(Minghui.org) Greetings esteemed Master and fellow practitioners!
When I recalled my cultivation journey, I realized that Master was beside me at all times. He helped me solidify my belief, which was instrumental in my getting through the severe persecution.
I am 70 years old and stepped on my cultivation path in 1997. Before I became a practitioner, I suffered from many illnesses, including inflammation of the inner wall of the abdomen and kidneys, as well as bronchitis. By age 50 I had become an invalid.
Finding Falun Dafa
When at a neighbor's house in 1997 I saw the book Zhuan Falunon her table. She explained that the book talked about cultivating Buddhahood. I only had one-year of elementary education, and one could call me illiterate, yet I picked up the book.
When I opened Zhuan Falun I saw Master's portrait, which looked so familiar. Then I saw the words, which to my surprise were jumping and spinning. I kept on turning the pages, even though I could only recognize a few words. Before I finished the first page, all the words started to rotate, and I felt that everything around me was rotating. Although the rotating did not make me feel dizzy, it scared me, and I put down the book out of fear.
At home, I remembered that feeling and wondered what kind of book that was. It was so amazing. When I returned to my neighbor's house she invited me to a group Fa study.
At the group study, I could not read, but I listened. Although some of what was said was confusing I felt great brightness in my heart. I felt like a child who had been lost for a long time and finally found her mother. I told myself that I had found my Master and that I would follow him.
I went to different group studies and a cultivation sharing conference. Although I never stepped out of my small town, I never got lost.
The attendees came from all walks of life,. They were workers, government officials, military officers, and farmers like me. I just could not hear enough about Dafa, and wished that I would not have to stop listening.
Miracle of Learning to Read
A senior practitioner learned that I was illiterate, so she told me her story of learning to read, which encouraged me.
“I once fell asleep with Zhuan Falun in my hands,” she told me. “I saw a big bowl of noodles on the table, and when I looked closer, all the noodles had become words. Then, the words turned back into noodles. I felt strange, and thought, 'I am illiterate, so why don't I eat the noodles.' I did, and then woke up. After I woke up, I could read every word in Zhuan Falun.”
I was amazed, and decided to learn too. I knew that Master would help me.
After attending experience sharing conferences, I made great progress in cultivation, and had become a completely different person. It was the most important period of my entire life.
Spreading the Good News
After I returned home, I decided to tell people about Falun Dafa, so that more people would benefit from it. I was not a social person, but I talked to people in my and nearby villages about Dafa, and told them that I became a healthy person after I practiced. More than 100 people in my village began practicing Falun Dafa.
Master said:
“Dafa is being spread far and wide. Those who hear about it are looking for it. Those who have obtained it are delighted with it. The number of cultivators is increasing daily and becoming countless.” (“Seeking Discipleship with Teacher” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I spent all my free time studying the Fa. I went to group Fa study at night, and studied at home by myself after I was done with my household chores. My husband and children taught me to read unfamiliar words. It took only six months for me to read Zhuan Falun and other articles by Master.
Extraordinary Experiences
One night, I saw a giant Falun covering my yard and rotating at the height of my house, nine times clockwise and nine times counterclockwise. I called my husband, but he could not see anything. I then realized that only genuine practitioners could see it. I continued to see Faluns.
On my way to group Fa study, I saw a beam of light shooting out of my forehead, like a flashlight brightening the path for me, and realized that Master had opened my celestial eye. Master said:
“...it is also difficult to practice cultivation with the Celestial Eye open, and it is harder to control your xinxing well.” (Zhuan Falun)
Since I did not have a profound understanding of the Fa, I was worried that I would be interfered with by the things I saw through the celestial eye. So I asked Master to close it.
Persecution Can Not Destroy a Solid Belief
Master said:
“A Great Enlightened One fears no hardshipHaving forged an adamantine willFree of attachment to living or dyingHe walks the path of Fa-rectificationconfident and poised”(“Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions from Hong Yin Vol II).
After the communist regime launched the persecution in July 1999, government officials and law enforcement officers came to harass me every day. Sometimes they came three times a day, trying to force me to give up my faith.
1999: Tortured Relentlessly
Police officers broke into a practitioner's house in September 1999, when we had a group Fa study. All seven of us were arrested. As they thought I was the head of the group, I was tortured.
They slapped me, punched my head, and kicked me, creating bruises everywhere. They did not stop until I passed out. They then poured cold water over me.
I was handcuffed with my arms behind my back, and tied up. They then stepped on my back, and pulled my hands up above my head until I passed out. They also put a snake into my clothing, and left it there for over ten minutes.
The head of the Communist Party committee ordered police to beat me at night, while they forced me to run around outside in bare feet during the day. The gravel road made my feet bleed, but they hit me with bamboo sticks if I stopped. I was tortured like that for four days and three nights.
I refused give up my faith, so they hired a brutal thug. I was told that everyone agreed to whatever he asked. They locked my legs together, stretched my arms open, and tied me to a steel frame.
“I never offended you,” I said, “and you don't have any beef with me. I didn't do any bad deed. All I want to do is to practice my belief. If you beat me, you will face retribution.”
“You don't have to worry about me,” he responded. “My job is to beat you. Tell you what, no one ever refused to give in after I handled them.”
He caused me tremendous pain and I passed out twice. He poured cold water over me and then continued beating me. When I woke up the second time he asked me if I wanted to practice something else.
“No,” I said. “I only want to practice is Falun Dafa. I solidly believe in Master Li Hongzhi.”
He continued beating me. When I could not hold up my head he grabbed my hair and begged me to just say that I would quit practicing Falun Dafa.
I said with a weak voice, “I will keep practicing as long as I am alive.”
His hand shook, and then he released my head and left. I never saw him again.
Master said:
“If a cultivator can let go of the thought of life and death under any circumstance, evil is sure to be afraid of him.” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
“Cultivation is hard. It’s hard in that even when a terrible calamity strikes, even when evil madly persecutes, and even when your life is at stake, you still have to be able to steadfastly continue on your path of cultivation without letting anything in human society interfere with the steps you take on your path of cultivation.” (“Path” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
The persecutors knew that I would not give in to physical torture, so they tried insulting me in public. They put me and two other practitioners on a truck, and tied our necks to a rack, with our arms handcuffed behind our backs. A sign was attached to each of our chests, which read, “Falun Dafa Trouble Maker.” They drove the truck around town and nearby village for a day. Before releasing me, they extorted 2,000 yuanfrom my husband.
2002: Exposed to Cold Weather and Turning the Table
Officers from the county 610 Office broke into my house at noon one day, when I was taking a nap, and took me to a brainwashing center. I was tied to a tree for the entire cold night. The guards wore thick winter clothing, but I was wearing only long Johns and slippers. I was held in the brainwashing center for a week, until my husband paid them 5,000 yuan.
During one winter night in 2002, I tried to make a fire for the pregnant pigs I was raising. The head of the Communist Party committee, with a group of people, knocked on my door.
“We saw smoke raising from your pigsty,” they said, “so we wanted to see if you were committing suicide, like the guy in the self-immolation case in Beijing.”
I thought, “This is a good chance to talk to them about Dafa.” So I took them to my pigsty. They realized what I was doing, and tried to leave. I told them that the self-immolation case was fabricated by the communist regime to slander Falun Dafa.
“All you do is either lie or bully people,” I said loudly so my neighbors could also hear. “You have beaten me badly and extorted money from me. You will meet your retribution, because heaven is watching. Do not come to my house anymore.” This was the last I saw of them.
No Difficulty Will Stop Practitioners
I started talking to people about Dafa when the communist regime began the persecution. Wherever I go, I carry Dafa informational materials with me. I tell people about the persecution, and the Dafa principles “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” I tell people not to believe the lies by the communist-owned media that slander Falun Dafa. At night, I often go out to put up banners and posters in nearby villages.
At the peak of the persecution, my husband was worried about my safety. He locked the gate, so I climbed over the fence. One night, it was snowing, and I fell and hurt my feet. My husband then understood that he could not stop me, so he quit trying to stop me. The injury became a good thing.
Learning to Write
Since the book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published, many practitioners have tried to convince Chinese people to quit the party.
Master said:
“For this reason, all Dafa disciples, students both new and veteran, should get to work and begin comprehensively clarifying the truth. This is especially so for the Dafa disciples in mainland China: each must come out and clarify the truth, bringing it to every field and valley, mountain and hill, not omitting a single area where there are people.” (“Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World’s People” from The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III)
Many people wanted to quit the Party, and told me their names so that I could publish their announcements. But I could not write. I could only remember at most five names at a time. This spurred me into learning how to write, and I asked my husband to teach me. I studied very hard. He praised me for my good memory. I knew that Master gave me the wisdom to learn.
When people told me their names, there were still many words I could not write. Sometime I asked them to write down their name, but sometimes they were in a hurry, and I could not always bother others.
I asked Master to help, “Master, please help me. You see, so many people want to quit the Party. I will forget their names if I don't write them down.”
When I subsequently picked up the pen it seemed as if somebody was holding my hand and writing down the names. My husband said that the names were written correctly.
If I forgot to bring paper with me, I wrote the names on my arms and legs, and transfered them to paper when I got home. My husband was amused when he realized what I was doing. He said that I studied much harder than his students.
“I am a Dafa disciple,” I said. “How can your students compare to me?”
Harassed for Filing Lawsuit Against Jiang Zemin
Many practitioners have filed lawsuits against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime, since 2015, for launching the persecution.
However, my lawsuit documents were not mailed out by the county post office. One day, five officials from the county Procuratorate and court came to my house with a video camera turned on. They asked me rudely if I had filed a lawsuit against Jiang. I told them that I had the right to sue him, after all I was tortured.
I thought, “This is a good chance to tell them the facts. If it wasn't for this chance, I wouldn't even know where to find you guys. Today, you come to my door. I must save you.” So I told them how I had been tortured, and the truth behind all the lies used by the Party to slander Falun Dafa.
I also tried to convince them to quit the Party. Although they did not quit, some of them agreed with me on the issues. Upon leaving, the head of this group said, “Jiang Zemin is too brutal. He should be sued.”
People told me later that the county court and Procuratorate planed on visiting several practitioners, and I was the first one they visited. But after talking to me, they did not harass any other practitioners.
A few days later, a group of police officers from my town came to my house. The police chief said politely, “Don't worry. This is just a formality.” I took the chance to talk about Dafa. I told them many heads of the murderers involved in the persecution had fallen, and more than 200 thousand Falun Dafa practitioners had filed lawsuits against Jiang. They listened quietly, and left without asking any questions.
I was told that they were ordered to take me to a brainwashing center, but none of them could do it. In the last few years, I have talked to them multiple times, and they all know the facts.
When I submitted a list of several hundred withdrawals from the Party, a fellow practitioner asked me how many people I had talked into quitting the party. I responded that I never took a count. I go out every day to talk about Dafa and ask people to quit the Party.
When things go smoothly, I can convince up to 40 people to quit every day. However, when I face problems, only up to 20 people will quit the Party.
Practitioners’ Activities Recorded by Divine Beings
When recalling my cultivation journey, I often tell my children that a book could be written about all I have experienced. In other dimensions, divine beings have recorded our journeys of helping Master rectify the Fa. Master has also been watching us, and he knows about all the difficulties we have overcome.
I know very well that compared to what Master has done for us, our difficulties are nothing.
“His True Body is youthful with a boundless lifespanBeyond all space and time, He governs cosmic lawsHe teaches Heaven's Way to rescue the firmamentHe alone has borne the karmic debts of all beingsThe abundant debts formed huge ordealsHis hair turned gray and His body was harmedWhen Fa-rectification is fulfilled, His Divine self will showHis immense grace shall awe the Ten Directions”(“To the Original State” from Hong Yin III)
Master has endured so much for his disciples and sentient beings. The only way for us to show our respect and thankfulness is to strive forward diligently, do the three things well, and save more people.
