(Clearwisdom.net) I recently started practicing Falun Gong. This was after I previously kept a distance from Dafa. I had wandered around Dafa for more than 10 years.
Attachments from the Earthly World
I am a medical doctor. I really started practicing Falun Gong at the end of 2008, but I had known about Falun Gong for more than 10 years. I visited my sister in the winter of 1998. My sister would get up early in the morning when it was still dark, walk to a park in a chilling wind, and participate in group practice. They sat on the ground on the middle of the hill, calmly and intently doing the fifth exercise. At the time, I thought that I could not sit in meditation like that in such cold weather.
A year later, when I visited my older sister again, she handed me a book titled Zhuan Falun. She also told me about some of the many miracles that occurred to people after they started to practice Falun Gong. I actually only read a few pages of the book. She taught me how to practice the exercises. Before I left her house, she asked me to bring the book home and reminded me over and over to study the Fa.
After I returned home, I got busy with work, seeking leisure when I was not busy, and I had strong attachments to ordinary people’s things. I felt that I never had enough time to practice Falun Gong. At the start of the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, despite all the fabrications concocted by the evil regime, my mind was clear that Falun Gong was a righteous law and was being falsely accused and framed. However, I did not give it any more thought.
Practicing Dafa after Understanding the Truth
I encountered a great tribulation in 2008, when I was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that affected my eyes. It progressed so quickly that I had to retire early and live with an assistant. This depressed me. At the end of 2008, I had the chance to listen to the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and Disintegrate the Party Culture. I also understood that the "Tiananmen Square Self-immolation Incident" was slander.
I listened to the Nine Commentaries twice and was shocked. The little feeling that I had for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was totally gone. I became calm and had time to go back and read the book Zhuan Falun. I also spent two months reading Master’s other lectures. This profound and great universal law moved me deeply such that I would never let it go.
Great Changes after Practicing Falun Gong
I was disabled and could open my eyes only about one-sixth of the time each day. I also had many illnesses such as headaches, insomnia, constipation, and high blood pressure, and I relied on heavy doses of medication. After I started practicing Falun Gong, many of my illnesses disappeared.
However, I still suffered with my eye problem. I frequently fell or ran into walls. From Fa study, I realized that this might be karmic debts I owed due to what I did in a past life, I knew I had to suffer in order to pay it back. I knew I needed to improve my xinxing. I became calm to face this hardship of the eye problem.
Improving Xinxing and Overcoming Illness Symptoms
In the fall of 2010, I had an ear infection. My left ear was swollen, hard, and it hurt. I felt that my head was heavy. I increased the number of times I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil elements surrounding me. I repeated “Falun Dafa is good!” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” and greeted Master until I went to sleep. The next day, it still hurt, and I went to get some antibiotics without hesitation. At that time, I thought that I was a Dafa practitioner and that I should pass this test; otherwise, how could I pass a bigger test? I put the medication back, but I still panicked about my illness using ordinary thinking, since I used to be a doctor.
I recalled Master’s lecture “Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference" where Master said:
“If you hold on to humanness with one hand and won't let go, and you hold on to Buddhahood with the other hand and won't let go, just which one exactly do you want? When you can truly let go the situation will definitely be different.”
I felt that Master was talking to me. I knelt down in front of Master's portrait and felt ashamed of what I had done, and I asked Master for forgiveness. It was noontime, the time to send forth righteous thoughts. I sat there and felt a hot circulation through my body, and the pain was suddenly eliminated. The swelling gradually reduced, and some light red liquid came out of my eye. The next day, I was symptom free. This was the power of Dafa. As cultivator, it was an opportunity to improve xinxing from suffering and hardship.
I Refused to Cooperate with the Old Forces' Arrangements
Master constantly reminds us to study the Fa and to study the Fa well so that we conduct ourselves according to the Fa. To study the Fa, I had to overcome my eye problem, which allowed me to have vision for only one-sixth of the time per day. In August 2010, I decided to memorize Zhuan Falun. I knew this might be beyond my ability as a disabled person, but I would do it.
Validating Dafa in a Special Way
I live in the city where my kids work; I do not know any other practitioners there. As a practitioner, I do the three things that Master requires, especially telling people the truth about Falun Gong. I used my cell phone to clarify the truth. I was successful when I tried the first time, and I received some feedback. Later, my phone was blocked when I sent Fa-rectification messages out. I did not give up. I bought different phone cards and continued my Fa-rectification efforts.
In October 2010 a friend came to visit me. I told her the facts. She not only understood the goodness of Dafa, but also paid great respect to Master. Later she joined me to study the Fa. She helped me go out on the street to meet people who had predestined relationships with Dafa. One day, we went out to buy some baked sweet potato, and the seller was worried that he might have given us too much change. I told him, “Don’t worry; we would have returned the money to you if you had given us too much change. We know that it is not easy to do business.” I continued, “I can tell that you are a good person. You know that Falun Gong practitioners are good people. They are thinking of others first before themselves, and they are one hundred times better than I am.” He looked confused and said, “Why does the CCP not allow them to practice?” I continued, “It is strange that under the current CCP regime, good people are not rewarded, and bad people are not punished.” I then told him how Dafa practitioners had risked their lives to tell people the facts. He agreed with what I said.
Master said,
“Human society is one big practice site for the cultivation of my Dafa disciples, and you can cultivate no matter where you are. It just depends on whether you are diligent or not in your cultivation.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference”)
I spent three months writing this article, which was also a big test for me. I experienced severe muscle pain around my eyes because I forced my eyes to remain open. I reminded myself of what Master said, "When it's difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it's impossible to do, you can do it." (“Lecture Nine” in Zhuan Falun) I also reminded myself to study the Fa to overcome my illness symptoms. I negated the old forces' arrangements and improved my xinxing by overcoming them.
Under Master's protection and strength, I can sit in the lotus position for one hour and send forth righteous thoughts four times per day. I know that I still have a lot of human attachments that need to be eliminated, but my mind is firm and I believe in Master and Dafa. I will cultivate diligently and improve my xinxing, and fulfill my prehistoric vows. I will not let Master down.
Please point it out if there is anything incorrect.
