(Clearwisdom.net) This is a true story. This is a cultivator's journey of return.
Like the vast majority of Chinese born after the 1950s, who have been indoctrinated with atheism, I did not believe in the existence of gods. Nonetheless, I loved reading and often pondered the meaning of life. I often asked myself: "Who am I? Where do I come from and where is my destination?" I often wondered if there really was a heaven and hell, why we were here, and if there really was such a thing as reincarnation.
Then something happened that had a great impact on me, which initiated the gradual change of my world view.
When I was 20 years old, my mother was hospitalized and in critical condition. After being in a coma for a long time, she regained consciousness. The doctors said it was a miracle. After being discharged from the hospital, my mother told me her unforgettable experience.
She said, "People need to be good! There really is a heaven and hell, and everything people do is recorded in the 'life and death' book." She described how she was dragged to hell by an iron chain, where she saw some of our deceased relatives and bad people being punished and tortured, and how she was escorted to the King of Hell. "What does the King of Hell look like?" I asked. My mother replied, "The King of Hell is like an emperor in the human world. He said, 'Who is kneeling down there?' An official told him my name. The King of Hell said, 'Let me see the life and death book.' After looking in the book he said, 'This person's time in the human world is up. But since she did a lot of good things and helped many people, I'll extend her human life for ten more years.' He wrote a 'ten' with a red paint brush in the life and death book and said 'Back!' With a push, I was sent back, and that's when I woke up."
It was such an amazing experience that I was inspired, and I started to read books and articles about spirituality, religion, and new scientific findings that validated the existence of gods. Later I started to practice qigong and developed some supernormal abilities. My celestial eye was opened, and I had the ability of telekinesis, so I firmly believed in the existence of other dimensions.
In 1993, I wanted to become a nun so as to cultivate. Before leaving for the temple, I asked a friend who studied The Book of Changes to tell my fortune. The friend told me, "You do not need to become a nun; a high-level master will soon teach you." I asked, "Where is this high-level master?" "In northeast China," he replied. Northeast China is a very cold place. Despite the fact that I feared the cold because of my weak body, I decided to go to the northeast to seek my master. While I was in preparations for my trip, the happiness I was looking for quietly came to me.
I will remember that day all my life--September 11, 1993--when Master Li came to my city to teach the Fa. It was a Sunday morning, and someone gave me two tickets to a qigong lecture. I went with my mother in the afternoon. Every sentence of Master's lecture was enlightening. When Master said He put a Falun on everyone's palm so that we could feel it, I could feel something whirling on my palm and I could hear the sound of the rotation. I jumped up and said, "Mom, this qigong is genuine and I want to learn!" After the lecture, many students, including myself, purchased tickets for the next day. That day I began cultivating in Dafa and I was so fortunate enough to attend two of Master's lecture series.
After the first 10-day lecture series finished, the night before Master left, a student representative went to the stage to express her gratitude to Master for curing her illness. She had had a severe disability and had to wear a steel back support, but now she no longer needed it. When Master heard that she had financial difficulties and even borrowed money to pay for her class fee, He asked the staff to return the fee to her. The student burst into tears. The audience burst into thunderous applause, and everyone was moved to tears.
During the prolonged applause, Master stepped down from the stage. I managed to get to one of the aisles, hoping to shake hands with Master, and I did! When I got a hold of Master's hand, a rush of warmth flowed into my body; and I was immersed in strong energy. I bathed in the happiness of the Buddha's light for a long time afterward.
After the lecture series, both my body and soul were purified. My joy was beyond words. I understood that the meaning of life is to return to one's original true self, and I understood to follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance as the guideline to elevate my realm, so as to leave this place of misery and go back to my true home. Since then I have set strict requirements for my daily conduct, and always consider others first. I strive to spread the greatness of Dafa to everyone I encounter. Many people have seen from the changes in me the power of Dafa, and have started to cultivate in Dafa.
There was one event that caused a sensation at my workplace. A few days after a colleague started cultivating in Dafa, she found 100 yuan on the ground at the entrance of the workplace. Her first thought was, "I am a cultivator, I cannot take others' possessions." She managed to find the owner and returned the money. People talked about it a lot. They said Falun Gong was so powerful that it changed a person to have high moral standards in just a few days. The supervisor said, "If everyone practices Falun Gong, it'll be easy for me to manage the work unit!"
The process of assimilating to the Fa is both joyful and difficult. At the beginning, I would endure with tears, but slowly I became more calm, and gradually achieved a peaceful and compassionate mindset.
I work in the service industry. I remember one day, when an old couple had to wait a little longer due to some misunderstanding. The couple became furious without even listening to my apologies. After swearing at me for several hours, they complained about me to whoever would listen to them. Later on, the head of my company criticized me during a meeting. Many of my colleagues who knew the whole story felt it was unfair to me. But I was very calm and only looked inward, searching for what I had done wrong that hurt others or may have caused the situation. The head of the company came to talk to me after the meeting. The first thing I said was, "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused. I didn't do well today." He didn't know what to say because he knew that I was not an irresponsible person. So he said to me, "It's hard to not make any mistakes. Be more careful next time." I couldn't have been this compassionate and calm before I started cultivation.
My 17-year journey of return has been filled with hardship and joy. For a Dafa practitioner, cultivation is the process of purifying the heart and ascending. Only by returning to one's true self --the realm of innocence and benevolence--can we reach our paradise.
My friends, please read the precious book Zhuan Falun. Perhaps reading this book will be the turning point of your life. May good people be saved! May happiness always be with kindhearted people!