Enlightening by Falling Down

(Minghui.org) I am 88 years old and have been practicing Falun Dafa since 1997. One month after I started, all my existing longterm illnesses disappeared. I have never needed any medication since then.

Dafa has also given me wisdom. Although I am illiterate, I am able to read the book Zhuan Falun.

I do not have great enlightenment quality, because I can still be quite stubborn. When I do something wrong, I don't want to hear about it. However, Master has always guided me in my cultivation and has given me hints on where I needed to improve by arranging for me to literally fall down. I’d like to share five such examples.

Master Has My Grandson Give Me a Hint

One winter, I was determined to get new clothes for the Chinese New Year, and I wanted my daughter to shop with me. I went to see her twice, but she was busy taking care of her store and was unable to go. Two days before the Chinese New Year, it was snowing, and the roads were icy. I visited my daughter's store again, planning to ask her to go shopping with me. On my way, I slipped and fell, dislocating my wrist. I thought to myself, “I am a practitioner. This is an opportunity for karma elimination.” As a result, I did not pay much attention to my wrist, nor did I think carefully about why I had fallen.

However, my four-year-old grandson, who also practices Dafa, was walking with me. He said, “Grannie, you have an attachment!”

I realized that Master had arranged for him to tell me this. I then saw my strong attachment and decided not to get any new clothes.

Dislocated Wrist Fixed by Another Fall

Several days later and for no obvious reason, I suddenly lost my balance and fell again. My dislocated wrist touched the ground first, and, miraculously, it was no longer dislocated! My wrist was just fine after that.

Cultivating Speech

Then, when I was delivering truth-clarification materials to a practitioner's home, I ran into a group of non-practitioners and joined their conversation. Over the course of our discussion, I made several remarks that were not in line with Dafa.

When I was returning home that night, it was dark. Sure enough, I fell again. My legs hurt so badly I had to limp all the way home. This time, I quickly realized that I should have cultivated my speech better. I should not say anything not in line with the Fa.

That next morning, one of my legs was very swollen and I could barely walk. I did not tell my family about it, since I did not want them to worry about me or keep me from going out to save people. Despite the pain, I tried to walk as normally as possible.

When the swelling subsided, I found that the varicose veins in my leg, which had been there for many years, were no longer there. Master had taken them away! Thank you, Master!

Looking Inward Instead of Outward

Another time, a fellow practitioner criticized me. I got angry and had a heated argument with her, completely forgetting that I was a practitioner. In the end, I walked out, thinking, “She did not look inward at all—how terrible!”

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, it felt like I was pushed from behind and fell. I landed face down, and my lips were split and bleeding.

I knew I had made a mistake. I remembered Master's poem:

“As a cultivatorOne always looks for one’s own faults’Tis the Way to get rid of attachments most effectivelyThere’s no way to skip ordeals, big or small[During a conflict, if you can remember:]“He’s right,And I’m wrong,”What’s to dispute?” (“Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong,” Hong Yin III)

I kept apologizing to Master in my heart. I told Master that I would cultivate my competitive mentality away. I should look inward, not outward.

Missing a Golden Opportunity to Clarify the Truth

I was in the middle of clarifying the truth about Dafa to a woman, when I suddenly realized that I had an urgent appointment with another practitioner. I knew the woman did not completely understand what I’d been telling her, so I said to her, “Could you wait here for a few minutes? I have something urgent to attend to, but I will be right back.”

I turned around to leave, but after just a few steps, I fell over. My right foot had twisted around completely—the heel was pointing forward and the toes backward. I said to my foot, “You are a part of my body and you must listen to me! Turn around!” I held my right foot and turned it around. I then told it, “You should walk normally!”

I stood up. My foot was all right, but I noticed that the woman I had been speaking to was already gone.

I knew that I was wrong again. I should not have stopped in the middle of that conversation. I had missed a golden opportunity to save this person. Who knows if she will get another chance?

Master's Hint Points Out My Attachment

Last May, on the way back from distributing truth-clarification materials, I stopped by a parked car with the intention of putting the last booklet I had with me on it. But as I reached over, I slipped and fell, this time bruising my face and half of my upper body.

I looked inward and discovered that I had been anxious to finish distributing my materials so I could go home. Master said: “Always cultivating as if you were just starting will surely result in achieving your ultimate rank.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference”)

I recovered from the fall several days later.

For a practitioner like me, without great enlightenment quality, Master arranged for me to literally fall down to teach me lessons, illuminating my attachments that needed to be discarded. I sincerely thank Master for his hints and encouragement!

Discarding My Biggest Attachment

In the past, I had always been very attached to my house in my hometown. When I found out my son was living in it, I kicked him out, even though it was empty. I believed that it was mine and mine alone. Over the course of my cultivation, I learned that I should always consider others first instead of being selfish. In the end, I told my son that he could live there, thereby giving up my biggest attachment.

After letting go of one attachment after another, my cultivation and life in general became easier. Cultivation is serious, because for practitioners, every single one of our thoughts is important. We should not harbor any human attachments and should constantly keep righteous thoughts.

My life is governed by Dafa. Master has taught me how to be a better person, and I will follow his guidance to study the Fa well, no matter how busy I am, and align myself with Dafa. I will do my best to do the three things, save more people, and fulfill my duty as a Dafa practitioner!