(Clearwisdom.net) May 13, 2007, is the 15th anniversary of Falun Dafa's public introduction. It is also the 8th "World Falun Dafa Day." What miracles come from Falun Dafa? How come so many people have benefited physically and mentally from this practice? Why has Falun Dafa spread to over eighty countries and why are there tens of millions of practitioners? How do people cultivate and how are they purified by Falun Dafa? How do they stay firm in their belief despite the inhuman Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution?
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Falun Gong practitioners celebrating the 15th anniversary of Falun Dafa's public introduction on Capitol Hill in Ottawa, the capital of Canada
Our reporters interviewed several Falun Gong practitioners during this year's "Falun Dafa Day" activities. Their stories might help people better understand the positive impact of Falun Dafa.
Cherished Memories and Endless Gratitude
Ms. Liu attended Teacher's Fa lecture in Wuhan City, Hubei Province in 1993. She said, "I am so grateful. I was widely known as 'addicted to medicine' in my company, because I was frequently sick and always took some kind of medicine. During the Falun Gong introductory lecture, I felt very comfortable. Therefore, I registered for Teacher's ten-day "Fa" lecture without thinking twice about it. My son joined me, too."
Ms. Liu said that Teacher cleansed every student's body during the ten-day Fa lecture. Many students, including her, kept going to the restroom during the lecture breaks. Teacher told them that this was because he was cleansing their bodies. Many students shed tears of gratitude for Teacher's benevolence.
During the lecture, the illnesses that had bothered Ms. Liu for many years disappeared. Her son, who had a weak constitution and often suffered flu or fever, felt completely refreshed after the lecture. Ms. Liu said, "After Teacher's lecture, many local practice sites mushroomed in Wuhan. Many people who used to practice other qigong exercises heard that Falun Gong is good and joined us, too." After she began to practice Falun Gong, Ms. Liu lived by the standards of a cultivator and always tried to think of others first in everything she said or did. Her colleagues said that she changed completely and her character greatly improved.
Ms. Liu told a story about a doctor from a tuberculosis prevention center in Wuhan City. This doctor had large benign tumor on her uterus. One day when she passed by a Falun Gong exercise site, she felt extremely comfortable, so she joined the practice. Shortly after, she went to the hospital for a checkup and the benign tumor had disappeared. Ms. Liu also said that during the big flood of 1997, many Dafa practitioners sent their donations to the disaster area without giving their names. During that time, every night on television people could see "Falun Dafa Practitioner" on the donors list. It had a great impact on people and inspired others to do good deeds.
Cultivation Brings Wisdom
Li Zhen, a 10-year-old boy, is a gifted and talented (GT) student at a well-known elementary school in Ottawa. Because his parents are Dafa practitioners, Zhen started cultivating at a young age. In elementary school, his teachers suggested that he skip a grade because of his exceptional intelligence and superior academic achievement. Later, he was accepted into the advanced track at a well-known school.
Mrs. Huang, Zhen's grandmother, said, "His parents are very busy every day. They don't have time to help him study. However Zhen knows that as a cultivator he must study well and always do his best. He conscientiously does the Falun Gong exercised, studies the Fa, and hand-copies Hong Yin and Zhuan Falun daily." According to Mrs. Huang, Zhen never scored below 96 at Chinese School (a school set up by Chinese parents to teach kids Chinese, along with other courses such as dancing and drawing), and he is well liked by other kids.
Zhen once wrote in his cultivation experience sharing article, "A few days ago, a child at the Chinese school took my toy. I asked him to return it, but he didn't, so I took his toy home at the end of the school day. After thinking it over, I returned his toy to him. I did it because it was wrong to take another's things and it could create karma. Teacher said:
"How should we practitioners deal with loss and gain? Not like ordinary people do. The only thing ordinary people think about is their own gain and how to live well and comfortably. But we practitioners aren't like that, we're just the opposite. We don't seek the things ordinary people want, but what we gain is what ordinary people can't, even if they want to... unless they cultivate." ("Loss and Gain," Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun).
Two sisters the same age as Zhen are also cultivators and tell of similar experiences. They are also enrolled in the GT program and have exceptional academic achievements. Their mother, Mrs. Dai Gongyu, said, "Cultivating in Dafa makes the child purer. The bad things in society do not have any impact on them. Cultivation gives them more wisdom."
Overcoming Ordeals and Pressure to Validate the Fa
Ms. Zhao came to Canada recently. She needs to study, work a part-time job, take care of her family, and clarify the truth about Falun Dafa. With such a busy life and many everyday pressures, how can she follow a cultivator's standards and do everything well? Ms. Zhao said, "Since I began to cultivate, I feel more energetic, and it is becoming easier for me to overcome challenges. Teacher said that to have hardship is happiness. Whenever I feel depressed, I think of Teacher's words and then I can take care of everything."
Dr. Zhi Jing is a software engineer at a large telecommunications company in Canada. She is very busy at work and takes care of her family after work. In addition, she helps with many truth-clarification activities, such as coordination of New Tang Dynasty's Chinese New Year Spectacular performance. Dr. Zhi Jing said that cultivation makes a person unselfish and he/she becomes no longer concerned about losses and gains in the world. "When you do not care about loss and gain, you become much purer. With a pure heart, you have more energy to deal with the pressures and challenges of life."
Ms. Zhang just arrived in Canada from Beijing, where Falun Gong practitioners are most brutally persecuted. She came to visit her child. On Falun Dafa Day, despite the danger of being photographed by CCP spies, she came to Capitol Hill to distribute truth-clarification materials and tell people of her personal experiences in Beijing. She said that the persecution in Beijing is currently "loose on the outside but tight on the inside." On the surface, television, newspapers and radio broadcasts no longer spread rumors about Falun Gong, but the arrests of Falun Gong practitioners have not stopped. Plainclothes police follow practitioners during the day and then arrest them at night. The covert manner in which the police operate prevents many people from seeing and hearing what is going on. Though there is great danger, Falun Gong practitioners go out continuously to distribute truth-clarification materials. By believing firmly in "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance," and maintaining benevolence for sentient beings in their hearts, they escape any danger. When practitioners run out of truth-clarification materials, they talk to people about quitting the CCP and its affiliated organizations. The corruption of the CCP is known by everyone, so it only takes a few words to convince someone to quit the CCP.
Mr. Ma Jian, husband of Falun Gong practitioner Mrs. Yao Lian from Montreal, Canada, worked for PCM Pump Manufacturing Company as the general manager for China and the North Asia Region. The company's headquarters are in France. Mr. Ma Jian was beaten by more than a dozen policemen at his company on February 28, 2007, because he practices Falun Gong and clarifies the truth to people. He was illegally arrested and is currently imprisoned at the Dongcheng District Detention Center in Beijing.
On Falun Dafa Day, Clearwisdom.net reporters interviewed Mrs. Yao Lian. She obtained the Fa in 1994. She said that before the CCP began to persecute Falun Gong, scenes like today on Capitol Hill could be seen everywhere in China, scenes of colorful Falun Dafa banners and kind-hearted cultivators meditation under a blue sky. "Falun Dafa brings good health and peace to every society," she said. However, the CCP's persecution changed everything. This persecution is a great disaster for the Chinese people and the disaster is ongoing.
Mrs. Yao Lian said, "I often tell my friends that if I had not cultivated Falun Gong, I would not be able to endure the great pressures all around me, including from my family and work, as well as getting accustomed to a new country, language and environment."
She continued, "Sometimes I feel it is really difficult. Then I think of my fellow practitioners in China who's lives are threatened under the persecution, and of my husband who is imprisoned in China because of his belief. Then I feel that the ordeals I face are much smaller compared to what they endure in China. This gives me strength to continue and to improve amidst the hardship."
On May 12, 2007, Falun Gong practitioners from Montreal and Ottawa gathered on Capitol Hill in Ottawa to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Falun Dafa spreading throughout the world. They demonstrated the exercises and performed traditional Chinese art forms such as waist drum ensembles and folk dances. Many visitors understood the truth about Falun Gong, and many said that they would like to learn Falun Gong.
