How I Started Practicing Falun Dafa

(Minghui.org) I began to cultivate in Falun Dafa in April 1998. Before then, my health was very poor and I was also a bad-tempered person. Even though I couldn’t do much farm work, when I got into a fight, I was like a warrior on the battlefield, fearing no one. I was well-known as a fearless woman, not only in my own village, but in nearby villages as well.

I fought with my husband every day, and one day I cursed and shouted at him until 2:00 a.m. When I got tired, I would take a rest, then continue with recharged energy. If my husband fell asleep, I would pull his ear and shout, “Listen! I am cursing your mother now!” He did not pay attention to me and would just go back to sleep. I would continue cursing him and his family until exhausted, and only then would I go to bed.

My father-in-law died young, so my mother-in-law gave all her love to her son, and had high hopes for him. She thought she had accomplished her responsibility to her son after we got married, but when she found out how miserable her son’s life was, she was heartbroken.

Once, my mother-in-law said to me, “Some people may have a bad temper, but are good at farm work; others may not be good at farm work, but have a good temperament, however, you are not good at either.” I retorted, “So what? What has it got to do with you?!” My mother-in-law went quiet and left.

One day, my husband said to me, “I heard that people practicing Falun Dafa not only have good health, but also a fine temperament. They do not retaliate when hit, and do not talk back when being sworn at. You’d better go and learn Falun Dafa, too.”

“No, I won’t. They sound like fools, not hitting back when being hit, not reacting when being sworn at.” I said this to him with a tone of disdain.

My husband asked a female practitioner to encourage me to practice Falun Dafa, and after a few times, I felt embarrassed to still say no, so I went to join their group Fa study.

I was sitting there listening to them reading the book Zhuan Falun, but I had no idea what they were reading about. Then I followed along with them and learned the exercise movements. At one point, I felt like I was gasping for air. They said, “Master Li Hongzhi is taking care of you now.”

I didn’t buy it, and said, “What Master? I don’t see anyone.”

One practitioner, pointing to Master’s portrait, said to me, “This is Master.”

“It’s a portrait, not Master,” I disagreed, as my mind was filled with Chinese Communist Party culture, fallacies of atheism, and a combative spirit.

I did not return to the Fa study group because I didn’t believe at all in what they were doing. However, about three weeks later, I developed symptoms of a severe urinary tract infection. I had never experienced such excruciating pain in my life, and no medication or home remedies worked. I was in a hopeless situation.

I happened to go by the practitioner’s house several days later. She said to me, “You have a good affinity with Dafa, and when you learned the exercises the first time, Master started to cleanse your body already. Come and practice the exercises with us this evening. You will be fine.”

I responded, “Well, if I can be cured, I will believe in Falun Dafa, and I will believe it for life.”

I went to the Fa study group that evening and sat by the door, thinking it would be easier for me to rush to the toilet that way. To my great surprise, I didn’t need to use the toilet the whole evening, and the symptoms of my urinary tract infection were miraculously gone!

However, four or five days after that, I experienced the symptoms again and had to go to the toilet frequently. I thought: “I now know that this is not a disease, but a process of reducing my karma. Master, please help me reduce my karma. I won’t take any medication even if I have to use the toilet all night long.” What surprised me was that with this thought, the symptoms disappeared almost instantly.

One other time, Master was cleansing my body again. I had diarrhea for days without eating anything, but I felt fine. On the fourth day, my husband told me to go to work in the fields with him, and my mother-in-law echoed his suggestion. I became angry and said, “In ancient China, officials would not send sick people on errands, but now you’re telling me to work in the fields. No way!”

After they left, I began to feel terrible physical discomfort. I asked Master: “Master, why is it that I felt so miserable after my husband and my mother-in-law left for work?” Master dropped me a hint, and the Chinese character of “sickness” appeared in front of my eyes. I realised what I was experiencing was not “sickness,” but cleansing of my body. I then felt fine, and I picked up a farm tool and went to the fields.

On the way, my body felt very light, as if I was floating a bit. After I got to the fields, I started working right away, and the more I worked the more energetic I felt. Both my husband and my mother-in-law were very happy and said to me with a smile, “There is no rush. Just take it easy.”

From that day on, I started to cultivate in Dafa with firm determination, and the principles of Falun Dafa left me in absolute awe. Nothing can cause my faith in Master Li and Dafa to waver.

Once, my husband, who had always been the one I bullied in the past, started cursing at me for no reason. He also insulted my father. I thought that I should just keep going along with my day and conduct myself well. I held back my anger for some time by gritting my teeth and biting my lips, until my lungs felt like they were about to explode. When it became too hard to bear, I asked Master for help.

I was trying to think positively as I went to the yard to pump water from the well. Suddenly, I felt very happy in my heart. It was such a wonderful feeling and beyond description. I thought: How beautiful it feels when I listen to Master and try to live up to being forbearing.

Since then, I have a smile on my face all the time, and never feel tired no matter how much farm work I do. Seeing the big changes in me, my mother-in-law often says to people in the village, “If a daughter-in-law is not good, just tell her to practice Falun Dafa, then she will change for the better.”

Of course there are also times when I fail to conduct myself in line with the Fa. Sometimes, when I am about to lose my temper, my mother-in-law points her finger at me and reminds me that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. Right away I realise that I was wrong. I must be kind, tolerant, and always think about others first. On such occasions, I will say to my mother-in-law, “Mom, thank you for reminding me.” Then, both of us will burst out laughing.

Falun Dafa is so wonderful! I will always conduct myself according to Master’s teachings.