CULTIVATION STORIES

I first attended a Nine-Day Seminar of Falun Dafa in March 1999 as a companion. Before that, I never had any interest in Qigong. If somebody mentioned Qigong to me, I would disparage it, although I knew nothing about it. Becoming a Falun Dafa practitioner myself was probably beyond my wildest imagination. Therefore, I treated myself as a bystander and did not pay much attention to the lectures during the seminar. Most of the time, I either slept through them or wandered around. While I was listening, my prejudice against Qigong would surface whenever I heard something that I didn't understand. It seemed like I had no relationship with Falun Dafa.

Nevertheless, the seminar already started to awaken my consciousness to idea of cultivation, although I did not experience any immediate reaction. The contents of the lectures were principles with extremely profound significance that I had never heard before. Many of them had already shaken up some of my life-long beliefs, such as prehistoric culture and its relationship with Qigong, issues about Zen Buddhism, the meaning of "transcending the five elements and the three realms," the source of the subconscious and inspiration, and so on. Although I was not able to comprehend their true meaning, the principles involved did give me a fresh impression of Qigong. In May, a friend sent me a copy of the audiotapes of Master Li's lectures. After listening to the lectures, I started to realize that Falun Gong is not an ordinary Qigong for the purpose of improving health. It is a teaching with much more profound significance that can guide one in cultivation toward higher levels. Though I still had many questions and suspicions, Master Li's lectures had already generated a great current in my heart. I wanted to study Falun Dafa further. It was as if the seeds of cultivation sewn in my heart were being revived.

In the beginning of June, I attended the Nine-Day Seminar for the second time and watched the videotape of Master Li's lecture from beginning to end. In this seminar, I experienced a much greater understanding of Falun Dafa. I fully understood that the real purpose of human life is to return to the true self through cultivation. From then on, I was determined to become a true practitioner and start my cultivation path.

Because my initial intention of practicing Falun Dafa was not for my health, I didn't initially pay attention to this issue. Nonetheless, I felt I was undergoing some significant physical changes during my cultivation. In the past, I had headaches quite often. I also suffered from allergic rhinitis two years after I came to the United States. These chronic illnesses, though not life threatening, were very bothersome. They accompanied me all year long and were difficult to eradicate. I often felt a lack of energy, and easily tired. Advil was my essential medication. Whenever I traveled, I had to carry it with me. Since Advil was quite effective for a temporary relief of my headache, taking it was not yet an issue. However, the allergic rhinitis was rather painful, and I could do almost nothing about it. Throughout the year, I experienced profuse nasal discharge. In a dusty setting, such as vacuum cleaning or during outdoor activities, my nose felt extremely itchy. In the evening, I often had difficulty getting to sleep because of severe congestion. My head cleared up and felt very comfortable as soon as I started practicing Falun Dafa. It was quite different from my condition after a sound sleep or using Advil. Remarkably, I never needed any painkillers again. My nasal symptoms abated gradually. They completely disappeared within two-to-three months. The nasal mucosa finally returned to its normal state for the first time in five-to-six years. Since I graduated from medical school, I knew my personal health rather well. Modern medicine could only alleviate my symptoms temporarily. It could not address the issue of the origin of those illnesses, and offered no way of eliminating them. Because all of the chronic illnesses that had bothered me for so many years disappeared in such a short period of time after starting to practice Falun Dafa, I could not help marveling at its power.

I felt so fortunate and excited after studying Dafa; therefore, I wished to spread the Fa (Buddha Law) to all my family members, relatives, and friends. My mother was in very poor health at the time. She had chronic headaches for several decades and depended on the painkillers for all those years. In recent years, her symptoms worsened significantly. The headaches became much more severe. The medicines also started to lose their effectiveness. She needed higher dosages more often. Sometimes, she even had to take medicine at midnight after waking up with a headache. The medication also caused numerous side effects. She often felt dizzy, nauseated, and had stomach aches. I was her major mental support when she was having medical problems. But I could do nothing other than provide various kinds of medicine. Hospital examinations did not reveal any cause of her problems. My mother's physical condition was a great burden. After practicing Falun Dafa, I had a fresh understanding of the origin of diseases. My own experience and the changes Falun Dafa brought to so many practitioners made me even more eager to bring Dafa to my family members. I knew from the bottom of my heart that the only hope for my mother was her practicing Falun Dafa.

When I introduced Falun Dafa to my mother, she was very eager to learn. We watched the videotapes and read the book Zhuan Falun together. I also taught her the exercises. Miraculously, my mother's headaches abated the first day after practicing. During the lectures, the headaches flared up only once but were bearable without medication. Since then, she has become totally free of headaches and has never needed any painkillers.

(Adapted from Dr. Hu's presentation at the 2000 Washington D.C. Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference.)

When I was at my high school in 1997, I incidentally chatted with a new acquaintance about Qigong, and she lent me a book called Zhuan Falun. Later, she took me to the Nine-Day Video Workshop. I then began to learn Falun Dafa and hit the road of Dafa cultivation. My mother believes in Buddhism, and I often followed her to Buddhist temples worshipping Buddha. Because of this, the word "Buddha" did not sound strange to me when I heard it. In addition, my father told me when I was young that doing Qigong exercises could keep one's body fit. Of course, now I understand that Qigong is not just for curing diseases and building a strong physical body. It has a more profound significance. In other words, Qigong is, as Master Li said, nothing but cultivation. My above-mentioned background regarding Buddhism, although limited, has facilitated my belief in the Fa (Buddha Law) taught by Master Li.

I suffered from asthma during childhood, although it was not very severe. The asthma stayed with me until I was more than ten years old. The asthma rendered my health rather weak, and I became the one in my family who was frequently ill. This caused my parents a lot of worry. Every time I went to see a doctor, I was given an injection. Otherwise, my ailment would not go away quickly. My health became even worse when I came to Canada when I was 15, and I suffered from a multitude of health problems. Very painful migraines seemed to occur every day. I had to take a lot of painkillers every time the pain recurred. Although I was a teenager, I looked pale and downcast. After I tried in vain to have my sickness healed by doctors, my father, who has some background in Chinese herbal medicine, switched me to a form of treatment that required me to drink bitter herbal extracts nearly every day.

It was indeed hard during the process of eliminating my karma. I tumbled around in my bed with the headaches. It felt as if my head were going to explode. However, I always controlled myself and would not touch any medicine. I told myself to persist under all circumstances. I said to myself that if I could not even withstand such a small suffering, how could I proceed with my cultivation where I am bound to encounter even bigger tribulations? Thus, I built up more self-confidence every time I was in the process of getting rid of karma, and firmly believed that I could bear all the suffering. The most important thing I understood was the power of Dafa, which enabled me to have great strength to fight against disease. With the help of Dafa, I was able to become healthy again.

I have changed a lot since I started cultivating Falun Dafa. For example, I am no longer a picky eater. I began to change from being selfish to knowing how to be considerate of others. I have also changed my attitude toward my mother's nagging. I used to hate it and often argued with her. Now, I have learned how to forbear when she nags. I feel as if I were reborn because of Dafa. The most pleasant thing I have found is that my father is happy with my progress and has started to believe in the power of Dafa, as he witnesses the improvement in my health daily. He now no longer hears the word "sickness," which I frequently expressed in his presence before. Master Li said that Dafa has different manifestations at different levels. Although I do not quite perceive the profoundness of Dafa and the complexity of the universe, I will assimilate myself to the nature of the universe, "Zhen-Shan-Ren," (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance) and behave as a good person.

(Adapted from Ms. Ni's presentation in the 1998 Toronto Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference.)