(Minghui.org) Greetings, respected Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. Although I sometimes stumbled and fell along the way, under Master’s compassionate care I often experienced the Fa’s power and wonder, while I encountered many xinxing tests. I would like to tell you about some of my experiences.
One day after group Fa study as I was walking back to my seat from the podium, suddenly my right leg lost all sensation and my body lost balance. A fellow practitioner quickly helped me back to my seat, but I didn’t yet realize the seriousness of the situation. Soon after, another practitioner handed me some money that needed to be paid for Dafa books. When I reached out with my right hand, I couldn’t even grasp the thin banknotes. My heart sank and I felt unsteady.
Cultivation is serious. In moments of tribulation, one single thought—whether human or divine—can lead to completely different outcomes. Back in late 2013, I suffered a brain hemorrhage and the right side of my body was paralyzed.
Yet after I began practicing Dafa, everything returned to normal. From the Fa I understood that genuine practitioners do not have illness. What appeared this time was only an illusion of sickness—an attempt by the old forces to exploit the loopholes in areas where I hadn’t cultivated well, had not realized, or had failed to truly cultivate, in order to destroy my righteous faith in Master and my will to cultivate, even to the point of destroying my physical body. I absolutely did not acknowledge it.
I urgently looked within. Recently, several projects I was responsible for went smoothly, and since others often praised me for cultivating well, I developed an attachment of joy and a sense of pride.
From studying the Fa, I realized that in my current state I should focus more on the third exercise. So I started practicing it. Even though my right hand kept slipping down before it reached my chest, I didn’t lie in bed like an ordinary person. Instead, I pushed myself to practice as much as I could. I felt that as long as I firmly trusted Master and the Fa, there was no tribulation I couldn’t overcome.
I believe Master saw I wished to be diligent, so he arranged for fellow practitioners to come and encourage me. One shared the story of another practitioner who appeared to have a stroke, but was cured after doing the second exercise for two one-hour sessions. I realized this was Master enlightening me. So I leaned against the wardrobe and began doing the exercise. At first it was very difficult, but as I held the posture, I felt strength returning to my body. When my hands were raised above my head, my right hand didn’t slip down anymore. I managed to persist for nearly an hour. When I finished, tears flowed down my face.
From then on, I became even firmer in my faith in Master and the Fa. I resumed doing all five exercises every day and focused on sending righteous thoughts. I enlightened that sending righteous thoughts is one of the three things Master requires of us, so I now pay close attention to it, rectifying myself at all times. With Master’s strengthening and protection, within just six days I completely recovered! I knew this was Dafa’s miracle.
Through this and other tests of sickness karma, I discovered many attachments and felt the seriousness of cultivation. I’m telling you this because I hope that fellow practitioners who face similar situations can learn from my lesson: no matter when, always maintain righteous thoughts and unconditionally believe in Master. Then you will surely break through tribulations. By walking righteously and diligently, we can catch up, make up for any losses, and validate the greatness of Dafa.
I was once a person of strong emotions, especially towards my older daughter. She was born in 1992, the year Dafa was publicly introduced. Being young and selfish at the time, I lacked parenting experience and often pursued my own hobbies—chatting with friends, seeking entertainment—while neglecting my responsibility as a mother.
Six years after my younger daughter was born we moved to another city. My older daughter became rebellious during her adolescence. She was bad tempered, withdrawn, skipped school, and wore strange clothes. Her room filthy. My heart was full of grievance and resentment, and relatives and friends criticized me for having raised such a daughter.
Our home was filled with quarrels. I felt since she was my child, she should listen to me, so I tried to impose my opinions on her and force her to accept my way of thinking. I ignored her feelings. Over time, she lost her ability for independent thought.
After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I gradually understood: relationships among people all come from predestined ties—nothing that happens is coincidental. Whether good or bad, these ties are formed by us throughout our many lifetimes. Master taught me to live by Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, so I should treat everyone kindly, especially my own family.
Master said,
“It is said in Buddhism that one lives because of karmic retribution. If you owe someone something, he will find you for the repayment. If he takes too much, he will have to pay it back to you the next time around. If a son is not good to his parents, they will trade places the next time; this is how it cycles on and on.” ( Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
Each time I read this passage, I think of my kind father. Under the CCP’s culture, I grew up selfish and self-centered. I ignoring my parents’ words, spending only on myself, never thinking to be filial. My father, an upright bank official, was repeatedly persecuted by the CCP and his health was ruined.
Soon after I went abroad to study in 1989, the Tiananmen Student Massacre took place. I remained overseas as a refugee and could not return home. My father, who loved me, passed away. He wasn’t even 60 years old and was grief-stricken that he would not see me again. I could not even bid him farewell. That regret stayed with me for years.
As I continued cultivating I realized that everyone has their own fate, and my resentment toward my daughter gradually faded. When I looked at her, I sometimes thought: “She may be my Father reincarnated.” I understood that a cultivator cannot be bound by ordinary notions of kinship; these relationships are formed by karmic debts accumulated over lifetimes. With this enlightenment, my heart grew peaceful.
I often told her how Dafa changed my life. She saw that I remained healthy for years without injections or medicine. After the CCP began persecuting Falun Dafa she helped her father distribute truth-clarification materials. Although she developed a withdrawn personality, lacked work experience, and isolated herself at home, I did not despise her. I tried to guide her according to her nature without forcing results. I entrusted everything to Master.
In 2020, she decided to move to Australia to live with her sister. The following year, when I visited them and joined the grand Falun Dafa parade in Sydney, I asked if she wanted to come. She refused, but that evening, she happily told me: “Mom, I saw Falun Dafa practitioners in Chinatown, and one asked me to sign a petition. I signed it!” I was overjoyed. Soon after, she found part-time work in a Japanese restaurant.
At her grandmother’s birthday this year, we reunited again. She proudly shared photos of her social life—many friends of different ethnicities, her room was tidy and decorated like a fairytale, friends often visited her, and she was even chosen to organize monthly gatherings for over 100 people. Later she found another job she loved, working as a makeup artist in an upscale bar every weekend. Her grandmother exclaimed in amazement: “You’ve completely changed—you’re like a new person!” I knew this transformation was Dafa’s compassionate salvation and Master’s boundless grace.
My younger daughter, after graduating in IT from Monash University in Melbourne, built and maintained the New Zealand Dafa bookstore website, the Shen Yun Boutique website, and Shen Yun Dancer website—all voluntarily. Shortly after she graduated, she was hired by the Australia’s largest superannuation fund. Despite company mergers and layoffs, she was unaffected, instead she became a permanent employee and was given a raise.
I know my daughters’ changes and achievements are Master’s blessing and encouragement. I truly feel the meaning of Master’s words: “...one person practicing, the whole family benefits...” (Teaching at the Conference in Australia)
Master’s immense compassion cannot be described in words. In order to repay Master’s boundless grace and to thank him for saving me, I can only strive to be increasingly diligent on the final cultivation path.
Because my cultivation level is low please kindly point out anything not in line with the Fa.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Selected article presented at the 2025 New Zealand Fa Conference)