PureInsight | January 30, 2006
[PureInsight.org] "A guardian god of the Fa? Are you telling a story about a god in a heavenly paradise?" I was somewhat confused about the title of the story.
Aunt Ming Zhu explained, "No, this guardian god of the Fa is in the human realm. She is an elderly Falun Gong practitioner I know in China." As Aunt Ming Zhu was telling the story, I was brought back to a Falun Gong group practice site in China before the Chinese Communist regime started to persecute Falun Gong…
When I said "a guardian god of the Fa," I didn't mean any of those guardian gods of the Fa in other dimensions that some people see with their Celestial Vision. I was referring to a fellow Falun Gong practitioner whom I call Elder Sister Li. I met her at a local Falun Gong group practice site before the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. She is very small and slim and she walks with agility. If you don't know her age, you would never guess that she is already in her mid-80's. She started to practice Falun Gong earlier than I did. She often shared with me supernormal phenomena and many interesting stories of cultivation that she had experienced.
Once, when she went to a Falun Gong practitioners' cultivation experience sharing conference (or Fa conference for short), she saw a giant Falun (Wheel of the Buddha Law) above the sun that was even larger than the sun. The giant Falun kept rotating clockwise or counterclockwise and kept changing its colors. It was so beautiful that it was beyond description. I have never seen a Falun, so I asked her, "Did you see it with your Celestial Vision?" She said no. She said everyone attending the Fa conference had seen it. In addition, the Falun remained visible for a very long time. Everyone saw it before they entered the Fa conference hall. During the lunch break, everyone came out to check if the Falun still existed, and it was still there. It must have been a hint that Falun Buddha Fa (or Falun Gong) is now in human realm saving the world's people.
Sometimes she would ask me to check out her skin. At first I didn't know what she meant. Her skin was very tight, smooth and radiant, not at all like the skin of a woman her age. I that knew a genuine Falun Gong practitioner's complexion would improve a lot, but my intuition told me that it was more than that in her case. I once asked her, "Why do you often ask me to check your skin?" That was when she told me about the darkest time in her life. In her 40's, she suffered from severe psoriasis, which was treatable but incurable. Psoriasis nearly destroyed her life. For decades she was unable to wear any short-sleeved top even in the summer because her skin was covered with plagues. Every day a small heap of skin would peel off her body. Other symptoms included bleeding, itching and pain. The physical pain was already unbearable, but it didn't begin to compare the heartbreaking agony she suffered when her husband left her for another woman when she was 50 years old. He left her with five children to look after by herself. She could hardly believe it when he decided to leave her. They were partners for decades and overcame a lot of hardships together. But he abandoned her when she needed his support the most. So much for his love and humanity!
She was the head of a hospital. She had tried every treatment available, but her psoriasis was not curable. Modern medicine and technology may be advanced, but it cannot cure psoriasis. Later she began practicing Falun Gong. In less than a year, the diseased skin began to shed until the young skin underneath was revealed. The new skin was as fine as baby's skin so she was afraid to touch it. When she first met me, she often showed me her nails. She also had nail psoriasis. So her nails had also been discolored and appeared yellow-red. I could see that the discoloring was fading from the base of her nails. Eventually all the discoloring disappeared completely. The newly grown nails were very healthy looking. That is why she enjoyed showing off her healthy nails. She was often told that she looked rejuvenated. In addition to health improvement, her morality was undergoing a lot of improvements. She no longer hated or complained about her husband for abandoning her. In fact, her husband had to stay in the hospital frequently. She cannot help feeling sympathy for him. A cultivator must have improved herself a great deal during the cultivation practice in order to be blessed with such a dramatic improvement in her health and morality.
Since the CCP started to ban Falun Gong, no one was allowed to go to practice Falun Gong exercises at any group practice site, but Elder Sister Li would go to the old practice site and practice as usual at 4 AM every day. Later the police found out about it and told her, "The government is banning Falun Gong! If you dare to practice Falun Gong again, we will carry you to the police station!" Since then, Elder Sister Li has been unable to go to the group practice site. You must understand something. We had been practicing outdoors together for years. That was how we started our cultivation practice. Suddenly we are not allowed to practice together any longer. Everyone felt very sad. Since then, Elder Sister Li often brought fellow practitioners to her home to practice Falun Gong exercises together. She lives alone in an apartment on the second floor with two bedrooms and one living room. It was in a convenient location. A lot of fellow practitioners went to her home to study the Fa, practice the Falun Gong exercises and exchange cultivation experiences. It was a precious environment in those dark days. She told us, "Call me before you come. I will go and pick you up from the large busy street." She was thinking about everyone's safety. Afterwards, she told us not to leave at the same time. She would take us to a busy street, one at time. It was only when everyone left safely that she would go home and rest. Sometimes while we were studying the Fa and practicing the exercises, Elder Sister Li would stand outside watching for us while chatting with neighbors. She told her neighbors, "All of my visitors are my friends and relatives." Elder Sister Li told us calmly, "My home is a safe island. The police usually do not have nerve to come to my home to arrest anyone." She is such a petite lady who is nearly 90 years old, but she has such a steadfast faith in the Fa. Her faith was very inspiring and encouraging to us.
Before the CCP started the persecution against Falun Gong, a lot of fellow practitioners tried to obtain a Teacher's photograph poster, a Falun poster and a poster of "Lunyu." They would typically have them framed and hang them on the wall in the living room. After July 20, 1999, a lot of practitioners removed them from the wall, took the posters from the frames and hid them in a safe place. Elder Sister Li was the only practitioner in my area who had kept the posters on the wall. A lot of practitioners who missed Teacher would go to her home to admire Teacher's photograph.
For a very long time the neighborhood administration office and local police dared not touch her because she is known as a very kind and respectable lady. Besides, she is a very elderly woman. After a long time, they found out that she has never stopped practicing Falun Gong, so they went to the hospital where she used to work. The police told the hospital's management, "It's time for you to discipline the elderly Ms. Li who used to work at your hospital. She hasn't even removed Falun Gong posters from the wall at her home. We hope that you will cooperate with us." But the hospital told the police, "Before she started practicing Falun Gong, she often stayed in the hospital and incurred a lot of medical expenses. Since she started practicing Falun Gong, all of her illnesses have gone. You know those who do not incur any medical expenses for a year can get 300 yuan as a reward each year. She has been getting the bonus for a few years now. We have never seen any person at her age who does not incur any medical expense. Besides, the government keeps cutting down the medical insurance budget for each organization. She has saved a lot of medical expenses, so the rest of us can pay less for our medical expenses. Moreover, for each disaster relief, she donates 10,000 to 20,000 yuan, more than anyone else's donation. The hospital wanted to give her a new apartment with four bedrooms and one living room, but she declined the offer. To this day she still lives in an old apartment with only two bedrooms and one living room that was assigned to her 30 years ago. We cannot possibly pick on such an excellent senior leader. We cannot interfere with police affairs, but we refuse to interfere with her life."
After a while, the local police and the staff members from the neighborhood administration office went to her home and asked her to remove Teacher's photograph from the wall. She replied, "I am unable to remove them from the wall. If you absolutely insist on removing them from the wall, you remove it yourself. But I have to warn you. Watch out for what you are doing. He is my lifesaver, my true savior. Any one of you who shows any disrespect to him will face severe karmic retribution!" They got on a ladder and removed the photograph from the wall, and then they put it on the floor. But Elder Sister Li refused to put it away. She continued to display Teacher's photograph on the living room floor.
Falun Gong is a Buddha school cultivation practice. Elder Sister Li was impervious to the severe and frantic persecution in China. She sincerely safeguarded the Fa and her fellow practitioners. Isn't she a guardian god of the Fa? Actually, there are many Falun Gong practitioners in China like Elder Sister Li. They are cultivators of great compassion. They will continue to validate the Fa until the "Red Tide" wanes. They are human beings as well as gods. A human being has fear, but a god has no fear. Elder Sister Li is now over 90 years old. I miss her dearly. I wish I could go back to China and see her again.
Epilogue:
I believe that the two elderly ladies will meet again in the near future.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2005/11/1/34438.html
