(Minghui.org) Although I have not had particularly moving or extraordinary experiences during my cultivation in Dafa, I still cannot help crying when I recall my cultivation progress, of purifying my body and mind, and improving my levels. I am very grateful for Master's compassionate salvation. I want to share my ordinary but true cultivation progress and wish to wake up the sentient beings who are still lost in illusion. Please get to know Dafa as soon as possible and cherish this great opportunity that comes only once in millions of years.
1. Following the Path of Cultivation
I am 75 years old. I retired 20 years ago from the education system. While I was at work, I had cervical osteoarthritis, a frozen shoulder, stomach cold (a condition, that according to traditional Chinese medicine, relates to a variety of stomach issues and can improve with warm food, drink or heat, and becomes worse with cold applications), mild rashes and many other ailments.
After I retired, my health became worse. I used both Chinese medicine and Western medicine, but neither of them worked. The cervical osteoarthritis became so bad that I could not do any heavy housework. While in the hospital, other patients around me all suffered from a lot of pain. The stroke patients either lost their ability to work and had difficulty walking, or in severe cases, were bedridden for many years and could not take care of themselves.
Cancer patients suffered from terrible pain and spent all their hard earned money trying different treatments attempting to cure the cancer. Many of them still could not escape the fate of death. I couldn't help but see the pain of life. Humans are so helpless when it comes to certain illnesses. The impermanence of life is an ever-present fact of life. I wondered again and again, “Is there a heavenly path without sickness and beyond the impermanence of life?”
2. Acquiring the Fa
I got up early every morning to do physical exercises in an attempt to improve my health, but it was just a silly method of everyday people. I did not know the origin of my illnesses.
In February 1998, I went to my daughter's home. On the way there, I saw a lot of people near the road practicing Falun Gong. As soon as my daughter saw me, she told me with such enthusiasm, “Mom, the path to divinity is in front of us. The true Buddha Law is really here. Please practice Falun Gong. See, I've been practicing Falun Gong for just a month and the troublesome tuberculosis I've had has totally disappeared.”
Was it really true? I looked at my daughter and saw that she really looked totally different from before. Before, she had a sickly appearance, but now she looked very energetic and her complexion glowed with health. Did such a magical cultivation method really exist? I still had doubts. However, my daughter held the book Zhuan Falun respectfully with both hands. Her eyes were filled with tears of joy. She said, “The Buddha Law which saves sentient beings is spreading. Please read this treasured book.”
I opened the first page of the book and read from the beginning, “On Buddha Law.”
“Of all teachings in the world it is the most wondrous and highest science.” (“On Buddha Law”, Zhuan Falun)
Highest? Is this the supernatural path to divinity that I kept looking for? I continued reading the book with renewed hope. Master said,
“If they want to get healed, get rid of adversity, or eliminate their karma, then they’ve got to cultivate and return to their original, true selves. That’s how all the different cultivation ways see it.” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun)
These words shocked me greatly and brought tears to my eyes. The path to godhood is cultivation. I wanted to cultivate myself too. My daughter taught me the five sets of exercises. Every morning I got up together with my daughter and practiced the exercises at the local practice site. At night, I studied the Fa diligently.
3. Practicing the Exercises
Master said,
“Looking at it this way, a complete system of both nature and longevity cultivation needs to have cultivation, and it needs to have exercises.” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun)
The meditation requires sitting with both legs crossed, or the full lotus position. In the beginning, it seemed impossible for me. I had never sat cross-legged. So my legs were just like two wooden sticks. Even when I mediated with one leg crossed (the half lotus), my knee was at a high angle, and even more so with both legs crossed. I sewed a cloth bag and put eight to nine pounds of sand inside. While I mediated in half lotus, I put the sandbag on the raised leg. It took six months before I could finally press my right leg down and start meditation in full lotus. Maybe I had too much karma for my legs. For a few years, every time I practiced the meditation, it was a process of bearing pain. Master said,
“The reason is, when their legs hurt, we can see that the black matter is attacking their legs. The black matter is karma, and suffering eliminates karma and turns it into virtue. Once it hurts, the karma starts to be eliminated, and the more the karma presses down, the more his legs hurt. So there’s a reason behind the pain in his legs.” (The Fourth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
Master's Fa encouraged me to make up my mind to eliminate the karma. After a few years, I finally experienced the good feeling that is compared to sitting in an egg shell.
I was always strict with myself about practicing the exercises. Since I started to cultivate the Fa, I have completed the five sets of exercises every day. Even when my husband passed away or my daughter-in-law needed my help while giving birth, I always squeezed time in to practice the exercises and to finish all five sets. My innate body changed greatly and I looked much younger than my real age. I walked very lightly and I did not get tired while doing housework. The illnesses of hyperostosis and cold stomach which I suffered for many years all disappeared.
Once, two women came to my home to promote exercise equipment. They used one of the pieces of equipment to do experiments on my feet and they were all very surprised, “How come this older woman's acupuncture points are all opened?” I used this opportunity to talk to them about Dafa and told them of the miracles I experienced during my cultivation. The two women were very surprised at my words.
4. Memorizing the Fa
Dafa is so great! As soon as I came back to my home in the countryside from my daughter's place, I immediately wanted to tell all my relatives and neighbors about Dafa. But while I introduced Dafa to others, I could not remember Master's Fa word-for-word. I could only explain it with my own words. I was awakened and realized that I should not be like this anymore. Master said,
“The only way to do it is to use my original words and add something like "that’s what teacher said," or "that’s what’s in the book." That’s the only way you can do it. And why is that? Because when you talk about it that way, your words carry the power of the Great Law.” (The Third Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I felt that I must use Master's words and I must memorize and recite the Fa. I thought that the Dafa book is thick and I did not know how long it would take for me to memorize the entire book. But I thought again, “This is a heavenly book. No matter how difficult it is, it would be the best thing to fill my mind with this heavenly book.”
So, I started to memorize the Fa word by word, paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter. I then recited the Fa to myself all the time, while working, walking, taking buses or just waking up. While I was reciting the Fa, if I forgot some words, I immediately checked the book and continued to memorize and recite. Yet, while I recited the Fa very well during one period of time, I tended to forget after a while. I was determined to achieve the level of being able to recite the Fa from anywhere in the book and having the heavenly book take root in my heart.
After many years' Fa-study and memorizing the Fa, my understanding of the Fa principles became continuously more clear, and my enlightenment quality and my xinxing also kept improving. I felt that only through memorizing and reciting the Fa, could I remember the Fa better. Only by remembering Master's exact words could I better introduce Dafa to sentient beings, better compare my words and actions with the Fa's requirement, and keep Dafa unchanged.
In May 1998, many of my neighbors and friends saw the profound improvements in me, which inspired them, so they came to my home to study the Fa and practice the exercises. I made enough cushions for everyone. At my home that time, it really was the situation of “Buddha’s light shines everywhere, propriety and righteousness harmonize everything.” (The Third Talk, Zhuan Falun)
5. Cultivating Xinxing
Master repeatedly emphasized the importance of cultivating xinxing. Master said,
“You’re a practitioner, so what should you get? Don’t you get gong? When your character improves, your gong rises. However high your character is, that’s how high your gong is. That’s a Truth, and it’s absolute.” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I understood that I must be a good person first and establish the proper image of a practitioner. During my everyday life, my every word and action followed the Fa principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. My husband was a farmer. When he got sick and was hospitalized, I did not use my medical card to get extra medicine for him since I did not want to cheat the government.
There were some disabled persons and mentally retarded people who were treated poorly by the local villagers. I never discriminated against them and tried my best to help them. One villager spoke for many when she said, “Falun Gong practitioners are really good people. Some of the disabled and mentally retarded people's family members even don't care about them at all. However, a Falun Gong practitioner helped them by mending and washing their clothes, and sending them shoes and clothes. We really admire practitioners.”
In the village, there was a path leading to the market which was full of weeds. Every morning, people always got their feet wet in the morning dew on their way to the market. After I found out about this, I used a shovel to remove the weeds. I worked many hours until I totally cleaned the path. My oldest son said that people would laugh at me. I said, “I don't think so. I heard some people say that I am a Falun Gong practitioner and a good person.”
I followed the Fa principles even for little things. The villagers all respected me and trusted me. After July 20, 1999, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to persecuted Falun Gong and slandered Master and the Fa, I clarified the truth to a large number of villagers and the village government officials. They all believed me and believed that Falun Dafa is good. Later, I also was able to easily persuade many people to withdraw from the CCP and helped save a lot of people.
6. Making Shoes
After my husband passed away, I lived alone and had a pension for income. The housework was not heavy. In 2003, I started to make cotton-padded shoes for the elderly and disabled people. I wanted to use this opportunity to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. I used fabric, quilt and carpet remnants to make the inner pieces of the shoes. Then I bought the foam bottom, shoe face and shoe string from the market. I cut paper patterns for different shoe sizes and used a sewing machine to make the shoes.
The shoes I made had very little cost to them (about five Yuan per shoe), and were warm, light, non-slippery and were widely welcomed. I produced over 100 shoes every year and have made a total of over 1,000 shoes over the past eight years. I sent them to the elderly and disabled people. I told them that I practice Falun Dafa and I did not ask for any payment. Instead, I only wanted them to remember that Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good. I told them that Master taught me to be a good person and they should never believe the lies in the CCP's television programs and newspapers. They all willingly agreed.
Many young women also came to my place to learn how to make shoes and to find shoe patterns. I showed them how to make these shoes. I also used the opportunity to clarify the truth to them and persuaded them to withdraw from the CCP. I also encouraged them to tell more people to cherish the truth-clarifying materials that Dafa practitioners sent to their homes and to truly be saved.
7. Passing the Test
Several years ago, I developed a small rash on the left side of neck. It lasted over ten years. At first, someone told me that a medicated poultice from the pharmacy was very effective to cure this. I had not studied the Fa well and did not have a clear understanding of the Fa at that time. So I bought this medicine to use. A few days later, the rash disappeared. But then after a while, it came back again. Master said,
“People only have health problems and suffering because they did bad things in the past and made karma. When they go through hard times they are paying off a karmic debt.” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I understood that the rash was also caused by karma and the medicine could not eliminate the karma. Therefore I should endure things as they come up. Some people asked me, “You cultivate Falun Gong. But why hasn't the rash on your neck disappeared?” I said, “If I cultivate well, it will disappear.” Although I said so, I was still afraid that my having the rash would bring a negative effect to the Fa. I always thought of covering my neck with high collared shirts.
When Master saw my xinxing improvements and saw my heart of being responsible to the Fa, he completely got rid of the karma for me. At the beginning of February 2011, I suddenly had itching all over my body. I had a sticky and smelly liquid discharging from my naval. I used cotton to soak it up. Soon the cotton was soaked and I had to replace it. In addition, the area around the naval also started to fester. But it was not painful. I had to wash the area every two to three hours. Due to the extreme itching, I could not help but scratch my body. Then, a few hidden rashes under the skin became exposed.
Later, the rashes occurred all over my body, especially on my front and left side. My whole body had the colors of black, purple and white. My head was also covered by thick white flaky skin and covered up my hair. At night, I was very itchy either during the first half of the night, or the second half of the night. After I scratched one layer of skin away, another layer came out after a few hours. Every night I cleaned the dead skin from the bed a few times. Later, I became nearly deaf in one ear. When I listened to others, I felt like the sound came from very far place.
Compassionate Master saw my suffering and let me sleep well every two or three days. So my mental state was not affected too much. I knew that Master was cleansing my body for me, so my mind was very peaceful and I was not afraid. Every day I still studied the Fa, practiced the exercises, made shoes, sent truth-clarifying materials and posted truth-clarification posters on the streets. After about three months, the severe illnesses that used to bother me for over ten years completely disappeared. The rash on my neck disappeared, my hearing recovered and the skin on my body also went back to normal.
This situation allowed my children, neighbors and friends to witness the magnificence of Dafa.
8. Saving Sentient Beings
Since I cultivated righteously for many years and established an upstanding image in everyday life, my neighbors all knew that I am a Dafa practitioner and acknowledged that I am a good person.
Our area did not have a truth-clarification materials production site, so all of the truth-clarifying materials came from another area. The materials arrived every two weeks and there was never enough.
I knew that the truth-clarifying materials were very precious and I handled them and passed them out carefully, never as just finishing a task. I always considered the situation and sent them to people who could read and had good enlightenment ability. I sent the truth-clarifying DVDs to the people who indeed had DVD players in their homes. I also told them to pass the DVDs to their relatives and friends after they finished watching them. By reading and watching the truth-clarifying materials, many people learned the truth and gained a better understanding of Dafa.
An 80-year-old man from my neighborhood loved to read the truth-clarifying materials. He told me with much enthusiasm, “The words, 'Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good' are the truth. I must recite them all the time.” The old man was rewarded because he acknowledged Dafa. He was very healthy and could do a lot of work.
One time, a CCP cadre from the township did not withdraw from the Communist Party after I clarified the truth to him. But later, after he read the truth-clarifying materials, he withdrew from the CCP for himself and his wife, and sent the announcement to me directly. He also told me angrily, “The CCP is even worse than animals. They even harvest the organs from living Falun Gong practitioners and sell them for money. Heaven must eliminate it. We should never become sacrificial objects for them.”
The retired school principle agreed to withdraw from the CCP after he heard me clarify the truth. He held my hands and sincerely told me, “Thank you. Thank you.” There are many examples like these. I truly feel happy about the awakening of sentient beings. They clearly recognized the evil and separated themselves from it, and thus won't be eliminated with it; they have chosen a beautiful future for themselves.
Certainly, there are people who do not wake up. No matter what I say, they just see withdrawing from the CCP as being political and they do not accept the truth-clarifying materials. I really wish those people could let go of their human notions and take a look at practitioners' cultivation and listen to the truth clarification. I truly hope that they will not miss this great opportunity that happens only once in millions of years, and not leave endless regrets in their lives.
