(Minghui.org) I moved to Europe in 1998 to attend university. After earning my PhD degree, I briefly taught at a university and later joined a Fortune 500 company. I was a senior technology specialist and never thought I’d practice Falun Dafa. I’ve practiced for 27 years.
A Staunch CCP Supporter
Atheism was a given in my education. Even though I was raised in a traditional family, I didn’t go to temples or believe that Buddha or gods existed. Nonetheless, I felt reverent when I saw Buddha statues.
I did well in school: I made good grades, had good manners, and was athletic. I was one of the first of my peers to join the Young Pioneers and Youth League. I felt there was nothing wrong with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), because I did not pay attention to the news. I joined the CCP because it was a job requirement.
Soon after I arrived in Europe, a friend from college in China told me that the military had fired on the students on Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. Not only did I not believe him, I resented that he did not love his country. I was a staunch CCP supporter back then.
After I graduated from college, I had stomach problems. My stomach hurt terribly if I skipped a meal, and there were many foods I couldn’t eat. None of the Western or Chinese doctors I saw helped. The stomach pain prevented me from sleeping well and staying focused. I tried different forms of exercise but to no avail.
Remarkable Health Improvement After Taking Up Falun Dafa
Because I lived alone, I wanted to get healthy so I could take care of things. I found a copy ofZhuan Falun and read it. I liked what I read and learned the five exercises. The practitioners I met were kind and sincere.
About three months later, I was surprised to discover that I could eat anything I wanted, and food tasted good. I could sleep well and I was full of energy. I suddenly realized, “Falun Dafa is really good.”
Other people I knew often had to take days off due to the flu. My coworkers, knowing that I was a practitioner, would say, “You are definitely going to be fine.” Indeed, over the past two decades, I only had minor flu symptoms a few times, and I was still able to work from home. I never held up anything at work.
It may sound easy to follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance for a short period of time, but not for 10, 20, 30 years. Steadfast practitioners experience the joy and extraordinary feeling of cultivating and improving themselves.
A Habitual Liar Becomes Truthful
When I was in China, in order to be praised and to protect my self-interests, I lied all the time. I didn’t think it was a big deal to go against my conscience. But Master asks those of us who practice Falun Dafa to be truthful. I knew that I shouldn’t lie to protect my own interests or to save face, even on those occasions when no one knew what really happened.
After the CCP launched the persecution of Falun Dafa in July 1999, its lies and propaganda spread to Europe, and many Chinese students believed them. Some of them knew I was a practitioner and would make fun of me and humiliate me. As time went by, I stopped telling people that I practiced Falun Dafa out of fear and a desire to save face.
Deep down I knew that Falun Dafa was good and that practitioners in China were being arrested, tortured, or even killed. I often wept. One day I had a serious talk with myself: “I benefit from the practice but I choose to protect myself when it’s being persecuted. I am so afraid that I dare not speak up. I am not even a good person, let alone someone who practices Truthfulness.” I started telling people I knew that I practiced Falun Dafa and that it was good.
With the help of other practitioners, I started to print and hand out Falun Dafa informational materials, participate in parades and rallies, and protest peacefully in front of the Chinese Embassy.
The year I earned my PhD, a headhunter found me a high-paying job in China that offered me nearly one million yuan (about 150,000 USD) a year. I turned it down, knowing that I would have to give up my belief if I took it. A Fortune 500 company later offered me a position.
Be Compassionate and Take One Step Back
I was part of certain project at work for over two decades, and the team regarded me as an expert in the field. A coworker asked to learn about my project. At first I thought he wanted to collaborate with me, so I offered to teach him. One day he told me that he wanted to take over the project. Remembering what Master said about putting others first, I agreed.
I later realized that he not only wanted to be in charge of the project, he also wanted to be the authority in that particular field. If I didn’t practice Falun Dafa, I never would have allowed that to happen. But I knew that I had to be compassionate and kind. Realizing that he was young and needed an opportunity, I didn’t complain.
I switched to a new project and increased my knowledge in that field. Five years later, I was an expert in that field. If I had fought to keep my initial position years before, I would not have grown and achieved more.
A Real Test of Forbearance
Due to a misunderstanding, someone on my team sent out an email to a dozen coworkers, including my supervisor. He criticized me mercilessly and insisted I leave the project. I could have argued with him with good reasons, but Master asked us to look within and have forbearance:
“To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator.” (“What is Forbearance (Ren)?” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I calmed down and reflected and realized that I was partly responsible for his behavior. I composed a calm reply to his email and thanked him for his reminders. I apologized for the misunderstanding.
The project manager only mentioned this incident to me once—no one else ever did. When we had meetings, I took the initiative to greet that coworker, and we continued to work together.
What was even harder to forbear happened when I talked to Chinese people and told them the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa. They often cursed at, insulted, and provoked me. Sometimes they even attempted to assault me.
One time, a group of students from China walked walked past, and I offered them Falun Dafa flyers. They swore at me. It hurt my feelings because when I taught in a university, the students respected me. Now I was a practitioner dressed in a shirt that said, “Falun Dafa.” I remembered what Master said about Compassion and Forbearance, and I calmed down. I knew that they were deceived by the CCP’s lies, like I once was.
Wake Up and Quit the CCP
When the persecution first began, I actually believed that then-leader Jiang Zemin had made a mistake and that the persecution would end once someone else was in power. When the lies behind the self-immolation on Tiananmen Square were exposed, it shocked me because I couldn’t believe that the CCP would weaponize the state television and fabricate such an event. When the Nine Commentaries on Communist Party was published in 2004, I couldn’t finish reading it the first time—I was too stunned. The authors backed what they wrote with evidence and rigorous logic.
After I read the Nine Commentaries several times, I was impressed by how well it was written, and I finally accepted the fact that the CCP is not China. I also understood why the CCP persecuted Falun Dafa and why some historical events happened the way they did.
I quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, knowing that my understanding of the CCP had been naive.
From Staunch CCP Supporter to Steadfast Falun Dafa Practitioner
Falun Dafa transformed me from a selfish and timid CCP supporter into a steadfast practitioner. From the bottom of my heart, I want everyone to know that Falun Dafa practitioners clarify the truth to people because they want them to be blessed and stay safe.
(Selected submission in celebration of 2026 World Falun Dafa Day on Minghui.org)
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