(Minghui.org) I am a veteran practitioner who started practicing Dafa in May 1997. In the past ten years, I was persecuted many times. I was detained in a brainwashing center seven times and in a detention center three times, my home was ransacked eight times, and I lived at home under surveillance three times over a three-year period.
Because I did not study the Fa diligently, my cultivation experience was very tough. I stumbled from time to time on my path. Every time I was persecuted and encountered difficulties, compassionate and great Master protected me, gave me hints, and led me all the way to today.
Improving Xinxing Amid Conflicts
In April 2011, Zhou Yongkang, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Political and Legal Committee, came to our city and launched a mass persecution campaign against practitioners. His people arrested nine Dafa practitioners who they targeted as “backbone figures” and filed as “big, important cases.” I was one of them.
At the brainwashing center, they mixed unknown drugs into my food. I felt drowsy and walked unsteadily. My thinking became unclear after I ate. They pretended to be nice to me and confused me. I cooperated with the evil in moments of weakness.
One day, a division chief of public security defamed me and said I handled secret documents. He blamed the person who was supposed to watch me. I suddenly thought of Master's Fa:
“Poison is just poisonous, and if you want it to stop being poisonous it can't do that.”(“Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference II)
All of a sudden, my mind became clear. I asked for pen and paper to write a solemn declaration. They refused to give them to me. I shouted, “I solemnly declare that all my words and behavior inconsistent with Dafa to be void and nullified. I will practice Dafa steadfastly.”
They were both angry and scared. On the same day, they transferred me to another brainwashing center, where I never cooperated with their evil orders. Before I was released, they told me to sign a document and pay my bail of 5,000 yuan. When I refused, they threatened me—“You don’t want to go home, do you?”
I replied, “I shouldn't be here at all.”
As soon as I returned home, I wrote a solemn declaration and exposed the evil persecution on the Minghui website.
What followed was a bigger tribulation. The city domestic security division ordered me to appear in court. I refused and negated their persecution. I didn't attend the hearing. I explained the facts about Falun Dafa to the court officials who handled the case. Finally, they removed me from the list of the nine practitioners and their “big case.”
This aroused suspicion about me from some local practitioners. Rumors soon spread everywhere about me and made me feel very bad. An elderly practitioner who believed the rumors criticized me out loud. She asked why I went to the material production site so frequently and asked me not to go to her home anymore.
I felt wronged and was miserable after hearing her words. I was feeling bad already for not doing well during the persecution. Misunderstandings and rumors among practitioners added more pain and pressure to my morose mood.
I suppressed my pain and said to the elderly practitioner, “If anyone suspects me, they should tell me in person. I will not hold any hatred in my heart against anyone. It's all right as long as Master knows how I am.”
I shared understandings with practitioners about whether it was necessary for me to write a solemn declaration again. They said it was unnecessary. I also realized that I was looking outward and wanted to cut corners. I needed to look inward and improve my xinxing amid conflicts. I calmed down and studied the Fa.
Master said,
“Forbearance is the key to improving one’s xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator.” (“What is Forbearance (Ren)?” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
“So from the student's perspective, when other students don't trust you, don't stubbornly go against them. It's not a bad idea to avoid the issue a little bit, as that way both sides have less psychological pressure on them.”(“Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference VI)
When I read the above Fa principles, I saw the light and no longer thought of defending myself. I decided to follow the course of nature and study the Fa more. I strengthened my righteous thoughts. I began to eliminate the evil elements that tried to disintegrate our one body and block my cooperation with local practitioners.
I looked inside to identify my attachments, such as the combative mentality, complaining, hatred, dependence on others, and not being kind to other practitioners. I continued to go out to tell people the facts about Falun Dafa. I cooperated with practitioners in a harmonious way and constantly rectified myself according to Dafa’s principles. The gap among local practitioners gradually diminished.
Several practitioners have apologized to me in recent years. They said they should not have suspected me and realized they had hurt me. I really admired their broad-mindedness and appreciated how Master helped me dissolve the gap between me and local practitioners. Thousands of words are condensed into one sentence: Follow Master's words.
“In this final hour of the Fa rectification, cultivate yourselves well and solidly every step of the way and accomplish your mission of saving people.”(“To the Fa Conference in France”)
I want to express my sincere thanks to some practitioners. Even though I hurt them, they were very concerned about me. They never cared about personal gain or loss, complained, or expressed any hatred. They were generous and tolerant and always helped me remove conflicts and misunderstandings between me and other local practitioners.
Family Members Are Everywhere
Master said, “...everyone in the world was part of my family.”(Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference)
“Dafa disciples are shouldering the historic responsibility of saving sentient beings.” (“To the Fa Conference in Japan”)
During these years, as I told people the facts about Falun Dafa, I really felt that my family is everywhere in this world, waiting for me to save them.
Elderly Man and His Family Understand the Truth and Quit the CCP
At a park one morning, an elderly man in his eighties suddenly fell and lost consciousness. His wife kept pinching his philtrum while saying he was incontinent and looked as though he was dying.
Many people nearby just stood there looking at the couple but kept their distance. I went over to the elderly man immediately, lay on my stomach, and stayed close to him. I told him to say silently, “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
He immediately belched three times in a row. Gradually, his face changed from black to a rosy glow. He began to regain consciousness. People who watched seemed very surprised.
The following day, while I was telling people the facts about Falun Dafa in the same park, an elderly woman told me with surprising joy, “The family of that elderly man you saved (actually it was not me but Master who saved him) yesterday are looking for you everywhere.”
I told her I would find them.
I learned that the elderly man was in a hospital. I purchased some fruit and went to see him. I met his family and other relatives and friends in his ward. They were very grateful to me. The elderly man was moved to tears. He held my hands as though I was a relative who he hadn't seen in a long time.
I told him and his family the facts about Falun Gong and its persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I said that, if anyone among them was an official, he or she should treat Falun Gong practitioners kindly and would then be blessed. The elderly man's daughter-in-law was very surprised and said, “Your eyes are so sharp! My husband is the president of so-and-so hospital.”
I explained how important it was to quit Communist Party. The elderly man's daughter-in-law took my pen and paper and called out to the relatives, “Quit! Quit! Let's all quit!”
Elderly Woman Sees Miraculous Change Learning the Truth
As I was walking on the sidewalk one time, a thin, small elderly woman ahead of me stumbled, fell down, and was not able to get up. I walked over to her and told her to stay calm. I asked her to say with me, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance is good.”
She couldn't pronounce the words clearly at first. After a while, I held her arms and helped her to stand up.
At that moment, two women approached from an opposite street. They were very surprised at what they saw. “You are so bold and also elderly. You should not be seen doing such a good deed. Newspapers have reported similar situations. What happened afterward was the person who was saved defamed the good person who offered help and even demanded compensation from the good person.”
“I was only thinking of how to save people, nothing else,” I said.
I explained to them the facts about Falun Gong and gave them some informational materials. They both quit the Communist Party and its youth organizations. I asked the elderly woman where she was going.
She told me she had stumbled several days ago, hurt her arms, and decided to go to the hospital. I asked if she wanted me to take her to the hospital. She immediately replied, “There’s no need. My arms are fine, and I’m not in any pain. It's true. I thank Dafa and your Master. Dafa is really miraculous. I will definitely tell all my family to recite 'Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.'”
Migrant Workers Stay Safe
After another practitioner and I told several migrant workers about Falun Gong, they all agreed to quit the Communist Party. They told us they were working in a construction field and were exposed to risks.
They liked listening to the facts about Falun Gong. They asked us to join them during lunch and on rainy days when they stayed inside their shed.
We went to meet them in their shed. They were very glad to see us. I told them the facts about Falun Gong. Three migrant workers shared their good feelings after quitting the Party. They said they recited “Falun Dafa is good” and, as a result, were very comfortable and healthy, and everything went smoothly at work.
They pointed at another worker who did not recite “Falun Dafa is good” or quit the CCP. His leg was injured. That worker said with shame, “I will recite 'Falun Dafa is good' right now and quit the CCP immediately.”
Another practitioner and I later returned there and brought the injured worker nutritious soup that helped him recover quickly. He and other workers were all very touched. When he went back home, he took with him Dafa information and DVDs.
Telling People About Dafa at a Hair Salon
While I was telling the manager of a hair salon about Falun Dafa one day, a young lady called out to me, “Grandma! Grandma!”
I turned toward her, and she smiled shyly, “Oh, I got the wrong person.”
I smiled and said, “No, you didn't. We have a predestined relationship.” Then, I told her the facts about Falun Gong, and she gladly accepted what I said.
Letting Go of Sentimentality, Resentment, and Hatred
I have met many kinds of people along my journey and have accepted all of them as my relatives. Unfortunately, I am ashamed that I held resentment and hatred toward my own son.
He was sickly since birth. He suffered an intestinal obstruction at nine months old and survived a complicated surgery. During that time, I worked in a suburban area and had no experience of how to take care of myself, much less how to care for a small child, so I asked my mother-in-law to help me take care of my son. His grandmother and aunt spoiled him and gave him anything he wanted. Gradually, he became temperamental and spent time with disreputable characters.
He lived with me after he married. When he had a job, he was very wasteful and had no savings. After he was laid off, he depended on my pension to survive. Now in his forties, he still didn’t work.
He just played around, was very stubborn, and couldn't be criticized. When I criticized him a little, he would argue with me. I tolerated his behavior at first, but he has always been the cause of my anxiety. I gradually developed resentment and hatred of him. I did not speak to him in a good way. I always wanted to use my own ways to change him.
My son blamed me: “You said the CCP is not good. Actually, I don’t like it either, but I feel that sometimes you speak the way same as the CCP.”
I calmed down and identified my thoughts that contained the CCP culture. I am his mother, so I thought it was natural and right to criticize him. I didn't take myself as a practitioner when I encountered conflicts. I didn't care about him from the bottom of my heart. As a consequence, family conflicts dragged on for a long time. This pained and tired me.
Master said,
“Those who are attached to affection for family will definitely be burned, entangled, and tormented by it. Pulled by the threads of affection and plagued by them throughout their lives, they will find it too late to regret at the end of their lives.”(“Cultivators’ Avoidances” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I changed my notions and was no longer attached to affection for family. I now regarded him as just another person who needed to be saved. I treated him kindly from the bottom of my heart, and his attitude soon changed.
One day, he forgot to turn off the gas before he left home. I saw it and shut it off when I returned home. I called and spoke to him calmly. I asked him to be careful and to stay safe.
“I took several calls before leaving home,” he explained, “and forgot to shut off the gas. I’m sorry.”
He apologized to me again after coming back home and said he would be more careful in the future.
My son changed because I practiced genuine cultivation, rectified our home environment, and dissolved our enmity. Only by letting go of my affection for family could I cultivate well and have compassion for all sentient beings.
