(Clearwisdom.net) I am a Dafa disciple from a farming village. Due to my limited literacy, as well as my fear of showing off, I have not written about my cultivation experiences. However, as I began to understand the meaning of cultivation and the Fa more deeply, I realized that I should write about my cultivation experiences and thoughts.
One evening in 1998, my sister wanted to take me to watch Master's lecture videos. I went mainly out of not wanting to turn her down. On the way, she asked me, "Do you believe in gods?" I replied without hesitation, "Yes, I've always believed in the divine." That day, after watching Master's video, I felt my body become light, and I later knew that it was Master helping me to purify my body. The next day when I was hesitating whether I should go again, I saw an orange-colored Falun fly in through the door. I saw it very clearly and thought that it must be Master trying to enlighten me. I thus decided to go. Thereafter, I began my path of cultivation.
In less than a year, the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution began, and village party officials came looking for us. Together with other local practitioners, we refused to submit to their demands, which included giving up our books, writing a guarantee statement, registering with them, etc. Instead, we told them about the goodness of Dafa and how we've improved ourselves physically and spiritually through practicing Falun Gong. After listening to us, they finally replied, "All right, just practice at home then." After we had some discussion, we decided that we should step forward to validate the Fa when it is defamed by the evil. I bought some pieces of cloth and cut them up into strips, and used a pen to write, "Falun Dafa is Good," "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good," and similar messages. We hung them up on trees at night. Then we switched to using red and green paper. All we wanted was to tell people the facts and to speak up for Dafa and for Master.
No matter what we do, as long as we hold righteous thoughts and have no attachments, Master will protect us. I once participated in releasing balloons to help validate the Fa. Three practitioners and I were in charge of the section between the town hall and the police station. We set out at 8:00 a.m. Those practitioners and I held two handfuls of colorful balloons each, with banners hanging from them. We soon reached the spot and released the balloons. Seeing the beautiful balloons flying in the air, I thought, "Master, your disciple came out to validate the Fa today." After releasing them, the other practitioners returned home, and I headed for the market. Two plainclothes police officers soon grabbed my shoulders and asked, "Were you the one releasing those balloons just now?" I replied firmly, "Did anyone see it? Did you see it?" They didn't reply and circled me twice. Seeing that I was calm and steadfast, they left without doing anything else. I saw at work Master's Fa principle, "...by staying unaffected you will be able to handle all situations." ("Teaching the Fa at the Conference in the Midwest-U.S.")
Master has asked us many times to cultivate ourselves, look inward, and set up materials distribution sites everywhere. My family environment had not improved for some time, and every time I talked about doing the exercises, my husband hit me. It was the same whenever I wanted to do something to validate the Fa. Problems kept arising, but I did not look inside. Instead, I developed a feeling of injustice and grievance. One night I had a dream in which I saw a man furiously pointing at me, "You've lied to me your entire life. I haven't had a wife or a child in my entire life." I replied, "Are you sure it's me?" He replied solemnly, "It's you." When I woke up, I realized that this might be something I owed this person from a previous life. Therefore, he has been interfering with me from the day I began cultivating. But I didn't look inside. Instead, I began begrudging him, and that's how the old forces found an excuse to persecute me. I know it was Master enlightening me, worried that I'd continue to go down the wrong path. I looked inside deeply and immediately sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors. Through studying the Fa, I realized that my husband is also someone I need to save. I have to treat him well no matter what he does to me, much less hate him. Once I realized this, I took action. He twice became very mad at me, but I remained quiet, without uttering a word. I didn't let it move me inside, either. From then on, that never happened again.
I have always reminded myself that I am a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period, and saving sentient beings is our duty. Therefore, setting up a materials distribution site at home was my dream. I once tested my husband, "A practitioner has a computer at home, but doesn't know how to use it. How about if I bring it home and learn how to get on-line?" He replied, "I don't care. Just don't let anyone else find out." With the help of fellow practitioners, my family distribution site was established. I can now go on-line to download weekly journals, read Master's lectures, etc. Some practitioners and I are now in charge of materials for several villages.
Master has repeatedly talked about cultivating oneself, looking inward, and saving sentient beings in recent lectures. Whenever I have time, fellow practitioners and I have been going out to help people renounce their CCP memberships. Throughout the process, we continue to rectify our thoughts, and eliminate human notions when they emerge.
These are just a few stories from my cultivation path. Please feel free to point out any inadequacies.