(Minghui.org) Ken Truong, a young entrepreneur and second-generation immigrant, had a successful business in Vietnam. However, after enjoying all that money could buy, he still felt empty. He recently talked about his experience of finding inner peace and true happiness.
Born in the U.S. and growing up in San Diego, Ken had an easy childhood. “My parents wanted to make me happy. They bought me many toys and helped me through school,” Ken recounted, “but I was selfish, and I only cared about being happy and getting what I desired.” When Ken grew up he was a cool, strong, and competitive young man with modern values. He received an Executive MBA degree and co-founded a business in Vietnam at age 28.
Mr. Ken Truong
Ken ran his business successfully, worked hard, and seized every opportunity. His company took the lead in the market. “I got a taste of what success feels like and reputation,” Ken said, “ just enough to make me realize that it’s pointless.”
He busily expanded his business and enjoyed himself, but couldn’t sleep well at night. “I felt frightened and even overwhelmed with fear at that time,” Ken recounted.
He thought of his mom, who is a Buddhist. She is compassionate and believes in karmic relationships. Having grown up under her influence, Ken thought of becoming a monk after experiencing all the fun in life.
Seeking the Way of Cultivation Around the World
By the time he turned 31, Ken thought he had enough of materialism. “No matter how much money you make, how many contracts you sign, how much delicious food you eat, or how much you own, there is no ultimate satisfaction from material gain. I realized that spiritual enlightenment is the greatest thing a human can achieve.”
Ken left Vietnam and started a journey of adventures in the spiritual world. He visited a Buddhist monastery in Bordeaux, France, attended various meditation workshops, and researched spirituality on the Internet.
On June 22, 2014, he returned home from a meditation workshop in San Diego and browsed online, when he noticed an exercise instruction video. He clicked on it and watched an introduction to Falun Dafa and Master Li Hongzhi’s exercise teaching.
Ken was immediately fascinated. “Wow! It was a practice based on the nature of the universe! The energy mechanism cultivates you even at work or doing other things. Amazing!”
Ken reached for his wallet and pulled out his credit card. However, he couldn’t find anywhere on the website to pay for the workshop. He was even more surprised when he found that learning Falun Dafa was completely free! “Everything in our society is about making money. Meditation workshops usually cost hundreds of dollars.” He realized that something about this practice was extraordinary.
He contacted the local exercise site right away and immediately started reading all the Falun Dafa books and learning the exercises online. He joined the local group exercise and Fa study meetings and participated in truth clarification activities with great enthusiasm.
Ken does the fifth Falun Dafa exercise, the meditation.
Maintaining a State of a Cultivator at Work
Ken started overseeing social media operations for a practitioner’s media in 2017. Despite his busy everyday work and various challenges, he requires himself to remain in a good state of cultivation.
The project he was in charge of was initiated, taken down, and restarted. “It’s like what happened in the cultivation story of Milarepa. His master told him to build something, break it down, build somewhere else, break it down, and then rebuild it somewhere else.”
If he hadn’t cultivated himself, Ken would have felt frustrated when something didn’t go well at work, but cultivation changed his attitude. “Challenges are opportunities to upgrade myself. The only way to view things correctly is when I cultivate myself well.”
Cultivation also helped Ken feel modest. “I realize that I’m just a part of the vast universe. Everything has been arranged accordingly, and I just need to do my part well. I don’t know the future, Any message that comes, and anything that happens is telling me something. I adjust myself to flow with the principles of the universe, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and not reject it.”
Ken recounted an incident in which he had to overcome negative thinking. While listening to his colleagues during a meeting, Ken kept thinking, “It’s a bad idea. It’s going to fail. How silly...” He suddenly remembered that he was a Falun Dafa practitioner. “Isn’t this a cultivation test? I have to follow what Dafa taught me.” He immediately stopped his negative thoughts and collaborated with his colleague.
Ken said that he used to get mad at or even retaliate against anyone who criticized him or cheated him. He learned from Falun Dafa how to put others in front of himself and make contributions to the whole group. “When I did the right thing, the people around me are happy, which makes me happy too.
Finding the Meaning of Life
“Most people have a deep longing for the meaning of life, but it’s covered up,” Ken said. “Everything is designed to cover it up and to keep us from fulfilling our oath so that we easily get lost in the instantaneous satisfaction. Movies, drinking, social media, video games, etc. give us instant gratification, but they make us forget what we need to do. We need a lot of courage to find the reason for us to be here. Once we start looking for the answer, the universe will help us.
“We don’t have to wait until it’s too late. People suffer a lot before making drastic changes in their thinking, such as being diagnosed with cancer, loss of loved ones, or having a catastrophic accident. The world is already showing us. Disasters, wars, and diseases aren’t coincidences. We have to strive towards goodness, and the divine will protect us. It’s the law of the universe that good is rewarded, and evil is punished.”
Ken is grateful that he started on a journey of cultivation. “I found the meaning of my life,” he said. “I go to bed feeling fulfilled every single night. It’s priceless and beautiful!”
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