(Clearwisdom.net) May 2011 is the nineteenth anniversary of Falun Dafa's public introduction in 1992. Ms. Tao Yuefang, a Falun Dafa practitioner from Sydney, Australia, attended many Falun Gong lectures in the early days when the Fa was just beginning to be taught by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Recalling her experiences, she is full of gratitude.
Introduced to Falun Gong
In the early 1990's, to improve her health, Ms. Tao tried all kinds of different qigong exercises, but none of them worked. She thought that she should look for a high-level master. She searched around. After a friend's recommendation, she found people practicing Falun Gong in Tiantan Park in Beijing. Falun Gong placed an emphasis on cultivating xinxing and she liked the principles of Falun Gong. She was determined to start cultivation practice. During the later part of autumn 1993, she experienced a day she will never forget.
She met the founder of Falun Gong, Master Mr. Li Hongzhi, at the Oriental Health Expo. She recalled, "I felt that Master is very special, it seemed like we had met before. Benevolence and peace radiated from him. I stood next to him. People immediately crowded around him once they saw him, to asked him questions. He patiently answered their questions one by one. I told Master that I had a problem because I always heard a voice while meditating. Master heard what I said. He looked out as if staring into an empty vast field that was far away. I looked too, following Master. Of course I did not see anything, but after that I no longer heard the voice when I mediated. I knew that Master had taken away the evil interference.”
"I asked Master, 'When are you going to give another lecture? I really want to go.' Master replied, 'The next notice will be out soon. It's in Tianjin.' I thought to myself that Tianjin was too far and my daughter had just come back from Australia. While I was thinking about this, Master commented that someone had thought that Tianjin was too far away. While the students from the Xinjiang Region were following the lectures, I became enlightened to what Master said. Had Master known what I was thinking? I felt very ashamed."
Master Removed My Diseases
Ms. Tao said, “Many qigong masters held seminars at the Expo. Because Master's seminar was full and there were still many people who wanted to buy tickets, the Expo organizer added two extra seminars. None of the other qigong masters were honored in this way. During the seminar, Master talked about some of the content in the Lecture One of Zhuan Falun. He did not demonstrate the exercises like other qigong masters.”
“During the lecture, Master asked us to stand up and think about a disease that we had. He told us that he would remove it for us. Master made a swipe with his hand and grasped all of the diseases from the attendees in his own hand.”
“I had been frail and sickly since I was born. After I grew up, I suffered from neurasthenia, severe stomach problems, insomnia, headaches, and dizziness. I had illnesses from head to toe. I never slept well and had to sleep on one side. The illness that caused me the greatest amount of pain was cervical dislocation. I was known for being ill at work. After Master's seminar, all my illnesses were cured, my body was renewed, I walked lightly, and my entire body was light.”
The Grace and Miraculous Nature of the Fa Attracted Me Like a Magnet
In January 1994, Master went to Tianjin to teach the Fa right after the Beijing Oriental Health Expo. Ms. Tao joined the people who followed Master to all his teaching sessions. Wherever Master went, Ms. Tao went. She said, “At the end of every session, students were reluctant to part with Master. Everyone wanted to stay longer with Master. Those were very precious moments!”
“I remember that I arrived one day early for the first Tianjin session. I asked the coordinators to give me a warm room since I was afraid of being cold. They gave me the warmest room they had, but my bed faced the door. The wind blew on me whenever the door opened or closed. It turned out to be a very cold place. Although I was a new Falun Dafa student, I also knew that Master asked us to be good people. Even though there were other beds that were not yet occupied, I thought that it would be wrong for me to change beds because the wind would blow on anyone who slept in the bed I was in. I realized that I should not have requested a special room when I arrived. I should have let things happen naturally and followed their own course. I thought, 'Maybe the bed I was in was just the place that I should be.'”
She continued, “During the second Tianjin session, students from different regions took group photos with Master. Someone said that I was blocking him because I was tall. I quickly took off my hat and put it under my arm. I forgot about it after the picture was taken and the hat later showed up on Master's desk at the podium. I saw it and went to get it. While I was walking to get it, I told the other people around the podium that the hat was mine, but no one paid attention to me because Master was coming. I swiftly returned to my seat to avoid being in the way while Master was lecturing. Master picked up my hat, patted it, and then put it aside. Other students saw what Master did and said to me, “Wow, you got extra goodies.'”
“Indeed, Master took away the bad things from my brain. Twenty years ago we lived in a cottage where I gave birth to my youngest daughter. Our bed was beside a window and my head would feel the breeze because I always put my head against the wall. I suffered from headaches. I was afraid of the wind and cold and wore a hat all of the time. I had suffered with this for more than twenty years. After Master patted my hat, I never had another headache. I took off my hat forever.”
Master's Lecture Fees Were the Lowest in the Country
“Master was very frugal. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) said that Master made a lot money. That was nonsense. I had personal experience and knew the lecture fees. The charge for Master's session was 50 yuan for first time students. Originally it was only 40 yuan. For returning students, the cost was 25 yuan. This was the lowest fee in the country. Some qigong masters were uneasy about this and asked the qigong association make Master raise the price, but Master did not change it.”
“We stayed at a hotel in Tianjina for ten yuan per night. Master stayed at the same hotel. He did not approve of the other qigong masters who made big money and stayed in luxury hotels.”
Master Eliminating Evil
In June 1994, Ms. Tao followed Master to attend the teaching session in Zhengzhou. It was held in a temporary arena. What impressed her the most was when Master miraculously eliminated evil. She recalled, “It was the first day of Master's teaching session. The bright sky suddenly darkened. Rain and hail came pouring down. The electricity went off and all the lights went out. Master stopped teaching, sat in the lotus position on the desk and started doing hand signs. After that, he sat back in the normal teaching position and took a bottle of water and drank the whole thing. Then he put something in his hand and then into the bottle. After he did that, the rain stopped, the sun came out, sunshine came into the room, and all the lights started working again. We all applauded. Master smiled and said that, although the evil had come from a high-level, he did not want to grab it with his hand so he held it in the bottle.
Ms. Tao concluded that Master had suffered immeasurable hardships for all of the uncountable sins he encountered while he was teaching the Fa around the country. Ms Tao would have tears in her eyes whenever she thought about it. She told these stories for two reasons. First, to thank Master for his mercy and secondly, to encourage disciples to persevere to the very end of the Fa rectification, do the three things well, and complete the vows that they made with Master to save sentient beings.
