I Am Together with Dafa

[PureInsight.org] I am a female Dafa disciple who obtained the Fa in 1997, and I am now seventy-four years old. During more than twenty years of Fa-rectification cultivation, under Master’s compassionate protection, I have stumbled my way to where I am today. Every step of my improvement is inseparable from Master’s protection and his boundless grace. Looking back on my cultivation path, I feel even more the preciousness of Dafa and the greatness of Master. I will forever remain with Dafa. I now report my experiences to Master and share them with fellow practitioners.

1. Cherishing the Opportunity

One day in April 1997, my opportunity to begin cultivation arrived. That day, I was knitting a pair of woolen pants and got stuck on a stitch. Then I went to ask my neighbor for help. My elderly neighbor had obtained the Fa earlier. Her daughter happened to be home that day, and both her daughter and son-in-law had also started cultivating. They told me about the goodness of Dafa—how it is a Buddha practice that teaches people to be good, and how it has remarkable effects in healing illnesses and improving health. They said all her illnesses had disappeared in a short time and that her family life had become harmonious. She said many people were practicing now and that I had a kind heart, so I should practice too. I wasn’t moved because I didn’t believe it. I even laughed inside, thinking it was too superstitious, too ridiculous—how could practicing exercises make illnesses disappear? Later, someone else told me how good Falun Gong was, that it is a Buddha practice, and that one should wash his hands before reading the books. They said the teachings were wonderful, many people at their workplace were practicing, and encouraged me to practice as well. I thought, “Everyone says it’s good—then I’ll give it a try.” So, I began learning and practicing Falun Gong with them.

When I first started practicing, I felt as if my whole body were on fire, like I had fallen into a furnace—it was extremely hot. At that time, I had sprained my foot, and it was swollen. During the third exercise, my foot hurt badly. But I didn’t give up; I continued practicing, and afterward the swelling went away. I also joined a Fa-study group; seven or eight of us studied the Fa and practiced together. I was responsible for delivering new scriptures, and I was full of energy. Every day we were immersed in Dafa happily, and we all cherished the opportunity to study the Fa.

Dafa opened up my mind, and I benefited immensely. I came to understand the principles of being a person, and I learned that Dafa teaches people to be kind and is here to save sentient beings. It requires cultivators to follow “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance,” to be good people, and to become even better—ultimately able to cultivate into Buddhas and return to beautiful heavenly worlds. I understood that the purpose of human life is to return to one’s true origin. I felt so fortunate! I was infinitely grateful to Master for transmitting Dafa to me, for giving me this predestined connection, for helping me understand life’s confusions and unanswered questions, and for purifying my body and mind.

I used to have a severe heart disease; when I slept at night, I always had to keep the medicine next to me. I had a uterine tumor that caused heavy bleeding—my lips turned pale—and I also had high blood pressure and gynecological problems. All these illnesses disappeared through practicing, without spending a single penny. This Dafa is truly miraculous! Master is truly great!

2. I Am Together with Dafa

In July 1999, when Jiang Zemin’s rogue regime saw that so many people were practicing Falun Gong, they became jealous and, abusing their power, began to persecute Falun Gong—constantly spreading lies and slandering Dafa to deceive the public. I thought I am a member of Dafa; I must speak a fair word for Dafa.

On July 20, 1999, I went to the provincial capital with local practitioners to appeal. Since I didn’t have money with me at the time, a practitioner lent me 500 yuan. I wasn’t thinking about anything else—only that Dafa is righteous, and I wanted to seek justice and clear the Master's name. The staff at the petition office asked, “Do you practice Falun Gong?” I said yes and gave him a letter I had written beforehand, "Please take a look. I wrote it myself. Though my writing is not very good, these are my sincere words. Our Master has been wrongfully accused.” After that, I was illegally detained for more than a month.

After I returned from appealing at the provincial capital, the local police and the domestic security officers detained me again. They tried to force me to write a guarantee letter to stop practicing Dafa, but I refused. They tried to force me to sign something, but I did not sign. I simply would not cooperate with them, so they detained me illegally for more than half a month before releasing me.

Later, I went to Beijing with other practitioners to appeal. We were intercepted on the way back and illegally detained in Harbin No. 2 Detention Center (“Duck Yard”) for more than forty days. The guards tried to force me to write a guarantee promising not to practice. I refused. I said, “I haven’t done anything wrong—what am I supposed to guarantee?” They forced me to write something, so I wrote the characters: ‘I am together with Dafa.’ I wrote them four times. The officer interrogating me said, “Doesn’t this mean your level has improved?” Later, I was enlightened that this was the encouragement from Master. A few days later, my detention ended, and I returned home.

3. The Persecution of My Family by the Evil Chinese Communist Regime

After 1999, the CCP used all its media and state machinery to persecute Falun Gong—launching a political movement and collective punishment. My family was put under tremendous pressure by the CCP’s lies and intimidation. Their attitude toward my cultivation changed from initial support to later misunderstanding, and eventually even hostility. Especially after I was illegally detained several times, my husband became extremely frightened—he was scared every single day.

Later, my son went to Harbin to run a business, and my husband and I went there to help. In order to force me to give up cultivation and prevent me from going out, my husband bought a dog chain and, together with my sister-in-law, locked my foot to a plastic-steel fixture for several days. I began a hunger strike. I still cooked every day for their workers, but I did not eat a single bite. My sister-in-law said, “If you don’t eat, won’t you starve to death?” I said, “It’s ok for me to starve to death. I haven’t committed a crime; there is nothing wrong with being a good person.” I worked hard without complaint and was never paid. Yet they locked me up every day, restricting my personal freedom—this was persecution. I said, “I was persecuted in a big jail, and now you are persecuting me at home. You are making me endure injustice and suffering—this is illegal.” My sister-in-law, afraid the situation would escalate, finally unlocked the chain.

During this persecution, my family—misled by the CCP—could no longer distinguish good from bad. Their minds became unstable. Once, my husband returned from doing night shift at the factory. While eating, it was as if he were possessed. He pulled off his belt and began hitting me. He grabbed Dafa books and tore them, and threw away the Master's image. Crying and running, I fled to a practitioner’s home. I said, “I can’t stay here anymore. I need to go back to my own home.” At that time, I had no money, so the practitioners lent me some money to help me return home.

The CCP’s slander and smearing were intended to make the public hate Dafa, hate good people who cultivate Truthfulness–Compassion–Forbearance, and force practitioners to give up. They wanted people to commit sins against Dafa, destroying their path to return to Heaven. Countless families suddenly lost their harmonious life. Families that once benefited from Dafa became cages of fear. Scenes like these unfolded everywhere, as if the Cultural Revolution were happening again.

Later, I looked inward and reflected on myself. I realized that I had only appreciated Dafa emotionally, without elevating rationally. I had not done well enough many times; I was detained repeatedly, and my family did not see the beauty of Dafa through me. I also hadn’t clarified the truth of the persecution and the CCP’s nature clearly to them. My family members are ordinary people—they could not withstand the pressure or distinguish right from wrong, and ended up doing reckless things that harmed both themselves and others. My husband later suffered a brain hemorrhage, which I now understand was also a consequence of the CCP’s indirect persecution.

4. Resisting the Persecution as a Whole

After returning home, I joined fellow practitioners again as one body to continue saving people. Once, while distributing materials, I was reported by someone who didn’t understand the truth. I was kidnapped by the police and, in 2001, illegally sentenced to one and a half years in a labor camp. I was sent to Shuanghe Labor Camp. There, because I refused to be “transformed,” my term was illegally extended by two and a half months.

The conditions there were extremely harsh. The beds were wet, and the windows were covered with ice. There were monitors inside the cell and surveillance outside. We weren’t even allowed to sit in the full lotus position. In my cell, there were four or five Falun Gong practitioners, but we couldn’t speak freely; we could only communicate with eye signals to avoid the cameras.

Just before the New Year, the labor camp hung up banners in the hallway that slandered Dafa. Practitioners thought: We could not allow these banners to stay here. We could not let the staff commit sins against Dafa. We must find a way to stop them. When this thought came out, Master helped—Master gave us wisdom. The practitioners decided to launch a unified hunger strike to resist the persecution. But how could we pass this message to other cells? With Master’s help, a practitioner thought of using apples to transmit the message.

Practitioners wrote “Starting at 7 a.m. tomorrow, we will launch a collective hunger strike to resist the persecution” on a small slip of paper, wrapped it around a toothpick, covered it tightly with plastic, and inserted it into an apple. There was a rural girl in the next cell. She was about fifteen years old, and her mother was also detained there. She was pitiful. Practitioners asked the guard to pass over three or four apples to her. 

The next day, all practitioners went on hunger strike. The labor camp panicked. They asked, “Why are you on hunger strike?” Practitioners said, “If you take down the banners that slander Falun Gong, we will stop. Isn’t the New Year supposed to be joyful? How can we feel joy when you slander Dafa here? Unless you replace them with something good, we will continue the hunger strike.” The next morning, practitioner Sister Zhao stood at the door and told the guard, “I want to see your leader—did you take them down?” The slanderous banners had indeed been removed. The collective resistance succeeded. Practitioners felt the power of righteous faith and the strength of acting as one body.

Master says in Hong Yin II, “Righteous Thoughts, Righteous Actions”:

“Great enlightened beings fear no hardship

Their will is cast of diamond

Life or death, they have no attachment

Forthright and broad-minded on the road of Fa-rectification”

This collective hunger strike shocked the evil and others in the labor camp. Dafa disciples let go of life and death, playing the role of safeguarding the Fa. Practitioners deeply felt that Master was right beside them. They came to understand that scattered fingers have no strength—only the power of the whole is immeasurable.

5. Diligent Cultivation Without Slackening

To obtain the Dafa in this lifetime is the greatest joy of all. Now I am able to go out every day to save people. Since I have benefited from Dafa myself, I also want more people to benefit. Every person in the world was once Master’s relative, coming from distant cosmic realms. Each represents countless sentient beings and has come to this world to form a predestined connection, hoping to receive salvation through Dafa. This has been their dream for millions of years. Therefore, I do my best to act according to Master’s requirements. Right now, I am able to persuade three or four people each day to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Seeing sentient beings saved makes me feel happy and fulfilled. Compared with fellow practitioners, I still fall short. I still have many attachments—fear, vanity, jealousy, and the desire to show off. I must continue to improve in my future cultivation.

I also have dissatisfaction toward my husband, which I must continue to eliminate. Whenever I have conflicts with him, I think of Master’s poem, “With the same heart, coming to the world, Having earlier obtained Fa. One day flying away to the heavens, Free and unrestrained, Fa has no bounds.” (Hong Yin, “Fulfilling the Wish”) I must regard him as a sentient being. He also came for my improvement and for his own salvation. I must treat him with compassion. Now my husband no longer interferes with my cultivation; sometimes he even reminds me of the time to send forth righteous thoughts.

Looking back on more than twenty years of cultivation, everything has depended on the guidance of Dafa and on Master’s compassionate protection and strengthening. I once made a vow with Master—to cultivate into a righteous enlightened being who is selfless and puts others first. For this prehistoric grand vow, I must not relax. Whenever I face difficulties, I remember my promise, “I am together with Dafa,” and I remember Master’s encouragement and sacrifices. I recall Master’s words in Zhuan Falun, “My roots are planted in this universe, and so someone would have to be able to harm me in order to harm you, which means that they would have to have the power to harm this universe.” These words strengthen my determination in cultivation. I am grateful for Master’s compassionate salvation. My heart to cultivate firmly—like diamond, like rock—will never change!

Thank you, compassionate and great Master!

Chinese version: https://www.zhengjian.org/node/299576