(Clearwisdom.net) With Master's compassion, I have improved a lot during 12 years of cultivation in Falun Dafa, even though I have only a fourth-grade education. I would like to share my cultivation experiences.
1. Benefiting from Personal Cultivation
My sister introduced me to Dafa in the spring of 1997. I was initially reluctant to accept it because I had been deeply brainwashed with atheism and the Party culture. The following winter, my mind often went blank, and I often lost words in the middle of a conversation. I also had rheumatic heart disease, bursitis of the shoulders, asthma, and long-term pain in my neck and shoulder. I couldn't afford any more treatment and thought that practicing Falun Gong might help, so I began reading Zhuan Falun. Reading the book made me realize that Master is different than other qigong teachers. I believed that Master is a genuine Buddha, and words could not describe my gratitude.
I had a job and had no free time on holidays and weekends, but no matter how busy or how tired I was, I persisted in participating in group practice. Soon after I began to practice, my asthma and heart disease vanished. The bursitis in my shoulders only appeared when I was at rest, but I no longer felt pain when I was working. Nonetheless, I realized that the purpose of Falun Gong practice was not to cure illnesses.
Master said in Zhuan Falun,
"The body purification will be done only for those who come to truly learn the practice and the Fa."
My xinxing improved with continuing Fa study. In 1998, I was supervising three workers in a business of planting indoor vegetables. According to the rules, as a supervisor, I should have received a bonus at the end of the year. However, I discovered that one of the contract workers had taken my bonus and refused to give it back. I thought about speaking with the owner, but then changed my mind, since as a Dafa practitioner I should think of others first. The contractor might lose face if I told the owner, and the issue only involved about 100 yuan. I also thought that this could have been a hint from Master to remind me not to seek personal gain.
Master had mentioned that when one family member practices Falun Gong, the whole family benefits. My husband was a heavy drinker. and he couldn't eat without having a drink, even at breakfast. Soon after I started the practice, he began to have heartburn and feel nauseated whenever he drank, until he could no longer drink. He has been very supportive of my practice.
2. My First Step Toward Truth Clarification
When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, all of the CCP-controlled media continuously spread lies and defamed Falun Gong and Master. I knew that what they were saying was wrong, but was confused about how to help Master with Fa-rectification, and I felt unsettled.
Master said:
"My disciples! Master is very worried, but this cannot help! Why can't you abandon ordinary human attachments?" ("Further Elimination of Attachments" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I shared my understanding with other practitioners after work but was still unclear. Then I said to my practitioner daughter, "If we can't go to Beijing to appeal for justice for Dafa, we should at least go out and explain the facts to people."
That day it rained, and we took a bus to a department store before work. We walked along the street, but did not meet anyone, and then it was time to go to work. My daughter and I went separate ways, but I still kept thinking about clarifying the truth to people. On the bus on my way to work, I gave up my seat to an older woman in her sixties. When she expressed her gratitude, I told her that I was a Dafa practitioner and that the TV broadcasts regarding Falun Gong were not true. I also handed her a Dafa flier, which she accepted. That was my first experience of clarifying the truth face-to-face.
3. Master is With Us at All Times
In December 2000, we went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong, but police detained us at the train station. I did not provide my name during the interrogation because if I did, my workplace would be implicated. The officer wrote down my name as "Truthfulness." I realized that as long as I had the Fa in mind, Master would be there to help and protect me. On our way back home, an undercover police agent told us that we would be detained after we got off the train. We realized that it was a hint from Master, so we got off the train before the final destination and got home safely.
Our whole family was reported and arrested in 2001 while we were distributing Dafa materials. The police asked where the materials came from, but I did not disclose the other practitioners' names.
Master said:
"When you say it's good, I say it's good, and everyone says it's good, how can you see a person's heart? Only at the critical moment can we see his heart. If he doesn't let go of certain attachments he might even dare to betray a Buddha-- could this be a minor problem?" ("Huge Exposure" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I realized that Dafa practitioners would become divine beings once they reached Consummation. I asked Master for wisdom. Later, the police officer stopped asking about the source of the Dafa materials.
During the illegal detention, I constantly thought to myself, "Why am I here? I should follow Master to the end." I was released from the detection center in six months, but before being released, the police forced me to sign a guarantee statement promising to give up the practice. Because I was afraid of being sentenced to forced labor, I signed the statement and regretted my action after I got home. I knew that I had let Master down and later published a solemn declaration to resume my cultivation.
4. Explaining the Truth and Asking People to Quit the CCP
As Dafa practitioners in the Fa-rectification process, it is our responsibility to save people rather than focusing only on personal consummation. Exposing the persecution lets people know the truth so that they can be saved.
Since I did not have a regular job, I went out to explain the facts to people during the day. Once, when someone reported me to the police, I kept calm, had righteous thoughts and got away safely under Master's the protection. Another time, when I was distributing truth-clarification fliers at a bike parking lot, a man asked, "What are you doing? Are you Falun Gong?" He blocked my path to the door, but I was calm, did not respond, walked toward him and passed by him to the door. I knew that Master was there protecting me.
Master said,
"... just by having your heart unaffected you will be able to handle all situations." ("Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)" from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
5. Eliminating Fear
I am frequently afraid for no reason. However, I forgot my fear when I met people who did not know the facts and were fooled by the Party's lies. I only thought about rescuing them. When I had righteous thoughts and sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate bad elements around me, my truth-clarification efforts became more effective.
In 2003, an ethnic Korean practitioner who was forced to leave home arrived in our town. One day, I saw her on the street while I was explaining the truth to a salesman. She caught up with me afterward and asked if I practiced Falun Gong. I admitted it and she invited me to her place. We exchanged information and then I shared the Minghui website information and Master's new articles with her.
Two weeks later, a local practitioner warned me that she could be a CCP agent and told me to stop contacting her. I was scared and in shock. I stopped contacting her and lost seven pounds in a week due to fear. My practitioner daughter criticized me, saying, "She may be lost without updated information," and another local practitioner said that I was being selfish. I then realized my problem and resumed communication with this Korean practitioner. She told me that she was scared, too, and could not sleep for couple of days after I disappeared. We shared our experiences and came to understand that we both had the attachment of fear. We were in tears and felt Master's great compassion.
6. Getting to Know Fellow Practitioners
One month prior to July 20, 1999, when the persecution began, I got to know a practitioner who had lost contact with Dafa for a long time and didn't have an opportunity to obtain updated information. I shared information with her weekly, but she eventually resisted my help, and was standoffish when I delivered the weekly updates to her. I remained calm, however.
She lost money with her business and sought my advice. I suggested that if she could survive without the business, she should calm down and study the Fa first. She took my advice, and three months later, she realized the importance of cultivation and changed into a completely new person. She became involved in making truth- clarifying posters and later set up a materials production site at her home. She also went to her hometown in the countryside to let more people know about Falun Gong and the CCP's evil actions. As a result, many people quit the CCP. Her husband also began cultivating in Dafa.
I got to know another practitioner on a bus when I went shopping. I knew she was a college student from outside of town and had no access to online Dafa materials. I gave her my home address, and she visited my home every weekend thereafter. We studied the Fa, practiced the exercises, and read online articles together.
7. Clarifying the Truth with My Grandson
My daughter had a boy in 2008, and I helped to take care of him. I brought my grandson with me to meet people on the street and at stores. The grandson's cute face attracted many people and opened up a nice way to begin a conversation. I then had an opportunity to tell them about the goodness of Falun Gong, about the persecution, and to ask them to quit the Party.
Once, when my husband, my grandson, and I went for a walk, an older women approached and commented, "The boy is so cute, and he smiles at me." I replied, "We must have a predestined relationship. I am a Dafa practitioner. Did you join the CCP?" When she responded that she had, I told her, "Please quit the CCP for your own safety and bright future, because the gods will destroy the CCP." She agreed and used an alias to quit the CCP, and thanked us as she departed.
I also distributed Dafa CDs to retired government officials at their residences. The door to the building was normally locked, but I was able to get in with the paper delivery boy or construction workers.
To save more people, I would sometimes buy things I didn't need or ask the vendor to keep the change in order to get a conversation going. Our conversation would typically begin with small things, such as their personal interests, and then I progressed to telling them the facts about Falun Gong and asked them to quit the CCP.
8. Eliminating Attachments
I thought that my grandson was born for Dafa and didn't treat him as an everyday person. The young boy was sick from time to time, and I became nervous when this happened and let my daughter make decisions about his care. Looking inward, I discovered my ego and fear of taking responsibility.
I felt good about my truth clarification efforts and convincing more people to quit the Party, until one day I saw another practitioner with a long list of people who quit the Party. I felt discomfort and realized that my feelings were due to jealousy. Having more people quit the Party is a good thing, and it doesn't matter who asked them to quit.
I also experienced difficulties within my family during cultivation. Sometimes we forgot to look inward during conflicts. But as we improved from the Fa through many years of cultivation and realized our attachments, we tried to eliminate them one by one.
These are my cultivation experiences and understandings. Please point out anything incorrect. I will continue to improve myself and follow Master to consummation.
