(Clearwisdom.net) I was brought up in a rich family. In my adulthood I had been a well-paid employee in a big multinational corporation. I am now living in Switzerland, a country widely esteemed for its quality of life, yet I was haunted by the questions “What is the origin of life? Why did I come to this world? Where will I go in my afterlife?” In my view, my life was nothing more than a series of dramas, and sometimes I would come up with questions, such as, “Why are some people born talented, wise, and fortunate, while others are not? Or is it true that all are born equal?” Exploring the answers to these enigmas was not easy. On many occasions people had tried to convert me to some religion, but I rejected them because I didn't think they could resolve my questions, as they were seeking answers to these same questions.
My mother used to be a Buddhist nun and had lived in a temple as an abbot. Failing to find in Buddhism the answers to those enigmas that bewildered her as well as me, she traveled to many countries with the hope that in some part of this world she might find teachings to resolve her questions. In 1998 she came to Switzerland. Before she came, she told me over the phone that she would bring me a book. Curious, I asked, “What book?” She answered, “Zhuan Falun” in a soft but solemn tone. I told her I had never heard of it, but that I would like to read it. As brief as it was, we finished our conversaton. When she came to see me, we read the book together. I could sense her eagerness to introduce the teachings of the book to me, as I had never seen her take anything so seriously before.
I read Zhuan Falun for the first time with a critical eye, because it was so different from the religions and well known sayings of intellectuals that I had respected before. Some of the teachings I had never heard of, and I even attempted to find out if they were in line with other religious teachings by referring to the religious books that I had read before, but to no avail. My heart was filled with uncertainties. On the one hand, from the bottom of my heart, I was quite excited at having found true teachings, but on the other hand, my human notions kept me questioning if the teachings in Zhuan Falun were true.
The morning after my mother's arrival in Switzerland, I noticed something wrong with my lips when I looked in the the mirror. I cried out, “What happened to my lips? They are terribly swollen!” My mother, as if she were aware of the whole thing, said to me, “You were so arrogant and conceited. Do you not remember all those things that you said yesterday?” Her words woke me up, and I replied, “Yes, truly, I did say many disrespectful things about your Falun Gong Teacher yesterday.” While saying this, I patted my lips and apologized like a child who had done something wrong. “So sorry, I am very sorry for the disrespectful words that I said yesterday.” After that my husband, my mother, and I went out to see the city in our car. The sightseeing was enjoyable, but my heart was not very light.
From time to time I checked my lips in the car mirror only to find that they were as swollen as before. I murmured, “Well, I will continue to read Zhuan Falun.” Looking at my swollen lips, I decided to just let them be, and I would accept having this bad-looking face for the whole day. I then began to read Zhuan Falun and became so absorbed that I wasn't aware of time passing until I heard my mother's joyous voice from the back seat, “Wei, your lips look better!” I raised my head and saw in the mirror: “Ah, the swelling is gone, truly, it is gone!” I was very happy and began to contemplate the miracle that had happened to me. Living within a small circle, I would not know what was happening beyond. An analogy is a kindergarten child's inability to understand a PhD dissertation. I made up my mind to read through Zhuan Falun wholeheartedly.
I then replaced my criticism and cynicism with respectfulness and sincerity while reading Zhuan Falun. I found my heart was unlocked, and every word in the book stood out. My heart pounded as its profoundness unfolded before me. My lost memory came back to me, as if a plug had been reconnected to a power source and I was electrified again. The enigmas that had endlessly bewildered me were resolved in such a natural manner that I could hardly sense how my notions had been turned upside down. I made up my mind to practice Falun Gong in accordance with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. When I did the Falun Gong exercises, to my surprise, I found my body was truly purified.
Despite the comforts of living in Switzerland, I was not quite accustomed to the Western way of living. As a result my health worsened and I looked much older than my age. To make it worse, I suffered from thyroid inflammation and I had swollen eyeballs and dropsy. It I had to climb even ten stairs, I would be breathless. When I opened my eyes after doing the meditation exercises, I sensed that the pressure in my eyes had lessened. I ran to the mirror and saw that they had returned to normal. I was so happy! My doctor had told me that, although my thyroid inflammation was temporarily curable through surgery or medication, it was hard to guarantee that it would not recur. In particular, the swollen eyeball would never recover. Apparently, Falun Dafa had the power to resolve a health problem that was incurable according to modern medicine. In addition to the recovery of my eyes, I was able to run up a slope effortlessly, like someone was pushing me forward. I regained my health, even better health than before, without paying even a cent.
One day not long after I began practicing Falun Gong, my husband said to me in amazement, “You've been so busy today, and you haven't stopped moving. Don't you want to rest?” I said, “I am quite energetic, and I do not feel tired at all.” His words, all of a sudden, reminded me of all the energy I had, which I had not even noticed. I was also surprised to find that I could fall asleep even more quickly than my husband, who falls asleep in just three minutes. I slept all through the night and got up full of energy the next morning, which was quite a remarkable change for me. I even sensed that I was so light that it was like I was floating in the air. My strength was enhanced significantly. Even my husband, who always helped me pry open bottle caps before, would ask me for my help to pry open the caps when he could not do it himself.
I had suffered from sweaty palms since childhood. When I played the piano I always had to wipe away the sweat I left on the piano keys. When I did my homework I had to pad my writing hand with a piece of cloth lest my work might be soaked with perspiration from my hands. When I erected my palm I could see the perspiration dripping down. One day after I had started to practice Falun Gong, I was taking a bus and took out my handkerchief like I always did to wipe the sweat off my hands, but was surprised to find that my hands were not wet at all. Although it was quite hot, my hands did not sweat as before and felt quite comfortable. From then on I did not have sweaty palms.
When I did the meditation exercise I found I could not cross my legs on top of each other, which is a requirement for the exercise. I concluded that I could do it gradually after more effort, but I found I simply could not. The pain in my legs would make me cry out and bring me to tears. I then gave up my efforts in frustration, thinking that I was hopeless.
When I went to a practice site for the first time after I returned to Taiwan, a fellow practitioner asked me, “Can you cross you legs in the lotus position?” I answered without hesitation “No, I cannot.” She said, “Give it a try.” I said, “I really cannot do it, as I have tried many times at home.” She did not give up and patiently encouraged me to try again, but I was quite deterred by the painful memory of my previous attempts. She said, “It will be fine, just give it a try” as if she were quite certain that I could do it. I then decided to show them that I really could not do it by trying to cross my legs in front of them. To my surprise, I did it! I was both embarrassed and astonished and could do nothing but swear to them that I had not told a lie. Everyone present smiled with joy. They knew the reason for this, and now I became aware of the reason, too.
I am not the kind of person who trusts science so much as to give way to machines to make judgments about what is right and what is false. However, my decision to follow the path of cultivation in Falun Dafa was not an easy one, as some people might have said that I was being superstitious. What should I decide to do? I finally chose Falun Dafa, because I was sure that it held all the keys to the mysteries of nature and myself. As a matter of fact, in the past more than 10 years of practicing Falun Gong, the effect of “cultivating both character and life” truly manifested in me. There remains only the issue of following the path of Dafa steadfastly until I attain my goal representing the true meaning of my life.
