(Minghui.org) I am a Falun Gong practitioner living in China. In late 1997, I saw a copy of Zhuan Falun at a friend’s place. After reading the book, I decided to practice Falun Gong. Twenty-five years have passed since then.
In the early years of my cultivation, there were still some practitioners near me. But later on my family moved and I could hardly find any practitioners around. Like the majority of practitioners in China, I never attended any lectures given by Mr. Li Hongzhi (founder of Falun Gong), nor had I seen him at experience-sharing conferences. But regardless of the external environment, including the 23-year-long persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), I am clear that Falun Gong is righteous and I am determined in following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance as a practitioner.
I was abused by my mother as a child and as a result suffered from low self-esteem. It was Falun Gong that gave me confidence and dignity. After former CCP leader Jiang Zemin started the nationwide suppression in 1999, my husband humiliated and cursed at me all the time, and I lost my job because of my belief. Nonetheless, I never wavered in my faith or had regrets over my choice of becoming a Falun Gong practitioner.
Practicing Falun Gong is the best decision I have made in my life. After losing my job, I became self-employed and earned less income. But I got more time to study the Fa and do the exercises. In the meantime, my family’s overall income has increased, and I know it is a blessing for following Falun Gong's teachings to be a good person.
In the past 23 years, I have seen many examples of people being blessed for supporting Falun Gong and perpetrators involved in the suppression facing consequences. Here are some stories.
My background was engineering and I worked at a research institute for many years before changing my career to information technology and becoming an editor in the new field. The workload was heavy, but I really enjoyed it.
After the suppression of Falun Gong started in 1999, the second in command boss Bai at my workplace heard I was a practitioner and decided to terminate my position. I talked with the first in command boss, who said they would not let me go because of my faith. But Bai was insistent and I lost my job in the end.
Not long after, Bai was demoted because of mistakes made by other employees. But the first in command officer was fine and was not affected by the incident.
The person who informed Bai that I was a practitioner was Bin, who used to be my direct supervisor. I suspected that he was jealous of my technical skills and reported me upon hearing I was a practitioner. That was why Bai insisted on getting rid of me.
Bin was known to be greedy and his motto was “money first.” A few years later, however, I heard from my former coworkers that Bin had changed. Instead of making money, he shaved his head and stayed at a temple in the remote Shaanxi Province for protection. It was hard to believe that a person like Bin would give up money for things that he looked down upon previously.
In 2015, I joined other practitioners and filed a criminal complaint against former CCP leader Jiang Zemin for launching the persecution of Falun Gong. I included my cell phone number on the complaint and later received a confirmation message on my phone that the mail sent to Supreme Court and Supreme Procuratorate had been delivered.
A few months later, an official from my neighborhood committee talked with me about my complaint against Jiang, but her attitude was not very bad. But once when I visited the local police station for something related to my son, one officer brought out the criminal complaint and threatened me. I tried to explain to him that Falun Gong practitioners are innocent people who had been wronged in the suppression. But he still said negative things. From his words, I could tell that he had participated in persecuting other practitioners too. Later on, I heard he died unexpectedly at a young age, leaving behind a one-year-old child.
Another person was Cai, an old man in the neighborhood. Born into a poor family, he was thankful to the CCP and very active in various political campaigns. In addition, he would be upset whenever someone pointed out bad things Mao Zedong or the CCP had done. From time to time, he received phone calls from overseas Falun Gong practitioners telling him how the CCP had harmed innocent people in the past few decades. Every time he would swear at practitioners over the phone. I also tried numerous times explaining to him what Falun Gong is, but he was always furious, making me wonder if he could ever listen to the facts at all.
A couple of years ago, Cai was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent surgery to remove part of his intestine. He also did chemotherapy, which damaged his health and even made his skin darker.
After the pandemic broke out in 2020, I shared with Cai an article about the health benefits of Falun Gong and how to stay safe in the pandemic. “Should I give this to the police?!” he asked me fiercely. Several months later, his condition deteriorated and he passed away.
One of my relatives, Ding, emigrated with her family to another country when her child was in second grade. When she came back to visit us a few years ago, I talked with her about Falun Gong and recommended that she read Falun Gong materials available in her adopted country. She heeded my advice and also shared Falun Gong information with others.
Ding now lives a good life with a decent job. After graduating from a renowned university, her son landed a high-paying job at a large global company. I am positive that my relative and her family were blessed for her support of Falun Gong and the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
I have another relative whose daughter married a software developer En in Wuhan, Hubei Province. After the pandemic broke out, En’s company shut down and he lost his job. Coming from a poor family in the countryside, En had no choice but do all kinds of odd jobs to make a living. First he worked hard at a cell phone factory where he had to work long hours. Later on he became a mechanical technician.
One time when returning to my hometown, I met En and we had a long talk. He was receptive to what I said and respected Falun Gong practitioners’ courage and faith. Several days later, he found a job as a software developer and led a happy life after that.
Like other Falun Gong practitioners, I also experienced many miracles over the years of my cultivation. One time not long after beginning to practice, I rode my bike home after work. When I was stopped at a railroad crossing, I felt my pocket containing my wallet suddenly moving. Surprised by this, I knew it might be a hint from Falun Gong's Master that someone could steal my wallet, so I put my hand over my pocket.
When the train passed and the noise faded, I looked around and saw a man dressed like a hooligan watching me. Seeing me looking at him, he took off on his bike, whistling. I knew it was Falun Gong that protected me from the theft.
One friend, Fang, bought a large house. During the peak time of qigong activities in the 1980s and 1990s, her family bought all kinds of qigong books and put them in one room. Things went astray after that. It would be fine if two adults stayed in that room. But if it were two children, or one child plus one adult, there would be strange sounds at night. No one dared to sleep in that room after that period. Fang also complained from time to time that she had symptoms like a possessing spirit.
Once my husband and child were not at home, and Fang had a sleepover at my place, as she was in a bad mood. Out of respect for her as my guest, I suggested we stay in different rooms, but she insisted on staying in the same room with me because she was scared of being alone at night.
The next morning, Fang said she had a dream, in which I helped remove a centipede between her teeth. I didn't dream at all. I had a lot of contact with her after the sleepover, and she never complained about possessing spirits again. I am grateful that Falun Gong's Master not only protected us practitioners but also helped clean up the environment around us.
In Zhuan Falun, Master said, “...one righteous mind can subdue one hundred evils.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun) I cannot agree more with this based on my real experiences mentioned above. I hope more people benefit from Falun Gong by practicing it or supporting innocent practitioners during the worst human rights violation in recent history.