(Minghui.org) It takes both an extraordinary amount of hard work and good luck to become a self-made millionaire, but only one unfortunate investment to lose it all. Such was the story of Ms. Ting Ru, a Taiwanese woman who had found herself bereft of her hard-earned fortune nearly overnight, and her health along with it.
Facing such a difficult situation in her fifties, Ms. Ting Ru sought solace in the practice of Falun Dafa, which, as she recalls, not only brought her peace of mind, but wonderful changes physically and spiritually as well – or, in her own words:
“I am richer now as a [Falun Dafa] practitioner than I ever was as a millionaire.”
A former millionaire, Ms. Ting Ru was deceived by her relatives and became nearly penniless. However, after she began practicing Falun Dafa, she gained a new-found strength and experienced great life changes as a result.
The Perfect Storm
An honest and straightforward woman, Ms. Ting Ru used to own a boutique in Taiwan called Tainan Clothing – a hugely successful venture that made her over a million dollars in personal savings.
However, her relatives deceived her into investing it all into a shady cause, and Ms. Ting lost her store and savings as a result. Even her son, who had been on his way to a doctorate degree, had to drop out of school and find work.
The loss of her fortune resulted in emotional instability for Ms. Ting, and, when coupled with her menopause, created a breeding ground for a variety of health issues. Her health began to deteriorate dramatically, to the point when she sometimes had to consult multiple doctors in one day – desperate for some way, any way to make the pain stop.
Ms. Ting became bedridden. She could hardly leave her bed for more than thirty minutes at a time, which made even the commonest of chores challenging.
Her immune system also became extremely weak, to the point where she couldn't go outdoors for fear of catching contagious illnesses. Confined to her bed and home, life, for Ms. Ting, was now almost akin to imprisonment.
Practicing Falun Dafa and Regaining Her Health
Despite her condition, Ms. Ting still made a trek up to Xinzu, Taiwan, after hearing that her daughter-in-law had given birth to her newest grandchild. While there, she also took the opportunity to visit her daughter, who also lived close by.
Her son-in-law asked Ms. Ting to stay longer, as her daughter's in-laws had wanted to have dinner with her. However, because of her condition, Ms. Ting couldn't stay longer than was absolutely necessary. She returned home without ever making the dinner appointment.
The day of her return, Ms. Ting had received a package from her daughter's mother-in-law, which she opened to reveal a copy of Zhuan Falun and a warmly-written card, with ended with the sentence “This is not an ordinary book; I think it will do you a lot of good.”
Ms. Ting was very touched by her kind words and finished the book very quickly, finding its contents engaging and well-written.
She decided to go to a Falun Dafa practice site to learn the exercises. Her daughter helped her find the nearest practice site, as well as a 9-day class for the Fa lectures.
Ms. Ting Ru had hesitated to join the class at first because she worried that she wouldn't be able to make it through all nine lectures. But the Falun Gong practitioner who had answered her phone call was very patient and helpful, and with her kind encouragement, Ms. Ting decided to give it a try.
On the first day, while listening to Master Li's lecture, Ms. Ting felt something rotating in her abdomen. The rotating feeling continued after she went back home, and later, she would realize that this was the sensation of the turning Falun.
Suddenly, she noticed that something remarkable had happened for her; she had sat upright, out of bed, without feeling tired for almost three whole hours! She felt unspeakably happy, and finally saw hope for her situation.
Ms. Ting arrived 30 minutes early to the class every day after that to learn more about Falun Gong, and attended all nine days of the class. As each day went by, she felt herself regaining her energy bit by bit. By the time she finished the class, Ms. Ting had become healthy again.
Ms. Ting Ru's health has improved tremendously – chores that used to be near-impossible became easy. She used to need jackets and quilts in the summer to keep warm, and now she does fine without either. She describes her body as being in a state of constant, pleasant warmth, and she feels an ever-present vigor inside herself, like she could do anything.
Forgiveness Through Cultivation Practice
One of Ms. Ting Ru's major troubles in life was the fact that relatives – not a stranger or even friend – had cheated her out of her life savings. For the longest time she despised these relatives, who, in addition to losing her a fortune, also personally owed her $657K that they've yet to pay back. Meanwhile they live in a big, luxurious house and live an upper middle-class life, while Ms. Ting now has nothing.
This caused her a great deal of anguish and tortured her mentally, and she's often had extremely negative thoughts featuring these relatives, and the possibility of revenge. Even the slightest mention of these people was enough to throw her into a fit of rage.
After Ms. Ting Ru started practicing cultivation, the principles of Falun Dafa began to neutralize these toxic thoughts. She studied the Fa whenever she had the time.
"The more I study the Fa, the more I love it," Ms. Ting said. "When a conflict comes, I always think of Teacher's Fa to stabilize myself. Teacher said,
'Forbearance is the key to improving one’s xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator.'" ("What is Forbearance (Ren)?" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Ms. Ting always tried to keep righteous thoughts like these in her head; as a result, her murderous urges disappeared, and were replaced by a compassionate forgiveness.
She said, “Teacher told us that there are no accidents. I've finally managed to attain inner peace and good health after learning such a great practice – what's a few million dollars in comparison to that?”
By following Master Li's teachings to the best of her ability, Ms. Ting Ru's concerns and worries lessened; the stress that came as a habit of the business life was gradually transformed into tranquility and contentment.
“Teacher settled all my karmic relationships in history with benevolent solutions,” she said. “Now I've come to realize that this practice, Falun Dafa, is absolutely priceless, and that as a practitioner, the wealth I reap is much, much more than a millionaire's.”
A Harmonious Family Through Cultivation Practice
Practicing cultivation in Falun Dafa not only resolved Ms. Ting Ru's resentment of her enemies, but also made her better at dealing with family. Whenever conflict arises, she always looks inside herself first to see if she had done anything wrong.
If she finds that she is at fault, she's always quick to apologize to her husband – “It’s my fault.”
Ms. Ting Ru said, “When a conflict arises, a practitioner should follow Teacher’s guiding principles. That’s genuine cultivation.”
Though Ms. Ting Ru's husband is an atheist, he deeply admires Master Li and Falun Dafa after witnessing his wife’s great changes in both temper and health.
He is also very supportive of her practice. He often reminds her, “It’s time to do the exercises and study the Fa.”
One time, Ms. Ting Ru was chatting with her daughter-in-law, who has always been very respectful to her. But that day, they got into an argument with each other, which made Ms. Ting very sad and hurt.
However, her mind changed immediately at the moment: “I am a practitioner. I should be compassionate and peaceful.”
Later she calmly explained her feelings to her daughter-in-law and resolved the misunderstanding, and just like that – their relationship was back to the friendly state that it was normally in.
Sharing Her Wealth
Ms. Ting Ru cultivates very diligently and benefits a lot from Falun Dafa, and is never hesitant about recommending the practice to others.
Whenever she got a chance, she would go to tourist resorts, such as Chihkan Tower and Alishan National Scenic Area, to inform the Chinese tourists there that “Falun Dafa is good.”
Deceived by the Chinese Communist Party's lies and propaganda, many Chinese people still have misunderstandings about Falun Dafa.
Ms. Ting Ru said, “Thousands of tourists from China come to Alishan. There are over 50 tourists buses a day there. I am not afraid of hard work and diligence as long as I could help them understand the facts about Falun Dafa. It makes me happy when Chinese people realize the truth, that Falun Dafa is a beneficial practice and not what their government has been telling them at all.”
Ms. Ting Ru hopes that she can have more opportunities to go to Alishan or Hong Kong to spread the facts about Falun Dafa. She wants to tell people about her own miraculous changes brought about through Dafa so that they can understand that “Falun Dafa is the righteous way.”
