Learning Chinese Through Studying the Fa

(Minghui.org) I'm a Western practitioner who started practicing Falun Gong in 2001. I started studying the Fa in Chinese using a software program some time in 2003. I can currently read almost all of Zhuan Falun and most of Master's published lectures in traditional and simplified Chinese, and I often join the Chinese study groups in my local area and study the Fa in Chinese. I didn't know any Chinese language prior to this, nor was I really planning to learn Chinese prior to obtaining the Fa.

I would like to share my experience of learning Chinese through studying the Fa, in hopes that it will be helpful to other practitioners who wish to do the same.

I wanted to start studying the Fa in Chinese because in 2003, I ended up being the only practitioner in my city after two other practitioners left. This led to my becoming less diligent in cultivation and Fa-study. I was hoping that studying the Fa in Chinese would allow me to focus better while studying.

I was actually unsure whether it was respectful to study the Fa in Chinese using software, so I actually started by reading articles from the Minghui website in Chinese using a dictionary software program. Interestingly, the second Minghui article I read was about a mother in China wanting to teach her child Chinese, and not being sure whether to do so by reading Zhuan Falun in Chinese to him/her, and whether that was respectful or not. She started doing so, and was surprised at how quickly the child was learning Chinese. I took this article to be encouragement from Master to learn Chinese by studying the Fa, so I switched to reading Zhuan Falun using the software.

Again, it was not my intention to learn Chinese or fully study the Fa in Chinese. I thought that reading in Chinese would help keep me more focused. I think I did this for about 30-60 minutes per day, in addition to studying the Fa in English.

I was really surprised to find that within three months, I was able to recognize 30%-40% of the characters in Zhuan Falun without needing to use the software dictionary. Within a year, I was able to recognize about 80%-90%.

At this point, I was able to recognize the Chinese characters with their pinyin and literal English meaning, without needing the dictionary. I was still mentally translating back into English, word by word, as I was reading, which I still do sometimes.

My understanding is that because I was studying the Fa and Master's original words, the power of the Fa manifested itself, and it helped penetrate my brain so that I was able to quickly absorb the Chinese characters in Zhuan Falun and remember them so quickly. This is truly the power of the Fa, and definitely not due to my own ability.

After that, I slowly started joining the Chinese study groups, and reading the Chinese book during group study, which helped me pick up characters faster, increase my reading speed, and improve my pronunciation.

After my initial spurt in learning Chinese, I gradually improved, step by step. Many fellow practitioners, as well as Chinese people I talk to, are surprised at how well I can speak and read Chinese. Actually, my spoken Chinese is very elementary, but I can clarify the truth and conduct some basic conversations.

I would like to note that while I can study the Fa in Chinese, I can only read a bit of the Minghui website, and reading other Chinese text is still very difficult for me. However, this is sufficient for me personally. I know other Western practitioners who've progressed much further in their Chinese, but I personally feel happy that I can study and listen to the Fa in Chinese.

I've learned almost all my Chinese through studying the Fa–I did read a few basic Chinese grammar books and audio materials at times. That was definitely helpful, especially to understand the grammar, but I picked up most of the Chinese language and characters I know through studying the Fa and listening to Master's Fa lectures.

I would encourage any Western practitioner who wants to try to study the Fa in Chinese to do so. It's a very rewarding experience, even if you aren't able to fully study the Fa in Chinese in a short time.