(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) at the beginning of 1998. I would like to share some of my cultivation experiences and insights in celebration of the 14th World Falun Dafa Day.
My Improved Disposition
I was born into a political family. My father was a top-level city administration official in China. I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so to speak. As the youngest in the family, I was spoiled rotten by my parents and older siblings. I became increasingly willful, headstrong, controlling and feisty. I always got what I wanted.
However, for the first three months since I started practicing Falun Gong, I would see the words "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" before my eyes when faced with temptation. Each time I was about to do something that did not comply with the cultivation principles of Falun Gong, such as spitting, littering, running red lights, or making rebuttals to win in arguments, I would see these words before my eyes which would restrain my behavior.
In 2001 when the persecution of Falun Gong reached its peak in China, I was arrested for speaking out for Falun Gong. Despite Article 35 and 36 of China's Constitution which grants the citizens of China freedom of speech and religious belief, I was sentenced to prison for producing and distributing free materials containing important facts about Falun Gong. A fellow Falun Gong practitioner managed to pass onto me a copy of Hong Yin and Teacher's new articles while I was incarcerated in prison. Teacher's poem helped me identify my attachments. Teacher said,
“Imprisoned as you are, don’t be sorrowful or sad Carry on with righteous thoughts and actions, and the Fa is with you Calmly reflect on the attachments you have Remove your human thoughts and evil will naturally die out” (“Don’t Be Sad” from Hong Yin II)
I reflected on how I had treated my family in the past and wrote them letters in which I apologized for my past wrongs. My older sister was in tears when she read my letter to her. "Never in a million years would I expect my baby sister to apologize," she commented.
It was a shock for anyone who knew me to even hear me utter the words "I am sorry." You can imagine how arrogant and stubborn I used to be.
When I shared the story with fellow practitioners, some did not think that I should make any apology at all. I explained to them, "It is because I practice Falun Gong that I could bring myself to apologize.” Teacher said,
“Whenever you encounter a problem, you should first consider whether others can put up with this matter or if it will hurt anyone. In doing so, there will not be any problems. Therefore, in cultivation practice you should follow a higher and higher standard for yourself. “ (Zhuan Falun)
If it had not been for Falun Gong, I would never have been able to survive the most insufferable humiliations I had been subjected to in prison. I would have mentally collapsed.
My siblings sang praises of Falun Gong after my apology. "Falun Gong is truly remarkable! Your Teacher is magnificent! He has transformed you into such a wonderful person!"
My Physical Transformation
It was in 1998 when I joined a public Falun Gong group practice site for the first time. The volunteer Falun Gong assistant there told me that I had a sickly complexion and had many spots on my face. I was a walking skeleton. Of course, he didn't tell me that until later on when we were better acquainted.
I knew I had started practicing much later than other people, so I knew I should be diligent and try to catch up. Teacher has also given me hints to be more diligent. I would study Zhuan Falun (Falun Gong's main study text) from cover to cover every two to three days. I was able to recite Zhuan Falun in eight months. I was almost always the first person to arrive at the group practice site every day. As soon as I learned Falun Gong's sitting meditation, I would do it for at least 40 minutes. I was able to do it for 60 minutes after just 10 days and 90 minutes after 30 days. The practice of Falun Gong had an amazing effect on my physical health.
After having practiced Falun Gong for 10 days, I accidentally dropped a bottle of expensive makeup foundation when I was about to put make-up on like I did every morning. That day I noticed a passage when I studied Zhuan Falun .
Teacher said,
“To tell a joke, young ladies always like to apply facial makeup and want to make their complexion fairer and better. I would say that if you truly follow a cultivation practice of mind and body, you will naturally achieve that goal. It is guaranteed that you will not need to use cosmetics.” (Zhuan Falun)
I realized then that I no longer needed to wear make-up.
I was arrested and incarcerated in 2001 for practicing Falun Gong and clarifying the truth about Falun Gong. I was told that I had the best skin for someone who does not use any skincare products in the winter. The prison guards and inmates were very envious. I took the opportunity to tell them that my good skin is a living testimony to the power of Falun Gong.
I met a friend that I had not seen for years. I made her guess when she asked me of my age. "You look no more than 40," she said. "I am 60," I replied. "You don't look 60 at all," she insisted. "It is because I practice Falun Gong. You see only my physical transformation. It is beyond one's belief how much I have improved from within." She added, "You were always ahead of us in college. You were ahead of us in your career development. It appears you will always be ahead of us in everything you do." I commented, "Don't just pay me compliments. Seize the chance to practice Falun Gong and you will look just as youthful!"
My Health Transformation
I had been frail and prone to sickness since I was little. I got sick almost once a week before the age of 10. Scarlet fever, daytime coughing, inflammation of the tonsils, intestinal polyps, blood in the stool, urticaria allergies, migraine, and sinusitis - I had them all. The secular pursuits in life also took a toll on my health. I was diagnosed by mid-30s with hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis, renal ptosis, renal cysts, splenomegaly, uterine fibroids, ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure, and multiple hemorrhoids. A doctor told me when I was 30, "You have the heart of a 60-year-old."
I felt disappointed and hopeless when I heard his diagnosis. I was extremely frail. All it took was for someone to sneeze near me to make me catch a cold. I was that frail.
Yet it has been more than a decade since I last needed to see a doctor. In fact, I have been perfectly healthy since I started practicing Falun Gong. In the past, I would still be sleepless although I used an electric blanket and a hot water bottle during winter nights. Now I feel very warm in the winter with only a light quilt over me. When I was incarcerated in prison, the inmates commented that I had the thinnest quilt, yet the best health. They added that they are no match for a Falun Gong practitioner.
How Wonderful to Be Able to Assimilate to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance
One day I was exiting a supermarket on Chinese New Year's Eve on February 2, 2011 when a woman on a motor scooter hit me at a high speed as she was trying to avoid colliding with a taxi. I was sent flying in the air before landing on my head. The scooter came crashing down on top of me. I opened my eyes and saw the taxi having stopped only two inches from me. I was laying in a puddle of my own blood.
When I came to, a community security guard and the taxi driver wanted to help me get up. I politely declined their help and asked to get up on my own. The security guard stopped the woman from fleeing from the scene, and demanded her to take me to a hospital. The taxi driver offered me a ride to the hospital as well. I told them before I checked my injuries, "I am okay. I practice Falun Gong. You are free to leave."
The security guard pointed out that my lips and nose were bleeding and there were cuts all over my face. He added that my clothes were torn and I was limping. He strongly recommended that I go have myself checked out at a hospital. I insisted, "I will be all right. Thank you. Please let her go. Her family must be waiting for her to start the New Year's Eve feast."
The middle-aged woman could hardly believe what I said. She asked the security guard, "Is she serious? There is hardly any kind person like her these days. She has the compassion of a Bodhisattva!" The taxi driver added, "She has more compassion than a Bodhisattva! You won't find a kinder person than a Falun Gong practitioner. I know this from personal experiences because I have met two Falun Gong practitioners, including her."
The security guard joined the discussion. "Yet today's society [in China] has no place for good people like her. The police constantly order us community security guards to look out for Falun Gong practitioners. They order us to arrest them when we find them distribute Falun Gong materials. They promise to reward us for making arrests and threaten to fine or even fire us if we don't. Nowadays people with conscience have almost become extinct. If the police pressure me more, I will start practicing Falun Gong myself."
The woman then walked up to me gingerly and sheepishly, and apologized. She said, "I am very sorry. I wanted to run away after I hit you. It was the security guard that kept me from running away. Now I don't want to leave even though you have told me to. May I please see you home safely?" I reassured her that I was okay and told her to go home to her family.
By then we had attracted a large crowd. They applauded enthusiastically for me.
I truly feel wonderful to be able to conduct myself according to Falun Gong's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Category: Improving Oneself
