(Minghui.org) I've always had a strong desire to be some kind of savior ever since I was a child. I didn't really know who I was supposed to save or what I should be saving people from, but there was a sort of instinct inside me that guided my actions. That's why I chose teaching as my career – I believed that education could save people.
At 35, I returned to Taiwan after receiving my doctorate in education from an American university. It was at about the same time when I took up an interest in spirituality. I tried many different schools, including Buddhism, Taoism, and even some New Age-type practices from the Western world. But nothing seemed to satisfy me; I needed a practice that could save people.
One day, I saw a small news banner while browsing the Internet. The headline read “Falun Gong practitioners continue their sit-in protest in Taipei 101.” Curious, I began researching this spiritual group on the Internet. I was led to the Minghui website, and from then on I was changed – I knew that I had found a righteous way.
I was surprised to find that the articles written by practitioners were able to move me so much. Even the articles written by practitioners with limited schooling, and the articles dictated by the illiterate – they were all so touching and powerful, and emitted such positive energy. It was often more than enough to move me to tears.
There were so many articles to read on the Minghui website and it made me so happy; it was like I had found a treasure trove. I began ravenously reading these articles.
I read thousands of articles by practitioners from all walks of life. I read about their tribulations and amazing experiences.
I thought to myself, “These people are simply great. There is no other group of people that can compare to them.”
Their personal experiences are records of Fa-rectification period cultivation. The words may be plain, but the stories told through them are earth-shattering.
I was also impressed that people from over 100 countries are practicing Falun Gong. Regardless of age, education, nationality, or social status, they strictly cultivate themselves according to Dafa's standards.
Moreover, they are quietly saving people by telling the Chinese people how they were unknowingly deceived by the lies of the Communist party that defamed the Buddha Fa. They are telling people to choose the righteous side so that they could free themselves.
What's more precious is that they treat tribulations as a part of cultivation, and see them as good things.
I was amazed that Falun Gong practitioners could go to extraordinary lengths to save people, to the point of transcending life and death. From what I have seen in other schools of cultivation, no other cultivators have been able to do the same. I came to the conclusion that Falun Gong and its Master are extraordinary.
Day after day, I sat in front of my computer reading about these practitioners' experiences and was frequently moved to tears. I had never shed so many tears in my life. This process purified my heart and showed me true selflessness.
I also came to a better understanding of “compassion” and its different manifestations. I realized that I had the tendency to criticize others due to jealousy, competitiveness and a mentality of showing off. I learned to not judge the worthiness of a person based on his or her education level.
I got rid of all the other practices I had learned in the past. Minghui had shown me what cultivation really is -- it is raising one's xinxing despite suffering and tribulations. It is reaching a state that cannot be obtained from reciting scriptures, asking for “guanding,” or seeking a celestial eye.
For a long time, I have known that the value of a life is not judged by the wealth one possesses and that all lives are meaningful. I finally understood that what sets a person apart is his morality and ability to self-sacrifice for others, because that's the closest to divinity that a human can achieve. And that is the real purpose of being a human.
(Continued in Part 2)