(Minghui.org) When I was a child, my grandmother died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Later, my father had that same disease and seven years later he died. Since then I have been very scared of cardiovascular diseases. My father was a countryside elementary school teacher. He liked to drink alcohol very much. He had fairly good health and he studied a little about acupuncture. Surprisingly, he died before he retired. I knew my health was not as good as my father’s had been and besides I lived in the capital city that has bad pollution. I also had pressure from my work. I was afraid that I might get a cardiovascular disease and that worry made me feel very uneasy. In spite of that I did not take very good care of my health in everyday life.
I always had headaches. Sometimes the blood vessels in the right side of my forehead hurt like needles pinching me. In the morning when I got up, there was a lot of stuff in the corner of my eyes. Also my eyes were bloodshot. Although I had these symptoms, I still wanted to enjoy life despite my so-so health. At that time my world view was focused on the so-called “actuality”. I thought that after one dies everything is gone and everything is ended. Those kinds of thoughts made me enjoy modern entertainment. I liked to play with others. I was busy at playing various games such as chess, table tennis, billiards, golf, drums, singing and dancing. I never went home until early morning. My wife complained a lot about that. Living like that until I had reached fifty years old, and also due to my heavy drinking of alcohol, my health declined and I always felt tired. My face was always swollen. Red spots covered my skin from my ear lobes to the bottom of my chin. Also, my private parts were full of red bumps which the hospital could not heal.
During the spring of 2008, both my body and soul were extremely tired. However, it was my turn to teach the Grade 3 class and that class was facing graduation. During that same time, I had a cough that would not stop which made me unable to teach the class. The whole month of March I had to let my students study by themselves. Therefore I felt guilty and I also regretted that I had played so much in my early life, but that could not be changed. The situation turned worse and I was thinking about quitting my job. Then I felt my life would likely end even though I was only fifty years old.
Starting Cultivation of Falun Dafa
In April 2008, I made the wisest decision of my life: to start cultivation of Falun Dafa. Two months before I started to practice, one teacher I knew had recovered from his medium-term cirrhosis. He had stopped working due to that disease for five years. He had taken lots of medicine. He even prayed in church but none of these achieved good results. Later he practiced Falun Gong and he regained his health. Now he had even started to teach. It sounds unbelievable but he is my most trustworthy friend and the one person that I had to believe.
He gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun and asked me to finish reading it. Back home I read it, and inside the book I found many passages that talked about supernormal things that are beyond normal science. I felt it was so miraculous. There were also many issues discussed in the book that I did not understand and which confused me. But I felt that the content of the book was not made up and that it was based on facts. With such thoughts I finished reading this book with a quiet mind.
After finishing it the first time, I felt that the book was asking people to be good. If the people would do what the book described, then our world would become fair and good. In school I teach democracy but that still has some limits. Through Fa-study I knew Zhuan Falun is good for health. I also gained lots of new knowledge. As my body and mind improved, I was happily surprised and full of curiosity about these changes. Gradually by reading more and more, I better understood the answers for some of the more difficult to explain questions and the way our lives should end. Before this, there was nothing that provided me with such detailed answers like this. Then my feeling was just like what Master Li described in his book:
“There are also people who have never practiced it, but who have pursued and pondered the truth and the meaning of human life. Once they learn our Falun Dafa, they will understand at once many questions in life that they have wished to understand but could not answer. Perhaps along with their minds being elevated, they will become very excited—this is for sure.” (Zhuan Falun)
Later the friend who had given me the book told me that attending the nine-day lecture classes would let me learn the exercises movements and the cultivation principles. Therefore, I squeezed time in the evenings to attend the classes. I also heard that there were no fees for attending. I thought that there would be no loss if I went to listen so I wanted to attend. In the nine days of classes, I watched the lecture videotape and learned to do the exercises every evening. The wonderful exercise music made my brain more and more alert. In addition to that, after the nine days my cough went away. Therefore I decided to keep cultivating.
But when starting to really cultivate it was not that easy. Every morning I needed to go to the park to do the exercises. I love to sleep, so this was very difficult for me. The most difficult thing was to quit drinking alcohol. I asked myself, if I do not put in a good effort how can I hope to get good results.
“In this universe, there is a principle which says: ‘no loss, no gain.’ To gain, one must lose.” (Zhuan Falun)
After making the decision to cultivate, I got up every early morning to practice the moving exercises. Each evening after practicing the sitting meditation, I would study one lecture of Zhuan Falun. Gradually I really started to cultivate.
Achieving Real Health
Cultivation of Falun Gong brought me many surprising changes. For instance, I used to sleep for eight hours and after I got up I still would not feel comfortable. Since beginning cultivation I only sleep for 4 to 5 hours but I am full of energy. I can teach four classes back-to-back and my brain is still alert and relaxed. Before, I never used to go home until early morning, but now that I have quit drinking alcohol, I have become much healthier. All of these changes also surprised my wife.
I convinced my wife to cultivate also. She said she would practice for two months to see how it went. My wife used to have a sore right arm and sometimes she had symptoms of stomach acid reflux. She frequently needed to go to the hospital. Soon after she began practicing, she achieved better health. Her eyes could see more clearly than before. Later she also stepped onto the cultivation path.
Four years passed by but it seems like only a moment has passed when I think back. During this period, my wife and I have not needed any medicines and we have diligently advanced together down the cultivation path. Our two daughters have grown up healthy. Witnessing all of this, I am very thankful in my mind.
I Value Cultivation and Everything Obtained Through Cultivation
Since beginning cultivation I experienced some supernormal phenomena. I will give one example. When thinking about this incident, I feel ashamed. One year before before I started one of my student’s parent gave me some mall coupons that could be redeemed for gifts. After studying Zhuan Falun I realized that accepting this gift would cause the loss of lots of de; therefore, I gave it back to him. On that same night a large pimple developed inside my mouth and blood and pus came out of it. I realized that pimple was caused by the accumulation of karma from my previous wrongdoings. Those bad substances could gradually turn into cancer cells in my body. If a person pays off his karma, a big disease can be eliminated. This incident made me amazed at the majesty and wonder of the universe’s principles.
Before cultivating, I could not be promoted in my school. I used to only tackle easy work activities and left the dirty and heavy work for my co-workers. Through cultivation I have now turned into a person wholeheartedly pursuing harmonious relationships with my co-workers. I used to treat my students differently--for example, the good students who were obedient to me versus the bad students who did not listen to me. That was not the way to truly care for them. Now I know the ultimate purpose of a human life in this world and I treat all my students equally from my heart.
While writing this article, I thought about going to practice the exercises in the park tomorrow morning and a feeling of serenity arose in my mind. Each time, listening to the wonderful and peaceful exercise music, I gently close my eyes. The bad substances in my mind disappear instantly. My mind seems to fly to a faraway space in the cosmos. That wonderful feeling of practicing the exercises can only be felt by practitioners. Every night I did the sitting meditation with my fellow practitioners, who put forth much effort to stay true to the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and I study Zhuan Falun with them. This was the best thing I could expect in a day. Dafa is truly wonderful beyond words.
Later, if someone asks me that what kind of person I want to be, my firm answer will be that I will be a true Falun Dafa practitioner.
