(Minghui.org) I was just a young woman, 23 years of age, when I was introduced to Falun Dafa. I began my nearly-three-decade cultivation journey in 1995. I feel extremely lucky to cultivate in the greatest Fa of the universe, and am also eternally grateful to Master for saving me. Whether imprisoned for my belief, improving myself, clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa, or helping to save people, I know Master is watching over and guiding me at every turn.
I paid a visit to my mother in our hometown in the summer of 1995. Walking into the courtyard, I was surprised to find my usually sickly mother busy clearing the yard. Grinning ear to ear when she saw me, my mother put down the broom to help me with my luggage. She excitedly shared that she and my father had taken up a practice called Falun Dafa. Through this peaceful yet powerful practice, she had regained her health and was no longer taking any medication.
I was skeptical, “Really? All your illnesses are truly gone? Completely? And you’ll never have to take any medication ever again?” She enthusiastically replied, “Yes. I haven’t taken any medicine in the last four months. Falun Dafa is the supreme Buddha Fa. Many people in our village practice Falun Dafa. There are at least a few hundred practitioners in the county.” She explained how all her discomfort and pain disappeared soon after she took up the cultivation practice, while her energy levels increased. Now she was able to do chores, keeping the house and the yard tidy and clean.
This happy and healthy person was in stark contrast to the person I visited about six months before. She used to be bedridden and depressed, suffering from stomach problems and severe neck pain caused by cervical vertebrae problems. Now she was all smiles and energetic. It was as if she was 20 years younger. Having witnessed the dramatic changes in my mother, our entire family was grateful for Dafa. I told my mother to keep it up and do whatever Master asks.
Waking up the next morning, I heard beautiful soothing music playing in the distance—I thought I must be dreaming. But it was not a dream, as I also heard people coming in and greeting my father. After they left, I asked my father, “What brought all these people here today?” He smiled, “Our yard is so big that other practitioners who live in the village come here to do the exercises every morning. We do the exercises at 5 a.m. each morning and have Fa study at 7 p.m. in the evening.”
“So you played the music?” I said to my dad, “It was beautiful. I’ve never heard such soothing music. So pretty.” He was happy to hear that, and added, “I’ve got a set of Dafa books for you. You have a great predestined relationship with Dafa. My daughter is truly fortunate.” I asked him to play the Fa lectures for me and I learned the exercises that day. In this way, I took up Dafa cultivation with the help of my parents.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) banned Falun Dafa in July 1999 and launched a nationwide crackdown against the practice. My parents and everybody in the family knew that Dafa is good and Master is the true creator who’s here to save sentient beings. My parents were repeatedly arrested after refusing to renounce their faith. The police routinely came knocking in the middle of the night, and harassed, fined and detained them. The Political and Legal Affairs Commission officials made my parents report to the police station twice a day. Authorities imposed huge fines to prevent them from going to Beijing to petition the central government.
While staying with my parents during my first pregnancy, I witnessed first-hand how relentless and violent the local authorities were toward Dafa practitioners. I lived in constant fear and anxiety, not knowing what was going to happen to my parents. The mental and emotional exhaustion took a toll on me. A few days after giving birth, my baby died.
I was relatively new to Dafa cultivation and didn’t study the Fa often enough to maintain strong righteous thoughts. The painful trauma of losing a child and the constant worry weighed on my chest like a rock. My body responded negatively and I suffered from severe hemorrhoids. Each time I had a bowel movement, I felt lots of pain for the entire day, which kept me up at night. I became nervous and anxious even before I needed to have a bowel movement. I lost 20 pounds in less than a month. I told my parents, “Master will protect you two as long as you cultivate diligently. I, however, have too much karma. I don’t think I can continue with cultivation.”
Seeing how completely broken I was, my father sat me down one day and said, “Your mother and I know how much you’ve been through—the pain must be unbearable. You finally became pregnant after years of trying and now you’ve lost the baby. We don’t want to say or do anything to make it worse. But think about this—our entire family cultivates in Dafa. You can always turn to the Fa principles for guidance.”
My father quoted Master’s words,
“Since it’s cultivation, nothing on our path of cultivation is coincidental.” (Teachings at the Conference in New Zealand)
He continued, “This perpetual sadness—isn’t this a tribulation caused by your sentimentality? Many practitioners suffered from terminal illness, yet they’ve overcome the tribulation with Master’s protection. Why? Because they cultivate solidly and diligently. Look at your mother. Ever since she took up Dafa cultivation she recovered from all of her illnesses. Now, look at yourself, you’ve been bedridden for more than a month and are getting worse each day. You’ve taken a ton of medication yet nothing helped. Look how thin you’ve become. Even if you get the hemorrhoids surgically removed, there is no guarantee that it will be successful and you’ll still have to suffer. What if even surgery doesn’t help? What then?”
After a pause, he asked, “How about returning to Dafa cultivation? Your decision to turn around is the first step toward eventually climbing onto shore from the sea of endless suffering. You just need to overcome this tribulation and things will start to look up.”
I didn’t say anything, but I knew my father was right. My mother’s miraculous recovery from the many illnesses she used to suffer from was real. Many practitioners we know also experienced the same thing. Through practicing Dafa diligently, their health improved and illnesses disappeared. What is hemorrhoids compared to what they used to suffer from? Nothing.
Losing a child had caused me so much mental agony, which in turn took a toll on my health. All the suffering might really have been because of the huge amount of karma I owed. I realized that I should let go of human sentimentality and stop dwelling on my loss. Beside causing endless pain, it was not helping with anything. Whether I experienced pain or not, I decided that I would no longer be attached to it. I would place my faith in Master and the Fa, cultivate diligently, and leave everything up to Master.
My father asked, “How about I get a Dafa book for you to start reading right now?” I nodded. He said, “One thing you have to remember, is to not be attached to having your illness healed.” I told him, “Dad, I know the Fa principles. I will not have any pursuit and I’m letting it all go. Live or die, it’ll all be in Master’s hands.”
Just an hour later, a miracle happened. I felt the urge to use the bathroom and started to get anxious. My mom smiled, “Just go. Don’t worry too much.” The next moment, I was in tears as I could not believe it—the painful problem that had tormented me day and night for more than a month was completely gone.
Whenever this past experience comes up in our conversation, everyone in the family is reminded once more of how compassionate Master is. Master did not give up on me, even when I slacked off in my cultivation. I made up my mind to keep Master’s words close to heart and cultivate solidly. I am so grateful that Master arranged all this to get me back on track. I was reminded of the sacred vows I made to help Master rectify the Fa and save sentient beings. I understood that I have to cultivate myself well so I can return to my true home in heaven.
Through this tribulation, my xinxing and enlightenment quality improved. I was more determined than ever to cultivate in Dafa. Master helped me eliminate a huge chunk of karma, which involved a matter of life and death. I am so grateful to our great and compassionate Master.
While my mom was imprisoned for her faith, my brother’s wife gave birth to a baby boy. I stayed with the couple temporarily to help out with the baby. A few days after I arrived at my brother’s home, a friend called and said her father was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. The friend and her mother are both practitioners but not her father. She asked if I could visit and maybe help convince her father to take up Dafa cultivation.
I knew only Dafa could save his life. If my friend’s father was receptive to Dafa’s principles, he could benefit so much. I told her I’d visit that weekend when my brother was available to help his wife with the baby.
I sent righteous thoughts beforehand to eliminate interference and asked Master to strengthen me. My friend and her mother also sent righteous thoughts. We had a long conversation with my friend’s father and he was receptive to Dafa’s principles. I gave him DVDs of Master’s Fa teachings and told him to watch one lecture a day.
My friend updated me a month later and said her father was doing much better. His appetite had improved. After chemotherapy, he still had a full head of hair which was surprising to the doctors and other patients. Only we knew what was going on—Master helped him eliminate a lot of karma.
However, my friend called again soon with bad news. Her father stopped studying the Fa after her aunt’s recent visit. Her aunt practices a minor cultivation way. She talked the man into kneeling down and kowtowing to some unknown entity, saying that it’d help get rid of his illness. And her father completely bought into it. No matter how my friend and her mother tried to convince him, he would not study the Fa anymore. I was deeply saddened by the news and decided to pay him another visit that weekend. My mother’s term ended and she had just being released that week. She offered to go with me.
As I woke up the next morning and tried to sit up to send righteous thoughts, I felt tightness in my chest and couldn’t breathe. My mother was in the same room, sitting in full lotus position sending righteous thoughts with her eyes closed. I didn’t want to disturb her even though my chest felt tight and extremely uncomfortable. I thought maybe it would get better after I used the bathroom.
Sitting on the toilet, all kinds of thoughts cropped up. I thought maybe it was genetic, as my father had heart problems. Then I corrected myself immediately: “I am a cultivator of Falun Dafa. I am experiencing something different than what my father had.” Another thought arose, “I’ve gained so much weight lately. Maybe that’s what caused this discomfort. I have indulged in unhealthy foods, high in sugar and fat content lately, and have gained a lot of weight. It is time to go on a diet.” My mind was just running wild with these thoughts.
Just then, my friend called. She sounded dejected and said her father no longer wanted anything to do with Dafa. What had caused his change of heart? I wondered whether his no longer believing in Dafa might have been a reflection of my own failing to place complete faith in Dafa, as it was not by chance that this was brought to my attention. I had to look inward and examine myself.
But it didn’t make any sense. How could I not have complete faith in Dafa? I had full confidence and 100% faith in Master and the Fa. While helping my brother and his wife with the newborn and various household chores, I still found time to help local practitioners set up a truth-clarification materials production site, purchased a printer and other supplies, and helped them print Dafa fliers and booklets. I studied the Fa and did the exercises every day. How could I not have complete faith in Master and the Fa? This was by no means a small matter.
Just as I was digging deeper to find where I fell short, I suddenly remembered a small incident from the night before. It was before bed and I was casually chatting with my mother while holding the baby. Suddenly I felt a stream of warmth going down my shirt. I looked down and sure enough, the baby was peeing on me. I blurted out a cuss word before looking up and found my sister-in-law standing right in front of me, smiling. She took the baby from me without saying anything and went back to her room. My sister-in-law doesn’t practice Dafa but she is a really nice person.
I was embarrassed, “I’ve cultivated for so long. How could I still cuss?” I was preoccupied with what happened and how badly it made me look in front of my non-practitioner sister-in-law. As soon as I lay down to go to sleep, the old bed started making noises. The bed was small and the comforter was coarse to the touch and scratchy. I started resenting having to help out so much around my brother’s house, from cooking to cleaning, to washing endless cloth diapers every day. I was exhausted and grumpy.
I complained to my mother, “Would you just look at this comforter? The fabric is so scratchy and is making me itchy all over. The bed is so small and uncomfortable. My bed at home is a king size and the bedding is all natural material, soft and comfy. Just look at what they gave me to sleep on. What is this? I am going home on Saturday to sleep in my own bed so I can finally get some rest.” My mother tried to comfort me, “You won’t be staying here for long. Just bear with it.” I lay down again, still muttering complaints.
Just then, I suddenly realized that I fell short of placing 100% faith in Master and the Fa. Everything I experience, every step I take in this human world, has been thoughtfully arranged by Master because I am a cultivator, including this short stay with my brother’s family. Everything that comes with it—the scratchy bedding, the endless dirty diapers, the cleaning and cooking—all is supposed to happen exactly this way to help me improve. How sad it is that I didn’t realize it until now! Instead of holding myself to the high standard of the Fa, I was full of bitterness and even complained to my mother about it.
There is no small matter in cultivation, and I made such a huge mistake. “I was wrong, Master,” I said, “I was wrong. I will not complain anymore. This is for me to improve.” The moment I apologized to Master, a miracle happened. Something was ejected from my chest and the weight that had been sitting on my chest was lifted. I felt better in just a matter of seconds. It was Master’s great compassion.
My husband and I moved back to his hometown in norther China in 2009. With this move, many things changed in our life. I closed down the small business that I had been running for many years and suddenly found myself with lots of free time. Besides cooking three meals a day for my family, I used my time to write truth-clarification letters and sent them to different government agencies and officials.
My husband, also a practitioner, and I soon joined the local practitioners and contributed to their effort to help Master rectify the Fa and save sentient beings.
Utilizing my skill sets, I set up a truth-clarification materials production site at our home to supply the local practitioners. I bought printing equipment and supplies to print Dafa booklets and fliers, and a laser engraving machine to make Dafa amulets. Whenever local practitioners asked for help, we used our car to transport practitioners and deliver materials. I also helped practitioners in other areas set up materials production sites and delivered supplies to remote villages. We didn’t mind putting miles on our car, nor paying for materials and equipment out of our own pocket, as long it was needed for truth-clarification. My husband and I were all in supporting the local effort without thinking twice about our own loss and gain.
A relative of ours was arrested in spring 2022 and I was implicated. The police came in the middle of the night and arrested me. They transported me to a different town and put me up in a hotel under quarantine. I was cuffed to a metal ring attached to the floor as soon as we arrived.
The room was set up with all kinds of torture devices. There was an iron chair, metal rings fixed to the floor, and handcuffs. The only thing missing was the surveillance camera. As I asked Master for help, I felt a deep regret that I had not cultivated diligently. I let Master down and being arrested was causing more trouble and suffering for Master. I asked for Master’s forgiveness. Counting all the human notions that I had yet to give up, I made up my mind to change my ways. I asked Master to strengthen my righteous thoughts as I would never give in to evil’s demand to renounce my faith in Dafa.
I clarified the truth to whomever came into the room and kept talking about Dafa until the next day. The officer monitoring me fell asleep. I sent forth righteous thoughts and slipped out of the cuffs. With my shoes in my hands, I tiptoed out of the room barefoot. When I turned the door knob, the chain lock made a noise. I said to the chain lock, “You can’t make any noise. You have to assimilate to the Fa and protect a Dafa practitioner. You will receive blessings.” The chain lock was muted instantly.
I pushed the door open and left the room. As I walked toward the lobby, I saw a police officer about six yards from me, looking at his phone. I sent righteous thoughts so he wouldn’t look up from his phone, and hurried across the lobby. As soon as I walked out of the hotel, I picked a small alley that led to a field of crops. With Master’s help, I found a jacket. The surveillance camera at the hotel might have picked up footage of me leaving the hotel. To not be recognized based on what I was wearing, I put on the jacket I found and kept going, avoiding any known surveillance cameras along the way.
I came to a river, but there was no bridge in sight. A little downstream, I found a narrow concrete slab over the river that might have been left from a previous construction project. The concrete slab was barely wide enough to place my feet side by side. I carefully walked across the river without anything to hold on to, praying to Master the entire time. A vertical piece as tall as a person stood right in the middle of the concrete slab. I grabbed onto it, and carefully put one foot around it to the other side, then the other. With Master’s protection, I safely reached the other side. I became scared afterward, “It was truly dangerous. What if I fell into the river?” The water was so deep and current so rapid—it could have easily ended badly. Plus, both sides of the riverbank were steep and slippery. I wouldn’t have been able to climb out of the ditch even if I managed to survive the fall into the water.
After crossing the river, I passed by a peach orchard and found myself at the entrance of a village. A nice older couple gave me some water, a steamed bun, and a face mask. I didn’t venture into the village as surveillance cameras were everywhere. Instead, I turned around and went into the woods. After two hours of trekking through the woods, I heard the siren of a police car in distance. I strengthened my righteous thoughts and kept going.
It had been sunny with clear blue skies a moment before, and now suddenly dark clouds gathered and the wind picked up. Rain started to come down harder and harder. I kept going, strategically picking my route to stay dry under big trees, and eventually came to safety.
The local practitioners later told me how narrowly I escaped and how timely was the storm that saved me. If it weren’t for that storm making search difficult in the woods, the police would have found me that day. The authorities were furious and looked everywhere for me, including many practitioners’ homes. They dispatched more officers the next day to look for me and sirens were heard everywhere.
There is still so much I want to share, however, I would like to to keep this article from being too long. I give my thanks to our compassionate Master for His help.