(Minghui.org)
How I Became a Practitioner
I was living on my own when I began to cultivate in Falun Dafa. I often slacked off and was afraid to talk to people about the practice. I have been catching up with the progress of Fa-rectification, and coordinating with practitioners to save sentient beings. I know that Master has been watching over me every step of the way, and I feel His immense compassion. I would like to share my experience with fellow practitioners.
My sister gave me a set of Falun Dafa books in the spring of 1999. I skimmed through them and only remembered three words – Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and that it teaches people to be good. The persecution began at the time when I wanted to learn the practice. It was like reliving the Cultural Revolution. I thought perhaps the government would allow people to practice years later, and I would do so then. So I put the books in a box and placed them on top of the wardrobe. I waited six years.
My sister and a practitioner visited me in the Spring of 2005, and invited me to do the exercises with them. I did, and had the symptoms of a cold three days later. The practitioner said that it was a good sign, as Master was cleansing my body. She said that I would be OK and didn't need to take any medicine. I followed her suggestions and was fine two days later. She also told me to read the Dafa books often. I took my books out of the box, and read them from cover to cover.
My sister was later illegally arrested and sentenced for practicing Falun Dafa. I cultivated by myself but didn't know anything about the three things. I was afraid that people would find out that I was practicing, so I slacked off for a long time. After my sister was released from prison, I met many practitioners through her. They shared their understandings with me, and I realized that I had to be more diligent in my cultivation. I began to read Master's lectures and practitioners' sharing articles on the Minghui website, and realized that I was falling behind. I thought, “This is such a good practice. Why am I afraid of telling people about it?”
My Husband and Sister-In-Law Became Practitioners Too
My husband works as a driver in another city, and has cervical osteoarthritis from sitting for long periods of time. He has sought treatment from western doctors and Chinese medicine healers, but to no avail. When I told him about the health benefits of Falun Dafa, he wanted to give it a try. He listened to Dafa music and Master's lectures, and after doing the exercises a few times, his illness disappeared.
My husband said to his sister, “You have the same illness that I had. Why don't you learn the practice with my wife? She has not taken any medication over the past few years and lives a healthy life. I've only done the exercises a few times and all my ailments are gone.” My sister-in-law asked me to teach her, so I let her watch Master's lectures on DVD. A few days later, when I asked if she'd finished watching them, she told me that her family didn't want her to practice and that they had said disrespectful things about Master. I then asked her to return the DVDs if she was not going to learn the practice.
After watching Master's “Fa-Teaching Given to the Australian Practitioners,” I realized that I was not being compassionate towards my sister-in-law. She complained to me one day that the pain in her neck was unbearable and that if she played badminton, it would alleviate the pain. I said, “I told you to do the exercises but you didn't want to.” She immediately replied, “When did you ever take the time to teach me?” I realized that she was right. I was not serious about saving her. I brought Master's lectures and the exercise DVDs to her house. We watched them and did the exercises together.
My sister-in-law had diarrhea the next day. I told her not to worry because Master was cleansing her body. When we did the meditation exercise one day, she joyously told me that her neck was feeling much better now. She was able to experience the joy of good health shortly after learning the practice, and said to me, “What took you so long to teach me the exercises? I've suffered a long time and spent a lot of money to treat my illness.”
After that, we worked well with each other to clarify the facts to our friends and relatives. My sister-in-law is very articulate and good at talking to people about Dafa. Gradually, twelve of our friends and relatives started to practice. I gave them Dafa books, copies of Minghui Weekly and downloaded Dafa music and news from the Minghui website for them. We cultivated well and improved our xinxing together.
Although our friends and relatives are new practitioners, they understand the urgency of saving sentient beings and help us put up truth-clarification posters. One time, my sister-in-law suggested that we stick the posters onto traffic signs, so that the drivers could see them. We put a few stools in the car and drove around town. When we found a traffic sign and put a stool below the sign. I climbed on the stool but could not reach the sign at first. I asked Master to help me. I extended my arms very high and was able to stick the poster on the sign. My sister-in-law was surprised that I could reach that high, but I knew it was Master that helped us accomplish the task.
Making Truth Clarification Materials
My sister used to provide us with all of our truth clarification materials. She lives far away, and it was not always easy to go to her place. So I thought about making the materials myself. I didn't have a job at the time, and we depended on my husband's income. Just when I decided to buy a printer, my husband's employer made excuses to withhold his pay. We didn't have enough money to cover our basic living expenses. I told my husband not to worry. I didn't realize that the bad elements were interfering with us to prevent us from saving sentient beings.
Master must have seen my heart of wanting to save people. Very soon, my sister gave me an old printer and a DVD burner that a practitioner didn't need. The printer had been repaired several times, but it still worked. My sister taught me how to use the printer and DVD burner. I took notes on how to burn DVDs, print booklets, and put truth-clarification messages on currency and DVD covers. She taught me many things, but I couldn't remember all of them. At first I made many mistakes and forgot how to perform certain tasks. I thought that no matter how hard it is, I want to do it right. And I knew I could do it because Master is always guiding me.
I followed my notes and searched the Minghui website for instructions. Master gave me hints and wisdom, and I finally learned how to print the materials. I made beautiful booklets, desk calendars, currency bills with truth-clarification messages on them, and Shen Yun Performing Arts DVDs. I couldn't believe that I had made all of them! My sister was quick to comment, “The old printer is now a printer with new functions. And you've learned new technologies that I don't know.” It is like what Master said, “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master” ( Zhuan Falun ). Master and Dafa are the ones saving sentient beings. Miracles will happen as long as we have the heart to save them.
When one of the local material production sites was destroyed by the authorities, the coordinator asked me to provide materials for them. I didn't hesitate and agreed to help. But they needed more and more materials, and I didn't have enough financial resources to cover the expenses. I discussed the situation with my husband, and we decided to live more frugally so that we could save extra money to make the materials.
Master probably saw that I was not enlightened and led me to an article on Minghui. The article was about how a practitioner negated the old forces' arrangement to persecute him financially. I suddenly understood that we were being persecuted by the old forces. Therefore, I sent forth righteous thoughts to completely negate it. My husband's employer stopped withholding his salary and even gave him a raise. When I had righteous thoughts, the financial persecution was quickly dissolved. I bought a new printer and an all-in-one copier, and was able to produce truth-clarification materials much faster.
Although making truth-clarification materials is hard work, I feel that it is my responsibility and I'm at peace with it. Practitioners and I coordinate well with each other, and I try to make as much materials as they need. We harmonize with each other and maximize our capabilities to save more sentient beings.
