(Clearwisdom.net) I was so fortunate to obtain the Fa and start practicing Falun Dafa in 1996. Looking back over my path of cultivation practice, my understanding is that only by believing in Master and the Fa can one embody righteous faith, and only by setting aside human notions and being unselfish can one attain righteous enlightenment and maintain righteous thoughts.
1. Righteous Thoughts Are Enough to Disintegrate the Persecution
In October 2000, dozens of other practitioners and I traveled to Beijing in rental cars. On the way there, evil elements tried all kinds of methods to encircle, pursue, obstruct and intercept us. But our righteous thoughts were very strong, and our determination to validate Dafa was indeed enough to split a mountain!
Under Master's merciful protection, we quickly shook off the interference, and arrived at Tiananmen Square. The square was full of police officers, both armed and plain-clothed. Amid the crowds, practitioners shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” “Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa!” and “Restore Master's reputation!” Our voices shook the skies. Practitioners were continuously arrested and placed into police vans, but more practitioners would emerge from the crowd, unfolding banners. The evil panicked. Suddenly someone snatched three of us and pushed us forward. Master's Fa flashed through my mind, “Don’t voluntarily let the evil take you away” (“Rationality” from Essentials for Further Advancement II). I turned around and sternly said to that person, “What are you doing?” He was so frightened that he almost fell on the ground, and then he immediately fled and disappeared into the crowd. Seven days later, we returned home safely.
While I was being held in a detention center on another occasion, I kept a handwritten copy of Zhuan Falun, as well as over ten other hand-copied books of Master's lectures, in a handbag. One day, while I was in the middle of hand-copying Zhuan Falun, a great number of police agents suddenly began conducting a surprise search. I had a feeling that they were searching for the hand-copied books I was keeping. I had to protect the books no matter what happened. After thinking for several seconds, I told myself: I am a Dafa disciple and I am equipped with the divine power of the Buddha Fa, so I will protect Dafa with my righteous thoughts. I put the handbag under the cotton-padded mattress and walked out of the room with everybody else. But my mind was focused on the bag and I kept sending forth righteous thoughts for several hours until all of the police left our room. Our room was turned upside down, everything was jumbled together, and even the beds were moved, but my bag remained untouched. I almost cried with happiness. Once again, I truly witnessed the wonder of Dafa and the power of Dafa disciples' righteous thoughts.
At the end of September 2001, a practitioner who had been “transformed” was secretly helping the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] arrest practitioners. One day, she wanted to meet us, but I didn't want to because I had my notebook computer and Dafa book with me. The other practitioner, however, insisted that we meet her. On our way, our bag handle and shoelace both broke. I knew Master was warning us of danger, but the other practitioner insisted that we keep going. At the meeting place, I felt a sudden chill, and the environment didn't look right either, so I warned the practitioner again and hailed a taxi. After we were in the taxi, the practitioner told the driver to stop the car. Instead of being rational, I was mad at the other practitioner. In the end, the police arrested us, roughed us up, and a hired a thug to beat us. Seeing how he was being controlled by the evil, my heart was full of compassion. I thought, I must not allow the evil to use sentient beings to commit crimes against Dafa disciples. So I spoke to him kindly while using righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil behind him. I said: “I believe your child must be very proud of his daddy for being a policeman. But have you thought about what you are doing? What would your child think if his classmates saw you beating up an unarmed innocent person who believes in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance? Do you think he'd still be proud of you?” He slowed down. It was obvious that he was thinking it over. I continued, “You would have broken his heart, because his father, whom he was so proud of, has changed into a wicked person who persecutes good people.” He gradually stopped beating me, lowered his head and murmured, “I am not a policeman. They hired me...” He was quiet from that moment on and didn't beat anybody else.
At night, to keep me from escaping, the policeman on duty cuffed my left wrist to a steel pipe. He made sure the teeth along the inner ring of the handcuff were cutting into my flesh, and that he couldn't loosen it by shaking it, and then he left. Six or seven people were in the room where I was held, and the door was locked from the inside.
I sent forth strong righteous thoughts: “I am a disciple of our esteemed Master Li Hongzhi. Master is in charge of everything of mine, and no one else is worthy of testing me or persecuting me. This is not a place for Dafa disciples, and I must leave here as soon as possible to save sentient beings. In addition, my escape will have the effect of disintegrating the evil. Master, please strengthen me and help me disintegrate all the evil beings and factors that persecute Dafa disciples.” I strongly felt that Master was right next to me. I kept my eyes closed and focused on sending forth righteous thoughts, and then recited the Fa in my heart. When I came to the sentence, “However strong the righteous thoughts are, that’s how great the power is” (“Also in a Few Words” from Essentials for Further Advancement II), the handcuff clicked open. I was extremely grateful, and at that moment Master's Fa seemed to engulf me. I remained in my posture and quietly continued sending forth righteous thoughts. I asked Master to arrange an opportunity for me to escape.
Around 2 or 3 a.m., one of the policemen wanted to use the bathroom. They decided to go at the same time, so they all left without thinking and left the door wide open. I walked out, just as a taxi was driving by.
2. About Righteous Thoughts
The reason I'm sharing my experiences is primarily to remind fellow practitioners that as Dafa disciples, we must believe in Master and the Fa. In my understanding, the power of one's righteous thoughts depends on how much the practitioner believes in Master and the Fa. In the face of persecution or “sickness karma,” many practitioners developed human thoughts instead of keeping their thoughts righteous, because their faith in Master and the Fa was not strong enough. According to the Fa principle taught by Master, “One’s gong level is as high as one’s xinxing level...” (Zhuan Falun). Therefore, his or her gong would not carry much power if human thoughts were present. While one is still thinking that they are sending forth righteous thoughts, one's confidence would gradually decrease after seeing no results, and then one's faith in Master and the Fa may become weaker and weaker still.
Master has told us, “Good or evil comes from a person’s spontaneous thought...” (Zhuan Falun). If we could let go of all our human things at that moment, our thoughts would be righteous thoughts, which carry mighty power. But it usually isn't easy to keep our thoughts pure. For example, some practitioners are not diligent on a daily basis, but as soon as they are surrounded by evil, they begin desperately memorizing and reciting the Fa. But, as soon as the situation eases up, they start to slack off again. I think this is very selfish, and this behavior should be removed through cultivation. When problems arise, we should ask ourselves: “Do I truly believe in Master and the Fa? Have I truly devoted myself to Master and Dafa wholeheartedly without any reservations? Have I truly followed Master's words and behaved accordingly?” I think by doing this, we can easily find our problems. Looking back, I discovered that during several dangerous occasions, I was being led by my human instincts, instead of conducting myself as a practitioner.
3. The Process of Obtaining the Fa
I first read Zhuan Falun in April 1996. Without any preconceived notions in my mind, I read it from cover to cover in a very short time. Every sentence made great sense to me and answered the questions I had throughout my lifetime.
My mind and body was greatly purified and improved upon obtaining the Fa. Although I was only in my 20s, my health was very poor. I had headaches, rhinitis, a frozen shoulder, stomach ulcers and arthritis. All these ailments kept me up at night and caused me to have a hard time getting up in the morning. However, after I started going to group practice, I was able to get up at 3:30 a.m. My family was amazed by the sudden improvement in my health. I learned the five sets of exercises all at once, and my state at work was very good. I felt refreshed and energetic for the entire day and was constantly immersed in a state of peace and happiness.
This is my experience sharing and limited understanding at my current level. Please kindly point out anything improper.
