Dafa Connected the Pieces of My Life and Made Clear the Path Ahead

Ms. Cornelia Ritter grew up in Switzerland. She was fascinated by Asian culture since childhood and always searched for a way to elevate her soul.

Cornelia (front) practising Falun Dafa at Portsmouth Square in San Francisco's Chinatown

At the age of 16, she thought she wanted to become a Buddha in the future. As she recalled, she was in a religious class in school at the time. After hearing the story of Sakyamuni, she suddenly thought, "I want to be like Buddha Sakyamuni."

She became a maths teacher after college and taught for 13 years. During this time, her aspiration for Buddhahood grew ever stronger, so she started to travel around Europe to places where the saints were born and taught, hoping to find the Way (the Dao or the Fa). Later, she went to Greece.

However, she was not successful. On the contrary, she felt more and more lost, even to the point of not knowing how to continue her life. One day a Westerner from a Buddha School told her to seek the real Buddha Fa in the East.

Cornelia said that she had once thought about living in a cave to cultivate, like many cultivators in Switzerland. But she was told that those people didn't have a master and, in order to find the Fa, she would have to go to the East. So Cornelia left Europe in 2008 and went to India. While there, she encountered Falun Dafa.

She first read the book Falun Gong in English, then moved on to read Zhuan Falun. She said, "As soon as I opened Zhuan Falun, I found it so broad and profound." She instantly understood the past, present, and future of her life. Using a vivid metaphor, she said, "It was as if the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of my life had come together to form a complete picture."

Cornelia recalled, "I went to a local Falun Dafa practice site to learn the exercises for the first time in August 2008. Two days later, while I was practising the Falun Standing Stance, I felt a dark matter being removed from my arms." She was amazed and thought to herself, "How could it be so miraculous?!" She made up her mind to commit herself to practising Falun Dafa.

After obtaining the Fa, Cornelia experienced many big changes in her life. She said, "Before practising Falun Dafa, I travelled all the time, as if I was looking for something. I also meditated, but in my own way. One day I felt as though I was stuck. I didn't know whether I should go back to Switzerland, stay in India, or go elsewhere. However, once I started to read Zhuan Falun, my life changed significantly."

Cornelia said, "The first day I read Zhuan Falun, I noticed that the Fa was so profound and good. It connected the pieces in my life and laid out the entire picture in front of me. It also answered so many questions I had in my life. I became clear about my future, such as where I should go, what I should do next, etc."

She continued, "I had taught high school math in Switzerland for over 10 years before beginning the practice. After leaving Switzerland, I had found a teaching job in a private school in Greece, but I didn't go there in the end. Looking back, I understand it was because I hadn't found the Fa yet. Two weeks before I obtained the Fa, I sensed something was about to happen to me. I used to drink a little bit once in a while. However, I suddenly decided to no longer drink alcohol, as if Dafa had started to have some effect on me, even before I obtained the Fa. Three weeks before I obtained the Fa, I rented a house in a town in India, which is famous for giving Tibetans shelter. I also spent time in south India and taught for a year in a school that had been founded by a Dafa practitioner. However, later I felt that I could do much more, so I left India and went to Malaysia."

Before going to Malaysia in March 2009, Cornelia made a special trip to Taiwan. She stayed there for a week and saw the the Shen Yun Performing Arts show.

She said, "Several weeks before my trip, I started to have severe diarrhoea and had no strength at all. Although I felt awful, I knew it was a good thing because my karma was being removed. On the day of the Shen Yun show, however, all of my discomfort was gone completely."

Cornelia went to Taiwan again in November that year. Practitioners in Malaysia took her to attend an experience sharing conference. She was inspired by the diligence of Taiwanese practitioners.

That was the first time Cornelia had ever participated in a parade organized by practitioners. She was very excited, "There were about 500 members in the Divine Land Marching Band, so it was quite a spectacular scene."

On November 21, 2009, at the Provincial Farmer Association's Recreational Farm in Waipu Township, Taichung County, Taiwan, more than 6000 Falun Dafa practitioners formed the picture of the book that guides their cultivation, Zhuan Falun

Photo: On November 21, 2009, at the Provincial Farmer Association's Recreational Farm in Waipu Township, Taichung County, Taiwan, more than 6000 Falun Dafa practitioners formed the picture of the book that guides their cultivation, Zhuan Falun

The next day's activity included a picture formation. Cornelia said, "On the Internet I had seen a magnificent photo of practitioners forming the book Zhuan Falun. I also wanted to participate. We sent forth righteous thoughts together during the process. I opened my eyes once and saw clouds parting and then the sun appeared. I had never seen such an amazing scene. Our formation looked very beautiful from the sky."

Since she knew nobody in Malaysia, she went to the local Falun Dafa Association and introduced herself after her arrival. She also participated in local truth-clarification activities. Later, at the suggestion of a female practitioner, she went to the famous tourist city of Malacca. "There I lived with many practitioners from mainland China and we went to the tourist spots to tell people the truth about Falun Dafa every day."

She continued, "When I was with the Tibetans in India, I was always puzzled why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wouldn't sit down and talk with the Tibetan people nicely in order to find a solution. I tried to look for answers in human rights and history, but after reading the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, I finally realized how evil the CCP regime is, already to the point of being incurable. The Communist regime will not let up in persecuting the Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other minorities, or the Christians and other religious groups, so I felt we had to tell people what is really going on in China."

Cornelia lived in Malacca for about a year. She got up at 5:40 in the morning, sent forth righteous thoughts, did the exercises, and studied the Fa with her roommates. After breakfast, they went out together to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa for a few hours, then they returned home and studied the Fa again. She usually couldn't go to sleep until midnight because she taught the local people English and maths, too. "I formed a habit of studying the Fa whenever I had time. In the meantime, I was able to do one hour of meditation each day," she said.

In the past, Cornelia needed eight hours of sleep every day. However, she could only sleep four to five hours per day in Malacca due to her busy schedule. She said, "I felt exhausted sometimes, but I believed I was doing the most important thing, something I, as a practitioner who has been fortunate enough to have obtained the Fa, should do. I was not only helping fellow practitioners in mainland China but also let people learn the truth about Falun Dafa. I never regretted the time and effort I put in over the past three years.

"Actually, my experience back then laid a solid foundation for my later cultivation and truth clarification. Besides, I started to learn Chinese there, which is a great help for me when working or sharing experiences with fellow practitioners."

In order to help more people learn about Falun Dafa and the persecution, Cornelia left Malacca and went to New York City. Besides clarifying the truth to the Chinese community in Flushing, she also worked for The Epoch Times newspaper. At the beginning of last year, she suddenly enlightened during meditation that she should go to San Francisco.

She said, "Shortly after I arrived in San Francisco, I was lucky to be able to see Shen Yun again and hear Master lecture the next day. All of this has assured me that my decision was correct. Later, we promoted Shen Yun at the same time that San Francisco was having its mayoral election. While we were busy telling people about the upcoming Shen Yun shows, we also clarified the truth."

Cornelia said that, during her cultivation, she has come to realize many of her shortcomings. Sometimes she has been confused, too, but each time she was given the opportunity to find the right answer.

For example, she used to have doubts about the effect of The Epoch Times in truth clarification and saving people, because, as an editor, she had noticed many problems in the newspaper. Although she proposed many ways to improve it, the problems still existed. Thus, she had doubts in her mind about whether the newspaper could really achieve its purpose. At that time, manpower to promote Shen Yun was lacking, too, and she was not sure whether she should promote the show wholeheartedly or try her best to help the promotion while continuing her work with the newspaper. One day, a person tried to sell her something on the street, so she talked to him briefly. During the conversation, she asked if he knew about The Epoch Times. The man said he did and commented that the CCP regime was so bad that they even didn't allow people to practice Falun Dafa. "I immediately understood that the newspaper has played an important role in truth clarification," she said.

Cornelia continued, "I have encountered many small yet encouraging incidents like this. They have enriched my life and are very meaningful, since they have helped my cultivation in the Fa rectification period. While working on a project, sometimes I could not tell whether it was my own tribulation or interference from the old forces. However, when I looked within and could not find my personal attachment, I knew it was interference, which I had to negate and disintegrate."

During her cultivation process she said she has encountered many xinxing tests, some of which were reflected in her meditation. "If I am kind to others from the bottom of my heart, it doesn't hurt that much when my legs are crossed in the double lotus position. However, when I am irritable or lose my temper, it will be unbearably painful during meditation." Before she practised Falun Dafa, she already knew that when people become ill, it's not because they are really ill, instead it's because their mind is not righteous and the energy field around their body has changed that illness symptoms appear. After practising Falun Dafa, she understood that her pain during meditation related to her attachments. "I still need to get rid of my many attachments. I know I should look within, but sometimes I look at others' problems instead."

Cornelia said both her parents are teachers. She has a younger brother and a younger sister. Her sister is a nurse and her brother is a doctor. She used to be withdrawn and have a bad temper and so did not get along well with her family.

After practising Falun Dafa, however, Cornelia became more calm. "I improved my relationship with my family. Now, my mum, sister, brother, sister-in-law, and nephews are all beginning to learn Falun Dafa."

After moving to San Francisco, Cornelia not only took part in the Shen Yun promotion, but also did the exercises, sent forth righteous thoughts, and clarified the truth at Portsmouth Square in Chinatown almost every day. She said, "The reason why I spent so much time and effort validating the Fa and telling people the truth about Falun Dafa is because I have felt deeply that I must fulfil my eons-old vow. From my aspiration to Buddhahood at the age of 16, to what I am doing now, I feel that it's Heaven's arrangement. Moreover, after I obtained the Fa, I knew many things almost instantly and knew what to do, as if I had a map in my hand. I am clear about everything and don't want to waste any time. Sometimes I'm somewhat regretful that I obtained the Fa so late, only three years ago, so I feel that I must hasten my steps on my cultivation path and be more focused on the three things that Master has told us to do."