(Clearwisdom.net)
Greetings Master! Greetings fellow Falun Dafa practitioners!
Around the time of my attaining Dafa
After I graduated from college, I became a teacher. Under the pressure of my busy teaching schedule, my health became increasingly worse. I initially felt uneasy with my stomach. Later, I developed many illnesses, including gastritis, gastric ulcer, chest congestion, coughing, pulmonary tuberculosis, colds and chronic illness, bronchitis, fear of cold, palpitations, cold sweats, insomnia, and lack of kidney vitality. Although I was about 6 feet in height, I weighed less than 110 lbs. It became routine for me to see doctors, and they were perplexed with my illnesses. I ate food only to help take medicine. I became so weak and emaciated that I had to quit the job I loved, teaching, and stayed home to try to recover from my illnesses.
At the end of March 2001, I was extremely weak. Later, when I saw Dr. Chen, who practices traditional Chinese medicine, he suggested I go to the auditorium to practice Falun Gong and see if Falun Gong could help me. While talking, he took out a copy of Falun Dafa material and the book Zhuan Falun. I then started to read attentively. In less than three minutes, a miracle happened. I hiccupped, loud and clear. Dr. Chen immediately said that the condition was rectified, as he had treated me with acupuncture and medicine in order to make me hiccup. I indeed felt very good after I hiccupped. So I immediately said that I would practice Falun Gong. Just as Master has lectured in Zhuan Falun,
"When one's Buddha-nature emerges, it will shake 'the world of ten directions.' Whoever sees it will come to give a hand and help this person out unconditionally." (Zhuan Falun)
Since then, my conditions have completely changed.
Amidst the violent and painful removal of my sickness karma, I am very determined in my cultivation.
The more I read Zhuan Falun, the more I wanted to keep reading, so I finished reading the book in just one day. While reading, I had experienced a peaceful and serene state that I had never experienced before. Sometimes, a warm current came down from the top of my head all over my body, and my body became slightly warmer and was enveloped by an energy field. I felt very wonderous, surprised, and comfortable. Master said in Zhuan Falun,
"I will purify your body. The body purification will be done only for those who come to truly learn the practice and the Fa." (Zhuan Falun)
I suddenly came to realize that Falun Gong is what I had been looking for in my life, and I wanted to practice. I realized that in the troubled times of the Dharma-ending Period, when people's mind natures and morality are in widespread decline, there is still someone spreading such a good and great way of cultivation. I made my determination to cultivate Falun Dafa and follow Master.
Once I started to practice, I immediately experienced the removal of my sickness karma. I started to have a high fever, felt cold one minute and hot the next, had continuous diarrhea, kept hiccupping, and felt pain all over my body. This state repeated itself every two or three days. But I was very determined in my cultivation. I went to the practice site every day, as I knew that Master was eliminating my karma and removing the karma I had accumulated through many of my generations. I also came to understand the principle that a thing will develop in the opposite direction when it reaches the extreme. I had to get through the tribulation. The nearly 20 years of my illnesses had tormented me and made me extremely thin and emaciated, but once I attained Dafa, all my illnesses disappeared, and I have thus not needed hospital visits, which is no less than a fairy tale in the human world.
Whenever it was time for me to go to the practice site, I met extremely severe interference, with thoughts in my mind that I should take a rest and do the practice tomorrow. However, every time I used my strong righteous thoughts to encourage myself to go to practice. As a matter of fact, the energy at the practice site was indeed great, and the fellow practitioners cared about each other, so we improved ourselves together. It was worthwhile mentioning that one time when I was practicing the sitting meditation exercise, I felt very comfortable and I could not move at all. Half an hour later, my body started to bounce and move upward and I felt that I would levitate. I knew that Master was opening my heavenly circuit. Master said in Zhuan Falun,
"In the past, you would be tired if you walked a few steps, but now it is very easy no matter how far you walk. You feel as if being pushed while riding a bike, and you are not tired when going upstairs--no matter how many floors there are." (Zhuan Falun)
Since then, I have had a rosy complexion, and a smile is always on my face. I have also gained weight. All the people who know me say that I have become a different person after practicing Falun Gong. I threw away all my medicine, which was everywhere in my house. I felt as if I was reborn. Master has picked me up from hell.
Study the Fa perseveringly, go everywhere to promote the Fa, and assist Master in the human world.
During my initial readings, I felt that Zhuan Falun directly targeted my mind and revealed all the heavenly secrets of cultivation practice. Master said in Zhuan Falun,
"The above are the two reasons for not being able to increase gong. Without knowing the Fa at high levels, one cannot practice cultivation. Without cultivating one's inner self and one's xinxing, one cannot increase gong. These are the two reasons." (Zhuan Falun)
After I read Zhuan Falun three times, I could not stop reading the book, as the Fa principles are broad, immense, and profound. I thought that I ought to read the book fifty times. After I read the book 50 times, I thought that if I read the book 1,000 times, I would naturally be able to remember the Fa and recite the Fa from memory, and in this case, I would be able to keep assimilating myself into the Fa at all times. So I kept studying the Fa. I could finish reading Zhuan Falun once every three to four days. I read the book this way for two years. When I became a little slack, I always felt that there was some kind of force from the universe that urged me to study the Fa. Later, through learning from Zhuan Falun and the other Fa that Master lectured on in difference places, I had deepened my understanding of cultivation and Fa-rectification, which had laid the foundation for my validating the Fa and clarifying the truth.
That special and wonderful feeling of melting into the Fa is beyond description. That peacefulness I experience is like blissful emptiness, with nothing existing, and there is only the Fa that is with me. I experienced the state whenever I was driving, walking, working, etc. A big paragraph of the Fa flowed naturally into my dimensions, and did not vanish for a long time. I felt that Master was by me and benevolently protecting and guiding me. One time, as I read the Fa late one quiet night, I could not help asking in my own dimension that since the doctor had given me up due to my serious illness and my life being in peril, why would you still want me. There was a voice coming from the other side, "You want to cultivate, so I will take care of you." That voice came from far to the near, in stereo sound, going through layer upon layer, compassionate, determined, and forceful. I was deeply moved and knew what I should do.
The more Fa principles that I assimilated, the less the bad human thoughts I had. Having benefited from learning the Fa, I had undergone an earth-shaking change. I also hoped that my relatives and friends could attain the Fa and come to feel Master's immense compassion. I then went everywhere to promote the Fa, telling people "Falun Dafa is great" and "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance is great." At the same time, I thought that any place I could go by car in Taiwan, as long as someone wanted me to share my cultivation experiences, understandings, and the changes that I had experienced after practicing Falun Gong, I would certainly be happy to do so. So I sent forth this one pure thought. Possibly because of Master's arrangements, there were many fellow practitioners from Ilan, Taipei, and Hsinchu, as well as from Yunlin and Chiayi, who asked me to share my cultivation experience with them, as my body is the best and living example that can help promote Dafa. Before I practiced Falun Gong, I had almost no energy, and my life was in peril. After practicing Falun Gong, my whole body and mind changed. So my promoting the Fa was very convincing. In that period of time, I received phone calls from fellow practitioners asking me to go promote the Fa. I was also very happy to continuously do so. When I shared my cultivation experience with fellow practitioners, I always emphasized the importance of continuously studying the Fa, because it is Dafa that has improved my enlightenment quality and my xinxing. I thus hoped that the fellow practitioners would pay attention to Fa study, set up more sites for Fa study, and really improve themselves in their understanding of the Fa. I also stressed that we should view the matter of Fa study as being more important than practicing the exercises, although the latter is still very important. Of course there are moral standards required by Falun Dafa. We all are the dear ones of Master, and Master told us that he does not want to leave behind even one Dafa disciple. So how could I leave behind the follow practitioners near me? We are one entity.
"Buddha's light shines everywhere, propriety and righteousness harmonize everything" • Dafa lights up my family.
Since I greatly benefited from Dafa both physically and spiritually, naturally I wanted my family members to obtain the Fa. I kept telling my wife how great Falun Dafa is, and she agreed, but she did not read the book. It seemed that her karmic relationship was not strong enough yet, so I continued to work with her. My wife is very gentle and nice, a kind-hearted person among everyday people. Others often took advantage of her kindness. In today's world, everyone is trying to be "clever," so as not to lose any personal benefits. At her work, some people often spread rumors about her. Since she is not so skilled at social networking, her reputation was smeared quite badly.
Master told us in Zhuan Falun:
"Because he is smart and knows how to please others, he will gain more benefits while others will suffer more losses. Because he is smart, he will not suffer any losses, and neither will he easily lose anything. Consequently, others must suffer losses." (Zhuan Falun)
Occasionally my wife complained to me about her problems at work. I tried to guide her with the Fa, telling her about the transformation between virtue and karma. I explained to her that when people smeared her, they only gained temporary benefits, and losing virtue is their real loss. I told my wife the rule of "good will be rewarded and evil will suffer retribution," telling her how today's people have abandoned their nature and don't realize they are doing bad things. Eventually, the Fa deeply touched her heart. In addition, she witnessed the power of Dafa from changes in me. I became a nicer and more honest person. Previously I paid attention to material interests and fame, but now I could let them go without a care. Because of these things, the atmosphere in our family and around us became much more harmonious. Eventually she obtained the Fa, and our two children followed us in studying the Fa and doing the exercises. Soon my mother also obtained Dafa, and all the diseases she suffered disappeared.
Persist in Telling the Truth, Fulfill My Prehistoric Vow
I actively participated in clarifying the truth about Dafa to people. At first, people on the internet refused to listen to me, even cursing me and Dafa. It was quite frustrating for me. Later, I understood from the Fa that we need to have benevolence that can melt steel. They are ordinary people deceived by lies. They are people waiting to be saved. Where are their positions in the future if they are against "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance?"
I told people on the Internet that though we don't have the karmic relationship to meet each other in person, I still sincerely hope they could learn the truth. Master told us:
"I often say that if all a person wants is the well-being of others and if this is without the slightest personal motivation or personal understanding, what he says will move the listener to tears." (Essentials for Further Advancement)
When I clarified the truth with rationality and wisdom, the effect became better and better. I clarified the truth in an easy tone, using supporting facts to tell people through the Internet how Jiang's regime always lied and spread unjustified hatred against Falun Gong. Gradually people were willing to listen and ask questions. Many people asked me for truth-clarifying information. I intensified my Fa study at the same time, because Master told us:
"The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts." (Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Gradually people accepted my truth clarification, and many college students became suspect of any propaganda by Jiang's regime. They spread the truth over the Internet to their friends and families about how Falun Gong was persecuted and slandered. More and more people woke up and recognized that Jiang's regime lied and wasted the nation's resources to persecute kind Falun Gong practitioners.
During this process, I realized we should not talk about the Fa at a very high level. Rather, we should rationally and carefully clarify the facts. It is easier for people to accept it this way. Once people support Falun Gong, they have made a choice of a better future for themselves. I have continued to clarify the truth like this, even though I encountered very evil people who followed the evil propaganda completely and refused to listen, but they are a very small portion. Most were shocked by Falun Gong practitioners' courage once they learned the truth. They said to me, "You are great. You clarified the truth very clearly and logically." Some people asked how they could help. Many spread the truth they learned to family members and friends in their schools and organizations. Many started doubting the government propaganda and tried all kinds of ways to break the Internet blockade to learn the truth directly. Today's situation is dramatically different than before. The side of people that understands has started to wake up.
Though the situation is better and better, I feel that we should not slow down in clarifying the truth. Master said,
"I've said that human beings in today's world didn't come to be humans. But not all of them came to become Buddhas, Daos and Gods, either. That is to say that not all of them came to cultivate. But all of them came for the sake of Dafa, were formed by Dafa, and were created by Dafa. They play both positive and negative roles." (Lecture at the Australia Fa Conference) (Unofficial translation)
We are all Master's families, though some of us lost our true nature. What we need is to wake up our true consciences and souls, and fulfill our prehistoric vows in the meantime.
The above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out any mistakes.
(Speech at 2005 Taiwan Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)
