(Minghui.org) I am an elderly practitioner who began practicing Falun Dafa in 1996. I am eternally grateful to our venerable Teacher and have been following his teachings.

Teacher has repeatedly told us to read Zhuan Falun often, so I don't think much about it and just do what he says. I have lost count of how many times I have read the book. I have memorized these Fa teachings seven times. Many times, when I am memorizing one section of the Fa, the next section will naturally appear without my actually trying to recall it. Teacher said,

“Actually, in cultivation practice you ascend by improving yourself gradually and unknowingly. Keep in mind: One should gain things naturally without pursuing them.” (“Learning the Fa” from Essentials for Further Advancement)

Before I began cultivating, I had many attachments, including the desire to excel over others, the show-off mentality, jealousy, competitiveness, being overjoyed, and resentment. Teacher helped me remove all of these attachments and more. When our human notions and attachments are lessened, our divine sides get stronger. The attachments to fame, gain, and sentimentality that I used to feel and were difficult to eliminate, I have now let go of. I realized that it was because I concentrated only on the Fa and didn't pursue wanting to let go of things. I studied the Fa a lot, and as a result many of my attachments became weaker. I elevated without being aware of it. Teacher helped me improve my xinxing and eliminated my diseases.

Teacher emphasized that we must attend group Fa-study. Through all these years, I have followed Teacher's instructions and joined group Fa-study as much as possible. Even when the persecution was most severe and when fellow practitioners and I didn't have an environment to study the Fa at home, we still persisted in group Fa-study. In order to not worry our families, we studied the Fa together at a secluded place in a park for a long period of time. Gradually, several practitioners' family environments improved and we were able to have group Fa-study at someone's home. Practitioners who had a good home environment would provide his/her home for the group to study together. Most of the practitioners at my Fa-study group have met Teacher before. No matter what the Fa-study environment is like, we all try our best to do the three things well. Many times, we helped each other to do things together. We were all in high spirits and had very strong righteous thoughts, so the result was good.

Besides attending the group study, I also helped practitioners who didn't have the environment to study the Fa. One practitioner hadn't stepped forward to clarify the truth since the persecution began, and had been from suffering “sickness” karma. Although her condition got worse, I never gave up on her. It was important for me to study the Fa, so isn't it important for fellow practitioners to study the Fa as well? I studied the Fa with her for more than ten years. It was not a smooth process. She was surrounded by non-practitioners at home and outside pressure easily influenced her home environment. When she became afraid, her family asked me not to come over. At those times, I sincerely hoped that her righteous thoughts were strong enough. Sometimes she complained that I hadn't visited her in a long time. However, I never complained about her. I tried to encourage her to read all of Teacher's recent articles and truth-clarification materials. Many fellow practitioners didn't understand my actions and told me to give up on her. I didn't argue with them and just continued to do what I had been doing.

Later, when practitioners began to distribute the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and persuade people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations (the “three withdrawals”), this practitioner who was still suffering severe sickness karma went to Beijing and Xi'an to tell her relatives the truth and help them to do the three withdrawals. However, she didn't tell anyone about it. When I learned of what she did, I felt that my time spent with her over the years had not been in vain. In 2010, this practitioner passed away. I often feel sad for being unable to help her overcome her sickness karma.

I also met practitioners who had issues in studying the Fa. Sometimes they found other practitioners themselves to study the Fa with, and sometimes I introduced them to practitioners they could study the Fa with. One day, I came across Practitioner A, who was from southern China and could only speak in her local dialect. Her daughter lives in Changchun, but was often out of town on business. Practitioner A studied the Fa with two other practitioners. However, they couldn't continue studying with her because of her strong accent. When I learned about it, I tried my best to help her.

Practitioner A lives in the southeastern part of the city, and I was in the northwestern part. A trip to and from her home took at least three hours, and even longer when there was heavy traffic. When I first met her, it was the coldest part of winter. To study the Fa with her, I needed to overcome many difficulties. The first time that Practitioner A came to study the Fa with me, she braved the cold, had frost on her, and was sweating all over. She wanted to read, and asked me to listen. Whenever she made a mistake in reading, I corrected her. Although I wasn't prepared to only listen to Practitioner A read the Fa, I felt responsible for helping her after her simple request and sincerity. I thought of Teacher's words,

“Actually, though, as a Dafa disciple, if in such cases your thoughts are righteous, and what you are thinking about is cultivation, about being responsible, and about how it’s something that should be done well, then you should quietly take whatever it is that you feel is lacking and do it well. That is in fact how a Dafa disciple should handle it.” (“Be More Diligent”)

I adjusted my thinking and let her read. She read earnestly and I listened attentively. Whenever she read a word incorrectly, I asked her to stop, and corrected her. Initially, she made a lot of mistakes so it was quite difficult to correct her. She didn't know pinyin (the Chinese phonetic system), so she couldn't distinguish the characters with the same pronunciation. Furthermore, when she read, she would add or skip words, and her pronunciation and intonation weren't correct. We treated all these issues seriously. She studied hard and I taught carefully. After reading through Zhuan Falun once, she improved in her reading and we didn't need to stop and make as many corrections.

Practitioner A told me that I was helping her, but actually, I learned quite a lot from her. When studying the Fa, Practitioner A would finish reading the paragraph no matter what happened. When we met for the very first time, she seemed a bit impolite because she greeted me only after she finished reading a paragraph, as she was so eager to study the Fa. Being new to the area, when she couldn't find any practitioners to study with, she went to the market to ask whoever she met, but without success. It seemed that she didn't pay enough attention to safety issues. However, when she studies the Fa, she is always very earnest. I think helping other practitioners is actually helping yourself. Teacher gave me the opportunity to take her as my “mirror.” When studying the Fa with Practitioner A, my starting point became purer, I could concentrate, and had strong righteous thoughts. I gradually entered a realm where I could study the Fa with a calm mind.

Teacher said,

“Nothing that you encounter is by chance, and quite possibly each and every thing was arranged as it is in history. So, don’t underestimate what you do or work on.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference”)

Forming a karmic tie with Practitioner A seemed accidental, but Teacher actually had arranged for me to find her. The hesitation I had in the beginning when we studied the Fa together was due to my human notions and fear that I might not understand her. However, we are students of the same school, and we study the same Fa. Since the Fa is supernormal and powerful, what Teacher arranges for me to do I should certainly do well. With this thought, Teacher gave me wisdom and strength. Practitioner A studied earnestly and I listened with a calm mind. Every word and every sentence in Zhuan Falun went straight to my mind. In talking to her later, it turned out that her accent wasn't a problem at all. She quickly improved and my xinxing elevated. This was the power of Dafa, and what had been manifested was Teacher's compassion and dignity. All this was given by Teacher. Without Teacher's support I couldn't do anything.

Time flew for the both of us. We studied the Fa together during the cold winter in a house without heat, and then Spring came. In April, Practitioner A's husband, Practitioner B, arrived. He has practiced Falun Gong for more than ten years and did well in clarifying the truth in his hometown. He is able to do the sitting meditation for more than three hours and helped more than 1,000 people quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Although he could read Zhuan Falun fluently, his wife was still able to help correct words that he pronounced incorrectly. Practitioner B had laid down a very good foundation in studying the Fa and has good enlightenment, so his xinxing elevated very quickly. When we read the paragraph about animal possession, he cleaned up his house. He got rid of all the publications with any CCP contents, and Mao's statues. He also gave away his potted flowers, as otherwise he would travel from the southeast of the city to the northwest whenever he felt he needed to water the flowers. He realized that it wasted too much precious time.

I later met Practitioner C, who was in her eighties. She began practicing Falun Gong in 1996. Early in her cultivation, she was very diligent and her health improved greatly. After a year of cultivation, she had a light menstrual period again, her voice became stronger and louder, and she had a smile on her face at all times. In addition, the indentations on her face, left from the chicken pox she had at a young age, disappeared. Her skin became smooth with very few wrinkles. Practitioner C did well in studying the Fa and read very fluently. She could pronounce every word accurately. When she moved to the southeast part of the city, she studied the Fa by herself for awhile. After a while, she began to study the Fa less and she sometimes experienced pain in her legs. After joining our group Fa-study, she never experienced leg pain again. At that time, there were four of us in the group Fa-study.

Teacher said,

“Studying the Fa well, doing a good job of clarifying the facts, and saving sentient beings are your top priorities.” (“To the Midwestern US Fa Conference”)

Although our small group are all elderly practitioners, we still do the three things well. We never miss studying the Fa together, doing the exercises, or sending forth righteous thoughts. Whoever misses something finds time later to make it up. We clarify the truth and persuade people to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations every day. We bring truth-clarification materials, Shen Yun DVDs, and self-adhering posters with us whenever we go out. We also join other practitioners to send righteous thoughts near forced labor camps, brainwashing centers, etc. The currency bills we use to buy things all have truth-clarification words written on them.

I would like to share Practitioners A and B's experience in clarifying the truth to people. Whenever they go out, they bring truth-clarification materials, self-adhering posters and flyers with them. They also hand out Shen Yun DVDs face-to-face even though people in Northeast China can't understand their southern accent. To overcome that issue, they wrote down on a card what they want to say and gave the card to people along with the truth-clarification materials. They believed that it would work as long as they did things according to Teacher's requirements.

Someone who didn't understand the truth of Falun Gong once reported them to the police when they were distributing informational materials. Practitioners A and B weren't afraid when the police arrested them because they believed that what they were doing was most righteous. They thought of Teacher being next to them. At the police station, they began to clarify the truth to the police officers. They talked about the beauty of Falun Dafa, that it is a righteous Fa, about Teacher coming to the world to save sentient beings, and that they were also clarifying the truth to save beings, including the police officers. They told the officers that they would get blessings if they learned the truth of Falun Dafa and quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, since it is Heaven's will to eliminate the CCP. The couple also told the police the principle that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are met with karmic retribution, and advised them not to persecute practitioners.

Actually, the police might not have understood much of what the practitioners said because of their accent, but their knowing sides were aware, since the Fa has power, and practitioners' compassion has power. The police thus showed them concern and addressed them politely as grandpa and grandma. The officers advised them to distribute the truth-clarification materials in small lanes and residential areas. They also warned the couple to be careful, not to distribute materials on major streets and markets since July 1^st was approaching. July 1^st was considered a “sensitive date,” so it would be dangerous for them to be out. The practitioners then looked at their watch and said it was past 1:00 p.m. They asked to go home since they hadn't had their lunch yet. The couple then walked out of the police station nobly and righteously. Their righteous thoughts and actions also encouraged me. There is no difference between young and elderly practitioners; they are all fulfilling their vows.

While sitting down to write this article, I feel Teacher's encouragement, and I feel wonderful and peaceful as if I were sitting in an eggshell. I have recently been reading practitioners' cultivation stories. Their diligence has helped me let go of my attachment to comfort, and their purity and selflessness have driven away my fear in clarifying the truth to save sentient beings. It has also encouraged me to do a better job in assisting Teacher to rectify the Fa. In doing the three things, we must always be ready to take on huge responsibilities, continue to do them, and do them well, fulfilling our vows and always being more diligent!