(Minghui.org) I was only 10 when I started practicing Falun Gong in 1997. I was frail when I was born. At the age of 10, I was diagnosed with myocarditis, which meant the walls of my heart muscle had become inflamed. I had to quit school because of it.
Because of daily intravenous therapy, I had needle marks on the backs of my hands, my wrists, my arms, and my legs before long. When I felt better after a few months of therapy, my parents decided I was ready for school again. My mom took me to a hospital on the day I returned to school just to make sure I had a clean bill of health, only to be told I had chronic kidney disease.
It was too much to bear.
My dad had already been diagnosed with a liver disease. Now I had damaged kidneys. My mom broke down in tears at the hospital.
I didn't realize the only cure was a kidney transplant. I just knew I was tired all the time. Even walking was difficult for me. My parents had to carry me upstairs. My parents had a very limited income, but they tried everything they could afford. They tried both Western and Chinese medicine. Out of desperation, they once hired a shaman that performed dance rituals in the hope of ridding me of any malevolent spirits that made me ill.
We lived in a remote town. There was no one there who practiced Falun Gong at the time. My dad was a qigong enthusiast, who had tried many schools of qigong , so he had met a lot of other likeminded people . One day he heard of a qigong with amazing healing power. He found the only man that practiced it in our region and borrowed a copy of Falun Gong from him. My dad was in love with Falun Gong as soon as he read the book. He learned the exercises by following the photographs in the book and then he taught them to me.
Our neighbors and my dad's friends, once they started practicing as well, spoke to my dad about doing exercises together in the park. They wanted to help more people find out about it and share their interest in practicing Falun Gong.
I woke up at dawn and went to a local park with my dad. At first I sat watching them practice after my dad carried me there. I became strong enough to join them in just a few days.
I felt good as new in merely two weeks. I was full of energy and begged to return to school. Even though I had missed half of the semester, I was the first in my class in the final exams that year.
The miracle allowed my mother to believe in the power of Falun Gong. She, too, started practicing.
The news of my incredible recovery soon reached everyone in our small town. The population of practitioners grew quickly to several hundred in less than two years. By 1999 there were over 300 practitioners in our small town. We did the exercises together in the park every day. I still think fondly of the peace and serenity of our group practice in the park.
The main walking path in the park had two flower beds on either side. We used to practice near the flower bed on the eastern side. Flowers in northeastern China have a shorter blooming period because of the cold weather. After we started practicing Falun Gong in the park, the flowers close to our group practice site bloomed more than those in the Western bed. In fact, they kept blooming into the autumn when all the other flowers in the park finished for the season.
Everything changed when the Chinese Communist regime began to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999. The regime felt threatened by the massive popularity of Falun Gong. My parents have since been arrested, detained, and sentenced to prison or forced labor for practicing Falun Gong despite China's Constitution that guarantees its citizens the freedom of spiritual belief.
I was still in elementary school when it all began. We could no longer practice Falun Gong in public. The police confiscated our entire collection of Falun Gong books. I did not give up practicing and I tried as much as I could to follow Teacher's teachings, but it was very difficult when there were no books available. I slacked off in my cultivation and acted like other kids at school, constantly fighting over reputation and self-interest. I became an ordinary child.
I was in the 11th grade when my mother was finally released. But she came back home to a sick child who had stopped practicing Falun Gong. I was listless and tired all the time. I couldn't concentrate at school because of my health. She was anxious for me, but my deteriorating health failed to motivate me to practice Falun Gong.
One evening I developed a high fever. I felt like I was burning up. I had agonizing pain in my lower back. I had never known such pain. I couldn't even speak due to the excruciating pain, which seemed to reach inside my bones. My mother stayed up all night with me. In the morning she decided to take me to a city hospital. I had acute nephritis with a dangerous amount of protein in the urine. The hospital refused to check me in because they thought I might die. My mother found a small clinic where I was given nothing but a shot of penicillin. Naturally it did not do anything for me.
Finally my mother took me to another practitioner's home.
Once we were there, my mom said, “Why don't you practice Falun Gong? Only Teacher can save you.”
I started to read Zhuan Falun, Falun Gong's main study text. I was so weak that I had to stop and rest every several sentences. But I felt better little by little as I continued reading. I even ate a little. I kept on reading and finished a few lectures that day.
After reading Zhuan Falun for a few days, I felt I was completely well. We went back to the city hospital for another test, and this time the urinary protein reading was normal. The doctor asked my mom what I had taken in the past few days to result in such a miracle.
I was immensely grateful to Teacher for saving my life. I started practicing Falun Gong again. I resolved to be diligent again and put to good use the new life Teacher had given me.
I have since graduated from college and have my own career. Every time I find myself slacking off in my cultivation, I remind myself that I was given a new lease on life and I must cherish it. I wouldn't be here if it had not been for Teacher. I owe everything to Him. I will never be able to repay Teacher for His grace except to be diligent in my cultivation and to clarify to people that Falun Gong is a righteous practice that is being wrongfully persecuted.
