(Clearwisdom.net) I was a teacher in China, and lived at Jiansheli in the train station district of Chenzhou city, Hunan province.
My neighbor and I went for morning exercises in Beihu park in Chenzhou city on the morning of May 20, 1995. There is a white stone bridge in the lake at the east gate of the park, and there's a small forest in the center of the lake. Sweet-scented oleanders blossomed along the shores of the lake. Many people came here to do all kinds of morning exercises. The most eye-catching one was a group of seniors forming a circle. They stood quietly and were practicing the stance of holding the law wheel. Their faces were calm and peaceful. The early sun shone on their faces - it was truly beautiful! My neighbor commented, "Look. Those seniors look so energetic. Look at us. We are only in our twenties and thirties, but we look pale and weak."
We waited until they finished, then asked, "What are you practicing?" An elderly woman warmly introduced it to us, "It is Falun Gong. It is a wonderful practice. You can learn it for free." I asked, "How can I practice? Do you have book?" Another gray-haired senior said, "Yes. We have the book "Zhuan Falun". There are only two copies of this book in Chenzhou City. We have one copy here. You are truly predestined."
I opened the book Zhuan Falun and saw the Lunyu on the first page. When I saw the three characters "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance", I was touched as if the gates to my heart were opened layer after layer. I could not describe my feeling in words. I thought to myself, "Isn't this the highest moral standard in life?"
From that day on, I became a member of the practice site. I went to practice the exercises every morning and watched Teacher's Fa lectures at a fellow practitioner's home at night. The fellow practitioner provided the site and taught the practice for free.
When I first practiced the Falun Standing Stance I could not hold my arms in front and above my head for very long. My arms felt so heavy, and I had to let them down within two minutes. Fellow practitioners encouraged me, "Don't worry. Take your time."
When I watched Teacher's Fa lectures, I fell asleep. Other practitioners told me, "It might be that your brain has problems. Teacher is purifying your body."
At that time, the social morality and lifestyle was very bad. For example, many people were engaged in gambling. Nine out ten people gamble. Even intellectuals like myself also play Mahjong.
When I first started practicing Falun Gong, I still played Mahjong. Practitioners reminded me, "You cannot gamble. We must eliminate this attachment." I defended myself, "It is just entertainment. Teacher did not say that we can't play Mahjong."
Because cultivating Dafa requires one to be kind and eliminate the attachment to fame, gain and personal profit, I thought to myself, "When I play Mahjong, I do not try to win others' money. When others get mad at me, I cannot be mad. When others offend me, my heart cannot be moved by them." I considered these to be improving xinxing. In fact, it fell far short.
Teacher gave me repeated hints in this regard. As soon as I started playing Mahjong, I would feel uncomfortable all over as if I was stealing something. If I continued, the Falun in my dantian would spin rapidly and made me uneasy.
I gradually realized that gambling was a bad habit and I should not continue. However, I was unable to completely detach from it. When other people asked me to play, I would still go. When my family lost money and asked me to replace it, I also played. However, whenever I played, I would always lose. I lost all the money I'd previously won.
After studying the Falun Dafa teachings, I truly came to understand that the field of gambling was a very filthy one. Everyone in the field wanted to gain without doing work. They fought and tried hard to get money from others. Their hearts and emotions went up and down for the money and they would even harm others. This is exactly the opposite of the universal principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I made up my mind to completely eliminate this habit.
When I truly came out of it, I felt the Mahjong table was far away from me and no longer interested me. When I constantly rectified myself and eliminated the bad things, I found that I gained much more. Along with this came physical changes. The various diseases that troubled me for many years such as type B hepatitis, back pain, abdominal pain and anemia were all cured. I experienced what true happiness was - that is starting a path of returning to my origin by following Teacher.
Because we have group study environment, we studied and cultivated together and improved rapidly. However, when the persecution began in July 1999, our environment was ruthlessly destroyed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Eleven years have passed and many changes have taken place. I also suffered unimaginable tribulations. However, my heart of firmly cultivating in Dafa has never been moved.
In May of 2008, we found Udumbara flowers at the former practice site in Beihu park, which blossom once every three thousand years. Udumbara flowers blossomed on the leaves, flower petals, and stems of the sweet-scented oleander trees and on the white stone bridge. They were arranged in clusters and rows as if someone had sprayed a spring rain. The tiny and beautiful flowers are truly elegant. Some are white, some are light green and yellow. Several months later, I found purple ones and gray ones. They blossomed for as long as half a year. They are witnesses of the magnificence of the Falun King descending to the human world and saving sentient beings. They also remind people not to miss this opportunity!
(Article selected for commemorating the May 13, 2010 World Falun Dafa Day)
May 06, 2010
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