(Clearwisdom.net) The morning of November 17, 2003, the principal of the school where I taught told me I had been dismissed from my teaching position. This was due to an official document stating that teachers who practiced Falun Gong were no longer allowed to teach. I was forced to leave what I had been doing for 32 years.
When the students heard the news they cried. Many students told me, “You are the best teacher I ever had. We will never forget you.”
Surviving near-death
I was weak since birth and easily got sick. My father told me that I had a severe disease when I was less than one year old. My parents took me to a hospital when I was on the brink of death. An injection to stimulate my heart woke me up. However, I had lived a life plagued by all manner of illnesses. I took medicine daily. I had a cold all year around, severe asthma, a cough, neurasthenia, stomach trouble, gynopathy, and other health problems. I didn't have an appetite, could not sleep, looked unhealthy and felt no strength in my arms or legs. I lived like this for decades and questioned what the reason for my existence was. Why did I have to suffer such tremendous pain and torture?
One day in 1995 I was fortunate to acquire a copy of Zhuan Falun. My tears burst out while reading. I could not put the book down until I finished it. It was a sleepless night. I suddenly understood the puzzling question that I had all my life: Why live? Tell the truth, handle things sincerely, be an honorable person, return to one's origin… these are the true reasons for being human. I also found the answer to these questions in this book: Why do humans suffer from illnesses, from pain and anxiety, and other troubling things? It's all caused by one's karma.
Karma is what accumulated from generation to generation as a result of doing bad things, bullying or hurting others.
“In order to cure illness or eliminate tribulations and karma, these people must practice cultivation and return to their original, true selves. This is how all the different cultivation schools view it. One should return to one’s original, true self; this is the real purpose of being human. Therefore, once a person wants to practice cultivation, his or her Buddha-nature is considered to have come forth. Such a thought is most precious, for this person wants to return to his or her original, true self and transcend the ordinary human level.” (Zhuan Falun)
I thought that I must practice, return to my roots. At that moment I felt cells all over my body waving and cheering, “I have Master!” I was just like a lonely, helpless kid who finds a happy home to return to. Since then I practiced Falun Gong.
I practiced every day then, with others after dinner. I remembered when I first started feeling the Falun turning all over my body. Very comfortable! I can attest to what is said in Zhuan Falun:
“We do not talk about healing illness here, either. Rather, we talk about holistically adjusting practitioners’ bodies to enable you to practice cultivation. With an ill body you cannot develop gong at all. Therefore, you should not come to me for curing illnesses, and neither will I do such a thing. The primary purpose of my coming to the public is to guide people to high levels, genuinely guiding people to high levels.”
I was physically weak at that time and wanted to lay down right away when I came home from teaching. Sometimes I was so tired that I didn't want to move at all. Whenever that happened I raised my head and watched the extremely pretty poster that contained the words Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and a Falun picture. My fatigue disappeared almost unnoticed.
Three months passed quickly. One day as I walked on the campus a colleague surprisingly looked at me and asked, “How come you are wearing less today?” I realized that I was just wearing a thin shirt. That surprised me. It was absolutely impossible before I practiced Falun Gong. In the past years I always bundled up in heavy clothing. The four seasons did not apply to me. To me it always felt like winter, and I felt weak. I remembered that I used to ask the supervisor to arrange no more than two classes per day for me to teach; otherwise I couldn’t sustain myself and I could suddenly faint in the class. I used to be out of breath after climbing two floors. I had to take a break before continuing. At home, I had to completely rely on my mother to take care of my children. I used to have fierce asthma and coughed all through the night, till dawn. After practicing Falun Gong for several months I really felt relaxed, without illness. The magic of Dafa helped me get rid of all illnesses I previously had. All colleagues and friends who know me well know of my present good health because of Dafa practice.
Husband's Change
More mysterious was my husband's change after I practiced Dafa. He had a hot temper and was addicted to alcohol. He lost his mind when drunk and made our children and me miserable. We could not have a peaceful life. He began practicing Falun Gong in 1994. He used to practice many different qigongs and told me that he felt right away after practicing Falun Gong that it was not a common qigong.
My husband abstained from smoking and alcohol and his temper became milder. He got along with his co-workers much better than before. Before, he never helped with any household chores. He now started helping me out. When I first ate the meal he cooked I happily teased him, “Wow, What happened today? Did the sun rise in the west?" He laughed, “All because of Dafa. Master told us to be a kind person anywhere we go.”
Since then our family has lived a happy, harmonious life. I feel like singing a song, even when I walk on the street. Once I wrote an experience-sharing article with tears for a local sharing meeting - "Falun Dafa Saved Our Whole Family.” Everyone was in tears after listening to my sharing.
Before I practiced Falun Gong, our school administration was in the process of having new residential apartments for faculty and staff built. My family should have been given one apartment according to the criteria. However, we didn't get one. We used to be very angry about it. But since practicing Falun Gong, we understood a principle,
“as a practitioner should follow the course of nature. If something is yours, you will not lose it. If something is not yours, you will not have it even if you fight for it.” (Zhuan Falun)
Master said in the “Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature" (Essentials for Further Advancement):
“I also want to tell you that your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others—or even future generations.”
We understood that we could not fight for fame and fortune with others. We need to consider others first. Gradually we calmed down. When the building was finished, those co-workers who got an apartment were busy moving and decorating. We were not anxious at all. Instead, we felt happy for them.
Later on we had other instances of assigning apartments, salary increases and promotions that were tied to our own interests, but we no longer fought for our own interests or were angry about the unfairness. This kind of attitude would have been impossible prior to practicing Dafa. In fact, hundreds of thousands practitioners all benefit mentally and physically; many are even reborn and have a new life.
Treat Each Student Kindly
Since practicing, my body and soul felt completely different. As stated above, previously I could teach no more than two classes a day, but now I am not tired after six classes. I treat every student kindly.
I remember during a somewhat cold morning finding something wrong in the classroom. A lot of students leaned against their desks and looked very tired. Some students even asked to leave because of acute nausea. I asked what happened and found that students had blood test in the morning and didn't have their breakfast. During the class break I rushed to the cafeteria and bought a big pot of boiled eggs for the students.
Some students picked up bad habits from the society. They gave teachers gifts in hopes of passing the exams. I encountered this several times in the last couple of years. One night the parent of a student visiting me with his son brought in a huge bag of gifts. He wanted me to do a favor to help his son to pass the English exam. I sincerely told him that I could not accept the gifts, but would do my best to help him pass the exam. I also asked the student to do his best. I told them that I am a practitioner of Falun Gong, a belief system that cultivates according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Our Master told us that the first requirement in our cultivation is to be a kind person.
Life Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance
The afternoon on December 22, 1999 my husband and I visited a friend. Suddenly four plain-clothes police officers came and ordered our friend to go to the police station, to “verify an issue.” The result was that he was sent to the Second Labor Camp in Yunnan Province for one year. In October 2002 my husband and I were arrested. My husband was sentenced to five years of imprisonment.
During the 2000 winter break, I was monitored 24 hours a day for more than one month. I lived on the fourth floor. They set a watch post on the second floor and asked several students to monitor all my activities. As soon as I left home there would be a student following me closely, even when going to grocery shopping.
Even so, I still treated the students who monitored me kindly. They followed me all the way. When they were tired or hungry I would buy them buns and give them boiled water. It was still very cold in the early spring evenings. I felt pity for them, having to stay in the hallway cold and hungry. So I asked them to come in and watch TV. Later on they all knew the truth and claimed that they would never do such a thing again.
At that time my dad, who was in his 80s, was seriously ill in Sichuan province. I could not visit him and could not meet him, even before he died. My home phone was tapped. My salary was reduced more than once. Later on my retirement salary was cut in half.
Our daughter was still in school during the time my husband and I were incarcerated. She had to be home by herself. The school assigned someone to routinely read her newspaper articles that attack Falun Gong and requested her to hand over a weekly "reflection paper." My daughter rejected their attempts and told them, “There is noting wrong with my parents practicing Falun Gong. They are cultivating according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”
