[Selected Opinion Articles] After Feeling Lost for Half a Century, I Finally Understand What Life Is For

(Minghui.org) Born in the 1950s, I encountered the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) in my teenage years. Dressed in green military uniforms with red armbands, we often stopped classes to participate in the revolution, which included attacking teachers in the school, as well as raiding landlords' and rich peasants’ houses in the nearby villages.

At that time, we all considered the revolution to be the purpose of our life. After all, Mao Zedong said in the Little Red Book, “Rebellion is justified,” and “A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.” This way, class struggle and hatred were seeded in our young minds. We firmly believed that three quarters of the world’s population still lived in disasters and they needed us to liberate them and guide them towards communism.

Later on, we followed Mao’s campaign that “the educated youth need to go up to the mountains and down to the countryside.” While in the mountains or countryside, we continued to attack Confucianism and intellectuals. Our heroes were those like Zhang Tiesheng, who turned in a blank piece of paper at the college entrance exams in 1973 and claimed knowledge was useless.

The absurdity continued after I was married. At that time, China began its one-child policy (which was in effect from 1980 to 2016). It was all right to have one baby, but additional ones would be met with fines, house raids, and even detention.

Looking back at those years, it was fair to say both our minds and bodies were manipulated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Then as now, the Party only cares about maintaining its rule at all cost.

Had I not become a Falun Dafa practitioner in 1996, I would have been totally confused because the “revolution” I lived for has been changed by the CCP, at least on the surface. Instead of educating youth that “rebellion is justified,” the Party spends loads of money on “maintaining social stability,” which was estimated to cost 1.3 trillion yuan (or US $200 billion) in 2018.

Similarly, to ease domestic tension and boost the economy, the CCP resumed college entrance exams in the late 1970s and later even abolished the one-child policy in 2016.

Despite all these changes, however, the Party has never loosened its ideological control of people’s minds. This was clearly seen from the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 and the persecution of Falun Dafa since 1999.

Looking back in history, China has a long and deep tradition of spiritual pursuit, long acknowledging the harmony between heaven, earth, and mankind.

The CCP has destroyed China's spiritual heritage and lineage, indoctrinating people with hatred, brutality, and lies instead. Falun Dafa and its principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance can bring people back on track, providing hope in a world that so desperately craves it.

More specifically, following Falun Dafa teachings in our daily lives, Falun Dafa practitioners always strive to be better people. Instead of complaining and resenting, we understand that many of the illnesses and conflicts we have may be related to karmic debts in the past. By treating others with respect, forgiveness, and compassion, practitioners are able to resolve conflicts with others, and also constantly improve our mind nature.

Furthermore, when practitioners maintain our calm minds and show our consideration of others, our genuine kindness often earns us the trust of others. Many of us are able to mend tense relationships with family members, get along with once difficult neighbors, and work well with coworkers. All of these are top health benefits and character improvements that many practitioners have experienced.

This is why I feel so blessed to have encountered Falun Dafa. After feeling lost for nearly half a century, I have finally found my home.