(Minghui.org) While cultivating Falun Dafa, I once took a wrong turn. However, merciful Master did not abandon me and continued to protect me. In 2006, I became blind in my left eye. However, I overcame the difficulty and continued to clarify the truth.
Besides that, although in my 60s, I learned to use a computer and make telephone calls in an effort to explain the facts of Falun Dafa to others. I tried my best to save sentient beings.
In March 2012, I also lost the sight in my right eye. Completely blind, I was unable to study the Fa and had to stay home all day, which prevented me from telling people about Dafa.
I Still Cultivated and Did the Three Things Well
I knew in my heart that Falun Dafa was good and that I would continue to cultivate. I also realized that the old forces persecuted me to minimize my willpower, and to prevent me from studying the Fa and saving people. I knew that I still had Master to take care of me. I told the old forces that they did not have any control over me and that I would only do what Master arranged for me to do.
My husband is also a practitioner. Every day he reads two lectures from Zhuan Falun to me so that we can study the Fa together. After that, we study Essentials for Further Advancement, new articles, and other lectures Master has given. My husband downloads the Minghui Weekly and experience sharing articles so that I can listen to them.
Studying the Fa Helped Me Cultivate Through the Tribulation
When I first became blind, many practitioners visited me. Some came from over 30 miles away. One of them held me and cried. I said, “Why are you crying? Look, my situation is not so bad.”
She replied, “You need to look within. You must have some human notion or attachment that has not been cast off and you have been taken advantage of by the old forces.” Other practitioners that could not visit me sent messages urging me to reject the old forces' arrangements and search within.
During that time, I felt desperate and hopeless. My husband had to do all the household chores as I was not able to help him. I told him, “I can take no more.” My husband calmed me down and said, “You are Master’s disciple. With Master and the Fa, what is there to fear? I will take good care of you.” I continued listening to Master’s lectures, such as “Fa-Teaching Given to the Australian Practitioners.” Many quotes were helpful to me.
Master said:
“This is something I often say: once you take up Dafa, whatever it is you encounter--good or bad--it is a good thing (applause), for it came about only because you cultivate in Dafa. Some students experience all sorts of hardships after taking up Dafa. If you didn't cultivate, those tribulations would lead to your destruction. But precisely because you do cultivate in Dafa, even though the pressure you face is great when the hardships come at you earlier than they would have, and the tests of your xinxing are tough to pass--and sometimes the tests may be huge--when all is said and done, those hardships are all things you need to overcome, they are accounts you need to settle, tabs that you need to pay.” (“Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005”)
Master also said:
“‘Tis not that the journey of cultivation is painful,
Karma from generation upon generation is blocking you.
Steel your will,
eliminate karma,
cultivate xinxing,
And become a Buddha who keeps forever the human body.”
(“Cause and Effect” in Hong Yin)
After reading this Fa I felt relieved. I understood that I owed karma after my many reincarnations. I must pay off these debts through tribulations, even though I am a Falun Dafa cultivator. After I finish paying my debts, I will be able to follow Master home. When I thought about that, I no longer felt bad. Instead, I felt as if I were the luckiest person in the world!
My Cultivation State Becomes Unstable
But this tribulation was difficult for me. and my cultivation state became unstable.
One evening my daughter came home from work and found me in a bad mood. Instead of calming me down, she criticized me, “Every day Dad studies the Fa with you and fellow practitioners visit you. You also could go to the Fa-study group to study and communicate with others. You even have the MP3 recordings from the Minghui website articles to listen to. Compared to the cultivators who cultivate alone in a mountain cave, are you suffering?”
I knew it was Master using her words to enlighten me. I then recalled Master’s Fa:
“Be resolute cultivating Dafa, the mind unstirred
Climbing in levels is what’s fundamental
Faced with tests, a person’s true character is revealed
May you Consummate—
a Buddha, Dao, or God”
(“True Character is Revealed” in Hong Yin II)
One evening, while listening to the experience sharing articles written by fellow practitioners, I found an article titled, “Is Cultivating Suffering?” Compared to those practitioners who were forced to leave home and move from place to place and those in prison, was I really suffering? I decided that I was not. My husband studies the Fa with me, does the exercises with me, and takes care of my daily needs. It was the human notions and attachments that I could not let go of that made me feel like I was suffering. Master told us:
“Did you know that in order to save you the Buddha once begged for food among everyday people? Today, I once again make the door wide open, and teach this Dafa to save you. I have never felt bitter for the numerous hardships I have suffered. Then what do you have that still can’t be abandoned? Can you bring to heaven the things deep down inside that you cannot let go of?” (“True Cultivation” in Essentials for Further Advancement)
I increased my time to do the sitting meditation from two hours to three hours with both legs crossed. I always paid attention to sending forth righteous thoughts. I realized that, in order to pass this big tribulation, I not only have to do the exercises well and send forth righteous thoughts, but I also needed to study the Fa well.
As Master told us:
“The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.” (“Drive Out Interference” in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Seizing the Opportunity to Save More People
The Shopkeepers
My husband once went to a trade fair and was given an advertisement offering silk bedcovers on sale. I called the store to inquire about it. The owner was very polite and gave me a wholesale price. My husband went to buy the bedcovers and got them for an even better price. He went back a second time to buy more, and the price was reduced again. I thought about how the salesperson had voluntarily reduced the price, which meant she was a person with a predestined relationship with me. I discussed this with my husband and we agreed that we should not miss this opportunity to save someone.
My husband prepared Shen Yun DVDs, truth-clarifying materials and Falun Dafa pins and took me to the store. The owners treated us like long lost family members. The wife saw that I was blind and kindly helped me sit down. I told the woman that I had come to bring her good fortune and peace and inquired if she had heard about quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. She said Falun Dafa practitioners in her village had told her about it. I asked, “Have you quit?” She said she had not and asked me, “Is it important?” I assured her that it was and let her listen to a recording of an overseas Falun Dafa practitioner convincing a policeman to quit the CCP. She listened very carefully. After the recording ended, I asked her if she understood. She indicated that she wanted to quit the CCP. The woman's husband also wanted to quit.
Next, I showed her the Shen Yun DVD and said, “This is Shen Yun, a world-class show.” I told her to frequently recite, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I explained to her that, by reciting these, she would receive good rewards.
A Broken CD Player
The CD player that I used to play the exercise music had some problems, and a man helping do some job for us offered to fix it for us for free. After he left, I told my husband, “Where in the world could you find such a good person? The first time he visits us, he offers to fix our electronic device. He must have a significant predestined relationship with us.” Several days later, as we were going to visit him, we prepared the Shen Yun DVD, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and other materials for him. I told my husband, “Please bring Hong Yin III. That man is very good. I would like to see whether he has the predestined relationship to know Buddha Fa or not.”
We brought the gifts with us and found his house. He was very friendly as soon as he saw us. I asked him directly, “Have you heard about quitting the Party? The CCP is very corrupt and has caused both natural and man-made disasters. If you quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations and recite 'Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion- Forbearance is good,' when the CCP is destroyed by heaven, you will be OK.” I said, “Let me help you to quit them, OK?” The man and his wife both agreed. I gave him the materials and Hong Yin III and inquired, “This is a new book that my Master published recently. Do you want to read it?” He accepted the book with both hands and with a very respectful attitude. I felt glad for them from the bottom of my heart. These are clearly people with predestined relationships who had come to find us.
Letting Go of Attachments and Progressing in Cultivation
Master said:
“The paths of cultivation are varied
But none is outside the Great Law
When one is attached to nothing
The path underfoot is naturally smooth”
(“Unimpeded” in Hong Yin Vol. II)
For a year, whenever our Fa-study group went out to tell people about Dafa, I would stay home to send forth righteous thoughts. We tried our best to cooperate and help each other to save more people. Meanwhile, I cast off my attachment to dependence. When my husband was very busy, I could also make DVDs and wrap the materials. When he went out to hand out materials, I could stay home and help him by preparing a simple meal. I also did some household chores, including washing clothes and cleaning the floor. Although it was difficult, I wanted to try my best to do it better.
It is our great Master and Dafa that granted me a second life! No matter how hard a situation may be, I will firmly cultivate Dafa and save sentient beings. In conclusion, I would like to quote Master’s poem to encourage fellow practitioners as well as myself in cultivation practice.
“Be resolute cultivating Dafa, the mind unstirred
Climbing in levels is what’s fundamental
Faced with tests, a person’s true character is revealed
May you Consummate—
a Buddha, Dao, or God”
(“True Character is Revealed” in Hong Yin II)
Category: Improving Oneself
