(Minghui.org) Greetings to Master! Greetings to fellow practitioners!
Falun Dafa Is Magnificent!
I learned of Falun Dafa in July 2004, when a college classmate called and discussed the practice with me. It was the first time I had heard about “Truthfulness- Compassion- Forbearance,” yet it sounded familiar to me. That night I pondered about the meaning of the three words until I fell asleep. When I awoke the next morning, I suddenly realized that the root of my domestic problems was my irresponsibility. This answer appeared to come from nowhere, but it was indeed correct. I did not care much about my family. When my husband complained, I fought with him and felt sorry for myself. During the following week, I did not fight with my husband, and I noticed that my physical health improved. After that, the college classmate visited me at home, talked more about Falun Dafa, and left me a few books. I began reading the book Zhuan Falun. I found it a truly heavenly book. I was exhilarated that I had a book that could make me an enlightened being!
I also began to do the Falun Gong exercises. When I meditated, I felt strong energy circling in my body and expelling illness. I had sinusitis and nasal congestion which bothered me while I meditated. I felt the Falun rotating in my body in places where there were ailments. I was able to stop taking all my medicines and no longer felt fatigue.
I began memorizing Zhuan Falun and did the five exercises every day. The sitting meditation exercise hurt my legs, but I believed that it was a good thing because it eliminated karma. There were many random thoughts in my head when I exercised and I could not control them. Once, I remembered that Master said, “It is karma churning up, so you should regard it as someone else.” ("Teaching the Fa at a New York Meeting," from Falun Buddha Fa: Lectures in the United States) I tried that, and all of my bothersome thoughts disappeared. I suddenly felt that I was flying along a big road with houses on both sides. My celestial eye was open.
Validating the Fa
I read in a truth-clarification pamphlet about getting the IP address of Dongtaiwang (software used for breaking through the Chinese Communist Party's Internet blockade) through an overseas email account. I tried it and I accessed the Minghui website quickly. It was eye-opening for me. I read Master's lectures and practitioners' sharing articles one after another. I did not want to eat nor sleep. I read what Master said about the importance and urgency of saving people, and I decided that I wanted to do this.
I wanted to do lots of Dafa work at that time, and ignored personal cultivation. I did a lot of work with human notions. Someone reported me to the police in July 2008, after I was seen posting Falun Dafa fliers. I was detained for 15 days. During this time, I met other local practitioners. After I was released, I began contacting other practitioners, and no longer cultivated alone. However, this experience still did not reveal my strong attachment of doing work and achieving goals, and I still paid little attention to truly cultivating and studying the Fa. I was arrested again when I was distributing Dafa fliers a year and a half later. I was chained to a heating pipe in a room inside a police station. A person sat in front of me across the hallway. Miraculously, I shook the handcuffs and my hands were released. I sent righteous thoughts and soon the person left. I escaped and ran straight home.
I sent righteous thoughts continuously for one day. I did not want to acknowledge the old forces and the persecution, and I did not want to have to leave home and become homeless. The police did not come after me that time. Pitifully, I still didn't pay attention to cultivating myself. I was happy, and thought that I had strong righteous thoughts and no fear. I participated in many Dafa projects and was very aggressive, but I seldom studied the Fa. A practitioner once tried to warn me that we are divine beings validating the Fa, not human beings fighting the persecution. I felt something, but did not take it seriously. The police arrested me in January 2009 and confiscated my printer, computer, and all my Dafa books and materials. This caused a great loss of resources for other practitioners.
I continually clarified the truth to the police while I was in the police station. I was transferred to a detention center, and the authorities sentenced me to a year in a forced labor camp. The guards tried to force me to sign a statement renouncing Falun Dafa, but I refused. They soon gave up on me. Now, as I think back, I had human notions toward the guards. I hated what they did to me. I irrationally accused them of being evil and treated them like the culprits who started the persecution. I forgot to be compassionate and remember that the police were also beings to be saved. I then calmed down and looked within. I knew that there must be a big gap in my xinxing because I was being persecuted. Besides eating, sleeping, and mopping the floor, I spent all of my time memorizing the Fa, sending righteous thoughts, and looking within. I found strong attachments to showing off, achieving goals in doing Dafa work, and wanting to be known among practitioners (the attachment to fame). A month later, I went on a hunger strike until the authorities finally agreed that I could do the exercises. I also sang Dafa songs to other inmates, recited Lunyu to them, and helped them quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliates.
The authorities wanted me to provide them with information about other practitioners. They started out being nice to me, but I told them nothing. Two days later, they began torturing me. They forced me to stand against a wall for a long period of time. I was not allowed to sleep or use the toilet when I needed to, and I was given only two small buns for each meal. I was forced to squat down for a long time and watch videos that slandered Faun Dafa. I did not stop memorizing the Fa in my head and sending righteous thoughts. From 6:00 a.m. to midnight, I was so tired that I began to lose focus. I asked Master to help me. Immediately, I was no longer sleepy at all. My celestial eye saw a large garden with green grass, and bright colorful flowers. I also saw dew on the petals and felt that everything was so alive. When I looked at the roots of the flowers, I saw worms, snakes, and centipedes crawling around. The worms were as large as snakes. I knew that these were deteriorated matter in my dimension, and my attachments were feeding them so that they could grow very large. Suddenly I heard a loud noise. I saw a small, black person trapped in a wine glass. The person was trying to get out by shaking the glass and making noise. I believe that the black person was me and all my attachments. The old forces were using my attachments to persecute and incarcerate me. I thought about tipping the glass over, and then suddenly everything disappeared. Celestial maidens with big smiles appeared. They were playing on beautiful hills with clear creeks. Everything was so pretty and I was very excited. I did not feel the pain of being persecuted. The guards continued to interrogate me. I was still seeing the beautiful things that Master allowed me to see. I felt no pain and was not tired at all.
The guards forced me to watch videos that slandered Falun Dafa and Master. However, I saw “Falun Dafa is good” written on an inscribed board with beautiful decoration. More and more of these boards appeared. I later saw boards with “Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance” written on them. Then there were rows of Bodhisattvas and different kinds of divine beings lining up behind the boards. They were endless. I then saw two little fairies who were about six years old fly by me. There were garlands and ribbons surrounding me wherever I went. I pointed out the mistakes and ridiculous accusations in the videos the guards showed me. I knew that they didn't think I was going to give up and they were only doing their job. They soon left me alone. A week later, I was released.
Becoming Mature
After I returned home, I studied the Fa attentively and began the real process of eliminating my attachments. Master frequently gave me hints in my dreams. When I dreamed that I had big fights with others, I knew I had strong attachments to competition. I dreamed that I had a lot of clothes with nowhere to put them, and realized that I was attached to having nice clothes. I dreamed that I was a student, and while taking a test I was categorized as the type of student that liked surprises. I felt my fundamental attachment was that I learned Falun Dafa because I was surprised by, and curious about, the teachings. I only liked to read Master's new articles and seldom read Zhuan Falun. I dreamed that the string of my child's red balloon became tangled around my ankle and I could not got rid of it. I believed that it was telling me not to be attached to sentiments toward my child. One time I dreamed that I was talking to Master and two gangsters tried to rob us. I rushed towards them and fought with them. Master wanted me to get them water. I then asked them to sit down for a cup of tea. We talked and they were both saved. I realized that we must treat those who are hostile to Dafa with compassion so that we can save them.
One day I was still busy working when it was time to send righteous thoughts. My child, who was sleeping at the time, suddenly jumped off the bed and yelled at me. She went back to sleep afterward. I knew that Master was worrying that I didn't pay enough attention to sending righteous thoughts. When I was confused about a certain thing, sometimes a phrase from the Fa would appear in my head and enlighten me.
I learned how to look within at all times, anywhere. The human world is a place for us to cultivate. Everything has been developed for us to see and is an illusion. Everything in the world happens because we have certain human notions. Hence, when we see something, it is not an accident, and we have to look within based on what we see. When someone praised me, I knew I was attached to zealotry. When someone swore at me, I knew I liked to fight. When someone of the opposite sex cared for me, I knew I was attached to lust. When I could not stop talking about the Fa principles, I knew I was arrogant and complacent and liked to preach and show off. When I complained to others, I was attached to others. When I really wanted to do something, I was attached to doing work. When water leaked, or the faucet was broken, I knew there was a gap in my xinxing. When the gas pipe was blocked, it was a sign of danger, and could mean that persecution was coming.
Only when we study the Fa well can we have strong righteous thoughts. It allows us to better clarify the truth and save people as true practitioners. I often remind myself that I am a divine being validating the Fa. Master said,
“If every one of you can understand the Fa from the depths of your mind, that will truly be the manifestation of the Fa whose power knows no boundary—the reappearance of the mighty Buddha Fa in the human world!” (“Cautionary Advice” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I once talked to a 70-year-old member of the Chinese Communist Party. She was proud of being a member because during her time it was hard to become a member. She was unhappy that I asked her to quit the Party and its affiliates, and wanted me to leave her alone. I looked up at the sky and had one thought, “If you were a sentient being of my world, you should listen to me.” I then tried to talk to her again and found that her attitude had changed completely. No matter what I said, she nodded her head. When I told her that I would help her quit the Party and its affiliates using an alias, she agreed. I gave her a Falun Dafa amulet and she quickly put it in her pocket. Before I left, she told me to take care. I had remembered Master's teaching at that instant, and with that divine thought, I was able to save the person. It is Dafa and Master who are saving people. Only when we remain steadfast in the Fa can we truly help Master rectify the Fa.
