(Clearwisdom.net) When Teacher first started giving lectures on the Fa in China I had not yet started cultivation practice. I was quite curious and liked turning strange things over in my mind. I liked reading Qigong books and had also read a few books about cultivation practice. I had some connections with people in the Qigong Scientific Research Association and was thus knowledgeable about the situation of many different Qigongs. I found Falun Gong was very good at the time, and it was different from any other Qigong. I also found Teacher to be a lot different from the other Qigong masters. One would find Teacher so peaceful and kind. Perhaps I was attracted by Teacher's mighty compassion. Even though I was not yet practicing cultivation, I envied the staff and students around Teacher and wanted to be in contact with them and learn more about Falun Gong.
No fixed residence, no bed, only a couch
Average veteran Falun Gong practitioners all know that Teacher had no permanent residence while giving lectures in Beijing. Purchasing an apartment was then not yet popular, as workplaces would normally assign apartments to employees. Generally speaking, the housing situation in Beijing was very tight. The staff around Teacher were not wealthy. In addition, Teacher was not permanently registered in Beijing and thus didn't have a Beijing residence. I first met Teacher in one of His relative's home. It was two connected rooms in a bungalow, one of which had no bed but had a couch. This was Teacher's bedroom as well as his living room. I wondered how Teacher could rest at night. The staff around Teacher felt quite uneasy for this too and had been trying to find a better place for Teacher, but weren't able to find anything for a long time.
Later on, living conditions improved a little for Teacher by having him move into an apartment owned by a practitioner. The practitioner couple had moved overseas to live with their grownup children and had thus made the two-bedroom apartment available. Teacher lived in one of these two bedrooms, and the other bedroom became a hosting place for staff and students. Regardless of staff, students or Qigong amateurs, all wanted to stay close to Teacher. Teacher often couldn't rest, but never complained about it and was always smiling forgivingly.
I noticed a Buddha statue in the room. Teacher had sculpted it earlier with His own hands. Teacher gave it as a gift to a disciple. This has rarely been made known.
A few years ago the state-controlled Chinese TV broadcast lies saying Teacher had a "mansion." From the mansion's interior decoration it is not difficult to tell it was not Teacher's home at all.
Teacher didn't have any decent residence in the Northeast region, either. Teacher and His family lived in an old simple building located at Jiefang Road in Changchun City. One day an electrical fire burned erupted in the building. Neighboring apartments burned, but Teacher's apartment was safe and sound. This incident spread among the students very widely at that time, and everybody was amazed.
Shirt had patches, Teacher often had to walk for lack of bus fare
Teacher lived on a very tight budget when giving lectures in Beijing. Some students had seen the patches on Teacher's shirt. When Teacher first started giving lectures, to raise money for the lecture expenses, oftentimes He didn't even have the money to pay bus fare and had to walk. To publish the first book China Falun Gong, Teacher came to know a person through a practitioner who promised to lend 20,000 yuan with some conditions. Teacher paid a lot for that. Teacher has never mentioned it to anybody. In order for the students to put their hearts and minds into Fa study and practice the exercises, Teacher never accepted any donations from the students and has borne the hardships quietly all by Himself.
Falun Gong was under the Qigong Scientific Research Association's supervision at that time and had to pay stiff membership fees. A large portion of the tuition fee for the classes had to go to the main sponsor. Almost nothing was left after deducting costs for room and board, travel expenses as well as salaries for some staff members who did not have any other income. I remember the time when Teacher gave lectures in Guangzhou. The staff brought a lot of instant noodles because the living expenses in Guangzhou were relatively high. After returning to Beijing I heard that all the income had gone for expenses, but luckily we weren't in debt. Teacher didn't take care of the budget; some staff members were in charge of it.
To unburden students and benefit more people, Teacher set the tuition very low. For instance, the classes in Beijing cost only 40 yuan for new students and 20 yuan for returning students. It was the lowest tuition among all kinds of Qigong classes at the time.
Soon after Zhuan Falun was officially published in early 1995, in the second half of 1996, the related government branch forbade its publication. Those used by students later on were all pirated versions that were of poor printing and binding quality. Honestly speaking, the publication of Zhuan Falun did not accumulate funding for Falun Gong; though speculators made a lot of money selling pirated versions.
Wheat pancakes for breakfast and rice and tofu for lunch
To give lectures on the Fa, Teacher was often too busy to eat or rest. One day during a break I saw a veteran practitioner pulling out wheat pancakes for Teacher to eat, with nothing stuffed inside. It was almost noon, but Teacher hadn't had breakfast yet. Sometimes Teacher went out to take care of business in the morning and came back late. He was scheduled to give a lecture in the afternoon. Realizing not much time was left, He would leave in a hurry without having lunch. During the Oriental Health Expo of 1993, like all students and disciples, Teacher bought boxed rice to eat. I moved closer and took a sneak peek into it; the bottom layer was rice, topped simply by tofu.
Teacher had a tiring schedule every day when He gave lectures in China. It happened frequently that as soon as He ended a session in the evening in one city, He took the tickets from the staff and immediately went to catch the train to the next city. According to the staff, this had become a routine.
When giving lectures in the Northeast region there was a class in the morning and another class in the afternoon, with different students and a different pace. For ten consecutive days Teacher had to give lectures for a whole day every day. During the lecture days, many people came to ask Teacher to cure their illnesses, even during the noon break. All kinds of people often encircled Teacher, and Teacher was always so kind and tried His best to satisfy them.
Teacher led a difficult life when giving lectures on the Fa. During a mid-summer, hot and humid trip to Shandong Province, according to disciples who went along, everybody sweat a lot every day, but they couldn't find any place to take a shower. Teacher was the same.
Falun Gong booth was full of posted thank-you letters
Overhearing that Teacher was taking disciples to participate in the Oriental Health Expo, a co-worker and I took the bus to the Expo and went to see Falun Gong cure illness. The bus was very crowded. We chatted all along on the bus. When we were about to arrive I turned my head unconsciously, Ah, Teacher was riding the bus, too. I hurriedly said hello. Teacher smiled, "I saw you chatting excitedly." We got off the bus and walked with Teacher in high spirits. An older couple came toward us, with a thank-you letter in red paper in their hands. The gentleman's eyes were wet and red, filled with gratitude. Teacher kindly said to him, "See, now she's fine." I found out that the old woman was suffering some kind of sickness and her tummy was so big. They couldn't get anyone to cure it. Yesterday Teacher treated her. Today she was like a new woman and everything became normal.
During the Expo, Teacher divided His gong among disciples and sealed their bodies other dimensions. All the disciples became very powerful and divine and treated illnesses very efficiently. From morning to evening the Falun Gong booth was full of people. Some people were treated the day before. They felt very good and brought in more people today, and therefore more and more people were coming to see Falun Gong. Other exhibition booths were poorly attended and some even had nobody to visit. In the end the crowds for Falun Gong were so big that they occupied the front space of other booths. The event coordinator had to come to maintain order. The Falun Gong booth was full of posted thank-you letters, and people kept coming with more. Many people stood in long lines waiting for Teacher's autograph. The supervisors of the Qigong Scientific Research Association wanted to take a photograph with Teacher.
As always, Teacher kindly tried His best to satisfy everybody and carefully protected the minds of those wanting to be good. Many people just came to visit Teacher, admiring His reputation. I saw a man in his 50s standing outside of the crowd, extremely excited, saluting Teacher by pressing his hands together and departing quietly after Teacher returned the salute to him. The energy field of the Falun Gong booth was very strong. Some people who were originally very sick felt quite comfortable after standing there for a little while, so they didn't want to leave.
Falun Gong shocked the entire city of Beijing during those days. People spread the news and even came to see Falun Gong from out of town. For this reason, after the Expo, Teacher temporarily added a Falun Gong session in nearby Tianjin.
Teacher has no karma to pay off. He suffers for our salvation!
In past cultivation practices, masters were provided everything for living by their disciples, and the disciples provided their masters with the best of everything. Our great and benevolent Teacher does not take a penny from disciples but is merely interested in changing their hearts, to become good people.
It was said that when Sakyamuni was giving lectures in different countries at that time, the Kings and high-ranking officials made their best houses available for Sakyamuni and his disciples and provided the best food for Sakyamuni. Certain Kings built houses and paved the road with gold specifically for Sakyamuni as an invitation to lecture in their countries.
While He gave lectures in China, Teacher led a difficult life. Imagine how huge an effort He had to make. Thinking about this, I felt guilty and reproached myself. How earnestly I hope Teacher might live in the world's best house and eat the world's best food; how sincerely I hope Teacher can be more gratified and have fewer worries. Teacher has no karma to pay off. Teacher suffers for saving us!
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