(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Hong is the director of a well known international publisher based in Taiwan. She was a devoted Christian and had been looking for the purpose of living all her life. Ms. Hong has an entirely new outlook on life after practicing Falun Gong, and her heart is filled with joy. She said, " If it wasn't for Falun Gong, I don't know where I would be today. I can't imagine." Before the upcoming "World Falun Dafa Day," Ms. Hong recalled her experience of obtaining Dafa.
Joy to Hear Dafa, Fortunate to Obtain Dafa
At the end of 1996, my brother went to a Falun Gong experience sharing conference hosted by the Singapore Buddhist Association and brought back the book, Zhuan Falun in simplified Chinese characters. He asked me if I wanted to read it. First of all, I love to read, second I have always been looking for the purpose of life and why are we here. So I agreed to read the book. To my surprise, once I picked up the book, it went straight to my heart. Now I find it is very important to read Zhuan Falun after work each day, sometimes until midnight. At the beginning, since I rarely had the opportunity to read books in simplified Chinese characters and I was not familiar with those characters, it took me a whole week to finish the book.
My brother had asked me before if I wanted to learn the Falun Gong exercises. I was a Christian and was baptized as a baby. I went to church to listen to sermons and to sing hymns. I was not interested in exercises, and worship in Buddhist temples seemed so distant from me. After I finished reading Zhuan Falun, I felt that this was a special book, a great book. Even though the book is written with such easily understood words and colloquial language, its inner meanings are boundless. It answered so many questions I had. I went to my brother this time and asked him, " Would you teach me the exercises? I want to learn!"
When I went to church, each time, I still felt empty; I did not find the things that I was looking for. I lingered between bookstores, looking for books on philosophy, books that explore human life and the soul, trying to find the pillar of life. Some of those books are well written but I never read them over and over. Zhuan Falun is different, and I want to read it over and over again. I have been reading this book for the last nine years and I still want to read it.
When I first obtained Dafa, the pastor and my fellow Christians were worried about me. They prayed for me. I asked them some questions, which even the pastor could not answer, and they stopped trying to get me to come back. Gradually, my fellow Christians stopped looking for me, since our paths in life became so different. Now I have more fellow Dafa practitioners, who diligently study together, assimilate to "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" together, and improve our environment together. Life is so commendable and gratifying.
I feel so happy to have been able to obtain such a remarkable Dafa. I went to China twice to exchange experiences with fellow practitioners in Beijing and Changchun, and also went to Fa conferences in Germany, New York and the Western United States. Before the persecution started in 1999, I was focused on individual cultivation, making more efforts in improving my xinxing. Besides doing the exercises every morning, I attended group Fa study once or twice a week, and life was quite simple.
Improving Xinxing is the Most Important
Even after practicing Dafa for one year, I still could not double cross my legs for an hour. The longest time was 55 minutes, and I could not extend the time any further. One particular week was very testy; my boss was very disagreeable with me. No matter what I did, he was upset with me. He constantly addressed me with the wrong name. Usually, he always addressed me as Ms. Hong, but that week he addressed me as Ms. Guo, or Ms. Liu. I did not know what was wrong with him and why he was so extremely upset.
I knew I did not pass one test very well. My boss likes to criticize people. For example, when we were returning from somewhere in a taxi together, he began criticize the taxi driver, complaining all the way to his office. I became impatient and said, "Why do you keep complaining about the taxi driver? He can't hear you, and it is I who has to put up with your complaining." Wow! My boss was very upset. He thought that I was not considerate of him, and after that, he constantly addressed me with the wrong name.
One day, my boss asked me to change his health card. I thought he had been constantly picking on me, so I paid extra attention when I was filling out his form. I handed him the form after I was done. He became furious and cursed me out loud. I did not know what he wanted, but he thoroughly cursed me out. I was not moved at all that day. Even though he stood near me, I felt as if he were far away. It was as if I were watching a boiling pot; I did not feel anything. After he finished ranting, I replied, " I am very sorry Mr. Cai." His face turned red and he must have felt embarrassed by his irrational behavior and he went back to his office.
I went to do the exercises the next day and to my surprise I was able to sit in meditation for over one hour. When I went back to work, my boss no longer acted like he disliked me, as if nothing had happened. He has addressed me with the right name ever since.
Also during that week, when I was faxing documents, my boss came over to criticize me. I answered him back, because things were not as he stated and I felt wronged. He became angrier and shouted even more after I answered him back. I thought, I am a practitioner, why can't I maintain my xinxing? I was learning Zhuan Falun by heart at the time, and was on Lecture Four, "Upgrading Xinxing". I was reminded,
"Because many people could not maintain good xinxing in the past, many problems occurred. After their practice reached a certain level, they could not make further progress." (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
The April 25 Event Made Falun Gong Known to all in Taiwan
In April 1999, the news of over ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners going to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong broke out and shocked the international media. The TV stations in Taiwan were broadcasting live scenes repeatedly. We saw Falun Gong practitioners standing quietly, reading Zhuan Falun. The "April 25" event made Falun Gong known to all in Taiwan. Before the event, when I was chatting with taxi drivers, nine out of ten drivers did not know what Falun Gong was. Now, Falun Gong was known to every family overnight. From April 25, 1999 to the same date in 2000, the number of people who practiced Falun Gong in Taiwan expanded quickly from 200,000 to 300,000.
Because TV stations, magazines and newspapers were competing with each other in reporting on Falun Gong, some newspapers had their entire front page covering Falun Gong's principles, "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." Our Falun Gong nine-day lecture classes filled up quickly. Students sat very close to each other, filling the house. When it was time to learn the exercises, we had to move to outside to have more room. There were countless phone calls from people and the media, asking, what is Falun Gong? When is the next nine-day lecture class? Many organizations and government institutions invited Dafa practitioners to their facilities to teach the exercises. Zhuan Falun was sold out everywhere; you had to order it two weeks ahead of time to receive the book.
Clear Away the Clouds to Understand the Truth; Firm Righteous Thoughts Won't Stray Off Course
On July 20th 1999, after Jiang's regime and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Gong, my thoughts fluctuated at times. We were able to receive CCTV (the CCP media mouthpiece), and they were broadcasting the "April 25" events. It looked as if it were a drama played out according to a script. I felt terrible throughout the whole night.
When I was walking on the street the next morning, suddenly there was a thought: "What if all this were false, what should I do?" I was terrified. If Falun Gong is false, have I wasted all my effort? I began recall quietly. I realized that since the beginning of my practice, I did not lose anything but benefited enormously. Master did not ask us for a penny, did not ask us to donate money, only asked us to be a good person. If I did not obtain Dafa, I could not open my wisdom, I wouldn't have understood the true purpose of why we come to the world. If this universal Dafa is false, teaching people to be good, upgrading xinxing and improving morality are all false, then people coming to this world will be pointless. After I thought it through, I became even firmer. I was so relieved and very happy. I still remembered the moment that I understood even more clearly about Falun Gong, about the Fa.
There are processes when people pursue the truth. With regard to the path we walked through, whether it was blindly searching or searching with a clear intent, we can quietly think it through. After I thought it through, I felt even more substantial; I never had the doubt again.
The persecution not only affected practitioners in Mainland China but also changed the life of practitioners abroad. I remembered before, when I went abroad to a Fa conference, we would go sightseeing after the meetings, feeling lighthearted and carefree. Now it is different. So many Dafa practitioners in Mainland China are suffering persecution, have lost their jobs, lost close relatives, lost their homes, became disabled or even lost their lives. We cannot sit around and do nothing. Practitioners in Mainland China are clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings under such tremendous pressure. We will publicly express our support. Every time we hold activities against the persecution, I have a deep feeling of grief as the death toll in China rises from 200, 300, 1,000 to over 2,000 practitioners.
If there were no persecution, there would be more people able to obtain Dafa. If people were not poisoned by the CCPS deceit and lies, there wouldn't be so many misunderstandings of Dafa.
I remembered clearly those times between 1999 to 2000. I went to New York to attend a Fa conference, and I was distributing fliers on the streets, to tell people the wonders of Falun Dafa and to expose the truth of the persecution. One westerner came up and asked: "How much money do you make this way? How much money does the American government give you [to do this]?" I told him: "Everything is at our own expense, whether it's the plane ticket, hotel, food - it all comes from our own money; nobody gives us financial assistance. Why do we do it? Because I benefited enormously from Dafa, Falun Dafa upgraded my moral character, improved my health, and let me know the purpose of life. I want to come here; I want to tell more people how wonderful Falun Dafa is. It is the CCP's lie that we are paid to do what we do. They want to cover up their persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. They are afraid of the good people who practice Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance."
I cannot image where I would be if I had not obtained Falun Gong. Before the upcoming seventh annual "World Falun Dafa Day," I sincerely hope that more people can understand the truth of Falun Gong and return to the bright path home.
