(Minghui.org) I am an 81-year-old retired high school teacher. I began to practice Falun Dafa in May 1997. At the time, I suffered from a number of illnesses, including chronic gastritis, hypoglycemia, hypotension, coronary heart disease, and cerebellar atrophy (for which there was no cure). Yet after practicing Falun Dafa, all of my illnesses vanished! In other words, Dafa gave me a second life.
Since I was little, I always pondered the meaning of human life. From Falun Dafa, I now understand that the purpose of life is to return to one’s original, true self. Dafa provides us a ladder to heaven; I am so lucky to be able to practice Dafa!
Witnessing Dafa's Miracles
I learned the Falun Dafa exercises on May 21, 1997. The next day, I joined a seminar, which played video recordings of Master Li Hongzhi's (the founder) lectures. Master opened my Celestial Eye after the second lecture. I had a vision the practice site was a battlefield from an ancient time; I even saw how the soldiers fought!
One day, Master showed me the three words - “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance” - in the sky, a sign that I should follow these principles. On another day, I saw the big bang of the universe. Master also let me see some of my reincarnations from different lifetimes – I had been a girl, a boy, and a tortoise.
I understood Master was telling me it was no accident that I learned Dafa in this life. Indeed, it was arranged tens of thousands of years ago. I have waited for this moment for ages and must treasure this opportunity!
My wife and I worked in the same school and learned Falun Dafa at the same time. My wife's severe rheumatic heart disease and my illnesses, including coronary heart disease and cerebellar atrophy, all disappeared within two months.
That July, we joined a tour trip organized by the school. Our colleagues were so surprised to see both of us, who used to have trouble breathing after walking a few steps, climbing with ease to the top of the Diecai Mountain in Guilin. “Falun Dafa is a miracle!” they exclaimed.
During the early days of our cultivation, my wife and I memorized one new article of Master’s every night before going to bed. One night, the new article was rather long, and my wife said it would take longer than usual. I said that I would memorize it after three times of reading.
After we read it three times, my wife asked me to recite it from memory. I did without a single mistake. “I did not know your memory is so good!” She was surprised.
“It's not my memory.” Tears came to my eyes. “Master displayed the entire article for me in another dimension. I was just reading!”
Master will always help you when your heart is in the right place!
One summer night, as we left the practice site after a group Fa-study, something suddenly dropped from a tree, gently landed on my head, and fell to the ground. I picked it up - it was my house key! I had forgotten the key at the practice site, and Master brought it back to me!
All the fellow practitioners who witnessed the incident were amazed: “It's miraculous! Master is so kind!”
“Long Live Falun Dafa!”
Master said:
“Cultivation comes ahead of practice. Cultivation is in the first place while practice is in the secondary place.” (“Lecture in Sydney”)
Master also told us clearly:
“One’s gong level is as high as one’s xinxing level,” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
I would like to share some incidents of following Master to let go of my attachment to fame and personal gain:
At the end of 1997, our school announced that the Board of Education would increase salary for a dozen key teachers, chosen from the more than 200 total in the school. All teachers applied for this increase except for my wife and me. The school principal asked us why we did not apply when both of us were almost certain to be chosen. We said that Falun Dafa taught us to be unselfish and always consider others first. The principal was touched, telling us that he would learn Falun Dafa after he retires.
In August 1998, massive floods occurred in certain Yangtze River areas. My wife and I donated all our earnings from our summer’s work teaching. An officer in the Flood Control Headquarters asked our names when we made the donation. We simply replied:
“Our name is Falun Dafa!”
During the floods, the practitioners at our practice site took turns going to the flood prevention embankment, bringing workers food and drink. The emergency relief staff asked for our names and we said, “Our name is Falun Dafa!”
They declared: “Long live Falun Dafa!”
Improving My Character
Master said in Zhuan Falun:
“As practitioners, you will suddenly come across conflicts. What should you do? You should always maintain a compassionate and calm heart. Then, when you run into a problem, you will be able to do well because it gives you some room as a buffer. You should always be benevolent and kind to others and consider others when doing anything. Whenever you encounter a problem, you should first consider whether others can put up with this matter or if it will hurt anyone. In doing so, there will not be any problems. Therefore, in cultivation you should follow a higher and higher standard for yourself.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
During one class, I noticed a student put her head on her arms on the desk and did not pay attention to my lecture. I thought she had fallen asleep, so I intentionally called her name and asked her a question to rouse her. To the whole class's surprise, instead of being embarrassed or apologizing, she stood up and shouted angrily, “I did not listen. I don't know the answer!”
Blood rushed to my face. I had not seen a student lose her temper like this in all my years teaching! The student would have been severely punished if I informed the school leaders of the incident. At that exact moment, I heard a voice in my head: “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.”
It was Master's voice. I immediately calmed down and said gently, “Sit down please. I will talk to you after class.”
When the bell rang, I walked toward the student. The entire class stood up, holding their breath and watching. Her desk mate said quickly, “Teacher, she (the student) heard this morning that her best friend from middle school drowned while swimming. She is really upset.”
I was shocked and felt ashamed that I had called on her to embarrass her.
“I'm so sorry,” I said. “I saw you leaned over on your desk as soon as I entered the classroom. I should have come to check if you were okay. I did not care about you enough.”
She cried and replied, “I'm sorry, teacher! I should not have shouted at you. You are not angry at me, are you?”
I comforted her and asked the class president to lend her the class notes. I also offered her to come to talk to me if she had any questions about the class materials in the future. Several students were moved to tears.
The next morning when I entered the classroom, I saw three pots of flowers on my table. They were brought to me by the student from yesterday's incident. When they saw me, all of the students stood up and said in unison, “Teacher, you are so kind! Thank you!”
Never have I felt so honored by my students!
I replied to the class: “To tell you the truth, I made mistakes yesterday. I failed to discover the problem in time. Instead of comforting your fellow student, I called on her with the intent to embarrass her. It was terrible, and I am really sorry.”
“I have only seen teachers criticizing students. You are the first teacher I have ever seen to say sorry to a student,” one student said while standing up, wiping away tears.
“You are so kind, teacher!” the class shouted again.
My eyes were wet too. “I am able to do so because my teacher taught me this. I practice Falun Dafa, which cultivates ‘Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.’” I wrote the three words on the blackboard.
“Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” I told all of them.
Master's Protection
One day in June 1997, one month after I started practicing Falun Dafa while I was teaching a class, lightning flashed and thunder roared outside. Suddenly, a bright flash of lightning entered the classroom through a window toward me. It had come to take away my life, I could feel it. As the lightning was just about to hit me, it made a sudden turn and went for a student. It whizzed around the student's head and left the classroom through a window on the other side. A loud thunderbolt followed right outside the window. The students screamed. I closed my palms in front of my chest, thanking Master for saving us.
I explained to the students that I was a Falun Dafa practitioner, and that we had all just witnessed Master's protection. It was a Falun (law wheel) that made the lightning turn away at the last moment. My students joined me in admiring Dafa's awesome power.
In the spring of 1999, I participated in a group cultivation sharing conference. It finished at around eleven o'clock at night. There was no public bus running that late, and there was no way to hail a taxi in the remote area. It would take me about three hours to get home on foot. The gate of the district I lived in would close in half an hour, at 11:30, so I held a simple, firm thought: I must be back home within thirty minutes.
I walked as fast as possible. I noticed that the buildings around the road were not the same as I had seen when I was coming by bus. Without really knowing what was happening, I suddenly found myself at the gate of my district. I looked at my watch: The time was 11:10. Wow! It had only taken me ten minutes to walk home! It was merciful Master who had sent me home swiftly and safely!
As long as we truly cultivate, Master is always watching and protecting us every moment! Thank you Master!
