(Minghui.org)

A. Dafa Is Extraordinary and Miraculous

May 12, 1997, at around 3 p.m., was a special moment in my life. It was the moment I said goodbye to my sickly body and welcomed the new me.

That day, a young colleague was at the office with me. He asked me, “You seem to be different from others. Do you have a spiritual belief?” I replied, “I'm a Buddhist. I have a statue of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, at home.” He said, “People nowadays don't really cultivate or worship Buddha. They pray to Buddha to obtain fortune, children, health, or a harmonious family life.” His words really struck me, so I asked him, “How do you know?” He held up a copy of Zhuan Falun and said, “It's mentioned in this book, which is about qigong practice.” I said I didn't care for qigong practice, and our conversation segued into the topic of spatial dimensions. I said, “I've heard that scientists have discovered a fourth dimension.” He replied, “There are, in fact, numerous dimensions.” He held up the book again and said, “It's all in this book.” I asked him, “Can I borrow it? I don't want to practice qigong, but I'll take a look at it.”

I began to read Zhuan Falun around 3 p.m. that day. Because of curiosity and interest, I could hardly put it down and finished reading the entire book by the next morning, including the short biography at the end of it. Like thunder in my ears, the principles of Dafa awakened me. I understood that only when we completely assimilate to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance can we find the ultimate answer to life and return to our true selves. I realized that it was a book from heaven! I wished I had found it earlier!

I am a secondary school teacher. Prior to practicing Falun Gong, I suffered from numerous illnesses. I had severe trigeminal neuralgia, and sometimes I was in so much pain that I could not sleep. When I suffered from severe migraines, the doctor would stick more than twenty needles into my scalp to ease the pain. After being diagnosed with wind headaches by a Chinese medicine doctor, I carried cotton balls wherever I went. When the wind blew, I would stuff my ears with cotton balls, or the wind would cause tremendous pain, as if my head was being grinded up. I often had boils growing in my ears, and I was in a lot of pain when they were filled up with blood and pus. I was also no stranger to pharyngitis. When the red pimples (the size of a grain of rice) grew around the throat area, I had difficulty talking and had to rest after delivering a class lecture. I took medication for severe antral gastrinis with no results.

Because I had a frozen shoulder, it was difficult to raise my arm to reach the upper part of the blackboard. Since I had injured the right meniscus and suffered from arthritis on the heel bone, I also had to sit while lecturing. I was in extreme pain when colitis and intestinal cramps flared up. I often developed hives all over my body, and sometimes my eyes and mouth were swollen and distorted. My hands could not come in contact with cold water, or they would swell. I had trachoma, and my eyes would be teary as soon as the wind blew. I also had kidney difficiency, heart problems, adnexitis, and uterus erosion. There was not a moment that I felt well, as if I was always carring a big rock on my back. I could barely cook after work and constantly huddled on the sofa.

I often visited Chinese and Western doctors, but saw no improvement. I even sought treatment from “weasel deities,” “fox deities,” and taoists who specialized in “Zhouyi” and “Bagua.” It was a waste of money and time, and my illnesses remained the same. I followed Christianity for six years and was baptized. I seriously studied the New Testament and the the Old Testament, but I was still sick. Later I worshipped Guanyin. I prayed and burnt a lot of incense, and took my child with me to give alms to the poor. I tried and did everything I could. Yet, no matter how sincere I was, my health situation would not improve. I felt miserable and saw no end to my suffering.

Regaining good health through cultivation practice

The night I finished reading Zhuan Falun, Teacher purified my body. I had diarrhea and threw up, but didn't feel any pain. I decided to practice Falun Gong. The next day I got three books and went to the practice site in the evening. My husband commented, “You've been searching for a few years. Have you found the righteous practice this time?” Somehow I felt that I finally found what I had been looking for, so I said to him, “I have made up my mind. I will cultivate in Dafa 'till the end!”

I bought a pocket-size tape recorder and headphones and listened to the Fa during my spare time. I was able to finish listening to Zhuan Falun in one or two days. I slept very little. When I first started the sitting meditation, my knees were sticking up and I could only sit for five minutes. Later I was able to sit for three and a half hours.

Sixty days after I began the practice, I found a Falun pin. On the same day all my illnesses vanished. Teacher cleansed my body from the inside out. It felt so good to be healthy! I used to worry about climbing stairs. There are 148 steps from the front door to my sixth floor unit. I used to take one step at a time and had to rest in between steps. After my body was cleansed, I could carry a 100 kg (220 lbs) rice bag from the first floor to the sixth floor four times in a row without a break. I was also able to carry a tank of liquid gas from the station located few hundred meters away to my house without a break. Every day after work, I carried my bicycle and a sack of groceries up six flights of stairs. I had boundless energy and took three steps at a time from the first floor to the sixth floor. My six-foot-tall husband didn't believe me. I asked him to climb the stairs with me, and he could not keep up with me. He was very surprised. I asked him, “Now do you believe in the power of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance?”

Prior to practicing Falun Gong, I took time off for rehabilitation every year and wasted a lot of the taxpayers' money. My unit leader used to call me “paper tiger” and “medicine chest.” During winter, I wore a heavy Soviet Union-style coat, big boots, fox fur hat, and knee pads. I sat at the very end of an office of fourteen people. My legs hurt from the cold whenever the door cracked open. After beginning the practice, I stopped taking medication and saved the government tens of thousands of yuan in medical expenses. My father wanted to obtain medication using my name. I said to him, “Teacher cleansed my body, so the money saved should go back to the government.” My father replied, “No one in the government would know about it.” I said, “People who practice Falun Gong would not do that. We cultivate our hearts and try to be good people. I will buy the medicine for you at the drug store.”

Temperatures in the northeast can drop down to -30 degrees Fahrenheit during winter, but I didn't need insulated clothes or gloves when doing the exercises outdoors. My body felt very warm, like a furnace. I had a rosy complexion and was full of energy. I looked youthful and pretty wearing a thin black skirt and a long white silk scarf. I no longer wore big, heavy clothes or walked around with a sad and depressed look. With the guidance of the 12-yuan book (Zhuan Falun) and a pure heart in cultivation, the essence of my life was changed. How miraculous is that! Anyone can find the key to happiness as long as one reads the book with sincerity.

Many of my colleagues saw the unbelievable transformation in me and said, “Falun Gong is truly miraculous!” I brought Dafa music―Pudu and Jishi―and played it at the office. My colleagues said the music was beautiful and calming. I also brought copies of Zhuan Falun, and they rushed to read them.

Because I continuously read the Fa and assimilated to the Fa, my state of mind continued to elevate. Unlike before, my thoughts and actions became selfless and I put others before me. For example, when students ordered homework booklets, I didn't keep the 50 percent commission but gave the money back to them. I also returned gifts that they had given me prior to my practicing Falun Gong, including 70,000 yuan I had received for teaching them outside of the classroom. Some parents held my hand with tears in their eyes and said things like, “We've never had a teacher as good as you.” I replied, “Falun Dafa changed me!” When I had the opportunity to receive the “Advanced Individual” award, I let my colleague get it. I helped students with their learning during my spare time without charging a fee. I took fame and fortune lightly.

Applying Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance at school

Before I practiced Falun Gong, our school comprised three middle schools joined together and was in a poor state. I made eight suggestions for improvement, all of which were accepted by the school. The suggestions were quite effective; thus, the school leaders praised me for having wisdom and capability. I felt as if I was on cloud nine. After I started practicing Falun Gong, I no longer paid attention to praise. I just wanted to harmonize with others and do the job well. I treated the work environment as a place to cultivate my heart.

One time, the principal summoned me to his office. He said: “You seem different since you started practicing Falun Gong. You used to give us recommendations, but now you are silent.” I replied, “That is because the school is on the right track and does not need my suggestions anymore.” He added, “Your ideas used to be pioneering and you did things with boldness. Now you are only taking care of yourself.” I said: “Forgive me for being straightforward with you, but you sound a bit bureaucratic here. Before I practiced, I did a lot of talking and was very interested in fame and profit. Now I want to let go of these things and conduct myself according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and reach a higher and stricter standard. I would not tell you these things if you didn't ask. Since I've begun to practice, I'm more dedicated to my job and have obtained excellent results.” I saw the look in his eyes, as if wanting to find out more. In order to validate the Fa, I explained in detail how I applied the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to foster students' morality and implemented the moral and ethical education curriculum. For example, each week I assigned a student to be the class leader, thus allowing each student to develop his or her potential and skills. Once a year, we participated in a performance program. We developed programs about how students applied the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their daily lives. Students wrote, directed, and acted out their stories on stage. Later, the class performed their stories at a school farewell event for the interns. The two-hour performance was of high quality and well received. Some students also performed at a secondary unit and won several prizes.

I kept a profile folder for each student. There were thirteen categories, including condition of each student before participating in my curriculum, weaknesses, shortcomings, characteristics, personality, hobbies, attitude toward learning, physical condition, type of educational methods suitable for the student, result of the education methods, type of counter measure used, and condition of the student after participating in my curriculum. I reviewed each file, made observations, visited their homes, conducted conversations with them, and participated in their activities to learn more about them. Although it was a lot of work, I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was planning, follow-up reports, and thesis involved. Some of my thesises won the national thesis competition. I quietly placed the awards in a file after receiving them in the mail. Had I won the awards before practicing Falun Gong, I would have advertised them to the parents to gain their acceptance and praise, and to the students to obtain good ratings.

The students often told me what was on their minds. They sought my advice when their mother or father was having an affair, when their parents were fighting at home, or when there were other family problems. I treated everything and everyone with the rationality, wisdom, and kindness that Dafa gave me. I did it quietly and earnestly, and the students saw me as their mentor and friend. On Teacher's Day, they gave me handcrafted gifts, wall scrolls, plaques with words of gratitude, and flowers with messages such as, “You taught me how to be a good person and to do things well, and helped me on my journey in life.” These precious gifts were all over my house.

After listening to what I said, the principal held a leadership team meeting and selected my class as a “distinguished class.” I used my class as an example and wrote a thesis on “distinguished class” and “distinguished school,” and it was selected by the city. The principal received the honor, and our school was selected as the “distinguished school” by the city. I used my own money, along with each student donating a few yuan, to hire a design company to remodel our classroom, based on my education model, into an environment conducive to learning. When students entered the newly remodeled classroom, they felt happy and experienced a sense of self-restraint and peace. The classroom I designed was later given to another class. I then spent more of my own money to remodel a second classroom, thus spreading the righteousness.

In the past, I had a bad temper and students were afraid of me. I would hit students when I became anxious, and they called me “The King of Hell” behind my back. After practicing Dafa, I conducted myself strictly based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I stopped being rough on the students and treated them as if they were my own children. For those who were disobedient, I looked at things from their perspectives, forgiving them and recognizing their strengths. I trusted and encouraged them, and inspired them toward purity and kindness. Later the students called me “auntie” or “mom.” Falun Dafa transformed me and gave me a new life.

B. Entire Class Transformed Through Falun Dafa

The students were very surprised to see my transformation. I told them it was because I practiced Falun Gong, and they said they wanted to learn as well. During lunch break, I played Teacher's lectures and the students listened quietly. Four students' Celestial Eye opened, and 14 students had their body purified. The students studied the Fa and practiced the exercises during their spare time. They conducted themselves according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and underwent tremendous changes.

Students' grades greatly improved

Dafa helped my students improve their grades, and they experienced other benefits as well. I shared a report about practitioners at Qinghua University with my students. There were 59 practitioners, from Communist Party secretaries to professors. Their illnesses disappeared through the practice, and they became enthusiastic about their work. There were 13 practice sites on campus, and thousands of students did the exercises together. Of the 12 English majors who were recommended to the graduate school program admission, 9 practiced Falun Gong. There were at the time 50 million practitioners in Beijing. As long as people studied the Fa, practiced the exercises and cultivated their hearts, they would undergo transformation, their gong and wisdom would increase, and they would return to their true selves. The Fa requires students do their studies, farmers to tend to their land, workers to do their job, and businessmen to run their operations lawfully.

Master said:

“...if every one of us examines his own character for causes, if when we don’t do well we look inside ourselves for the cause, and we try to do better next time, and if we think about other people first any time we do something, then the world will change for the better, morals will go back up, people’s civility will improve, and crime will go down. Maybe we won’t even need policemen. There will be no need for things like neighborhood watch, and everyone will watch over himself, and they’ll look inside their own minds to fix things. Wouldn’t you say that’d be great?” (Zhuan Falun)

Dafa is truly amazing. When students thought of the Fa and restrained themselves, they wanted to do well in all aspects. In the past, teachers had to surpervise them, parents had to force them to learn, and students learned passively. After practicing Dafa, they took the initiative to learn and truly wanted to be good, without the supervision of teachers or pressure from parents. The atmosphere in the classroom was very positive, as students were eager to learn from each other. We posted 13 categories on the wall, and each category had a color photo of the exemplary student with a poem underneath. Each week, the students inspected and appraised each other. Everyone wanted to be an exemplary student. Those who were not appraised were not discouraged. They looked inward and strived to do better. Those who were appraised were not arrogant and helped others do better. The entire class took their homework seriously and obtained good ratings during the semester homework exhibition. Consequently, the entire class improved. Other teachers who taught my class said, “Your students are very disciplined and quiet.”

When we had a parent-teacher meeting, the parents arrived early. Each student's records were stapled together into a booklet, and included their grades and grades comparison chart. Because students' grades improved greatly, I used my own money to buy fountain pens for them as a gift. I selected the top ten students, students who improved the most, and those who constantly did well. The honors were presented to the parents. The meeting was attended by both parents and students, and we shared thoughts and experiences. A parent said, “What kind of magical method did you use to transform the children? The children did their homework seriously and neatly, and they took the initiative to help us with the housework. They care about their parents.” I smiled at them and said, “I don't have any tricks. It is Falun Dafa that changed them.”

Our school had several tiers of classes. My class was in the second tier. Usually after finals, one or two students from the second tier would be transferred to the top tier. After my students learned Dafa, 17 of them were transferred to the top tier, and 17 new students were transferred into my class. I knew they came for the Fa, so that in addition to the original 45 students, 17 more would learn the Fa. Within two months of my learning Dafa, more than 70 people around me, including friends, colleagues, students and their parents, began to practice in Dafa.

Two months after I learned Dafa, my students and I shared our experiences with thousands of people at a Fa sharing conference. We did not make a speech draft, but shared for 30 minutes. I talked about how Dafa was spread in my class. After the conference, several people wanted to transfer their children to my class.

Distinguished class

Each week a different student became the class leader, so everyone had a chance to be the class leader during the school year. I first assigned a capable teacher to instruct behind the scenes and guided the student in becoming a leader. There were plans and summaries. We fully encouraged and trained the students to observe, think, implement, summarize, write, and speak. Every week, the class leader summarized one week of work and explored his or her strengths, The students complimented and learned from each other. For example, one class leader asked every student to prepare a plastic bag and pick up garbage in the playground during recess. Another class leader split the class into various English conversation groups and asked them to incorporate an English phrase they learned each day into their group conversation. Some leaders organized story-telling competitions. Others used exposure boards to help with their daily weather report. One leader assigned each student to clean a panel of glass at the administrative building.

There were class leaders who organized students to do good deeds without leaving their names--for example, taking the initiative to clean the three restrooms on campus and making boards to clean the snow on the playground before teachers arrived in the mornings. These tasks were done even before the school administrator had a chance to assign them to the students. The administrator said that if every student practiced Falun Gong, the school would not need him around. Some class leaders organized students to sweep the hallways of nearby residential buildings. Other leaders formed study groups to help students with their learning, and they all improved together. Several leaders organized calligraphy competitions, poster design exhibitions, and dormitory management contests. A few leaders organized students for greeting the teachers on Teacher's Day and their birthdays. A handful of leaders were invited by other classes to share their management experiences. Everyone in my class became a good student.

I remember a female student who trasferred to my class from the Railway Middle School. She was very quiet and had poor grades. She was the last class leader of the first round. At the end, she was full of confidence. She prepared a 1,000-word class leader report, like everyone else, and delivered a good speech. Everyone was touched to tears by her amazing transformation. I wrote her a comment, “Amongst so many students, I feel very blessed and happy to have met such a diligent and hard working student like you.” Each week, during our class meeting, some other classes would observe our meetings. Sometimes more than 20 teachers and administrators would show up. The class leaders were like little teachers, delivering their speeches calmly. Ocassionally, other classes would learn from our learning plans.

Under the guidance of the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, our wisdom and abilities were constantly raised. Our open-style class and meetings enabled students to become outstanding students.

C. Persevering Through 13 Years of Persecution

A good cultivation practice such as Falun Gong was spread in China for 7 years, but then persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for the last 13 years. It is truly a shame in the history of mankind. Jiang vowed to eradicate Falun Gong in 3 months, but after 13 years of persecution, Falun Gong has spread to 5 continents and more than 100 countries around the world. Dafa books have been translated into more than 30 languages. Falun Gong has received thousands of statements of praise and awards around the world.

Like hundreds of thousands of practitioners in China, I was illegally detained 8 times and jailed for a total of 8 years. Because I refused to give up the practice, I was hung up and beaten, and locked up in a small cell wearing shackles. My leg was strangled with iron wire, causing bone fracture.

My unit leader picked me up from jail and invited me to attend the Chinese New Year party at the school. After not seeing me for many years, when my colleagues saw my youthful rosy complexion, they hugged me and cried. Some said things like, “We thought you would have gray hair, be very thin with a hunch-back, and need help walking. You look even younger and prettier than 10 years ago! Falun Gong is truly miraculous!” I replied, “If it were not for Falun Gong, I would have been dead more than a thousand times within the last 13 years!”

After witnessing the extraordinary transformation I went through, 10 of my family members from 4 generations are now cultivating in Dafa. There are also many people around me who returned to Dafa and began to practice like before. A righteous path is full of vicissitudes!

From the Call for Submissions to Commemorate the Twentieth Anniversary of Falun Dafa’s Introduction