(Minghui.org) My name is Yuan Yuan, and I am 16 years old. I have had congenital diseases since I was a child, and my health worsened in recent years. My aunt is a Falun Dafa practitioner, so I moved in with her to study the teachings, and do the exercises with her. It has been two years since I learned the practice.
I am blind, so I can’t read the books. I listened to my aunt read the Falun Dafa books, and although I was anxious I listened attentively. My aunt had to work, and could not be with me all the time. So I listened to Master Li’s (the founder of Falun Dafa) lectures in Guangzhou, Jinan, and Dalian.
I also listened to young practitioners’ cultivation sharing on the Minghui website and selected sharings from Minghui Weekly. I recited Hong Yin I, II, and III with other young practitioners.
I wanted to be able to recite Zhuan Falun. My aunt was happy about it, and said that she had also been wanting to memorize and be able to recite Zhuan Falun. We began memorizing the Fa this March. She read a sentence and I repeated the sentence. We went over it several times until we could recite it from memory, then proceeded to the next sentence, until we memorized the entire paragraph.
When my aunt went to work, I recited the parts I read the day before, following the order of the subtitles. My aunt often forgot what she had memorized and asked why I was able to recite with ease. She wondered if Master had shown me the Fa on a blackboard for me to read? I think Master gave me the wisdom after seeing my desire to improve.
I recited the Fa before going to bed. My aunt said she had heard me recite the Fa during sleep. I had a feeling that Master was teaching me to recite the Fa in my dreams. I told my aunt that learning the Fa is not a formality, and the words cannot be turned into a jingle. The Fa must penetrate and be etched on our hearts for us to remember, and we would then be able to understand its profound meaning. If we cannot do that, it would become diluted and blurry.
My aunt said that she was not able to memorize the Fa before, but thanks to me, she is now memorizing the Fa. When I share with my aunt, I can recite the Fa from time to time. She is happy that I can do that.
My aunt cleaned the table one morning, then put Zhuan Falun on the table. I opened the book and stared at it, even though I could not see anything. I started to slowly recite the first paragraph from Lecture One, “Genuinely Guiding People Toward High Levels.” I then got to this paragraph of Master's Fa,
“The space of the universe is benevolent to begin with and embodies the characteristic of Zhen-Shan-Ren. At birth, one is assimilated to the characteristic of the universe. Yet as the number of lives increases, a collective form of social relations develops in which some people may develop selfishness and gradually their level will be lowered. If they cannot stay at this level, they must drop down further. At that level, however, they may again become not so good and not be able to stay there, either. They will continue to descend further until, in the end, they reach this level of human beings.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
I kept wiping my tears. I was thankful that benevolent Master allowed me to understand the Fa at another level. The Three Realms was created for Fa-rectification. We should assimilate to the Fa, let go of our attachments, notions, and eliminate our humanness. We should not bargain with Master, and ask for this and that after we have given up a bit of ourselves.
My aunt stood next to me and observed me. She put my hand on the spot where I had finished reciting. I then turned the page to “look” at Master’s photo. I saw Master in a gold kasaya looking at me. I knew Master was with me all the time, watching over me. Master’s image then disappeared.
We are now memorizing Lecture Four of Zhuan Falun. When she is not working, we can memorize four pages in the morning. But when my aunt is busy, we can only memorize one paragraph per day. We have also memorized parts of Essentials for Further Advancement I, II, and III, Hong Yin I and II, and parts of Hong Yin III, IV, and V.
My aunt came home from work one day and asked why I did not eat the eggs and drink the milk. I said I recited everything I had memorized, did the exercises, and listened to practitioners’ audio sharing. So I did not have time to eat! She praised my diligence, and I reminded myself to not get too happy about it.
I have eliminated many of my attachments to food, while memorizing the Fa. I no longer ask my aunt to buy snacks for me. I’m fine as long as my stomach is full, and I don’t waste time eating. I used to take a long time to eat a meal, because it felt as if something was stuck in my throat. That feeling is now gone, and I can finish a meal quickly.
I used to dislike summer. It felt like I was wearing armor in the summer, with the heat and the sweat trapped inside my body. It was unbearable. But I started to sweat this year. I think my sweat glands are now working, and my metabolism is normal. The heat no longer feels trapped in my body. I took a shower one time, and for the first time I could taste the salt in my sweat.
My bulging kneecaps have caused my feet to bend inward. Therefore, I cannot stand or walk. The back of my hand bones are also swollen, so my fingers are bent, and I can’t straighten my arm.
Whenever I want to get out of the bed, I need to lean on my elbows and push myself up with my legs to sit up. I am in constant pain, and this a tribulation that I have to overcome in my cultivation.
Everything, from putting on clothes to using the toilet, is a challenge. I sit on a chair during the day. In order to use the toilet, I have to push and move the chair toward the bathroom by sliding my feet on the floor. When I was living at home, my father and mother would carry me to the bathroom. So one can imaging the difficulty of doing the exercises.
A thought came to me one day – the old forces can’t stop me from reciting the Fa, but they don’t let me do the exercises, by keeping me in a deformed physical condition, and in pain.
I immediately sent forth righteous thoughts to disintegrate them, and negate them with my actions. Since I could not stand up, I did the exercises sitting down. My arms hurt and could not be straightened, but I tried my best to straighten them. Falun Dafa cultivates the body and the mind. I must get rid of my attachments, including the fear of pain, wanting to be lazy, and the pursuit of comfort.
When I first did the first, third, and fourth exercises, I had to take breaks in between. Later on I did not need to take any breaks. I can now repeat these exercises several times a day. I have not been able to do the second exercise and the sitting meditation, and this is what I need to work on. I will be persistent and negate the old forces arrangements.
I felt pain everywhere one afternoon, so I went to lie down. As soon as I fell asleep, a demon-like force pulled the bed cover over my head. I wanted to shout but I had no voice, and I could not move. I called for Master and sent forth righteous thoughts. I woke up slowly. Master said,
“...with the master and the Fa here what is there to fear?” (Lecture in Sydney)
I know that Master wants us to learn from our experiences, and that we should think and act with righteousness. I realized later that my pursuit of comfort attracted the demons and suppressed my divine side.
Master said,
“As a matter of fact, this results from an inadequate understanding of the Fa by your human side. You have humanly restrained your divine side; in other words, you have restrained the parts that have been successfully cultivated and have prevented them from doing Fa-rectification. How can the uncultivated side restrain your main thoughts or the side that has already attained the Fa? Having humanly fostered the evil demons, you allow them to capitalize on the loopholes in the Fa.” (“Expounding on the Fa,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
If we cannot eliminate our postnatal notions, our divine power will not shine. We need to be strict with ourselves and cultivate our thoughts, otherwise, our divine power will not take effect when faced with tribulations.
After that experience, I tried to eliminate the desire for comfort, and nap less often. We should improve our xinxing based on the Fa principles, and it has nothing to do with the old forces.
Although I cannot see or walk, I do not see myself as a disabled person. I am on my way to return to my original, true self. Master has arranged my path, and rid me of my karma. I have understood different levels of the Fa. I once saw someone hung and beaten. I felt awful and thought it was Master bearing my karma.
Master said,
“...in the several years of your cultivation, I have not only borne an incredibly great deal for you, but also, along with this, constantly given you hints for your improvement, looked after you for your safety, and settled the debts that you owed at different levels so that you can reach Consummation—these aren’t things that just anyone can do, and neither can they be done for everyday people.” (“Drive Out Interference,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
My understanding is that as long as Dafa practitioners think and act with righteousness while saving sentient beings, our divine power will come through. I also noticed that I have a lot of distracting thoughts when I send forth righteous thoughts. Therefore, my righteous thoughts are not strong, and I cannot exercise my divine power. This is also the reason why the old forces can use karma against my physical body. I see my shortcomings, and I need to overcome them.
I feel very blessed to cultivate in Falun Dafa! I am not concerned about the changes in my body. I study, memorize, recite, and listen to Dafa books every day. I feel that my body and mind are immersed in the Fa. I want to imprint the Fa of the cosmos in my mind to rectify my thoughts and actions. Practitioners have said that studying the Fa and doing the exercises is part of our daily life, and is as natural as sleeping and eating. It is not just part of our life, but our entire life.
I had a dream one night where I was able to stand up and walk steadily. If one day I gain my eyesight, then it must be that I can continue to cultivate well.
My little physical suffering counts for nothing. People in today’s world are the pitiful ones. They were once high-level beings and Master’s relatives. But they have been poisoned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and become debased. Many don’t know what Falun Dafa is about and have been persecuting practitioners. Missing the opportunity to obtain salvation would be the saddest thing!
I asked my aunt to help me write and submit my cultivation sharing to the 16th China Fahui on Minghui so that people can understand Falun Dafa and Master’s benevolence. Master wants us to do the three things well. I would like to catch up quickly, fulfill Master’s requirements, be a diligent practitioner, and save more sentient beings.
Thank you, Master, for your compassionate salvation! Thank you, practitioners, for helping me improve!