(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Gong on December 1, 2011, at the age of 75. I was aware of it long before that, and I supported the practice. I knew that it was good and I deeply respected Master Li, the founder of Falun Gong.
When I first came across the practice and its principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I acknowledged them immediately. I was very thankful to Master after witnessing my wife's miraculous changes.
She started practicing Falun Gong in May 1997 when she was suffering from late-stage stomach cancer. The doctor gave her only three months to live and we prepared for her funeral. To reduce our burden, she tried Tai Chi and several other types of Qigong, but with little success. She often fainted at the exercise sites and nobody dared to pick her up.
Six days after she started to practice Falun Gong, Master purified her body. She then recovered from all her illnesses. She was in high spirits and understood that she had come across the law of the universe and was determined to cultivate.
Passing the Tribulation of Life and Death
She was thought to have had a tumor in her stomach in 2006 and was in terrible pain for three days and nights. She was not able to eat or sleep. She listened to Master's lectures, memorized the Fa and sent forth righteous thoughts until the fourth day, when she asked fellow practitioners to come and send forth righteous thoughts for her.
She was not able to sit up when they sent forth righteous thoughts for the first time. But she could do the sitting meditation after the second time. When they sent it for the third time, she was able to get out of bed.
Our youngest son insisted that she go to the hospital because she hadn't eaten for three days. At the hospital she was diagnosed with an enlarged gallbladder. She was told that her life would be in danger if she didn't have surgery that day. Our daughters cried, but my wife was quite clear about true practitioners not coming down with illnesses. She knew that this was interference, and she wanted to go home.
She left the hospital with our family members chasing after her. Despite all heartfelt demands by her children, I supported her and said, “She believes in Master. Let her go home.” So we returned home.
She went out to distribute Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials. She slept through that night. The following evening she went out to distribute materials again and walked faster than any of the other practitioners. Again I witnessed the wonderfulness of Falun Gong.
Persecuted for Practicing Falun Gong
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) banned Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. My wife thought that the government might not know about the practice. She had benefited so much from it and thought she was the best person to speak of its benefits. Therefore, she went to Beijing to seek justice for Master and Falun Gong.
She was detained three times for a total of 250 days for appealing for Falun Gong. I went to the police departments and detention centers to demand her immediate release.
One day I went to the police station to have a visiting permit issued. The political instructor made things difficult for me. I grabbed his collar and asked him questions instead. He was speechless. They charged one hundred dollars for each permit. One day I went to see the leader of the State Security Division and questioned him. He was speechless too. The deputy leader gave me the permit without my paying for it.” It was just as Master said:
“... one righteous mind can subdue one hundred evils”. (Zhuan Falun)
One time I was asked to pick her up at the detention center. She was lying on a stretcher with a pale face. I was furious, beat on the table and reprimanded them saying, “She was healthy with rosy cheeks when she came in. Why was she like this now? What have you done to her and who did it?” The guards didn't dare to reply. She said she was alright and then I agreed to take her home.
I never prevented her from doing the three things. When I saw that there was a lot of informational materials about Falun Gong to distribute, I came along and helped. When she was trying to persuade our sons, daughters and relatives to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), I also said, “I have quit the CCP even though I had been a member for over 40 years.”
She wanted to establish a material production site at home in 2009. I gave her 1,000 yuan to buy a computer and other accessories and did more housework so that she had more time to make materials and save sentient beings.
Finding it Difficult to Step Into the Practice
She asked me to practice Falun Gong as well, and showed me the books. I fully believed what Master said. In my mind Master is a God who has entered this world and is saving sentient beings in a human body. He teaches the Fa to the world and what he teaches is beyond anyone else's knowledge. Only he dares to let his disciples practice cultivation in ordinary human society, to those who are able to let go of life and death.
I followed my wife to practice the exercises but found them difficult. I didn't think I was able to persevere. I admired my wife and other practitioners who were diligent in doing the exercises, studying the Fa, and cultivating their hearts to clarify the truth to save sentient beings for over a decade. I thought practitioners were remarkable. I said to my wife: “You have to sacrifice much in Falun Gong cultivation.” I worried that I would not be able to put up with the hardships. My attachment for seeking comfort prevented me from cultivating and becoming a practitioner.
Finally Cultivating in Falun Gong
Three incidents happened in my family in 2011 that helped me to make up my mind. At the beginning of 2011 my 23 year-old grandson was diagnosed with lymphoma. He passed away despite his mother spending a lot of money to have him cured. This was a huge blow to me.
Soon after that my eldest daughter had a stroke and the emergency doctor almost gave up, but my wife didn't. She sent forth righteous thoughts to negate the old forces' persecution and asked for Master's strengthening. She kept reciting “Falun Gong is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” My daughter improved and the doctor agreed to do brain surgery, but she turned into being in a vegetative state.
The two heavy blows caused me to have a stroke. I was hospitalized three times in November and January. I was not able to look after myself. I realized that I wouldn't live much longer. Practitioners came to see me and my wife also encouraged me, so I started to listen to Master's lectures. I realized my purpose in my coming to this world was for the Fa. I decided to let go of life and death and my attachments, and cultivate in Falun Gong.
I demanded to be discharged from the hospital on December 1. The doctors told me to rest, take medication and have a checkup every fifteen days.
Instead, I started to practice the exercises and study the Fa. I still felt dizzy and had no strength. I leaned on the bed and continued practicing. When doing the second set of exercises, I could hardly raise my arms. When doing the sitting meditation, I could sit 45 minutes but it was very painful. I persevered and recited Master's Fa:
“When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.” (Zhuan Falun)
Every day I read two lectures of Zhuan Falun and some of Master's other articles. I also read Minghui Weekly . I always felt time was tight. I asked my wife to help with the household chores, as I needed to catch up with cultivation.
Two weeks later a practitioner told me that it was time to stop the medication, and I agreed. On the one hand I practiced the exercises and studied the Fa, while on the other, I was still on medication. How could Master take care of me? Looking within, I found my attachment of fear. I was afraid of death. Master helped purify my body and dissolve my karma. Yet I still poured the black substances into my body. How could I cultivate?
Master said:
“Practitioners will not feel physically comfortable in their future cultivation, as their bodies will develop many kinds of gong, all of which are very powerful things moving around inside their bodies; they will make you feel uncomfortable one way or another.” (Zhuan Falun)
I stopped the medication and let go of my fear of death, as Master has arranged everything for me, and I should be a genuine practitioner. I had to pay back the debts I owed. I listened to Master's Fa, watched Master's lecture DVDs, studied the Fa myself, and also practiced exercises. I passed the tests one by one.
Master said:
“In fact, that is how it is. Why don’t you give it a try when you return home. When you are overcoming a real hardship or tribulation, you try it. When it is difficult to endure, try to endure it. When it looks impossible and is said to be impossible, give it a try and see if it is possible.” (Zhuan Falun)
Coming Out of a Vegetative State
My wife kept reciting “Falun Gong is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” daily to my daughter who was in a vegetative state. She read one lecture a day to her and she was able to move around. Now my daughter can read Zhuan Falun and sometimes she can even read an entire lecture a day. My other children and relatives witnessed the miracles we experienced and all support the practice.
I used to think that cultivation was difficult and I was not able to bear the hardships, and that it was good enough to enjoy jogging and doing some other sports.
Master said:
“In the course of teaching the Fa and gong, many people have found the Fa very good, but very difficult to follow. Actually, I think it depends on the person as to whether it is difficult or not. For an everyday person who does not want to practice cultivation, he will find cultivation practice simply too difficult, inconceivable, or impossible. As an everyday person, he does not want to practice cultivation and will find it very difficult.” (Zhuan Falun)
It is difficult to cultivate but there is true joy – the joy gained after the mind and body have been purified and has assimilated to the universal characteristics.
Clarifying the Truth and Saving Sentient Beings
I came to know a lot of Fa principles and also understood that practitioners' mission is to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. I began to talk to my friends about Falun Gong.
One of my friends said, “Though practitioners haven't done anything bad, they shouldn't go against the CCP or distribute materials, try to persuade people to withdraw from the CCP, or get political.”
I told him the story of the unique stone found at Zhangbu Village, Pingtang County in Guizhou Province, which says that the Chinese Communist Party will perish. Fifteen scientists did an investigation and found these characters were naturally formed and were not man made, and that it said “Heaven will eliminate the CCP.” Many things look like that of human beings doing them, but actually Gods have arranged them for us.
I then spoke of Bo Xilai. It appeared that he could not be touched by anyone. But hasn't he been arrested? He was accused of embezzlement and corruption but actually he committed genocide and crimes against humanity because of persecuting Falun Gong. Falun Gong will not do anything to him but Heaven will.
Practitioners tell people the truth, and they understand what the CCP is really like and why it is important to quit the CCP. How can you say they are getting political? He lowered his head and stopped debating with me. He looked like he understood.
Another friend I know was expelled from the Party. When I asked him to do the “three withdrawals” (quitting the CCP and its affiliates) he said that he was no longer a Party member. I told him that it didn't count because he has to sincerely quit the CCP himself to wipe away the mark of the beast. He understood and did the 'three withdrawals.'
