2. The Inspirational Story OF A Former Leukemia Patient

　　Zhang Shujun

　　My name is Zhang Shujun, and I am a 35-year-old woman. Like most other young people, I loved life and was full of vigor and vitality. However, I contracted leukemia when I was only 26 years old. The disease came to me like a fatal blow to my life. My mind went completely blank and ears ran down my face endlessly while I was lying in the hospital bed. Why me? Why was life so unfair to me? The endless and painful medical procedures weakened my immune system. I always caught the flu and constantly had high fevers. Since I was sensitive to the cancer-fighting drugs, I often had terrible itching all over my body. I had to scratch hard and it caused bleeding. Because of the length of the treatments and the frequent blood transfusions, the skin on the back of my hand became stiff. I felt sick and vomited every time I was given a transfusion.

　　After a year of these painful struggles, my beautiful black hair fell out due to the large doses of radiation and the chemotherapy treatments. I lost 30 lbs. in only a few days. I felt desperate after seeing several other leukemia patients pass away one after another. I started to continuously think about my life and its worth: human beings realize how insignificant and helpless they are when they face death. Although they might be wealthy and have the most powerful positions in the world, in reality they have nothing. I kept asking myself, what is the mysterious power that dominates and balances everything in this world of suffering? The medical procedures caused many seizures; any of them could have easily taken my life. At the time, I was thin, had a dark pallor and was out of shape. My health kept deteriorating even after several Western and Chinese hospitals treated me. My parents took care of me and suffered both emotionally and financially. I do not know how many times my mother cried behind my back. I cried endlessly. I wondered whether there existed any power to help me escape from the clutches of death. I prayed and hoped I would live. At this moment between life and death, I suddenly realized that the meaning of life was not merely seeking comfort for oneself; instead, there were things much more precious and beautiful!

　　In March 1995, I luckily found out about Falun Dafa. It was a turning point in my life. In the beginning when I went to the exercise site, I couldn't even perform the first four exercises since I was extremely weak and the condition of my heart was very poor. After some time of working on the exercises, my body gradually felt relaxed and I could easily finish the standing exercises, which lasted for an hour. I felt like I was saved from the hell of pain and hopelessness! It was a miracle!

　　Only one month after I started to cultivate Falun Dafa's universal principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance,” the disease that could not be cured by modern medicine, and that cost my family hundreds of thousands of yuan　[tens of thousands of US dollars] was completely gone. Doesn't this show that Falun Dafa is a genuine and extraordinary science? The smile came back to my face. I used to be an invalid and couldn't take care of myself, but soon I could do the housework and take care of my parents. They were so happy to see the change in me. After three years of torture from this serious disease and its treatments, I was finally experiencing the wonders of being completely free of disease and pain. The changes in my body and mind have made me firmly believe in the truth of Falun Dafa. After only two months of practice, I returned to work. In my daily life, I followed the principles explained in the main book of Falun Dafa,　Zhuan Falun. I worked hard and always considered others first. I tried to examine myself first whenever there was a conflict. Under the guidance of the Fa [the Law or universal principle], I strove to reach the realm of selflessness and altruism. The changes that happened to me were obvious to the supervisors and other employees in my work unit.

　　My mother also changed a lot after she started to practice Falun Dafa. All her illnesses went away and so did her bad temper. She used to fight with my father and now she has become kind and understanding after practicing Falun Dafa. My family is happy and lives in perfect harmony. Dafa gave me back my life; therefore I should be of benefit to others with my life and put my best effort into clarifying the truth and awakening people's conscience. I feel sad when I see people indulging in the pursuit of fame and self-interests or struggling helplessly with incurable diseases.

　　Therefore, when a few people in the government mistakenly began persecuting and slandering Falun Gong, I went to Beijing to declare the truth and awaken　the conscience of the people with my personal experiences and with my life that was enriched by Dafa. However, I was illegally arrested, detained and punished by my work unit. Now I have been forced to leave home and wander without shelter to avoid further persecution. Nevertheless, I feel it is worthwhile if people will no longer be blinded by the lies of the government after I tell them of my experiences. I hope people will be able to distinguish between kindness and wickedness, and good from evil by examining their own kind nature.

　　I truly hope everyone in this world will feel the same splendid and magnificent happiness that I　feel! Now I understand why we cultivators should attain the righteous enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. The purpose of existence for a cultivator is entirely for the benefit of others!　　　　　　

　　March 23, 2001 Note from editor: for safety concerns, the name in the article was changed to a pseudonym. All names of hospitals, doctors and addresses were omitted.