(Clearwisdom.net)
Fabulous Experiences in Childhood
My celestial eye was open when I was just a kid. During the Cultural Revolution, in the seventies, everyone was very poor and had to use kerosene lamps at night. Each family only had enough rationed kerosene for just one lamp. Having a big family, I was not always granted my share of light. However, as soon as it became dark, I would take myself to a room without light. My parents were pleased and said that what I did was very cute, but they did not know the real reason why I did this. They did not know that in those dark rooms I was able to see things that no one else could see.
My celestial eye saw flowers, patterns, and many other marvelous things flying through the air. And although I was only six, I knew that I should keep quiet, and if I told others, I would no longer be able to see them. I did not tell any one. This lasted about two years. After that, I began seeing less and less, and then finally nothing. Those two years laid the foundation for my later obtaining the Fa.
Ever since I was little, I would watch and listen to the thunder. I would think, “God of Thunder, please make more thunder for me.” And if I was answered, I was pleased, thinking “Oh, God of Thunder was really listening to me.”
During those years there was this mysterious celestial phenomenon called “hanging dragon”. What was it, you ask? One day a cloud would suddenly appear in the sky. It would quickly take the shape of a dragon and drop its tail into a lake, its body wavering in the clouds. A giant water column then formed and flowed backward from the lake to the clouds in the sky.
When people saw this “hanging dragon,” they would all run home. However, I ran out of the house to watch it. Whenever “hanging dragons” occurred, they always happened at the same place and went through the same routine each time. I saw them several times. There were different kinds of dragons of different colors. They rode with the wind but stopped to become “hanging dragons” when they passed our village, and then carried on afterward.
When I told my parents about what I saw, my father hit me, and forbade me to mention it again. I did not understand why, but maybe he was afraid for my safety. After that, I began seeing the dragons less and less.
Searching
To make a living, I left my hometown when I was seventeen. Life was full of hardship, but I didn't feel much of it because everyone was in the same condition. I had a different type of hardship. It came from the void in my heart that no one understood. I read the Buddhist scriptures, Zhou Yi, Old Testament, New Testament, Xiyouji, and other books. I knew that they were the culture and theories of mankind, but none was the one that my heart was searching for. I was pursuing the truth and the meaning of human life, but no one answered me.
I remember during my childhood when I heard the words “Falun Gong” on the news. It was on July 20, 1999, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong. I immediately realized that Falun Gong must be important if the communist regime was trying to crush it, but where could I learn it? I didn't know any practitioners. In the following years, no one told me anything about Falun Gong, but my desire to learn Falun Gong grew more and more.
Obtaining the Fa
In the spirng of 2002, I heard some one was talking about Falun Gong. I went forward and asked about it. The lady then told me some facts of Falun Gong. I firmly believed her without hesitation, and promptly asked her if there were any Falun Gong books. She said yes and gave me a book a couple days later. Right after I opened the book Zhuan Falun, I saw Master's three-dimensional picture. Actually, what I saw was much clearer even than a three-dimensional picture. Master was directly looking at me with mercy. I immediately knew what I was obtaining. I remember this vividly, and tears come to my eyes whenever I think about it. The mercy and expectation in Master's eyes filled me with righteous thoughts and encouraged me to overcome any difficulties.
Eliminating Wicked Thought
When I first started cultivating, I had so many questions. Fortunately, another practitioner my age was there to help. She was beautiful. Growing up in hardhsip, I gradually grew sentimental towards her kindness, but it was actually my sexual attraction and desire that were aroused. One day, while I was with her, my fantasies got a hold of me. She handed me the book Falun Gong. When I opened it, I saw a family photo of Master. I saw a holy scene - Master was looking at me seriously from the photo. I understood right away. The Fa clearly told me that Master was mercifully saving us. He taught us by words and lived as our example. Improper relations between people who were not husband and wife are a sin for human beings. Whoever had improper relations was no longer worthy of being human. Whoever had these fantasies was no longer worthy of being a practitioner. I was shocked. I then admitted my mistake to Master at once and begged him to help me to get rid of my filthy mind. Instantaneously, I saw this black shadow in my image, consisting of my karma and my filthy mind, stripped off my body. I was astonished and moved. No word could express the feeling. I knew from then on my sexual attractions and desires were gone. I knew it was solely Master's push, not my effort, that made me pass through this tribulation.
“Copied by a Falun Dafa disciple”
The local “{{610 Office”} illegally detained me and subjected me to forced labor because I practiced Falun Dafa. Prisoners and I worked as slave laborers daily. The only joy I took in those days was telling others about the beauty and goodness of Falun Dafa, and how the evil authorities would receive their due.
One day, some one asked me to write down Master's teaching for them. I was delighted to do it. I wrote down the scriptures that I thought they would understand, but then I came to a problem. I pondered if I should write down Master's name in the end (Editor's Note: In Chinese culture, it is thought to be disrespectful to speak or write the name of the Master of their cultivation way. They believe that they must only say “Master” or “Teacher” but nothing more.). I felt it lost the power of the Fa without Master's name, but would they treasure Master's name and the Fa if there was Master's name? They asked for the scriptures and I agreed. I had to write on bathroom tissue because that was the only paper available in the jail. Yet, I did not want to leave Master's name in such a place. What was I to do?
While I was pondering, the words “copied by a Falun Dafa disciple” flashed in my celestial eye. The words were shining on a white wall and I could see them clearly. It was such a encouragement. I could not control my excitement and took a while to calm down. I was witnessing the divine occurrence of Master protecting his disciples at their sides at any time. I then realized that I was suffering the imprisonment because I had not been upright and was taken advantage of by the old forces. I felt then that I had gotten a new understanding of cultivation practice.
“Why are you so energetic even without sleep for such a long time?”
The hardest part of my cultivation practice was eliminating fear. It was nearly impossible before I distinguished what the old forces were and what their arrangements were. Guards in the labor camp were cultured by the evil Chinese Communist Party. Their thoughts and goals were to torture and coerce practitioners into giving up their beliefs. They unscrupulously ordered inmates to be goons and monitors, and encouraged them to torture practitioners in sinister ways. They took pleasure in watching us suffer, and were even promoted because of this. They forced us into endless physical training during the day, and forced us to stand for entire nights without sleep unless we gave up our beliefs. When I was just imprisoned, I didn't know how to face everything and was in fear every day. Despite knowing that Master was at my side, I was still scared. I didn't know what to do except repeatedly calling for Master.
One day, a guard struck up conversation with me. He asked me how long had I been there. I replied forty some days. He asked how much sleep I got. I said none. He then asked why I was still so energetic. I was shaken all of a sudden, and tears immediately filled my eyes. I realized that Master had been helping me all the time. Master had been suffering for me. I couldn't answer the guard except by weeping.
He said, “You are leaving the Entry Section to the Fourth Section tomorrow and will face a much tougher environment. Good luck. Even though you do not answer me, I know it was your Master who helped you because no human could have done it. Only genuine Dafa disciples can make it.” These were the last words from this guard.
Continuously Reciting “Falun Dafa Hao” and “Zhen-Shan-Ren Hao”
The Fourth Section specialized in persecuting practitioners. Its guards and inmate goons were evil beyond words. To get their bonuses, promotions or sentence reductions, they tortured practitioners in the cruelest ways they could think of.
They coerced me into copying slander about Falun Dafa when I was transferred to the Fourth Section, but I refused. They didn't allow me to sleep, and then forced me to squat and stay still twenty hours per day. Their punishment got harsher and harsher. I thought that I should not let Master suffer for me any longer. In my heart, I kept reciting “Falun Dafa Hao” and “Zhen-Shan-Ren Hao” day and night. It worked.
After no progress for several months, the guards decided to subject me to electric batons. They threw me into a dark room. Five guards wearing insulated clothes and gloves shocked me with high voltage currents for an hour. The electricity sparked blue flames with crackling sounds. The room was full of a choking and burning smell. Soon after my hair was burned, then my body. But I did not feel much pain and did not know why. Throughout it all, I never stopped reciting “Falun Dafa Hao” and “Zhen-Shan-Ren Hao.” They failed again. Although my body was injured, my heart was light because my heart was in peace. I was proud. This pride came from the Fa. It was so real; it was almost tangible. No one but a practitioner could imagine that.
Choosing Between Life and Death
They took me to the session office several days later. A guard who had tortured many practitioners and beaten some of them to they point of disability said to me, “We will make a deal. You squat in the corner. I am wearing boots and will kick you in the face ten times. After that, we won't ask you to make any more copies. If you dare not do it, you will make the copies. How about that?” I knew it was the time for me to make a choice between life and death. By then, I could not understand what the old forces were and did not know that I should completely oppose any persecution. I thought that we were going to die. It would be the same to die then or later. I preferred dying earlier to living against my conscience. I would have no regrets because I persisted in Dafa to the end. Much of my family and many of my friends knew the facts of Falun Dafa and some would even become practitioners so I had nothing to worry about. With those thoughts in mind, I smiled and said, “Ok. It is a deal. Thank you for fulfilling my wish. I will die a practitioner.”
I sat down in lotus position, holding one palm erect, citing the Fa rectification formula with righteous thoughts. At that moment, I had never felt so inspired. My heart was pure, open, and noble. I perceived the meaning of “let go of the attachment to the human body.” All the guards laughed. Some came forward and patted my shoulder, “No one will kick you. Go. It had nothing to do with us whether you make copies or not.”
There are no words that illustrate what Master suffered for me in that evil camp. My life would have ended without Master. This is what I know. There is so much more that I simply do not understand. Why am I still alive? Why did I come across so many divine occurrences? It was simply because I have believed in Master and the Fa. Nothing can change my righteous thoughts. That is why I am still here today.
Making Up for Lost Time
When I was finally released, I had to make up the lost time for the last two years in the labor camp. I diligently studied the Fa. While I was reading the Fa, I felt that my body was just a shell, and the one who was really studying the Fa was the me inside the shell. It was marvelous. While I was watching Master's Lectures in Guangzhou video, I saw Master that was teaching the Fa outside the TV. I could not tell if I was at the scene of the lecture or if Master had come to my house.
As a result of persecution in the labor camp, I was unable to walk. I had lost a lot of hair and had a bald spot. But after I studied the Fa and practiced the exercises for a month, I fully recovered. My neighbors, colleagues and family witnessed the miracle of Falun Dafa firsthand through my recovery. Some have asked me to declare their withdrawal from the CCP and its affiliations on the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party website.
Herculean …
I have experienced many divine occurrences since I began to practice Falun Gong. The memory of many is fading. I am writing this paper because Clearwisdom is collecting them and fellow practitioners are encouraging me to do it. My writing is about Buddha's infinite grace from Master and the shining lights of the Fa. It is not about me personally because I know who I am. My writing is undoubtedly still mixed with many of my attachments. But what I really want to explain is the mercy and protection that Master has given to me. Everything I have written is real and will the bear the responsibility of my words.
When I just started practicing, I became like Hercules. My body was full of energy and everything worked in my favor. I would see a piece of cement floor, and then lift it for fun. To my surprise, I could even lift up the piece that weighted more than three hundred pounds. I did not know what had happened. A practitioner told me, “That is encouragement from Master. It is for your cultivation and not for fun or for you to show off.” So that's how it was. After everything was back to normal, I asked him again, “Why has this ability disappeared?” He said, “It has not disappeared. It is just that Master has locked it for you, saving you from developing an attachment.” That's how it was.
When reading the Fa and stumbling upon questions, I often directly ask for an answer. Ask whom? The Fa of course. A Buddha, Dao, or God in the Fa will directly answer me.
I have a bad habit of leaving things behind. I once lost an iPod given to me by a practitioner. I was very regretful. I told another practitioner and he said, “You are in control of your things. You can send righteous thoughts and ask for it to come back. You will do it.” I sent righteous thoughts and asked my iPod to come back. A week later, the iPod appeared in the same place where I had lost it. But when I started it, I found the Dafa songs all replaced by popular songs. I then sent righteous thoughts and asked the songs to leave and the Dafa songs to come back. Miraculously, when I restarted the iPod, the songs were gone and the Dafa content was restored. This became a very popular story among local practitioners.
I am honored to participate in rescuing imprisoned practitioners. We call it “rescuing” but it is really done by Master. Master gives us the chance and lets us become mature and establish ourselves. When my xinxing did not measure up in that regard, I felt that Master was lifting up my xinxing. The feeling was so real and could not be expressed in words. The only think that I can do is to say, “Thank you, Master, Thank you, Master.”
There are many things I want to say. Master saved me from hell, purified me, gave me all of the elements of cultivation practice, and taught me from how to be a good person, an enlightened being. Words can't describe what Master has given for this process. I was an ordinary person before I obtained the Fa. It is because I have Master that my life now has meaning. I am really very proud. I often tell others that I have a merciful and magnificent Master. I know who my Master is. But why am I so lucky? Am I special? No. The Fa is fair to everyone, because everyone was created by the Fa. The only difference is if you believe or not, whether you change your mentality or not. With mentalities changed, divine acts are displayed.
Heshi! Forgive my limitations and give out your merciful corrections please!
Selected from “Call for Articles about Divine Occurrences in the Human World”
