(Minghui.org) I have been practicing Falun Gong for 17 years. There are so many experiences I would like to share, but the first thing that comes to my mind is: Falun Gong is great!
I was very healthy when I graduated from college in 1992, but I started to have health problems after a surgery for appendicitis in 1993. I am not sure if it was a side effect of the surgery, but I felt very weak. I had constant pain in my lower abdomen, digestive problems and I had diarrhea every day. I was eventually diagnosed with chronic colitis and was on prescription drugs for a long time, but the medicine did not help. I went to a traditional Chinese medical doctor for a second opinion, but was diagnosed with chronic colitis as well. I was on Chinese herbs for many months, but the herbs did not help either.
Out of desperation I went to a fortuneteller and then I went to a temple to beg the Buddha for help. I also started practicing in many different schools of qigong . I even smoked marijuana, which stopped my diarrhea only for a day.
A work colleague gave me a copy of Falun Gong in April 1995. I read the book and really liked it. Then my colleague taught me the Falun Gong exercises. That's how I started practicing Falun Gong. Three months later I found that my diarrhea had disappeared completely. I started feeling energetic! It has been 17 years since I started practicing Falun Gong and I have always been healthy. I am extremely fortunate; after all, money cannot buy health.
Two significant events happened in 1994. My mother passed away and my girlfriend of five years left me. If it had not been for Falun Gong, I might have committed suicide. The physical pain I was experiencing at the time from the colitis was nothing compared to the heartbreak I felt. Those who have never been in love might not be able to relate, but I was devastated when my girlfriend left. We were together for five years. How could she leave?
She left in the summer and I became an empty shell. Winter had arrived when my older sister called and told me that my mother had passed away. It was like pouring salt on an open wound. The woman I loved the most had left me and the woman who loved me the most had passed away. Why? I felt that it was meaningless for me to go on living. I wanted to die.
It was not until I read Falun Gong that I knew the answers to “why”: Everything happens for a reason. Each person has his or her own destiny. I realized I had no control over another person's fate. The real meaning of life was to return to one's true, innocent self through cultivation practice.
My heart was broken, but through the practice and following the teachings of Falun Gong I mended and gained motivation to live. I stopped being so selfish. I became a more selfless and thoughtful person because of Falun Gong's teachings. I would like everyone to know that by applying the principles of Falun Gong to my life, I stopped having suicidal thoughts and the practice gave me a reason to live!
Life is truly full of trials and tribulations. Working at a state-run corporation is particularly challenging. The complicated interpersonal relationships at my workplace can be very exhausting.
I have been following the teachings to be a good employee at work, since starting the practice. I do whatever work assignments are given to me. I never refuse my boss when he asks me to work overtime. I don't fight and compete over free housing opportunities. I don't complain about work bonuses. I am happy and content. This would not have been possible without the teachings of Falun Gong. I have been happy and healthy because of Falun Gong. When I encounter something that bothers me, I think of the teachings and decide what I should do as a cultivator. Then the problem is resolved.
I am completely trusted by my superiors. It is not easy to advance at a state-run corporation in China, but I have received many compliments and gotten recognition from the management. There are over 1,000 employees in our corporation. I became the youngest mid-level manager that did not join the Communist Party or bribe anyone to advance upward.
I was riding my bicycle back to the dormitory in the summer of 1997, when I was hit by a car. It was getting dark. I was crossing the street on my bicycle when I saw a car with the headlights coming straight at me. The next thing I knew, I was in the middle of the road, but my bicycle was three feet away, bent into an L shape. The car that hit me was eight feet away with a broken bumper.
Yet, I was completely unscathed.
My mind went blank. Somehow I knew it was Falun Gong that had protected me from harm. Otherwise, I would have been done for! To think, my bicycle made of steel had turned into an L shape, yet I was completely unharmed!
Falun Gong is truly wonderful. I am sure you feel the same now that you have read my story. The cultivation practice of Falun Gong is completely voluntary. Anyone can join the practice and is free to leave when they want to. I wanted to share my personal testimony so that others will gain an understanding as to why so many people have persevered in practicing despite the suppression of Falun Gong in China. When you experience something so good, you naturally want to share it with others. Falun Gong saved my life; naturally I cannot sit idle and watch the Chinese Communist regime spread fraudulent lies about it. This is the reason why so many Chinese people have risked their lives to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. I hope everyone will understand.