(Clearwisdom.net) In March 2001, I was sent by my employer to work at the "Transformation Center" where Falun Gong practitioners were brainwashed. At the time, my knowledge of Falun Gong came from the fabricated "self-immolation incident" and the two books distributed by the 610 Office that criticized Falun Gong. Shortly after the "transformation" class began, 12 practitioners started to transform me. They told me about the benefits of practicing Falun Gong and how it can improve one's health. They also recited Zhuan Falun and Lunyu for me.
I asked them to get me a copy of Zhuan Falun. After reading it, I finally understood that CCTV's report about the "self-immolation incident" was the opposite of the teachings of Falun Gong. I could not find anything in Zhuan Falun that encouraged people to do something like the "self-immolation incident." From then on, I could not put Zhuan Falun down.
After the brainwashing session ended, I began to secretly practice the exercises the practitioners had taught me. Something unusual happened when I practiced the second exercise. I felt something turning inside my belly. The turning went on for a while, from strong to weak, and it finally stopped. I was so excited: Teacher gave me a Falun!
One afternoon at work, I crossed my legs to do the sitting mediation for the first time. I sat on the bed in the office and tried to place my legs in the lotus position. Without reciting the verses, I was able to pull both legs up. And as soon as my right leg was in place, a mysterious image appeared. I saw an ancient building. A celestial maiden sat on the left corner of the building in the lotus position. Her upper body was very straight and she was sitting in meditation. I knew that Teacher was trying to enlighten me and give me confidence in Falun Dafa.
I had a bad thought about the style in which Zhuan Falun was written. The book was not written in the modern Chinese language. Although Teacher mentioned the reason for not using the structure of modern language at the end of Zhuan Falun, I still thought that certain sentences should be written this way or that way. And I could not rid myself of that thought for a long time. Was this because of the bad habits I had learned at work? Was this my mentality of showing off? Or was this demonic influence? I think it was all of the above. After reading Teacher's articles I was able to eliminate all the demonic influence. In "Using at Will" dated June 28, 2000, Teacher said,
"Human culture is given to humans by Gods, but the modern Chinese language has been altered by modern humans' warped thinking, with its denunciation of theism and with its political concepts. The Fa will bring to humankind everything new and righteous, and it will not be affected by anything that is old, crooked, or warped." (Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I was certainly influenced by the old, crooked, and warped.
Due to the persecution initiated by Jiang and his group, our society became a dangerous environment for sentient beings. One of the many obstructions I faced on my cultivation path came from my wife's interference. Because of the rumors, defamations, and slanderous remarks fabricated by the media, Falun Gong became a derogatory term. As soon as I picked up Zhuan Falun to read, my wife became very angry and scolded me. This created a lot of tension in my family. I was always nervous and could only study the Fa when she was not around. I had to hide my Falun Dafa books in different locations. One time, my wife destroyed all my Dafa books while I was not at home. If I had not been practicing Falun Gong, I would have had a big fight with her.
In March 2002, a policeman in charge of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners phoned me. They found out that more than ten practitioners, including myself, had watched a "truth-clarification" DVD. At the time, I did not know what to do. I had been secretly reading Zhuan Falun at home for less than a year and still had a lot of human thoughts. I had just started a new position at work and was afraid to cause any trouble, so I asked around for favors and leniency. Finally, the disciplinary inspection committee issued me a warning. Strangely enough, after I received the warning, I was not afraid anymore. I even dared to tell others that I was punished because I practiced Falun Gong.
After that, the situation at home became worse. My wife hated me even more and destroyed another copy of Zhuan Falun. Thus, to keep studying the Fa and practicing the exercises, I had to do it in secret. One time, a miracle happened while dealing with my wife's interference.
Late one evening in early Spring 2003, I quietly sat on the rug to meditate after my wife fell asleep. But she woke up as soon as I crossed my legs. She screamed and yelled and tried to stop me from practicing. And I kept leaning forward and backward as she tried to pull and shove me around. I gathered enough strength and sat with my legs crossed. She did not know what to do, so she pushed me onto the floor away from the rug. I slid onto the floor and continued to practice. Although it was early spring, the weather was still cold. We still had to light the fire to keep the room warm and the tile floor was very cold. When my wife saw that I was still in the sitting position, she became even angrier. She picked up a bamboo brush and hit me on the head. At that moment I heard a "ka-tsa" sound and suddenly saw a thin layer of bright shiny blue light around my entire body. I felt very comfortable in a cool and calm way. I lost count after my wife hit me 12 times, I just felt comfortable. She did not know what to do, continued to mumble angrily, and went back to sleep. The strange thing was that, when she hit me on the head with the hard bamboo stick with such force, I did not feel any pain nor did I have any bumps. It was not until I read "When disciples have ample righteous thoughts, Master has the power to turn back the tide." (Hong Yin II, translation version A) that I enlightened to this Fa truth. Since that incident, my cultivation environment at home improved and my wife was not as harsh as she used to be.
I live in a remote town with a small population and an underdeveloped economy. After I learned Falun Gong, I discovered that there were less than one hundred practitioners in our area. At the time, none of the practitioners had a computer, so we could not obtain any information. Some practitioners risked their lives and brought Dafa materials from other cities. Many practitioners did not have a good understanding of Teacher's latest articles, so the old forces took advantage of the loophole when they validated the Fa and clarified the truth. Every time they did something, they were caught, and once they were caught, they could not withstand the pressure. As a result, I only read Zhuan Falun and not the new articles. For years, my hand was slanted every time I sent righteous thoughts, and I could only cross my legs in the lotus position for less than five minutes. So I decided to stop sending righteous thoughts and stayed home and read Zhuan Falun, and thought it was safer that way. This situation lasted about two years.
In Spring 2005, I read Teacher's new article,"My Version of a Stick Wake-Up," and broke out in a cold sweat. Teacher said:
"By contrast, when it comes to those who hide in their homes and 'study the Fa,' no matter the excuse, it's actually due to the attachments they can't let go of."
"Cultivation is the process that enables a human being to ascend to heaven and become a god, so how could it not be hard? The Buddhist religion used to talk about 'stick wake-ups,' so let me give my version of a stick wake-up to those who don't measure up and have put themselves on the brink of danger."
Since then, I have read the new articles and then began to print and distribute the new articles and other truth clarification-materials.
We established a Dafa materials production site. I constantly try to meet the requirements of a Falun Dafa practitioner and treat everyone and everything with righteous thoughts. Every day, I help practitioners with truth-clarification materials, am diligent in practicing the exercises and studying the Fa, and send righteous thoughts on time, four times a day. When I run errands, I bring truth-clarification materials with me and distribute them and clarify the truth to people.
Because of my steadfast thought to cultivate in Falun Dafa and my continuous efforts in sending righteous thoughts to eliminate and disintegrate the old forces and the rotten evils, the tension at home has gradually lessened and eased up. Now my wife does not interfere with my practice and totally supports my truth-clarification work. She often reads the truth-clarification material and wears a Dafa amulet(1) all the time. She is even reading Zhuan Falun now. Today, after she read "423 Awakened Non-Practitioners' Solemn Statements" on "Minghui Weekly," September 7, 2007, she wrote a message to express her remorse for her wrongdoing and announced it on Minghui.net [the Chinese version of Clearwisdom].
In conclusion, everything is progressing well because of Teacher's merciful protection!
I began the practice fairly late, let Teacher down, and was awakened by Teacher's "stick wake-up." My firm belief in practicing Falun Dafa is unmoved.
Note:
(1) Amulet - In China, practitioners sometimes clarify the truth by giving people something small to wear or cherish, bearing a few words reminding them of the goodness of Dafa.
