Returning to the Origin of My Life

I am 72 years old. When I was in my early 40s, I suffered all kinds of illnesses with the worst being rheumatism. I hurt everywhere, from head to toe, and could find no relief. I was disabled and could not go up or down stairs without being in pain. There were times when I could barely walk, and sometimes I fainted and fell down. I sought help at every hospital I could think of and took a lot of medication three times a day. Years passed without any relief. Because of the pain I became extremely irritable. I often thought about the meaning of life and if there was a way to keep me free of pain.

1. Finding the Truth of Life

"A long, long time--ten thousand lifetimes of predestination, Dafa, like a thread, strings them together" ("The Path to Divinity is Difficult" from Hong Yin II (version B))

In April 1999, true spring came into my life. One day a customer, a Falun Dafa practitioner, came to our barbershop, introduced me to the spiritual of practice Falun Gong, and invited me to join a nearby exercise site. This practice helped me find the truth about our existence for the first time in my life and gave me hope.

The next day, I obtained the main book of the practice, Zhuan Falun; a CD with the Changchun and other lectures; and the exercise instruction CD. I was illiterate, yet when I first held the book Zhuan Falun, Dafa's magic power manifested and I could recognize every character. Tears wet my face, and I felt unspeakable gratitude towards Teacher.

From that time on I went to the exercise site in the morning and evening. I did the exercises and studied the Fa with fellow practitioners. I spent all my free time doing the exercises and reading the Dafa books. Only one week into the practice, the rheumatism that had tortured me for years was gone. I no longer was in pain, my entire body felt relaxed, and I was filled with energy.

All my family members, relatives, neighbours, and co-workers witnessed the marvel of Falun Gong through me. They admired Falun Gong and no one prevented me from practicing it.

2. Falun Dafa Dissipates the Fog

After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, practitioners lost contact with each other. I felt immense loneliness. But, I was certain about one thing: the Dafa taught by Teacher is the real Dharma, the universal truth, which one might not encounter in tens of thousands of years. Nothing would prevent me from practicing Falun Gong.

Despite the endless false propaganda against Falun Gong that was disseminated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) media, I continued to do the exercises and study the Fa diligently. It did not take long for the Chinese Communist Party secretary and security personnel from my workplace to come to my home and demand that I hand over all Falun Gong books. I asked them, "Don't you know how important these books are to me? My life was restored by this Dafa. You all know about my serious illnesses before practicing Falun Dafa and now I no longer have to depend on any medication. It is Dafa that saved my life. These books are more precious than my life! You can take my life, but not these books." They left and never returned to ask for the books.

During the years after Falun Dafa was banned, I felt sad and alone. I could not find any practitioners. I had not read any of Teacher's new scriptures and did not know the overall Fa-rectification situation. Sometimes I became so anxious that I cried. But, I continued to read Zhuan Falun and Teacher's earlier lectures, did the exercises every day, and asked Teacher to help me find other practitioners. I told my relatives, friends, and colleagues that Falun Dafa was good, as could be witnessed by the changes in me after practicing. I asked them to not believe the CCP's media slander about Falun Gong.

One day, shortly after the 2004 Chinese lunar year, I took my grandson to a park. There I ran into two practitioners distributing materials clarifying the facts about Falun Gong. The minute I saw the materials I became so excited that I couldn't hold back my tears. Holding the practitioners' hands I could not say a word for a long time. My grandson got frightened and asked, "Grandma, what's wrong with you? What did these two elderly ladies do?"

I immediately asked these practitioners to give me a lot of informational materials, so I could distribute them and make up for all the time of truth clarification I had missed. The practitioners left their phone numbers and told me that they would provide me with more materials later. I sincerely thank our great and compassionate Teacher that I had finally found fellow practitioners!

3. Catching Up

Meeting these practitioners made it possible for me to participate in group Fa study again. We read Teacher's new scriptures and exchanged our understandings. After I read the new scriptures, truth-clarifying materials and the Minghui Weekly, I realized that fellow practitioners did so well in following the Fa-rectification process. They did the three things (study the Fa [the teachings of Falun Dafa], send forth righteous thoughts and clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and about the persecution to the world's people) well. I recognized the big gap between them and me. I made up my mind that I had to become a qualified practitioner, so Teacher wouldn't worry about me. I would step forward to help Teacher save sentient beings and do everything a Fa-rectification period practitioner should do. I had no special aptitude, so I decided to distribute materials.

At the beginning when distributing the materials, I was a little afraid and not very confident. Sometimes I met up with people who did not understand what I was doing and said some bad words. I did not argue with them. I thought that their attitude was because they did not know the facts. Once their misconceptions about Falun Gong were cleared away, they would no longer badmouth the practice.

One day when I gave a leaflet to a young lady, she threw it on the ground and said, "You are so old and still do what the CCP does not allow you to do. I'd like to report you to police!" My heart really hurt terribly for her, and I quickly picked up the leaflet. I said, "Do not throw these materials on the ground. All of them were produced by Falun Gong practitioners to save sentient beings with their own money. They are really good for your future. And you should not believe the CCP lies. You need to think of yourself and your family. You must have heard or seen all the natural and man-made disasters. These are omens that heaven will eliminate the evil CCP. After you read these materials, you will understand the truth. If you make the right choice, Buddha will take care of you, keep you safe from disasters, and you will have a bright future. I am already white-haired and would not deceive you." She quietly listened to me and accepted the leaflet. She apologized and thanked me. I told her, "Do not thank me. This is the compassion that my Teacher holds for all sentient beings!"

On another occasion, I gave a middle-aged man some materials. He accepted them and looked at them. Then he said, "I have read your materials about Falun Gong and also believe them. I am a public security bureau chief and have not persecuted Falun Gong. I respect all practitioners." I was deeply moved. Our fellow practitioners have done so well. They have already sown the seeds for a bright future in the hearts of these sentient beings. He also told me that he had quit the CCP. I was really happy and said, "You understood the truth and have quit the CCP. You will have a happy future."

Another time when my husband and I went for a walk, I noticed a plastic bag on the ground. I picked it up and found quite a few documents inside. I thought that its owner must be very anxious, so I called a local police station, and they found the owner. It belonged to a young man who hadn't realized that he had lost his bag. When he heard that someone had picked up his stuff, he was deeply moved and called me. Two days later he came to my house to pick up his bag. He presented a check and said, "Everything is still inside, even the 1,000 yuan. I am so grateful to you. I would have had to spend at least six months to re-apply for the documents in that bag. They are very important to me. " He insisted on giving me the 1,000 yuan. I told him, "Son, I don't want the money. I am a Falun Gong practitioner. My teacher taught us to be good and practice Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. If you really want to thank anyone, please thank my Teacher." He was deeply touched and returned two days later to my house with a lot of fruit. He told me that he was the captain of a Special Police Team. He sincerely thanked me again. I said, "All Falun Gong practitioners are good people. You should treat them nicely in the future. Do not participate in the persecution. Falun Gong teaches people to be kind. Please help Falun Gong if you can. " He nodded and said that he really understood that from my actions. He would treat Falun Gong practitioners well.

Since 2004, regardless of the weather, I have distributed truth-clarifying materials almost daily. I hand most materials to people directly. I distribute fliers, copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, Shen Yun Performing Arts show CDs, and other materials. Sometimes I talk to people about Falun Gong. Occasionally I have met up with people who held misconceptions about Falun Gong and said something bad. I remain calm at all times. More and more I am able to do the three things well. I firmly believe, "As a Fa-rectification period practitioner, I cannot shirk my responsibilities or slack off from assisting Teacher to save more sentient beings. I also clearly understand that it is Teacher who does everything. Teacher has given me so much. What I need is to cultivate more diligently and do the three things well, so that I will not be unworthy of Teacher's compassion and the great title of "Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple."

4. Being Firm in My Belief in Teacher Helps Me Overcome Tribulations

At the end of May, as I was walking down a street, suddenly a stocky middle-aged man threw me to the ground. Immediately I felt as if my backbone had cracked. A sudden extreme pain made me cry out. I asked Teacher for help, as I had to return home. I sat on curb for more than half hour and then had a difficult time standing up. Then, my grandson appeared. With his help I could return home. I lay down on the bed and then could not stand up again. In my mind I asked Teacher, "Please save your disciple! I have to assist you in saving sentient beings. If the tribulation is what I owed others, I will repay what I should repay. If it was persecution from the old forces, I absolutely do not recognize it."

That evening, I persevered in doing the five exercises despite being in pain. The next morning, despite the pain, I got up early to practice the exercises and read the Fa, holding Teacher's words in mind "When it's difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it's impossible to do, you can do it. " (Zhuan Falun) This went on for four days. On the fifth day, I went out to distribute materials. I walked like a hunchback and had to stop every few yards until all the materials were distributed. On the ninth day, I could again go to the bathroom. After I came out of the bathroom, I felt as if I had changed into a totally new person. I was without any pain. All my family members and neighbours were surprised at how fast I recovered! It was simply inconceivable! Again, they all witnessed the miracle of Falun Gong!

Throughout the past ten years on my cultivation path, I have enlightened to many Fa truths. It was not easy. Without Teacher's compassionate care, I could not have taken a single tiny step. If there had been no encouragement and support from fellow practitioners, I could not have managed.

I would like to thank our compassionate Teacher and my fellow practitioners for being there when I needed them most. I will continue on my cultivation path and stride forward even more diligently and more firmly!