(Minghui.org) I once had an incurable disease that prevented me from having a normal life. I spent a lot of time searching for the right doctor, but nothing helped—until I was introduced to Falun Dafa, a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It taught me that the key to a beautiful life is a good heart. After I began practicing Falun Dafa, my family members and I had many remarkable experiences.
By my late 20s, I'd finished college, found a good job as an architect, and married a beautiful wife. Life seemed beautiful and perfect. However, 2 months later, I developed incurable abdominal pain. Instead of making money and enjoying life, I ended up in bed, in pain, and with medical bills.
I could only eat a small bowl of plain rice, and I went from 150 pounds down to 96. I felt tired, dizzy, and cold most of the time. I easily got sick if I came into contact with water or cold weather, so I stayed in my room, rarely bathed, and had food delivered to my room. I could not drive myself to work, go to the dentist or barber, or many other places. I was skin and bone, my face was pale, my eyes were sunken, my hair was long, and my teeth were full of cavities. My beautiful and perfect life had ended.
Modern medicine: I started seeing two family doctors. They guessed that I had bowel, digestive, and all different kinds of problems, and they gave me many medications to try out. Nothing seemed to work, so they referred me to a gastroenterologist, a GI doctor. I saw three GI doctors, who said I had acid reflux and prescribed many types of antacids. One even said I might have hepatitis B and a liver problem. I was also given the option of surgery to tie up my esophagus and have my gallbladder removed. Luckily, I did not.
I took increasing doses of medicine for more than 5 years, but my health did not improve. My cousin, who is a radiologist, told me to go somewhere that has a really good reputation. Therefore, I asked to be transferred to Stanford Hospital. There I saw a doctor who specialized in the pancreas, a neurologist, and even a pain management doctor. Since they could not figure out the cause of my problem, they guessed that I had overactive nerves and prescribed medication to control my nerves. This did not cure my abdominal pain and left me dizzy and drowsy throughout the day.
Besides seeing all these doctors, I visited the hospital many times and had many lab tests done, including a CAT scan, an MRI, ultrasound, a barium swallow, an endoscopy, a colonoscopy, digestive imaging, and acid level test, blood tests, urine tests, and stool tests. Not to mention multiple trips to the emergency room. I spent close to $100,000 in health insurance, yet they could not cure me.
Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medicine: I also went to see Chinese and Vietnamese herbal doctors. These were well-known doctors in my area and had a reputation for curing many people. One even promised to return my money if he could not cure me. I had many acupuncture treatments and took many herbs. I also tried honey from New Zealand, rare ginseng from China, and cordyceps (fungi) from Tibet. They cost more than gold. I spent thousands of dollars out of my own pocket, yet these things did not cure me, either.
Religion: My family and I visited a few temples to pray. Of course, I had to put money in the donation box every time we went. There were monks who tried to treat my health problem by hitting my left hand to remove the evil from my body... for money. They sold me round black pills that looked like goat dung and a jar of medicine that looked like it was made out of tree bark and dirt. My uncle brought me Buddhist music from a temple, and my mother and mother-in-law chanted Buddhist scriptures for me. I also chanted Buddha Amitabha’s name all the time, but my belief did not cure me.
Other options: My oldest brother tried to cure me with a type of qigong that he had practiced for many years. My family doctor prescribed me marijuana. I tried George Ohsawa’s program of a strict diet of only brown rice and water for a month. I also tried to exercise every day by riding my bike about 12 miles around the park. The only thing that happened was that I lost a lot more weight and almost had a heart attack.
When all hope seemed lost, my older brother gave me a Falun Dafa exercise DVD. He told me a Falun Dafa practitioner had given it to him, and he asked me to try it. I practiced the exercises diligently since I had no other choice. Every day, I would sit or stand in front of the TV for many hours to learn the exercises. I also practiced in front of the mirror so I could see and correct my movements. I searched on the Internet and found the audio recordings of the lectures by Falun Dafa’s founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi.
My English is not good and the translator spoke very quickly, so I had difficulty understanding. However, I didn’t give up and listened to about three lectures a day. The more I listened, the more I understood the principles and the more it seemed like the simultaneous interpreting slowed down.
After a few months of practice, I knew I needed to have a Falun Gong practitioner correct my exercise movements. In my heart, I asked Master Li Hongzhi for help. (“Master” is a respectful title for a qigong or martial arts teacher in China.) A few days later, during my biking exercise in the park, I found a group of Falun Gong practitioners. I had ridden my bike in that park every day for more than 4 years and had never seen anyone practice Falun Gong there. I knew it had been arranged for me to see them.
An older man in his mid-70s helped me correct my movements and gave me a brochure. He also gave me his Falun Dafa book. The book was the Vietnamese version. Since my family moved to America before I was 9 years old, my Vietnamese is not good. I had trouble reading the book, but I didn’t give up and read about two chapters a day. Within a few months, I could read along with the study group.
I was weak and tired, but I went to the practice site and did the exercises with four practitioners every morning. I wore about six shirts, a beanie hat, and a thick jacket with a hood. I brought my bowl of rice with me. I ate a few spoonfuls before starting the exercises, ate a few more in the middle, and a few after the exercises.
There are four simple positions in Exercise Two, but it is harder than it looks. At first, I could barely do 15 minutes. Now I can do 2 hours. The fifth exercise requires sitting in the lotus position. In the beginning, I could only do it for 10 minutes. It was so painful that I thought my legs would break if I sat any longer. Now I can sit for an hour.
Thanks to Falun Dafa, my life changed. I changed both physically and mentally. I gained 130 lbs and have not taken any medication for over 4 years. I can drive to work and drive my son to school. On weekends, I can hang out with my family at the theme park, mall, etc., and do the things they like to do.
I try to read one chapter of the Falun Dafa book, Zhuan Falun, every day and strive to be a better person by following the Fa, or laws and principles taught in the book. Before I practiced Falun Dafa, my family had to go along with my decisions, especially my wife. I managed her spending, where to go, what to eat, etc. After practicing Falun Dafa, I understood that it is important to think of others first. I respect and support my wife’s decisions and do the things that she loves. At home I do everything I possibly can, such as clean the house and take care of our son by bathing him, helping him with his homework, feeding him, and playing with him. I taught him how to ride a bike, swim, and fly a kite. Every night I try to read Zhuan Falun to him and explain the meaning of the words he doesn't understand.
I would like to share a few examples of where I tried to apply what I learned from Falun Dafa to deal with various tribulations.
Once I had a client for whom I did my best to design a good house plan. I always drew up my contract to reflect specific phases of work and collected the fee only when the client approved the work at each phase. My client commented that it was well done and approved in many phases. Then he turned around and said it was no good and he wanted his money back. He said he would take me to court if I didn’t pay him. When I returned his money, he told me to add an extra $400 for the court fee. I paid him that as well.
On another occasion, my old computer broke down, and I tried to fix it. I told my boss that it would take more time to get his work done because I had to get my computer fixed. My boss sent me an $800 check to buy a new computer, without letting me know beforehand. After I received it, my computer started working again. I tried to return the money to him, but he said to keep it for my family. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful for his generosity, but I didn’t want to owe him a debt, either. I decided to keep the money and to repay him by doing extra work without charging him a fee.
I have tried to be a hard worker. However, one time a city planning inspector was angry that I didn’t respond to his letter. He told me that he respected my boss’s work ethic and that I could never be as good as my boss. I didn’t argue with him or protest that he was wrong or claim that I myself was a good worker. The next day he sent me an email letting me know that the perceived problem was his coworker’s fault.
Nowadays, contractors and designers take advantage of people that have problems with their construction projects. They charge very high fees for a “red tag” project (i.e. building without a permit). I was one of those people until I studied Falun Dafa.
One time a contractor accidentally took down a structural wall. He called many designers for assistance, but they all said he was stupid and would not help. When he called me, I helped him at no charge. After the owner got the permit, she was so happy, she wanted to pay me for my time. She drove 3 hours to my house to give me the money, but I was not there.
My son was born one month premature and weighed 4 lbs. 10 oz. His hand was about the size of my thumb. He was in an incubator with wires and tubes connected to him. He could not eat on his own and we had to feed him through a tube. After I started to study Falun Dafa, he became very healthy. Now, he is 6-years-old and weighs 44 lbs. He loves to ride his bike, play tag, swim, and play at the playground. When he was two-years-old, his first 5-syllable phrase was: “Falun Dafa hao (is good).” He is very friendly and creative. His teacher said he is the friendliest kid she knows. He can make friends and have a conversation with anyone, including adults. Every day I read Dafa to him and I teach him about right and wrong.
My wife saw how I benefitted from Falun Dafa and supports it. Because she has little education, she started in the workforce as a file clerk. After I started to practice Falun Dafa, she was promoted to a position in accounting, which most people need a college degree to do. The company owner and her boss are very happy with her work and promoted her to accounting manager with a higher salary.
My mother benefited from Falun Dafa by becoming a practitioner herself after I practiced for a year. Falun Dafa has saved her many times. One time she fell off a ladder while climbing up onto the shed, but she was not injured. Another time I brought home a jackfruit, a large tropical fruit with a hard, jagged surface. It was heavy, and I put it down in the dining room. My mother was carrying a pot and pan as she hurried to the kitchen, and she tripped, landing chest first on the jackfruit. The doctor took an X-ray, and not a single bone was broken. Two years ago, she slipped and fell in the bathroom. She couldn’t move and yelled out for help. She felt dizzy and thought she was going to die. I ran in to hug her and told her to repeat “Falun Dafa hao” and ask Master Li for help while my wife called for an ambulance. The ambulance came and took her to the hospital. The doctor ordered a few tests, and they were all normal. She is now 73 years old and very healthy.
In my childhood, I always believed that good things come to people with good hearts, but I didn’t know how to achieve that. Like many parents, mine worked hard to provide the family with food and shelter, and they forgot to teach their children morality. TV and videos became my teachers. Material things, sex, and violence became integral parts of my life. I would do anything to get what I believed was mine and I was never satisfied with what I had. I cheated and lied and never knew that doing so could only bring me poor health and broken dreams.
After practicing Falun Dafa for 6 years, I have realized that the key to a beautiful and perfect life is a good heart. All the great doctors, high-tech equipment, and expensive medications in the world could not cure me. But a good heart could, and it didn’t cost a single dime. I thank Falun Dafa for giving me a second chance by turning a tragic life into a new and beautiful one that I can share. Thank you for reading my story.