(Minghui.org) I am 22 years old. It has been 19 years since I began practicing Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa). In my teenage years, I was led astray by the negative influences in society, developed a bad temper, and was extremely lost as to what to do. Fortunately, since I had read the Fa when I was young, I managed to return to Dafa when things got desperate. Dafa cultivation has helped me to find the meaning and value of my life.
Because my grandmother is a practitioner, I obtained the Fa when I was 3 years old. I used to be a sickly child and often had to get injections and take medicine. One time when I was sick, I went to my grandmother’s house. She happened to be playing the Fa teaching video by Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa.
I played while listening to Master’s teachings, and by the time the video was over, I’d recovered. It was a miracle – I did not take medicine or get a shot, and yet I recovered.
From then on, I always liked to listen to Master’s Fa teaching recordings at my grandmother’s house. It was because of me that my parents also started cultivating. When I was in middle school, I suddenly had a high fever, so I went home. I was so unwell that I couldn't even climb the stairs.
When I got home, I lay in bed, unable to eat or drink; my mother had to feed me through a straw. According to her, my temperature was 104 degrees, and I was extremely pale. But I listened to Master’s Fa teachings and recovered by the next morning.
In my 19 years of cultivation, I have never taken a pill or had any injections.
During the middle school holidays, my father took me out on a bicycle. There is a very steep hill outside our home. I wanted some thrills, so I asked my father to go faster. Suddenly, a car appeared in front of us. We were going so fast that my father couldn't brake in time, and we crashed right into the car doors. My father’s hand was rammed into the windshield, which broke into pieces. He had glass shards all over his hands, but they fell off when he washed them.
I fell off the bicycle but only suffered a little bruising. The car owner asked us how we were. Because we are Dafa practitioners, we think of others first, so my father replied that we were fine. The car owner then demanded $200 to repair his car. My father agreed and took the car owner home to get the money.
After that, my father said that, if it were not for that car, we would have been in a far worse accident. Behind that car was a heavily-loaded lorry, and we wouldn't have been able to stop at the speed we were going. Due to our belief in Dafa, our dangerous situations were always resolved.
There are 7 practitioners in my family – my grandmother, father, mother, uncle, aunt, my cousin, and me. After the persecution started in July 1999, there were daily television and radio broadcasts disparaging Falun Gong. Those programs were produced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Our family and other practitioners went to Tiananmen Square to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. We only wanted to tell everyone that, from our personal experiences, Falun Gong is a righteous Fa that teaches people to be good and that it improves one’s health and morality.
When we got to Tiananmen Square, we saw people in groups of 3-5 shouting, “Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa! Restore the Reputation of Master Li and Dafa!” The police were kicking and hitting them. Some even beat them with their batons, and others dragged the practitioners away.
We soon found an empty spot and started doing the second exercise, the Falun Standing Stance. Other practitioners were giving out brochures that described their personal experiences of cultivation, while still others held banners. My uncle was getting ready to take pictures when a large group of officers rushed over to us and snatched the banners and cameras. Regardless of age, they hit us on our heads with their walkie-talkies to try to stop us from doing the exercises. Blood flew, but no matter how hard they hit us, we still shouted, “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” The pain did not seem to affect our determination.
They dragged us onto a bus. Where it was headed, we had no idea. On the bus, we still shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” I could feel our determination and courage. We would not give up no matter where we were taken.
I was detained separately from my family. My mother and I were released that night. Beginning in 2000, my family members were illegally sentenced one by one. Only my grandmother, cousin, and me were left at home. Then my uncle and grandmother were persecuted to death. We did not give up even after that. We only wanted to let the people know that Falun Gong was not like what the television said, that we were actually kind people that practiced Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
When I reached middle school, I did not like to study the Fa anymore. I also did not want my classmates to know that I practiced Falun Gong. My primary school classmates knew I was a practitioner, and they always bullied me and treated me as strange and weird.
So that I wouldn’t be bullied, I made friends with some bad students who often quarreled, fought, or stole things. Although I didn’t fight, I picked up some bad habits from hanging out with them. I didn’t finish my homework when I got home, and I even stole money from my family. Even my teachers didn't bother to correct me.
My family wanted to send me to another city to study. I quickly agreed, because that way I could go to a place where I wouldn't be recognized. So I left home and went to a new school.
The environment in the new school was even worse. Because I wasn’t actively practicing Dafa, I gave in to all the temptations. I smoked and drank, went to the Karaoke, hung out at Internet cafés, had online relationships, and looked at pornography in the dormitory. I became like the other girls and had no idea what direction I should take when I graduated. I sought after pleasures and thrills every day, but inside I was empty, lost, and lonely.
After just half a year at the new school, I even hated myself: I just couldn't accept what I had become. I returned home 3 years later, when I graduated, with nothing to show for my time away. After being questioned by my family and friends, I was on the brink of collapse. I didn't want to face anyone and just lay in bed reading online fiction every day, living in a virtual world. I hardly went out and thought of suicide many times.
While searching for something in my room one day, I found an MP3 recording with practitioners sharing their experiences. I sat in front of Master’s portrait and listened. I felt very guilty and full of regret that I had not studied the Fa for so long. I thought of what I had done the past few years and cried tears of misery.
Even though I did such wrong things, Master is compassionate enough to forgive me. I went back to cultivation after missing out for so many years. Practicing Dafa helped me to give up all the bad habits I learned. I followed what Master says and never stole again. At work, I did not touch the photocopying money and replaced the exact amount I received. Even if there were a few hundred dollars on the table at home, I would not take a single cent.
I also helped my family to cook and do household chores. I used to be terribly lazy before and did not think about anyone else. Before, I thought that it was very troublesome to dispose of my garbage bags as I left the house, so I simply tossed them outside through the window. Sometimes, the bag would split and the contents would spew everywhere. Now I know that I shouldn't be so inconsiderate. Whenever I take the garbage out now, I tie the bag up and put it in the dustbin properly.
My neighbors and relatives all praise me and say that I am different from other youths. Only I know that I was once like those who seek only pleasure and thrills and have no consideration for others. It was Dafa who changed me and gave me hope. Although I still sometimes get angry with my parents, I am working to eliminate this human mindset and working hard to align myself with what Master requires of us.
Now, I am very happy every day from the bottom of my heart. Falun Gong is the righteous way that can help to restore human morality, and I am a real-life example.
Dear friends, if you ever have the good fortune to run into a Falun Gong practitioner, please stop and listen. Falun Gong is nothing like what the CCP has accused it of. After you have understood the facts, you will know why so many people in the world practice it and why we persist despite persecution.