(Minghui.org) I am a 67 year old female Falun Dafa practitioner who began practicing in 1997.
During the past 28 years of validating Dafa, I’ve had firm faith in Master Li and Dafa. I continually strengthened my righteous thoughts to overcome one difficulty after another and one trial after another. I followed Master every step of the way, and my life has gone through tremendous changes. There is no way to express my gratitude to Master and Dafa.
My life was miserable when I was a child, because my mother remarried and took me to another family when I was five or six. My stepfather despised me and beat me at every turn.
My stepfather didn’t let me go to school and made me help with the housework. Gradually, I had to do everything, such as build the fire, cook, wash clothes, and sweep the floor, but I was given very little to eat or to wear. When I was 11 or 12, I worked during the day in a production team in our village. After I went home, I had to do the household chores and take care of my younger brothers and sisters.
There were countless sorrows in my childhood. I felt really bitter and exhausted. I didn’t blame anyone, as I took it as my fate.
After I married, my husband’s family looked down on me, and my husband often beat me. No one cared for me after my children were born, so I had to do everything myself, and I got terribly ill. At that time, I didn’t want to live, I wanted to die, but I couldn’t leave my two children. I had to live for them, and I felt very sorry for myself!
Later on, I developed a lot of ailments, and life was very difficult. I wondered: What is the purpose of life? I wanted to end my life and leave this world.
Seeing my situation, someone told me about Falun Dafa and suggested that I practice it. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to it. Later on, someone told me that many people’s health problems went away when they practiced Falun Dafa. This time, I took in what the person said and made up my mind to give it a try.
When I told my husband that I wanted to practice Dafa, he didn’t quite agree. I told him that it was free and that I should give it a try. He didn’t say anything. When I went to the practice site, the practitioners were very friendly and kind to me. I started doing the exercises with them. After practicing Falun Dafa for just three weeks, my ailments were alleviated. I felt that the practice was very good and told my husband that I’d keep doing it.
When other practitioners were getting copies of Zhuan Falun, I asked if I should get one, too, because I had never read any books. They invited me to join their Fa-study group, so I went, and they gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun. When I opened it and saw Master’s picture, tears came to my eyes. Master was so kind! I felt as if I was looking at my father. I thought to myself, “I am illiterate, I’ll just learn it bit by bit. As long as I am sincere, I will learn it one day.”
When I got home, I was at a loss looking at such a thick book. I was so anxious that I wanted to cry. Then I lay down, resting on the book. As I was falling asleep, I suddenly heard the reader’s voice I heard when studying the Fa in my study group. I followed along with the voice and studied one sentence at a time. When I woke up, I could read a page.
After that, when I studied the book, the voice from the Fa-study group often echoed in my mind, and I got used to following the voice. By attending the group Fa-study, I learned more words every day. If there were words I didn’t know, I would write them down on my hand and ask someone later.
I couldn’t put the book down. I read it in the group, at home, during the day, and at night. Apart from going to work and doing housework, I put all my energy into studying the Fa. After more than a year, I could read Zhuan Falun skillfully and fluently. I was in my 40s at the time and hadn’t read a single word before that. It was so amazing that I could read Zhuan Falun in such a short time!
I was fortunate to begin cultivating Dafa, and my life turned a new page. Through practicing, all my illnesses were healed.
Through Fa-study, I learned how to be a good person and why one needs to seize the opportunity to cultivate in this life. I also became clear on things that I didn’t understand in the past. I was so delighted to have obtained such a wonderful Fa! I will listen to Master, follow the requirements of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and be a qualified practitioner.
When Jiang Zemin initiated the persecution of Falun Dafa in July 1999, my husband was scared and told me I wasn’t allowed to practice anymore. But I insisted, so he beat and cursed me, and I was covered in bruises. He also burned my Dafa books. Even so, I said to him, “As long as I’m alive, I will stick with it to the end!”
My husband didn’t support me in my cultivation, nor did my son and daughter-in-law. They pushed all the household chores off on me and did nothing themselves. I worked during the daytime. After dragging my tired body home at night, when I wanted to rest, I had to take care of all the regular chores.
At first I complained about it, but then I wasn’t angry with them anymore. I thought: “I practice Falun Dafa, I must hold myself to the standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and treat them calmly and rationally.” Meanwhile, I looked inward and found my impatience. Fundamentally, I felt that I didn’t clarify the truth to them. They were deceived by the evil Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda, which resulted in their misunderstanding me.
I said to them, “Falun Dafa teaches people to be good by following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, which is not wrong. You’ve also seen the miracles that occurred in my life by practicing Falun Dafa. I used to have so many health problems, and they were all healed. Haven’t you also benefited from my good health? It was out of jealousy that former CCP leader Jiang Zemin framed Dafa. Dafa is not against the law, it was Jiang who committed a crime by persecuting Dafa.”
Even though they knew what I said made sense, due to fear, they still had worries and concerns. I told them, “Don’t worry. I am doing the right thing, which benefits the country and my family. Of course, I will pay attention to safety.”
I often gave them truth-clarification materials so they could learn more about the true situation. Gradually, they understood me and started to help me with some of the housework. One day, my son said something negative about my cultivation. My daughter-in-law was there to help me out, “Isn’t it great that Mom practices? Dafa is very good, so let her practice.”
Now, my husband has also gone through significant changes. Instead of interfering when I want to go out to clarify the truth, he sometimes even drives me to distribute truth-clarification materials. I helped all of them quit the CCP. Not only are their lives saved, but I also made a breakthrough in my family trials.
In 2001, a practitioner invited me to go to Beijing to appeal to the government. I did not go with her for various reasons. She was arrested and told the police that I had told her to go. The police picked me up and took me to the police station to interrogate me. They put handcuffs on me and tied me to a chair. They punched me and kicked me until my head, feet, and back were swollen. Blood poured from my head, but I didn’t give in.
They arrested me and held me in the detention center. My husband went to the public security bureau to demand my release. The police said they had both evidence and witnesses, so they could not let me go. My husband said, “Where is the evidence? Show me the evidence. My wife can’t read a word, so how can there be any evidence? All she did was the exercises. What law did she break?”
When the police came to ransack our home, I thought deep down that they wouldn’t find anything and that Master would protect me. Both my recorder and VCR were in a drawer. They searched all over the place, except for that drawer, so they indeed didn’t find anything. Even with no evidence, they still illegally detained me for 72 days.
I treasure this precious opportunity to cultivate Dafa. To have time to clarify the facts and save sentient beings, I tried to plan everything I did. I was strict with myself in my cultivation. I followed what Master said, conducting myself according to Dafa’s requirements. I got up early to do the exercises and studied the Fa at night and never missed one day. I also paid attention to eliminating my attachments in my day-to-day life and improving my xinxing. When I ran into a conflict with someone, I used the Fa to evaluate myself to find my own issues and then resolve them.
I often went with two other practitioners to distribute truth-clarification materials. I set out at 2 a.m. and headed out of the city to a suburban area far away. From the city to the suburbs, from the streets to the towns, we tried not to miss any households. When distributing materials, we overcame a great deal of fear: fear of being seen, fear of being reported to the police, fear of having accidents, and so on. During the process, I didn’t miss any opportunity to cultivate myself solidly.
Sometimes we had truth-clarification adhesive flyers to put up. To prevent them from being torn off, we wanted to put them up as high as possible. Since both of us were short, we got on each other’s shoulders to post them. Even if there was danger, we stayed calm, cooperated, and quickly posted the sticky flyers. We climbed up and down and put up a lot. After we finished, we were exhausted and soaked with sweat.
We have been doing these things in all kinds of weather for over 20 years. To save sentient beings, we’ve distributed truth-clarification materials to many households and the general public. Even though we have suffered in the process, just knowing that sentient beings can learn the truth and be saved, we feel very happy deep down.
I cultivate with my celestial eye open and have had many miraculous experiences. When I read the Fa, every character was a brilliant gold. I also saw Falun spinning everywhere and a tall pillar. When I did the exercises, my body often floated up into the sky and the clouds, which made me feel very comfortable.
One time when I was doing the sitting meditation, I saw Master floating in the air. I said to Master, “I’m determined to practice hard and follow you to return home.” Another time when I was doing the seated meditation, I saw Maitreya Buddha above my head. He smiled at me and I smiled back, feeling a little embarrassed.
It was raining once when I was getting ready to go to my Fa study group. I asked Master: “Should the rain not come down until I arrive? Should it not come down until I return home either?” Sure enough, it did not rain on my way, but when I got home, it began to pour. The manifestation of these miracles not only let me see the beauty and miraculous nature of Dafa, but also gave me faith and encouragement.
I came to enlighten that Master opened my celestial eye and had me see these magical things as a gift to me. It was Master caring for and protecting me so I could walk the path of Dafa righteously. It was Master’s encouragement to spur me on to improve and elevate.
Just thinking about this, I can’t hold back my tears. Master’s saving grace is so tremendous, how could I ever repay him?! It is only by cultivating diligently and treasuring the precious time that Master paid for with huge suffering, and by saving more people, that I will not have any regrets. I will study the Fa, do the three things well, and fulfill the vow I made in heaven to accomplish my historic mission.