(Minghui.org) I am a new practitioner in my 40s who started practicing Falun Dafa in early 2018.
Prior to this, my perception of God was limited to fairy tales. I did not believe in the existence of God or of the heavenly principle of karmic retribution. I even laughed at qigong practice and built up a lot of karma. Looking back, I realize I was indoctrinated with Communist Party culture, including atheism.
I felt a deep sadness as a person without faith, so now I am even more grateful for Master Li Hongzhi’s merciful salvation.
Back then I lived a mindless existence. I constantly hurt other people in order to satisfy my self-interests and desires. I ended up in poor health. I suffered from diarrhea all year round.
I looked to both Chinese and Western medicine for a cure and took a lot of medications, but nothing worked.
In fact, my health was getting worse, and I was getting thinner by the day. Finally I had diarrhea after almost every meal.
The failure of modern medicine made me desperate, and I worried all the time and suffered a lot.
Becoming a Practitioner
When I was almost at the end of my rope, I learned about Falun Dafa on the internet. This peaceful practice soothed my heart like a cool stream.
In this muddy human world, how could there be so many kind people who were simply being good? They were so different from other people under the Chinese Communist regime. And they were totally different from what the state media propaganda says about them. I was fascinated by the beauty of Dafa.
I believed this was what I had been looking for and started to consider practicing. However, I also saw that its practitioners were being brutally persecuted by the CCP. My fear prevented me from practicing Dafa for a long time. I hoped the persecution would end soon so I could start practicing.
As I learned more, I realized the opportunity to practice Dafa was very precious and I couldn't just keep waiting! Sensing the urgency, I eventually broke through all the mental barriers. I downloaded books and recent writings from the Falun Dafa website and started studying the Fa teachings.
I was so excited when I first started reading the teachings online! I can still remember that moment today.
Being a Genuinely Good Person
The teachings of Dafa touched my soul. Dafa reveals the truth of human existence, the universe, and so on.
I had new understandings of myself, my surroundings, and the whole world. I also understood that my attachments were obstacles in my cultivation and that one had to give up all attachments to return to one’s original, true self.
I used to be very attached to fame and self-interest, and I strove for personal gain whenever possible. We did business with other parties, and we often received gifts from business partners.
Before I practiced Falun Dafa, I thought it was fine to accept such “gifts.” Now I realized my behavior was not in line with Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
I was determined to let go of this bad attachment and began refusing the gifts and even tried to give back what I had been given before. At first, my wife did not understand me. She thought it was not a big deal to accept those gifts.
But I remembered what Master said:
“In the workplace or in society, some people may say that you are bad, yet you may not necessarily be bad. Some people may say that you are good, but you may not really be good.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
I cannot just behave like a good person from the perspective of other people. I want to assimilate to Dafa and obey Dafa’s principles so I can become a genuinely good person!
Enduring Hardships
I followed the Fa's principles whenever I dealt with people, but I often forgot to cultivate myself at home. I could not accept it, especially when I had grievances.
Because I was attached to vying for supremacy and trying to outdo others and also to saving face, I was not able to be tolerant when there was a conflict. I understood I should to obey the principles of Dafa and be tolerant, yet I often could not do well when I encountered conflicts. I felt frustrated.
Once I quarreled with my wife over the phone and felt very bad, thinking we would probably fight and scream at each other once I got home, as we usually did. I wondered what to do, and then I remembered Master’s words:
“A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion.With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy.”(“Realms,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
What is hardship then? When I suffered physically doing the exercises or suffered from hard work in everyday life, I was able to bear these hardships. I suddenly realized mental suffering was another type of hardship.
So I thought to myself, “Why can’t I tolerate it when others do me wrong?” I became calm after I understood this.
I told myself to be tolerant no matter how badly I would feel if we quarreled again. To my surprise, by the time I got home, my wife had completely changed her attitude. It was as if we had never quarreled over the phone! I realized the conflict dissolved because I elevated my xinxing.
As I did the exercises and let go of my attachments, my body began to change. I gradually recovered from my issues with diarrhea.
I used to be very cautious about what I ate and drank. Now I no longer have to worry about it.
I was still a little concerned when I first drank cold water. But after I let go of my attachment to sickness karma, I felt just fine. I was so happy!
Saving People
As I consistently studied the Fa, I gradually realized I could not just elevate myself, but that I must also shoulder my responsibility as a Dafa practitioner. I have to clarify the truth about Dafa and just how evil the CCP is. However, I had a lot of fear and worries when I thought about the persecution.
I first began to tell my family and relatives about Dafa. Then I told my friends from the perspective of a third party.
For safety reasons, I did not tell them I was a practitioner. One day, I found out that a young friend of mine was suffering from severe cancer.
I was very worried about her, and I knew only Dafa could save her. I felt a strong sense of responsibility, and so I contacted her. I only had one thought in my mind, which was to save her. At that time she was very weak and depressed and could not even speak above a whisper.
However, I had strong faith in Dafa and believed the power of Dafa could save her. I realized it was time to tell her I was a practitioner. I told her about my experiences of practicing Dafa. I told her about the beauty of Dafa and how my body changed after practicing.
She listened to me quietly at first, and then she started to talk. She became more and more interested in learning about Dafa and discussed the practice with me. I felt so happy to see her spiritual awakening! I helped her quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations and left her Dafa books and the exercise-teaching video.
She began studying the Fa. When I saw her again, she looked full of energy. I believe she will have a bright future. I am very grateful for Master’s compassion, that another life was saved.
I also downloaded materials about the truth of Falun Dafa from the Dafa website and printed them out. Master gave me a hint, and I began distributing those materials. Although my fear bothers me from time to time, I will be steadfast.
I will study the Fa well and be diligent so I can fulfill my responsibilities as a Dafa disciple.
