(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa has been spreading in the world for 29 years. I had heard about Falun Dafa when I was little, as several of my family members were practitioners. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in 1999, my memories of Falun Dafa faded.
In 2015, a vacation to Taiwan brought back those memories. I returned to Dafa cultivation after wandering around for 20 years without a true purpose in life.
Reciting “Falun Dafa Is Good” Saved My Mother
During the 2015 Christmas break, my mother and I went on a trip to Taiwan. On Christmas Eve, my mother told me, “You almost lost your mother today!” I was shocked. We'd had a very good day of sightseeing. Why did she say that?
“Not long ago, I was diagnosed with heart disease. I did not tell you because I did not want to worry you,” she said. “I was given some medicine, and it was controlled before our trip.
“This afternoon, when we were on the mountain, remember I told you I was cold and asked you to call our driver to pick us up? I felt I was having a heart attack. I did not have the medicine with me. I thought I would not be able to return to the vehicle.”
I was too shocked to speak. She continued, “Luckily I had the Dafa amulet your grandmother gave me. On the road I kept reciting the words on it: 'Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!' I recited them for about half an hour. Then I was fine.”
I was speechless. I just hugged her and cried. I felt a mixture of shock, sadness, and gratitude. For the next few days in Taiwan, at every place we visited--tourist sites, bus stations, and even private homes--I saw all kinds of banners with the same phrases: “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” Memories, hidden away deep in my heart for 20 years, came back.
Memory Awakened
In 1996, my grandparents began to practice Falun Dafa. A group of local practitioners gathered at my grandparents’ home every day to read the Falun Dafa book Zhuan Falun. When my older sister, younger sister, and I visited their house, we listened to the lecture recordings of Master Li, Falun Dafa’s founder. Our grandparents asked us to sit in the full lotus position. My sisters could sit like that easily, but it was very difficult for me, and my legs really hurt.
I gave up. When practitioners came for Fa study, I would leave the room and take my toys to another room to play. The room they did group Fa-study in was my bedroom. When they were done, I would go to that room, look at Master’s photo, and read the words “The Falun is turning” on the wall. My heart was full of joy.
I remember that I dreamed one night that other children and I were riding on cranes, flying down from the sky. We descended through layers of clouds. Suddenly I saw a dark green forest and an old white castle. I said goodbye to my friends and flew to the castle.
Family Members Benefit from Dafa
My grandfather was a military officer who retired in his 40s. Although he'd been high up in the military, he had to give up his career early because of poor health. When I was little, my parents took me to visit my grandfather every summer and winter vacation. In my memory, my grandfather was often at a military resort, recuperating. His retirement payment was generous but he spent most of it on medicine.
After my grandfather started to practice Dafa, which made my family members happy, not only did he quit smoking and drinking, but he also regained his health and became even-tempered.
My mother said my grandfather used to have a very bad temper. She and her siblings were terrified of him. When he was at home, no one dared to raise their voice. After he practiced Dafa, his children were no longer nervous around him. They could joke with him and even have minor arguments. He would no longer get angry.
Master’s Photo and the Falun Symbol Disappeared from the Wall
Suddenly one day, my mother forbade me from going to visit my grandparents. I really missed them. Several months later, my mother took me to visit them.
I was shocked when I entered my grandparents’ house. There were pry marks in every room. Clearly, something had happened here. I went to the room where I used to sleep. The wall was empty. Master’s photo and the Falun symbol were no longer on the wall.
No one mentioned what happened there until many years later my sister told me that, around July 1999, my grandparents were taken to the police station and their home was ransacked. The police stayed in their home for two months. During the next few years, there were plainclothes officers in the district every day.
I also remembered that not long after the incident, I heard the familiar Dafa exercise music in the early morning when I was still in bed. In the evening when I was watching TV, I could hear my grandparents quietly reading Zhuan Falun.
I also noticed that my grandparents frequently went to “visit relatives.” Many years later, I understood that they actually went to clarify the truth to people, telling them Falun Dafa was good.
It Is Difficult to Be a Good Person
I went to college in another city. Fortunately, a great-aunt of mine, who was a professor, lived in that city. My great-aunt and great-uncle practiced Falun Dafa. I was very happy that I could visit them every weekend.
Despite the CCP’s defamation of Falun Dafa, I never thought Dafa was bad. All the people I knew who practiced Dafa, including those who used to visit my grandparents often, were very kind people. Many of them held reputable positions, such as professors, teachers, civil service workers, and school principals.
One Friday evening, as soon as I arrived at my great-aunt’s home, my 10-year-old cousin ran to me. “They took my grandma away,” he cried.
Although in the past I had read from truth-clarifying material about Falun Dafa practitioners being arrested, I was shocked when this actually happened to someone in my own family. I was angry and confused. My great-aunt was such a nice person. Why did they arrest her? Why did they arrest practitioners who followed Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance? Wasn’t being a good person a good thing? Not long after that, my great-aunt and uncle moved far away from my college. I was no longer able to visit them often.
At the same time, I heard more sad news that my grandfather had passed away. I don’t remember how I got through that period of time. I felt something very important in my life was lost. I became quiet and unconcerned. I often felt sad.
An incident that followed made me even more disappointed and sad. I went for an interview to join a finance society at my college. I was asked to describe my own character in one sentence. “I don’t usually follow others’ opinions to determine what is good or bad,” I said.
As soon as I finished this sentence, all the interviewers burst out laughing. One said mockingly, “Did you mean to say that you are like a lotus flower, 'rising unsullied from the mud?'” I was surprised that they would laugh at this. Wouldn’t it be a good thing to 'rise unsullied from the mud?'
The finance society did not accept me. After that, I was even more confused about life.
I began to pursue the material things in this life. After I graduated, my life was full--I took classes in advanced studies, worked overtime, shopped, and dated. I indulged myself in fame and gain. I cheered when I got a rise. I was excited when my boyfriend gave me an expensive gift, ignoring his character.
I had a high-paying job and a rich boyfriend. Yet, I did not see any value in any of it. I often felt empty, anxious, and at a loss.
Returning to Dafa
As soon as I returned to Hong Kong after my trip to Taiwan, I searched for Falun Dafa books online.
One day, I went to the Star Ferry Pier in Hong Kong. I saw several exhibition boards with the facts about Dafa that practitioners had set up. I told myself that Dafa had just saved my mother’s life, that Dafa was good, and that Dafa practitioners are good. I wanted to tell people about Falun Dafa!
On weekdays, I read Master’s new lectures on the internet. On weekends, I distributed truth-clarifying newspapers to people in the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district.
Soon after I started to practice Dafa, my old feeling of true happiness returned. When I was young, I used to be truly happy when I helped an elderly person cross the street or gave up my seat to a senior on a bus. Now, I am truly happy when I hand out small lotus flowers with the message “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” I am moved to tears when my friends understand the truth about Dafa.
I also got my confidence back and I no longer try to avoid people. I don’t think I will ever again be afraid of being mocked about the thought “rising unsullied from the mud!”
I Learned to Look Inward
I became a happy person after I started practicing Falun Dafa. But that doesn't mean that my character wasn't tested.
I was a financial analyst. At work, I lead a small team. A capable assistant on the team suddenly requested to transfer to another team. She told the boss specifically that she did not want to work with me.
I was furious. It was I who had gotten her many opportunities to get promoted. Now she talked bad about me and wanted to leave. What about our teamwork? I was upset, completely forgetting I was a cultivator. For quite a while, I kept thinking how ungrateful she was after I had treated her so well.
Master saw that I did not look inward and gave me a hint. One evening, I was alone in the office, working overtime. I again got upset about her leaving.
Suddenly a voice rang in my head: “Did you do all those favors purely for her benefit? Not for your own gain even the slightest?”
Master said,
“When someone is doing a wrong deed, he will not believe it if you point out to him that he is doing a wrong deed. That person indeed will not believe that he is doing something wrong. Some people evaluate themselves with the lowered moral standard. Because the standard of judgment has changed, they consider themselves better than others.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
Come to think of it, on the surface, I was helping her to get promoted. But deep down, I did that so the work would get done well so that I could get promoted myself! I wanted to become a manager. I did a lot of things at work to prove that I was capable.
I realized I was wrong. I needed to let go of my attachments to fame and gain and quit complaining about others. At a group meeting, I sincerely apologized to everyone for my harsh manner at work.
I learned to look inward. When conflicts occurred, I would consider the company and other people first, instead of thinking of my personal benefit. Interestingly, when I put down my selfishness, things usually went surprisingly well. I also experienced true happiness at work.
During the next three years, I got promoted each year. Soon I became a finance manager. My team grew much bigger and everyone cooperated with each other well.
Falun Dafa: A Gift from Heaven
Falun Dafa improved my character. My co-workers noticed my changes as well. One day, another manager, who was a Catholic, saw the Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance bookmark on my desk.
“These are beautiful words,” she said. “I wish I could follow them, but I am bad when it comes to forbearance. I have a bad temper.”
I encouraged her: “You can do it!” I handed her the bookmark. “Put this on your desk like I did. You will be reminded to follow them every day. You will be able to do it.” She was very happy and took the bookmark.
Before she left the company, she came to me and said, “I will take with me the bookmark you gave me. It is extremely important to me!”
When I resigned from the company, surprisingly, many of the members of my team, from mainland China to Hong Kong, came to say goodbye. I accompanied them on a tour of Hong Kong, all the while telling them the truth about Dafa. I also helped them to withdraw from the CCP.
A coworker, after I briefly talked about my grandfather’s experience practicing Falun Dafa, said: “I had a negative view about Falun Dafa. What you've said is very different from what I heard in China. But I’ve seen how you've changed these years since you've practiced it, and I believe what you said about your family. Can I have a look at the Dafa book?”
She withdrew from the CCP and started to read Zhuan Falun. She'd wanted a daughter for years. When she was reading Zhuan Falun for the second time, she got pregnant, “It’s a girl!” she told me excitedly. She understood it was a gift from heaven because she'd learned the truth and respected Dafa.
It is hard to describe the wonder of Dafa in words. I sincerely hope that, in this chaotic world, more and more people will know “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” I hope more people come to know Falun Dafa, which brings hope to mankind. It is right by our side.
All articles, graphics, and content published on Minghui.org are copyrighted. Non-commercial reproduction is allowed but requires attribution with the article title and a link to the original article.
