(Minghui.org) This happened in the summer of 2011. To enable a former Western practitioner to resume practicing Dafa, merciful Master led him to us. I am writing this experience to share and hopefully encourage more former practitioners to resume cultivation.

A young practitioner clarified the facts about Falun Gong to his English teacher after class. This English teacher mentioned that he used to practice Dafa, too. He stopped practicing it because he had made a mistake and felt embarrassed to continue. Learning this, I was happy that I had the chance to meet a Western practitioner, but I was also worried about his present condition. After discussing it with fellow practitioners, we decided to meet with him, because I could communicate with him in English.

We arrived at his school in the afternoon. The receptionist informed us that he was teaching a class and that we had to schedule a meeting with him through the school principal. We then went to the principal's office. I clarified the truth about Falun Gong to him and gave him a Shen Yun DVD, which he gladly accepted. He arranged for us to meet during the 10-minute class break.

We were escorted to a meeting room by a clerk. We were overjoyed to finally meet him. This former Western practitioner was in his 30s. He smiled as he came in the room. Let's call him Practitioner K. I noticed that the clerk was still with us, listening to us. I said to her, “We are sorry to bother you. You may continue your work. I just need to talk to him.” She replied, “But this is part of my job. I can't leave.” I wondered how I could communicate with Practitioner K in this circumstance. Then the 10-minute break was up quickly. He mentioned politely that he had to return to the classroom.

We left the meeting room and sat in a rest area to discuss how we could meet him again, because we could not leave unsuccessful. We had the young practitioner ask Practitioner K if he could meet us again for dinner in a restaurant. He agreed to meet with us at 8:00 p.m., an hour before his class began again.

We met him in the restaurant and ordered some dishes. I asked him, “A student mentioned that you used to be a Falun Dafa practitioner. Is that true? We are all Falun Dafa practitioners.” He was very surprised and said that he had given up practicing many years before because he had made a mistake. I said, “The persecution of Falun Gong is very brutal in China, and many fellow practitioners have even lost their precious lives for refusing to renounce Dafa. We are still practicing Dafa. We are continuing to clarify the truth and trying to awaken sentient beings. You are so lucky to have already obtained the Fa. It is really sad that you left Dafa just because of your past mistake.”

Practitioner K mentioned that his older brother was also a Dafa practitioner and that he had distributed truth clarification materials. He looked down and said, “But I made a big mistake.” I replied, “Who can be so perfect that he makes no mistakes on his cultivation path? Don't be afraid of any mistakes. It will be all right as long as you realize it and correct it. Don't make another huge mistake by not practicing!”

Then I asked him if he had even seen Master in person. When he said he had, we all were very excited and asked, “We have never seen Master. Can you tell us what it was like when you saw him?” He had attended a Fa conference abroad and Master spoke at the conference. He said that he was there when Master was talking to one of the practitioners after the conference. He only had one thought in his mind at that moment, which was, “I want to go home.” With tears in my eyes, I said to him, “Do you know it came from your knowing side that you want to go back to your original home?”

When it was time for him to go back to class again, I asked him why he had such a busy work schedule, including a late class at 9 p.m. He replied that he purposely arranged it like that to avoid feeling empty inside during his free time. I deeply felt sorry that he had stopped practicing Dafa. I told him that we had a weekly group Fa study and hoped he could join us. He didn't respond. We exchanged contact information and ended the discussion. Although it took almost eight hours, I was glad that I had this chance to meet this former Western practitioner.

I sent him an e-mail after the meeting, saying that it is not easy to obtain Dafa, that he was very fortunate, and to please cherish it! I hoped he could continue practicing and join our group Fa study. The message went two weeks without a response, until one day when I was discussing with fellow practitioners how to deal with this, I received his e-mail saying that he had decided to continue practicing after thorough consideration and would participate in our group Fa study. I was very happy about his right decision. I downloaded the English version of Zhuan Falun along with Master's other lectures for him. Practitioner K finally joined our Fa study group. I still clearly remember the scene, and I am sure he has the same feeling, too.

We had the group study in a fellow practitioner's home. We studied Master's two new lectures, “What Is a Dafa Disciple” and “Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa.” This was the first time we had a Western practitioner in our group study. Everyone took turns. We read one paragraph in Chinese and Practitioner K read one in English. We were not accustomed to this at first because, except for me, no one else can speak English. We adjusted as time went on. We sent righteous thoughts after Fa study. The host served us homemade dumplings because of him. When we ate the dumplings at the table, one fellow practitioner asked him in Chinese, “Is it good?” He replied in non-fluent Chinese, “It is good.” We all laughed. Practitioner K said, “I've already seen this scene before. I was eating dumplings in a Chinese person's home. I was also asked, 'Is it good?' and replied that it was good. I also remembered I was Chinese in my previous life.”

We taught Practitioner K the exercises after lunch. He paid close attention. He smiled with two big dimples on one cheek. His smiling face looked so brilliant, like a child's. All the beings inside his body must have been overjoyed that he had resumed practicing Dafa! After the exercises, we shared cultivation experiences, and I translated those into English for him. He listened sincerely with tears in his eyes.

On the way home, Practitioner K said, “Thank you! I learned a lot today.” I replied, “Don't thank me. You should thank Master. He led you to us. Master does not want to give up on any disciple.”

Practitioner K joined our group Fa study several times before he returned to his own country. I reminded him to attend the local Fa study group regularly when he got there. He replied that he would surely attend which, I later learned, he did.

I sincerely wish him and his family well. It is a blessing that we can cultivate in Dafa and under Master's compassionate protection.

Please kindly point out anything that is inappropriate.