.' I will steadfastly cultivate myself in Falun Dafa and never give it up. What has been said about Falun Gong by the media is all slander and sham. Don't believe it." Seeing that I spoke so reasonably and firmly, the officials shook hands with me and said to me, "Go home and have a good rest, and take care yourself."
During the summer of 2000, more than 20 practitioners, including me, held the first Fa Conference since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999. We hadn't seen each other for a long time, so we were very glad to be together. We shared cultivation experiences and encouraged each other to cultivate in Dafa steadfastly to reach Consummation. Not long after that, someone secretly reported us. As a result, I was unfortunately arrested and "illegally detained" in a detention center. I was forced to do hard labor there for a month. After I was released, I was closely monitored. Once again, I refused to write the guarantee statement. Seven days later, they gave up and let me go home.
One day this spring I was riding my bicycle in the rain. All of a sudden, a motorcycle hit me. I flew through the air and landed on the ground. At that moment, I couldn't breath, but I reminded myself that I was a Falun Gong practitioner and that I was going to be all right. I got up and walked several steps. I said to the motorcycle riders, "You guys can go now, I'll be okay." When I got home, I saw that my bicycle had been mangled, my clothes had been torn off, and my left leg was bleeding and inflamed. I was in pain all over. In the following several days, I kept practicing exercises and I recovered very soon. I realized that no matter what happens to a cultivator, it must be a good thing, and as long as we regard the Fa as Master, rectify our actions according to righteous thoughts and let go of the attachment of fear, there will be miracles waiting for us.
Clarifying the truth
I clarified the truth about Falun Gong to everyone I met and on all occasions to save as many as sentient beings as possible according to Master's teachings.
In the detention center, the lead inmates--known as the "enforcers"--always liked to bully other inmates. If they found out that you were not obedient, they would beat you. As soon as I entered the cell door, a lead inmate, who was bearing cuffs on his hands and legs, shouted at me, "What did they send you here for?" I answered, "Only because I practice Falun Gong." He asked again, "So are people here good people or bad guys?" I said, "The people in here may not really be bad, while the people outside may not really be good." Another guy praised me loudly, "Yeah, what he said is correct." And he continued asking me, "So, what do you say, am I good or bad guy?" I answered him in all seriousness, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is the sole criterion to distinguish good from evil. If you follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, you are a good person. If you didn't behave well before, you can behave according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance later. Then you will be a good person." When he asked me what I did I said, "I'm an official in my work place." He said, "Very good!"
In the following days, I clarified the truth about Falun Gong to them by explaining what Falun Gong is, how the evil CCP slandered Falun Gong, how we benefit both physically and mentally from practicing Falun Gong, and that if we always repeat silently in our hearts "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good," then we'll be rewarded with good things. They all listened and accepted what I had to say. Later, they realizezd the injustice done to me and said, "You guys are really good people. They put you in prison, and Heaven and Earth won't allow it! If I had practiced Falun Gong before, I wouldn't have been a criminal now." Several people even told me that they were going to practice Falun Gong after they were released. They also helped me to finish my assigned labor. And even the lead inmate treated me differently from other inmates, saying that only Falun Gong people dared to speak truthfully.
When I visited my family members who had been illegally detained in the forced labor camp, I met with the policemen from my hometown and clarified the truth about Falun Gong to them. At the very beginning, they were quite frightened. Once they understood the truth they said to me, "Please don't worry about your family members. We'll treat them well. If you feel good enough to practice Falun Gong, you stay at home and practice well." Later, when they learned more detailed information about Falun Gong, they didn't want to hurt good people who practice Falun Gong, so they applied to be relocated from the special teams, which were specially built up and designed to persecute Falun Gong practitioners.
My wife and I also clarified the truth among our neighbors. Most of them treated us quite well. On one occasion, more than a dozen policemen surrounded my home, and several of them held me, pushed me into a police wagon, and took me to a brainwashing center. At that time, one of my family members was also detained in a forced labor camp because he distributed truth-clarifying materials. When I visited him, I recognized that his "personal monitor" was our neighbor, so I clarified the truth about Falun Gong to that "personal monitor" and asked him to recite "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good" in his heart so that he would have good rewards. When I returned home from the brainwashing center later, more than a dozen of my neighbors, including that "personal monitor," stood out on the pavement together looking at me very kindly. One of them said to me, "Since you know that Falun Gong is good, you should stay at home and practice." Another one said, "Anything you need help with, just call me." I knew that our neighbors had learned the truth and they all sent forth their kind thoughts.
Persuading people to quit the CCP and its youth organizations
I began to persuade people, including my relatives, to quit the CCP and its youth organizations. All of my brothers had seen the truth-clarification materials and they all agreed to quit as soon as I asked them. My younger sister knew that Falun Dafa was good, but she was afraid of quitting, and thought that persuading people to quit the CCP involved political issues. Thus, she refused to listen to me. During the summer, I lived with her at her home, and for one night I continually sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors behind her. The following morning, when I discussed the issue again with her, she agreed to quit. In a similar manner I persuaded other family members to quit the CCP, one after the other, and eventually more than 60 people from my entire large family has quit the CCP and its related organizations.
A childhood neighbor had been a leader in the local CCP government. He was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. When my wife and I clarified the truth about Falun Gong to him, he accepted it and also condemned the CCP. When we clarified the truth to him further and asked him to quit the CCP in order to ensure a good future, he was very agreeable and agreed to quit.
A previous leader of mine had been a lieutenant colonel in a CCP regiment. When I clarified the truth to him, I mentioned topics ranging from the naturally formed stone exhibiting six Chinese characters stating "The Chinese Communist Party Dies" in Pingtang, Guizhou, to the Book of Revelation from the New Testament of the Bible. And I also told him that Heaven is eliminating the evil CCP and that only by withdrawing from it could he truly be saved." He later gladly agreed to quit.
When my wife and I clarified the truth to an older couple who were both teachers, they asked us many questions, and we provided them with reasonable answers. As a result, they not only agreed to quit the CCP themselves, but they also gave us a list with 12 people's names on it, and told us that they were going to persuade their children to quit the CCP, and they promised us they could successfully do this. Again, we taught them to always recite in their hearts, "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance is good" so that they would get good rewards. They agreed and thanked us many times.
This summer, I met one of my cousins when I was walking down the road. The following day, my wife and I visited her at her home. Two of my cousins happened to be home at the time, so my wife and I told them about the emerging situation today that Heaven is eliminating the evil CCP, and that only by quitting can people be truly saved. They agreed to quit right away. The younger cousin told me, "The husband of one of my colleagues was the chief of police and he was ordered to persecute Falun Gong. But he lost his job several years ago. I think this it is karmic retribution."
One of my previous classmates had been a major leader in a CCP governmental department at the provincial level. When my wife and I were persecuted several years ago, he went back to my hometown specifically to visit us. At that time, I clarified the truth about Falun Gong to him. This spring, I suddenly ran into him again outside a park. I knew that he was a predestined person pushed in front of my eyes by Master, so again I told him about the current situation of Falun Gong and the reasons why he should quit the CCP. After he learned the truth, he gladly agreed to quit. He also kindly and repeatedly warned me, "Please be cautious, because the CCP is very evil!"
The most difficult task for us was to persuade my older father to quit. A former CCP agent, he had been retired for a while. In 1996, when we began to cultivate in Dafa, we had already shared the practice with him, hoping that he could also obtain the Fa. But he refused to accept Dafa and thought that it was superstition. One time we talked a great deal about Dafa, but he even refused to listen to us, insulted us, and even wanted to drive us away from his home. Later, when he was sick, we secretly took the CCP books, photos, and materials away from him and got rid of them. Meanwhile, we often sent forth righteous thoughts for him and eliminated a lot of the evil factors behind him. We repeatedly clarified the truth about Falun Gong to him, telling him that our Master is coming to save people, and that after cultivating in Dafa, we both improved our moral standards and regained our health. After hearing these solid benefits, he finally believed that Falun Dafa was good. Later, after the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published, we kept revealing the evil crimes that the CCP has committed against the Chinese people, that it has killed more than 80 million Chinese civilians, and that it continues to fight, kill, and tell endless lies. Finally, one day in front of our brothers, my father shouted, "Please help me quit the CCP. The evil CCP is a group of thugs and killers!" My old father was finally saved!
Becoming steadfast
All ancient things have come for the Fa, and I am so fortunate to have obtained the Fa. I have felt Master's immense kindness and caring for each practitioner. Master plucked us from hell, cleansed us from the most microscopic level, installed the brilliantly golden Falun in our bodies, and did many splendid things that are beyond human understanding. It is Master who saved my life and has taught me the true meaning of my life--to return to my true self. Assisting Master in saving sentient beings during the Fa-rectification period is each Dafa disciple's holy mission. After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, however, I hadn't studied the Fa profoundly and had human attachments of fear, and thus I strayed from my cultivation path. I felt so deeply regretful inside my heart. But with Master's immense care and protection I am again walking steadfastly on my cultivation path through all the storms and dangers. I must follow the progress of Fa-rectification closely, do the three things well, firmly believe in Master and the Fa, steadfastly cultivate myself in Dafa, and fulfill my predestined missions.
October 10, 2008
