(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a Buddha school cultivation practice. Mr. Li Hongzhi first introduced it to the world in Changchun City, China on May 13, 1992.
Falun Dafa was introduced to Yunnan in August 1994, with the first practice site, consisting of a dozen practitioners, being established next to the Kunming City Workers' Culture Center. A month later, the second practice site was set up in Yunnan Province Forest on September 16, 1994. Within a short time, this practice site grew to more than 100 practitioners.
The first nine-day session of the Falun Dafa Video Teaching Classes was held in May 1995. Because so many people signed up, the class had to be moved from the Kunming City Workers’ Culture Center to Tuodong Stadium to accommodate all the attendees. While watching Master Li’s lectures many practitioners had their third eye vision opened, and saw beautiful scenery in other dimensions. Many practitioners felt a Falun (law wheel) rotating and experienced the peaceful and compassionate energy from Dafa.
After the classes, many practitioners had their bodies cleansed, improved their character, and changed their view of life. Falun Dafa then spread quickly in Yunnan through word of mouth. The practice sites kept growing throughout the parks and residential villages in Kunming.
Practitioners came from all walks of life, including government employees, professors, teachers, students, factory workers, farmers, soldiers, doctors, entrepreneurs, etc. Falun Dafa was widely supported and confirmed by different levels of the government for its health improvement and moral elevation.
Falun Dafa practitioners in Yunnan
Falun Dafa is a high-level Buddha school practice that cultivates both mind and body. Its core principles are Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The practice targets the improvement of one's character. With five sets of exercises, its practitioners are able to reach high-level realms. Falun Dafa requires its practitioners to not hit back when beaten, not curse back when cursed, to look within when facing conflicts, and to always consider others first. Each practitioner cultivates to become a better person.
A Beloved Official
Mr. Kong Qinghuang was the deputy town manager of Lin'an Town, Jianshui County, Yunnan. He took up Falun Dafa in 1997, and strove to become a better official and to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He did not abuse his power, and never used a government car on his days off. He could not be bribed, and donated money to support two poor children's school fees in the name of his local practice site.
However, such a beloved official was persecuted to death during September 2000.
Never Taking Things Not Yours
A Falun Dafa practitioner from Kunming Steel Company was a member of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) Youth League during the Cultural Revolution. He took home the most valuable vase when the Youth League members raided a temple.
After he learned Falun Dafa, he understood the relationship between loss and gain. He decided to return what was not his and returned the vase to the temple.
Letting Go of Personal Gain
Mr. Chen was the owner of an ore company. Some of his customers owed him millions of yuan. He was anxious to get his money back, and could not calm down. After he began practicing Falun Dafa in 1996, he let go of personal gain, and the attachment to money, since he understood about loss and gain, and predestined relationships with people.
Shortly after the persecution began, he was sentenced to prison for his faith. But he remained steadfast in Dafa, and told people the facts about Falun Dafa in prison.
Keeping Up Moral Standards
Agui was a farmer. To make more money from selling his vegetables, he always soaked the vegetables in water to make them weigh more, allowing him to make more profit. After he practiced Falun Dafa, he no longer cheated his customers.
No More Unclean Income
Xiaoyang was a clerk working at the highway toll booths. She often got her share of extra unclean income at work. Even though it was a good amount of money for her, she realized that she should not take the money after she started practicing Falun Dafa. She thus brought home less income, but her mind was at ease.
Never Taking Under the Table Commissions
Office manager Xiaoqing is responsible for purchasing supplies for her company, involving more than 100,000 yuan every year. She conducts herself with the standard of a Falun Dafa practitioner, and does not accept any under-the-table commissions from suppliers.
She once rejected a large amount of under the table commission from a factory owner. The owner told her that all the paperwork was done without any trace of her name, and she could just take the money. She told the owner that she would give the money to the accounting department if he insisted.
The owner was puzzled, “Everyone asks me for commission but you rejected it. Falun Dafa practitioners are really good people. Would you mind lending me the Falun Dafa book to read?”
Character Change
Xiaolian talked about her transformation after practicing Falun Dafa:
She said, “There are eight kids in my family. As the only girl, I was spoiled by my parents and seven brothers. I am also a straight-forward person, but had a bad temper. I easily got into fights with others. Within my extended family, I was always the one making decisions, and fought with them when it came to my personal interests. Once I got into a fight with my sister-in-law for a small personal interest. I bit her finger so hard that I fractured it. Everyone was afraid of me.”
She continued, “But, after I practiced Falun Dafa, I completely changed. I smiled back when others cursed me. Once one of my sisters-in-law mocked me harshly. Others felt that she went overboard. But I did not argue with her. After she was done, I calmly told her that I no longer fought or quarreled with people, as I practiced Falun Dafa now.
My family believed Falun Dafa is good after witnessing my changes.
Letting Go of Gambling Addiction
Xiaohui said that she drifted along in society. She enjoyed life by smoking, drinking, and gambling. She was the queen in her family. She said, “I did not care about my family or my child, and no one in my family could control me. I lost 10,000 to 20,000 yuan every year on gambling, some years even 70,000 or 80,000 yuan. But I was not happy. My friends shunned me. I came down with a number of illnesses, including a frozen shoulder, stomach disease, gynecological disease, and uterine fibroids.
I knew that these habits were not good and I wanted to quit. But I was unable to control myself. On the contrary, my addiction worsened.
But I took up Falun Dafa, which gave me the willpower to let go of my addictions. I eliminated all of my bad habits and illnesses. My temper changed. My husband, my daughter, and all my relatives told me that I became a good person.
My husband, my daughter, and my brother all took up Falun Dafa practice as well.
Before the persecution of Falun Dafa began in 1999, polls were conducted in Guangzhou and Wuhan among Falun Dafa practitioners. The results showed that 98% of the practitioners had recovered from their illnesses, even difficult illnesses like cancer, leukemia, chronic renal failure, lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid disease, and depression. Falun Dafa also helped practitioners eliminate their drug addictions. Many practitioners’ lives were renewed.
Paralyzed Farmer Walks Again
Farmer Li from Jianshui County was paralyzed for several years, and was unable to take care of himself, let alone his family.
His wife began to practice Falun Dafa in 1997. He witnessed her changes and joined the practice as well. Since he was paralyzed, he just watched the videos of Master Li Hongzhi's lectures and read Zhuan Falun, the main book of Dafa.
A miracle happened. He stood up, walked, and then fully recovered. He could work in the field again and his family's happiness was restored.
Leg Restored
A practitioner's brother from Nanxi, Yunnan was involved in a traffic accident in 1998. His tractor broke through the rail of a bridge, and tumbled into the river. He was saved. Although he had no sign of any physical injury, something was wrong with his legs. He could not walk, and his right leg was shortened. It was about two centimeters shorter than his left leg.
He consulted hospitals in Kunming and was told that the surgery would be complicated. He decided not to do it.
After the practitioner heard about her brother's situation, she brought the audiotapes and videotapes of Master Li’s lectures, the book Zhuan Falun, and the video of the Falun Dafa Exercise Teaching to her brother. He began practicing. Then, within ten days he could walk again, and he got rid of his crutches. His legs were restored to the same length.
When he went back to the hospital for a check-up, the fracture shown on the X-ray before could no longer be seen. The doctor who treated him could not believe his recovery, and was amazed by the power of Falun Dafa.
Reading Zhuan Falun Cures Drug Addict
After the onset of the persecution of Falun Dafa in July 1999, the Chinese state-run media, TV, newspaper, and radio, all aggressively showed programs defaming Falun Dafa. Zhuan Falun became a forbidden book.
One day during that period, a young man who was a drug addict came to a drug store to shop. He saw that a practitioner working at the store was reading Zhuan Falun. After he confirmed that the book was Zhuan Falun, he asked if he could read it. The woman reading it was surprised, and said, “You dare to read it?” He replied, “Why not? I think what the CCP dislikes must be good.”
Once he started reading it, he could not put it down. When it was time for him to leave, he asked to borrow the book from her.
The young man came back to the drug store a few days later. He told the practitioner, “I stayed home during the past few days to read Zhuan Falun. It is such a great book. Since the day I borrowed the book from you, I did not take any drugs. My addiction is gone. I want to practice Falun Dafa. Can you teach me?”
He came to the store every day to study the Fa, and did the exercises with the practitioner, and he became a true practitioner. His parents, who had such a hard time dealing with his drug addiction, supported him in practicing Falun Dafa despite the ongoing persecution.
SLE Disappeared
One day in 1998, a middle-aged couple came to a Falun Dafa practice site. The wife suffered from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). She was very weak due to the side effects of the long-term taking of hormones.
While she was learning the exercises, she felt the Falun rotating all over her body. She believed that Master Li was cleansing her body. On the third day, she decided to stop taking hormones even though she knew that her health could go downhill and her life could be in danger. But she got better day by day.
She was fully recovered a month later. Her husband, who accompanied her to the practice site, was amazed by her recovery, and he began practicing Falun Dafa himself.
Reborn from the Verge of Death
Mr. Zhang talked about his experience of being reborn from the verge of death:
I am 86 years old. I was introduced to Falun Dafa in 1998, but did not truly cultivate.
My old illnesses returned in 2001, including rheumatism, rheumatoid, cerebral infarction, chronic gastritis, and more. I sought western and Chinese medicine for a cure, but no luck. I later came down with acute appendicitis. I had the surgery, but did not recover well, due to infections. I ended up being unable to walk, was bedridden, then close to a vegetative state – unable to move or talk.
After two weeks of no food or drink, I only had one breath left. My wife had to gather all the relatives to prepare to send me off.
That is when a practitioner visited me. He said, “Gather your energy. You still have unfinished work to do. You have to be strong so Master can help you.” He began to read Zhuan Falun to me. More practitioners came in the following days and they took turns reading to me. A month later, I got better and recovered.
I am now full of energy. I am still running my own store. I ride my electric bike to work every day.
Late-Stage Cancer Patient Recovered
Xiaoqian shared her story:
I went to the hospital for a check-up in November 2010, since I felt dizzy and had blood in my urine and stools. The result shocked me and my family – mid-to-late-stage colon cancer. I needed to have surgery.
Being farmers, our family had no money for an operation. My husband had to borrow money from friends and relatives so I had the surgery in December 2010. I checked out of the hospital a month later, then started the chemotherapy treatment.
I did six chemotherapy sessions during the treatment. In between them, I had two operations for polyps. I ended up being very weak, weighing only about 90 pounds. This 41-year-old looked like a grandma.
By the time I returned to the hospital for a follow-up in November 2013, I had chest pains and felt lumps in my chest. I found out that the cancer had metastasized to my lungs, and I would need more chemotherapy treatments.
I had spent more than 100,000 yuan on my treatment, leaving a big amount of debt for my husband. I had no money for more treatment. At this desperate time, my neighbor, a Falun Dafa practitioner, introduced the practice to me. I took up the practice immediately.
My body began to change as I followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to improve myself. My gray hair turned black, my stomach felt better, and my bowel movements became regular. Three months later, the lumps in my chest were gone, I regained my strength and my weight came back.
I fully recovered. Dafa gave me a second life.
(to be continued)