(Clearwisdom.net) Prior to practicing cultivation in 1997, I had several ailments. Although I was young, my bad health affected my life and work. When I read through Zhuan Falun the first time I felt it to be a really good book. When I understood our ultimate goal is not to be merely a human being but to return to our original true self, I began my cultivation path.
I felt my body becoming stronger shortly after beginning Fa study and doing the exercises and truly experienced what it is like to be free of sickness. During the time I learned to do the five sets of exercises, the stomach pain I had suffered for more than ten years became fiercer than ever. It seemed like a knife was cutting through me, and I could barely tolerate it. But I knew karma was being eliminated, and Master was purifying my body. Three days later, the gastric illness that had plagued me for 17 years vanished and never returned. Throughout my 10 years of cultivation, my health has been excellent--a testimony to the power of Dafa.
July 20, 1999, in collusion with Jiang Zemin and the Chinese Communist Party, oppressors launched the unprecedented persecution of Falun Dafa that teaches people "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance."
At that time local practitioners lived spread out, and some went to work outside of the area. Most of us couldn't get to meet for six months or longer. It was difficult for us to share our understandings. After the onset of the persecution, we practitioners in the countryside couldn't get the new Dafa articles and the "Minghui Weekly." We did not know what to do. Facing the brutal persecution, we harbored fear and felt intense pressure. Right then I happened to get Master's new lectures, "Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference" and "Teaching the Fa at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America." Through repeated study I understood that this persecution is not one of people against people; it is evil beings in other dimension controlling the unprincipled or bad people in this world. This is something the old forces of the universe had imposed on us. All the persecution methods are completely based on deceit and lies. We Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple came for the Fa. We must protect the Fa, validate the Dafa, expose the evil, clarify the facts, and offer all sentient beings salvation.
I operated a general merchandise store. When I understood my mission, I began to use my work place advantages for the benefit of Dafa. Whoever I ran across I would clarify the facts to and give him or her a VCD.
In July 2002, the evil took the advantage of my attachments. Someone reported me to the authorities. I was detained for the second time and suffered inhuman tortures. Following my release, local police station agents, those from the judicial department, and others from the police department frequently came to harass me. I still clarified the facts to them because they were also sentient beings whom we Dafa practitioners should offer salvation to; they were being used by the Chinese Communist Party.
My righteous thoughts were still lacking and I retained strong fear after the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published, though I distributed copies of it and encouraged people to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Master stated:
"Cultivation is hard. It's hard in that even when a terrible calamity strikes, even when evil madly persecutes, and even when your life is at stake, you still have to be able to steadfastly continue on your path of cultivation without letting anything in human society interfere with the steps you take on your path of cultivation." ("Path" from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Repeated recitations banished my fear. My comprehension became clearer. The Nine Commentaries do, indeed, objectively and rationally expose the Communist Party's evil essence and expose it in broad daylight. The book allows everyone to clearly identify the nature of the Chinese Communist Party, thus encouraging them to part from it, to quit it, to destroy it, and thus thoroughly eradicate this persecution.
One time I ran across an acquaintance and encouraged him to quit the CCP. He used to be a Party secretary for many years. I told him that it would be mere days until the CCP would be eliminated; that the CCP did countless bad deeds; that more than 80 million people were killed during the CCP's various political movements; that the CCP has the urge to fight with the heavens, with the earth, with people; and that it never fostered kindness. "Quitting the CCP, the Youth League, and the Young Pioneers", I told him, "is to remove the mark of the evil beast. It is to save yourself." The man not only didn't listen but also scolded me for being against the Party and wondered how the CCP could collapse? I explained again, but he became acutely angry and wanted to beat me. I told him not to, sincerely, for his sake. On the way home I wondered how that meeting could have turned out like that. The three things Master asks us to do are so sacred. But what happened was so embarrassing; wasn't it because I didn't do well? Thinking deeply, I realized that my lack of compassion was at fault. I had considered it as something that "had to be done" and lacked patience. Because I had other things to handle, I thought to tell him merely a few words so that he could quit the CCP. I didn't put the salvation of all sentient beings as the highest priority. The CCP's evil doctrines had severely poisoned that man's thinking processes.
Learning from this experience, I realized that offering sentient beings salvation must be done carefully and with patience. No matter what demeanor people have or how much or how little they agree, we should compassionately give them an opportunity. Some people can be persuaded to quit the CCP with just a few words. Some people require repeated conversation, augmented by reading much factual information. There are also some who refuse to quit, no matter what, but those are very few. No matter how great the resistance and difficulty, I must strengthen myself and make up mind to do what I am supposed to do. Nobody can shake my resolve. As long as the evil exists even for a day, until its demise, we will not stop exposing the evil and clarifying the facts.
Master's compassionate protection has so far enabled me to practice cultivation for ten years during the Fa-rectification period. All depends on Master's mercy. Only when we study the Fa well, keep righteous thoughts, look inward, and do the three things well can we offer more sentient beings salvation. Let's send powerful righteous thoughts together and stop the persecution immediately !
