[Minghui Net] My name is Zhang Shujun, female, 35 years old. Like most other young people, I loved life and was full of vigor and vitality. However, I contracted leukemia when I was only 26 years old; the disease came to me like a fatal blow to my life. My mind went completely blank and tears ran down my face endlessly while I was lying in the hospital bed. Why me? Why was life so unfair to me?
The endless and painful therapy procedures made me suffer so much that I felt I would rather die. The treatments weakened my immune system. I always caught the flu and constantly had high fevers. Since I was sensitive to the cancer-fighting drugs, I often had terrible itching all over my body. I had to scratch hard and it caused bleeding. Because of the length of the treatments and the frequent blood transfusions, the skin on the back of my hand became stiff. I felt sick and vomited every time I was given a transfusion.
After a year of these painful struggles with death, my beautiful black hair fell out due to the large doses of radiation and the chemotherapy treatments. I lost 26 Jin [about 30 lbs] in only a few days. I felt desperate after seeing several other leukemia patients pass away one after another. I started to continuously think about my life and its worth: human beings realize how insignificant and helpless they are when they come close to death. Although they might be wealthy and have the most powerful positions in the world, they have nothing. I kept asking myself, what is the mysterious power that dominates and balances everything in this hellish world?
The operation caused many seizures; any of them could have easily taken my life. At the time, I was thin, had a dark pallor and was out of shape. My health kept deteriorating even after several Western and Chinese hospitals treated me. My parents took care of me and suffered both emotionally and financially. I do not know how many times my mother cried behind my back...
I myself cried endlessly. I wondered whether there existed any power to help me escape from the clutches of death. I prayed and hoped I would live. At this moment between life and death, I suddenly realized that the meaning of life was not merely seeking comfort for oneself; instead, there were things much more precious and beautiful!
In March 1995, I luckily found out about Falun Dafa. It was a turning point in my life. At the beginning when I went to the exercise site, I couldn't even perform the first four exercises since I was extremely weak and the condition of my heart was very poor. After some time of working on the exercises, my body gradually felt relaxed and I could easily finish the standing exercises, which lasted for an hour. I felt like I was saved from the hell of pain and hopelessness! It was a miracle!
Only one month after I started to cultivate the universal principles of "Truth, Compassion, Tolerance," the disease that could not be cured by modern medicine, and that cost my family hundreds of thousands of Yuan [about tens of thousands of US Dollars] was completely gone. Doesn't this show that Falun Dafa is a genuine and extraordinary science? The smile came back to my face. I used to be an invalid and couldn't take care of myself, but soon I could do the housework and take care of my parents. They were so happy to see the change in me.
After three years of torture from this serious disease and its treatments, for the first time I was experiencing the wonders of being completely free of disease and pain. The changes in my body and mind have made me firmly believe in the truth of Falun Dafa. After only two months of practice, I returned to work. In my daily life, I started to follow the principles explained in the Zhuan Falun. I worked hard and always considered others first. I tried to examine myself first whenever there was a conflict. Under the guidance of the Fa [the law or universal principle], I strived to reach the realm of selflessness and altruism. The changes that happened to me were obvious to the supervisors and to the other employees in my work unit.
My mother also changed a lot after she started to practice. All her illnesses were gone and so was her bad temper. She used to fight with my father and now she has become nice after practicing Falun Dafa. My family is happy and lives in perfect harmony.
In the eyes of God, all lives are equally granted opportunities. As long as you still have a kind heart, the "Buddha Law" will selflessly help, protect, and guide you. If I were not predestined to cultivate the great Falun Dafa, I would have gradually exhausted my young life in the extremes of desperation and pain. Dafa gave me back my life, therefore I should be of benefit to others with my life and put my best effort into clarifying the truth and awakening people's conscience. I felt sad when I saw people indulging in the pursuit of fame and self-interests or struggling helplessly with incurable diseases.
Therefore, when a few people in the government mistakenly cracked down on Falun Gong and illegally denounced Falun Gong as an [slanderous language omitted], I went to Beijing to declare the truth and awaken the conscience of the people with my personal experiences and with my life that was enriched by Dafa. However, I was illegally arrested, detained and punished by my work unit. Now I have been forced to leave home and wander without shelter. Nevertheless, I feel it is worthwhile if people will no longer be blinded by the lies of the government after I tell them of my experiences. I hope people will be able to distinguish between kindness and wickedness, good from evil by examining their own kind nature.
I feel happy while I go through this rough time because I am validating Dafa and offering salvation to people. I truly hope everyone in this world will feel the same splendid and magnificent happiness that I feel! Now I understand why we cultivators should attain the righteous enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. The purpose of existence of a cultivator in the Fa rectification is entirely for the good of others!
Now in tears, I sincerely tell everyone with a sincere heart, Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa! It is truly the most extraordinary science!
Zhang Shujun
March 23, 2001
(Note from editor: for the safety concerns, the name in the article was changed to a pseudonym. All names of hospitals, doctors and addresses were omitted]