(Minghui.org) I am a sophomore in college. I don't think I can be counted as a true Falun Dafa practitioner, but I am firmly convinced that Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good, and that Master Li Hongzhi is great!
My mother was very sick from the time I was little. She often coughed until she threw up. Nobody could endure that sound. She coughed every night and woke me up every night. She is a doctor, but could not heal herself.
She had tried Western and Chinese medicine, but nothing worked. The drug injection caused bad inflammation and severe pain in her veins, and the Chinese herb made her nauseous. The drugs even corroded her teeth.
My mother also had severe arthritis in her knees and hips. Father and I often had to give her massages. Sometimes she even had me stand on her knees to ease the pain. Whenever it was cloudy or rained, she would feel the ache.
Her health problems made the whole family suffer. I was very sad for her.
On March 14, 2010, a Sunday, I slept unti 10:30 in the morning.Why didn't I wake up earlier? I was surprised to realize that she did not cough the night before, and then I realized that had been the case for several days. That day, she didn't ask me to give her a massage. Although it was raining, she didn't cry in pain. I will remember that day forever.
I asked her if she had found some magic pills. She said that she had borrowed a copy of Zhuan Falun from a friend, finished it, and had just started to read it again. Her motivation for reading the book was to look for flaws so that she could convince her friend that she should quit practicing Falun Gong. Instead of finding any “flaws,” the ailments that had tortured her for 40 years disappeared. Flushed with excitement, she told me, “This book is great! This is what I've been looking for.”
I was not happy though. Instead, I was afraid and worried. Due to the propaganda spread by the communist party, I had been deceived and had great misconceptions about what Falun Gong really was. I was also worried that my mother would be arrested for practicing Falun Gong. So my father and I tried to talk her out of it.
I was in high school back then. That whole week, I spent all my time writing to her, night after night, trying to convince her to quit practicing. A week later, on Sunday, Mom said to me calmly, “I have already made up my mind. No matter what happens, I will practice Falun Gong.
“I didn't spend a penny on it, yet it has healed the ailments that I suffered with for the last 40 years. Shouldn't I be grateful? How can I ever repay Falun Gong?” she asked me. She said a lot. In the end, I held her and cried. “Mom, I was wrong. Please forgive me. Go ahead and practice Falun Gong. Just, please, pay attention to your safety.”
My mother reads the Falun Gong book and does the exercises every day without fail. She is very healthy and now looks young compared to her friends the same age. She says that she understands now what real happiness is: “Every cell in my body is bathed in happiness.”
She convinced me to watch Master Li Hongzhi's lectures and learn the exercises. I entered a top tier college, and my mother found a great job in the same town. Everybody said that she was lucky—to go from being a sick person who could not work to a professional with a high salary.
My mother spends a lot of time talking to people – friends and strangers – telling them what Falun Gong really is, how she has benefited from it, and how brutal the communist party's persecution of Falun Gong is. She often asks people to quit the Party after they recognize how truly evil it is. She also asks people to remember that “Falun Dafa is good, and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
Her words have had a positive impact on many of the people she has talked to. Some of them have taken up the practice as well.
I am not sure that I qualify as a genuine Falun Gong practitioner myself, but I respect and support those who do. Before, I didn't understand why they always try to talk to people, even strangers, about Falun Gong, and post Falun Gong materials everywhere. It is so dangerous for them, given the severe suppression. Now, through my mother's experience, I totally understand.
They are willing to sacrifice themselves for others. They make flyers with their own money and talk to strangers on their own time, all because they want to others to know that truth and benefit from Falun Gong too. This is true compassion!
Falun Dafa practitioners, I want to apologize to you for misunderstanding you. I also want to tell my fellow Chinese citizens: Please treat Falun Dafa practitioners kindly. All they try to do is for you, and you should make good choices for your own futures.
Finally, I want to ask the founder of Falun Dafa, Master Li Hongzhi for his forgiveness. I totally misunderstood Falun Gong and you. I would also like to express my appreciation. Master Li, thank you for the happiness you brought to my family. Thank you for all your endurance and all the positive impact you've had on society.
