(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. During the early years of my cultivation, I often had the same dream: a bright moon shining along with golden characters, many of which I could not recognize, written across the sky.
Some twenty years later, I now understand what the dream meant. Master provided me a magic pen and let me validate Dafa with my writing.
For many years, I had been clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa to people face to face. Last spring, I became acquainted with an elderly practitioner, Aunt May, who told me of several amazing stories that had happened to her and some practitioners in her hometown. I wanted to write down their stories and submit them to the Minghui website. However, I kept delaying the plan, because I felt that my writing ability was not up to par.
One night last summer, I dreamed that I was taking an exam. The time was almost up, and most students had already finished and left. And yet I still had two unfinished pages on my answer sheet.
On the last two sheets, there were a variety of flowers printed. The exam requirement was to write something to describe the flowers. Also, a person had to be involved somehow. I thought for a moment, then wrote down carefully: My father planted colorful flowers in the parterre.
The teacher who was proctoring the exam smiled at me and said, “Good job!”
The next day, I shared my dream with some fellow practitioners. They all agreed that this was a message from Master, encouraging me to write Dafa practitioners' stories.
I then remembered a poem from Master:
“The Lotus (in Yuan verse)A myriad of pure lotuses,planted by meHaving braved snow and harsh cold,bloom togetherWith the sky clearing,spring comes to fill the gardenDivine branches boast a floral assortmentWhose fragrance fills the airand wafts beyond the heavens” (“The Lotus (in Yuan verse)”, Hong Yin Vol. II)
I thought that as a Dafa practitioner during the end period of Fa rectification, I should hurry up, pick up the magic pen Master has given to me, tell the stories of Dafa practitioners, and help more people know the truth and choose a brighter future.
Master Li (the founder) has made the best arrangement for me at every step in my cultivation. Over the past two years, I had to stay home during the day to take care of my chronically ill mother-in-law. As a result, I didn't have much time to go out to clarify the truth. However, Master has now arranged for me to clarify the truth and save people by writing from home.
I decided to relinquish my human desire to write something beautiful. Instead, I wrote down the sincere story of Aunt May, who overcame three major sickness karma tests in one month. Despite experiencing facial paralysis, vomiting blood, and herpes zoster, Aunt May firmly believed in Master and Dafa. Her family members and relatives were all amazed: “She has been healed by simply practicing Falun Dafa without using any medication. It's truly a miracle!” After the article was published on the Minghui website, I gained more confidence.
Sometime later, a fellow practitioner told me about an incident in his hometown. A practitioner was involved in a traffic accident, and his skull was cracked open. However, he still managed to make a full recovery through practicing Falun Dafa: “It had such a big impact in my hometown,” the practitioner remarked. “People still talk about it two years later. It would be great if you can help to write an article about it. No one in my hometown was able to.” After asking for more details, I spent two nights writing the article, which truly shows the extraordinary magic of Dafa.
Cooperating As One Body
Aunt May invited me to visit her hometown. I happily agreed because I wanted to collect more stories about Dafa practitioners.
We traveled several hundred kilometers, and when our bus entered Aunt May's hometown, tears rolled down my face uncontrollably.
I remembered Master's words:
“The old forces never intended for Dafa to survive the evil they forged with fire and blood. But through the strength of your conviction, through the sacred vows that brought you to this earth, through the personal bonds and ties of destiny you established over many lifetimes, through your rational understanding of Dafa, and through the righteous thoughts that Dafa has given you and the ultimate protection from the Fa and its powers, you have made it through!” (“To the Canada Fa Conference”)
I believe I was predestined to come here and that there are essential tasks for me to complete. Indeed, at my first meeting with local practitioners, it felt like a reunion with old friends.
While there, I met a strong elderly couple who were veteran practitioners. “My husband and I are nearly 90 years old,” the wife told me. “But we won't let our age stop us from saving people!”
“It is an honor to follow Master in validating the Fa. Saving people is our duty. We can do it well, and we will,” added the husband.
From other practitioners, I learned that this elderly couple has been cultivating Dafa steadily. They always cooperated well with other practitioners when participating in clarifying the truth activities. When facing danger during the persecution, they always protected other practitioners first.
I wrote their stories and submitted the article to Minghui. Just as it was published, the couple was harassed by the local police. A fellow practitioner printed the article and brought it to the couple. They were strongly encouraged: “Our stories are on Minghui! We must strive to do even better!”
They kept righteous thoughts and did not acknowledge the old force's arrangement. Soon, the disturbance was gone.
In the following weeks, I received many article drafts from practitioners in my city and another city. Some of the articles were submitted to Minghui but did not get published. They wished for me to correct and improve the articles. I was very happy to help. I view this as a good opportunity to cooperate with fellow practitioners and improve together. I put my heart in it. For the majority of the drafts, I edited them heavily while taking care to maintain their original meanings. Sometimes, I felt that the stories were not complete and I would ask for more details and add them in. Soon, these edited articles appeared on Minghui one after another. All the practitioners were excited to see their cultivation stories published on Minghui, encouraging them to cultivate even better.
Master has said:
“Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
I knew that all of these circumstances were arranged by Master. All our achievements are bestowed by our merciful Master!
I also encouraged practitioners around me to start writing and submitting their articles to the online Fa cultivation experience sharing conferences. I advised them not to worry about their education levels. Writing cultivation experience sharing articles itself is validating the Fa. It is telling the truth of Dafa and saving people. For those who claimed that they do not know how to write articles, I tell them to just write down what they would say if clarifying the truth to someone face to face. Several practitioners actually started writing, and their articles were accepted and soon published on Minghui.
Eliminating Karma During Cultivation
Before the last Chinese New Year, I was busy writing several articles. I often worked very late, sometimes until 1 or 2 a.m., since I wanted to get them done before New Year’s Eve. As a consequence of focusing on these articles, I spent less time studying the Fa, doing exercises, and sending righteous thoughts.
My mother-in-law also needed constant care. My husband, my husband's sisters and I took care of her in turn. My husband's sisters kept excusing themselves by saying that their own health wasn't good, so my husband and I ended up doing the majority of the work. This cost me a lot of time and disturbed my plan. While knowing that complaints, a fighting mentality, and jealousy are all human attachments, I did not eliminate them right away despite noticing their manifestation.
I accumulated karma, and the pain began to surface in my left abdomen. About ten days later, sharp pains developed in my left thigh. They felt like electric shocks, and I would wake up multiple times each night.
Realizing that I was lagging in my cultivation, I required myself to increase the time devoted to studying the Fa, doing exercises, and sending righteous thoughts. I looked inward and tried to eliminate my selfishness. Putting myself into my sister-in-laws’ shoes, I realized that they themselves were over 60 years old and did indeed have existing health issues. It would be difficult for them to appropriately take care of my mother-in-law. Meanwhile, I was a cultivator, who should not care so much about personal loss and gain. I am obligated to hold myself to a higher standard.
Master has told us:
“Whatever you experience during your cultivation—whether good or bad—is good, for it comes about only because you are cultivating. ” (“To the Chicago Fa Conference”, The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III)
Whether the pain in my body is karma elimination or gong development, I will treat it as a good thing. With this thought, I suddenly saw the light. As a cultivator, my path is arranged by Master. All I need to do is to cultivate myself well and do the three things well.
That evening, my abdomen hurt especially badly. With one hand pressed on my abdomen to ease the throbbing pain, I used another hand to type and write an article. In fact, writing articles is itself a process of looking inward and lifting one’s character.
The very next day, all my pain had disappeared. Master had cleansed my body!
Understanding the Fa
This summer, I met a practitioner who talked a lot with me about her experience in cultivation. One day, she talked about her understanding of “emptiness” and “nothingness”. I felt that her insight was novel, unique, and interesting. After several conversations, I wrote down her cultivation stories. At the end of the articles, I directly quoted her talking about “emptiness” and “nothingness.”
The article was submitted to Minghui, but it did not get published. All of the articles I submitted afterward have been published. This one still did not appear.
I reviewed the article. I looked up what Master said about “emptiness” and “nothingness.” I was shocked when I discovered that her words on the topic misinterpreted Master's teaching.
I was ashamed of myself, since this meant that I too did not fully understand the Fa and had made a terrible mistake!
I repeatedly read “What is Emptiness?” from Master's “Essentials for Further Advancement” until my thoughts were completely aligned with the Fa. Then, I proceeded to discuss this issue with the practitioner. She too quickly realized her misinterpretation.
I have been writing articles for Minghui for more than a year. Master has been continuously guiding and encouraging me throughout the process. I will always remember that Master has said:
“Do well what remains to be done, and head toward the future with a cultivation journey free of regret.” (“To the Canada Fa Conference”)
