(Minghui.org) Respectful greetings to Master and fellow practitioners!
To celebrate Master’s birthday and the 32nd anniversary of Dafa’s public introduction, I would like to tell you how I began practicing Falun Dafa and cultivate myself.
I had some illnesses, so I researched qigongs online, and this is how I heard about Falun Dafa. I practiced the five exercises, watched the videos of Master’s Nine Lectures, and read Master’s lectures online. I later realized that this is the way compassionate Master arranged for me to obtain the Fa.
The first time I did the exercises, my body got very hot and I knew Master was eliminating bad things. After Master purified and adjusted my body, I felt energetic and great.
My job involves producing fine wooden art works. My brother and I were turning a big piece of wood when it fell and hit my foot. When I looked down, I saw my big toenail pop out and I saw the bone. At that moment, I remembered that I’m a practitioner, so I immediately said, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I said, “It’s okay, it’s okay.” I used a bandage and taped my toenail back and continued working as if nothing had happened.
The wound healed very quickly. Amazingly, I didn’t feel any pain—instead my toe was numb. If I were not a practitioner, it would have taken at least two weeks to heal. I realized that cultivators only need to follow the Fa to improve their xinxing, and believe in Master and the Fa. Then anything that happens is a good thing. A few days later, my toe was back to normal.
One day, several practitioners went to pour concrete and expand the area at another practitioner’s home, which is a Fa study site. I was asked to help. When I got there, I said I couldn’t because I had a sore leg. Because I said that, that night I felt tired and as if I had no strength.
Master said,
“As a practitioner, if you always think that it is an illness, you are actually asking for it. If you ask for an illness, it will come inside your body. As a practitioner, your xinxing level should be high. You should not always worry that it is an illness, for this fear of illness is an attachment and it can bring you trouble just the same.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
I looked inward and realized that I was making excuses when I said my leg hurt. I saw that my xinxing had fallen too low compared to the standards of a cultivator.
Compassionate Master eliminated my karma, but I was making excuses. My cultivation state improved after I studied the Fa.
Because I benefited so much, I wanted to introduce Dafa to more people. I contacted a few local practitioners and we went to a park to do the exercises. I was being zealous, so I disregarded the special situation in my area [Note: Vietnam is still a communist country]. Then the interference came.
The police sent me a letter requesting to meet. They told me to practice the exercises at home and not go to the park to practice them in public. I said I’m practicing Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and I still went there to practice. They met with me for an entire afternoon. They told me that this was a warning.
A few days later in the morning I took the speaker to the park at 5 o’clock. It was still dark. I saw 6 or 7 young men holding sticks and batons wearing plain clothes, and they blocked my car. I thought they were there to rob me. Then they all rushed at me and beat me down. They continued to beat me until I couldn’t move—then they left. I was left unconscious. When I woke up my body was numb and I felt energy flowing around me. I did not feel any pain. It was then that I realized that perhaps this was what the police were warning me about.
The next day I received a message that it was the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). I realized that Chinese agents were the ones that assaulted me.
Master said in “To the Practitioners of Vietnam,”
“CCP special agents who have infiltrated the Vietnamese government have, in order to shift the pressure away, used money, diplomatic means, and business interests to persuade the government to suppress Falun Gong practitioners. It has done this in hopes of shifting the attention of the international community and mitigating the pressure it has brought upon itself by persecuting Falun Gong in China.” (“To the Practitioners of Vietnam”)
At that time, my understanding of the Fa was still shallow. I thought that I was being persecuted because I owed karma and needed to pay debts from my previous lifetimes with my own life. I happily told the other practitioners what happened, because I thought I overcame the cycle of life and death. Later, when I re-read Master’s lectures, I realized that I had tacitly acknowledged the old forces’ arrangements. I hadn’t truly accepted and followed Master’s teaching.
We tried maintaining the practice site for a while, but we encountered all kinds of interference. Most notably was that the people there did not support us, so we were unable to maintain the practice site. Later, when I looked inward, I realized that we were using human hearts to validate the Fa; we were not being compassionate.
We started two new practice sites, but the interference and persecution continued to come. Some practitioners stopped practicing even though they looked steadfast on the surface. I realized that it was because they had not deeply understood the Fa’s principles, which was regretful. I found another practice site. We were able to maintain it, and many practitioners came.
After we practiced the exercises steadily there for a while, the police came to my house and asked me to practice the exercises at home. One time while we were doing the exercises, a plainclothes police officer came and said, “Go home and practice.” I took a step towards him, but he turned around and left. I realized that I may have had a mindset of combativeness by insisting on doing the exercises in public.
Master said, “...for the time being you can study the Fa and do the exercises mainly on your own, and not organize large group-study sessions or exercises.” (“To the Practitioners of Vietnam”)
I thought that since this Fa is so precious, why don’t we memorize it? I focused on memorizing, and rarely participated in group activities until one day I memorized Lecture One of Zhuan Falun, I understood that my life had fallen to this level because of my own selfishness. Now no matter how much I memorized the Fa, I did not put my mind to cooperating with other practitioners.
I realized that if each individual practitioner makes good use of our strengths in the fields of validating the Fa, and coordinates with others to support each other, we will create a solid, strong base despite the Communist Party’s propaganda. No amount of slander can change it because people will know Falun Dafa is good.
One time I clarified the truth to a distant relative who worked in the propaganda department. I knew he had been poisoned by the CCP’s propaganda. Before we met, I asked Master to strengthen my righteous thoughts. When I said I practiced Falun Dafa and how I benefited, he didn’t want to listen. I reinforced my righteous thoughts and said I practiced to become a good person in family and society, and it has nothing to do with politics. He changed his attitude and said twice, “Yes, I support it.” He later told me he had heard some lies about Falun Dafa and believed them.
When I first obtained the Fa, I still had many human attachments that were not compatible with ordinary people’s circumstances. After I cultivated diligently, my family gradually realized that Dafa is very good. Some family members started cultivating even though they previously had a negative view of Dafa due to my poor behavior at that time.
I realize that I still have many attachments that need to be eliminated. In order to reach the standard of Dafa disciples of the Fa-rectification period, I need to diligently cultivate myself.
My sharing is based on my current understanding. If there’s anything that is not in accordance with the Fa, fellow practitioners please compassionately point them out.
I would like to thank Master and thank fellow practitioners for listening!
(Selected submission in celebration of World Falun Dafa Day on Minghui.org)