(Clearwisdom.net) I would imagine that the Clearwisdom website receives this kind of article everyday. It's not important whether my article is published or not. I just want to tell how I obtained the Fa, and I would like to thank all Dafa practitioners for clarifying the truth around the world.
I trusted China's domestic propaganda, so I had an extreme misunderstanding of Falun Gong before I went abroad. With those thoughts in mind, I left China for academic studies. At first I was disgusted when I saw Dafa practitioners distributing truth-clarification flyers in public. I felt self-righteous, because my opinions were based on thoughts I had formed in China.
I later met my current husband (who is not Chinese, nor had he heard of Falun Gong). While we were still just friends, we ran into some Dafa practitioners distributing fliers on campus. I still remember the middle-aged female practitioner who gave me my first flyer. The flyer was about Falun Gong practitioners suffering persecution. There might have been other things in it, but the image of practitioners being persecuted shocked me and made a deep impression on me. It also stuck with me. I glanced through the flyer and threw it away. I told my boyfriend: "These are lies. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has done lots of bad things, but I believe their way of dealing with Falun Gong is correct." Looking back on it, I really do not know why I was so certain at that time.
After returning home, I suddenly remembered the flyer I had thrown away. I thought I was being irrational to make a judgment based on one story alone, although I believed what the CCP said about Falun Gong. It doesn't matter which religion it is, it's evil to encourage people commit suicide or kill others. If Falun Gong had encouraged that, I thought there must be such content in the books or other discussions. So, I checked online to see if I could find the books or online discussions. I was hoping to find evidence to support my idea. I am ashamed to say that I read Zhuan Falun for the first time with such a motive.
But, it was just like what Master said (as I remember it): Some people read it once and never want to put it down. Later, I read Clearwisdom and started cultivation. (Editor's note: Obviously, Falun Gong books teach people to be good, rather than what the CCP propaganda charges. This is why the author started cultivation.)
I sometimes do well in my cultivation, and sometimes very badly, even for several years. No matter what happens, though, I try to learn from my failures, and I will not give up. My family members now also know the truth. My husband has started to read Falun Gong books, too. Master's teachings also improved my relationships with my parents and in-laws.
In retrospect, if it were not for Master's teachings and practitioners' efforts, I certainly would not have become a cultivator. It is said that one does not need to say thank you to a savior. I do not know how to express my thanks. I hope you know that truth clarification is still effective, even though sometimes people do not pay attention to Dafa practitioners or are even unfriendly. The effectiveness of the truth-clarification may not be visible at the time. Finally, I just want to say I'm grateful for Dafa's benevolence and want to thank every Dafa practitioner.