(Minghui.org) Zhuan Falun, the book containing the main teachings of Falun Dafa, was first published in China 25 years ago in 1995. A German edition was made available in 1998, and many people in German-speaking regions have since benefited from it.

The teachings in Zhuan Falun have helped many people understand and get through low points in their lives. Many people have stopped complaining about misfortune, but instead seek to improve themselves by becoming better people. The book has helped people from all walks of life alleviate anxiety, become more considerate of others, and become positive influences in other people's lives. As we enter the year 2020, the following German-speaking practitioners hope their stories will inspire more people and help others experience similar transformations.

About 6,000 Falun Dafa practitioners sit together to create the image of the book Zhuan Falun in Taiwan's Taichung City on November 21, 2009.

Getting Through Life's Lowest Point

Milena is the owner of a beauty salon. She still remembers the joy she felt when she read Zhuan Falun for the first time. “I was so absorbed in it that I almost ran to get my car after work every day, so that I could get home earlier to continue reading it,” she recalled, “In those days, I had little time for shopping and my fridge was nearly empty.”

She has journeyed a long way from the difficulties in her life to becoming a successful businesswoman. “I used to suffer a lot and could not figure out why I had all that misfortune,” she said.

Milena was mistreated by her father from a young age, and she could not go to college because no one in her family would help with her tuition. She then started her own business from scratch and encountered deep learning curves, which were incredibly painful. “However, all of these things were nothing compared to the mental stress of my own life,” she added. “The father of my son illegally took my son from me twice, leaving me in deep despair and sorrow.”

After she began to read Zhuan Falun, the following passage stood out to her:

“In the Buddha School, “salvation of all beings” implies bringing you out of everyday people’s most agonizing state to higher levels. You will no longer suffer, and will be set free—that is what it implies.” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)

“When I read these words, I was so touched that my entire body was shaking—I immediately knew that this was what I had been looking for,” she said.

As she continued reading, Milena found that the questions she had about life were answered one by one. The principles described in the book also helped her realize that she was not as good as she had thought. “So I told myself: You have done so many bad things in your life and that’s why you have to endure the pain now. There is nothing to complain about,” she explained.

The changes she experienced were dramatic. With a better understanding of many situations around her, Milena found that she had no need to worry anymore. In contrast to the constant struggling and fighting she had done for her business in the past, she learned how to handle things with a peaceful mind based on the teachings from Zhuan Falun. “My customers soon realized these changes, since my complexion turned rosy, and I became happier and more open-minded. One of them even asked if I was in love,” Milena said, laughing.

Ava, the single mother of three children, is also grateful that Zhuan Falun helped her get through the worst days in her life. “My mother was my best friend and she helped me so much. That’s why when she died, I could not accept it. Whenever I thought about her I would cry and cry, and was unable to stop,” she said.

The principles explained in Zhuan Falun were clear and profound. “The section ‘Demonic Interference from One’s Own Mind’ in Lecture Six helped me a lot. From that I came to understand that I did not need sympathy or to cry so hard, so the uncontrollable grief stopped,” she said.

A Falun Dafa booth at the Lunen City Multicultural Festival 2016.

A Sincere Heart

Sabrina used to worry about the state of society a lot. She started running her own business and was disturbed by the corrupt situations she witnessed. “The moral values are going down generation after generation, and I could not see any hope,” she recalled. Sabrina had already started to lose faith in organized religion, but she still prayed every day. “In my heart, I was praying towards the original Creator and asking him for help, although I did not know who he was,” she added.

Sabrina later came across the book Zhuan Falun. Instead of reading it page by page, she first looked at the table of contents. Seeing the section about “The Issue of Killing”, she realized this cultivation system is indeed very righteous and began to read the book from beginning. She noticed the following:

“All of the principles that Sakyamuni and Lao Zi discussed in their time were confined to principles within our Milky Way. What does our Falun Dafa cultivate? Our cultivation practice is based upon the principles of the universe’s evolution, and it is guided by the standard of the universe’s highest characteristic, Zhen-Shan-Ren. We cultivate something so enormous that it equates to cultivating the universe.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)

Moved by these words, Sabrina was very excited and wondered if her prayers to the original Creator had been answered. As she continued reading the book, she stopped being so cynical.

“I learned that I should not have complained about how bad other people are—that won’t go far, because I was not truly a good person, either. I should therefore just focus on improving myself according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” she said.

While running her business in the past, she had received many gifts from others. “I did not use them, so I decided to just give them away to people who needed them,” she explained.

Letting Go of Anxiety

Ursula works as a researcher. She said that she was deeply drawn in when she first started reading Zhuan Falun. “I also noticed something interesting. As I read through the pages, lots of questions came up and they would always be answered in the next few pages. New questions then came up and they were also answered afterwards. It went on like this, over and over again,” she recalled, “This is a miraculous book.”

Looking back over her life, Ursula said she used to worry about many things, especially her children. She would be nervous and even terrified when they were not around. After she started to read Zhuan Falun, she gained some new understandings about this.

One day her husband needed to take their daughter to a competition in another city. It was winter and it had just snowed. She felt worried and planned to join them. The night before the trip, Ursula suddenly had a severe stomachache and had difficulty sleeping. So she got up to read Zhuan Falun.

“Several lines into the reading, my anxiety was gone,” she continued, “After all, everyone has his or her fate. I could try to help them, but the anxiety wouldn’t do anyone any good.” Interestingly, with that thought her stomachache disappeared. The next day she chose to stay at home and take care of some household chores. This was something unimaginable for her in the past.

Ursula credits her current harmonious life with her husband and children to Falun Dafa. Her mother, who is not yet a practitioner, has also enjoyed reading Zhuan Falun. “She once told me the teachings of Falun Dafa helped her understand what was described in the Bible,” she said.

Practitioners perform the second set of Falun Dafa exercises at St. Michael's Church in Munich, Germany.

Being Considerate of Others

Hannah, who is now in her 20s, heard about Falun Dafa from her mother during her childhood in China. When she attended school in China, she tried to follow the principles described in Zhuan Falun in her daily life.

“In the beginning, I had often argued with other students and said words that hurt them. Later on, I learned the importance of being considerate of others,” she explained. As a result, during her years in high school people around her liked her and enjoyed spending time with her.

Falun Dafa also taught Hannah about compassion. “If you really think about it, everyone in society may have things they are worried about or have been hurt by others. If we just care about ourselves, not others, we would not only suffer pain ourselves, but also do things that cause others more pain. In the end, everyone would become selfish and dishonest,” she explained.

That is why she is very thankful for Falun Dafa. “If I hadn't read Zhuan Falun, I might have just acted like other young people—playing games or indulging myself in pleasure, without caring much about my family or other people. I might have even done bad things to gain what I wanted,” she said, “I am so fortunate to be a Dafa practitioner.”

Petra, a practitioner in Hamburg, agreed. She said the teachings of Falun Dafa have helped her eliminate the resentment she felt towards her parents and also improved her work environment.

“My coworkers said my presence helps people get along well with each other,” she said, “A coworker once used certain dirty words and then apologized to me later, saying that he didn't know I was there.”