By a Falun Dafa Practitioner in Tangshan, Hebei Province

(Clearwisdom.net) Since the persecution began on July 20, 1999, Jiang's regime has carried out an unprecedented violent persecution of Falun Gong and its practitioners. Suddenly the dark clouds blocked the sun, and lies and rumors spread everywhere. It was as if Falun Gong and its practitioners were pushed towards a deathtrap. All through China people's minds were poisoned by the lies, and the Chinese people held deep hostility and hatred towards Falun Gong and its founder. "Self-immolation," "killing people," and other deceptive lies were deeply imprinted in people's minds. Once a person mentioned "Falun Gong," everyone connected it with the "self-immolation," "killing people," "poisoning people" and "cultivation insanity." As soon as Falun Gong practitioners were mentioned, they were referred to as mentally ill and retarded. I was also deceived.

Because of the media lies, I once said to my wife, who is a practitioner, "Stop practicing. If you become insane, you are going to kill me and our son." But my wife said, "That's nonsense, Falun Gong is about improving oneself and becoming a kind and good person. We do not kill or commit suicide. Those committing such crimes are not practitioners." However I could not set my heart at ease, and I watched her at all times. Later my wife was arrested and taken to the local police station twice, and once to a brainwashing center. This brought deep mental agony to our child. After this, I opposed her practicing even more. Our son and I watched her all the time. We did not let her read the book or practice the exercises, and we did not allow her to communicate with fellow practitioners. When I saw her holding the wheel (the second set of exercises), I moved her hands down. When I saw her meditating with legs crossed, I moved her legs down. I lost my temper and cursed, and every time she tried to tell me the truth, I would not listen. I also slandered Dafa.

At that time, our relationship was very tense and we often quarreled. I once said, "If you continue to practice, we will get divorced." She said, "I will still practice if we get divorced!" Another time I said to my mother-in-law, "Advise your daughter not to practice any longer. Otherwise it will affect our child's future. If she loses her job because of this, I won't support her. Then we will have to divorce." My mother-in-law replied, "If you divorce her, I will take my daughter in. I will feed her and we will practice together!" I was angry and upset for a long time.

Later, because my wife tried to introduce Falun Gong to others at her workplace, she was reported to the local police station. The policemen asked me to watch her. After I went home, I lost my temper. I swore and said to her, "If you continue like this, I suggest that you leave our home. I will live with our son!" From that point on, I was impolite to my wife's fellow practitioners when they visited her. I made sarcastic comments and made them leave. I did not let her answer calls from other practitioners, and hid her Falun Gong cassettes and books. I did not allow her to read, nor did I let her go to the market to meet other practitioners.

Thinking back, our family did not have one happy day. We quarreled almost daily. In the end, I had no choice but simply said, "It's fine as long as you don't go out and make trouble for me." With time, I noticed the improvement in my wife's health. Seven to eight of her chronic diseases disappeared. She did not take medicine for an entire year. Moreover, she became gentle and tolerant. She treated my mother and family really well, and my family thought highly of her.

During Chinese New Year of 2003, my wife, son and I went home to spend the New Year there. My wife had a fever and coughed after returning home from being tired. I tried to persuade her to take medicine but she said, "Don't worry about me, I will be fine by reading books and practicing the exercises." In the beginning, she coughed a lot. Later she gradually stopped coughing. The next morning, the fever had disappeared. She was fine, washed many clothes and cooked lunch. I felt it was a miracle!

In the winter of 2004, I brought my mother to my home for the winter. My mother suffered from more than thirty years from chronic tracheitis, pulmonary emphysema, and had developed heart disease from lung disorders. During winter, she could not stop coughing and suffered asthma. She had to take anti-inflammatory and other medicines to relieve her cough and asthma. Before she came to my home, she had already been on herbal medicine for a while, and yet she breathed heavily. After she arrived, I told my wife, "Give my mother fluids for several days." But my wife said, "Why not let mother practice the exercises with me. Medicine is only a temporary solution and is not a permanent cure, but practicing can make people healthy." I was uncertain, "Let mother try for three days, if she does not get better, give her fluids." My wife agreed. On the third day after my mother began listening to Teacher's lectures, she vomited black liquid several times. After that she immediately felt her chest was no longer blocked up. She could breath much easier and there was no longer the asthmatic noise. I was very happy and suggested that she practice with my wife. I now believed in Falun Gong from my heart. Later, my wife told me, "As long as you sincerely think that 'Falun Dafa is great' and 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good', you will be healthy, have good fortune and longer life, and remove disaster and minimize adversity." Therefore, I began continuously thinking such thoughts on my way to work.

Three days later, when I was on duty, I suddenly felt that my chest was stuffed up, my heart fluttered, and I had a hard time breathing. I was suddenly fine after six hours. I did not know what was going on. After I went home, my wife told me that I had a good predestined relationship. Teacher was taking care of me and purifying my body. I now wanted to read the book to see what was written in there. After the first reading, I had not understood much. I simply felt the principles in the books were very different from ordinary books. After I finished reading the second time, I became more peaceful and my thoughts were quite pure. After the third reading, I understood that in the book one finds Buddhist doctrine and principles. I also understood why people live in this world, what's the meaning of life, and how a person should live. From then onward, my heart was touched. I held one thought in my heart, "This is what I am looking for! Cultivation is the path that I truly must take. I must cultivate!"

I stopped smoking that month, got rid of the unhealthy habits of playing mahjong and cards, and my addiction to drinking. In addition, I watched my every word and deed and I really felt that I was reborn. During that time, chronic enteritis, short sight, beriberi, heart disease, rheumatism, stubbornness, neurasthenia and so on that affected me for many years all disappeared without a trace. I also felt that my body was light. It was as if I walked off the ground. I really felt extremely happy. Sometimes I half joked with my wife, "Why did you not lead me to this practice earlier! It would have been great if I had understood it a few years earlier."

However at that time I only did personal cultivation. I told my wife not to tell anyone else about my practice, otherwise I would stop practicing. One night, I was enjoying the cool weather outdoors, when a female employee next door loudly asked me, "Are you practicing Falun Gong now?" I became afraid and cursed. Afterwards I regretted it very much. I was not "compassionate" and "truthful." I also had not realized that this was to help me abandon my fear. When I talked to relatives and friends about the goodness of Falun Gong I always used my wife as an example, but I did not mention that I also practiced. In the beginning, I only read Zhuan Falun, and ignored the other books. Later, with help from fellow practitioners, I started reading Teacher's lectures and new articles. I also read Minghui Weekly. That is when I truly realized that Dafa practitioners are not only cultivating for personal consummation, but assisting Teacher in rectifying the Fa by clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings. Then I finally understood why so many veteran practitioners risk their lives to distribute materials, post flyers, hang banners and go to great efforts to tell people the truth. It is to save sentient beings who are in the maze, who have been deceived by the lies and will be brought into the bottomless abyss by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). After I realized this, I joined in practitioners' experience sharing and telling people the truth face to face.

I first told my colleagues, relatives and friends about the mental and physical benefits I derived from practicing Falun Gong. I advised many people to quit the CCP and any of its subordinate organizations. One time a security guard at my workplace said, "I heard you are practicing Falun Gong? You tell many people about it? You should just practice by yourself, why publicize it? Don't let me catch you!" I said, "What's wrong with practicing Falun Gong?" I was going to tell him the truth, but he quickly walked away. Because of continuous Fa study, I felt that the responsibility to save sentient beings is too big and the time is too tight, moreover, we can't limit ourselves to clarifying the truth face to face, but also need to distribute materials to save people on a larger scale. I began to hand out materials. One time my wife and I went to a nearby village to hand out materials. Before we left, we sent forth righteous thoughts several times. My wife asked me, "Are you afraid?" I calmly replied, "Afraid of what? I am a practitioner, a god, how can a god fear humans?" Under the effect of righteous thoughts, we quickly finished and returned. Afterwards my wife asked me again, "You really aren't afraid?" I answered, "I'm really not, as long as we believe in Teacher and the Fa, there is nothing to be afraid of!"

In early July, I went to my hometown to celebrate my mother's birthday. I thought that this was a great opportunity to introduce Falun Gong and clarify the truth. Therefore, I took hundreds of truth-clarification materials with me. That night I distributed them in two nearby villages. I finished one village and was going to another one, but lost my way. I did not know how to enter the village. Then I sent forth righteous thoughts with one palm in front of my chest thinking, "Eliminate the evil interference and damage. I must deliver these material to people with predestined relationships." I also asked Teacher to strengthen me. I suddenly saw a cat walking in front of me. I thought to follow this cat. Wherever the cat went, I also went, and I walked halfway down the street, made a turn and found the road I was looking for. Then the cat disappeared. I instantly felt warm in my heart and understood that merciful Teacher had helped me. I felt very confident and held more righteous thoughts. Teacher is beside me. He protects me at all times. What excuse do I have for not doing the three things well? In this way, under the effect of righteous thoughts and protection of Teacher, I distributed all the materials. It was just like what Teacher said:

"When you conduct yourselves righteously Master can do anything for you." ("Touring North America to Teach the Fa")

The next day, I also clarified the truth face to face with people in my village. When I talked to a next-door neighbor he said, "I do not even know what Falun Gong is." I then felt that the responsibility of saving sentient beings is huge.

From then on, I began to go to other places on my motorcycle with fellow practitioners and distribute many truth-clarification materials. No matter what difficulty we encountered, we were not moved.

This is how I, from a person who committed sins towards Dafa, became a steadfast Dafa practitioner. During the process, I felt Teacher's merciful salvation and enormous and powerful Buddha graciousness. I understand that I can only repay Teacher by being diligent, and doing the three things well with righteous thoughts and righteous actions.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/10/15/112461.html