(Clearwisdom.net) I left my hometown for the special economic zone in 1996. Since then, I have seldom returned except for an occasional business trip or short visit during the Chinese New Year. It has been eight years since I last visited. I had often wondered if my relatives, friends, former classmates, and former colleagues knew of the truth about Falun Dafa and if they had relinquished their Chinese Communist Party (CCP) memberships. My love for all of them made me long to go back and meet with them.
When I had the desire to save sentient beings in my hometown, Teacher arranged for me to fulfill my task. My boss arranged for me to relocate to the local division of my company. I set foot on the road home with anticipation.
Two passengers opposite my berth on the train were also from my hometown. I learned that one of them had graduated from the same school as I and another was retired from the biggest enterprise in my hometown. On the way, we chatted a lot. The more we talked, the closer we felt to each other. I clarified the facts about Falun Gong to them and gave them DVDs of the Divine Performing Arts show. By the end of our trip, they had both agreed to quit the Communist Party.
After I finished my company business in my hometown, I hurried to the hospital to see my mother-in-law and saw many relatives around her. My sister-in-law, who was taking care of her, asked me, "Why haven't you gotten old after so many years?" Several of my husband's cousins agreed, "We have not seen each other in 15 or 16 years. You look younger than the last time we saw you." With the passage of time, they all appeared middle-aged. I told them, "I'm young because I practice Falun Gong. In the past whenever winter came, I suffered from asthma and a persistent cough. I couldn't leave my home all winter. Although I was only in my 30s, I looked like I was in my 40s. All my illnesses were cured after I started cultivating. Now, I can not only manage fast-paced work like a young girl, but I haven't taken any medication for twelve years." They were all stunned and asked me how to remain always young and healthy. I told them to believe in Falun Dafa, the cosmos' law of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and to often recite "Falun Dafa is good." "You will be better off if you can cultivate Falun Dafa." All of them nodded. Some of them had quit the CCP by phone. I mailed them DVDs of the Divine Performing Arts show after I went back to work.
My mother-in-law had been in the emergency room for days. I had thought that this would be our last meeting. However, she sat up after seeing me. I told her to recite "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good" and "Falun Dafa is good." From then on, her health gradually improved and her appetite slowly returned. One week later, she left the hospital and went back home. The doctors all thought it incredible.
In the evening I went to my sister-in-law's home, where I was later joined by my brother-in-law's two daughters, who came to see me. My youngest niece's celestial eye had been open since she was very young, and she could see Teacher's fashen sitting in all the Falun emblems and Falun pictures and could see another dimension's colorful scenes of celestial beauties casting flowers about. Before the persecution, she was only eight or nine years old, but she was very diligent in practicing Falun Gong and listened to Teacher's lectures. After the persecution began, she gave up due to the CCP propaganda. All of her family dared not mention Falun Gong, especially after I was sent to a forced labor camp for practicing.
I called her many times to remind her that her inborn quality was very good and that she was predestined to learn Dafa and should be sure not to miss this valuable chance. Although she promised to resume her cultivation, she did not put her words into action. She merely believed that Dafa was good and terminated her CCP membership. Meeting her this time, I told her solemnly that the Fa-rectification period was almost over. If she still didn't seize the chance, she would lose the precious opportunity forever. After she heard this, she was very worried and told me that she had neither Dafa books nor an exercise tape and had never read any of Teacher's new articles after the persecution began. I bought her an MP3 player the next day and downloaded all of Teacher's nine-day lectures in Ji'nan City, Shandong Province, and all the practice music. In the evening, I reviewed the five sets of exercises with her and gave her a DVD of Fa-Teaching Given to the Australian Practitioners. Now she listens to the Fa, does the exercises every day, and clarifies the facts about Falun Dafa. She has proved by her actions that she is a true Dafa practitioner.
My brother-in-law is a director of a large, state-owned enterprise. He is kindhearted and righteous. All of his family members have quit the CCP. One evening when I was explaining the facts to him, he said, "When I was at Nanyang, I was told that I had a predestined relationship with Buddhism and I was destined to cultivate Buddhism. I read Zhuan Falun and it is indeed a great book among Buddhist works. Will you please show me Teacher's recent articles?" I copied Teacher's recent articles to his USB and also gave him CDs with Tianyin music. After he saw the disks, he said with emotion, "I am shocked and feel that I have changed, all the way from my soul to my body." Three days later, he got word that his cousin had been killed in a traffic accident and he hurried to go to his funeral. He did not come back until the day I was about to leave. I was greatly touched when I heard his words, "I deeply felt that lives are so delicate and helpless after I attended my cousin's funeral. My cousin and I grew up together, but he died too quickly in an accident." He told me that he clarified the facts about Falun Dafa to everybody at the funeral and advised everybody to believe in the universal principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Only in this way can people avoid misfortune.
During the days when I was in my hometown, I got together with high school and college classmates and visited former colleagues and old friends. Two years before, I had told them the truth about Falun Gong via telephone and email and had helped them to renounce their CCP memberships. This time when we gathered, I gave each of them one set of the Divine Performing Arts DVDs. I tried every way imaginable to collect the phone numbers of all those with whom I had not had time to visit. After I returned to my company, I called them and sent them the Divine Performing Arts DVD by express mail. I wanted them to be saved as they watched the beautiful show. At last they could achieve what Teacher described: "Upon leaving the theater, audience members' initial attitude toward Dafa disciples had basically undergone a complete change--their attitudes toward Falun Gong all changed. With that shift in the person's thought, his fate--that is, whether he remains--is decided." ("Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference")
My youngest sister-in-law is divorced, and her daughter lives with her grandma. This girl never displayed any behavior problems due to her parents' divorce. Instead, she worked diligently and was admitted to a prestigious high school. My husband and I often offered financial and academic support. I told her the truth about Falun Dafa and helped her to quit the CCP's affiliated organizations using an alias. At the family farewell banquet held for me, I asked her to sit by my side to see if she had really understood the truth. She blinked her innocent big eyes and said, "Falun Dafa is good."
My former boss had served as the director of a large state-owned enterprise and the deputy director of a bureau. Two years ago, I called him and told him the truth about Dafa and asked him to quit the CCP. He immediately said, "Good, good, I'll definitely quit the CCP." When we met this time, he said, "In order to follow what you told me and completely quit the CCP, when I retired I told the bureau office that I would transfer my CCP documents to the street government office. After I got all the documents, I tore them up on my way back."
I was deeply touched. I suffered as a result of CCP persecution many times. The people from my hometown still trusted me and truly trusted what I said. This is a reflection of Dafa's power. It is this great Dafa that has inspired them to understand the truth and to express their aspirations in life through me, a Dafa practitioner; that is, to believe in Dafa, assimilate to Dafa, and wait for the salvation that Dafa offers.
On Sunday I went to visit my cousin. All of her family members used to be Dafa practitioners, but now only my cousin and her son follow the course of the Fa-rectification and do the three things diligently. My cousin's husband used to be a senior army officer, stalwart and well-built. Before the persecution of Falun Dafa, he cultivated diligently and appeared young and handsome; after the persecution he gave up cultivation due to the severe persecution and now he suffers from diabetes.
I obtained Dafa after I saw the dramatic changes in my aunt. My aunt, who was quite obese, used to be a paraplegic and was confined to bed. Several caretakers were needed to help her with daily activities. They got so tired, however, that they quit their jobs and left. Driven to despair, my aunt started to practice Falun Gong. At the beginning, she listened to Teacher's lectures lying in bed. Gradually, she sat up to read the books and practice the sitting meditation. Finally, she was able to stand to do the exercises. Before the persecution of Falun Gong, she was so healthy that she could make three meals for her whole family and walk around downstairs. Her story was widely spread and became a classic case to tell people how Falun Dafa could cure illness. But after the persecution began, police and government officers constantly visited her, forced her to write a guarantee statement to quit Falun Gong, and forced her to have her fingerprints taken. In order not to influence her children's future, she stopped practicing and soon passed away.
Before the persecution, although my aunt's husband was in his 70s, practicing Falun Gong gave him a youthful appearance. He was full of energy and several construction companies offered him positions as a site director. After the persecution, he gave up cultivation for fear of persecution and was strongly attached to worldly pursuits and pleasures. At the time of his death, he was more than 80 years old. He had taken the benefits of Dafa for granted and consequently lost the opportunity to cultivate Dafa.
I understand the seriousness of cultivation from the experiences of my cousin's family. One will become a god if he can let go of the concept of birth or death. One can only be a human being if he cannot let it go. The mindset of fear is a deadly test to godhood. The only way to go beyond the old law--the bondage of birth, old age, illness, and death--is to believe in Teacher and Dafa consistently. One cannot change one's mind, no matter what kind of difficulties one may encounter. It is exactly as Teacher says in "Path" in Essentials for Further Advancement II: "Cultivation is hard. It's hard in that even when a terrible calamity strikes, even when evil madly persecutes, and even when your life is at stake, you still have to be able to steadfastly continue on your path of cultivation without letting anything in human society interfere with the steps you take on your path of cultivation."
In the past eight years, high-rises have appeared everywhere in my hometown. The scenes of the past no longer exist. I lost contact with my favorite co-worker due to her move. I learned later that she died of a brain hemorrhage three years ago, leaving me with deep regret and a greater sense of urgency in saving people. Time waits for no one.
I visited my former elementary schools, middle school, high school, college, and the parks I used to frequent on dates. I didn't see any familiar faces, only strangers passing by in a hurry. I occasionally asked for directions, but the answer was, "Auntie, please go...." I, too, had once referred to my elders as "Auntie." I understood then the real meaning of "life is short"--in the blink of an eye, a hundred years pass. I feel really glad that I was fortunate enough to obtain Dafa and embark on the path to return to my true nature. I thank Master and I thank Heaven to have been endowed with so much love. I'll do the three things diligently, save sentient beings, be worthy of Master's compassionate salvation, and seize this golden opportunity.
