(Clearwisdom.net) Revered Master! Fellow practitioners! Thanks to all the editorial staff at the Minghui website!
I began my cultivation in 2007. I had already read many Dafa books because my wife is a practitioner. I read at least one lecture in Zhuan Falun every day, and many truth-clarification materials such as the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, and Disintegrating Communist Party Culture. I also regularly helped to distribute truth-clarification materials, and hang banners. However, I didn't cultivate and was deeply affected by various temptations in the human world. As stated in Zhuan Falun,
"...he will end up in poor health and all kinds of illnesses will surface."
One day my legs felt numb, and it was a struggle to go up the stairs. I thought I had symptoms of a stroke and became scared. My wife said to me, "You should learn to cultivate. If you are sincere, Teacher will help you." This was what prompted me to become a true practitioner.
It was on May 5, 2007 when I decided to give up my human pursuits and bad habits, including gambling, drinking, and prostitution, etc. I had a good background in Dafa at the time and was able to begin doing the three things very quickly. I read two to three lectures in Zhuan Falun every day, as well as Dafa articles in Minghui Weekly. I joined the morning exercise group at 3:50 a.m., and completed all five exercises daily. I also sent forth righteous thoughts six to eight times per day.
We were conducting business in the villages at the time, and every Friday my wife went back home to prepare truth-clarification materials, mainly the Nine Commentaries and some small booklets which contain facts about Dafa. She brought back many packages, large and small. We would then decide where to distribute the materials. The region we go to is mountainous, so we have to walk, as the roadway is not paved. My feet hurt quite badly more than a few times from walking on such uneven gravel roads. The region was not highly populated either. To distribute one hundred flyers requires visiting several villages. Over the course of a year, we visited many villages and small towns, more than I can remember. We just went wherever we could.
Since I started my cultivation rather late, I put in a lot of effort to do the three things and focused on genuine cultivation practice. At first, I noticed a definite change in my outlook on life, and gradually my physical body also changed. All feelings of discomfort disappeared. This gave me additional confidence in Teacher and Dafa.
In December 2007, we returned to our former town of residence. I had truly become a different person. During the new year, friends and relatives came to visit. Most of them were drinking, smoking, and gambling, but I didn't participate. In the past, especially in business, I always tried to cheat, and gain more for myself. As Teacher stated in Zhuan Falun,
"In ordinary human society, people compete with, deceive, and harm each other for a little personal gain."
Now, I am concerned about others' well being. For example, some time around May 6, at least four times people overpaid me by amounts ranging from two hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars. Each time I called them and returned the money. When I received a counterfeit bill, I would destroy it instead of trying to pass it on to others. In these situations, I truly know that I am being shortchanged, but I won't fight over it, and just let things be the way they are.
Regarding saving sentient beings, we distributed copies of Nine Commentaries and Shen Yun discs, talked to people one-on-one, and painted messages on walls. I can write pretty well, so fellow practitioners often asked me to handle this particular activity, which I have been doing since the beginning of 2007. I clearly recall that on the last day of 2008, I went with my wife to post the words, "Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!" on a wall inside our city within a busy district. I painted the words three times to make sure they came out clear and shining with golden color under the moonlight. The next day, many people saw the message we posted. These words both saved sentient beings and restrained the evildoers. By eleven o'clock, I happened to be passing by this same place and saw about twenty policemen trying to paint over the words to cover them. It seemed to me that they were looking at the words as if each word was a bomb. Like Teacher said in "Deterrence," Hong Yin Vol. II,
"The divine pens deter those demons in human skin"
This particular event also showed me that I had the attachment of zealotry and liked to show-off. Had I had strong enough righteous thoughts, the words I sprayed would have stayed on the wall much longer. It was a lesson for me to learn.
Beginning in April 2010 I joined the telephone calling team to tell people the facts about Dafa. I took turns with my wife. In about two hours we could make over a hundred calls. The charge for the calls is expensive, but saving sentient beings is something I am willing to pay for.
Over more than three years of genuine cultivation I have gone through many tribulations. Before starting cultivation, I was fighting for my personal feelings and ended up generating a lot of karma. There were times when my whole body was itchy or painful, or my legs were swollen. My feet and legs turned purple. I had a severe toothache and could not eat for several days. All these problems went away with Teacher's guidance. As a practitioner I persisted in following Teacher's arrangements instead of the old forces arrangements. For example, there was a time my legs and feet were so swollen that I could not wear shoes, but I continued doing the three things. When I could not stand by myself to do the exercises, I leaned against a wall to do them. For the fifth exercise I sat in the half-lotus position instead of the full-lotus position. But at least I didn't quit early while doing the exercises. There were times when the pain was excruciating, but I knew I could move beyond it all with faith in Teacher. Indeed, I got through everything.
Although three and a half years is not a very long time, it was a period of trials and tribulations. I was a guy with pretty strong human notions, and always allowed myself to make mistakes, but when it came to others I was not so forgiving. By always complaining about others, my tribulations lasted a very long time. However, I feel lucky to have learned Dafa's principles and was able to go from being selfish to being selfless. I think this is due to the power of Dafa's principles. Both my mind and body are being purified. Human words are inadequate to thank Teacher for what He did for me. The only thing I can do is to follow Teacher's words and guidance and move forward diligently.
The above is my personal experience. My wife and fellow practitioners helped me organize this report. Please point out anything that is improper.
