Western Practitioner: The Benefits of Studying the Chinese Language

(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners! I'm an Australian practitioner. I'd like to share about how I've been studying Chinese language and the great benefits from doing so.

I've studied Chinese in Chinese language schools for about ten months in total. Now I just study by myself with textbooks I've bought. I've been through a lot of trials and tribulations in the process of studying Chinese. I've even stopped and started many times. However, one thing that I've noticed is that when I'm at a truth clarification activity, or anywhere, for that matter, if I clarify the truth to Chinese people in Chinese, they are shocked and surprised to see a Westerner who practices Falun Dafa. They are also surprised that a Westerner can speak some Chinese. I tell them things like, "Falun Dafa is good. The Chinese regime persecutes Falun Gong, and heavenly principles don't allow it. There are many Westerners in Australia who practice Falun Gong. Falun Dafa teaches people to be good, etc." When big groups of Chinese tourists come, I kindly tell them, "This is your opportunity to understand the truth. Have a look at the information display."

With regard to Fa study, I now study only the Chinese version of Zhuan Falun. I previously thought that I should balance between the two, English and Chinese, and I worried that if I only studied the Chinese, my cultivation situation would lag behind. Actually, that was just negative notions holding me back.

I realized that I had to start seriously studying the Chinese version of Zhuan Falun and let go of my worries that my Fa study would lag behind. When I first started to study the Chinese version, I could understand only a little bit. But I was determined to learn, so I learned more and more, very quickly. After some time, my understanding of Chinese improved dramatically. Instead of looking at my dictionary all the time, when I studied the Fa, the English version of what I was reading would suddenly come to mind. From having absolutely no understanding of the Chinese version of Zhuan Falun to understanding about 90-95 percent of the surface words now, I can see that all of my efforts to continue studying Chinese were well worth it. Studying the Chinese version feels so much closer to my heart. After understanding different Chinese characters and their meanings, I felt the Fa principles were more firmly planted in my heart.

When I first obtained the Fa, it was my goal to study Master's original words. Sometimes I felt the goal was unachievable. But it is achievable! Now I both read Zhuan Falun and watch the nine-day lectures, all in Chinese. My focus is on studying the Fa, but during the process, my Chinese naturally improves. When I finish reading Zhuan Falun this time around, I'm going to start memorizing it. At first I will start by memorizing one sentence at a time and then recite each sentence three times before moving on.

I'm sometimes very tired and have used a lot of time during the day working or doing other things. I try to make sure to revise and read over some new Chinese vocabulary before I leave home and before I go to sleep. I feel my memory has been strengthened.

I recommend that non-Chinese speaking practitioners memorize some simple things to say so they can clarify the truth to Chinese people. It can be a very simple phrase, but the effect is great. If you are not very experienced with Chinese, you should first make sure your tones are correct and then you can recite what you want to say with speed. Chinese practitioners can help you to perfect what you want to say. If your tones are not right, you most probably will be misunderstood.

I'll conclude my sharing with some useful things to say in Chinese. Next to the English is the pinyin pronunciation. You'll need to ask a Chinese practitioner to teach you the tones.

- Falun Dafa is good! - Falun Dafa Hao

- Falun Dafa has spread to 114 countries - Falun Dafa Hong Chuan Yi Bai Yi Shi Si Ge Gua Jia

- Falun Dafa teaches people to be good people - Falun Dafa Jiao Ren Zuo Hao Ren

- The Chinese regime persecutes Falun Gong, heavenly principles don't allow it - zhong gong Po Hai Falun Gong, Tian Li Bu Rong

- [Australia] has a lot of Westerners who practice Falun Gong - [Aozhou] You Hen Duo Xi Ren Xiu Lian Falun Gong

- Remember Falun Dafa is good! - Ji De Falun Dafa Hao!

- Take a look, understand the truth - Man Man Kan, Liao Jie Zhen Xiang