Returning to Cultivation, Starting from the Basics

I started to practice Falun Gong in July 1997 after I happened to see an elderly coworker reading Zhuan Falun, which she recommended. When I started to read it, I liked it very much. I felt blessed because this is where I began my cultivation journey under the guidance of the Fa, which has the utmost purity, truthfulness and compassion.

After beginning the practice, I had boundless energy and could go non-stop. After work and household chores, I spent time studying the Fa and doing the exercises. I also regularly joined the group Fa-study and group exercises. The sickness karma was constantly being released but I was determined to persist. In the end, my body was purified and I had no illness. I was very energetic every day and felt very good in both mind and body.

On July 20, 1999, the Communist regime started to persecute Falun Gong and the cultivation environment deteriorated. Although knowing the wonderfulness of Dafa, I felt powerless. I was unable to discipline myself according to the standards of a Dafa disciple. I also put my Dafa books in a place where I considered it to be safer. After a long time of detour, my Xinxing (character, heart and mind nature) level dropped and I began to have illnesses again. Sometimes I recalled the wonderful days of cultivation, but I did not know what to do and just continued life every day as an ordinary person.

Being lost, during the Autumn of 2006, a fellow practitioner found me and gave me new lectures from Master as well as some truth-clarification materials. With these materials at hand, I had hope in my heart again. It was a fellow Dafa practitioners' sincerity that led me back to the path of returning to my origin.

When I took out the book of Zhuan Falun again, I had mixed feelings of regret and anxiety. My cultivation at home was also different from that prior to July 1999. Because of the poison by the Party culture and the slandering media propaganda, my husband--who used to have a good temperament--now became furious.

I realized that this was a test on my path of cultivation. Were it to happen in the past, I would not tolerate it and would even be tougher than him. With righteous thoughts, I told him not to defame Dafa since it was Dafa that taught me to assimilate to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Dafa can save good people and will help improve morality. Again and again, he could not win the debate. In the end, he gave up and no longer tried to argue with me on that subject. But I knew he had not fully understood yet.
I kept studying the Fa and doing the five sets of exercises every day. After one month, my body was purified again and I regained energy. No matter how much work I did, I no longer had the feeling of weariness. All the illnesses were gone. I knew Master did not give up on me--a wayward practitioner. I also knew I needed to be more diligent.
Gradually, seeing the improvements in my health and demeanour, my family had to acquiesce and my husband also changed his attitude. Things had changed towards a positive direction. Meanwhile, I realized the importance of Fa-study and began to recite the Fa. In the beginning, my progress was a bit slow and I had difficulty concentrating. After sending forth righteous thoughts and looking within, it became more and more smooth. Every day, I made good use of my time and was able to recite the Fa while doing household chores. In this way, I was able to recite several pages daily and at the same time the household chores were taken care of.

On day after returning home from work, I hurried to cook a meal. Then I remembered the paragraph I was reciting in the morning had two sentences that I still did not memorize yet. So I stopped everything and went to retrieve the book. As I was opening the book, a warm current passed from my head to my arms then my hands. I was very touched by Master's boundless compassion. Faced with this compassion, I realise I am only a very tiny being and I have no excuse for not being diligent. Being able to practice is a result of a karmic relationship and is also a blessing. It is indeed fortunate to cultivate Dafa in this human world during this period.

Because of the miraculous changes in me, most of my relatives began to practice again. The elderly ones are healthier and the younger ones are becoming better people. My entire family is bathed with the blessing of Dafa. My son used to be against my cultivation and now he tries to dedicate some time to recite Hong Yin together with me. My nephew, who used to be a naughty child, became a good boy after practicing the cultivation. He works hard in school and is much more mature than before. In the past, the parents were nervous whenever they were contacted by his teacher. Now, the teacher often praises him. Dafa can change everything.

When it came to doing the three things (clarifying the truth, study the fa and sending forth righteous thoughts), in the beginning, I had the attachment of fear. I did not dare to clarify the truth to strangers and did not clarify the truth well to my friends and relatives. Sometimes when seeing no progress, I was very upset. Then I realized it was because of my attachment of fear. If a practitioner does not clarify the truth, how can he be considered a Dafa disciple?

Therefore, I went to a nearby shopping market for about half an hour every day. On the surface, I went there to shop. When meeting some acquaintances, I explained the facts to them including the staged Tiananmen Square Self-immolation incident, media propaganda, as well as the benefits I received from Dafa. For those who had heard the truth already, I gave them truth-clarification cards to carry. For elderly people or those with limited education, I talked about natural disasters as well as about karmic retribution for evildoers. For peasant strangers that I had not met in the past, I used one-yuan bills to buy groceries. I bought groceries in small amounts so that I had opportunities to interact with more people. In this way, whenever going out, I was able to save more people. When people accepted truth-clarification cards, they were normally grateful and I was also happy for them being saved.

I have done rather poorly compared to the many outstanding practitioners. I will regard the Fa as teacher and do well in every word and action. By cultivating and starting from the basics, I will make the best use of the remaining time to cultivate diligently and do the three things well.