Falun Dafa Minghui.org www.minghui.org PRINT

Young Dafa Practitioner: Embarking on the Path of Cultivation Practice

Sept. 9, 2020 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China

(Minghui.org) I came to know about Falun Dafa through my grandmother who was a practitioner of Falun Dafa. As a child, I grew up listening to my grandmother’s stories about the miracles wrought by Dafa. Although I never picked up the practice myself, deep within I sincerely believed that Falun Dafa was good.

On the eve of my graduation from the university, I suddenly developed hemorrhoids. This seemingly mild condition was the prelude to the darkest and most painful days of my life.

Treatment with medicated suppositories eventually became ineffective, while overwhelming exhaustion left me bedridden. My parents brought me to the hospital, where I underwent an immediate operation. My recovery thereafter went smoothly, until two weeks later, when my wound suddenly began to ooze pus. Besides having to endure excruciating pain every time I went to the toilet, I started experiencing low-grade fevers every noon, which would escalate into high fevers at night. Even the best medical expert in our city was at a loss. I was forced to rely on daily doses of antibiotics to suppress my fevers.

During this period, my grandmother advised me to read Falun Dafa books and even encouraged me to practice the exercises with her. However, laziness, depression, and pain from sitting cross-legged were among the many reasons why my efforts were only halfhearted at best. Although I parroted words about eliminating karma on experiencing symptoms of vomiting, elevated fever, and increasing pus, subconsciously I saw them as signs of worsening illness. Some days later, the development of a large pus-filled blister next to my original wound broke through my psychological defenses. I chose to visit the hospital for treatment, thus missing the opportunity to enter Dafa cultivation practice.

Within three months, I underwent two more surgeries. Doctors remained unable to discern the cause of my fever. At one point, the hematology department even tried to find out if I had any type of blood disease. Fortunately, my results were all normal, although this outcome did nothing to clear up the mysterious cause of my fever.

After the last operation, my family began to suspect that my anal wound was causing my persistent fever, although my doctors disagreed. My fever stopped occurring after the operation. However surgical removal of diseased tissue had resulted in three deep holes, one the size of an egg, around my anal area. These wounds required complex dressing changes twice a day. Recovery was a slow and torturous process, which left me depressed and in despair for a long time.

After recovery, I found a job in another province and attempted to regain a normal life. However, the symptoms of my old disease appeared soon after. My previous attending doctor finally narrowed his suspicions to Crohn's disease, an incurable intestinal inflammatory condition that typically recurred in patients for life. However, my symptoms also resembled two other conditions, intestinal tuberculosis, and ulcerative colitis. All three of these conditions could continue to cause complications until they were well-controlled or cured. In order to discover the real cause of my illness, I started taking the test medication prescribed by the doctor. However, I developed a low-grade fever within twenty days which resulted in my admittance to the hospital again.

After further discussion, one of the doctors suggested I consult with a leading expert in Wuhan. As it happened, a nurse working in the hospital suffered from a condition like mine. She recommended I seek help from her attending doctor, an expert working at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan. Besides taking hormone therapy, she had to abstain from certain foods like dairy, seafood, spicy foods, etc. My despair deepened on hearing her words, but with no better option, my family decided to arrange for an appointment with the expert.

Around this time, my grandmother paid me a visit and told me she was in the midst of memorizing some poems that Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) had written. On seeing my interest, my grandma recited several pieces from memory. Afterward, she highlighted a section from Master’s “Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference”, 

“I can tell you clearly that in the arrangement Master made in the early stage, the persecution would end this year, (audience applauds enthusiastically) twenty years altogether. Although the old forces later interfered and changed some things, the charcoal for firing the furnace is running out, and the heat from the fire isn’t strong enough, so this thing will soon come to an end. So everyone should do even better.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference,” Team Blue Translation)

Despite subconsciously knowing this day would come, it was a shock to hear it had arrived so soon. My grandmother said, “Master is compassionate! He still wishes to save even more sentient beings.”

Soon after, my grandmother lent me a copy of Hong Yin V. Initially, my mother would read to me. After I regained my strength, I started reading on my own. We would burst into tears after reading certain paragraphs. Perhaps it was time, but for whatever reason, the excuses that had earlier prevented me from stepping into cultivation practice vanished. I developed a newfound determination to return home in order to practice the exercises and study the Fa.

A few days after, I learned from the nurse that her attending specialist from Wuhan was going to visit our hospital on Saturday to perform a procedure. Although his schedule for that day was extremely packed, she advised me to try and obtain a consultation slot.

My attending doctor managed to help me get a slot and the expert voiced his suspicion of intestinal tuberculosis. If no problems were detected in subsequent investigation outcomes, I was to go on three months of tuberculosis medicine. If my symptoms refused to abate, I would go to Wuhan where doctors would explore options for hormone therapy. As subsequent investigative outcomes showed no problems, the hospital allowed my discharge.

In August 2019, my mother and I started cultivating Falun Dafa. Master immediately began cleansing my body and I found myself throwing up frequently while exercising. Each set of exercises left me completely exhausted and attempts to sit in the cross-legged position for the last set of exercises left me in excruciating pain. However, as my condition improved, the exercises became easier and more effortless.

I had been discharged with strict instructions to take my anti-tuberculosis medication regularly. Despite my misgivings, I initially decided to follow my doctor’s advice and take the medication.

Days later, I came to the startling realization. Although Master is trying to purify my body, I keep negating his efforts by introducing harmful substances into it. I decided then not to take any more medication, which put me at odds with the non-practicing elders in my family. After gentle persuasion failed, they applied psychological pressure. As I refused to give in, they relented and allowed me to stop taking the medication for a month. However, they insisted that my temperature be monitored daily.

One month later, although my health was slowly recovering, I still suffered from a low-grade fever. The elders in my family again began to pressure me into taking the medication. Seeing no other option, I gave in and resumed taking my medication again. A month later, my symptoms returned, this time worse than ever. Within a day, the pustules around my anus had grown to the size of quail eggs, causing extreme difficulty in walking and going to the toilet.

The following morning, I woke up and with much effort, started practicing the exercises. My mental and physical states were so bad, it felt as if I was starting cultivation practice from the beginning all over again. I could barely finish the movements and the last set of exercises left me lying in bed, completely exhausted. On seeing my deteriorating state, my father wanted to take me to the hospital, while my mother advised me to think it over.

As soon as I calmed down and reasserted my righteous thoughts, I realized that my previous thoughts and actions had been motivated by my ordinary human notions. As a cultivator, those perceptions and attachments had to be eliminated. With this realization, my choice became obvious.

While practicing the exercises the following morning, I found my pain greatly reduced compared to the day before. My mother also informed me that the pustules around my anus had shrunk and become smaller. Two days later, we discovered that my temperature, which had been constantly high for over a year, had returned to normal. Over the following three days, the pustules vanished without a trace! I knew that I had overcome this illness tribulation and my health was completely restored.

In November, I received a call from my attending doctor to schedule a follow-up appointment. I immediately reported that I had recovered and no longer needed further treatment. I narrated to him the events which led to my pustules vanishing and he expressed surprise, saying this was medically impossible. I seized this opportunity to let him know that I had started practicing Falun Dafa, and these amazing miracles had occurred as a result. I also explained the truth behind the persecution of Falun Dafa. My attending doctor eventually believed and accepted my words. Besides my doctor, my family and friends also witnessed this miracle created by Dafa.

Before cultivating in Dafa, I would treat outsiders with consideration, while my family would bear the brunt of my quick temper. After becoming a cultivator, I came to realize this problem and made efforts to change. Nowadays, whenever I experience conflicts with my family, reminding myself of Master’s teachings restores calm to my heart and resolves the conflict quickly.

For the longest time, I have harbored a fear of sitting cross-legged. This fear kept surfacing despite my best efforts to eliminate it, until a section of Master’s teachings came to mind,

“In cultivation practice one needs to eliminate karma, and that is painful. How can one increase gong comfortably? How can one otherwise remove one’s attachments?” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun

Enduring hardships in order to eliminate karma and transform it into the white matter is a good thing. Why should I fear and resist this process? I gradually worked to remove this fear and by the fourth month, was finally able to sit firmly in the cross-legged position. Now I can even sit for over an hour.

On reflection, I realize that despite my lack of awareness, Master had been by my side since childhood. Perhaps it was only through this predestined sequence of events that I could fully awaken and embark on the path of cultivation practice.