(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Chen Jingwu is a 54-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from the Haigeng Sports Training Base in Kunming, Yunnan Province. He was arrested by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officers on March 27, 2011, and his home was ransacked. He is currently being held at a detention center. This is Mr. Chen's fourth arrest. He was also sentenced to two terms of forced labor. This article relates his experiences practicing Falun Dafa.
How I Began Practicing Falun Dafa
I started practicing Falun Dafa 14 years ago, in May 1999. Before that, I smoked and indulged in drinking and gambling. I suffered from all kinds of health problems from a very young age, including a severe sinus condition, a small intestinal ulcer, and chronic inflammation of the stomach. As a result, I was treated frequently by my doctor.
One day when I returned home, I saw a book lying on the table. It was Zhuan Falun by Mr. Li Hongzhi. I picked it up and flipped through the pages, but didn't understand much of its contents. The next day when I returned home, I saw three videotapes. My wife and child were not home at the time, and I watched one of the videos—the seventh lecture of “Falun Buddha Fa – Lecturing the Fa in Guangzhou.” I watched quietly alone. I was moved when Teacher talked about the issue of smoking, and what Teacher said made a lot of sense. I had smoked for over 20 years and suffered the consequences of chest pain and coughing, but was unable to quit. As I watched the video, I felt a warm stream flow downward and through my entire body, which felt a little strange since I'd never experienced anything like that before.
I finished watching the video about an hour and a half later, and wanted to smoke before going to bed. I lit a cigarette and had one puff. Instantly, I felt like vomiting and thought, “Why does the cigarette taste so bad today?” I put it down, and haven't touched a cigarette for the past 13 years. This change occurred so naturally that I didn't even need to make an effort to control my addiction. I now feel as if I never smoked before.
The next day when I returned home from work, two friends came by and knocked on my door wanting to play Mahjong, which was my other addiction. I didn't feel like playing that day, however. No matter how hard they tried to persuade me, I refused. That was impossible for me to do in the past, as I was infamous for my gambling addiction. My boss often said in business meetings, “You are an official, yet you still play Mahjong!” They didn't know what to do with me and eventually gave up trying to help.
After I closed the door, I thought, “If I don’t play Mahjong, what else can I do? Ah, this Gong seems to be wonderful. I watched only one lecture, yet I quit smoking and gambling. I must practice it.” I heard that Falun Gong was made known by one of my colleagues who lived upstairs, so I went to his home and asked him to teach me the exercises. He asked, “A person needs to bear hardship if he decides to practice Falun Gong. Do you think you can do that?” I said, “Yes, I'm not afraid of hardship!” He taught me the five exercises in his living room. The first four are standing movements, and the fifth exercise is a seated meditation. All of them were easy to learn. Just as we started the fourth exercise, I felt my stomach getting upset and felt like vomiting. I stopped and hurried home, where I vomited and had diarrhea. Afterwards, I felt very comfortable and light.
In the morning, I was awakened by the phone at about 6:00 a.m. I answered it, but no one was on the other end. The thought came to me, “Don’t go back to sleep. Go practice the exercises with them.” I hadn't gotten up that early for many years, because I usually played Mahjong until very late at night and usually didn't get up until 8:00 a.m. I greeted my wife and went out without knowing where the practice site was. I jogged, and arrived at the practice site where over a dozen people were practicing the exercises, and I joined them. Most were senior women. That was the moment that I started my path of cultivation.
Several months later, my diseases disappeared. Being healthy is such a good feeling! I also had a brand new outlook on the universe, life, and all beings in this world. I was truly fortunate to come to Dafa!
Following the Principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and Being a Good Person
Falun Dafa had an increasingly greater impact on me as I studied the Fa more. Through studying the teachings, I enlightened to the concept that cultivation mainly targets one’s xinxing. When I truly followed the standards of Dafa, the results surprised me: beginning with the miraculous effects of healing, the profound principles, and all of my questions from the past were answered. My view of life fundamentally changed.
I turned 40 at that time. I joined the group exercises daily in the morning and did Fa study at night. I cherished every opportunity to share experiences and spread the Fa.
-Quitting Drinking
I once attended a meeting for hotel managers. I knew most of the attendees. When I sat down, I thought, “I am now a practitioner, so I can't drink. I need to think of how to handle this situation.” Soon after, people started offering and drinking wine. I wanted to avoid this, so I went to the bathroom. When I came out, I saw that they were offering wine at my table. I returned to my seat after they finished pouring and went to serve another table.
However, when a practitioner needs to eliminate attachments, it will not work to simply avoid things or use a non-practitioner's strategies. Just as I returned to my table, someone said, “Director, come on! Finish this glass of wine!” A group of people then came over and offered me wine. I said, “Sorry. I haven't drunk anything for a long time. I quit drinking.” However, they still insisted. I had to tell them the truth and said, “I practice Falun Dafa now. I don’t drink wine. Please bear with me!” This was very effective. They returned to their seats and no one offered me wine after that. Whenever I have since had such encounters, I first removed my glass and replaced it with a soda cup. No one offers me wine after that.
-Repairing the Sewer
One year after I began practicing Falun Dafa, I was assigned to be the assistant director of the Operations Section. I went to the green areas and found several places where sewage had seeped, flooding the road and nearby sports field. The main entrance and roads were also flooded by the sewage, and the smell was really bad. I was assigned to find a construction team to estimate the cost and repair it as soon as possible.
I asked a construction maintenance manager to give me a cost estimate. Several days later, he sent me an estimate of over 70,000 yuan. I was surprised, and after carefully examining his calculation, I asked him to do it over and not include the original existing materials as new costs. He didn't reply.
The next day he came to my office and wanted to speak to me in private. I followed him to a private location. He quickly handed me something—a stack of hundred dollar bills—and asked me to take it. I immediately told him, “Please listen carefully. I am now a Falun Dafa practitioner. I can't casually take things from other people because I will lose de (virtue) if I did. Our Teacher asks us to be good people and to always follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I won't take your money, nor will I give you a hard time on purpose, but you must guarantee the quality of your work. That is a fair deal.”
The repairs ended up costing around 40,000 yuan (approximately $6,110 USD), and the quality of the work was very good. Even after ten years, we've never had any problems there.
Through this incident, I enlightened to the concept that cultivation is very serious. Everything we encounter in life will be a xinxing test.
