(Clearwisdom.net) I started to practice Falun Dafa on July 18, 1996. I am an older practitioner, born into a poor family. My parents were so poor that they had to give me away for adoption when I was one year old.
I lost the eyesight in one of my eyes due to malnutrition and too much hard work. In 1958, my Neighborhood Administration Office found a job for me in a factory that was set up for disabled people. In spite of this arrangement, I still suffered a lot from my multiple health problems, and my life was a constant and miserable struggle.
I was very happy to attain the Fa in 1996. From then on, I regularly attended the Fa study and exercise groups every day. Since I couldn't read myself, I attentively listened to the Fa being read out loud by my fellow practitioners during Fa study. I knew that doing the exercises alone was not sufficient and that I must diligently study the Fa in order to cultivate well. From then on, the Fa was like a guiding light that illuminated my path and guided me in everything I was doing. During each Fa study, I tried very hard to memorize the Fa taught by our Teacher.
After I had been cultivating for a while, amazing things began to occur. First my chronic health problems disappeared. Then a spongy spot next to my ear that had appeared after a lump was surgically removed when I was three, vanished. All the diseases that had been giving me much suffering and pain gradually disappeared. Even more astonishing, I regained the sight in my blind eye one day after I experienced something like a sudden, huge lightning bolt. I knew it was our Teacher, who had eliminated and endured my karma for me, in order to lift the weight of the karmic debts I had accumulated in my past lives. Thus, I could see and felt the blessings of life. There are no words that can describe my gratitude. Since I began to cultivate, I felt like a newborn, having been granted a new beginning. I thank our respected Teacher from the bottom of my heart, and I know that I must steadfastly follow the cultivation path laid out by Him. I am determined and confident that no amount of difficulty or hardship can stop me from continuing on my path of cultivation.
I was extremely motivated to read Teacher's book Zhuan Falun since I regained my eyesight and I set myself a goal to learn 10 characters of the book every day. Since then, I have read Zhuan Falun many times over and I also read and copied Teacher's new articles so that I not only learned Chinese characters but I also learned the Fa. This was a tremendous help in understanding the Fa. Through group Fa study and experience sharing with my fellow practitioners, I continued to progress very well. I was no longer mired in illnesses, and life began anew. I immersed myself in the Fa and felt extremely lucky that my life was so meaningful.
On July 20, 1999 Jiang's regime launched its unprecedented persecution again Falun Dafa. I decided that I must raise my voice for justice and clear our Teacher's name. I said to Teacher in my mind: "Teacher, I must go to Beijing to clear your name, regardless of the level of difficulty or danger I may encounter. I must tell the facts to the people." I left for Beijing with a fellow practitioner. We came across many plainclothes policemen on the way to Beijing; they blocked the doors around the train station so we couldn't get out. While walking around, I sent forth righteous thoughts in order to prevent the police from detecting us so they would let us pass through the blockade without any danger. In this manner, we safely reached Tiananmen Square.
In Tiananmen Square, I performed the exercises and meditated. Eventually, I was arrested and detained in a local police office. Although over 40 Falun Dafa practitioners were detained there, none of us displayed any fear and as a group, we continuously recited Teacher's Hong Yin and the article On Buddha Law. During the detention, the police beat me, handcuffed me, hung me up by my handcuffs, injected me with medicine and poured medicinal liquid into my mouth in order to force me to tell my name and address. However, I refused to cooperate. They finally found my address on a paper bag inside my baggage and contacted my local authorities to come and escort me to my hometown.
Once I was back in my hometown, the local police station increasingly harassed me by searching my house and imposing fines. Initially, they fined me 210 yuan. They fined me another 2,100 yuan in January of the following year and locked me up for a month. I was arrested again while I was distributing truth-clarification material. The persecution continued to worsen and they threatened to take me to a forced labor camp, but the camp rejected me.
I subsequently encountered much interference from many official organizations, including the local police and the residential committee, who frequently harassed me in my home. At first, I was disturbed and restless, but then I realized that the only thing to do was to study the Fa. Gradually, I regained my peace of mind and decided to disregard any human notions, to follow Teacher's admonitions by doing the Three Things well and immerse myself in the Fa.
At present, some practitioners are still hiding in their homes. Teacher said,
"By contrast, when it comes to those who hide in their homes and "study the Fa," no matter the excuse, it's actually due to the attachments they can't let go of."
(My Version of a "Stick Wake-up")
Teacher also warned us
"Human beings are just human beings. At critical moments it is hard for them to let go of their human notions, but they always try to find excuses to convince themselves." (Position)
I will share my cultivation experiences with these practitioners more often to help them lay aside their attachments and to step forward so that together, we can complete the sacred mission that history has bestowed upon us.