(Clearwisdom.net) Since I was very young, I've always admired one particular aunt of mine. We often passed each other, but we rarely talked. Later, I heard that she started practicing Falun Gong. She was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member--how could she have started practicing Falun Gong? It made me curious. The CCP's persecution of Falun Gong is brutal. Under the state terrorism of the evil Party, she did not compromise and still chose to continue with her practice.
Where did this great courage come from? Chance led me to visit her and understand a Dafa disciple's amazing journey.
Losing Health and Suffering
My aunt told me that she had suffered from a variety of diseases since she was very young. After retirement, her deteriorating health forced her to go to hospitals even more often. She had tried all kinds of qigong practices. In order to find the cure, she went to see many famous doctors and qigong practitioners with the hope of finding a true practice, but she to no avail.
She said, "I completely collapsed in1994. My diseases got even worse. I could not live one day with peace. My stomachache was so severe that even injections of painkillers did not help.
"I went to a medical university in 1995 for a complete physical. The results showed that I had erosive gastritis, gastroenteritis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, pyelonephritis, rheumatic arthritis, and hyperosteogeny. I was hospitalized for over three months. By the time I was released, my weight had dropped from 75 kg to 35 kg.
"After I returned home, I had to continue to take medicines four times a day. If I missed a dose, I suffered such tremendous pain that I could not hold still. I was completely dependent on the medicines and was extremely weak. I was thinking, 'Are there any other paths or options left in my human life?' I was desperately waiting for something."
Saved by Dafa
June 21, 1996, was a very important day in my aunt's life. It was the great turning point. She said, "I finally found what I had been searching for!"
On that day, an eight-day Falun Gong class began at a local school. She was fortunate enough to attend the class. She watched the videotapes of Master teaching the Fa and exercises. She learned how to do the five exercises. Every day was a miracle.
On the first day of the class, there were over 300 people in the meeting hall. It was June and already warm inside, and people had to use fans. She was afraid to enter the hall wearing a winter jacket, so her husband gave her an idea: She could wear a thick sweater and then she could put her husband's big shirt on top of it. That way, she wouldn't look too weird. She also brought a winter jacket in case she got cold. She could also find a place to sit where the fan wouldn't blow on her.
She continued, "When I went into the meeting hall, I saw several county officials whom I knew from the past. They all welcomed me to sit with them. I sat down on a hard chair. Above my head was a fan. When we learned the fifth exercise, we had to sit in the lotus position. They asked me to sit on the floor with them. I had to sit there. Because of hyperosteogeny in my neck and lower back, I had two huge bumps. My neck was stiff, and I could not move it freely. I could not lower my head and could not bend my lower back. I could not sit on a hard surface and could not sit for long. I remember one day, I sat on a soft chair for one hour. The next day, I hurt all over and could not get up. Later that day, however, I was able to sit on the hard chair for two hours. I did not feel any discomfort when I sat on the floor to do the sitting medication. When I returned home, I was pleasantly surprised: I did not hurt after sitting that long. I did not feel cold and I didn't even need the winter jacket. I was also able to move my neck. I felt more energetic and was able to read Zhuan Falun until very late at night without feeling sleepy.
"As I listened to the lecture on the first day, I could not keep my eyes open and was very sleepy. But I did not miss a word of Master's teachings. Later, through studying the Fa, I realized that it was because Master was adjusting my brain. Because of the painkiller injections I had previously, my brain had been damaged and my memory suffered. After being purified by Master, my memory recovered. I was able to read Zhuan Falun and even recite the Fa as well.
"The second day, I felt great after the class. The third day, I felt very hungry when I returned home. My husband gave me some porridge to eat. After that, I still felt very hungry, so I had a bowl of rice. For the previous several months, I was only able to take liquids. For the first time in a long time, I was able to eat rice. After I was done eating, I never got a stomachache again. That day I didn't take one dose of medicine and I didn't have any symptoms of the illnesses I had suffered from for so long.
"On the fourth day, I wanted to stop taking medicines for good because I felt that I had recovered and I didn't need medicines any more. My husband did not agree. He said, 'There is no way you could recover this fast. How about taking two more doses and we will see what happens.' On the fifth day, I completely stopped taking medicines. Since then, I have not taken a single tablet in over ten years."
She said, "I am 80 years old this year. I am very energetic and healthy. Through diligent cultivation, my body continues to be purified. I might still have a toothache or a cough. As long as I study the Fa more and practice the exercises, any symptom of 'disease' disappears. Once, I coughed up some dark sputum and then I recovered quickly. I had severe arthritis in the past. When the weather changed, my entire body ached. My knuckles swelled and became misshapen. After I started practicing Falun Gong, my arthritis disappeared, and I didn't even realize when it happened. In the past I frequently caught colds. But now I rarely do. Even if I have symptoms, nothing happens as long as I continue to study the Fa and practice the exercises."
Gratitude for Master's Compassion, Wholeheartedly Spreading Dafa
My aunt has spread the Fa after she benefited from it. She feels renewed and has a new attitude about life. "I was dying, but Dafa saved me. I know that Falun Gong is not something ordinary. It is the true Fa and the Tao that people have been searching for and waiting for. It helps human beings understand why they suffer from illnesses. It can save lives forever. As practitioners, as long as we continue to raise our moral standard and assimilate to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, everything will become wonderful. Our lives will ascend to higher realms."Thankful for Master's compassionate salvation, she continued, "I always think about the people who have been suffering from diseases and struggling to survive. Many people do not even know that this great Fa has been taught. I have obtained the great Fa. I hope more people can obtain it so that more people can become healthy by practicing Falun Gong and raise their moral standard.
"The door of Dafa is wide open. It is a precious opportunity that only happens once in thousands of years. I made up my mind to spread Dafa. I went with some local fellow practitioners to different counties, districts, factories, and towns. More and more people joined us. More and more miracles happened. The stories of Dafa saving sentient beings will be legendary."Enlightened to the Truth; Abandoning Atheism
My aunt went on, "I completely abandoned that wicked atheistic communism only after I had found the truth. I used to be a convinced atheist who held strongly to communist principles.
"One of my friends gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun in 1996 and told me to finish reading it in seven days. Realizing that Falun Gong taught people to cultivate to believe in Buddha and Gods, I asked myself, 'Wasn't it teaching people to walk on a path that's the opposite from atheism?' Being a Party member, not believing in gods and Buddha is the foundation of the Party. I shivered just to think that, existing as I was in the palm of the Party, I dared not entertain any idea that even slightly contradicted Party principles. If I did, I could face persecution. With that fear, I laid the book aside after reading the first two lectures. Atheistic teachings and fear of the Party blinded me, preventing me from exploring the truth of Buddha Law.
"Having returned the book, I pondered what it said and believed that the book was right. I began to understand why I suffered from previous tribulations and illnesses. But since I did not finish reading the book, I was unable to explain exactly the reasons why I suffered from tribulations. I wanted to read the book more, to find the reasons.
"I went to my daughter's and told her to buy a copy of the book for me. On my way to my daughter's, I suddenly saw a turning wheel following me. It followed me everywhere I went. I only found out later that it was a Falun. What was even stranger was that my sick body had become very light as I walked with the Falun following me. I searched all over the city, but did not find the book. One day someone in a park told me there was going to be a Falun Gong class. Thrilled, I asked if I could join and asked how much it would cost. The person said that everyone could join the class, and it was free of charge. I said all the other qigong classes were increasing their fees, why didn't Falun Gong charge anything? I was very happy. I knew that this time I had indeed found a master who had high skills and high moral character.
"I experienced how Master purified my body for me during the eight-day classes and helped me to become a healthy person in a few days; all the serious illnesses I had before disappeared. No ordinary person could do anything like that nor could 'modern' science and medicine. Master purifies our bodies without moving his hands or feet. You cannot see anything from the outside. Master could do what he wanted to. Who was he? Were there really Buddhas and gods in the world? Once I voiced my questions to everyone in a group Fa study. One practitioner told me that our Master was the mightiest God of the universe. He was with us all the time--to protect us, so that we could cultivate. At that moment I was awakened. It was true--gods and Buddha did exist! Master was right there with us. The magical changes in my body were simply a demonstration of supernatural and mighty powers of Gods.
"I studied the Fa more and had insights at higher and higher levels. As a result, my third eye was opened and I could see beings in other dimensions. I could also see Buddha and gods, the red light illuminating the exercise sites, and many other things that ordinary people could not see. I believed even more what Zhuan Falun told me."
She told me how Master used supernatural power to purify her body. "One year after I obtained the Fa, one day while meditating I felt a cold flash suddenly going through my back, like a knife cutting through me. Three times it went from my neck to the lumbar section. After that my back felt lightened. I knew immediately that Master was purifying my body. Touching my neck and back, I noticed that the two lumps had disappeared, and my neck and back were normal. I called my husband to come and look. He also noticed that the two lumps caused by hyperostosis were gone. Before that, the lump on my neck pressed on the nerves, which impeded normal blood circulation to the brain. As a result I always felt dizzy and sometimes even fainted. Now this illness disappeared while I was fully awake, with a clear mind. Neither medical treatment nor medicine was used. It was Master who used his mighty power to exorcise the hyperostosis from its root; hence the illness was completely cleared away.
"I fell and broke my left leg in 2009. The doctor said that the bone was broken and the knee was dislocated. However, since I am a practitioner, I did not stay in the hospital. The third day after the accident I got up and started to practice the exercises with my back against a wall. When I had to squat in the fourth exercise, I moved on with extreme pain. My left knee and foot made a cracking sound a few times. I could feel that Master was healing the injuries with his energy. After the exercises, the major swelling on my knee disappeared, and I could straighten the leg, too. On the fifth day I could walk around the courtyard almost normally. Chinese believe that it takes about one hundred days for broken bones to heal, but it took me only a few days before I could walk like normal again. Even the most advanced technology nowadays cannot create miracles like the one I had just experienced.
"If things you thought were unbelievable and mythical have just happened to you in real life, can you still deny their existence and deny them with your eyes closed? When I felt desperate, the road presented to me was to cultivate in Buddha Law. This solid fact helped me to demolish the fort of atheism I had safeguarded for half of my life.
"Modern scientific understandings of the universe are limited; understandings of the universe's vastness are also narrow. How can one deny the existence of gods and Buddha in the limitless universe? Chinese ancestors have for thousands of years had faith in gods and Buddha. The Party's atheistic brainwashing of the Chinese people, the Party's hypocrisy and absurdity, have for innumerable years controlled the lives of our generation in China."
The communist regime began another horrific political movement against human beings when it began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999. The regime forced every Chinese to participate in the persecution; everyone has to take the Party's side--including elementary school pupils. If anyone dares to say "Falun Dafa is good" in public, he or she will be persecuted. However, this woman, my aunt, chose to cultivate Falun Gong. She is steadfast with her cultivation. Her faith gives her the courage.
In this special era where the communist regime is in control of the Chinese nation, the regime's endless brainwashing has created so many people like my aunt. It seems to them that one lives for communism and the highest value in one's life must be [to contribute to] the achievement of the communist regime's goals; one's greatest pride is to work for the regime and be trusted by it.
My aunt explained, "A person who does not practice Falun Gong or does not know the truth about it will be used as a tool against it by the CCP. These people routinely carry out the CCP's orders. It is their 'Party nature' that entices them to participate in political movements and the persecution of Falun Gong. In doing so, they voluntarily play their roles as 'Party members and leaders.'"
She continued, "I know that Dafa is the truth of the universe and that the teachings of Dafa for human society is divine mercy to sentient beings. Dafa not only helps us to become physically healthy but also teaches us to cultivate our minds, to be more compassionate. Our morals improve as a result. It is the only opportunity for us to return from moral decay. Dafa cultivators willingly restrict themselves to do good deeds and be good people. We are a group of the most compassionate people in Chinese society. The regime goes against Buddha Law and persecutes good and kindhearted people. Had I submitted to the distorted Party nature and denounced my belief in Dafa, it would have been the same as accepting the persecution. Then I would have helped the evil forces to carry out wicked deeds.
"I finally realized I would stop walking on the path the old forces had arranged; I must follow Master's teachings and become a good person. I must return to my true self. Since I know the truth of Falun Gong [at my level], I must also tell people the facts about Falun Gong out of compassion. I hope that no one will listen to the lies or attack Falun Gong or participate in the persecution of Falun Gong.
"Master gave me a second life. He is so kind to me and he cares more about me than my parents do. That is why I cried when Master was slandered. Master saves sentient beings and has done hundreds of good things for human beings. Millions of people have benefited from Master's teachings. His mercy is incomparably bountiful.
"The Party uses tremendously cruel means to torture Falun Gong practitioners. After reading the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, I understood better the wicked Party nature, I decided to quit it."
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Category: Improving Oneself
