(Minghui.org) “Where do human beings come from? Where are they going?” These are questions that troubled Ms. Ren Zhanqing, who got a master’s degree from Harvard University. In her quest to find an answer, she came into contact with many theories, but found the answer in one book. The following is her story.
Ms. Ren went to study Mathematics and Automatic Control at Caltech in 1991. In 1994, she entered Harvard University to get a master’s in Applied Science. At the end of 1995, an opportunity to answer her questions finally arose.
“A classmate of mine who majored in physics was also a graduate student at Harvard. Once we chatted about qigong,” Ms. Ren recalled. “He said that he had a very good book and he could lend it to me. I agreed. It turned out to be a photocopy of Zhuan Falun.”
“I read it right away and found it very interesting. The more I read it, the more interesting it was, so I read it in one night. It was well written and the content was profound. I could not stop and wanted to read it again. This section is good, let me see what else is said. I kept reading it.”
Soon, Ms. Ren knew that behind the book, there was also a story of a lifetime of searching.
The classmate who lent her the book once studied under the president of the East America Chinese Arts Association. The president was 68 years old at the time, and he learned Chinese martial arts since he was a child. He opened a martial club/martial arts gym and practiced medicine and was highly respected in the community. One day, the president received a photocopy of Zhuan Falun and a video of Mr. Li Hongzhi’s lectures from a friend. This photocopy was later passed on to Ms. Ren.
“The third eye of this senior gentleman was open,” Ms. Ren said. “When he read the book, he felt that the book was shiny with golden light. Later, he watched the video of Master Li’s lectures in the basement of his own martial arts club. He noted that when Master Li waved his hand on TV, the entire basement wall was covered with golden light. The senior gentleman said, ‘I have been studying kung fu and tai chi all my life, and I have been looking for something on a higher level. I finally found it.’ So he asked his students to learn Falun Gong together free of charge.”
Later, Ms. Ren also joined a seminar where they played Master Li’s nine-day video lecture series at the martial arts club, and began to practice Falun Gong. Her questions such as “Where do human beings come from?” and “What is the relationship between humans and the universe?” were gradually answered.
As reading Zhuan Falun gradually broadened her thinking, Ms. Ren discovered that the current education system in China had restricted people’s thinking. For example, when she was studying in China, she once suggested to her teacher that the theory of evolution was only a hypothesis and could not be proven by empirical scientific methods. But the teacher sternly warned her that, “It is not allowed to question this again.” It was only later that she realized that this was because the theory of evolution had been taken as the scientific basis of the so-called “Historical Materialism” in China.
“The theory of evolution is a political proposition. It is not an academic issue,” Ms. Ren said. “It is not allowed to be discussed. When we study science, our thinking should not have so many restrictions. It should be free and we should have our own personality and thinking. Don’t let political ideology limit your pursuit of truth, life, or the mysteries of the universe. People should be allowed to have pursuit of exploration and independent thinking.”
Background: What Is Falun Dafa?
Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings—which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance—and learned the five exercises have experienced improved health and well-being.
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