(Clearwisdom.net) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 2002 after some practitioners clarified the truth to me. Before then, I had been fooled by the government' slander. During that time, TV stations all over the country were showing the staged Tiananmen "self-immolation" incident throughout the day. The horrible pictures shocked people, and everyone talked about it everyday. This was one example of how Jiang's regime perpetrated frauds and used scare tactics to make people hate Falun Gong.
But during the following two years, everywhere I went, I saw posters and banners that read "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance." I was very moved by the practitioners, who, instead of giving up their belief under the tremendous pressure, persevered in their efforts to tell people the truth about Falun Dafa. I was eager to find out exactly what Falun Gong was all about and who these practitioners were.
Shortly after that, I got to know a practitioner. He explained to me how the government staged the Tiananmen "self-immolation" incident to frame Falun Dafa. He told me stories about the magic and beauty of Falun Dafa, and how it teaches people to be more compassionate. I was really touched and started reading Zhuan Falun. I studied Master's kind words with a pure heart and was fascinated by the profound teachings. Dafa gave me an understanding of the true meaning of life. I immersed myself in Dafa, and it purified me physically and mentally. I was deeply grateful to practitioners who risked their lives to tell me the truth and to save me. I was determined to become a real practitioner.
During that time, I only read Zhuan Falun a few times. I didn't know how to do the five exercises. I strictly followed 'the teachings and did what Master asked us to do: clarify truth about Falun Dafa and save sentient beings. I created a five-page poster to tell people about my experience with Falun Dafa, how it teaches people to have virtues, and how the Tiananmen "self-immolation" incident was staged by the government. I also made 10 posters that read "Falun Dafa Is Good" and "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance." After midnight I went to the marketplace to put up the posters. It was wintertime and extremely cold out. I didn't even dare to expose my bare hands to the cold air on my way back.
Then the practitioner who gave me Zhuan Falun was arrested. I didn't know any other practitioners. One day, while chatting with someone, I found out about another practitioner. I went to her home. She didn't refuse to talk to me, but she told me that she was too afraid to practice anymore. The good part was that she lent me all of the Falun Dafa books she had collected. Whenever I could find some time, I read all the books behind my husband's back. I finished reading all the books (over a dozen) in a short period of time. I read the books again and again. I also learned how to do the exercises by following the practice pictures in one of the books. It was just as Master told us: when I did the exercises, my movements followed the Qiji (energy mechanism). Since I didn't know any other practitioners, I didn't have access to Master's new articles, the Minghui website or other truth-clarifying materials. Using red and green paper, I made posters that read, "Falun Dafa Is Good" and "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance." I then put up the posters in various public places. I also used a paintbrush to write "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance" in red paint on walls.
I did all this by myself. When I felt lonely, Master would give me guidance in my dreams, give me opportunities to overcome xinxing tests, and let me see many things in other dimensions. With Master's help, I improved a great deal. I knew what a practitioner should do during the Fa-rectification period. I began to tell people the truth about Falun Dafa face-to-face, starting with my parents, my elder brother, and sister. At first they didn't agree with me and were very mean to me. My father would give me a lecture whenever we were together. I would clarify the truth to him, but instead of listening he would yell at me. I refused to give up. I patiently told them the truth again and again. After many times, their attitudes started to change. At that time, thanks to Master's guidance, I got to know another practitioner. She was quite diligent in her cultivation and provided me with Master's new articles, access to the Minghui website, and other truth-clarifying materials. I read all of Master's new articles. I felt I was improving rapidly. It was like Master was holding my hand, helping me to ascend.
My elder sister started to have stroke symptoms. She took different medicines, but none of them worked. She was miserable. I told her about Dafa's magic power of healing. She was interested in learning more. I lent her my Zhuan Falun. Since she had good inborn quality, as soon as she started reading Zhuan Falun, Master eliminated the karma for her. In several days, all her symptoms were gone! My brother-in-law's younger sister almost lost her life about half a year ago due to a medical mishap. The after-effect of that accident left her arms and legs with no strength. She could only lie in bed, and she could not even hold a cup of water. Her family members felt hopeless and were prepared for her death. My brother-in-law saw what had happened to my sister. He invited his younger sister to his house so that she could look at the practice pictures in Master's books. She told them that the pictures were alive, and that they could move. They were so surprised and called me immediately even though it was at the middle of the night. I had been practicing for about a year then and understood what had happened. I told her that what she saw was true. She was predestined to practice Falun Dafa. In order to help her establish a strong belief, Master gave her some guidance. After she stayed at my sister's house for seven days, she regained the ability to walk. She returned home and in less than a month, she could cook and wash clothes again. She and my sister started to learn the exercises from me. My sister gave up after a while, but she didn't. Within half a year, she was strong enough to finish all the farm work on her 1 acre piece of land, while her husband worked off in another place.
Seeing what happened, families, friends, and neighbors started to ask us questions about Falun Dafa. This was a great opportunity to clarify the truth to them. We answered all their questions. People around us all knew that we practiced Falun Gong. Several people even borrowed Zhuan Falun from us to read.
During this time, half a year after I had started practicing, my husband found out. He gave me a hard time. He wanted to divorce me. He swore at me and beat me. I followed the Fa strictly and tolerated his behavior. Before I practiced Falun Dafa, I was more hot-tempered than my husband, and I wouldn't have allowed him to say anything bad to me. I continued to tell him the truth about Falun Dafa. He wouldn't listen and insisted that I give up practicing. I told him very clearly that nobody could stop me from practicing. If he wanted to divorce me, we could go to court. I was able to be tolerant and didn't fight back when I was beaten or sworn at. One day he jumped into bed and hit me with his fists. I didn't let a single cry out. I knew that this was for me to overcome a test, but I felt I had been wronged, and I was crying in my heart. He got tired from hitting me, so he sat down and was panting with anger. From the surface, I was able to be tolerant. But deep inside I felt sad and angry. He started hitting me again. At that time, my son came into the room and saw what was happening. He had read Zhuan Falun twice and understood that a practitioner should not fight back when beaten or sworn at. He turned his face away and started to cry. My husband stopped beating me. Tears of grievance rolled down my face. Later on I realized that I was not truly tolerant. In "What is Forbearance (Ren)?" Master said,
"Forbearance is the key to improving one's xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator."
(Essentials For Further Advancement)
After that, in several similar situations, I held up and was really tolerant. After I got rid of this attachment, he was not that mean to me anymore. When he was in a good mood, I told him the truth about Falun Dafa. He said, "I was just worried. If you were arrested and I lost my job, we would have to spend a lot of money. If you were sentenced to jail, you would endure so much pain. Just practice at home, and don't go out and tell people about it." I understood where he was coming from. He didn't know that a practitioner has a very high morality level and is eager to tell people about Falun Dafa because it is so good. As practitioners in the Fa-rectification period, it's our responsibility to tell people the truth and save them.
I didn't want him to worry about me. So after he went to sleep and I finished sending forth righteous thoughts at 12 a.m., I went outside to distribute some truth-clarifying material. My only thought was to save sentient beings. It was quiet at night. I felt comfortable walking by myself. No matter how dark it was outside or how hard the road was, I could see clearly and was never in any danger. One night I left materials explaining the truth about Falun Dafa at every house in a particular village. On my way home, I slowed down to look at the night scene. A person came out of one of the houses and started following me. I walked faster and started to send forth righteous thoughts. After a while, I looked back and didn't see him. I stopped sending forth righteous thoughts. When I approached my house, this person appeared again right in front of me. He had taken a shortcut. At that moment, a motorcycle came from behind with bright lights. I was a little scared, and my heart was racing. I stepped aside to hide in a darker place. Once the motorcycle passed, I rushed into my house and closed the door. My husband was still sleeping. I started to send forth righteous thoughts. The motorcycle passed my house twice. I sent forth righteous thoughts for a long time and didn't sleep until almost dawn. Later I realized that I should always maintain a pure heart when I do things to save sentient beings. The old forces won't be able to take advantage of our human attachments if we don't have any.
Now that the Fa-rectification period is going to end soon, there are still many people who don't know the truth about Falun Dafa and are under persecution. We should try our best to save them so we won't regret anything when we leave. Master was so kind to us, and we should be kind to everyday people. Let's not leave any predestined person behind. We must do what Master asked us to do and walk our last steps well.
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From The First Written Form Experience Sharing Conference for Practitioners in Mainland China