(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I started practicing Falun Dafa a year before the Chinese communist regime launched its persecution of the spiritual discipline, which is based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
The precious first year of my cultivation proved to be the happiest time in my life. I simply enjoyed being a cultivator who kept improving under Master’s guidance.
The persecution that began in 1999 forced me to face a tough reality. My school suspended me, then a college senior, and my parents used various means to make me break away from Falun Dafa. I held my ground and eventually was reinstated. I graduated on time and landed a job.
My parents still forbade me from contacting other practitioners, so I married and moved in with my husband and in-laws, who all practiced Dafa at the time, but who gave up one after another as the persecution went on.
I eventually stopped practicing Dafa in 2005 and subsequently endured the most difficult seven years of my life. I got lost in the maze of everyday people and saw my health deteriorate and temper flare up.
Master arranged for a practitioner to clarify the truth to me in 2012. I soon resumed Dafa cultivation and have never looked back.
My parents gave me a hard time after I was suspended from school in late 2000. They mobilized our relatives and even neighbors to work on me, but I simply refused to give up my belief in Falun Dafa.
My father flew into a rage and burned all my Dafa books. I couldn’t stop weeping, but didn’t have the courage to stop him. I felt ashamed and knew that I had let down Master.
My mother gathered a roomful of people one night and threw in front of me a rope, some poison, and a pair of scissors. She said she’d rather kill me than see me arrested by police.
She asked me which death I’d prefer and I replied, “Killing is a sin and I’ll never commit suicide or allow you to kill me!”
The relatives in the room began to blame me for lacking filial piety to my parents. I wouldn’t budge, as I knew there was nothing wrong with practicing Falun Dafa.
Seeing my resolve, they stopped going after me and tried to calm down my mother.
I went back to my room but couldn’t let go of the painful expressions on my mother’s face. I asked Master in my heart if I did wrong by not listening to my mother, and stopping my cultivation.
Master opened my third eye at that moment and enabled me to see countless divine beings flying and smiling at me. I was moved by the compassion on their faces, and my anxiety and puzzlement was gone.
I told myself that cultivating in Dafa was the right thing to do. With my righteous mind, my school reinstated me and I graduated on time.
My parents no longer pushed me to give up cultivation after I entered the workforce, but they still kept a close eye on me at all times. I wasn’t allowed to contact any practitioners, so I had no Dafa books to read.
In order to have a cultivation environment, I met and soon got married someone who practiced Dafa. Despite my parents’ objections, I moved thousands of miles away to live with my husband and in-laws, who all practiced Dafa at the time. I felt more comfortable with them.
As the persecution intensified over the years though, my in-laws and husband gave up cultivation one after another.
I was still hanging in there, but my daughter’s birth threw me off as a full-time working mom. Before I knew it, in 2005 I had stopped studying the Fa and doing the exercises.
I was paralyzed by my attachments during the seven years that followed. My old health problems, which had disappeared after I began cultivating, resurfaced. I had trouble falling asleep. My period became irregular and eventually stopped. My temper worsened, and I was easily set off by the most trivial things.
I felt that my life had come to an end. Thinking back to the happy days of cultivation, I was filled with disappointment in myself, and I didn’t know if Master would ever want to take me back.
Master saw my heart and arranged for me to have a chance encounter with a practitioner in 2012. I read all of Master’s lectures that she brought me, and watched the Shen Yun DVDs. I felt that the rotten substances that had enclosed me for years were purged and my soul was cleansed.
My husband, however, was frightened when I said that I had decided to start cultivating again. He wanted me to just do it in private. I told him that nothing could stop me from returning to Dafa, and that I would do what was required of Dafa disciples.
I kept doing the exercises and studying the Fa. My symptoms of illness disappeared in just one week.
My husband threatened me with divorce when I said that I planned to set up a materials production center at our home. I wasn’t moved and explained to him patiently why I needed to do my best to help people understand that the persecution is wrong.
I also encouraged him to resume cultivation. He later agreed. My mother-in-law followed suit after I showed her Master’s lectures and shared my experience of returning to the practice.
My father-in-law turned out to be a tough sell. Not only did he oppose the three of us, but he badmouthed Master and Dafa. No matter how hard we tried to get him to quit the CCP or resume cultivating, he just wouldn’t listen.
I then remembered what Master taught us in “The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos” (from Hong Yin Vol. II):
“Compassion can harmonize Heaven and Earth, ushering in springRighteous thoughts can save the people in this world”
I knew that I lacked compassion towards my father-in-law. Looking inward, I realized that I resented him deep down because of his attitude towards Dafa.
As I tried to put myself in his shoes, I saw that he was suffering from hostility towards Dafa. He once enjoyed good health as a cultivator, but now was plagued by various symptoms. My compassion towards him began to emerge, and I no longer had hatred or a combative mentality.
My father-in-law still hasn’t had a total turnaround, but I am hopeful that he will change for the better.
I didn’t forget about my parents. I kept talking to them about Dafa whenever I could. They later wrote a statement to nullify the bad words they said about Dafa, and also quit the CCP. They now often recite “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” and do their best to protect Dafa disciples.
Our local Fa-study group joined the tide of suing Jiang Zemin in May 2015. I had to work to remove my fear of using my real name on the criminal complaint.
My husband was hesitant at first and didn’t want to join me. I explained to him why we must seek justice against Jiang. He came around, and signed his name on the complaint. My mother-in-law and my daughter also pressed their fingerprints on the complaint.
The postal worker warned us that our complaint letter might not reach the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. We found out later the local police had indeed confiscated our letter.
We then managed to submit our complaint online to the Procuratorate.
I was taken into custody while visiting the police station to try to seek the release of an elderly couple who had been arrested earlier.
At first my heart was pounding and my legs were shaking, but then I recalled what Master said in “The Master-Disciple Bond” (from Hong Yin Vol. II):
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughtsMaster has the power to turn back the tide”
I reminded myself that there was nothing to fear, as Master was right by my side. I calmed down and began to explain to the police why the persecution was wrong.
One officer threatened me. “Don’t think you can walk out of here if you still refuse to reveal your name!” I wasn’t moved, and he left.
The people who were watching me left one after another, and I walked out of the police station without being noticed.
The police managed to find out who I was after discovering my escape. They soon called my workplace to pressure them into making me renounce my faith.
I took the opportunity to talk to several groups of people sent in by the Party secretary to work on me. Many of them understood why I was so determined to practice Falun Dafa.
My direct supervisor, though, was a bit difficult. He was my boss at my old workplace, and once worked with the police to force my husband to give up a job promotion in exchange for my release from detention.
I always resented him, but as fate would have it, he ended up at my new workplace and again was my boss.
I decided to stop treating him as an enemy and to clarify the truth to him as a sentient being waiting to be saved. I encouraged him to stand up for righteousness. “You are a good person and I trust you’ll make the right decision. You should not blindly follow orders from your superiors. You’ll be blessed for protecting practitioners.”
He never bothered me again for practicing Falun Dafa, and on many occasions even fended off the police on my behalf.
While clarifying the truth at my workplace, I kept in mind the elderly couple who were still in detention.
I and other practitioners collected phone numbers of the local police for overseas practitioners to call. We also helped the couple’s two lawyers understand the truth and quit the CCP.
In the meantime, we sent forth righteous thoughts every day to disintegrate evil factors interfering with the couple. The couple was released about one month later.
I’ve been able to come this far, all thanks to Master’s compassionate protection. I learned over the years that only by believing in Master and Dafa and maintaining righteous thoughts could I accomplish my mission to save sentient beings.
I’d also like to thank the Minghui website for providing a platform for me to learn from other practitioners. Their experience sharing articles are like mirrors reflecting where I should improve.