(Clearwisdom.net)

Before I started cultivation, I continuously suffered from illnesses

Ever since I was a child, my health was in a poor state. In the past, I often made jokes about myself, saying, "Except for my hair, which is healthy, all other parts of my body that you can see have illnesses."

Before I started cultivation in Falun Dafa, I often caught colds. I took so many injections that I developed a callous on my buttock. Later my ears and nose also showed symptoms of illnesses. Many of my internal organs had problems as well. For example, when I was attending high school, I lost control of my bladder twice. Furthermore, I only had a bowel movement once a week and sometimes even less often than that. During that time, my stomach hurt so much that I could not go to school. So in the past, besides taking me to doctors, my mother had also tried all kinds of means to restore my metabolism. Additionally, I had some rare illnesses. In short, I had illnesses all over my body. My mother often said that I came to this world in order to suffer.

Because of my poor health, I sought help from religions and fortune-tellers

Many people told me that I had a strong predestined relationship with Buddhas. When I was in the first year of Junior High School, I followed my mother, started to learn Buddhism and became a lay Buddhist. Later, I also became a vegetarian because my mother was one as well.

Although I was very devoted in worshipping Buddhas, my health did not show any improvement. Later, I also came into contact with other religions, but my health did not get better from them, either.

Due to my poor health, I went to fortune-tellers many times. They told me more or less the same thing, that I had a strong predestined relationship with Buddhas, that I would start cultivation in the future, and that a noble person in my life was in the north. They also said that in a certain year, my health would recover, I would have good luck, and that year would be a turning point in my life. Since my health was still so poor, however, how could I care much about my future?

Later on, I was at a point where I took so much Western medicine that it made me feel nauseous and painful in my stomach. So I switched to Chinese medicine, which however, did not improve my condition right away. Even when I caught a small cold, it would still take me nearly a month to recover. Not long after I recovered, I would catch another cold. Over a period of more than twenty years, I was always suffering from one illness or another.

The opportunity of attaining the Fa

In May 2001, my mother started her cultivation practice by learning Falun Gong. She gave me the book, Zhuan Falun and told me that my health would improve after I learned this practice. At the time, I did not pay much attention to her words, and I told my mother that she was being superstitious.

A month later on a Sunday, I was at my last class before the final exam. At that time, many banners depicting a "Falun Gong Introductory Seminar" appeared on campus. One of the seminar hosts was Professor Chang, whom I knew, as I had taken his class when I was preparing for my joint college entrance exam. What was his relationship with Falun Gong? My interest was aroused. I wanted to attend this seminar.

When I entered the classroom, I heard the Falun Gong music and I started to cry. At that time, I really did not know the cause of my tears. That day, I sat in a corner and tears continued to flow down my face. Not until I started cultivation did I know that the music was "Pudu" and "Jishi." Only by then did I understand that when I heard this music that my enlightened side had awakened.

Later, I finished reading Zhuan Falun. From the very moment when I turned to the first page of Zhuan Falun to the present time, four years later, I have enjoyed good health. It turned out that Master Li was that "noble person from the north" in my life. Everything those several fortune-tellers told me happened that year. I found out that my attaining the Fa was not accidental. Although it appeared accidental, it had in fact been arranged a long time ago.

In 1996, Master said in "Teaching the Fa in the Beijing International Experience Sharing Conference,"

"In the recent period of time, I told many practitioners such words -- I said that your attaining this Fa is not easy. Someone may feel that, 'I came just because I heard the news, a friend told me, I accidentally saw this book, or I learned the news from a newspaper, and since then, I have walked on this path of Dafa cultivation.' In fact, although it looked simple to you or it appeared to you that you had attained the Fa very easily, [it was not easy] because it was rarely the case that a god came to tell you to learn the Fa. It mainly takes the [appearance of] ordinary people's ways, so you learned the Fa in a very usual way. However, I told you that it is very difficult for you to attain this Fa; perhaps, all the sufferings in the first half of your life were for the sake of your attaining the Fa -- this is something you know. There are also things that you do not know -- to attain the Fa you may have been suffering and bearing hardships for several lifetimes or even since a longer time ago. There are also ones who, to attain the Fa, have suffered even greater tribulations -- this is something that you do not know. After you reach Consummation, you will know it, and you can also see it. Your attaining the Fa is very difficult." (Provisional translation)

Although it is very difficult to come across the opportunity to attain the Fa, I was very fortunate to be able to step onto the path of Dafa cultivation.

From being muddle-headed to realizing the historic mission of "a Dafa disciple during the Fa-rectification period"

During the first eighteen months after I started cultivation, I rarely stepped forward to share my understandings or do Fa-rectification work together with other practitioners. I had poor enlightenment quality. At that time, I had not finished the nine-day Falun Gong lectures. Because of my lack of sharing with other practitioners, I was not very clear about the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong. I only knew a few Falun Gong practitioners, so I did not know what kind of Dafa work needed to be done. I just followed my mother and addressed envelopes for mailing truth-clarification materials. I felt that I was no different from ordinary people, except that ordinary people get sick, while as long as I learned the "Fa" and practiced the exercises, I rarely got sick.

At the end of 2002, I listened to the experience sharing by practitioners from Mainland China during the Fa conference that was held at Taiwan University. Furthermore, during the 2003 Chinese New Year time, I got the chance to talk directly, face to face with several Falun Gong practitioners from Mainland China. The conversation with them shocked me. I wondered why the practitioners in China are so determined in their belief that they can give up everything they have, even their lives, in order to safeguard Dafa. So two years after I started my cultivation, I finally caught up with the progress of the Fa-rectification, and gradually came to understand the mission of "Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period."

In "Teaching the Fa in the City of Chicago" (June 26, 2005) Master said,

"You know, as Dafa cultivators in the Fa-rectification period, the historic mission that you have--this great responsibility--is indeed enormous. What lies before you is not merely personal cultivation or saving a few people. The entire human race is before you, and the Chinese people, in particular."

I came to realize that saving sentient beings is the greatest mission of Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period. Now besides working at my job, I have used all my spare time to do the three things that Master has asked us to do.

Clarifying the truth in the Palace area

Going to the Palace area on Saturdays to practice the exercises has become a routine for me. Because there are already enough practitioners giving out truth-clarification flyers at the site, I only give out flyers when visitors from foreign countries come by or when the regular persons who usually hand out the flyers are not there. One Saturday afternoon, one incident encouraged me greatly. When I was practicing the exercises, a person from the Mainland suddenly said to me, "Madam, I want to buy ten copies of Zhuan Falun." At that moment, I thought I did not hear correctly. He was not a Falun Gong practitioner, but he sincerely wanted to buy the books. Fellow practitioners made great efforts and found two copies of Zhuan Falun for him. I had no idea how he could take the books back to the Mainland. He said that he would find a way. I talked with my mother about this incident. She told me that there were also other visitors from Mainland China who asked her for the book while she was handing out flyers.

That same afternoon another incident happened. I met a practitioner from the Mainland and he asked me for the new articles published by Master. He told me that all his family members are Dafa practitioners. At that time, I only had Hong Yin II in my pocket. He flipped through Hong Yin II, and he was very pleased; many of the articles were new to him. However, the person who was in charge of his tour group was watching him and that fellow practitioner looked at me and became very nervous. He did not have a way to take the book back to the Mainland. In the end, the fellow practitioner turned back and looked at me helplessly as he followed that person who was watching him and got into the waiting vehicle.

Ever since then, when I go to the Palace area, I always carry with me a pen, paper, Master's new articles on a single page, and Zhuan Falun. This way, I am prepared and will have no regrets when individuals who have a predestined relationship with Dafa show up.

Ever since the practitioners set up a television set to show videos, the truth clarification effect has been very good. Not only people from the Mainland, but also overseas Chinese, Taiwanese, and people from Hong Kong come to watch the truth-clarification videos. People from the Mainland usually do not dare to accept the flyers, but they come close to watch the videos, and look at the truth-clarification display boards. However, after learning the truth, some people from the Mainland come over to pick up the flyers.

In the Palace area, some tourists, including some from Taiwan, Africa, South Korea, Philippines, etc., have come to learn the Falun Gong exercises from us. The truth-clarification environment has become better and better. I also find that more and more people from the Mainland have the courage to watch the truth-clarification videos and accept the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.

Clarifying the truth in my company

The company that I work for has several plants in Mainland China. Because of my job responsibilities, I often contact staff members of the plants in China. Every time I interact with the plant personnel in the Mainland, I write down their new e-mails and fax numbers. I then give them to my mother and she will fax truth-clarification materials to them, while I send them the Nine Commentaries and the materials for withdrawing from the CCP by e-mail.

Because all the plants are on the Mainland, once I started to work for the company, I used the convenience of my job to tell my colleagues on the Mainland about the greatness of Falun Dafa. I also told them that they should not believe the CCP and that Falun Gong teaches people to be good persons. Later on my boss and his wife repeatedly warned me. They told me, "You should not mention Falun Gong. We do not want to offend the CCP. We go there to make money. We do not get involved in the issue of Falun Gong."

I realized that I am their only hope of having a good future. Before my boss and his wife warned me, I was too direct when I clarified the truth to my colleagues in China. Now I do it with wisdom. I need to do my work well and set an example.

One day, a Taiwanese colleague of mine came back from his trip to the Mainland. He told me that the managers of the plants in Mainland had praised me; they said that I have a good temperament and do not get angry as easily as their other colleagues in Taiwan. One colleague from the Mainland said that I was the only one who chats with him. I thought that's because I think of him as a friend. I am not like some of my colleagues in Taiwan, who think about the Mainland colleagues as their subordinates and consider themselves above the people from the Mainland.

After I established a good working relationship with my colleagues in Mainland China, I asked them, "You have known me for such a long time, do you think that a person like me could burn herself?" I then told them the truth about the staged Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation. In fact, clarifying the truth with wisdom can achieve a much better effect. I let them know how a Falun Gong practitioner truly behaves. There is a colleague on the Mainland, who used to be disrespectful to Master; he directly called Master by his name. Through my efforts of gradually clarifying the truth, he has changed and now respectfully refers to Teacher as Master Li.

I am very happy for my colleagues because now they know the truth.

January 13, 2006