(Clearwisdom.net) On August 20, 1994, I attended Master Li's Falun Dafa lecture classes in Yanji City Stadium along with nearly four thousand others. It was a great honor, and I feel proud that I could see and hear Master in person during this Dharma-ending period. August 20, 2007 is the thirteenth anniversary of our great compassionate Master teaching the Fa in Yanji, and it is also Falun Dafa Day for practitioners in Yanji City. I would like to share the following memories with all practitioners.
1. Righteous Fa Spread Far and Wide, Evil Demons Came to Interfere
"In the muddy human world, pearls and fish eyes are jumbled together. A Tathagata must descend to the world quietly. When he teaches the Fa, evil practices are bound to interfere. The Dao and the demonic ways are taught at the same time and in the same world. ("Enlightenment" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
When Master came to teach the Fa in Yanji, some other so-called qigong masters who were famous at the time also came to hold classes and public lectures in Yanji Stadium, Yanji University Club and Yanji Workers' Club, etc., and stopped many people from obtaining Dafa. On the first day of the Fa lectures, Master looked quite dignified when he mentioned that some people came with bad intentions and even wanted to compete with Master on techniques. This reminded me of someone who came to ask me to help cure diseases a few days prior to Master's lectures (I used to teach some qigong and helped cure diseases before I obtained Dafa). When I went to the patient's home, 6-7 others had already come to "send their energy." After a while, the patient didn't feel any better. The host invited us to have dinner, and during the dinner some people asked a 50-year-old man that seemed to have come from the southern area what he was doing (these people showed great respect to this man). He said that he had followed Master Li from the south to the northeast of China, and that his purpose was to compete with Master Li on techniques. His expression was extremely arrogant. This man introduced himself as a Taoist who had cultivated for several decades.
On Sunday, August 21, there were two classes. At around 12:40 p.m., a thunderstorm with heavy wind and rain arose suddenly. Many cars could not move. Some trees were hit by thunder, and others were uprooted. After the rain stopped, a rainbow appeared in the sky. On my way to the stadium, I saw the trees on Juzi Street West that were splintered by thunder had red core in the trunk and I was very surprised. That afternoon, so-called qigong master Zhang held public lectures at the Yanji University Club. After a few days, I heard Master Li talk about fake qigong and animal possession, and I realized that Master had cleaned up the other dimensions of Yanji City. Over a decade later when I look back, I can feel the difficulty that Master endured while teaching the Fa, some of which we knew and some we didn't.
2. Collect the Lowest Fee and Give the Most
The tuition fee that Master Li charged was the lowest of all the lectures offered by qigong schools in China. The fee was only 43 yuan for ten lectures, and veteran practitioners only paid half that amount. Other qigong masters would usually charge 80-200 yuan for a ten day lecture, and some were even higher.
"Some people teach it just by talking briefly about the theories of their practice methods. Next, they connect their messages with you and teach a set of exercises, and that is all." (Zhuan Falun)
Master gave us a lot. I remember when a local coordinator said that the words "Falun Cultivation Great Way" were extremely precious and that Master had given the book Zhuan Falun to us all as a ladder to heaven. As practitioners, we all know how precious Dafa is, and that its value cannot be measured in monetary terms. When the persecution began in July 1999, one of the false charges was that Master collected money. Many people know, as do the public officials who created the false propaganda, that Master Li donated all income he received from the second public lectures during the 1993 Oriental Health Expo to the Chinese Volunteer Fund. The Public Security Ministry gave Master Li a certificate of appreciation. Yanbian residents all know that Master donated all of the seven thousand yuan that he earned from the lectures in Yanji City to the Red Cross of Yanbian Province. Local newspapers, radio stations and TV stations all reported this. The evil authorities told sheer lies to deceive the public.
3. Teaching the Fa Without Public Performances
At the time, all other Qigong schools gave public performances to attract people to learn their practice.
Master said,
"I make it clear about the purpose for me to hold public lectures. If I do performance and at the same time teach the Fa, that is equivalent to teaching evil Fa. That means, people come to the lectures not to learn the Fa, but to learn your techniques." (Zhuan Falun, Volume II)
In ten lectures, Master systematically explained the high-level Fa principles so that we can cultivate to a very high level right from the beginning. As long as we follow Master's teachings to improve our minds and assimilate to Dafa, we will be able to cultivate to achieve consummation. Master gave us so much but didn't ask for anything from us as long as we have a heart to cultivate Buddhahood and upgrade ourselves.
4. Master Shows Compassion with a Buddha's Grace
The Korean ethnic group is very lucky and fortunate. Master taught Dafa in China for over two years and Yanji, the capital of Yanbian State, was the only place with many Korean nationals that Master visited to teach Dafa. The Korean nationality was the first to obtain Dafa after the Han nationality. At present, many people in South Korea are cultivating Dafa and some people in North Korea are also cultivating Dafa. Fellow practitioners in Changchun City told practitioners in Yanbian that Master really cared about the cultivation situation of Dafa practitioners in Yanbian City and also told us that we had a great pre-destined relationship with Master Li, and that we should not let down Master's expectations for us and should cultivate diligently. During the past 13 years, in the process of personal cultivation and Fa-rectification, Yanbian Dafa practitioners have gone through many tests and tribulations, fell down and took tortuous paths. With Master's compassionate protection, we firmly walked through and we also made many magnificent feats to validate Dafa that shocked heaven and earth.
5. Master's Grace is Unforgettable
On August 27, when the Fa lectures ended, Master encouraged us all to persist to the end and achieve consummation. Practitioners from all over China offered some baskets of flowers and the multicolored silk banners to our great and compassionate Master. Practitioners of Korean nationality wore colorful national dresses and used the most grand courtesy to express our appreciation. Master compassionately smiled and the scene was warm and exciting. I can see the scenes of 13 years ago today as clearly as if they were yesterday. Master is so great and merciful. Let's travel the last part of the path righteously and fulfill our pre-historic pledge.