(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 6)
Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of the Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong), said,
“From the start, my teaching has been motivated by a sense of responsibility toward the world and to those who want to learn our practice. People have been very receptive to it, and the practice has had a widely positive impact.” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun)
Every practitioner of Falun Dafa has benefited physically and mentally from this traditional self-cultivation practice. Those who practice it enjoy good health and a positive outlook. The principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance taught in the practice make practitioners better members of society.
The profiles below look at people whose lives changed for the better after they took up the practice of Falun Dafa. We hope that these stories benefit the reader and help people better understand the practice.
Ms. Kang Xiaoqin from Fushun City, Liaoning Province, was born into a religious family. When she was little, her grandfather often told her that in the most chaotic and degenerate times, a real Buddha would descend and offer salvation to mankind. He would teach the truth that had three characters and ask everyone to do good deeds.
When Ms. Kang encountered the Buddhist religion in her 20s, she didn’t find it to be the “pure land” she was looking for. Later she came across several schools of qigong but still didn’t find what she was looking for. She was lost for many years until March 1996, when a friend introduced her to a qigong practice that had strict requirements for being a good person. She didn’t believe it at first because at the time there were many phony qigong practices being taught, and they came and went after bilking people of their money.
Her friend insisted that she gave this practice a try, so Ms. Kang agreed. When she was halfway through the first lecture video, she realized that the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance were the three characters that her grandfather had told her about. She’d found the true Buddha School teaching!
As a result, Ms. Kang, her three older sisters, her older brother, and their mother became Falun Dafa practitioners. They have all experienced great health benefits from the practice. Her mother used to take handfuls of pills every day. She was so frequently ill that the local doctors all knew her well. Her cataracts, gastrointestinal problems, neurosis, headaches, hepatitis B, and heart disease are all gone now!
Ms. Zhang Maolan, 67, is from Beijing. Before she became a Dafa practitioner, she was headstrong and unfriendly. After she began practicing Falun Dafa, she became considerate and easygoing. She spoke to a neighbor she hadn’t talked to for dozens of years and asked to be forgiven.
Ms. Zhang used to fear the arrival of winter because she had tracheitis, arthritis, and a frozen shoulder, and her symptoms got worse in the cold weather. The winter after she became a practitioner was bitterly cold. When spring arrived, one day she suddenly realized that she hadn't had any of her usual symptoms that winter! In fact, that winter she was energetic, even more so than the youngsters.
Ms. Zhang told her mother, who was in her 80s, about her miraculous experience with Falun Dafa. Her mother, after reading Zhuan Falun, believed that it was a righteous teaching. She fell several times at home but sustained no injuries. She passed away in 2007 peacefully with no ailments.
Ms. Zhang’s youngest brother had a stroke in 2006. The hospital issued a notice of critical condition. She rushed to the hospital the next day. He was unconscious and connected to what seemed like a myriad of tubes. Ms. Zhang played Falun Dafa’s lectures for him and after a while her brother woke up! He asked for something to eat.
When her brother was discharged from the hospital, he was still partially paralyzed. One day Ms. Zhang had him listen to a Falun Dafa lecture. That night he woke up to go to the bathroom. Ms. Zhang carried him to the bathroom and waited outside for him to finish. Soon the door opened and her brother came out on his own. He walked to their mother’s room, calling for her as he turned on the light in her room. It was miraculous that he was completely functional in such a short time!
Ms. Zeng Shuling is from Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. Once when she went to a temple to pray, a monk suggested that she donate to the temple, telling her that the more she donated and the more sincere she was, the more blessings she’d receive. He also told her to take several Buddha statues and guardian memorial tablets home and enshrine them. He taught her all the ceremonies she needed to do.
Ms. Zeng believed the monk and did everything he said, and that was when her miseries began. As soon she lit the incense for the statues and tablets, she saw animal spirits of foxes, weasels, and snakes on them. These ghost-like beings came to her home, and some possessed her. They made her believe utter nonsense and had her go out to treat illnesses.
She was terrified and wanted to throw the statues and tables away. But as soon as that thought came into her head, those evil spirits tormented her, causing excruciating pain until she kneeled down and begged for forgiveness and promised not to throw them away. From then on she seemed to have serious mental problems and all kinds of illnesses. She was more dead than alive.
In May 1996 Ms. Zeng saw Falun Dafa practitioners doing the exercises outside. She felt emotional for no reason and couldn’t stop watching them. A practitioner came over to her and told her about Dafa. Ms. Zeng was too afraid to learn it because of the evil spirits at home. She thought that if she did, she’d suffer painful torments. The practitioner told her that Master Li would clean out the home environment of those who truly wanted to practice Falun Dafa, purify their bodies, and protect them. She gave Ms. Zeng a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main teachings of the practice.
Ms. Zeng finished reading the book that night and she wept many times. She seemed to understand that Falun Dafa was the righteous teaching that she’d been looking for and that Master. Li was her real teacher! She was determined to become a steadfast practitioner.
Strange things happened. The animal spirits at home disappeared, and so did the spirits that possessed her. Her illnesses were gone and she realized that she had never felt better. From then on she no longer worshiped the evil spirits.
When Ms. Zeng and her husband first married, they were very poor and her mother-in-law paid for a rented basement for them. It was damp and dim and everything was moldy. The couple finally got their own apartment and she became pregnant. They didn’t have any savings to care for a newborn. Despite being pregnant, Ms. Zeng had to carry heavy goods and travel back and forth to make extra income. With winter approaching, she had to stock up on vegetables and bought 50 pounds of potatoes. Even strangers worried about her safety. A few days before she was due, she had to carry a gas cylinder upstairs to make sure there was enough gas for the winter.
Her husband was an alcoholic and spent all his monthly check on liquor. After Ms. Zeng became a practitioner, she stopped complaining about him and took on the responsibility of supporting the family, doing all the chores, and taking care of her child and in-laws.
When her brother-in-law and his wife moved to another city, they didn’t have enough money for a new place. Ms. Zeng offered to sell her apartment and give them the money so that they could afford a new place. She rented an apartment for her and her child. She did so because the teachings of Falun Dafa ask her to be a selfless person and to put others first.
In 2006 Ms. Zeng borrowed money to rent a place to sell plane tickets. One day several college graduates who needed money desperately asked if she could pay them by the day if they worked for her. She offered to rent a place for them during the time they worked for her. Each day she divided the earnings equally and gave them their shares. She encouraged them to find better jobs.
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Falun Gong was introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in 1992. Living by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and practicing the five easy-to-learn exercises helps to improve one's physical health and values. About 100 million people practiced Falun Gong before the Chinese Communist Party suppressed this cultivation practice in 1999.
After more than 19 years of brutal persecution, rather than being eliminated by the Party, Falun Gong is flourishing in more than 100 countries. The teachings of Falun Gong have been translated into 39 languages. Groups of people doing the Falun Gong exercises can be seen in almost all major countries throughout the world.