(Minghui.org) I had a typical life before I encountered Falun Dafa 17 years ago. I went to school while young and later served in the army (which is mandatory in my country) just like everybody else. I worked for others for some time and had my own business at other times. I am also a wife and a mother.
However, I feel that my life truly began the moment I became a practitioner of Falun Dafa. I was already 50 at the time. Prior to that, I always thought how nice it'd be if everything went smoothly. I didn't understand why things didn't go as I wished, and I had no clue of the purpose of life. I didn't get what I was supposed to accomplish in this human world. I told myself that the life that I lived couldn't be the entirety of my existence. I observed that people around me didn't seem satisfied or relaxed even though they had good jobs, families, wealth, and power. Once they achieved a goal, they had to set another one so as to make their life meaningful.
Two years before I started practicing Dafa, I was diagnosed with the worst case of Hodgkin's disease (HD), a type of lymphoma cancer. I would faint if I tried to stand up. I had no appetite and lost a lot of weight. The pain was so intense that I couldn't fall asleep at night.
My hair fell out after several months of chemotherapy. My face turned ashen and my whole body was wrinkled. I had no strength and I almost stopped eating. All I had in mind was dark things. I saw no hope, and I remained bedridden for ten months.
At the end of chemotherapy treatment, tests showed no more cancerous cells in my body. But I was weak, easily tired, and unable to climb the smallest step, with alarmingly advanced osteoporosis. I didn't know what to do, even though I had beat the cancer.
I read about Falun Dafa in a newspaper a few months later and went for the free teaching of the exercises. The first time I tried the exercises, my body hurt like crazy, but I bit my lip and carried on. I used a pillow to support my back during the meditation exercise. My joints felt like they were burning and I had to stop for a few minutes to ease the pain.
Despite the pain, I noticed that I was able to straighten my shoulder after the first try of doing the exercises. I took it as a hint to keep going with the exercises. The practitioner who taught me the exercises was a professor of neuroscience, and he and his wife opened their home to offer free teachings of Dafa exercises. I knew deep in my heart that this practice was good for me, so I kept on.
It wasn't easy reading Zhuan Falun, the main teachings of Falun Dafa. I found the book interesting, but ordinary, the first time I read it. I just read a few pages before bed every night. But I did realize that the book answered some of the questions I had about life. Back then I had a very shallow understanding of cultivation. I encountered many problems in my life, yet I failed to see that those problems were opportunities for me to cultivate myself according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
I remember doing dishes one morning and thinking about how I should cultivate at the same time. I had so many wild thoughts that they almost drove me crazy. I cried in the end and said to myself, “I shouldn't call myself a Falun Dafa practitioner if I can't even figure out what cultivation is.”
I kept crying but then a thought popped in my head, “Wait a second. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is very important to me and I've always tried to follow the principles. Maybe I can't call myself a Falun Dafa practitioner yet, but I will still follow the principle to conduct myself.”
I calmed down and decided to just cultivate without trying to figure out whether I deserved the title of Falun Dafa practitioner.
In the years that followed, I kept studying Zhuan Falun and other teachings of Master Li. I also shared my understandings with fellow practitioners. Little by little I came to understand the universe's Fa principles and saw that the things I read in Zhuan Falun were validated one after another in my life. My body began to straighten up and heal. I felt healthy and strong and no longer took supplements. Sometimes I missed my bus and had no trouble walking one hour back home. I didn't feel tired at all.
At first, I didn't know how to explain Falun Dafa to my family, and they just knew that I went to do the exercises. But gradually I realized that I should tell my family and friends about Dafa so that they could benefit as well. My sister attended a nine-day workshop and began following Dafa principles in her life. I also set up a group exercise site and invited people I knew to attend.
Under the guidance of Dafa, I became more capable at dealing with various situations and interpersonal conflicts. I was no longer a burden for my family, and they saw me as an inspiration. They were stunned to see me become healthier and happier.
I am almost 67 now, feeling better than I have ever been in my life. I have no doubt that I am walking on the best path. This path can help people correct their mistakes and make them and their surroundings better. I believe this is a path that brings meaning and purpose to our ordinary life.
