Seeing Teacher in Person; "Continue Cultivating with Renewed Diligence and Vitality"

(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, there have been so many fellow practitioners writing about their times together with Teacher. I am moved to tears when I read them. It's now almost the twelfth anniversary of the great dissemination of Falun Dafa. During these last twelve years, Teacher's mighty grace has remained omnipresent. I am relating here my past experience with Teacher, for the mutual encouragement of fellow practitioners, as well as to offer another testimony to Teacher's pure nature.

I first saw Teacher during the Falun Dafa workshop that was held from August 20 through August 27, 1994 in Yanji City, Jilin Province. At that time, I was just beginning cultivation from the level of ordinary people, and I was full of modern people's complicated, conventional thinking. I had heard from a friend that Falun Gong was really good, so I was curious and took the train from Changchun City to Yanji City. I remember noticing, while waiting at the Yanji train station for the bus, that so many people from all over the country had come to attend this workshop, and I was amazed at their unbridled enthusiasm. Teacher's workshop was divided into ten separate lectures, each of which lasted three hours. I remember paying 50 yen (1) for admission. Seven yen were later returned to me, which brought the total cost of ten lectures to 43 yen (2). After every lecture, Teacher would instruct us in the exercises. As we practiced the newly learned exercises, Teacher would slowly walk around the entire stadium, checking on us at the same time. That stadium must have accommodated up to a thousand people, but everyone was so quiet, and I could sense Teacher's soft gaze falling on each of us. Every day before class began, many senior practitioners would stand outside the stadium awaiting Teacher's arrival. At the time, I never realized just how precious this time was! During the final lecture, I noticed many fellow practitioners who were of Korean ethnicity wearing their colorful ethnic clothing. After answering all the questions, Teacher gave a sincere speech, and then he suddenly performed a series of hand signs. At that precise moment, my heart felt like something was pinching it. My eyes became warm and tears flowed out as if on their own. I couldn't explain why I was so touched. My immediate thought was that from now on I would have a Teacher.

After returning to Changchun, I studied the Fa and exchanged experiences with many senior practitioners who lived there. I improved very quickly, and significant changes occurred in my body in terms of improved health. At a Changchun City experience sharing conference of a thousand practitioners, in November 1994, a fellow practitioner recalled that during the August workshop in Yanji City, she had observed with her celestial eye how Teacher had purified our bodies and that Faluns were descending upon everyone one like snowflakes. When I heard this, I was moved to tears as I realized how much I had benefited from Teacher, albeit in my utter ignorance.

On December 31, 1994, in Dalian City, I saw Teacher for the second time. By this time, I knew clearly that I was a true practitioner. When Teacher appeared in the stadium, the entire crowd of more than six thousand people gave a thundering applause. Again, tears ran uncontrollably down my face. At this conference, Teacher lectured for over three hours. Having just finished another workshop in Guangzhou City two days earlier, on December 29, Teacher had come to Dalian almost immediately afterwards without any rest. According to records, upon invitation from local qigong research groups and organizations, Teacher traveled around the country and taught a total of fifty-four workshops, each lasting around ten days. Altogether, tens of thousands of people have attended them. On average, there were one or two workshops held each month during those two short years. It's impossible to imagine how much hardship Teacher must have endured! After 1995, there were no more opportunities for most of the Falun Dafa practitioners in China to see Teacher in person. Meanwhile, the great dissemination of Falun Dafa had begun overseas.

On July 26, 1998, Teacher came to Changchun to lecture and answer questions for eight hundred local and regional assistants from all over Jilin Province. Most people had not known that Teacher would be coming. Many of them had never seen Teacher before, while others had not seen him in nearly four years. When he appeared in the stadium, tides of applause began all at once. The applause had no distinguishable rise and fall, no pattern or gaps. It was mingled with practitioners' tears, happiness, surprise and infinite gratitude. The applause lasted for a very long time; such as I had never seen in my life. Teacher asked staff assistants to stack two chairs, one atop the other, after which he sat on them and said, "Today I mainly want to see all of you. Many people also want to see me, so today I sit little higher." That was exactly what everyone truly wanted; Teacher knew our each and every thought. Then he began lecturing as the entire field was enveloped by great compassion. That feeling was indescribable. Filled with happiness and serenity, nobody had impure thoughts. The way the Teacher's chairs were stacked, it was impossible for him to lean back. The lecture table was so low that Teacher could not lean on his elbows. Instead, his arms were straightened against the table. Teacher was definitely not comfortable. Nevertheless, Teacher lectured nonstop for four hours. Some of the practitioners' questions were really bad. They didn't sound like the questions a real assistant would ask. Everyone was worried and little upset, but Teacher patiently answered all of the questions. Under the influence of his field, everyone's inadequacies seemed obvious, yet everyone was filled with complete humility. After the initial session of four hours, Teacher suggested that we take a ten-minute break. As he stepped down from the podium, fellow practitioners encircled him, asking more questions. Before Teacher's tall stature, we all seemed like little kids. Surrounded, Teacher stood still and answered a few questions wearing a smile. Then he went back up to the podium and continued to answer questions for yet another hour. During the entire five hours, Teacher didn't have a single drop of water, nor did he rest for even one minute.

At the end of that day, Teacher said, "I hope everyone will continue cultivating with renewed diligence and vitality..."

1. The yuan is the basic unit of currency in China, where the average monthly salary of an urban worker is 500 yuan.
2. Forty-three yuan equals approximately $5.20 USD.

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