(Minghui.org) I started to practice Falun Dafa in the summer before seventh grade in 1998.
My mother brought home a copy of The Great Way of Spiritual Perfection. Curious, I looked through it, and the photos of Master Li Hongzhi demonstrating the exercises caught my attention. Sitting in front of a large mirror, I taught myself to do the exercise movements.
As a young child, I’d enjoyed watching The Journey to the West TV series. The series was based on a well known Chinese classic novel of the same name. I was most attracted to the mythology and the main characters.
I wanted to meditate just like the characters in The Journey to the West. My mother was very happy that I was interested in doing that. Together, we joined a group doing the Falun Gong exercises in our village.
When my third eye opened, I saw Falun (Law Wheels) flying around us and scenes from other dimensions. It was truly magical.
Even though my understanding of the Fa teachings was rather vague, I knew we needed to endure hardships, be tolerant and good, and improve our xinxing. It was a happy time for my mother and me. I considered myself a fortunate child because I was able to find answers to all my questions in the Fa.
Master Protects Me
Like many students who live in small villages, I had to go to a nearby city for secondary school. I lived at the school beginning in the seventh grade. I took the bus home on weekends, which took about an hour.
The roads from the city to my village were not paved and so dust stirred up by the vehicles made for poor visibility.
On the bus in the summer of 1999, I heard a loud noise that sounded like something being crushed, and our bus suddenly stopped. Another bus had plowed into the back of our bus. One person, sitting in the last row, died at the scene. Two others were badly injured and were transported to a hospital by ambulance.
I was sitting in the second-to-last row. I was unhurt except for a small cut on my left arm from a piece of glass. The one-centimeter scar on my arm reminds me of what happened that day and that Master protected me from harm.
Letting More People Know about Falun Dafa
Other practitioners and I went to many weekend markets in nearby towns and villages to tell people about Dafa. We often encountered several hundred people in one day. I was responsible for introducing Dafa to children.
I enjoyed doing the Falun Gong exercises and often found quiet places during the day to do the exercises while I was at boarding school. After my roommates went to sleep, I sat on my bed in the lotus position and meditated. My grades were good. Schoolwork was easy for me, so I had plenty of free time to study the Fa. On the weekends, I joined other practitioners at group activities.
Those were the most wonderful days of my life.
The Interruption
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the brutal persecution of Dafa in July 1999. Many practitioners, including my mother, were arrested.
My mother hid our Dafa books and reminded me to not saying anything if asked about Dafa.
I was under tremendous pressure, especially after my mother was detained. My father had to go to work, and my sister was only two. None of us knew what to do. I was afraid to tell my teachers and classmates what had happened at home.
For some time, I was confused and depressed and I began to slack off in my Fa study. But whenever I saw Faluns and scenes in other dimensions, I would think about Master. This encouraged me and I started to clarify the truth about Dafa.
I put up a poster about Dafa on our school bulletin board, which was soon torn down. The administration even talked about this incident at a school meeting.
To let more people know that Dafa was being wrongfully persecuted, I left information pamphlets at various places for people to take.
Becoming Diligent Again
As an adult, work and my family kept me busy. The influence of ordinary society pulled me away from Dafa. I stopped cultivating and clarifying the truth.
One day, I suddenly had a pain in my back. My doctor recommended surgery, but I knew only Dafa could help me.
I picked up several Dafa pamphlets and read each one carefully. Reflecting on how I had cared so much about money and material gain over the previous few years, I recognized Master was trying to awaken my consciousness through sickness karma.
My mother reminded me often to not forget about Dafa, but I never took her words to heart. This time, I thought about the beautiful memories I had of being a diligent practitioner. Then I thought about my present situation—and my future. I knew how fortunate I was to return to cultivation. Gradually, my back pain went away.
The three things are again the center of my life. To make up for lost time, I started memorizing Zhuan Falun. Reading Zhuan Falun as an adult gave me an understanding of the book that was different from when I was a teenager. What seemed vague in the past became clear, which solidified my confidence and righteous thinking.
From teenager to adult, I witnessed Dafa’s magic, but I also experienced ups and downs on my path of cultivation. Dafa is more precious to me than ever. Cultivation is a serious matter. As Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period, in addition to being diligent ourselves, we are also responsible for saving sentient beings.
