(Minghui.org) I started to practice Falun Dafa in April 1999 and am now 72 years old. This is my first attempt at writing an experience-sharing article. I wish to share my cultivation experiences with my teacher Li Hongzhi and fellow Dafa practitioners.
One day I fell and hurt my left foot. It was very painful. The passersby looked at me and went on—no one stopped to help. I told myself that I was a practitioner and I could stand up on my own. I set my left foot straight and stood up. I walked home slowly in extreme pain. I went up the stairs step by step to my apartment on the fourth floor.
I was not able to walk after I got home. It was difficult for me to even go]et to the toilet. But amazingly there was no pain when I was doing the sitting meditation. I didn’t tell my son and his wife who lived with me that my foot was hurt. I stayed in bed for two days. They didn’t even ask what was wrong with me. My human attachments surfaced, and I thought they didn’t care about me. I lay in bed and cried, and my mind went wild. All those unpleasant memories came up. I should have looked within to find something that I might not have done well to bring about such a tribulation. Instead, I gave into human sentimentality and forgot that I was a Falun Dafa practitioner.
Master saw that I had not yet enlightened to what was going on and increased the tribulation to awaken me. My older daughter-in-law phoned me and asked me to pick up her son from kindergarten. I told her that I didn’t have time to, as I didn’t want her to know anything was wrong. She lost her temper instantly and railed, “I’m at work. Why can’t you help with such a minor thing?” She scolded me terribly and I finally had no choice but to tell her the true reason I could not help her. However, she insisted that I go to pick up her son.
It was utterly unreasonable to ask someone who couldn’t walk to go to the kindergarten to pick him up. I realized that it might be that Master was asking me to go because I shouldn’t regard myself as a sick person and just lie in bed. I had to stand up. I kept my thoughts righteous: “I am a Falun Dafa cultivator. I can do it.” I got out of bed and took slow, tiny steps. I was indeed able to pick up my grandson and take him home.
After that, I was determined to go out to do what I should for Dafa. I put up with the pain and went out to distribute truth-clarification DVDs and pamphlets. When I was in so much pain that I wanted to give up, Master’s Fa came into my mind:
“When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
I repeated it silently and didn’t go home until I’d finished distributing everything. The next day I injured my right foot but not as badly as the left. Strangely enough, my feet didn’t hurt when I was out distributing the materials, but they did when I was sitting in meditation. I continued to go out every day to clarify the truth. I passed the test quickly and my feet soon returned to normal.
I realized later that it only seemed that my family members were oblivious to my agony. Actually, Master arranged for them to appear that way to help me pass this test. Master wanted me to minimize my hardships and make saving sentient beings my top priority. The test was easily passed in this way.
My son moved into a big new apartment before the new year. His wife wanted her mother to move in to live with them, but my son didn’t agree. They often quarreled over it. I tried to persuade them to talk it over to find a solution instead of quarreling all the time. As the Chinese saying goes “Everything flourishes when the family is in harmony.” My son argued that, with his low salary, it was very stressful for him just to make the mortgage payments. His mother-in-law didn’t get a pension and he couldn’t afford to support one more person. Their conflict didn’t get resolved and they kept quarreling. My son resorted to using alcohol to cope. One day he suddenly died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
My sadness was beyond words after he passed away. I started to blame my daughter-in-law and felt that it was because of her that my son died. She was not good at all in my eyes. She had a bad temper and spoke loudly. She was quite unreasonable.
One day she cursed at and beat her two sons after she came home from work. I asked her not to speak so loudly so she wouldn’t disturb the neighbors. She got angry at me and said that it was none of my business. I didn’t maintain my xinxing and scolded her, saying that she was dumb and didn’t listen to me. I was so angry that I didn’t want to talk to her. I didn’t look within, but outwardly, to find fault with her.
One day Master gave me a hint and let me see in another dimension that I had so much resentment that I was in danger. My resentment resulted from my attachment to my son. The demon sought to take advantage of me, but I didn’t realize it. I tried to rectify myself with Dafa principles and let go of my sentiment for my son. My resentment started to dissolve. I could see that my daughter-in-law was having a hard time. After all, she was an everyday person and had to bear the loss of her husband. She was still young and had to raise two children by herself. It was a difficult time for her. It was inevitable that she would lose her temper sometimes. When I let go of my sentiment and attachment, I could understand that she really was a good person. Then I changed and didn’t get angry no matter how often she lost her temper.
One day I went to distribute materials about Falun Dafa in the countryside. Most of the villagers were not at home. I’d almost finished when a man nearby shouted at me, . asking me what I was doing. I told him that I was distributing pamphlets that were worth reading. He came over and stood right in front of me with anger in his eyes. I begged Master to strengthen me. I knew I had to stay calm because I was a Falun Dafa practitioner walking a path to divinity, and he was an everyday person who didn’t know the truth about Falun Dafa.
I told him that the pamphlets told people how to be good and could save people. I said, “Did you think that I came to steal from you? I am so old that I couldn’t take anything away from anyone.” He agreed and let me to continue, so I was able to finish giving out all the pamphlets.
On another occasion I went to the countryside with several other practitioners to distribute pamphlets. We didn’t finish by the time we’d agreed on to leave, so one other practitioner and I stayed behind. We wanted to finish giving them out that day since it was not easy for us to go there.
We distributed pamphlets along one street where we saw several people playing Mahjong. When we handed them pamphlets, they told us to leave because they knew that we were Falun Dafa practitioners. I told them that the pamphlets asked people to be good and to do kind deeds and they would benefit if they read them. One of them said that he would report us to the police if we didn’t leave. We were not concerned and continued on.
A police car soon pulled over several meters ahead of us. I told the other practitioner that one of those people must have reported us to the police. We sent forth righteous thoughts together, adding, “We are doing a righteous thing. Master protects us and will not let the police see us.”
We didn’t try to avoid the police. We walked on while sending righteous thoughts. The police car stopped and waited for some time near us, but no one got out of the car. Then they drove away. Master protected us from being taken away. It is true that:
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughtsMaster has the power to turn the tide”(“The Master-Disciple Bond,” Hong Yin II)
We were not disturbed and gave out all the pamphlets.
One day while clarifying the truth at a bus stop in the city, two girls came by. I talked to them and we had a good discussion. They agreed to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. I didn’t know that they were actually sent to follow me. When I realized something was wrong, I was not able to leave. They had called the police who came and took me to the police station.
I was a bit scared when we got to the station. My heart beat fast and my hands shook. Then I asked myself what I was afraid of. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts: “I am doing the most righteous things in the universe. I shall fear no one.” Slowly I calmed down.
I pleaded with Master in my heart that I had left the police station as soon as possible. I needed to go to the toilet and a policewoman escorted me. When I came out, I saw many people in the office and they all looked very busy. The policewoman didn’t see me either. I left and came home. Master had rescued me again! Thank you, Master!
When I got home, I looked within to see what attachment I had that enabled the evil to take advantage of me. I acknowledged that my biggest omission was that I was very self-centered. I couldn’t cooperate with other practitioners because I thought I was better than them. When I helped more people quit the CCP, I liked to show off despite the fact that I didn’t really clarify the truth to people well enough and didn’t meet the requirements. When I went out to distribute pamphlets, I complained that the other practitioners walked too slowly and wasted time. When not many people withdrew from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, I found fault with other practitioners and thought they didn’t do things right. I got upset with them. This self-centered attitude made me look down on others and show off. I didn’t treat other practitioners kindly. I did Dafa work like an everyday person. Realizing this, I was so ashamed of myself.
When I started to clarify the truth to a respectable-looking man in a shopping center, he said that he was the director of a local detention center and already knew some of the facts. I asked him not to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners. He told me that he was kind to practitioners and that I could verify it by talking to the released practitioners he’d released. I told him that he was a good person and would be blessed in the future. I urged him to withdraw from the CCP as the Party would be eliminated in the future because of its persecution of Falun Dafa cultivators. He agreed and laughed heartily.
I often went to the river park to clarify the truth, as there were many people walking along the river. I chatted with a man near me who was a retired CCP cadre and got a hefty pension. I clarified the truth to him and asked him to withdraw from the CCP.
He asked me if I practiced Falun Dafa. He said that he did research on Falun Dafa before he retired and knew Falun Dafa was good because whatever the CCP criticized must be good. He said that he also knew that Master Li would come back to China one day and we practitioners would welcome him on Tiananmen Square beating drums and gongs.
Even though he worked in the CCP system all his life, he was not brainwashed by the CCP. That was so rare. I explained to him the significance of quitting the CCP. He agreed to quit it and its affiliated organizations.
One day I was at the bus stop waiting for the bus. A lady carrying food passed by and I chatted with her. She was going to deliver the food to her husband who had been hospitalized for a few days. I clarified the truth to her and told her to repeat ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’ I let her know that her husband’s health might improve after repeating these wonderful words. She was very grateful and thanked me and Master Li.
I know many sentient beings are waiting to be saved. I don’t have much time and shouldn’t slack off.
Looking back, I’ve experience happiness as well as regret. I was happy when sentient beings were saved. I regretted it when people didn’t learn the facts.
For the past ten years I have clarified the truth to people every morning and studied the Fa in the afternoon. I’ve gone every day, hot or cold. I’ve walked every street and lane but didn’t feel tired. Some people accept our materials while others don’t and they even curse at me, but I refused to be moved.
I have been able to walk my path of cultivation to this day thanks to Master’s protection. I will cultivate Falun Dafa with determination and walk the last leg of my cultivation path well to follow Master home. Master, please do not worry about me.