(Clearwisdom.net) I am a 55-year-old Falun Dafa disciple from Heilongjiang Province. I have been cultivating Falun Dafa for 12 years. During these years, not only have I had good health, but also my xinxing and morality have been raised while becoming a true Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple assisting Master to rectify the Fa. It is due to Master's great compassion and care that I have been able to become what I am today. My heart is filled with joy and gratitude toward Master and Falun Dafa. Words fall short in describing my feelings.
I have recorded in detail what I have gone through in my cultivation to report to Master and share with my fellow practitioners.
Breaking Through the Tribulation That Stemmed from My Family
In Essentials for Further Advancement, Master said:
“If you do not change the human logic that you, as an ordinary human, have formed deep in your bones over thousands of years, you will be unable to break away from this superficial human shell and reach Consummation.”
During my cultivation one tribulation always accompanied me—my family.
My husband had a very bad temper and he was moody. He would yell at me or hit me when he got drunk. When it happened, I could restrain myself in front of other people; however, when at home, I lost control of myself. From the standpoint of a practitioner, there must have been a karmic relationship for why my husband treated me that way. He was there to help me raise my cultivation level. In the past, I was not able to enlighten to this understanding. Thus, I couldn't raise my level. One day my husband cursed at me after he got drunk and even hit me. I simply couldn't take it anymore and fought with him. My thought karma was particularly strong at that time. I had a lot of negative and ordinary thoughts, such as: “I want to get a divorce. Had I not practiced Falun Dafa, I would have fought with you a long time ago. I can't take it anymore. I cook and wash your clothes everyday and I do the same thing for your parents twice a day. When they get sick, I have to go to the hospital to take care of them. I only want to show my filial piety to them.” The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. I really wanted to start a big fight with him. Later, I was enlightened to an understanding: “This is wrong. How can I be like him? I am a Falun Dafa cultivator. How much have I learned from Master's teachings? Do I listen to Master? Is this the state of a cultivator?” My thinking was half human and half godlike. I felt I was treated so unfairly I couldn't concentrate on Fa study.
I knew I was wrong and that I shouldn't be guided by my thought karma. I knew that the more it surfaced, the more wicked and rampant it became. I knew I must get rid of it and went to share things with another practitioner. I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. If I behaved like an ordinary person, weren't I just an ordinary person? I must be able to “not fight back when being hit, not yell back when being cursed.” At times, I still felt that things were unfair and silently cried. When that happened, I would recite Master's teaching in "What Is Forbearance (Ren)" (Essentials for Further Advancement):
“Forbearance is the key to improving one’s xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator”
In Zhuan Falun, Master said:
“Someone has said, 'If tolerance is practiced to such an extent, everyday people will say that we are too cowardly and too easily taken advantage of.' I do not call it being cowardly. Think about it, everyone: Even among everyday people, the middle-aged or older people and those with high-level education also exercise self-restraint and refrain from disputing with others, not to mention our practitioners. How can it be taken as being cowardly? I say that it is a reflection of great forbearance and an expression of strong will. Only a practitioner can have this heart of great forbearance. There is this saying, 'When an average person is humiliated, he’ll draw his sword to fight.' For an everyday person, it is only natural that if you swear at me I will swear at you, and that if you hit me I will hit you back as well. That is an everyday person. Can he be called a practitioner? As a practitioner, without a strong will and self-restraint, you will not be able to do this.”
Every word Master said entered my heart. I knew that, in cultivation, I couldn't constantly stay at one level and not move up. If the attachment repeated itself, it meant that it had not been dug out by the roots. I looked inward unconditionally and found I had many impure attachments such as egotism, competitiveness, a show off mentality, selfishness, fame, feeling wronged, etc. I sent forth righteous thought to disintegrate and negate them. Gradually, I calmed down. I knew the decayed substance had perished! I eliminated the attachment of not letting others criticize me. After removing my human attachments, I was able to use the calmness of a cultivator to face my husband when he exploded at me. When I came across any kind of trouble in my daily life or felt I was treated unfairly, I managed to look inward to find my attachment and get rid of it. When I was able to do this all the time, I found there was no tribulation that I couldn't pass. Master has unconditionally given us the magic weapon of “looking inward” and we must cherish it. When I changed myself, I found that my husband's bad temper disappeared.
After my mother-in-law died, I shouldered the responsibility of taking care of my father-in-law. He lived with his daughter (my sister-in-law), who had a mental disability. I did all of the cleaning and cooking in the house. I would cook whatever they wanted to eat. After his wife died, my father-in-law wanted to find another wife. His children, including my husband, strongly disagreed because they were worried that his new wife would divide up his property once he passed away. They had a big fight over this. My father-in-law found a new wife anyway. But she was driven away in just a few days by my husband and his brothers and sisters. After I learned about this, I told my husband, “I cook for your father everyday. Why do you think I do this? I just want him to live happily in his remaining years. Agreeing to what the elder person wants is true filial piety.” After he heard this, he went to the village and brought the woman back from the rural village.
My father-in-law was very happy and felt grateful toward me. He said I treated him even better than his own children. His new wife said, “You are such a great person. Thank you for everything you've done for me!” I told her that I was a Falun Dafa practitioner and that Master taught me to treat people this way. It was Falun Dafa that changed me. Now, they both have started to listen to Master's lectures and want to become Falun Dafa practitioners. Because of that, my husband also acknowledged the goodness of Falun Dafa. He has even helped me in clarifying the truth and saving people. He said, “I have to thank Master Li. It is Falun Dafa that has given me a happy family.”
Master has taught us the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and how to become good people. I have learned that I must always put others' interests first and be kind to them. My family and neighbors all know that Falun Dafa has changed me. They are all full of gratitude for Master.
Face-to-Face Truth Clarification to Save People
In a Congratulatory Message on December 31, 2005, Master said:
"Dafa disciples, you are golden light in the mortal world, the hope of the world's people, Fa-disciples who help Master, and future Fa-Kings. Keep diligent, Awakened Ones that walk the earth: Everything of today will be the glory of the future.”
Studying the Fa well guarantees that we can do the three things well. As Dafa disciples, we must make use of this rare opportunity that Master and Dafa have bestowed upon us to establish our mighty virtue, and we must not stray. I always make time for Fa study and practice the exercises everyday regardless of any circumstance. I have to remind myself not to be deluded by worldly illusions or depend on the changes taking place in the world. I know that sentient beings are dependent on us to save them. I must seize the last opportunity to save more beings and keep up with Fa-rectification.
Since I started the practice, I have not stopped telling people the facts about Falun Dafa. I have worked in different places and have known many people. Thus I have laid a pretty good foundation for truth-clarification. No matter where I have worked, I have clarified the truth to the people I have had contact with. When I had a barbershop, I clarified the truth to my customers. When I helped my customers hang up their clothes, I put truth-clarification brochures in their pockets. When I drove a cab, I clarified to the truth to my passengers. One day, I had to take a customer to a destination for 40 yuan. On the road, he told me his daughter had suffered from a skin disease since she was nine years old. She was now 17. He had spent a lot of money trying to find a cure for her skin disease but to no avail. She had never worn a skirt in her life. I told him that I had a way to help her and asked if he would believe me or not. He said he would. I told him to recite, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” After he recited it once, I started clarifying the truth to him. I also handed him a pamphlet. He said he acknowledged the principles of Falun Dafa and told me that he had met a good person that day. I told him that Master is the one to be thankful for. When we arrived at his destination, he paid me 50 yuan (instead of 40). He insisted on inviting me to his house and also gave me some duck eggs. I said I didn't want them, but he insisted. I donated the extra 10 yuan I made to my local truth-clarification material production site.
For the past two years, whatever the weather, I go out almost everyday to clarify the truth to people face to face and ask them to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Some practitioners were afraid of going out by themselves, so I went along with them. Almost all of my relatives, friends, and colleagues have quit the CCP. No matter where I go, such as shopping, supermarkets or wedding banquets, I always take advantage of these opportunities to clarify the truth to people and save them. During the process of truth-clarification, I have come across all kinds of people. Some of them wanted to listen while others refused, and some people even beat me up. I knew that all those incidents were meant to test my xinxing. One day, I tried to clarify the truth to a middle-school student. He was furious and asked, “Are you Falun Gong?” Then he came up to me and started kicking me. He said he would call the 610 Office and 911. I told him that I was not afraid of him even if he did. I told him that I wanted to tell him the truth and it was for his own benefit that I was doing it. Just then, two middle aged men came by. The boy said, “Uncle, this woman is a Falun Gong practitioner!” They looked at him and then glanced at me, smiled, and left. I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil behind the boy. I didn't have any fear at all. In “Teaching the Fa in Canada, 2006,” Master said:
“Gods can control the human mind and lead humans to do certain things, not vice versa. How could human beings possibly affect gods?”
There is a hospital by my house with a small plaza in front of it. In the summer, a lot of people come out to get the cool, fresh air. I often go there to tell people the facts about Dafa and ask them to quit the CCP. One day, I saw three people sitting on a stone bench. I went up to them and started a conversation. I learned that they were at the hospital for treatment. The older person had heart disease. It seemed quite serious as her skin looked dull and yellowish. The young one was her daughter and the child was her granddaughter. I told her to recite, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” After she did she said, “Oh, I felt as if something just came out of here (she pointed to her heart). My heart doesn't hurt now.” She continued with emotion, “I know that God will come to save me.” I also gave them Dafa amulets(1). They immediately put them around their necks and were very happy. Her daughter also quit the Party. She said, “I come from a countryside. I often get brochures at home. Although I don't understand any words, I never throw them away. I find a good place to store them. I have always told my children to be good people. Good people will be rewarded.”
I have a neighbor who is over 70 years old and a CCP member. I repeatedly tried to clarify the truth to her, but she refused to listen. She has a mobility problem and a disabled child. I would help them with whatever they needed. For example, they couldn't get to the supermarket to buy food and no one was willing to help them, so I bought what they needed and brought it back for them. She was very moved by my kindness and said I was a good person. I told her about the beauty of Falun Dafa and why she should quit the CCP. She listened to me and happily quit the CCP. As long as we follow Master and have a heart to save sentient beings, they will come to us for salvation.
One day I went out with fellow practitioners to clarify the truth and saw an elderly man sitting on the roadside to rest. I went over to him and asked, “Grandpa, how old are you? Are you retired?” He said he was 93 years old and a retired military official. I asked if he had heard of Falun Dafa. He said he had. I started telling him that Falun Dafa teaches people the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, that it is a very good practice that can improve people's health and fitness, and that the persecution of Falun Dafa is wrong. I also told him that the so-called self-immolation incident at Tiananmen Square was fabricated and that it was orchestrated by the evil Party in order to persecute Falun Dafa and deceive people. I said heaven would eliminate the evil Party. I asked him if he was a CCP member and he said he was. I asked if he had heard about quitting and asked him to quit it. He said, “OK, quit for me. I have wanted to quit it but didn't know how.” I asked his name. He said his last name was Sun. I said, “I will call you Sun Kangle (healthy and happy). I then told him that by reciting, “ Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” it would help keep him illness-free, strong, and healthy. I saw tears in his eyes. There were many incidents like this. Many sentient beings are awaiting us to save them.
In cultivation, I still have many bad attachments such as playing Majong. Although I don't play now, I still feel I want to play when I see people playing it. I know this is a bad attachment and I must expose it and eliminate it. I also still have the attachment of showing off. I will eliminate it as soon as I am aware of it. I know I have to correct all abnormalities and unconditionally assimilate myself to Falun Dafa.
I am well aware of my inadequacies and I still have many human attachments that surface from time to time. I have confidence that I can get rid of them through cultivation and do better and better, thus creating a better environment to save more beings and reassure Master. I didn't write down all of my cultivation experiences. I know that the path we travel during our cultivation will all be recorded.
Note: (1) Amulets – In China, practitioners sometimes "clarify the truth" by giving people something small to wear or cherish, bearing a few words reminding them of the goodness of Dafa.
