(Minghui.org) I am a university teacher in China. I started to learn drawing at a young age and went on to study art as well as graphic design in high school, university, and post-graduate studies.
Nearly everyone in our profession suffers from this occupational ailment, which is cervical vertebrae/neck pain. I hold a paintbrush in my right hand. I also operate the computer mouse with my right hand, so the right side of my arm, shoulder, and back hurt. The pain moved to my neck and head, making it hard to sleep at night. I tried one pillow after another, with different materials, and different shapes. I also tried massages and medication but none of these methods could alleviate my pain.
At the end of 2014, I thought of doing something to improve my health and fitness. I asked a coworker: “How do you feel after doing yoga? Did it ease your neck pain?” She immediately replied, “No.” I recalled my mother who always practiced Falun Dafa. She said she did not have any bodily aches. I also often saw her meditating. I went online to find out more about meditation and read how good it was for one’s physical and mental well-being. I thought about going home and asking mom to show me how to practice Falun Dafa.
I was teaching at the university then. I returned to my hometown during the winter break. As usual, I went to a doctor who owns a clinic and does gua sha treatments to improve circulation. She’s my mother’s friend and she also practices Falun Dafa. In the past, I felt better after the treatments and my shoulders and neck felt very relaxed. The effects of the treatment would last for a year but later on, I had to go back more often as the effects only lasted for six months. However, this time, I did not feel better at all after the gua sha session. The doctor said, “The tendon in your shoulder blade in the back is swollen. We can loosen it but we cannot reverse the condition. You will never recover. At most, the treatments will alleviate your pain a little.” I was disheartened.
During the next gua sha session, the doctor played a recording: “Divinely-inspired Culture.” The narrator’s voice was gentle and soothing. I felt relaxed listening to her narrate stories about traditional Chinese culture.
One day, I saw a program on NTD TV on Chinese medicine. I followed the instructions in the program on how females can carry out a self-examination to prevent breast cancer. Out of curiosity, I examined my left breast as shown on the program, and discovered a lump the size of my thumb joint. It was hard and I could move it. I told my mother about it. She took me to the largest hospital in the city for a checkup. The doctors examined me and said I might have a fatty tumor in my left breast. It may also be malignant. They could only tell for sure after removing it through surgery. I reluctantly accepted the doctor’s suggestion to have an operation and paid the fees as well as a deposit.
I had to go for an ultrasound before the operation. The doctor studied the ultrasound scans for a long time with a grave expression. He said there was not one, but two lumps in my left breast and they were quite far apart. Consequently, it was impossible to remove these two lumps with one cut. In addition, there were many small lumps in my right breast but as they were too small, one could not feel them. I was shocked! I saw many patients who were bald wearing hats lying in pain in bed. Some of them were throwing up. The more I looked at these patients, the more scared I felt.
My mother told me, “Don’t think of anything else, just recite ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’” I recited this continuously with my mother until the doctor called us. He said, “The only choice is to remove the two lumps in your left breast. We will leave the right breast as it is and observe what happens. After surgery, it doesn’t mean no lumps will grow again in your left breast. It is also possible the lumps in your right breast may grow bigger. We cannot say for sure. The only thing we can do is to keep an eye on things.”
When the doctor first suggested undergoing surgery to remove the lumps in my left breast, I had no choice but to accept his advice. I thought the problem would be solved once the lumps were removed. After hearing the doctor’s words, I understood that surgery would not solve the problem. Besides, two incisions were required to remove the lumps in my left breast. My mother told the doctor, “Let’s consider our options.”
Mother told me, “You have two choices now: undergo surgery or try practicing Falun Dafa.” I did not know anything about cultivation. I only knew my mother read the teachings and did the exercises every day and that was cultivation. I thought, “In that case, cultivation is much better than surgery! I will practice cultivation.” It was as if I was waiting for my mother to tell me to practice cultivation.
The next morning we went to the hospital to inform the doctors of my decision not to undergo surgery. I saw a little girl preparing for an operation and it was also to remove a fatty tumor. If I had not chosen to practice cultivation, I would also be waiting to go for surgery. Although we had to forfeit the fees we already paid, my mother and I left the hospital in good spirits. We felt relaxed and blessed as we walked home.
At home, my mother watched Master Li’s (Dafa’s founder) taped lectures with me every day. She also showed me the five exercises. Master began to cleanse my body. My neck, head, arm, and back stopped aching. The swelling in the right side of my back also subsided.
The stomach problem that had plagued me was gone, too. Growing up, my stomach bled twice and I could not eat rice if it was hard. Now, I could eat leftovers straight from the fridge as well as drink cold milk without stomach pain.
Gradually, I forgot about the lumps in my breast. One day, I suddenly thought of them. I examined my breast and they were gone. I recalled that when I had the lumps I could not sleep on my left side because my arm would press on them. Master got rid of my illness without me realizing it. I did not suffer any pain in the process. It was extraordinary.
In the autumn of 2020, my abdomen began to ach, and the pain in my lower back was excruciating. I could neither sit, lay down, or even kneel. I was working in another city and took leave from work. I did not know the cause of my pain.
I thought of Master’s words:
“So whether it is good things or bad things you run into, so long as you cultivate in Dafa, they are all positive, to be sure.” (Teachings at the 2005 Conference in San Francisco)
I realized this was a good thing and I was not afraid.
When I went to the bathroom I heard something plop into the toilet bowl. I put on gloves and took the thing out to see what it was. It was very hard and looked like a peppercorn. I recalled that when I had a health exam at university, they found a stone about half a centimeter in each of my kidneys. Those two stones had been there for over a decade. Because they never caused me any pain, I forgot about them. It turned out that one of the stones was responsible for the intense pain.
Six months later, I had the same experience and passed the other stone. My abdomen and lower back hurt. I was not afraid this time. I believed what Master said and regarded it as a good thing. After around two days, at around 2 p.m., I passed the second stone.
I heard a coworker say her husband had kidney stones and he was in such pain he couldn’t stop screaming. He was taken to the hospital and had the stones broken up so that the pieces could pass. It was very expensive and very painful. I didn't suffer much or have to spend a single cent to have my kidney stones removed.
I am grateful to Master for cleansing my body. I truly experienced how great it is to be free of illness.