(Minghui.org) My eight-year-old son Ming was diagnosed in June 2005 with pediatric rheumatoid arthritis combined with pediatric sepsis, and received treatment in a hospital for a year. Instead of improving, his joints became deformed, his muscles atrophied, and he eventually became paralyzed and bedridden, unable to take care of himself.
When our situation seemed most desperate Ming and I heard about Falun Dafa in May 2006, and we began to practice. By continuously reading Falun Dafa’s teachings, doing the exercises, looking inward, and improving his xinxing (character) Ming’s condition gradually improved. Because he had to drop out of school in the second grade for medical treatment, there was a gap in his education. But he was able to catch up, and his grades were fine. He was able to study abroad and is now pursuing a Ph.D. degree.
I’d like to tell you how Ming experienced Falun Dafa’s miracles.
Wisdom From Dafa
Ming was able to walk again by summer of 2008, and he planned to go back to school. Because he hadn’t interacted with children his age for almost three years, I decided to have him go on to the fifth grade instead of resuming the third grade. When he felt good he attended school for half a day. When he felt bad he stayed home. In this way, he “completed” elementary school.
During middle school, Ming only did homework when he felt well. Because he hadn’t yet fully recovered he sometimes had discomfort and was unable to go to school. By the time he finished middle school he was accepted by a top provincial high school. Since he hadn’t fully recovered yet, we decided that he would attend a local private school instead, so I could look after him and he could continue practicing Falun Dafa.
During high school, Ming sometimes had health issues. When that happened, I took a day off so I could practice the Falun Dafa exercises and read the teachings with him. He did very well on the college entry exam and was admitted to a top university. By that time, he was fully recovered. He completed his undergraduate degree and earned a master’s degree before going overseas to pursue a Ph.D. degree.
“Most Positive Student in School”
While he was in the second grade and hospitalized, Ming not only had physical problems, but also suffered from low self-esteem and isolation. By the time he became paralyzed, I was the only one he wanted to see, as he didn’t interact with his father or grandparents. He was afraid of light and bright colors, so all the windows and doors had to be closed and the curtains shut.
After he began practicing Dafa, the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance nurtured his young mind. As his health improved, his mental state also improved dramatically. With a positive attitude and an open mind, he followed Falun Dafa’s principles.
Part of the high school entry exam was a physical test. At that time, Ming could not walk well and I sometimes had to carry him up or down the stairs. Plus he never attended gym classes. His teachers and classmates said Ming needed to apply for a physical test waiver, which required a proof of illness. If approved, the student would automatically receive 60% of the total score.
When I discussed this with Ming, he said no, “Master Li purified my body and I am free of illness. My current situation is a manifestation of karma elimination. If I used my medical record to apply for a waiver, that would mean I was still a patient and had no confidence in Master or Dafa.”
“How will you take the test?” I asked.
“I’ll start training. I’ll run for a while every day before I go to school. I’ll practice the long jump at school, and use a medicine ball after dinner. I don’t care about the score but I’ll take the test,” he said.
I agreed, although I was worried if he would make it. After all, his joints were swollen and walking was painful. But Ming said that suffering was not a problem.
He practiced for three weeks before taking the exam. When Ming went to the track field, the school officials and teachers were shocked. The school doctor found the chief judge and explained the situation. The chief judge sent three people to stop Ming, but Ming insisted on finishing the entire track test. After he completed the first circle, the chief judge hugged him with excitement, “Young boy, you are awesome. As chief judge of the physical test, I’m announcing that you received an A.” Ming took the physical test – something we dared not imagine, and received an A. We knew Master helped him.
Ming attended an advanced class during his high school years. The coursework was hard and the students competed intensely against one another. Most students were under a lot of stress especially during the final year. Many were depressed and some had developed insomnia. Ming kept studying the Fa every day, and remained calm. He focused on studying and paid attention to the points and their logic. He did not pay much attention to grades and remained relaxed. In his spare time he practiced magic tricks.
His classroom teacher once had an argument with school officials and was upset. Seeing this, Ming performed a magic trick in front of the class to reduce the tension. The classroom teacher was moved, and along with school officials, gave Ming the “Most Positive Student in School” award.
Overcoming Difficulties
Ming’s first setback occurred during the graduate school entrance exam. Because he missed so many classes during elementary school and middle school, Ming’s knowledge of Chinese and English was weak. His strengths were math and physics. As a result, he focused on math and physics during the preparation hoping to receive a high score in those subjects. But during the exam of his favorite subject – math, Ming did not finish some of the questions as he could not understand some of them.
Ming thought he would not be admitted. He called me saying he planned to skip the remaining tests on other subjects, but I reminded him to think about what a Falun Dafa practitioner should do. “Nothing we practitioners encounter is accidental, and how we respond could set an example for the future generations,” I said. He was quiet for a while and then said he knew what to do. He later told me that he kept reciting “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” the rest of the day. All the remaining tests went well.
Ming was very worried after the exam was over, especially the night before the results were announced. I reminded him that as a Falun Dafa practitioner, this could be an opportunity for him to identify attachments and eliminate them. He agreed, and reviewed his past experience of selecting the college, preparation, and the test itself. He realized he had attachments to fame and material interest, along with vanity.
After he identified his attachments Ming relaxed. When the results were available the following day, his score was many points higher than the admission criterion. He did not get excited—instead he was calm because he was no longer attached to the results.
During graduate school, Ming faced a major challenge when his advisor suddenly changed his research direction and mentor. In fact, Ming was interested in the advisor because of the research. But he was later assigned a young Ph.D. graduate as his mentor with a subject of geotechnical engineering, something unfit for Ming’s size and physical condition. In addition, he needed to design a certain instrument (which was later given a domestic and international patent), and contact manufacturers for production, testing, and assembly.
When his materials arrived, Ming found that the other students had already planned their thesis. Time was tight, making the situation difficult, and it was likely his graduation would be delayed.
Ming felt pressured, but because he had studied Falun Dafa’s teachings for ten years he had courage and perseverance. He just focused on the research and not the results.
Ming was patient and calm. He worked hard and sometimes even spent the entire night in the lab. He also gained lots of wisdom from Dafa. The experimental data was sometimes unexpected, and some other students suggested that he modify the data to save time. He reminded himself that he was a practitioner and followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Ming repeated the experiment instead of modifying the data.
As a result, Ming was able to complete the research well, and he graduated on time. He also applied for an overseas Ph.D. program. The procedure was tedious from application documents and recommendation letters, to interviews and taking the TOEFL test. Without an agent, he did things on his own while continuing his graduate research and thesis. This was not easy because Ming’s English had always been poor. But he had faith in Master and Dafa, and was not attached to results.
As a result, Ming improved his English quickly and passed the TOEFL test. He received a full scholarship to study abroad and earn a Ph.D. degree.
As his mother, I am honored to write about Ming’s story during the 26th World Falun Dafa Day celebration as a testimony to show that Falun Dafa is extraordinary. I hope this article will help you see how amazing Falun Dafa is. I also wish you and your family all the best!
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