(Clearwisdom.net) Looking back on my 12 years of cultivation, I know clearly that Master has painstakingly arranged for me to cultivate in this lifetime after I established a predestined relationship in my numerous previous lives. With Master's help, every step forward is possible, just as it is impossible without his help and support.
Prior to cultivation I wanted to enjoy life as much as possible. I felt puzzled at times, though, wondering if there was more to life. I subscribed to the Beijing Evening News in 1994, a paper published in Beijing, about 130 miles distance from the city where I lived. As I read this paper one day I noticed that a book called Zhuan Falun was the number one bestseller. Just reading the title Zhuan Falun started me, and I thought I must also read this book that so many people had been drawn to.
Miraculous Experiences at the Beginning of My Cultivation
My wife fell critically ill in 1997. We looked everywhere for well-known doctors and qigong masters and spent a fortune seeking care for her, to no avail. Later, at a relative's recommendation my wife took up Falun Gong practice. Three days into her cultivation, she was able to get out of bed; one week later she could do housework. One month later she rode her bike to places six to seven miles away to promote the Fa. Her recovery made a deep impression on me. My wife's experiences also enabled predestined people in our area to obtain the Fa.
I often went to the south on business trips. Whenever I got a break I tried to meditate but wasn't able to cross my legs on top of each other. One day I was frightened to see I had bloody stool with pus. When my wife called me I told her about it, and she asked, "Are you practicing the exercises? If so, Master is purifying your body!"
While I was still on a business trip in a southwestern city, I heard that a Falun Gong conference would be held in Shandong Province, and practitioners from all over the country would come and share experiences with those veteran practitioners who were fortunate to have attended Master's Fa lectures in person. I immediately bought a ticket to Shandong, thousands of miles away from the city where I was staying. When I arrived in the early morning, I saw a group of people doing the second exercise. Tears came to my eyes--it was as if I had found family members I hadn't seen for a long time. I quickly tossed my luggage aside and joined everyone in the exercises.
Many practitioners commented during the conference that they personally experienced things that Master wrote about in the book, such as the third eye, remote vision, the ability of knowing one's fate, magnificent scenes in other dimensions, and Master's Fashen. Witnessing the veteran practitioners' joy since obtaining the Fa, I was envious that they had been able to attend Master's lectures and see Master in person. Their words and actions made me truly feel there was indeed such a pure land on Earth where everyone follows Master's teachings:
"From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism." ("Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature," Essentials for Further Advancement)
It was in the depths of winter. About 70 practitioners ate cold Chinese buns with pickled vegetables. At night we slept on the cold concrete floor.
Two incidents have inspired me to remain diligent on my cultivation path. One day I went to another practitioner's home and saw on the wall photos of Master in a sweater, sitting on a table and making big hand gestures. I wanted to videotape the photos so I could show them to my wife when I got home. When I focused my camcorder on the photos, a shocking thing happened. What appeared in the viewfinder was Master in a suit with beams of light radiating and shining everywhere. I was so stunned that I was speechless. When I pressed the button to capture what I saw, nothing was there. When I stopped the camcorder the same scene appeared again. The wonderful scene appeared and disappeared several times. Then I came to realize that Master was giving me a hint not to make video clips of the photos. I immediately called my wife, saying, "Do well in cultivation. Everything [said in the book] is true."
At the end of the experience sharing conference, practitioners rented several vans. When I got in one of the vans, applause and excited shouts suddenly broke out. Many practitioners pressed their hands together and said, "Master's Fashen is here. There's also a dragon." I couldn't see anything and felt anxious. Then a few practitioners pointed to the front of the van and said, "Look, big Falun!" This time I saw a giant light halo, about the height of a two-story-building, leading the way for the van. Everyone was so excited. We recited Lunyu together.
I will never forget this joy felt from the bottom of our hearts at being able to obtain the Fa.
I kept removing the bad habits I had developed prior to my cultivation. Not long after, local practitioners recommended that I be the local assistant and promote the Fa with everyone else.
Going to Beijing to Appeal for Falun Gong
On April 25, 1999, 60 practitioners and I rented cars to ride to the train station. We planned to go to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice. Local government agents intercepted us at the station and took us to the government courtyard. They interrogated me, claiming I had organized the whole thing. I told them that we didn't have any organization and that everything we did was voluntary. We wanted to go to Beijing just because we hoped to tell people the wonders of Dafa. I maintained strong righteous thoughts during the interrogation--I only wanted to safeguard the Fa. My strong righteous thoughts disintegrated the evil factors in other dimensions. Our captors released us the next day. We went home. The police department chief had prepared a signed detention warrant for me, but it turned out to be nothing when confronted with Dafa disciples' righteous thoughts.
I truly understood what Master said in Zhuan Falun,
"If anyone can harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe."
We got word on July 19, 1999, that assistants in different places had been arrested one by one. Other practitioners and I rented a van to go to Beijing. When we got to Wangquanying, we saw a booth set up to check on people entering Beijing. We spread out and rode in different taxicabs or buses to get to the National Appeals Office, located on Fuyou Street in Beijing. On our way there we saw practitioners being arrested. Two dozen or more police officers patrolled each end of Fuyou Street. When we pulled into Fuyou Elementary School, we noticed military trucks everywhere.
We managed to walk to Tiananmen Square, which was already packed with practitioners from all over the country. We were strangers in Beijing and didn't know what to do. We were exhausted and starving at day's end. At night we slept on the ground in Yuyuantan Park. The cold morning dew soaked us through and through. We could only wait for the sun to come up to warm us and dry our clothes.
The next day we went again to Tiananmen Square and to the National Appeals Office, but didn't get to see any official to file our appeal. On the third day I called a practitioner who had remained in our local area. He told me that the county CCP secretary was extremely frightened, since almost all the practitioners in our local area had gone to Beijing. The local authorities arrested several practitioners, including my wife, who was just sent to Baoding. I was also informed that the local government had dispatched people to Beijing to find me. Following that conversation, my human thoughts took over. With my wife arrested and me on the wanted list, who was going to take care of my two young children at home? That night I went to the Beijing long-distance bus station and planned to go home by myself. There was no bus available right away, so I sat in the wind, shivering, and had to wrap newspapers around me to keep warm. I saw police cars roaming around, looking to arrest practitioners. Upon my return, the police immediately captured me. My wife wasn't released until a week later.
I went to Beijing again on December 3, 1999. The night of my arrival I shared experiences with practitioners on the outskirts of Beijing. We decided to go to the Beijing Intermediate Court to support practitioners from the Dafa Research Association that were being tried. When we got to the court the following day, we saw many other practitioners gathering there as well. The police blocked one end of the street where the court is located, allowing only entrance into the street. Not long after, the police forced us into buses and sent several busloads of practitioners to Shijingshan Stadium. While on the bus, many practitioners recited Lunyu and Hong Yin with tears in their eyes. I felt a warm current running through my body and couldn't hold back my tears. The righteous thoughts and behavior practitioners demonstrated were unforgettable.
This incident inspired many local practitioners to step forward to validate the Fa. Again, the local authorities claimed I was the organizer and persecuted me even worse. As they took me back to the local area, they handcuffed me to the handrail in the bus. After one night's travel I was taken to a detention center. The Discipline Committee secretary ordered me to choose between Falun Gong and my Party membership. I firmly replied that I chose Falun Gong, and then explained how I benefited from the practice. I also pointed out that all I wanted was to tell the officials that the persecution was wrong.
My family, friends, and former classmates went to great lengths during my detention to secure my release. With Master's protection I was soon released.
Several months later the principle that evil and good will provoke different consequences was confirmed again. All of those that participated in my rescue received blessings. Merchants saw their businesses prosper, with their assets increasing several-fold. Politicians were pleased when they got promoted, with one even becoming the mayor. By contrast, one CCP secretary died after persecuting practitioners. Even his family was implicated and suffered from misfortunes. The 610 Office head got a brain tumor and is still suffering today, even after surgery.
Establishing a Materials Production Site
My heart ached during the days I lost contact with Dafa. When I heard that I could read news about overseas practitioners on the Internet, I bought my first computer in 2000. Back then I knew nothing about computers. I merely had the salesperson demonstrate how to turn the power on and off, as well as how to get on and open Internet pages. At home I began to explore the Internet to look for Dafa. I didn't know how to type yet, so I could only browse with the mouse. When I found the "Falun Dafa in North America" website around midnight, tears almost ran down my cheeks. I was deeply moved reading overseas practitioners' reports on practitioners in China going to Tiananmen, one group after another. I soon established the first Falun Dafa materials production site in our area and downloaded Minghui/Clearwisdom articles to share with local practitioners.
I was able to walk a righteous path without much interference during the past dozen years, thanks to my study of the Fa. Moreover, Minghui also played a significant role in leading us on the right path. As a matter of fact, Minghui is the foundation and home for large and small materials production sites all over China. Even though the authorities do everything they can to sabotage Minghui, its connection with China has never been severed, for even one day. We relied initially on out-of-town practitioners to provide us with truth-clarification information. After I set up the first materials site, more and more sites popped up in my area.
Validating the Fa at Work
With a better understanding of the Fa principles, I decided to negate the old forces' arrangements that were persecuting me financially in 2003. I went to talk to my company director, requesting they resume my position and reinstate my salary and explained about Falun Dafa and the persecution during our conversation. I spoke with him about being a good person, why I went to Beijing to appeal, that I was well regarded by my colleagues, and about the senseless persecution. I pointed out that it was unreasonable to fire me and suspend my salary. He replied that he couldn't understand the persecution either and showed sympathy toward Dafa, but at the same time he was afraid of the CCP and didn't dare to make a decision in my favor all by himself. I went to see him again a few more times. I kept telling him more about the wonders of Dafa. He studied Buddhism and Taoism in secret and was a believer of the principle that good is rewarded and evil incurs different consequences. Eventually he reinstated my salary, despite the pressure. Not long after, local 610 Office agents arrested a practitioner at the company. This same director asked his subordinates to make every effort to get the practitioner released. His kindness was rewarded. Several months later he was promoted to a position in the municipal government.
Master arranged for me to return to my old place of employment when it was time to do the "three withdrawals" (withdrawing from the CCP and/or its affiliated organizations) and I could help save sentient beings. I knew that was because my colleagues needed to be rescued. I began with my own department and progressed to other departments. I explained to everyone about Falun Dafa and the persecution, including rank-and-file employees, department heads, and directors. Now about 90 percent of my colleagues have done the "three withdrawals."
Lessons Learned
I feel deeply that only by walking well the path Master arranged can one keep evil interference at bay.
When I first returned to work I was extremely upset, because I was given the dirtiest and most tiring job, while others had a very comfortable work environment. I was a mid-level manager prior to the persecution. My attachments to recognition, material interests, and emotions were so strong that I fell ill, with fever and sweats. I only thought to beg Master to save me but failed to discover my root problem. My wife reminded me of my attachments. I suddenly came to realize that the evil was exploiting my loopholes. I then took every chance to study the Fa and practice the exercises and eventually passed this test.
This year, again due to my attachments to recognition and emotions, I insisted on helping my nephew, who had just begun to cultivate, to find a girlfriend. As a result I had a car accident on my way home from seeing him. My car swerved and was heading towards a ditch. I shouted, "Master save me!" My car stopped on the curb. A few inches away were a huge rock and a tree. My car and I were intact.
Every time I encountered a hurdle, it was because I had poor xinxing and too many attachments. Walking well the path arranged by Master is the best guarantee of returning to my true home.
