(Minghui.org) Greetings, great and compassionate Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Before I started practicing, my husband was already a Dafa practitioner, and I often helped him in Fa-rectification activities. However, I never thought about cultivating. One day, when I had finished packaging some truth-clarification materials, I started reading them. As I read, I suddenly realized that Falun Gong cultivates the Buddha Law. That is how I started cultivating Dafa.
I have been a practitioner now for almost 6 years. On my cultivation journey, I have experienced many moments of joy and suffering, and also witnessed the miracles of Dafa manifesting in our human realm. Below, I would like to share my cultivation experiences from the past 6 years.
Overcoming Obstacles with Young Practitioners
Before I began practicing, my young daughter and I both had many ailments. I suffered from rheumatism, heart disease, chronic pharyngitis, and sinusitis, and I also had a slipped disc and a strained muscle. Two months after I began practicing, all my health problems disappeared.
Master said, “with one person practicing, the whole family benefits” (“Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference in Australia”). My daughter had poor health since she was born, and required all sorts of injections and medications every month. After I started practicing, I started guiding her to follow the Fa’s requirements as well. When my husband and I studied the Fa, my daughter would listen to us read. Soon, as with me, my daughter no longer needed medications. During moments when she was overcoming illness karma, I steadfastly believed in Master and the Fa. I believed that Master was looking after her and that she would be fine.
One evening a few months after I began practicing, my daughter (who was about 20 months old at the time) suddenly had a high fever and cried that her stomach hurt. My husband wasn’t home. I didn’t have enough righteous thoughts and took my child to another practitioner’s place, where I asked that practitioner to help us send righteous thoughts.
The practitioner shared with me the understanding that this was happening because of my emotional attachment to the child and that things would be fine once I let go of my attachment. I took my daughter home, but she kept crying and I started crying, too. I said to Master, “Master, if this is my child’s illness karma then she should bear it, but if it isn’t, I will eliminate it completely.” My daughter had never been in so much pain before. The best choice would be to have faith in Master and to leave my daughter in his hands. With that, I sent forth strong righteous thoughts, but she continued to cry and be in pain. When her fever continued past midnight, I began to have a high fever as well, and my body began to hurt so much I had to clench my teeth. When I could sit up I would send righteous thoughts, and when I had a bit of strength I would do the exercises. When I got tired I lay down on the floor to rest, and after that I would move to the bed to lie down. The blanket felt extremely heavy and, when it touched my skin, it felt like a thousand needles. I continued to send righteous thoughts, do the exercises, and rest until the next morning. By morning my daughter had stopped crying, her fever was gone, and she fell into a sound sleep. My body also stopped hurting. Under Master’s protection, both of us managed to overcome this illness karma.
The Fa Is the Truth, and No One Can Make Me Believe Otherwise
One morning a year after I began practicing, I was studying the Fa with two elderly practitioners when my daughter suddenly complained that she itched all over. When I turned to look, I saw huge welts all over her face and body. The other two practitioners and I stopped studying and started sending righteous thoughts. But the welts kept getting larger, until every inch of my daughter’s skin – including her eyelids – was swollen. The itch was so bad that there were bloodied scratch marks on her face and body and blood under her fingernails. She kept crying and saying, “Mom, I feel terrible.” At this point the other practitioners said, “You’d better take her to the hospital, she looks terrible. Moreover, she’s not a practitioner and is so young, she can’t just bear it on her own.”
Just as I wasn’t sure what to do, two quotes from Master’s teachings flashed through my mind:
“It is hard in that you knowingly lose your vested interests among everyday people. Amidst your critical self-interests, are you moved? Amidst interpersonal mindgames, are you moved? When your friends or family suffer, are you moved? How do you weigh them? This is how difficult it is to be a practitioner!” (Lecture Eight, Zhuan Falun)
“Our bodies may suddenly feel uncomfortable. This is because repaying the karma will be manifested in different ways. At a certain point in time, you will be made unable to discern clearly whether something is true, whether your gong exists, whether you can practice cultivation and make it, or whether there are Buddhas and if they are real. In the future, these situations will surface again to give you this false impression and make you feel as though they do not exist and are all false—it is to see whether you are determined. You say that you must be firm and sure-footed. With this determination, if you can indeed be firmly resolute at that point, you will naturally do well because your xinxing will have already improved. But you are not yet that stable at the moment. If you are given this tribulation right away, you will not be enlightened to it at all, and neither will you be able to practice cultivation whatsoever. Tribulations may take place in different respects.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
When I remembered Master's teachings, my righteous thoughts grew stronger. I knew that the Fa was the truth, and no one could make me think otherwise. I sent out a strong righteous thought to eliminate the beings and factors that were interfering with our Fa-rectification activities and preventing sentient beings from being saved.
Just then, I remembered a time last summer when I had bought too much rice, and so had written “Join me in assimilating the cosmos’ Great Law of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” on the rice sack. As a result, none of the rice in that sack had weevils, but the rice that I had been sunning became infested with many weevils. When I thought of this, I immediately took a pen and began writing “Fa zheng qian kun; xie e quan mie. ” (Essentials for Further Advancement II - “The Two Hand Positions for Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts”) on the welts on my daughter’s body. In my heart, I willed every inch of my daughter’s skin to assimilate with the cosmos’ Great Law of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. When I had covered her body with writing, she stopped crying and scratching. The welts began to subside, and, as they disappeared, my daughter fell asleep. The whole thing took about half an hour.
The other practitioners and I had witnessed one of Dafa’s miracles. My daughter and I were able to overcome this test because we steadfastly believed in Master and the Fa and were unmoved by the test. Master immediately removed my daughter’s tribulation, and we were grateful for Master’s benevolent protection. If we had instead done what an ordinary person would do, the outcome would have been unimaginable.
Another time, in the summer of 2010, my daughter suddenly ran a high fever again. I sent righteous thoughts and studied the Fa with her, but the fever would not subside. I then led my daughter in searching within: Had she bullied anyone? Had she lied to anyone? Had she done anything that wasn’t in keeping with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance? My daughter shook her head and said no to everything. There was a sharing session for practitioners that night, so I brought my daughter along. I searched within myself as well, but couldn’t find anything. I thought to myself, "There are so many practitioners present, but my daughter’s fever is getting worse; something isn’t right." So I asked a practitioner to help carry my daughter and we headed home.
Along the way, that practitioner and I searched within ourselves, and the practitioner reminded me, “You told a lie, and your daughter is bearing the karma for you.” I replied, “But I haven’t lied.” The practitioner said, “A few days ago, you asked to meet me at the park entrance at 11:30, but you were late by over half an hour. Failing to keep your word is not cultivating truthfulness and is also a form of lying.” I had a sudden moment of realization: there were times when I didn’t keep my promises, but I had never felt that this was lying or being untruthful. I then began to understand how serious and solemn cultivation is. I must do everything according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance; otherwise, what sort of cultivator would I be? The Fa has requirements for its practitioners, and I can’t do whatever I want like an ordinary person.
When we got home, I laid my daughter on the bed. When I touched her forehead, I realized that her fever was gone. That fever had been raging for several days, but once I found my attachment, the fever disappeared in an instant. Dafa is really miraculous. From this, I enlightened that a cultivator’s every thought and action must closely follow the Fa’s requirements.
In the summer of 2007, just 2 months after I had started practicing Dafa, my son began reading the Fa and doing the exercises with us. One day a motorcycle hit him as he left school. A piece of flesh was torn from his thigh, and a huge, bruised swelling had formed on his lower leg. My son limped home by himself.
When I saw how badly injured he was, I felt terrible. That night when we were getting ready to go to Fa study, my son lay in bed and didn’t want to go. I knew that he was in a lot of pain, so I sat next to him and said, “You know that in our past lives we may have killed others. When that motorcycle hit you, if Master had not been protecting you during that tribulation, would you still even be alive? Master is bearing the suffering for you, and yet you impose these conditions for studying the Fa. Is that right?” My son immediately got up and said, “Mom, I want to go to Fa study.” Without using ordinary people’s methods, the missing piece of flesh on my son’s leg grew back in a couple of weeks, and the bruised swelling on his leg disappeared within a year.
What happened to my children and me were miracles that arose from our faith in Master and the Fa, and from Master’s benevolent protection. As long as we truly cultivate, there is nothing that Dafa cannot do. It is only by having faith in Master and the Fa that we can get through tribulations swiftly and resolve our bad karmic relationships.
Passerby in Downtown Shouts: "Falun Dafa is Good!"
I make a living by doing odd jobs or running small businesses. There was a time when I ran a stall selling cold noodles. One night when I was just getting ready to close for the day, two men in their 20s appeared and said, “Give us two plates of cold noodles with extra chili.” I recognized the men as I had spoken to them before about withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party. I said, “This chili sauce is really hot. If I put too much on, you won’t be able to eat it.” One of them replied, “That’s okay, we’re feeling rather unwell from a cold.” I said, “I would like to share with you a way to feel better, but I’m not sure you’ll believe me.” The two men stared blankly at me.
I continued, “This method doesn’t require taking pills, getting injections, or spending money. It only works if you really believe in it, and it works just as much as you believe in it.” “What is it?” they asked. I continued, “Do you believe in the existence of Gods and Buddhas?” They nodded. I said, “Then say along with me, 'Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.' Recite this more often when you get home or when you can’t sleep. The more you believe in the Buddha Fa, the more Gods and Buddhas can help you. You must really believe in it, and only then will miracles happen around you. I hope that you’ll both get well soon.” The two men kept nodding wordlessly. Taking their cold noodles, they disappeared into the crowd.
A week later, I was busy frying noodles when I heard someone shout, “Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is good!” The voice was loud and clear and resonated to the heavens. It was incredible that someone would dare to shout “Falun Dafa is good” in a crowded downtown area. I was very glad and felt as though the world had awakened. When I looked in the direction of the shouts, I saw that it was the two young men who had had colds a few days before. They walked up to me and asked for two plates of cold noodles. I asked, “Did that method that I taught you work?” They nodded and said, “It worked, thank you very much.”
As I Watched Her from a Distance, I Started to Cry
Last year, my sister-in-law in Changchun had an operation. Because there was no one there to take care of her, I took some time off to visit and look after her. I held myself strictly to the requirements of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and took very good care of her, displaying the demeanor of a cultivator in every way. The other patients in the hospital ward actually thought that I was her sister by birth. I seized the chance to clarify the truth to them. When I left, they said that a person who has faith is much stronger than one who doesn’t.
While looking after my sister-in-law, I met a director from the Department of Education. She was 59 years old and suffered from breast cancer. She had already had an operation and now had to return to the hospital every day for chemotherapy. Because the drugs were very strong, they had sloughed away the lining of her mouth, leaving it raw and ulcerated. She couldn’t eat anything and kept drooling, and she often had to use salt water to rinse her mouth. It was clear that she was suffering. I clarified the truth to her and told her about the evil CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, and that the Tiananmen Square self-immolation was staged. I also told her about the Party’s forced harvesting of practitioners’ organs for profit, that Falun Gong has now spread to over 100 countries around the world, and of the miracles that I had experienced from practicing. I then spoke to her about the withdrawals from the CCP, and she readily agreed to withdraw from the Party and its affiliated organizations.
Four days later, I was combing my sister-in-law’s hair when I saw this lady again. She motioned for me to come over. I went to her and asked what had happened. She gave me a thumbs-up and said, “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness, Compassion, beauty is good.” I corrected her, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” She nodded her head and said, “On the first day when I got home, I had been thinking to myself that I had enough money to pay for medical treatment and didn’t believe what you said. But the next day I felt really terrible, and I hadn’t been able to eat for the past few days. I then remembered what you said, so I decided to give it a try and see if any miracle would happen to me. So I started reciting “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness, Compassion, beauty is good.” Within a day, my excessive drooling had stopped, and the inside of my mouth no longer hurt. On the third day, the ulcers in my mouth had started to heal. I came to see you today to ask if you had anything I could carry with me.” I gave her a talisman for clarifying the truth about Dafa. She asked for another one for her son and yet another one. Holding the three talismans and smiling, she left and continued to thank me even when she was some distance away. I told her not to thank me, but to thank my Master.
As I watched her from a distance, I started to cry. Although this lady didn’t recite the verse correctly, Master still took care of her and helped her by bearing a lot of her karma. At this point I recalled these lines from Master’s poem:
“He teaches Heaven’s way to rescue the firmament
He alone has borne the karmic debt of all beings
The abundant debts formed huge ordeals
His hair turned grey and His body was harmed”
(Hong Yin III, “To the Original State”)
Master’s compassion spurred me on to become even more diligent, as that was the only way I could repay him.
A Potentially Ruined Harvest Becomes a Harvest Thousands of Kilograms in Excess
Last year I returned to my hometown to celebrate the Chinese New Year. While I was there, my elder sister told me of a miracle that happened at her home. My sister believes that Dafa is good, but she is illiterate. As such, she often holds the words “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” in her heart, and asks her children to read the truth-clarification booklets to her.
Early last autumn, their area was struck by a tornado that razed their entire corn field to the ground. My sister cried when she saw the field. She knew that they were finished; not only would they have no harvest for the year, her entire family was relying on that harvest to support themselves. Moreover, they had just built a house and still had to pay off the mortgage. Without any crop to harvest they would have nothing to live on. At that moment, she suddenly remembered that I had once told her: there is nothing that Master and Dafa cannot do. She also remembered the many examples I had told her of the miracles of Dafa.
She began walking around the field and crying, “Master Li, please save my family, we believe that Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” She would go to the field and recite the verse every day. As a result, when it came time for autumn harvest, other households had a smaller harvest than normal, but she managed to raise 6,000-7,000 kg more corn than her usual harvest. As my sister joyfully related this story to me, she said no words could express how thankful she was to Master.
For all of us who are truly cultivating, who can say that they haven’t experienced something miraculous? These miracles are examples of Master’s benevolent protection and reminders to us as Dafa disciples. This disciple can only listen to Master’s words, save more people, and cultivate herself well, so as to cause less worry and work for Master.
