Romania: Benefiting from Reading Zhuan Falun (Part 2)

(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 1)

Practitioners in Romania diligently cultivated themselves according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance that Falun Dafa’s founder, Master Li Hongzhi, outlined in Zhuan Falun. They strive to become compassionate and eliminate their bad habits.

On the 30^th anniversary of Zhuan Falun’s publication, they want to tell others how this book improved—and continues to improve—their lives.

Reading Zhuan Falun Brings Out My Good Side

Anca began practicing Falun Dafa 23 years ago. She first heard about Falun Dafa from a friend who taught kung fu. When he learned about Falun Dafa, he told her many times that he’d found “something authentic.” Curious, she asked him to lend her Zhuan Falun.

Anca and her husband

“Years later I still remember feeling happy when I put the book in my backpack. I didn’t understand how, but I felt my life was about to change for the better,” she said. As soon as she read the book, she felt that it was truly something extraordinary.

“I could feel how what Master said in the book got straight to the good in me and brought it out. I understood clearly, something I had so longed for, that all that matters in this life—whether you are rich or poor, successful or not, admired or not, happy or burdened by misfortune—is to be a good person, because that’s all you take with you after you leave,” said Anca.

One of the first realizations she had after reading the book was how to truly change her behavior. She been an only child with overprotective parents and was not used to hardship, so she drank alcohol to escape the difficulties and mental pain. Although she tried to quit drinking many times, she went back to the bottle at the slightest unhappiness.

“From Zhuan Falun, I understood that hardships have their purpose, and the essential thing is how we get through them, how we endure them, without hatred, resentment, or frustration,” said Anca. This principle, paired with the physical exercises, purified her body. She no longer felt the need to drink and quit completely.

“I became a strong human being who could endure pain and not become irrational or lose control of myself. I now strive to be a better person and align myself with the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance,” she said.

This mental resilience eventually translated into physical resilience. Anca noticed that she had become healthy. Before she began practicing, even small changes in the environment, such as colder weather, affected her. She said now her, “whole body feels strong.”

When her children were born, her improved physical health came in handy. “Even though I didn’t have a very healthy diet and hadn’t taken any supplements, the results of all her prenatal tests were optimal, and the doctor was amazed,” said Anca. “My children were born naturally and without any problems when I was 34 and 36. I wasn’t afraid of giving birth, during the actual births, or afterwards.”

Anca, now 46, is an asylum lawyer who helps refugees. She considers herself very lucky to be part of the tens of millions around the world who have benefited from reading Zhuan Falun.

“No matter the hardships, the stumbles along the way, the questioning of whether I could become a better person, I’ve always found benevolent answers and solutions in the teachings,” she said. “I cannot imagine what my life would have been otherwise.”

Breaking the Cycle of Family Abuse

Diana said Zhuan Falun helped her make sense of her childhood. Growing up in a broken home, she and her sister suffered greatly at the hands of their parents. Their father was a violent alcoholic. Coping with such a husband made their mother violent as well, and the two daughters endured their outbursts.

Diana reads Zhuan Falun

“My father died when I was 13 years old, after years of abuse and violence. I looked at myself and I had an epiphany. I saw that, even though I resented him and the way he acted so much, in many ways, I was exactly like him,” said Diana. “I often chose violence as a response to discomfort. I didn’t care about others or their feelings or how my actions impacted the people around me.”

She realized that a lot of things that she thought were her own thoughts and behavior were simply, “repeating others’ behavior” and that things in the world were not as permanent as they seemed. “At that age, I made a vow to myself that, in this lifetime, no matter what other things come to me, I would try to find truth and become a true person,” said Diana.

Diana struggled in her search for the truth. She couldn’t understand how people could be so cruel to each other, like her parents were. She became depressed. Her mother’s boyfriend was also an alcoholic who continued the cycle of abuse. Although she was eventually able to make some peace with her family, she still had many questions about life and why things had to be so hard.

Diana was 25 years old when she read Zhuan Falun. “My mind was blown,” she said. “Every question I had about the meaning of life—why are we here, why people suffer, how do we get out of suffering—were all answered by this one book.

“I’d searched for a spiritual practice for years, but nothing really clicked. They all seemed shallow, complicated, or too narrow. But this one book had it all. Simple, clear, but so complex at the same time.”

Today, after cultivating for eight years and aligning her words and actions with the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, Diana said her mental and physical heath, social relationships, and work ethic have all improved. More importantly, she was able to overcome the influence of her parents’ abuse on her personality.

“Zhuan Falun is truly a precious gift that I won’t be able to repay,” said Diana. “I would probably have ended up like my parents. The karma was so big in this family, they were just passing those tribulations down for generations, and no one was able to break that cycle until now.”