(Clearwisdom.net) I began practicing Falun Gong in January 1999. I want to report some of my experiences in cultivating and breaking through obstacles.
Breaking Through Family Tribulations
When I first began to practice, I joined group Fa-study and exercises every day. Most of my tribulations came from within my family. My husband always has a long face when he is at home, while he laughs and jokes when he is outside of the house. I do all the chores around the house and my husband acts as if he is staying in a hotel. Although that being the case, he tells others that I practice Falun Gong all the time and that I don't do any housework or take care of my grandson. I was angry and very upset. Master said that ordinary people don't have three consecutive good days. I said, "Master, I don't even have one good day. Why is my life so painful." I felt I was treated unfairly. I was not afraid of him, but if I were to cultivate, must I endure it?
One night a year later, with all my family in attendance, he suddenly burst out, "If the Communist Party forbids you from doing something and you do it, you break the law. I will report you to the police so they will come and arrest you. I will give them the key to the door. They can come in to arrest you." I replied, "Go ahead. I am not even afraid of death. Why would I be afraid of being arrested? Let me tell you something, you bully me, you slander me, I can forgive you. But if you touch my Master's photo or book, I won't let it slide. And that would be the end of this family. If you don't believe me, go ahead and try it." I passed this test in the end, but he consistently looked for things to pick on me all the time hurting me badly.
During my suffering, one night I had a dream. The dream was very real and vivid, unforgettable ever since. In that dream, I had three phases to walk through in cultivation. The first phase was a big iron bucket with icicles in it. It was cold and slippery. I held on to the icicles and walked on the icicles. With great difficulty, I passed it. The second phase involved some damaged basins, boards, wood boxes, and tables. They were all laid together in front of my path. No matter what, I managed to walk through it. The third phase involved a ten-meter-long piece of fabric. Cow-pea stalks grew from the fabric. I was supposed to walk on the stalks. I stood there and stared at them. Master walked over and asked me, "Are you going to walk forward?" I replied, "I won't." Master asked, "No?" I replied, "No." I thought to myself, "How can one walk on pea stalks? I couldn't even climb on it." Master said that passage is the key and the most important passage, and that I didn't know to treasure it. I suddenly woke up. I looked at the clock, it was 2:00 am. I laid there, recalling the dream. Deities move freely in heaven, not to mention walking over pea stalks. How could I not be able to climb them? I was thinking like a human with respect to the third test. Master gave me a hint that tribulations on our cultivation path are to be used to improve ourselves. My path was difficult to walk through because of the debt I owed in my previous lives. When I repaid my debt, I eliminated karma and raised my xinxing.
Since then, when I encounter tribulations, I recall Master's hint to motivate me. Just like that, I broke through my tribulation with my family.
Going to Beijing to validate the Fa, walking out of the evil den with righteous thoughts
After the persecution began, many practitioners went to Beijing to clarify the truth. I was very worried. On August 29, 2001, a fellow practitioner and I went to Beijing together. On our way there, I said to her, "When we were at home, we talked about going to Beijing every day. Today, we are truly here, we must accomplish our mission. We cannot have come in vain." At 2:00 in the afternoon, we unfolded the banner at the square and shouted "Falun Dafa is good." Then we took the path of an underground tunnel towards the east. As soon as we got to the steps of the east tunnel entrance, two policemen chased us. They held electric batons and walkie-talkies in their hands. They dragged us into a vehicle. We were sent to the Zhanqian Police Station. At night, they transferred us to a detention center in another county. They interrogated me until midnight, but I refused to give my name.
After midnight, they put me in a cell. As soon as we got to the door, the cell head asked, "What's your name. Tell me quickly." I asked, "Aren't you a prisoner? Who gives you the right to question me? If I am to tell you, wouldn't I have told the police?" I confronted her, so she caused trouble for me at any given opportunity. There were two Beijing practitioners also in the cell. When the cell head bullied me and swore at me, the two practitioners from Beijing would protect me. They gave me clean clothes to change. We recited Hong Yin everyday and sent forth righteous thoughts. I thought to myself every day: I must firmly believe in Dafa, believe in Master, get out of the detention center with righteous thoughts. I must walk out of here openly and nobly, and do not leave any stain on Dafa. One of the two practitioners was sentenced for three years. Another practitioner was not sentenced yet, but she had been there for five months. The three of us shared experiences together. We also taught nine poems from Hong Yin to the other inmates. They were all very willing to learn.
One day, I shared thoughts with the Beijing practitioner. She said, "I don't miss anything, but Master." I said that I missed Master as well. Then we both cried. There was a girl in the cell. She was less than 18-years-old. She asked, "All the people who practice Falun Gong have not cried. Why do you cry? We cried for thinking about home." I replied, "We cry for a different reason. You missed your home and family. We cried because we missed our Master, because Dafa and Dafa practitioners suffer persecution and we can't clear Master's name. We are confined here and cannot go out to speak the truth about Dafa, nor can we validate the Fa. We cried for these reasons." She replied, "I see."
On the fourth day of being confined in the cell, a practitioner from Changchun was locked up with us. On the 11th day, we both started a hunger strike. Inmates tried to persuade us to eat. They even made us some food for us to eat. I refused. I recited Hong Yin everyday. After reciting Hong Yin, I said to myself in my heart: I will persist in firmly believing in the Fa and Master. I will use my righteous thoughts to break through this tribulation, walking out of the detention center openly and nobly. Under Master's care, on the 15th day, the guards saw that I was very weak. They were afraid of me dying in the cell, so they released us and drove us to a bus station.
My husband's righteous thoughts came out
In 2003, on National Teacher's Day, around 1:00 pm, the local police tried to trick me into attending a brainwashing session. Personnel from the 610 Office waited outside my door, as well as people from my workplace. There was a total of seven to eight people. They told me to come to work for a meeting. I told them, "No, we can talk here. I have to look after the child." Then, two big men came up and they dragged me to the car. I said, "What are you doing? Why are you arresting me?" I asked the local police, "Did I do anything bad?" He said, "You are good. You do exercises to get good health and it is also good to your family and to our country."
At that time, my husband came home. He has a bad temper. As soon as he saw the situation, he started to shout, "What are you doing arresting her? She doesn't do anything bad. Falun Gong practitioners don't even pick up cash laying on the street when they see it. You only arrest good people. Why don't you arrest corrupt officials?" People from the "610 Office" asked, "Who is corrupt" He said, "You and Jiang Zemin are both corrupt! I will practice Falun Gong tomorrow." They were silent and then left. I was grateful to my husband that day. Under that circumstance, he was able to say such righteous words. So, later on when he got angry about housework, I forgave him.
Memorizing the Fa
Ever since I began to practice, I have studied the Fa in the morning. Sometimes, when I missed Fa-study in the morning, I would turn on the light to study at night. My husband wasn't happy and said that it was a waste of energy. At the time, many practitioners were memorizing the Fa. I asked Master, "Master, how do I memorize a book with over 300 pages?" So I never tried to do it. One day when I was doing the exercises, I suddenly thought if I memorized Zhuan Falun, I wouldn't need to turn on the light at night. I made up my mind to start. I planned to memorize ten pages each day. After memorizing the ten pages, I would go over the previous ten pages. Just like that, I spent 33 days and memorized the nine chapters of Zhuan Falun. I did not forget previous chapters when I memorized the later chapters. I succeeded by just going through the book once. Just like that, I can recite the Fa at anytime anywhere. At night, I sit down in the room to recite the Fa without turning the lights on. I also recite a small paragraph of Fa if I got up early to send righteous thoughts.
As I furthered my Fa-study, I had new understanding about righteous thoughts. Every single thought needs to be on the Fa. I continue to walk the path of cultivation, relying on firm belief in Master and Dafa. If there was something I didn't do well in the past, I will try my best to do better in the future.
