(Minghui.org) May 13, 2023 marks the 31st anniversary of the public introduction of Falun Gong around the world and the 24th World Falun Dafa Day. It is also the 72nd birthday of Falun Gong’s founder Master Li Hongzhi.

On May 7, Falun Gong practitioners in northern Taiwan held a celebration at Taipei’s Liberty Square. They came from all walks of life, including university professors, physicians, lawyers, civil servants and housewives. Men and women, young and old, can benefit from Dafa as long as they follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, consider others first, and persevere in the practice.

Doctor of Philosophy in Music: Practicing Dafa Changed My Personality from Being Rigid and Intense to Peaceful

Dr. Chen Wei-Tung: “I feel peaceful after practicing Falun Gong”

“While many people took up Falun Gong because of poor health, I was looking for improvement of my character when I encountered some issues.” Mr. Chen Wei-Tung, who obtained a music education Ph.D. in Germany, introduced the German desktop harp (Veeh Harfe) to Taiwan. He has taught at National Tsing Hua University and National Hsinchu University of Education, dedicating himself to promoting music education.

While Dr. Chen was in Germany for his doctoral studies in 2000, he came across information about Falun Gong often, but never got to know it in depth until 2007, when his daughter’s music teacher introduced it to him.

Dr. Chen said, “I saw many of my shortcomings after measuring myself against Dafa’s teaching. My temper was rigid and intense. Sometimes I was too direct. But I improved a lot since practicing Falun Gong, and my family is more harmonious. Zhuan Falun (the main book of Falun Gong) teaches people to look within when it comes to cultivating personal temper. Although I can’t do it all the time, I gradually take thing lightly, not lose my temper so easily and examine myself more to find my shortcomings, in order to keep improving myself.”

“You can feel the inner peace. Just like Chinese music, it delivers a sense of calmness, but it does not mean it is slow or dull. Instead, it’s the peace of mind and has layers of meaning in it. When dealing with daily routine and family members, I can handle it with a more peaceful state of mind, and have buffer space when conflicts arise.”

As a music educator, Dr. Chen also has a new point of view on the presentation of the music professionally after the practice. “I used to think highly of myself in playing the violin and singing. I paid special attention to show off my professional skills, but barely thought about the inner bearing. But after I came in contact with Shen Yun’s music, I saw a higher level of presentation, which conveys more connotation and message, not just the superficial pompous skills of music.”

He continued, “Today, at this May 13 celebration of Master Li Hongzhi’s birthday, I feel particularly moved, and keep thinking of Master’s compassion and also recalling several stories shared by practitioners about Master’s early days when he imparted Dafa. I want to remind myself that I should not attach great importance of myself but should treat others kindly.”

Nurse: Keeping Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in Mind Can Help People Tolerate Everything

Ms. Luo Ching-Yi: “I have been cultivating for more than twenty years and never want to give up the practice.”

Ms. Luo Ching-Yi was an operating room nurse. When she took her kid to the park one day in 2001, a woman introduced Falun Gong to her. She recalled, “She impressed me since she wasn’t trying to force anything to me, but truly considered me and my child. She made me feel peaceful and friendly. I didn’t had any ailments at the time so I didn’t think that I need to practice qigong. But she told me about the book of Zhuan Falun and suggested me to read it, which piqued my curiosity.”

She continued, “I looked for the book for a while before finally getting hold of a copy. After reading it, I felt that it was what I had been looking for all my life. I have always had a question about what people live for since I was a child. And I found the answer in the book: returning to the original, true self.”

Though she didn’t have any serious illnesses, she had atopic dermatitis since she was a teenager, which was cured after two to three months of practice without her paying special attention to it.

Initially, Ms. Luo had some doubts due to the demonizing propaganda spread by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against Falun Gong. Her husband also urged her to quit. Later, she met some practitioners who explained the situation to her and spread the truth about Falun Gong in public and learned that the news reports were lies from the CCP. Her doubts were cleared up.

Ms. Luo had been exposed to other religions before, but found that money was involved in them in the end and they could not lead people any further. “After I attended my first Falun Dafa conference with curiosity, I found that there was really no money involved and no religious rituals, just a simple sharing of cultivation experience. Falun Gong doesn’t want any of your money, but only your heart to be good.” She recalled.

“I told myself on my way home that I wanted to practice. In retrospect, it was probably a test of my steadfastness.”

Looking back at her twenty years of cultivation, Ms. Luo said, “Zhuan Falun tells people how to cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, which is actually about putting these principles in our hearts all the time and use it as a ruler to measure everything. Doing so prepares us to tolerate everything, be it at home or at work. We should see the good sides of others all the time instead their shortcomings.”

“After seeing my transformation over the past twenty years, my husband has also started to practice and has come along to the event today. Today’s event is a celebration of Master’s birthday, and participating in the event is also a way to promote Dafa to the world.” She added.

Dafa Leads People to Return to Their True Selves

Ms. Chien Shu-Min: “Falun Gong is a very good practice for people to cultivate their hearts and return to their original true selves.”

After her three children were born, Ms. Chien Shu-Min decided to become a full-time housewife to raise them. In 2004, the director of her local library invited her to attend a Falun Gong nine-day class, which led to the opportunity for her to take up the practice.

The classes completely changed Ms. Chien’s impression of Falun Gong as a religious group. She said, “I realized that Falun Gong is really not a religion after I came into contact with it. After reading Zhuan Falun, I learned that it does not follow religious rituals. After learning more about it, I was convinced that it was the cultivation method I had been looking for.”

Ms. Chien said that it was not easy to bring up three children. She was often irritated and upset. But after taking up cultivation, she gradually understood that this was for her to improve herself. She recalled, “I was living with my parents-in-law too. I often had no patience talking to them, full of ego. After practicing Dafa, I reminded myself to let go of my ego, measure things from a practitioner’s point of view, think about others, be a good wife and mother, and treat my in-laws well.”

“In the past, I always wanted to be in charge. But as a cultivator, I know that I have to think of others and do more for them. With these thoughts in mind, I gradually let go of many bad thoughts, and felt lighter. The more I took fame and fortune lightly, the more improvement I could achieve.”

Now that her children are grown up, Ms. Chien has returned to work with a different state of mind than before. She said, “I used to want to show my good performance to my supervisor to get his acknowledgment. But now I think it’s not necessary to highlight my own ability. Rather, I should focus on how to work well with everyone. In the past, I didn’t only emphasize my own ego, but I would also be jealous of others’ good performance. Now I look at other people’s good side and appreciate their contribution, instead of being jealous.”

Ms. Chien once again expressed her gratitude to Master Li Hongzhi, “I am very grateful to Falun Dafa Master Li Hongzhi for transforming me. I know that Dafa is the way to return to one’s true self and we should treasure this precious opportunity. I hope that people don’t judge it with their notions, but truly spend some time to know what it really is. It is a good practice for us to cultivate our hearts and return to the our original true selves, a way to cultivate back to heaven.”