(Clearwisdom.net)
“We have fallen to this maze,
Helpless, lost, can't find the way,
Searching thousands of years,
One day Master reappears…”
The song “Be Saved” (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/2/15360.html) represents the feelings of many thousands of practitioners. I have the great fortune of being saved, and I hope that more people will be saved by Teacher.
Starting Falun Dafa Practice
I didn’t go to school, so I couldn’t read well. Years of hard work during the first half of my life severely hurt my body and mind. In February 1997, I underwent gallstone surgery. The doctors informed me that my internal organs weren't working well, and that I needed long-term therapy in the hospital. My family was deeply sorry for me.
I heard someone talking about how wonderful Falun Gong was, so I bought a copy of the book Zhuan Falun. Many things happened to my family that year, so I didn’t really have time to read it, and I left Zhuan Falun behind. After I learned about my diseases, all I wanted to do was practice Falun Gong. After two weeks, I ignored the doctors' advice, went home, and started practicing Falun Gong. That was thirteen years ago.
From the moment I started, I was able to study the Fa consistently, and I recited and memorized the Fa. No matter what obstacles arose – whether it was my disease causing pain, my family trying to stop me, or when I was homeless, there was never a day that I didn’t study the Falun Dafa teachings. In the beginning, I went home after group study and studied one to two chapters of Zhuan Falun. Teacher said,
“A person is like a container, and he is whatever he contains.” (“Melt Into the Fa” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I realized that I needed to study the Fa more, filling every single cell with Dafa in order to obtain a body that contains only Fa. The bad things in my body would no long exist. I now study three lectures per day after I'm done with all my work at home. I also listen to Teacher’s lectures whenever I have time.
I have listened to Teacher's words and studied the Fa all these years. This formed a solid base for me to validate Dafa. I have continuously struggled through this tremendous test.
Trust the Fa
I would like to discuss sickness karma. My goal is to tell fellow practitioners still experiencing sickness that they can always get through the karma if they truly trust Teacher and Fa.
After I returned home from the hospital, I immediately started reading Zhuan Falun. I felt heat flowing through my body quite often, and felt good. I read from morning until 3:00 p.m., then my gallbladder started aching, and kept getting worse. It didn't start feeling better until 10:00 p.m. I continued reading the next day, and my gallbladder had the same pain, at the same time. My husband said, “You are not in pain when you are not reading, it starts right after you read, so you shouldn't read anymore. You should go to the hospital.” I refused, and thought only of trusting Teacher and the Fa. Teacher said that things will turn around when they get to the extreme. My pain may not be a bad thing. At three in the morning, I felt like there was a stone rolling in my stomach, and I was in so much pain that I thought I was going to die. My husband still wanted me to go to the hospital, but I said that I would trust Teacher even if I died. I threw up some fluid and three pieces of some black substance immediately after saying those words. I then felt much better. I know that Teacher had helped to clean my body.
Three or four days later, I came to the practice site, and a practitioner taught me the five exercises. It was that day that I became a true Dafa practitioner.
Teacher said in Zhuan Falun that we all have tremendous amounts of karma. After I started practicing, I had a severe fever for three days. I know that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is the highest Fa. So besides studying the Fa and doing the exercises, I silently repeated “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” My family, especially my child, forced me go to the hospital. I asked Teacher for help, so that soon after I was given medications, I could eject them from my body. I finally convinced my family to listen to me, and they took me home. My fever went away, and I became very healthy.
Teacher has continuously cleansed my body throughout the process of cultivation. The right side of my body was paralyzed one day in 1998, but I knew that it was due to my karma. I didn’t stop Fa-study or spreading the Fa, and I never had any doubt. Soon after, I became healthy again. That is how wonderful Dafa is.
In 2004, I went to the countryside to clarify the truth. I could not move at all the next day. I asked Teacher to help me, saying, “Teacher, I want to go clarify the truth and save people!” I then struggled to get up, did the exercises, and went out. After I returned, I felt like there were thousands of needles in my leg, and I couldn’t move. I struggled to stand, and sent righteous thoughts for 40 minutes. I then forced myself to do the exercises and read two chapters of Zhuan Falun out loud. The next day I told myself that I had to trust the Fa. At noon when I was sending righteous thoughts, I heard a voice saying, “You have come through this tremendous test.” I answered, “Yes, Teacher, I have come through this tremendous test.” At 3:00 p.m. the bad things went away and I felt my legs again. I brought the best apple back to thank Teacher.
One time before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, I felt something dragging me down, so I sent righteous thoughts. I became paralyzed in my face and left arm, and my legs would not work correctly. Two fellow practitioners came and studied the Fa with me, but I couldn’t see the words clearly. I struggled to get up and burned incense for Teacher, asking Him for help. My son came home and saw me, and wanted to take me to the doctor. I told him that I wasn't leaving, and that I trusted Falun Gong with my life. My son would have nothing to do with me. The fellow practitioners studied the Fa and sent forth righteous thought with me. A few days later, my son came home again and saw that I was returning to health. He asked my husband how I was cured. My husband held his palm erect, which explained everything to my son. My son then said that Dafa was wonderful.
Safeguarding the Fa
When the persecution began on July 20, 1999, I wondered why the authorities wouldn’t let us practice this wonderful Dafa. I started discussing the facts about Falun Dafa around my neighborhood. I told everyone that Falun Gong teaches compassion, helps people to stay healthy. and benefits society in many ways. After four days, my family got scared and pulled me back home. I then went to Beijing in August to validate the Fa. I wanted to help people remove their wrong ideas about Falun Dafa. I met practitioners from everywhere in Beijing. We all studied the Fa, exercised, and talked together. We have many beautiful memories.
In mid-September, I was arrested by several officers and taken to the police station. I told them about the wonders of Dafa along the way. They asked me if I was telling the truth, and I replied that I was. When we arrived at the station, they asked where I came from, and I answered “China.” Then they asked where I lived, and I said that I lived in the Fa. The officers got angry and asked others to take me in. I continued to discuss Falun Dafa with them at the police station. I explained to all of them how Teacher taught us to be good people, how my family became happy, and how Dafa was good for society. The officer wrote four pages of notes about what I said. I signed it and asked them to deliver it to Zhongnanhai, and the officer agreed.
I was taken to the Changping Forced Labor Camp. I knew that this was not a place that I should be in, and thought, “Teacher, I want to go home.” At 5:00 p.m. I was taken to the office, and was then transferred to a local detention center. The officials asked everyone from my family and work to persuade me not to practice, and my daughter and her husband cried. My husband told me that my son's layoff was canceled, and we'd live a better life. At the time, my husband was receiving about 1,000 yuan for an annual living stipend. I am retired, and only received 300 yuan per month. My son's wife earned only 400 yuan per month, so his layoff being canceled resolved a lot of financial problems for the family. I did what I should do as a practitioner, but Teacher helped me with my family’s financial problems.
One day at the detention center, I got up and saw that the guard had fallen asleep without a blanket. I looked at him, and realized that he was hurting himself without knowing it. I felt sorry for him, so I put my blanket on him. I want to feel compassion for everyone. I was released after one week.
Soon after, two fellow practitioners were arrested and identified me as a practitioner, so the police arrested me again. Officers said that the two practitioners identified me, so they wanted to know more about them from me. My feelings weren't affected, and I didn't hate them. The officers didn’t get any information from me, so they said that I'd be taken to the forced labor camp unless I told them. I explained that I was a Dafa practitioner, and wouldn't inform on anyone. I explained that Dafa is about compassion, I consider what's best for others, and that what they asked me to do was selfish. They wanted to beat me. I recited “Benevolent Might,” and they couldn’t beat me. When I went outside, I saw the sky was shining with red light. I was very excited, as I knew that it was Teacher encouraging me. After three or four days, I was released.
At around 11:00 p.m. on January 18, 2000, I had just gone to bed, when someone knocked on the door. My son answered it, and a few officers came in to ransack the house. I got up and held Teacher's photo and Zhuan Falun tightly to my chest. The officers told me to get dressed and wanted to take away the Dafa book, but I refused. They asked me to hand over the book, but I said that it was Dafa’s book, and couldn't be handed over. I wasn’t afraid at that time, and had only one thought, that I will protect Teacher's photo and book with my life. I was wearing only sleepwear, but my body was warm. The officers realized that they couldn’t do anything about me, so they left with nothing.
The police came to my house several times, but my whole family helped me protect the Dafa book. They never took one book from me.
When the Tiananmen self-immolation incident occurred in 2001, the police arrested me along with more than twenty other practitioners, and we were taken to a brainwashing center. They asked me to write a repentance statement, but I refused. They found my employer and my husband, and told them that all the other practitioners wrote repentance statements and were subsequently released. They said that if I wouldn’t write it, they would put me in a forced labor camp. I said to my boss and my husband, that practitioners will never kill themselves, and if I died, they could find me at this police station. When I said that, I frightened the evil, and they released me.
Every time the police arrested me, I handled myself as a true Dafa practitioner, and never listened to the evil. I clarified the truth to the guards in the detention center. When I was called to attend court, I clarified the truth to the police. An assistant director once told me that he was afraid to look at me, especially when I smiled at him. This demonstrates that the truly righteous can defeat evil. Dafa’s power will defeat the old forces. With Teacher's protection, I went through every tribulation safely. I stand righteously, along with other practitioners, to save people.
Mission
Since I was the first practitioner from my area to go to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Dafa, the police watched me very closely. In 2001, I was afraid when I took the informational materials to the police station, and I was caught by the police. To protect the other practitioner that was with me, I stepped forward, grabbing the officer's hand to get his attention. The other practitioner ran away. Something that Teacher said then came to mind,
“Getting arrested is not the purpose. Validating Dafa is what’s truly magnificent, and it is to validate Dafa that you step forward.” (“Rationality” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I ran away from him and escaped. At that time, I became a “wanted” person, and officials harassed everyone in my family. I went to live with a relative far away, and I didn’t have a Dafa book. There were copies of the Dafa book in one of the fellow practitioner's home, but I couldn’t go there. An old man in the village helped me and went several miles to get me a copy of Zhuan Falun. The next day, his curved back was cured, and he no longer needed his walking stick.
In those homeless days, I never forgot the practitioner's mission, to clarify the truth and expose the persecution. I clarified the truth to people during the day. They were deceived by the television propaganda, so they wouldn’t listen to me at first, and swore at me. They still wouldn’t change after a few days, and I realized that my method wasn't right, so I changed. I exercised in the morning and helped take care of their children, washed clothes and weeded. I studied the Fa in the afternoon. I went out to clarify the truth at night. In the end, everyone said that Falun Gong was good, and realized that the television propaganda was falsified.
In those days, I experienced two amazing things. One night after I came home, my room was covered in red light. I was excited, and it lasted for three days. Later, a practitioner sent me Teacher's article “The Disciples' Magnificence.” I held it in my hands and cried. I read it eagerly, and felt that Teacher was next to me. Another time, a practitioner came to deliver an article and informational materials at night, but he didn't know where I lived. At that moment, the word “righteous” appeared on my house for him, and he found me that way. He was excited and amazed. Teacher, even when I am this far from home, you are still taking care of me. I will be more diligent in repaying Teacher's grace.
Studying the Fa, doing the exercises, sending righteous thoughts. and clarifying the truth are all important. In the evening, I travel many miles posting informational materials. One night, my relative helped me post 300 items. In six months, I clarified the truth to so many people. When my new shoes were worn out, I saw that it was Teacher's way of telling me that it was time to go home.
After I went home, the police went to my house dozens of times, attempting to arrest me. Every time, I left my home a few minutes before they arrived. After I returned home, I found out that several practitioners didn’t come forward for Dafa, so I talked to them, and we hosted a Fa conference. We then started a study group. At first, we had our group study in a practitioner’s home, but we soon dismantled the group. I thought that it was time to let go of my fear, so I had everyone come to my house. Some of them were free in the morning, others at night. I accompanied them, studying twice a day. We sent righteous thoughts every hour. All the practitioners are now following the process of validating the Fa, and we still have that study group.
I let go of many of my attachments during group study. Other practitioners admired my determination at first, but I became arrogant, although I didn’t realize it. One practitioner told me that they called me harsh names behind my back. They felt that every decision was coming from me. At first I was angry. I thought that I'd treated them too nicely for them to be judging me, and then I cried. I studied the Fa, calmed down and felt relieved. Master said,
“I don’t emphasize any specific approach; I use various means to expose your deeply-concealed attachments and get rid of them.” (“Digging Out the Roots” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
This was a case where I needed to look inward. When I calmed down and looked into myself, I found many attachments, including envy, show-off mentality, hate, feeling overjoyed, wanting to fight, anxiety, vanity, directing other people, etc. I realized that those attachments came from old ideas.
Human attachments want to stop me from cultivating. I sent righteous thoughts to dissolve them, and my environment became increasingly light. I thank the other practitioners for helping me to recognize my attachments. I know that my attachments can't disappear immediately, but I have faith in Dafa.
Duty
After the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party came out in 2004, it marked a new phase of Fa-rectification. I realized that the duty of Dafa practitioners is to save people. I have this duty in my heart, and in the last five years, rain or shine, summer or winter, I've helped hundreds or even thousands of people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. There was both pain and happiness in the process. I'll describe a few of those experiences.
One day, I met three college students from the north at a square. They asked me whether Teacher was a divine being, why Falun Gong was being persecuted, and why people should quit the CCP. I answered their questions, one at a time. They know the truth now and quit the CCP, and said that they will practice Falun Gong. They thanked me many times, and I told them that they should thank Teacher.
I once met an old policeman. He said bad things about Falun Gong, and that he would arrest anyone who practices. I told him that he was wrong, and that the television propaganda was false. I reminded him about all those falsified cases during the Cultural Revolution. I explained the facts behind the self-immolation and the wonders of Dafa. After half an hour, he realized the truth and quit the CCP. I said that saying “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” could save him.
On another occasion, I discussed the facts about Falun Dafa to a pregnant woman, and her mother-in-law came and asked me what I was doing. I discussed the facts with her also. After she realized the truth, she put her hand up in the air and swore to quit the CCP. She shouted, “Falun Dafa is good.” There were a few police officers passing by, but they didn’t hear anything.
Another time, a fellow practitioner and I went out to discuss the facts about Falun Dafa. Later, the fellow practitioner told me that someone was following me. I wasn’t afraid, and only thought that I needed to save him too, so I talked with him. I ended up helping him quit the CCP.
Some people now recognize me at the local town square. One time after I'd just arrived, a middle school student who knows the truth shouted, “The Falun Gong grandma is coming, everybody come to quit the CCP!” Half of them were convinced and quit. One of them wanted to call the police, but the student told him that he would be punished, so he stopped.
I realized from all these experiences that we have to study the Fa well, and remain pure in our hearts. With no attachments and a heart for saving people, I can help more people to quit the CCP. Every time I save a person, I ask him to remember Teacher's grace. I am so fortunate that I've been saved, and I hope that more people can be saved by Teacher.
