PureInsight | July 21, 2008
[PureInsight.org] I'm a new
practitioner. I started practicing Falun Dafa at the beginning of
March 2008 when I was desperately in need of a helping hand in my
life. Going up in a small town in Taiwan, my family didn't have
much money and we had a big family. When other kids in our neighborhood
were out playing, I had to work very hard to help my mom take care of
my younger brothers and sister. Worse still, I was born with an
introverted personality and a very serious looking face. People
often made unkind comments about my looks, and others thought I was
stupid because I didn't talk much or fight back when provoked.
Fortunately, I never cared what others said about me.
Having worked for big corporations in United States for over 16 years,
I experienced work pressures, jealousies, gossips and power struggles
between co-workers. Needless to say, I was stressed out mentally
as well as physically. My temperament changed for the worse, and
I became a bitter person, constantly complaining about how others
treated me and how unfair it was that I was born with the flaws I
had.
My health was always very good until 2003. That year, I started
to experience neck pain. I went to see a chiropractor for six
month of treatments, but my situation got worse. Then I switched
to seeing a physical therapist and had some improvements, but over time
the pain returned and I had developed a bulging disk. The muscles
on my arm, neck, and back constantly ached.
When my husband retired in 2004, I quit my job and we moved to a small
town in a different state. In the second year after we moved, my
aches and pains became more frequent and often came with severe
dizziness. I went to see another chiropractor, then an
acupuncture doctor, but I still didn't get any relief. Then a
friend told me about a pain management specialist who was supposed to
be really good. I went for two epidural shots, but still nothing
worked. Then, one by one, I developed chronic fatigue syndrome,
acid- reflux, constipation, severe dry eyes and leg pain. My
immune system was so weak that I was sick constantly.
In October 2007, I injured my right shoulder and had surgery to correct
my rotator cuff. One day, while I was nursing my arm, I read the
Epoch Times newspaper on the computer and came upon a letter written by
a very courageous female Falun Dafa practitioner from Taiwan. She
was married to a man for who treated her very badly, and he would not
allow her to practice Falun Dafa exercises at home after she worked all
day selling vegetables at an outdoor market. She had to take her
two young children with her to practice it at a park. She lived a
very harsh life but still felt very grateful to be able to practice
Falun Dafa every day.
Six years ago, I had a chance to read an introduction to Falun Dafa in
English but didn't give it much thought. This time, I went to the
FalunDafa.org website and printed out the Chinese version of Zhuan Falun, and studied it. I then ordered a Zhuan Falun book and the Falun Dafa Exercise Instruction Video and started my Falun Dafa practice at home because there were no other practitioners living nearby.
After reading Master Li's Zhuan Falun
a couple of times, my soul was deeply touched. I began to
understand the cause and effect of karma and virtue that affects a
person's life. The more I read, the more convinced I was that
this Fa is what I was born to receive. But I was still kind of
lost and didn't know where to begin. Then I heard a very kind but
powerful voice say to me: "Start with cultivating your character." At
first, I was startled but then it came to me that it was Master's voice
guiding me. Since that instant, my confidence in Dafa grew and I
practiced the Fa diligently every day. I also felt Master
cleansing my body very often. It felt warm and wonderful. Within a
month, all my illnesses disappeared one by one. I can never thank
Master enough for his kindness.
My husband is a Christian and doesn't believe the good things about
Dafa that I had told him, so we started an argument. Then
Master's voice once again came to me told me to pay attention to my
xinxing (heart/mind nature, character) cultivation. I thought to myself
that Master is willing to invest so much of his time for a new
practitioner like me, so what can I do to upgrade my practice so that I
won't waste Master's efforts. I began to read all of Master's
other lectures on the web and bought additional books to enrich my
knowledge about Dafa.
In Zhuan Falun, Master says he plans out all of his disciples'
lives. Perhaps he has sent me to this small town for a
purpose. Besides doing sending forth righteous thoughts, I
started sending out Dafa books to families in Taiwan and friends in
America. Maybe they could be lucky like me to practice Falun
Dafa. I also sent out articles to the local newspapers about the
CCP (Chinese Communist Party) persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners and
harvesting their organs for sale, but they didn't print it. I
then sent it out in an email to my friends and family.
I thought to myself, that this is a crucial time in the
Fa-rectification period. I have benefited so much from Master and
Dafa. What other things can I do to help in validating Dafa and
clarifying the truth about the CCP's many lies about Dafa and about
Master. I want more people to know that the CCP is still
arresting and persecuting Dafa practitioners.
I didn't have other practitioners to consult, so I ordered five sets of
the weekly Epoch Times newspaper, and attached some of the related
articles I printed out from the website and delivered them to the
area's Chinese restaurants and to an Asian grocery store owned by a
Cambodian person. Then a thought came to me while I was meditating: we
need to let more American people know the truth about this persecution
too. I started to print articles about the CCP's arrests and the
organ harvesting from Dafa practitioners and handed out the articles to
people celebrating the Fourth of July at a university campus and to
people at a street festival too.
Looking back, I went from self-pity, with no self-confidence in
socializing, to a calmer, more self fulfilled person with a purpose in
life. My relationship with my husband has also improved and I am
more willing to go out socializing with his friends and family. I am
continuously improving my character and have given up some of the
attachments that had developed over the past years. Thank you
Master and Dafa!
Unlike many practitioners from China who experienced many ups and downs
in their practice, my experience in practicing Dafa has somehow been
smooth sailing. However, there are instances that I felt a bit
discouraged in practicing Dafa. My first obstacle was being unable to
cross my legs in meditation. It took me three months to be able
to cross one leg and the severe pain started from the very beginning to
the end. Then, I was unable to pass two tests. In one test,
I felt sad in spirit and tired physically before I went to bed to
rest. Then I heard a young boy's voice saying "Auntie, Master
says to have confidence." I jumped out of bed and told myself
that if I can't even handle this little failure, than I am not fit to
be a Dafa practitioner!
There are no words for me to adequately to express my gratitude toward
Master for saving me and to thank the unknown female letter writer from
Taiwan. I will continue to upgrade my xinxing and do the three
things as best as I can until the Fa-rectification ends.
The above are some of my experiences. I am a new practitioner and
not very good in using flowery words or paraphrasing the words from
Zhuan Falun. If I have said something improper, I hope my fellow
practitioners will kindly point it out.
