(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) 29 years ago in July 1997, while I was pursuing my Master’s degree. I was still heavily influenced by atheism back then, and I’d never been interested in qigong or anything beyond empirical science. I didn’t believe anything spiritual. My boyfriend practiced Falun Dafa and told me that Falun Dafa is good.
I didn’t understand why such a healthy young man, sailing through his academic career (he was a PhD student) and facing a bright future, would practice qigong. I decided to try it, so I went to the Falun Dafa practice site at my university to learn more.
The group did the exercises on campus in the morning and got together a few nights a week to readFalunDafa’smain book Zhuan Falunand discuss their cultivation experiences. I listened and observed them with an open mind to understand the practice. I liked being with these practitioners and I was deeply attracted by Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. Without Dafa’s guiding principles, I knew it would be very difficult to be a good person in our complex society.
As a graduate student, I interacted almost exclusively with students and professors. I had classmates who were obsessed with fame and self-interest or were prone to scheming and infighting. Some were very sharp tongued and dealing with them left me feeling unsettled. I felt stressed and miserable from the challenges of my master’s thesis and the pressure from academic and interpersonal relations.
In contrast, it felt like I was entering a pure land when I did the Falun Dafa exercises in the morning, and met with practitioners at night to read Zhuan Falun and talk about the problems that we faced in our studies and life. I listened to other practitioners share how they improved their xinxing in their daily lives and work, and how they looked for their own shortcomings during conflicts. I felt that Falun Dafa practitioners are all good, noble people.
I liked what these practitioners talked about. I liked to interact with them and I liked to use the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance to guide myself when I felt lost. My soul and thoughts were constantly cleansed, which felt really good. Since I began to practice Falun Dafa I have remained immersed in it and have never left, even after weathering the storms of persecution that followed.
I completed my Master’s degree between July 1997 and July 1999 and stayed on to teach at the university.
I joined the group exercise near my home every morning, dedicated myself to teaching and research during the day, maintained good relations with my colleagues, and treated my students with kindness. I attended group Fa study at night about twice a week. There were practitioners of different ages and everyone talked about how they improved their xinxing and treated others with compassion at home and at work.
My life and work continued smoothly in this way. At work I told practice my colleagues I practiced Falun Dafa. As my work and teaching yielded good results, the feedback from my managers, colleagues and students were very positive.
During these two years of cultivation, the personal experiences from the practitioners around me showed me Falun Dafa’s miraculous healing effects, including a teacher who suffered from pancreatic cancer and then recovered, and my mother-in-law’s severe asthma, which improved. I heard about practitioners’ miraculous experiences. Some of them saw scenes and heard music from another dimension, many of them saw spinning Law Wheels, and so on. Hearing all this, the influence of atheism gradually diminished. I gradually believed in other dimensions, higher level beings, and the universal law. I chose to remain steadfast in my belief in Falun Dafa.
Some people may think, “I can be a good person without practicing Falun Dafa.” For those with high moral character, this might be achievable. However, the standards for being a “good person” vary. In today’s society, where moral standards are in decline, few people can truly live up to Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.
For example, for years in mainland China people prioritize nurturing personal connections and pursuing self-interest, even within universities. Faced with employment pressure and fierce competition for scholarships, recommendations and entrance exams for graduate study, some students resort to improper means to boost their grades. They take advantage of personal connections to approach course instructors, hoping to get better grades. Failing grades are turned into passing ones, and passing grades are changed to high marks. This phenomenon is widespread, particularly with students who are the children of teachers.
Almost every teacher encounters this situation and gets drawn into it, whether actively or passively. Very few of my colleagues have been able to refuse such requests. During my first year of teaching, when colleagues or department heads asked me to boost the grades of students with “special connections,” I found it hard to refuse due to social obligations and the need to save face, even though it made me deeply uneasy. I knew it wasn’t in accordance with Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. By engaging in such dishonest acts, compromising fairness and impartiality, I was failing to live up to Master’s guidance and the requirements on Dafa practitioners.
Eventually, I summoned the courage to refuse these requests. I clearly told any colleagues who approached me that I could no longer do this because I follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance and such actions do not align with the requirements of Dafa. I always apologized and explained that I could not raise any grades.
In July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Dafa. Their stance evolved from being neutral to prohibition and suppression. However, my attitude towards Falun Dafa never changed because, after two full years of cultivation, I understood what cultivation is all about.
On a superficial level, Dafa purifies one’s mind and teaches people to be good, to conduct themselves well in every aspect of life, be it at home or at work, to be considerate and to become selfless individuals who act for the benefit of others. But on a deeper level, Dafa elevates one’s fundamental nature, guiding practitioners to improve their xinxing, and become beings with higher wisdom.
My life, work and family were all affected after the persecution began. I was arrested and detained, my house was ransacked, and my family members were illegally sent to forced labor camps. I never complained about Dafa during all these years because I firmly knew that Dafa is wonderful and the CCP’s brutal persecution is illegal.
The CCP’s campaign of slander and suppression stems from its evil nature and its fear of Falun Dafa. Throughout history, it has consistently instigated political movements and suppressed people. It has always placed its own ruling interests above all else—above people’s freedom and above China’s constitution. Experiencing the CCP’s lawless and immoral persecution, I came to clearly recognize the nature of this evil regime. Slowly, I was able to break free from its brainwashing and indoctrination, and cast aside concepts such as atheism and the theory of evolution.
The more cruel the persecution, the more clearly I saw how evil the CCP is. It holds the Chinese people hostage and coerces them, manipulating every sector of society, especially those in the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems. It compels judicial departments to disregard the law and ethical boundaries, and instead to serve as tools of the CCP’s repression, becoming accomplices to the evil by helping the Party rule over and suppress the populace. Only those who still retain their innate goodness can reflect on the situation and use their wisdom to resist the CCP’s persecution. When Master asks Dafa practitioners to clarify the truth, it is so that we can find more kind-hearted people who can be saved, helping them break free from the CCP’s coercion and control, and distance themselves from evil.
I am really thankful that I have the destiny to practice Falun Dafa, which enabled me to face life’s adversities and trials with composure, to distinguish right from wrong and good from evil, and to have a clear conscience.
Some people told me, “Amidst such intense persecution, the fact that you have steadfastly upheld your faith in Falun Dafa, worked diligently at your job, cared for the young and the elderly in your family, and lived a life of strength, optimism and serenity, makes you a shining example that Falun Dafa is good.”
I believe that righteousness ultimately prevails over evil. More and more people now understand the truth and recognize the evil nature of the CCP, and an increasing number of people have broken away from it and found salvation. It is truly wonderful!
Having endured persecution, I remain cheerful and enthusiastic. At work, I treat colleagues and superiors well and work diligently. At home, I honor my elders and raise my children. My elderly family members are now enjoying a peaceful retirement, and my children are doing well in their studies. I am grateful for Master’s protection and having Dafa in my heart. Every day, I am progressing on the path of cultivation to assist Master in rectifying the Fa and trying my best to become a qualified Falun Dafa practitioner.
Thank you, Master!