(Minghui.org) This year marks the 30th anniversary of the publication of Zhuan Falun. Looking back on my cultivation journey, I’m filled with gratitude. I’m grateful to Master for his compassion in saving me and millions of other practitioners, and I’m also grateful to the practitioner who gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun in Chinatown. I feel fortunate to have a connection with Dafa, and my life has since embarked on a completely new path.
When I lived in China, I went to a Tibetan Buddhist temple near my home, converted to Buddhism and became a lay Buddhist. I yearned to practice Buddhism and hoped to achieve perfection in this lifetime. Time passed but no one guided me, so I gradually felt confused. Although I devoted myself to Buddhism and only read Buddhist scriptures, I didn’t feel I belonged. I could not find a method that could truly guide me to cultivate to a high level.
I also practiced some qigong. Most of them did not emphasize virtue, but only exercised the body. How could people reach the realm of Buddha? I gradually realized that it was almost impossible to achieve success in one lifetime with these cultivation methods.
After I left China, my desire to find a true cultivation way became stronger. However, many Western cultivation methods are just formal religious beliefs and I didn’t feel they could lead me to a higher realm. I knew that cultivation is not just a superficial ritual, but is about inner improvement.
In 2010, in London’s Chinatown, a woman helped me quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. She gave me a book, Zhuan Falun. The first time I opened it I was surprised to find that the font was large, and the principles were both profound and easy to understand, unlike the obscure cultivation books I read in the past. I was moved: This is what I’m looking for! This is the Dafa that can truly lead people to practice to perfection!
The principles in Zhuan Falun are not only profound, but are also explained in great detail and vividness, which made me truly understand the connotations and method of cultivation. Most importantly, this time it was different, because I have Master who personally takes me as a disciple. This is not an ordinary way of cultivation, but a righteous cultivation. Cultivating according to the characteristics of the universe—Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance—is a path that one can take to truly return to his origin.
This time, I’m no longer a cultivator groping around on my own. This is incomparable to any other cultivation way, and it is also beyond the reach of other qigongs I practiced. In the past, I thought that cultivation required several lifetimes, or even dozens of lifetimes of effort to achieve success, but Zhuan Falun showed me that true Dafa cultivation requires improving xinxing. This is a superior practice of cultivating both body and mind, and it can be completed in one lifetime.
I am very happy as I am finally on the true path of cultivation and I am full of hope. After I began to practice Falun Dafa, I personally witnessed the extraordinary nature of Dafa. I deeply realized that only Master can lead me back to my true self.
I have experienced many extraordinary changes, especially when I overcame a serious illness four years ago, which made me more determined to practice Dafa.
I suddenly had a high fever and pain all over my body. It was even hard to eat porridge. At first, I thought I would be fine if I endured it, but three days later, the symptoms did not ease. I gradually realized that this was not an ordinary illness, but a test.
I suddenly realized: “I’m a Falun Dafa practitioner. Only Master’s arrangements count, and I don’t recognize the old forces’ arrangements!” I kept sending righteous thoughts: “I can’t just lie here like this, I have to go out and do what I should do!” I looked inward to find my shortcomings such as seeking comfort, and asked Master to give me a chance to correct them. The moment I had this thought, a miracle happened.
I felt a strong energy surge into my body, and I was able to sit up. I immediately sat in the lotus posture and sent forth righteous thoughts. I noticed that the pain completely disappeared. An incomparably warm and compassionate energy surrounded me, as if it held me up, and made me feel safe and more relaxed than ever before. I knew I was saved, and that Master was blessing me.
At this time, I saw my body in another dimension become huge. Deep in my abdomen, there was a black woolen ball-like object, ugly and squirming. I immediately remembered what Master said, “The fundamental cause of one’s being ill and all of one’s misfortune is karma, the karmic field of the black substance.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun) I understood that this black karma ball was the source of my suffering.
I immediately sent out righteous thoughts and completely disintegrated it. A strong beam of light shot out from my body and hit the black karma ball. It exploded instantly and turned into powder and dissipated. At that moment, I felt light all over, and all the discomfort disappeared.
On the fourth day of the illness karma test, I initially thought I couldn’t get up, but I was completely recovered. If it hadn’t been for Master, I could not have recovered so quickly! I ran downstairs excitedly and told my mother: “Master helped me get rid of it! The bad thing has been disintegrated!” My mother saw that my complexion looked better. We both said, “Thank you, Master!”
Since then, I have almost never experienced illness karma again, and I cherish every day of cultivation even more.
When I go out to tell people about Falun Dafa, I always carry a pocket version of Zhuan Falun with me, because I study the Fa every day. When the Fa is with me, I can maintain righteous thoughts. I repeatedly said that I would memorize the entire book, but I’ve never been able to. This year, I made up my mind to do this.
I’m very determined to cultivate. Zhuan Falun helped me find the true path of cultivation and has benefited me physically and mentally. It also helped me find the true meaning of life—to help Master during the Fa-rectification and save sentient beings. Thank you, Master. I must cherish the opportunity to cultivate, practice diligently, and complete my mission.