Do Not Live Only for Yourself

(Clearwisdom.net) One night, I had a dream that I remembered clearly after I woke up. In the dream, the sky was very bright with some thin clouds. There were dragons lying calmly all over the sky. Occasionally, some dragons moved a little ways, then stopped and lay there quietly. Then, the sky became even brighter and I could see things clearly. I shouted gladly to my son to come take a look at the marvelous view. We went to a wide open space filled with people, watching and talking to each other. Someone said loudly, "Those are real dragons. Not legends. They're real. I have never seen them before."

At that moment, a huge dragon moved from the east to the west with its body swaying quickly. Green color reflected from the dragon's body. As soon as the dragon stopped moving, it changed into a beautiful landscape on the other side of the water from where we stood. Three gigantic poles like iron tubes landed in the middle of the two banks and instantly changed into a curved one foot wide, narrow bridge. I had a sudden thought: "Danger. I want to get over there to the other side." Soon, I was there with my husband and son. Looking around, I saw beautiful scenes, like a fairyland. At that moment, I woke up.

After waking up, I thought to myself, "It was only my family who went to such a beautiful place. The first side, in the adverse environment, was crowded with people who could not get over even though they wanted to. I realized that Teacher was giving me a hint, telling me I was selfish and only taking care of myself and not others. This was because I did not do well recently in clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings. Teacher noticed that I did not understand, and used the dream to give me a hint so that I would be able to march forward and focus on saving people. I felt very ashamed.

I am an older practitioner who obtained Falun Dafa before July 20, 1999 (when the persecution began). I am nearly seventy years old. After July 20, 1999, I suffered different kinds of persecution, including being sent to a jail, detained, fined, etc. Therefore, for a long time, I had very strong attachment to fear. Since I did not pay much attention to Fa study, I treated this persecution as a persecution against human beings by human beings and I felt that there was nothing I could do. Under such huge pressure, I almost gave up my cultivation. Many hints from Teacher and fellow practitioners' experience sharing did not wake me up. If it were not for a recent car accident, I might still be blinded and obsessed by the human world, neglecting the vows I made before I came down to the human world, and forgetting my mission and Teacher's compassionate and painstaking salvation.

Here is what happened the other day. The road was very slippery. I pushed my bike uphill, walking carefully and with difficulty. A purplish-red car was driving very fast down the hill in the opposite direction. The driver suddenly stepped on the brake, and the car spun around and then slid towards me. I threw my bike aside, and I jumped up on top of the car. I was carried a short distance until the car finally stopped at the edge of the road. I climbed down off the car when it stopped. Two young men got out of the car and quickly came to see me and asked, "Madam, are you OK?" I said, "Yes. I am fine. You can go now." Right after saying that, I thought about a similar example Teacher gave in the book Zhuan Falun, where an old lady was hit by a car and was fine. Thinking about that story, a warm stream went through my whole body. If it were not for Teacher's protection, I, an older lady nearly seventy years old, might have easily been killed. Instead, I even jumped onto the top of the car and received no injury at all. Even though I have not been diligent in cultivation, Teacher did not shut me out, and still protected me. The two young men helped me get my bike, fixed the handlebar, picked up my backpack, and left.

Right after the car drove away, I began to feel regret. Why didn't I tell them that I was a Falun Gong practitioner? It was because I practiced Falun Gong that I was not hurt by the car accident and didn't extort money from them. Teacher protected me. I should have validated Dafa. Why didn't I? I really regret not doing so. I should tell people what happened and let people know the miracle and beauty of Falun Dafa.

The next day, I went to the park and told everyone I met about my experience. Some people said, "You are so silly. You should not have allowed them to leave. At least you should have asked them for 500 yuan as compensation for mental trauma." I told them I was a Falun Gong practitioner. "Our Teacher tells us to be good and to think about others. Although I was hit by the car, I was not injured at all. Why should I ask them for money? Moreover, they didn't hit me intentionally. Everybody is living a hard life. Why should I make more trouble for them?" They seemed to understand and did not say anything further. Now, whenever I have the opportunity, I tell people my experience to clarify the truth and let people know how great our Teacher is and how marvelous Dafa is.

Through this event, I also deeply realized that cultivation is a serious matter. The life extended by Teacher is for our cultivation and not for us to live an ordinary person's life. Teacher values us even more than we value ourselves. Only by closely following Teacher's Fa-rectification process will we be worthy of His benevolent salvation.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/1/14/170279.html

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