(Minghui.org) Three fellow Falun Dafa practitioners and I got together one weekend to share our cultivation experiences. We each recalled the time when we first started cultivating in Dafa. We hoped to learn from each other and reignite the dedication that we felt when we first started practicing. All of the names I used here are aliases due to safety considerations, as the persecution is still going on in China.

An Alcoholic Who Never Touched Another Drop

Mr. Wang is 70 years old and started to practice Dafa before the persecution started on July 20, 1999. He used to be an alcoholic and wouldn't even have a meal unless it included alcohol. His family was very concerned about him.

Many people in his village, including his son, started practicing Falun Dafa. His son explained to him that a practitioner does not drink alcohol.

After much thought, he told a relative in January 1998 that this was the last time he would drink alcohol as he was going to become a Dafa practitioner. He has not touched another drop for the past 19 years.

Mr. Li Hongzhi, the Master of Falun Dafa said:

“The Buddha School does not permit drinking alcohol.”

“Doesn’t a practitioner have gong in the body? Different forms of gong and some supernormal abilities are shown on the surface of your body, and they are all pure. As soon as you drink alcohol, they will all leave the body immediately. In a split second, your body will have nothing left, as they all fear that odor.” (Zhuan Falun)

Since he started to practice Dafa, he reads two lectures of Zhuan Falun and does the five sets of exercises every day—that is, except for the 21 days he was held in a detention center for his spiritual belief.

Quickly Learning to Read Chinese Characters

Ms. Zhang, 61, started practicing Dafa in 1997. She had never learned how to read or write Chinese characters.

“In the fall of 1997,” she said, “my husband brought home some audio tapes of Master Li's lectures. I listened to them with my husband and found them fascinating.”

Her husband taught her the exercises, but she was bothered by the fact that she could not partake in group Fa study because she couldn't read. She held Zhuan Falun in her hands and stared at the characters for a long time, even though her husband and kids made fun of her.

“Then, I had an idea,” she said. “I bought several notebooks and a pen, and drew the pronunciation of each and every character of the first paragraph in Zhuan Falun, using symbols that only I could understand. I repeatedly drew them for many days and nights.”

It took 40 days for her to learn to read it. During the next group Fa study, she asked if she could read the first paragraph.

“People asked me how I could do it,” she said. “I just started reading with a lot of confidence, and finished the first paragraph with great fluency. Everybody was amazed.”

With the wisdom that Dafa gave her she could soon read the entire book. Although there were a few characters she had problems with, it didn't take long for her to read without hesitation.

Experiencing the Extraordinary Power of Dafa

Ms. Chen, 61, also began to practice Dafa before the persecution began. Initially, her husband thought that practicing Dafa was a waste of time for a farming woman who had a lot to do at home and in the field.

“I established a group Fa study and exercise site at home,” she said, “despite my husband's objection.”

Her husband had bad toothache once, which prevented him from eating and sleeping. After the practitioners had left the house, he sat on the couch and crossed his legs mimicking the meditation position. He heard a voice say, “How could you still allow it to hurt?” All of a sudden, his toothache was gone and he just sat there in astonishment.

“The next day, he told me that he wanted to learn Falun Dafa,” she said. “and told me what had happened. Instead of being against the practice, he became a practitioner.”

Showing Respect

Ms. Ding is the youngest among us, at 50 years old. She became a practitioner in 1994, just a couple of years after Master Li introduced Falun Dafa to the public.

While attending a conference where practitioners share their experiences, she said that the music they played made her want to cry.

“I later learned that the music was 'Pudu' and 'Jishi',” she said. “It incorporates Master's compassion, and carries his message. After thousands of years of waiting, Master is here. Even though our human side may not know very well, how could our knowing side not be grateful for Master reminding us of our mission?”

She established an exercise site at her home and introduced Falun Dafa to others. Up to 60 practitioners came regularly.

“No matter which Dafa book we picked to read,” she added, “regardless of the length, we would finish it in one sitting. Zhuan Falun would take us an entire night to complete. Then we would do the five sets of exercises.”

While weeding or tending the fields, she used her portable stereo to listen to the lectures.

“Sweat covered my face,” she said. “But I felt no hardship or fatigue. It was the happiness of melting into the Fa.”

Mission Accomplished

We all agreed that our sharing brought out the earnestness and preciousness of cultivation practice. We all felt that we again attained the feeling of cultivating as if we were just starting. We understood that we cannot slack off—that we need to be steadfast and diligent on our cultivation paths.

Master said:

“The closer to the end, the more diligent you should be”(“The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be” from The Essentials Of Diligent Progress Vol. III)