(Minghui.org) I started to practice Falun Gong in 1995 and throughout the 17 years of my cultivation, words cannot express the care and guidance our Master has compassionately given me. Today I would like to share with fellow practitioners and report to Master what I've experienced in cultivation.

1. How I Progressed in Cultivation While Helping Other Practitioners

Because I was a veteran practitioner who started to practice quite early, I became an assistant. After the persecution began in July 1999, I was arrested four times. The CCP harassment made my family live in fear and under great pressure. I decided to sell my house and live elsewhere, but the authorities soon found me, so I moved again. Later on, due to fear, I was no longer able to study the Fa with other practitioners.

In 2005, through Master's arrangement, I found an elderly practitioner who lived close to me. This practitioner wanted to form a small study group. So, every night both of us read the Fa together at my house. After a while, we felt that this was very good for our cultivation. Other practitioners joined us, and our study group grew from just the two of us to several.

Once, I saw the sharing published on the Minghui website from practitioners who talked about finding those who had quit the practice. I used to be an assistant, so I knew many former practitioners. I felt that I had the responsibility to contact and encourage them to start cultivating again. When I had this thought, Master arranged for several practitioners to find me. None of them were in situations where they could study the Fa.

Many practitioners didn't have time to come out at night for group study but they were relatively free during the day. I decided to organize another session in the daytime. We read Master's lectures during the day and Zhuan Falun at night while sending righteous thoughts on the hour. After doing this for some time, I felt myself improving rapidly in cultivation.

However, I also ran into difficult situations. My mother, who is also a practitioner, got fearful when she saw many people attending Fa-study at my place day and night. She voiced her concerns to my husband who is also a practitioner. My husband was already quite nervous, and as soon as he got home, he lost his temper in front of other practitioners and made trouble for us.

Because I had studied the Fa a great deal, I was given the wisdom to handle the situation. Despite my husband's behavior, I remained calm just as Master taught in “Teaching the Fa at the Conference in the Midwest-US:” “Just by staying unaffected you will be able to handle all situations” as well as in “Pacify the External by Cultivating the Internal” in Essentials for Further Advancements. Consequently I was able to overcome this obstacle.

I realized that the old forces were terrified of Dafa practitioners forming one body, so they encouraged my family members to disrupt our Fa-study. Master told us to form Fa study groups and that no beings or elements are fit to interfere with this. Then why did this interference come up? I looked within myself. My mother and husband showed fear, and when I reflected on my attachments using them as a mirror, I discovered that, deep in my own mind, there were elements of fear. After learning the cause of the interference, I adjusted myself and sent righteous thoughts to clear my field and thoroughly disintegrate the elements of fear. My husband and mother also came to a deeper understanding from the Fa.

Through this incident, I understood that if we don't have an environment for group Fa-study, then we should take the initiative to create one. This is extremely important so we can cultivate and raise our levels together. This is also what Master wants us to do. This period of group Fa-study laid a solid foundation for coordination later as one body of practitioners and helped us improve collectively.

2. Removing My Attachments Through Assisting a Practitioner Overcome Tribulations

Practitioner L in our area stopped practicing after the persecution began out of fear as well as other attachments. She didn't resume practicing until 2008. In April 2012, this practitioner had sickness karma. The hospital said she had heart disease and that if she didn't have a heart transplant, at most she might live for another 6 months. She decided not to have the operation and returned home to study the Fa.

By November her whole body had swelled up. On December 5 at night, we were reading the Fa together at my place. The practitioner's daughter and another practitioner who coordinated local projects came to my house. They came to ask if she could join our group study. She was afraid that her family would take her to the hospital against her will. After a brief discussion with other practitioners, we agreed to let her join our group.

Soon after, she arrived in a car. When she entered the house, my husband was shocked at her appearance. He pulled me aside and said, “She's in such bad shape and yet you bring her to our house? What will we do if she dies?” I said, “Let's help her with righteous thoughts. Things will be all right with Master's protection and the Fa.” Then my husband told her, “You can stay at our house and don't worry about anything.”

By that time, she was so swollen that her skin had cracked open and was bleeding. Her legs, waist, chest, and back were rigid because the skin was stretched taut. Her head and face were swollen out of proportion and she hadn't been able to wear her own clothes for some time. I gave her some of my husband's clothes to wear.

I thought to myself, "This practitioner's body has deteriorated so terribly. It must be the evil persecution. She hasn't studied the Fa for so many years. Surely there are certain Fa principles she is unclear about and the evil has taken advantage of her weaknesses." We read the teachings together with her frequently and shared our understandings. During the day, practitioners from our study group came to my house and read with her. At night, practitioners from other study groups came to my house to send righteous thoughts and read the Fa. We formed a strong whole group.

As a result, there were no less than 24 people at my house day and night, studying the Fa and sending righteous thoughts. This practitioner's understanding of the Fa improved and she regained her appetite. I cooked for her whenever she felt hungry. Due to the severe swelling, she hadn't been able to sleep for several months. My elder sister, a practitioner, held her in her arms and sent righteous thoughts so that she could relax a little and take a short nap. She was very touched. She said, “I must be diligent in my cultivation or else I would be letting down all these practitioners who have come to help me.”

Master purified her body the third night after she came to my house. Fluid seeped out from her ankles and calves. Initially it was just small droplets. Later on it was a steady stream. It was the first time I'd ever seen fluid seeping out of someone's calves. A practitioner who is a doctor came to visit her. He looked with astonishment and said to her, “Only this practitioner would dare to take you in. If you went to a hospital, nobody would accept you. Master is eliminating the fluid in your body from the best spot. This is such a huge amount of liquid. If it went through your bladder, your kidneys would be damaged.” All of us were extremely grateful for Master's boundless compassion. Everyone who participated in helping this practitioner made rapid progress in cultivation as well.

During this time, I got rid of the attachment to cleanliness, which I wasn't aware I had. The towels we used to cushion her feet were all over my house. She left a puddle of liquid behind at every step. By the time she finished eating, a large pool would form beneath her on the floor. None of the practitioners complained about it and quietly cleaned up the mess. There were pools of yellow left behind on her seat. I knew this was urine being discharged from her body. She wasn't aware of what it was and I refrained from cleaning it up immediately to avoid upsetting her. After using the toilet, because she could not turn easily, she would sometimes throw the toilet paper on the floor. I instantly picked it up. I knew deep in my heart that we could not afford to have conflicts between us or else the evil would use this as an excuse to persecute us. I had to take care of her with great compassion.

I also ran into many trying situations during this period of time, but I resolved not to let her know about it. One day, my mother phoned me, saying, “Is that person still at your place? She's so ill, if something happens to her, can you bear the responsibility? If her family wants to take her home, you should give up and let her go back.”

I put down the phone and reasoned with myself. My mother was worried for me. She was being controlled by her sentiments and forgot to look at things as a practitioner. I shared my understandings of the Fa with my mother. I told her, “Our fellow practitioner is in a tribulation--how can we not help her? Should we just wait for the evil forces to take away her physical body? Master said, 'The next person's things are your things, and your things are his things.' ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington D.C Fa Conference")” I wept and my mother said, “You're doing the right thing, I was wrong.” This was the first time I'd ever heard my mother admit that she was wrong.

When the evil saw that this didn't affect me, it used other means. One day my husband came home and told me that his relative wanted to borrow 50,000 yuan. He said that we had to lend to to him or else he would be in financial difficulty. I knew that this relative had debts amounting to several tens of thousands yuan. If we loaned him the money, when would he ever return it to us?

Whatever I have came from Dafa. If he didn't return this money he would owe a karmic debt to Dafa. But if I didn't lend him the money, my husband would be unhappy and might fly into a rage. I could not let anything affect the ill practitioner in our home who was steadily improving, so I agreed to my husband's request. He left happy. Because I understood the principle of not wasting Dafa's resources, Master helped me resolve this matter. In the end, we only loaned him 10,000 yuan, and my husband was very pleased with the outcome.

There was a new practitioner in our study group who had only been practicing for two years ago. She wanted to introduce a girl to Practitioner L's son and asked me if that was all right. I said no because L was in critical situation and could not afford to be affected by any human matters. Whether she was happy or not, these were all attachments and would have an effect on her cultivation.

Because I didn't clearly explain my understandings to this new practitioner she brought up the matter directly with L the next day. Both parties agreed to the arrangement and that night, the son escorted the girl home after Fa study. However, they didn't attend the group exercise.

Practitioner L got upset with her son: “You don't have the environment for cultivation at the university. Now that you have this environment, you don't treasure it.” She started to resent the new practitioner for introducing the girl to her son. Because her heart was moved, she immediately had difficulty breathing. The swelling in her face, which had subsided, returned. All of us began to look at our own attachments. Mother and son also reflected upon their conduct. It turned out that her relapse was an illusion and she could soon breathe evenly again.

Practitioners came to my house 24 hours a day to send righteous thoughts and study the Fa. Whenever I opened the door, I would often see my neighbors who live across from me open their door, too. After some time, other practitioners also commented that whenever they knocked on my door, someone from the other apartment would come out and watch them. My friend who is not a practitioner warned me as well, “You should be careful. Your neighbors across from you said that your apartment is a base for Falun Gong practitioners. You have visitors day and night.” When I heard that, my first thought was to dismiss it as an illusion and not allow people to sin against Dafa.

That night as I was reading the Fa, I noticed that the two young practitioners who were dating would look at each other from time to time while studying the Fa or sending righteous thoughts. I became worried and when I recalled the odd conduct of my neighbors, I thought to myself, “Our energy field is supposed to be pure, but with the addition of so many elements of sentimentality, what if the old forces took advantage of this loophole?" In reality by this time, my heart was moved already.

We were reading Zhuan Falun then and it was my turn to read this paragraph:

“In cultivation and practice one should be in a state free of intention. As long as you focus on cultivating your xinxing, you will make breakthroughs in your level and certainly get things you deserve. If you cannot give something up, isn’t it an attachment? All at once we have here taught such high-level Fa, and the requirement for your xinxing is, of course, also of a high standard.” (Lecture Two in Zhuan Falun)

All at once, I understood the deeper meaning of this paragraph. I should just focus on cultivating my xinxing and not worry about anything else. Master has imparted to us such a profound Fa and of course the requirement for our xinxing should be high as well. In that instant, my heart was like a bowl of clear water. I was very calm and my cells, my existence at a microscopic level, understood the deeper connotations of this Fa principle. I truly felt that understanding a sentence taught by Master is enough to pass a test in cultivation.

That night, I had a dream. Someone had opened the pressure cooker in my house before the time was up. At this crucial moment, I held onto the cooker and shut it tight. I was very grateful to Master for giving me hints out of compassion. If my heart had been moved in this matter, then it would be just like a pressure cooker exploding and it would be very dangerous. At present, practitioners continue to come to my place to share their understandings on cultivation and send righteous thoughts. My house is like a big practice site. One practitioner commented that it was just like the days before the persecution began. Her comment was a great encouragement to me. I deeply understood the importance of harmonizing one body and being tolerant of other practitioners. This also set the scene for our future elevation as well as cooperation as one body.

Practitioner L recovered very quickly in our powerful energy field. Every day one could see her swelling subside from the upper part of her body moving to the lower part. However, it stopped in her abdominal area. Not only that, I saw one of her legs start to swell again. I thought, "What's wrong?"

That afternoon, she spent a long time in the toilet. I saw that she was breathless, choking, her lips turned black, and her eyes were protruding. We carried her from the toilet to the sofa in the living room. She said breathlessly, “These past few days, I've been blaming the practitioner who introduced that girl to my son. I know I shouldn't think like this. This wouldn't have happened if I didn't have any attachments. Initially I thought the girl came from a good family, she had a good job and was a practitioner, too. Hence I agreed to the match. However, I noticed that she was affecting my son's cultivation. I began to blame the practitioner and my son.” As she reflected on her own shortcomings, very soon, she could breathe properly again and her face returned to normal. Her lips were no longer black, either.

This incident left a very deep impression on me. I saw the difference between looking within and looking outwards. Later, every one of us reflected on our attachments. One practitioner said, “She wants to find a good wife for her son. Do we have this attachment too?” I looked at all the practitioners who were present. Including myself, all of us had children in their 20s. Everyone wished to find a good partner for her child. Master had already taught in Zhuan Falun:

“You are unable to interfere with the lives of others, and neither can you control others’ fates, including those of your wife, sons, daughters, parents, or brothers. Can you decide those things?” (Lecture Four)

Thanks to Master, we found our attachment towards our children. The son of Practitioner L also looked within himself and confessed that he had not behaved like a practitioner. He told us the things he did that didn't conform to the teachings of Dafa. I was touched by his words and wept. Listening to him, I discovered I too had many attachments such as fear, being meddlesome, and having a very strong sense of self. I always think I'm right, I care about my reputation, I like cleanliness and other human notions. I'm grateful to Master for letting me dig out these attachments and get rid of them.

Consequently, the practitioner's swelling diminished from her lower back to her kneecaps. All of us experienced the beauty of looking within. It was just as Master said: “For a cultivator, looking within is a magical tool.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference”)

Practitioner L recuperated rapidly, and within a few days, the swelling in her calves and ankles went down.

Through this incident of cooperating as one body, all of us enlightened that cultivation is a very serious matter. If the practitioner's thoughts strayed just a little bit, her life would be in danger. On January 22, Practitioner L and her son returned home happily.

3. Working Together as One Body to Save Imprisoned Practitioners

Over the years, many practitioners were detained in a prison in Northeast China. Some of them were tortured to death there. Those who refused to give up their belief and had finished their terms were taken straight to brainwashing centers by local 610 Office agents who collaborated with the prison. The persecution in these brainwashing centers was even more intense than in prison.

A local practitioner said, “We must not be indifferent towards what is happening to fellow practitioners. Master said in 'Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference,' 'The next person's things are your things, and your things are his things.'” The practitioner said, “In the future, when practitioners are released from prison, we will work together to disintegrate the evil and rescue them. We will not give people the opportunity to commit crimes against Dafa. We won't let the agents take our fellow practitioners away.”

From the beginning of this year we began working together, and because we were righteous, things went smoothly. One day in late April, we learned that two practitioners would be released soon. From past experience, the prison knew that many people turn out when practitioners were released and consequently the 610 Office could not abduct them. This time they planned to release the practitioners at 5 a.m. When we heard about this, we left for the prison at midnight. When we arrived just after 4 a.m., several practitioners were already there, waiting outside the prison gate. We did not chat with each other but focused on sending righteous thoughts silently to eliminate all evil in other dimensions. Several practitioners went to clarify the truth to prison officials, hoping to stop them from getting more deeply involved in the persecution.

Just past 5 a.m., the vehicle from the 610 Office arrived. When they saw many practitioners present, they anxiously made phone calls to mobilize police forces and attempted to carry out mass arrests. The practitioners remained calm. Some came up to clarify the truth to the agents. Others continued to send righteous thoughts quietly. The stalemate lasted for two hours. Around 7:12 a.m., the prison gate opened and the two practitioners stepped out. All of us clapped loudly. Another practitioner came forward to give them a bouquet of flowers. Some even lit firecrackers to celebrate the occasion. Surrounded by fellow practitioners, the practitioners who had just regained their freedom stepped into the car we had waiting. The 610 Office agents couldn't even get close to them. Practitioners shouted at the 610 Office agents: “Falun Dafa is good!”

This was a battle between good and evil, and the evil ended up losing. There were so many practitioners there that the 610 Office vehicle couldn't drive off. They got out of the car and started to take video recordings. We practitioners formed an indestructible body and didn't get anxious no matter what the officers did. After more than 10 minutes, the car used to transport the released practitioners had already driven away and then we left. As we walked away, the 610 Office vehicle sped away. Everyone who took part in this rescue operation was deeply touched.

4. More and More Practitioners Step Forward

In August, I learned that four practitioners would be tried at the same time. They hired lawyers to defend them. I knew this was an opportunity to clarify the truth and save people!

I shared my thoughts with the other practitioners in my study group. Everyone was very enthusiastic and wanted to send righteous thoughts near the courthouse. I made preparations and organized transportation.

The next day when we were about to set off, everyone except for two who had to work showed up. However I had only arranged for one car and there wasn't enough room for everyone. I decided to give my spot to those who had recently stepped forward to do the things required of practitioners.

An elderly practitioner said, “Didn't I tell you I'd like to come? Why isn't there a space for me in the car?” I replied, “In the past, whenever there was an activity that required the participation of practitioners, no one showed up. Now practitioners are taking the initiative to come forward and work together. It's a good thing! Previously when nobody wanted to go, we would go. Now there are others who are willing to be involved and so let's give them a chance.” She said, “Your words reflect your state of cultivation. Why didn't I think of that?” I answered, “True progress comes from letting go not gaining.” We smiled at each other knowingly.

In the end, things turned out very well. The lawyer said, “The judge was excellent. There was no disruption to the defense and I said what needed to be said.” The evil was shocked and sentient beings who listened to the trial understood the facts about the persecution. The four practitioners on trial maintained strong righteous thoughts. Through this incident, everyone learned that, whether or not we were present at the scene, was not important. What's important was that our hearts were together and our efforts were focused on the same goal. Thus the evil had no gaps to exploit.

5. The Changes in My Family

My husband and I obtained the Fa together in early 1995. After the persecution began, because I was imprisoned four times and persecuted, he was scared and for a long time he discouraged me from maintaining contact with other practitioners. He even chased them away when they came to see me. I looked within myself and discovered that I was fearful, too. After I overcame my fear and started a Fa study group in my house, the change in my husband was tremendous. Initially he only allowed one elderly practitioner into our home. Later, practitioners came to my house all the time. Now, whenever a practitioner comes to our house, he offers to drive them home. Day or night, if there are activities that require everyone's cooperation, he enthusiastically participates. He's even told me, “You should try and take part in more group activities.” Everyone's said that the change in him is remarkable.

Furthermore, my son who used to be sickly grew into a handsome young man. He got into an ideal university. Everyone around us praises him as a good person who doesn't smoke or drink.

Nowadays parents complain that it's difficult to teach their children. Master said: “So long as you, a Dafa disciple, do things righteously, you will transform the environment around you, and you will change people.” (“Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005”)

Dear Master, you have given me so much. Some things I know about, some I'll never know. I cannot repay you enough for what you have given me.

Please don't worry, Master. We will do the three things well, cooperate as one body, and improve together.. Regardless of how much time is left, we will surely do what Master wants and herald the moment of Fa rectification of the human world together.

Thank you, Master and fellow practitioners. Heshi!