(Minghui.org) I started practicing Chinese martial arts in my youth, and I practiced for 40 years. I used to have all kinds of Chinese martial arts weapons at home. My martial arts school did not have as many moves as other schools, so we did not win as many awards as other schools. However, other martial arts schools could not compete with us if we were to truly fight.
People were mostly interested in fitness when they started practicing martial arts. However, I noticed that my teacher, my teacher's teacher, and people from other martial arts schools were all burdened with illness as they got older. Many even passed away before they reached 70.
I witnessed a man from a different martial arts school swallow an iron ball and use his qi energy to rotate the ball in his stomach. I could even hear the noise of its rotation in his stomach. Nevertheless, he eventually suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and had to wear long pants in the middle of summer to keep his joints warm.
I started practicing martial arts to treat my illness. My nose had bled frequently since I was little. When I would press on the left side of my nose to stop the bleeding, the right side would begin to bleed. When I pressed on both sides, the bleeding came down to my throat, and it could be quite scary.
I had made numerous visits to the hospital, but no doctor could help me. It became so bad that I had to quit school. That was the reason I started practicing martial arts as a young teenager. Yet, it still did not cure me. Shortly after I started practicing martial arts, my martial arts teacher taught me how to reign my "internal fire" that caused the bleeding. My nose did not bleed as frequently thereafter, but it did not stop completely.
I found a group of people practicing qigong near my home in the autumn of 1997. Someone approached me and said, "This is a Buddha School cultivation practice called Falun Gong." I was so arrogant that I didn't want to hear more. Then he added, "You are welcome to read our books." I replied arrogantly, "Sure. You may bring one to me."
I returned the next day and was given a copy of Zhuan Falun. I was completely blown away because the book answered many of my questions and even explained many things that martial arts masters did not understand.
The thing that impressed me the most is how Zhuan Falun said that a Falun Gong cultivator should not fight back when verbally or physically attacked.
I was amazed when I read, "...as a practitioner one should not fight back when being punched or insulted, but should conduct oneself with a high standard." (Zhuan Falun)
As a martial arts disciple, I had been taught not to fight back, but I never really knew why; I thought it was because I was so advanced in martial arts that I would inflict critical injuries. It was not until I read about upgrading xinxing and transformation of karma in Zhuan Falun that I understood why it was important for a cultivator to guide his conduct by morality.
I felt my pores opening up and my body temperature rising when I read Zhuan Falun .
I used to be puzzled why martial arts masters were burdened with illness like everyone else. I now understood that there can be no effect on one's health without internal cultivation; in fact, being competitive and obsessed with accomplishments can actually harm one's health. For example, Thai boxing is a very powerful form of martial arts, but its athletes die at the average age of 40. A veteran instructor in my martial arts school passed away in his 40s as well. They died as a result of their obsessive pursuit of accomplishments.
Zhuan Falun is full of profound knowledge, yet everything is explained in layman's terms.
I immediately decided to give up the martial arts I had practiced for four decades and to start practicing Falun Gong--a high-level Buddha School cultivation practice.
My nose stopped bleeding completely a month after I started practicing Falun Gong, and has never bled again in my 15 years of practice. My wife also began practicing, and all of her illnesses have also disappeared without any medical treatment.
I introduced Falun Gong to everyone in my martial arts school; however, all but one were reluctant to give up the martial arts they had practiced for decades. They all became ill when they got older; one died of cancer and another of diabetes.
A veteran martial arts instructor started practicing Falun Gong at that time, and his congenital heart disease disappeared soon thereafter. However, he later stopped practicing when the Chinese communist regime began to suppress Falun Gong in 1999. Then his illness resurfaced and he eventually died of heart disease.
I have been practicing Falun Gong for 15 years now. I am 64 years old and perfectly healthy. It is such a wonderful cultivation practice, and so many people have benefited from it.
Falun Gong is a genuine cultivation practice that transforms practitioners' health and morality. Words cannot express how profound it is. The martial arts I had practiced in the past may have some merit, but it is a low-level practice and cannot compare to Falun Gong.