(Minghui.org) Every morning, Lin Mingliang, a government actuary, walked past the Chinese General Consulate in Chicago on his way to work. Lin routinely traveled this route—taking the subway from his home in the Chicago suburbs to his office in a federal building. Little did he realize that his life was about to undergo an amazing change.

He and many passersby noticed something unique—the group of people sitting in silent protest on the sidewalk across from the Chinese Consulate. From summer to winter, year-round, they were always there, no matter how hot or cold it was and even when it was raining or snowing.

One day he asked, “Why are you here?” One woman told him they were Falun Gong practitioners and they opposed the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of the spiritual practice. He sighed and felt sympathy for them.

Lin left China and came to America in the 1980s because he disliked the CCP very much. Away from the CCP’s political campaigns for more than a decade, China was a distant memory for him.

“In 2000, I heard about Falun Gong and how the CCP persecutes its adherents. I don’t like the CCP. It is always persecuting one group or another. But I was just an ordinary person and I felt helpless,” Lin said recalling that conversation.

He read a flier about Falun Gong and its health benefits but he had doubts. “They just sit there, motionless. They don’t move or even sweat. How can that improve your health?”

From Sympathy to Respect

Seeing these practitioners protesting at the consulate all year round, Lin began to respect them. His experiences had taught him that the CCP is cruel and brutal. In China, if a person is targeted for persecution, his family abandons him and draws a line between them. “But these practitioners were trying to help people they didn’t even know and endured the harsh weather of four seasons. I began to respect them because they were different from ordinary Chinese people,” Lin said.

One snowy morning he suddenly realized, “They are older than me and they can sit in freezing cold snow for hours. I am not even 40 years old and I regularly run, lift weights, and take nutritional supplements, but I can’t sit in the cold for hours like they do. It seems Falun Gong does have some special health benefits.”

Starting to Practice

Lin hated winter because he frequently caught cold and had severe allergies. He had difficulty breathing and had a sore throat. He also had severe insomnia.

When he had a few days off in 2003, he visited his mother in New York. Feeling bored, he remembered the book Zhuan Falun and decided to read it. He wanted to see if it contained any profound teachings and why the CCP was so fearful of people reading this book.

He bought Zhuan Falun and a few other Falun Gong books and read them. He told his mother, “I have read so many books in my life, but Zhuan Falun is the best. Falun Gong is wonderful. I am so excited!”

He taught himself the exercises by following the drawings in The Great Way of Spiritual Perfection, a book that teaches the Falun Gong exercises and explains the health benefits. When Lin did exercise two for the first time, he felt the Falun (Law Wheel) spinning between his arms. He felt so warm, he began to sweat. He told his wife, “The Falun is real!”

The first time he did the exercises, he slept very soundly. His usual insomnia and dizziness disappeared. He felt relaxed and well rested. A scene appeared in his mind. It was the time his family visited Yosemite National Park on vacation. He climbed a mountain and looked down at the blue lake. The lake was so peaceful and calm. “My feeling was like that lake, so peaceful and comfortable. I was surprised at the power of Falun Gong,” Lin said.

When he returned from New York, he found the sky was blue instead of the usual depressing gray and when he walked he felt like he was floating.

Lin Mingliang practices the Falun Gong exercises in a park.

Opposing the Persecution

“I have always had a sense of justice and compassion. When I saw a photo of Ms. Gao Rongrong, a Falun Gong practitioner in China who was disfigured by electric shocks, it shocked my heart. My heart hurts when I see pictures of tortured practitioners and I read the details. Those who were persecuted were good and innocent people. I knew I wanted to join practitioners to protest at the Chinese consulate, participate in parades, and promote Falun Gong at community events. Why don’t I do it?” he thought.

The persecution happening in China used to be so remote that he felt powerless to help. Now, as a practitioner himself, he sat with the group he used to pass every morning on his way to work.

Calling on Fellow Chinese to Stay Away from the CCP

The CCP’s persecution has drawn attention to the spiritual practice. As a result, more people now know about Falun Gong and think about the persecution. Twenty-two years have passed since the CCP launched the persecution in 1999. Practitioners can be seen in front of Chinese embassies and consulates all over the world. They are like windows that display the peace and benevolence of Falun Gong.

From 2001 to 2003, it took two years for Lin to go from sympathizing with practitioners to respecting them. Eventually he became a practitioner and joined their efforts to call for an end to the persecution.

“The persecution in China is still severe and I don’t know when it will end. But it is a fact that my health improved. I chose to practice Falun Gong. Believing in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is my choice. Falun Gong gave me so much, but Master Li [the founder of the practice] didn’t ask me for anything,” Lin said.

“I have a message for fellow Chinese,” Lin added. “My own experiences proved that Falun Gong is good. The Chinese Communist Party is persecuting a group of kind and honest people and has deprived them of their basic human rights. The CCP is a criminal gang. I hope people in China will not assist it and help it carry out bad deeds—please distance yourself from this gang of criminals!”