(Minghui.org) My parents began practicing Falun Dafa in 1996. I started practicing in late 2012. While experiencing the sacredness and wonders of Dafa, I am wondering why my predestined opportunity came so late. A veteran practitioner said to me, “We are very lucky to obtain the Fa in the troubled times of the Dharma-ending Period.”
I didn't understand until I read in one of Master's articles,
"As you know, there is always the question of why there have been so few new Dafa disciples since the persecution started. It is precisely because the old forces locked up the entrance, and thus nobody could enter unless they had an exceptional circumstance or I specifically needed them. That is because, based on the old forces’ logic, the test has already reached its end, and the harshest period has passed;..." ("Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference")
The old forces prevented me from obtaining the Fa. The reason that I obtained the Fa must be that Master specifically needed me. In order to wake me up, compassionate Master made ingenious arrangements. But I was lost in delusion for a long time.
1. First Missed Opportunity
Early in the spring of 1997 in Wuhan, my parents, who had just obtained the Fa, took me to a practice site to do the exercises with them. When they were doing the second exercise, "Holding the Law Wheel," I thought it was very funny seeing how serious the practitioners were. Right then a mass of dark clouds floated over from the corner of my right eye. I immediately felt weak, and experienced chest tightness and sweating. I lost consciousness, which frightened my parents. My mother asked my father and several others to send forth righteous thoughts for me. After quite a while I felt better. My father said that I must have too much karma. After that I did not dare to do the exercises again. I soon left my parents in Wuhan and missed the opportunity.
I now know that Master was cleansing my body. I had previously practiced another kind of qigong for a few days for fun, so I had a strong reaction.
2. "Your Real Parents Are in Heaven."
I never doubted my mother's words. I believed her when she joked that I was adopted when I was a child, which led me to develop an introverted personality. In fact, she had very poor health and almost died when she was pregnant with me. A fortuneteller had told her that she would not live past age 49. I was premature, and she was afraid she would not see me grow up, so she told me I was adopted. My mother always said that her health was very good after she began practicing Dafa. She was free from illness, and Master was protecting her. So I did not worry about her much. She told me about Dafa, and I always smiled, but never truly understood it. But one day, in order to make me believe in Dafa, she told me firmly, "Your father and I are not your real parents, your true parents are in heaven!" I thought this was very strange. She also said that the Jade Emperor and many gods were in heaven. How could I believe this after growing up in CCP's atheist culture? Although I grew up in that environment, my mother had previously been a Buddhist, and we used to make offerings at home. I never dared get close to the altar and stayed away from it. I didn't really believe in the existence of gods.
I was annoyed when she talked too much about it, and I also didn't believe the miraculous experience my father had told me about. But I remembered that I should return good for evil to melt away hatred. I also remembered to repeat "Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good," and "The Fa Rectifies The Cosmos, The Evil Is Completely Eliminated" when encountering fear or danger.
Those are two reasons on the surface why I could not obtain the Fa earlier. Every Dafa practitioner wants his/her family to obtain the Fa. Master said,
"Falun Gong's profound teachings are impossible for ordinary people to understand, and they cannot be told at high levels. If you want to introduce Dafa in a direct manner, your informational materials should explain the most simple and plain points, such as what Falun Gong is. Talk about Falun Gong at a simple and basic level, such as how to conduct yourself and how effective the exercises are." ("Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of the Minghui Website’s Founding")
It is truly so.
3. Doubts When Falun Gong Persecution Began
In 1999 both of my parents were arrested because they appealed for Falun Gong in Beijing. My father was arrested again in 2004. During that time, the intensive media propaganda made people think that Falun Gong was terrible. I often saw articles in newspapers which slandered Dafa. When I heard people laughing at Falun Gong practitioners, I felt really bad. I did not understand why the government wanted to arrest these innocent, good people. These people did not give up on Falun Gong even though they were repeatedly arrested, their families destroyed, and some died due to persecution. Why? I often received Falun Gong truth clarification materials, but I didn't dare to read them. I put them in a drawer. I read them several years later after I obtained the Fa.
After their arrest, my parents practiced at home. But the local police often got together with gangsters and went to their home in the middle of the night to harass them and confiscate their belongings. My parents were unmoved and they told everyone that Dafa was good.
My mother often said she became healthy after practicing Falun Gong. She saw I was not that healthy and taught me the first exercise, “Buddha Showing a Thousand Hands." She asked me to be sure to do it, but I did not, because I had concerns that my husband's family would not understand it. I also occasionally read the Fa with my parents, but nothing touched me.
However, during the persecution my aunt protected Dafa books for practitioners. She opened the book Zhuan Falun three times out of curiosity and noticed that Master in the portrait was smiling at her. She then started to practice. Her body was purified and became disease free. I was surprised to hear that but did not think too much about it. An everyday person is buried by the karma of different lifetimes and recently-developed concepts. He or she will not believe anything that can't be seen. Even if the specific phenomenon of Buddha's Fa manifested in this dimension, we still could not enlighten. Just like Master said,
"Some people do not even dare to face up to, approach, or acknowledge the facts of phenomena that objectively exist, all because these people are too conservative and are unwilling to change their conventional notions when thinking." (“Lunyu” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
4. Dafa Miracle Manifested in Me and In My Mother's Death
I always wanted to have another child, but was unable to for years. I was ready to give up. My mother learned this and told me that repeating “Falun Dafa is good” frequently would help. She also gave me a few examples to prove it. I said it for nearly a month just to give it a try, and I actually got pregnant. My mother handed me Zhuan Falun, and I gladly accepted it. But I didn't read it. I had read it before and fell asleep half way through. I simply did not understand it.
When I was more than seven months pregnant, my doctor told me that there was a risk of premature birth. I became incredibly worried. I remembered my mother's words and repeated "Falun Dafa is good," and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I opened Zhuan Falun, and the characters “...it is grown and mature...” came to my eyes. That section was about “The Placement of the Mysterious Pass.” It describes the development process of the immortal infant. I continued reading, but did not understand it. I closed the book and calmed down. I felt it was a bit magical. I told my mother about this and was surprised that her reaction was very calm. My child was born with no complications.
In fact, my mother's cultivation state had not been good for a long time. Her illnesses reappeared. She was behaving more and more like an everyday person. She was short-tempered, stubborn, jealous, and resentful. She always scolded my father and was not studying the Fa or doing the exercises. She also told others that she had already reached consummation, because my aunt saw my mother in a Buddha image while she was meditating. (I learned this later.) One evening I received the sad news that my mother had suddenly died!
5. Why Did My Mother Die?
I appeared very calm about my mother's death, because I was wondering, "Why would my mother die? Doesn't Master protect practitioners?"
Fellow practitioners had asked me and my sister to go upstairs to ask Master to help (Master's portrait was displayed upstairs). The word "Master" suddenly touched my heart, and I wanted to see what Master looked like. It was strange--in my mind, Master was a person, not a picture! With that idea, I went to the room and saw it clearly. Master with black hair in a yellow robe was floating in the air with his legs crossed, showing a hand gesture. His eyes were slightly closed, and his skin was fair. His expression was dignified and solemn with incomparable power. I was afraid and did not dare to look more. I knelt down and did not dare to look. I felt I was so tiny. After that I was very afraid. I didn't realize that what I saw was not Master's portrait in the picture frame. I thought that was the portrait, and that others could see it, too.
I remember that on October 8, 2012, I was afraid of my mother's soul, and did not go upstairs for several days. Nothing happened. A woman came over and told me to ask Jesus for help. She said Jesus was very powerful, but I was unmoved, just lost in thought.
After my mother's funeral, the pain of losing her finally overwhelmed me. A strong desire rose from my heart. I wanted to find out from one of my aunts why my mother would die. This aunt had obtained the Fa very early and had been persecuted multiple times. My mother respected her a lot. I had always hoped that she and my mother could talk face to face. Unfortunately this did not happen. When I got to her home, she was not there – she was talking to the police. Another woman talked to me instead. She spoke like my mother, but her last words did not satisfied me. She said that she had ascites, and she had become healthy after practicing Falun Gong, and could not make any mistakes with this extended life. She told me with a smile that she was afraid of death. I no longer had a positive image of Dafa practitioners. How could a practitioner be afraid of death? I didn't talk much with my aunt and left. I didn't get in touch with her after that. She called me several times, but I did not want to see her.
A couple days after that I had severe lower back pain. A few days later there was blood in my urine. It lasted nearly two months. The strange thing is that the doctor could not find anything wrong, and I was in very good spirits. Now I know Master was taking care of me!
At a 2012 Chinese New Year's party I saw my aunt again. She was giving away Shen Yun DVDs, but no one was willing to take them. Seeing the situation, I said with courage, “Give one to me.” I held the DVD tightly with both hands, tears in my eyes. I did not plan to watch it; I just wanted it as a souvenir to remember my mother.
After September 2012, I was troubled with family and work problems, and I went to see my aunt several times. I thought she could help me. She asked me to read Dafa books or listen to Master's lecture tapes. Just like that I started to read Dafa books. In fact, everything was guided by Master to help me to find the way.
6. I Heard Gods Calling
The friendly voice when I first listened to Master's lecture tape drew me in. When I listened to the seventh lecture, I suddenly sat up in bed, and called in my heart “All those things are real!” Because what was said had manifested in my parents.
After listening to the recordings, I understood why my mother passed away. Her life had been extended for her to practice. But she did not make good use of that time to practice. Many attachments had not been let go, and she was not as good as even an everyday person. Master gave her multiple chances, but she did not enlighten. By the end she even chanted, "Amitabha, come!" The lesson was profound.
I learned to look inward and my brain became very clear. My whole body often felt chilly, even when I was in a heated room. Later I felt hot, and sweated a lot. Master was cleansing my body. I really did not know what was going on. Every night I fell asleep listening to the Minghui cultivation stories. One time I was touched by Master's mercy in those stories. How could they be so insistent? I couldn't sleep. I listened to the exercise music, but soon the battery died. The next morning I had a dream. In the dream I went to a mountain alone to find the Master. There was a temple on the mountain, but I could not find anyone in the temple. I came to an empty space, where there were four or five people in ancient clothing sitting in a circle meditating. I was suddenly drawn by a powerful force, and I joined them. We formed a circle hand in hand, and we quickly rose off the ground. My heart could not take it. I tried to control it twice, but finally I could not hold it any longer and woke up. My heart was still pounding. When I closed my eyes again, I suddenly heard beautiful music followed by a male voice in my left ear. It was Master's voice! I woke up and realized that other dimensions do exist.
I called my aunt, but she said she could not talk much on the phone. I was a little disappointed. That night I had another dream, where many people were walking in the mud through a field. I was walking on another path with great difficulty, and I emptied my bowels as I walked. Finally I got stuck. The sky was gray, and there was an exit ahead. I told all this to my father. He was very happy. He said that Master wanted me to do the exercises and get myself out of the dirty human world. I was worried that my husband's family would not understand it. My father said, “What's to be afraid of? Falun Dafa is good, it's the most righteous Fa!” His words shocked me and I decided to do the exercises.
7. Cherishing this Late Opportunity, Being Worthy of Master's Compassionate and Arduous Salvation
After practicing I changed a lot mentally and physically. My pain, confusion, worry, and depression disappeared. They were replaced by joy and pride.
One night I touched my belly and thought, "I read the book, cultivate the mind nature, and do the exercises. Will I have a Falun?" With just that thought I felt Falun spinning immediately in my lower abdomen. It's real! I often feel my hands disappear when holding the Falun in the second exercise. I am surrounded by happiness.
My husband did not believe in Dafa and always slandered Dafa and Master. I think it must have been because I did not do well. In the beginning it seemed like my family environment was a huge obstacle in the middle of my cultivation path. I straightened out my heart with compassion towards my family and found that things improved very quickly. They really changed when I changed my mind.
I returned to my father's house for the 2013 Chinese New Year. I went upstairs to pay my respect to Master. I saw that Master's portrait was only 12 inches square. I asked my father where Master's big portrait was. My Father said that this was it, there was no larger one. I suddenly froze in shock. What had I seen before?! Great, compassionate Master had shown Himself to me more than a year prior. He had been guiding me over and over again, and finally awakened me. How much has Master sacrificed to save one person! I could not express my mixed feelings. When I do not do well with the three things due to everyday people's concerns and seeking comfort, I feel particularly sorry that I am disappointing Master. The only thing I can do is to strive forward on the path of cultivation, and become Master's practitioner with true solid cultivation. Only then I can be worthy of Master's compassionate salvation!
I have recorded my experience to tell people who have been brainwashed by the CCP atheism that gods and humans co-exist in this world. Falun Buddha Fa is sacred and is true. Please do not be deceived. Only by discerning good from bad and good from evil, and acknowledging the universal Dafa, can you see the future, when the truth will be known.
I would also like to tell new practitioners like me: Please do not underestimate yourself. We should quickly improve from perceptual understanding to rational understanding of Master and Dafa. We should not be attached to whether we belong to Fa rectification period disciples. We should do well with everything. Cherish this opportunity that only comes once in thousands of years and do not miss it again!
