Helping Practitioners to Cultivate Is Helping Oneself

(Minghui.org) I’m an 80-year-old practitioner. I want to share my experience in helping two practitioners to overcome their tribulations of sickness karma by studying Fa with them. It’s the stories of us making progress together with diligence, and witnessing the magnificence of Master Li (Dafa’s founder) and Falun Dafa.

Alice (pseudonym), in her 80s, suddenly passed out at home at the end of 2000 when the pandemic was most severe. Her younger son took her to the hospital where she was taken to the ICU right away and a medical crisis notice was issued. She woke up after losing consciousness for a few days. The other patients in the same ward said that they didn’t expect she would come back to life.

Alice’s brain went blank and she could not recall things after she became conscious. She didn’t know how she was brought to the hospital and could not recall anything that happened in the past few days. The patients sharing the same ward with her said that people died every day in the hospital during those several days. Nobody expected that she would come back to life. She lived in the hospital for about two months and then went home.

Practitioners tried to call her during the two months. But nobody answered the phone call. Later her phone was shut off. Practitioners went to her home but nobody opened the door. They could not find her family members either. Suspecting that she was hospitalized, practitioners went to hospitals to look for her. But they were not allowed to enter the hospital. After learning that she went back home, two practitioners and I went to visit her. Her younger son opened the door but did not let us in. He said some negative words and threatened to call the police to report us (because we practice Falun Dafa). We had no choice but to leave.

I kept thinking about Alice after coming back. I thought that we had been studying the Fa together for so many years, that she had been doing so well in clarifying the truth and giving out informational materials face to face, and that practitioners were the people she most wanted to meet right now. But I worried that her son would not let me in if I go again and I was afraid that her son really would report me to the police. Many negative thoughts and human notions popped up in my mind. At this moment, Master’s Fa came into my mind,

“It’s cultivation, so don’t be intimidated by difficulties. No matter what, no matter how hard it is, you are definitely able to come through on the path given to you by Master. (Applause) As long as you raise your xinxing you can make it through.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume III)

Master’s words encouraged me. I thought that I had been through big wind and waves, how could I allow such little difficulty to intimidate me? I will go!

Master saw my heart and hinted to me in a very clear dream that night. It seemed that we were on a sea in the dream. I sat in a boat with a few others. Suddenly somebody found that the water was getting into the boat. We paddled the boat to shore in a hurry and walked on the shore. I found that an elderly woman still lay in the boat and was incapable of moving. I wanted to ask people on the land to help her, but they already left. In a moment, I found that the elderly woman and I were both on the land.

After I woke up, I was enlightened that Master saw my heart and gave me a hint in the dream. In fact, Master is just beside us and knows whatever we think. He looks only at our hearts and handles everything for us. I went to Alice’s home the next day and kept sending forth righteous thoughts on the way there. I shed tears because of worrying about her. I knocked on the door and her younger son opened the door. He saw I cried and that I came alone, he didn’t say anything and went back into the room. I followed him and entered the room. He said, “It’s okay to visit my mom. But you can’t mention Falun Dafa.” He then sat on the edge of his mom’s bed.

Alice lay in bed, unable to move. She spoke with no strength. She couldn’t recall anything that I asked. She only remembered to study the Fa, practice the exercises and send forth righteous thoughts. As for how to practice the exercises and how to send forth righteous thoughts, she couldn’t recall. She only knew to study the Fa. The next day, she told her son that she wanted to study the Fa. Her son was going to throw away the book. She then refused to eat and would not speak a word. Her son had no choice but to give the book to her. While reading the book, she saw a lot of Falun (law wheels) on the opposite wall rotating. She knew that Master was encouraging her.

I knew that her younger son went back to his own home in the evening. Her elder son has a brain illness and lives with her. The elder son was not against Dafa. So I went to visit her in the evening. While sharing our experiences and thoughts, I knew she developed the symptoms of white lung disease. She told me that she didn’t acknowledge it. She said she was a cultivator and didn’t have any sickness. She asked me to teach her how to do the exercises and how to send forth righteous thoughts. Soon after she began to practice the exercises, she could leave the bed and care for herself. She could eat, go to the restroom, and walk around at home by herself. She really looked different every day. Her face turned plumper, she became energetic and could speak well. She had to stay home, so she picked up the phone to tell the Chinese people the facts about Falun Dafa. Later she came out while her son was at work and joined her Fa study group to read Fa with others.

Helping a Practitioner Return to Dafa

Because of her firm faith in Master and refusal to acknowledge the symptoms as sickness, Alice was able to study the Fa and do the exercises as normal in a couple of weeks. When I went to visit her later, her younger son’s attitude changed. Everything became smooth after our thinking was right.

Another thing happened around August this year. One day a practitioner came to my home and told me that Barbara (pseudonym) had come back home. I asked where she had gone. She said that Barbara was hospitalized. She was surprised that I didn’t know that since Barbara and I live in the same residential quarters. But I really didn’t know about it. So I went to Barbara’s home to see her. She is 78 years old and lives with her daughter. She was lying in bed and didn’t feel like saying a word. She didn’t even want to open her eyes. She couldn’t leave the bed and didn’t want to eat anything. Her daughter had to feed her food. She said she was hospitalized because of a stroke. I suggested to study Fa with her at her home. She said she couldn’t see anything. I said, "I will read it to you."

I went to her home the next day. Her son blocked me at the door and wouldn’t let me in. He threatened to report me to the police. Barbara’s son had been against Dafa and became even more so when his father, a practitioner, passed away. Later I discussed with Barbara to go to her home in the evening. She asked me to come at 8 pm. I went to her home a little past 7 pm but her door was already closed. I called but nobody opened the door. I was not discouraged and continued going to her home. If she closed the door, I called her to open the door. At the beginning, I read Master’s articles with her. She said she could not see clearly and didn’t want to read. So I suggested reading short articles. I found that she could see indeed. After we began to study the Fa, she could leave the bed, had an appetite, could go to the washroom, and the corner of her mouth was no longer crooked.

Another practitioner joined us later. Three of us studied the Fa together. She really looked different every day. After over half a month, Barbara was able to go to the group study site to read the Fa with others. That was really amazing.

When the persecution of Falun Dafa just began, Barbara and I were both taken to a detention center. I didn’t know much about how to cultivate at that time. I still clearly remember one incident that happened to Barbara. One day her mother, her siblings, and relatives came to visit her at the detention center. She came out, finding her mother and relatives all knelt on the ground. It was raining, and the mud and water mixed together on the ground. Her mother said that she wouldn’t get up if she refused to sign the statement promising to renounce Falun Dafa. Barbara firmly refused to sign. This incident deeply touched me.

Many practitioners were afraid to go out to distribute informational materials about Falun Dafa when the persecution was most rampant. I went to Barbara’s home with informational materials and stickers, asking whether she wanted some. She accepted all the materials. On another occasion, she was hit by a car. The collision left a dent in the front of the car, but she was not hurt at all. Such a good practitioner could not refuse her children’s decision during her tribulation of sickness karma but was brought to the hospital again and again by her children. But her thoughts were righteous and she made it through the sickness karma every time.

Improving and Cultivating

It seems that I was helping Alice and Babara. Actually, I was cultivating myself too. I let go of many attachments while helping them, especially the attachment of fear, fearing that their children would report me to the police, not being allowed to enter the room, and losing my face. I also let go of the attachment of being afraid of trouble and attachment to comfort. Master said, “The next person’s things are your things, and your things are his things.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2002 Conference in Washington, D.C.” Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume II) We are genuine practitioners and we directly benefit from Dafa. We cannot only gain from Dafa without giving anything. I just kept improving and staying diligent. Although it was hard work, my heart felt at ease.