(Minghui.org) I have been practicing Falun Dafa since the end of 1996. Falun Dafa saved me at a time when I was severely ill and near death, and gave me a new life. I also went from being an illiterate, who could only recognize a few words, to a technical specialist. Dafa has taught me the meaning of life, and how to be a principled and selfless person.
A Wretched and Sickly Childhood
I was born in an extremely poor family. As my mother had no milk to feed me, my grandmother had to crush rice grains and feed me the extract.
From my earliest childhood, I suffered from multiple illnesses. We were so poor that we hardly had enough money to feed our family. It was literally a struggle for us to stay alive. I started going to school, but just after I had finished first grade, the Cultural Revolution began.
My father was branded a “counter-revolutionary” and within 3 days he was tortured to death. My mother was left to raise five children on her own. She could not afford to continue to pay for my schooling.
I became very ill when I was in my teens and nearly died. At the time, even the hospital staff thought that I would not survive. Luckily, an elderly man in our village, who had treated some difficult illnesses before, saved my life.
Tragic Adulthood and Deteriorating Health
I later got married, but my wife passed away when our son was 8 years old. I was left to raise him alone. I ran a small stall selling things and worked hard to make ends meet, but my health deteriorated by the day.
My illnesses did not get better despite seeing doctors, and I was so poor that I could not afford to stay in the hospital. I even tried going to a shaman, but nothing helped. At the time, my posture was hunched, my hair was white, and the crown of my head had become bald.
Every night when I lay down in bed, I was so exhausted that I couldn't move. I even worried about whether I could get up the next morning. I felt as though I had reached the end of the road. I dared not imagine what the future would be like.
Hope Rekindled
Towards the end of 1996, I took a trip with my elder brother to visit some relatives. When my brother saw how weak I was, he became concerned and asked about my health. After I told him he said, “Well, why haven't you started practicing Falun Gong?” Listening to him describe the practice renewed my hope, and I became very eager to start practicing.
There was a book seller beside my stall, and I asked if he had any books on Falun Gong. He obtained for me the book Falun Gong. Like a person who had found a precious treasure, I immediately began reading it. But because of my limited education, I could only recognize 2 out of every 10 words. I was worried.
When I got home that night, I asked my son to teach me to read, and as for the words that he didn't know, I had him check the dictionary. Master Li Hongzhi explained in the book why people had to endure so much suffering, as well as why one should - and how to be - a good person. He also explained many principles that I had not heard before.
The more I read, the more I understood, and the more my spirits lifted. I wished that I could finish the book in one go. The next day, I continued to read the book at my stall, and when I found words I didn't know, I would ask my customers for help. I would read whenever I had a spare moment. At first, I could only read 2-3 pages a day, but over time I began to read more and more.
All My Illnesses Disappeared on the Fifth Day
On the fifth day of reading this book, my elder brother gave me another book Zhuan Falun. When we met, he asked how I was. When I replied, he said, “Aha! Your voice is much stronger now.”
It was only then that I realized that my body, without my noticing, had become lighter, and all my illnesses had disappeared. I was no longer experiencing any discomfort in any part of my body. I had never felt this before in my life. I joyfully said, “I'm fine now, I'm cured! Hurry up and bring me the book!”
I soon found a Falun Gong exercise site, and learned how to do the five sets of exercises. From then on, I made it a point to do the exercises every day without fail.
Not long afterward, my posture became very straight, hair started growing back on the crown of my head, and my white hair turned black. I felt like my life had meaning again. I became more and more energetic, and was happier than I had ever been in my life.
Living by the Principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance
Through studying Master's lectures, I came to understand that, in cultivation, one must place emphasis on improving one's mind-nature (xinxing), and one must value virtue (de).
I didn't want to revert back to my state before cultivation. So I held myself strictly to the standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I treated everyone around me with kindness, and was always honest, fair and thoughtful when dealing with my customers. I would shoulder any problems, while letting others take the benefits.
After I began to truly follow the requirements of Dafa, I began to experience the various supernatural states that Master described in Zhuan Falun. Once, while doing the exercises, I experienced the state of “opening the top of the head”. There was an explosive feeling in my skull, and my mind became exceptionally clear. When sitting in meditation, I would feel as though I was sitting in an eggshell. Sometimes, I would feel incomparably large and tall. I realized that everything Master said was absolutely true.
Resolving Technical Problems at Work with Wisdom Bestowed by Dafa
In early 1999, a relative and I began work on a contract to mine ore from a mountain. My relative's employers had asked him to find a reliable partner to take care of the logistics, and my relative recommended me. My son was also employed to do the mining company's accounting. Together with another partner, he was also responsible for management and technical operations.
However, due to technical issues, the ore that we first mined was too poorly processed to be of any value. Our mine was forced to stop work shortly after we had started up. As a large amount of money had already been invested in the mine, this threw everyone into a frenzy. The cost of maintaining our equipment and labor was immense, and we were running further and further into debt each day. Yet no one had the expertise to resolve the problem.
Although I was not in charge of technical operations, as one of the contractors I was also very worried about the debt we were running up. So I went to survey the mine and realized that the problem was caused by the inappropriate use of equipment.
After practicing Falun Dafa, my mind had become increasingly clear, as though the gates of wisdom had been opened. Although I had never used this equipment before, after looking over the machinery and equipment for a while, I soon understood how to operate them properly.
I explained the operating essentials to the workers and had them strictly follow my instructions. This turned out to be extremely effective, and the mine finally produced its first viable ore. When the director heard that the technical problem had been solved, he was so excited that he immediately came to the mine to congratulate us, and appointed me director of technical operations on the spot.
In the early days of production, the work distribution was such that two workers would operate one piece of equipment. I later made changes to the operating protocol and had every worker take charge of multiple machines. When the workers said it was impossible, I personally showed them how to do it, and taught them how to operate them.
As a result, each worker could operate six different machines by himself. This dramatically reduced our labor costs. The mine made a rapid turnaround and became profitable. That year, we made a profit of over 20 million yuan. During the production process, the workers consulted me many times over various technical problems they encountered, but I was always able to resolve the problem completely. They were all stunned to learn that I had only gone through one year of schooling.
Chairman of the Board Impressed by My Honest and Clean Accounting Records
Master tells us that, no matter where we are, we must always be a good person, so I do my very best in my job. When the company needs new equipment or materials, I personally do a market survey before making a purchase, and endeavor to get the best things at the lowest price.
As the mine became more and more profitable, some people wanted to make some ill-gotten gains from it. At the time, I was in charge of signing off the company's income and expenses, and my son was in charge of the company's accounting. I was in an easy position to embezzle money from the company. So these greedy people told me not to be “too obstinate” or to not “miss the opportunity while it still lasts”.
But I knew that, as a cultivator, I must do everything according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and I must not do immoral things. So I did not give in to their pressure. As a result, some of them were offended, and even believed that given our positions, my son and I must have embezzled something by now. They surreptitiously made a report to our superiors.
One day, the board of directors suddenly sent an auditor to the mine to check the accounting records. But after investigating for three days, the auditor found that the records were clear and accurate to the very last cent.
After reading the auditor's report, the board of directors felt it was impossible for there to be zero errors in the accounting records, and decided that I must have bribed the auditor. So they ordered the auditor to stand aside, and the accounting records were sealed up to prevent further handling. Then the leader of the board of directors personally conducted an investigation with his team. But after three days they still could not find any problems in the accounting records.
Later, the chairman of the board said to my relative, “Your relative is a real oddball. How is it possible that, after investigating his accounting records, we couldn't find a single error?” My relative questioned why they were investigating him, and said, “Don't you know he's a Falun Gong practitioner?” The chairman was very impressed. Subsequently, when the persecution of Falun Gong began, not only did the chairman refuse to help the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecute me, I was the only contractor that he kept when he changed other contractors multiple times.
Miracles Happened to Me
During the time when I was working in the mine, many miracles happened to me, of which I will mention just one.
The company wanted to begin mining from a new site, which required that the surface rock be blasted away. Since these detonation projects were dangerous, I would always personally supervise the operation.
Usually, after the dynamite is planted, the detonating cord is laid such that it is in the opposite direction to the path of the blast. But that day a new and inexperienced worker had laid the cord, and he had laid it in the direct path of the blast. I had been careless and didn't notice the error.
After the detonation zone was cleared and everyone was in position, I pressed down on the detonator, blowing up the dynamite. A huge gust of black smoke surged towards me, and a hail of stones pelted down on me from the sky. From a distance, the workers saw me being engulfed by a blast of sand and gravel.
They were momentarily stunned and thought that I was a goner. But after the smoke and dust had cleared, they saw that I was still standing there, holding the detonator. People ran up to me to see if I was injured.
Some pulled my clothes, and others pulled at my hands. But after looking me over they realized that I didn't even have a scratch on me, whereas the detonator I was holding had been flattened by the hail of stones. I knew that Master had saved my life, and Dafa had worked a miracle.
To date, the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong has been ongoing for 15 years, and many Chinese people are still being misled by the CCP's lies, unable to see the goodness of Dafa. I have transcribed my personal experience with Dafa to let you know how extraordinary and good Falun Dafa is. I hope that you will recognize this persecution, see through the lies, and be saved.
Category: Improving Oneself
