(Clearwisdom.net) I began to practice Falun Gong when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was extremely aggressive in persecuting Dafa. At the time, my mother was critically ill, and so a girl from my neighborhood brought a copy of Zhuan Falun, she had obtained from Hainan Province, and wanted to read it to my mother. She talked about how wonderful and how good the book was. However, the more she talked about the book the more suspicious I became. Therefore, I did not read the book after she left it with me. Later, the girl asked me if I had read the book. She said that she would take it with her when she returned to Hainan Province so she wanted me to finish reading the book as soon as possible.
Giving consideration to her good intentions I decided to read the book with a bit of reluctance. However, the moment I opened the book I had this wonderful feeling, and when I saw Teacher's photo I felt that I had known him before and I was very close to him. I felt very strongly that this book was what I had been waiting for all my life by going through all the sufferings—and realized that I had almost let the opportunity pass by.
I was crying while reading and finished the book in one go. I realized that the book was great and was reluctant to return it. Whenever I had any spare time I would read the book again. However, that was the time when the TV and radio were used to slander Dafa day and night. I felt very pained. The Dafa I had been waiting for finally surfaced, but I was not allowed to practice it. I thought for a while and faintly felt that I had a responsibility to clarify the truth about Dafa. I should let my neighbors know that they should not believe what was said in the TV broadcasts and that Falun Dafa had been wrongly labeled as a cult. I also thought that I must learn Falun Dafa well and let people see the true nature of Falun Dafa.
For that reason I went to the city to find someone to teach me the exercises. However, whenever I asked people about Falun Gong they all tried to hide from me. Later, a kind-hearted older woman told me, "The situation is very bad right now, so why don't you come back later to learn the exercises? The police are arresting people everywhere. They ransack people's homes and burn books. People are trying to keep a distance from Falun Gong. Even when they meet they don't dare to talk to each other as they fear that they will be implicated." Returning home with the copy of Zhuan Falun in hand, I was crying in front of Teacher's portrait. I said to Teacher, "Now the government does not allow us to practice Falun Gong any more and people dare not practice the exercises. Teacher, please set your mind at ease. What you have done will not be in vain. Even if no one else practices Falun Gong, I will. Please accept me as your disciple. No matter how grave the persecution is I still want to practice the exercises." (At the time I felt as if I was the only person who still practiced Falun Gong.). With this firm belief and responsibility I came into Dafa.
With the guidance of Zhuan Falun as well as a firm belief in Teacher and Dafa, I set the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance as my standard for my words and deeds because, as a practitioner, I represent the image of Falun Dafa. I hope people will come to learn Falun Dafa simply because they know me. I thought I must start with my family if I really want other people to learn the truth.
My husband had three brothers who all lived in the city. My father-in-law, who was 80-years old, lived with us. My mother-in-law was known in our village to be very difficult to look after. However, I thought that as a practitioner I must endure. Every time my mother-in-law created problems or verbally abused me I took it as an indicator that I still had room for improvement when compared with the standards set by Dafa—otherwise she would not be dissatisfied. Therefore I didn't complain, I just strove to improve my xinxing.
After some time, the whole family changed for the better under my influence. The three brothers took the initiative to move my husband's parents to the city to support them. My mother-in-law, who used to oppose my practicing Falun Gong, now said "Falun Dafa is good!" My husband not only supported me but also said, "I have become very generous and will not try to do anything bad or to make gains at other people's expense." He also said that if other people made gains at his expense he would not be angry at all. The whole family changed, which proves that Dafa can change people's heart.
The changes not only happened to my family, but also to the whole village. There were five sons in a family that lived not far from my home. They often fought each other using knives or clubs, and they were selfish. They did not look after their parents. I talked to them many times about how Falun Gong teaches people to be good persons, and I gave them many examples of "Good brings rewards, while evil brings retribution." Now, they not only live peacefully but they also help each other. On holidays or traditional Chinese festivals they celebrate together with their parents.
Another family consisted of three brothers and their elderly mother. The lady was left alone with no one taking care of her. One bitterly cold day in the winter she became ill and laid down on a mat; still, no one tended to her. When I heard about this I felt very sad for her. She brought her sons up but they weren't looking after her. At the time, I was selling bean curd so I had the opportunity to clarify the facts about Falun Gong to people. Usually, I would carry the bean curd on a shoulder pole and tramp over hill and dale to meet with the people in the mountainous areas. I would cook a bowl of hot bean curd and ask my husband to cross the river by boat to deliver the bean curd to the old lady almost every day. The three bothers were very moved by this and their attitude toward their mother improved.
There were numerous examples like this. The village head said, "You have set a good example in our village, but it is not enough. There are still a lot of muddleheaded people. We have done party propaganda work for several decades but have not been as effective as you, one Falun Gong practitioner. You only talk a little bit and people change for the better. Falun Gong is really great. No wonder Jiang Zemin is so afraid of Falun Gong."
I live by a big river that is surrounded by mountains. In order to reach more people in the remote mountain villages, Teacher helped by bringing a lot of people with predestined relationships to me. Some came to ask the way, some came to the village on vacation, some were friends and relatives who had not visited for a long time, and others came to look for a job. Every time people came to my home I would bring them into the house and serve them some freshly picked fruit. I would provide them with a cup of hot tea in winter or a cup of cold water in summer to leave them with a good impression. When people called me genial and kindhearted I would tell them that I had a good book and a good teacher who taught us how to be a good person. Then I would tell them the Fa principle of gain and loss from Zhuan Falun. Some were reluctant to leave and others wanted to borrow the book. They asked me where they could buy the book. I told them it was not available in China since all the books had been confiscated by the authorities. I also told them that the practitioners were detained and sentenced to forced labor. Usually at that moment they would curse the CCP to be struck by lightning. They learned the truth without realizing it. At the time, I didn't know what clarifying the truth was. I only wanted to let people know that Falun Gong had been misrepresented, and that Falun Gong was indeed very good.
I still remember when an unexpected guest came to my home. It was the time when red bayberry became ripe. A high provincial official and his wife, who just returned from a trip to the United States, came to our village. He had a relative in my county so while visiting he also toured the area. On learning that I had red bayberries on the mountain he wanted to pick some fruit for himself. He showed up with his wife. When I learned about his position I was very glad. I thought I must tell him the truth no matter what, and let him know that Falun Gong had been wrongly labeled. It was wrong to arrest practitioners. When seeing that the trees were full of red bayberries he was very excited and took photos one after another. Meanwhile, I was thinking about how I could talk to him about the persecution.
Just at that moment his wife told me that they just returned from the United States. I took the opportunity and said, "It must be eye opening. I was told that Falun Gong is spreading all over the world." On hearing that, he stopped photo-taking and asked me where I had heard about Falun Gong. I told him I learned the news when selling red bayberries in the city. Then I said, "As a matter of fact Falun Gong is not like how it was described on the television—that the practitioners kill people or burn themselves. Actually, the exercises help people to keep fit and cure illnesses. Falun Gong can also help upgrade human moral standards. I read the book and it was a good book. What the book talks about is nothing but the truth, as well as the finer things that people have long forgotten." I also told him, "I not only read the book but do the exercise as well. Before practicing Falun Gong I suffered from various illnesses, and now all my illnesses have disappeared and I didn't need to take any medication." He seemed to be stunned for a while after hearing what I had said.
Then I told him, "What I have said is all true. Didn't you see, although you are younger than me, when climbing the mountain you had to take a break after a few steps. For me climbing the mountain was like walking on level ground. I felt very comfortable and didn't get out of breath. When I climbed the trees I was as light as a swallow. Didn't you witness that?" Then he asked me how old I was. I told him I was over 50. He shook his head and said, "You don't look like you are over 50. You look a lot younger than your age." He thought that people in the country were accustomed to manual labor and that everyone had good health like me. I told him that was not true. My good health was from a good book called Zhuan Falun and it was a pity that people could not practice Falun Gong since it had been banned by the CCP. He lowered his head and did not say anything. Then he asked to have his photo taken with me to keep the good memories.
After coming down the mountain, I used the boat to send the couple across the river. I urged the husband to not take part in the persecution of Falun Gong. It was not wrong for our teacher, Mr. Li Hongzhi, to teach people the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. While seeing them off they repeatedly looked back and waved me to go home. They said, "Don't worry, we will remember what you said." I couldn't hold back my tears for long.
The villagers all respect me and show concern for me. Some said, "I hope you will stay safe and not be arrested by the bad guys." I know the villagers have learned that Falun Dafa is the Great Cultivation Way of Buddha Dharma and felt the goodness of cultivating Dafa.
I eventually made contact with practitioners in the county proper in 2003. Through reading Teacher's new articles I came to know the grand vow I had made eons ago and felt very fortunate that I was allowed to become a Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioner.
I have only had two years of schooling and this is the first time that I have sent a sharing to the Minghui/Clearwisdom website. During the process, I had help from many fellow practitioners. I am determined to let more people see through the CCP's lies and learn the truth about Dafa.
