Insights From My Cultivation Journey

(Minghui.org) I have been a Falun Dafa practitioner since June 2000, so this year marks my 25th year of cultivation. Looking back, from the early years plagued by illness and family burdens to later participating in truth-clarification projects, enduring tribulations, breaking through attachments, and accompanying my children on the path of cultivation—every moment has been protected by Master Li’s compassionate protection and the boundless power of the Fa.

Poor Health as a Youth

I was in extremely poor health in my youth. I had Hepatitis B since childhood, which severely impaired my liver function, and I also struggled with gastrointestinal and kidney issues.

Although I studied diligently and gained admission to my first-choice high school, my father and grandmother each suffered a stroke, one after the other, pushing me to the brink of physical and mental collapse. At that time, while shouldering heavy family responsibilities and facing the pressure of the college entrance exam, I often wept in bed late at night.

My physical weakness gave way to mental distress, and I eventually developed severe depression. Thoughts of “not wanting to live anymore” frequently crossed my mind, but a lingering reluctance to give up kept me going.

After taking a year off, I returned to school only to find that my body and mind could no longer handle the heavy high school workload. When my father suffered another stroke, I abandoned my dreams of further education. I switched to night classes, just coasting through to get a diploma. Those days were excruciating. I couldn’t understand why people had to suffer so much.

Dafa Renews My Life, Inspires My Family

I married a man who was willing to share family responsibilities with me, and we had two children. However, after giving birth, I again experienced severe physical and mental health issues. Postpartum depression, combined with physical weakness, plunged me into profound suffering and a sense of being trapped.

My old health insurance card, which had six slots, was stamped at each doctor’s visit, forcing me to replace it a dozen times a year. When regular doctors couldn’t help, I sought renowned specialists I had to pay for myself, still to no avail. In the end, I consulted fortune tellers and tried various other methods, but my health still didn’t improve. During that time, I often went to temples to pray, hoping the gods and Buddhas would reveal the meaning of life to me.

Early one morning, unable to sleep, I went for a walk in the park and unexpectedly met Falun Dafa practitioners. After reading Zhuan Falun, I felt as if I had discovered a treasure and had come to understand the true meaning of life.

I realized that people suffer because of karma—only by repaying karmic debts can one return to one’s true self. The book’s profound principles brought me sudden clarity. I felt deep gratitude for all past suffering and injustice, recognizing them as necessary to repay my karma and awaken me. From then on, I viewed everything with optimism—a mental transformation I could never have imagined. Cultivating Falun Dafa is the greatest blessing of my life.

As my cultivation deepened, my family gradually began practicing Falun Dafa as well. We practiced the exercises and studied the Fa teachings together as a family. Influenced by the practice, our children grew up healthy in body and mind, with upright character.

To help more people understand Falun Dafa, my family and I joined the Divine Land Marching Band and participated in performances to spread Dafa. Whether at home or abroad, we convey the beauty of Falun Dafa through music.

Our entire family has been profoundly influenced by Shen Yun Performing Arts. Shen Yun presents China’s 5,000-year culture through the most exquisite artistic forms, which are both moving and inspiring. It also nurtured our children’s appreciation for the arts from an early age. Later, both children enrolled at Niao Song High School of the Arts, where they studied trumpet and dance, respectively. Through the school’s rigorous training, they not only enhanced their artistic skills but also deepened their understanding of the beauty of Dafa and Master’s compassion during their cultivation practice.

Assisting Master to Rectify the Fa

Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Dafa, I have participated in numerous truth-clarification projects to provide people with facts about Falun Dafa and the persecution. At first, I knew nothing about computers and was even nervous about turning one on. But because I had the heart to save others, Master guided me step by step to learn various skills. Through clarifying the truth, I gradually cultivated away my fear and self-centeredness.

I first participated in an online group project, learning to write emails containing facts. Through the internet, I communicated with precious mainland citizens and encouraged them to withdraw from the CCP. Later, I joined Sound of Hope, recording programs broadcast into China that spread the truth about Falun Dafa.

Subsequently, I was fortunate to join the Divine Land Marching Band, using music to spread the Fa and help people experience the magnificence of Falun Dafa. I have also been providing background music for various truth-clarification programs almost every week. This dedication has lasted for 18 years, and I have even been working on some programs for 20 years. In the process of silently contributing, I have learned to cooperate and coordinate with others, and I have continuously improved myself in the Fa.

Master then arranged for me to be assigned to an administrative role at The Epoch Times. With no prior experience in working for a newspaper, I grew through one challenge after another. As the Fa-rectification progressed, I also participated in delivering newspapers early in the morning and transporting them late at night. Evenings were occupied by my regular job, leaving me with almost no rest, day or night—the physical and mental strain was immense. Yet I knew this was a critical moment for saving lives; I could not slack off.

Looking back on all this, I deeply realize that as long as we are willing to step forward and cultivate diligently, Master will pave the way for us and arrange the most suitable environment for us to elevate ourselves through the Fa and fulfill our vows.

Negate Sickness Karma, Firmly Believe Master

For years, guided by Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, my physical condition has far surpassed that of ordinary people. Cultivation has revealed life’s true meaning, bringing me increasing inner peace and steadfastness.

Yet in recent years, various physical discomforts have emerged: hot flashes, night sweats, depression, shortness of breath, extreme mood swings, and sleep disturbances—severely disrupting my daily life.

On several occasions while delivering newspapers late at night on my bicycle, I suddenly found myself unable to breathe easily. I couldn’t draw a full breath, felt oxygen deprivation in my brain, and nearly fainted. I knew this was interference by the old forces—I absolutely must not acknowledge it! I slowed my bike and immediately sought Master’s blessings, clearing the interference with righteous thoughts, shouting inwardly: “I am a disciple of Master Li Hongzhi—you have no right to disturb me!” By repeating aloud “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” and continuously sending forth righteous thoughts, the symptoms gradually subsided.

On another occasion, I had a high fever for several days, along with dizziness, nasal congestion, and difficulty breathing. I lay in bed, feeling weak and lethargic. However, I was scheduled to deliver newspapers late at night and distribute them early in the morning. At the time, I could barely get out of bed, and I couldn’t help but worry, “Will I be able to leave the house?”

But I knew this was interference. I told the karmic forces, “If this is something I owe you, I am willing to repay it; but I am now validating Dafa and saving sentient beings, so do not interfere with me.” I sincerely requested Master’s blessing and strengthened my righteous thoughts. As a result, I miraculously completed the newspaper delivery and distribution tasks.

In fact, delivering newspapers is never easy, especially late at night and early in the morning, when people are most tired and it’s hardest to concentrate. I often forced myself to stay alert, played Dafa music throughout the process, while reciting the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts.

Every time I put a newspaper in a mailbox, I send the message “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” and my heart fills with gratitude for these sentient beings who choose kindness at this critical moment in history and support The Epoch Times. I wish them blessings for doing so.

During several typhoons and rainy days, I guarded the newspapers as if they were a precious treasure. On one stormy night, the strong winds blew away the newspaper box; I braved the storm in the middle of the night to retrieve the newspapers, witnessing firsthand the terrifying sight of entire rows of roadside trees being uprooted. Many places that once felt distant now seemed within easy reach. I believe it’s because my heart has grown broader and my capabilities have expanded.

I realized that this was Master testing my resolve, enabling me to shed my attachment to comfort through hardship, temper my will, and elevate my character through adversity, thus paving a golden path to assist Master in rectifying the Fa and saving sentient beings.

Changing Notions, Eliminating Attachments

Master told us:

“Whenever there is interference of one kind or another in qigong practice, you should look for reasons within yourself and determine what you still have not let go of.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)

The physical and mental disturbances I’ve experienced recently have deepened my understanding of this teaching. When human thoughts arise, they create openings for the old forces to exploit. Reflecting on the process, I realized the changes began when I took on too many projects and responsibilities. To meet deadlines, I often sacrificed sleep. Combined with insufficient study of the Fa and a lack of cultivation progress, I gradually slipped back into human patterns of thinking.

As pressure intensified, my body and mind began to react: nasal congestion, headaches, chest tightness, shortness of breath, body aches, depression, feelings of inferiority, and a lack of self-confidence. I fixated on every physical discomfort, my mind sank into negativity, making each day feel like an uphill battle. although I still managed to complete my three daily tasks, my overall well-being steadily deteriorated.

To relieve the pressure, I even considered resigning from the soundtrack work I was doing for a certain project. When I submitted my resignation, the project lead became extremely anxious because there was virtually no one else who could take over the role. They understood my overwhelming stress and worked hard to coordinate and adjust the work.

Yet, I remained conflicted until one day, while studying the Fa, I gradually realized that these “discomforts” were actually arranged by the old forces. They exploited my notions, emotions, and stress to create and intensify interference, luring me away from truth-clarification and rescue projects. I suddenly realized I’d fallen into their trap.

Even if I had quit the project, my symptoms might not have abated—because the root of it all lay in my heart: a heart afraid of hardship, afraid of pressure, and unwilling to shoulder responsibility.

I began strengthening my righteous thoughts by frequently sending a resolute declaration, “I am a disciple of Master Li Hongzhi—you have no right to interfere with me!” Each time these righteous thoughts arose, my physical symptoms eased.

I realized that cultivators need a strong main consciousness to see through illusions. I also came to understand that whenever project work came up in the past, I would unconsciously resist it, seeing it as just more pressure and hardship. But my mindset has changed. I now approach it with gratitude: Thank you, Master, for bestowing these abilities on me and for allowing me to participate in projects that save people.

I realized that by changing my mindset and letting go of attachments, negative influences naturally dissipate, and light emerges. This experience has strengthened my resolve to follow the righteous path of cultivation and to courageously take on the responsibilities I should, which is the proper attitude for a cultivator.

Walking Well the Last Leg of My Cultivation Journey

I calmed myself down and looked inward, wondering why these sickness karma symptoms kept appearing, one after another. I realized it was because of my busy work schedule in recent years, insufficient in-depth Fa study, and inconsistent practice of the exercises.

My xinxing had not kept pace with the progress of Fa-rectification. In particular, I still harbored attachments to my family and children. Although I often discussed the principles of the Fa with my children, deep down I still held onto a mother’s feelings, emotions, and worries, which are precisely the attachments I needed to let go of.

From childhood, my children have practiced cultivation alongside me, once pure and diligent. Now that they’ve entered society, their minds have become unsettled, which concerns me greatly. Yet, I understand that cultivation is each being’s own choice. I can only offer compassionate guidance and lead by example—never forcing them. These are also the attachments and emotional ties I must let go of in my practice. Only by truly transcending human emotions can one cultivate compassion and righteous thoughts.

Over 25 years of cultivation, I have come to understand that, as a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period, my purpose is not only personal consummation but also shouldering the sacred mission of assisting Master in rectifying the Fa and saving sentient beings. Amid numerous tests from family, society, sickness karma, and my own attachments, I can only walk this final path successfully by constantly looking inward and improving my xinxing.

Thank you, compassionate Master.