(Minghui.org) Before I was 36, I was the same as most people--I went to school, worked, and got married. My husband and I had a lovely son. I had a satisfactory job. My life was peaceful and easy until an unforeseen event changed my life.
One early summer morning I rode my bicycle to work as usual. When I arrived at a railway crossing, a man on a bicycle in front of me quickly crossed. I followed closely behind and was prepared to go over. At that moment, an oncoming bus blocked my view. When the bus went through the crossing, I saw the passengers sitting at the back of the bus running to the front, and that was when I realized that a train must be approaching. As soon as the bus passed, I saw the train coming straight towards me. The front wheel of my bicycle was already over the railway track, and the rear wheel was just about over. At that very moment, I fell.
When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital bed. I was told that one of my legs had a comminuted fracture below the knee and had to be amputated to save my life. I felt as if I had been struck by lightning, as if the sky was falling and the earth was sinking. I couldn’t accept this cruel reality. Youth, beauty, health, happiness, all those good things I once had left me forever, and I was plunged into despair.
It was a hot summer and I had to have a second amputation due to an infection. The enormous physical and mental pain struck me. I felt dazed. I could not see any hope, I had no will to live, and my life seemed to have come to an end. I secretly wrote a suicide note. My mother seemed to know what I was thinking and tried her best to comfort me. My ten-year-old son wept and shouted, “Mom, don’t leave me!” My heart was broken.
Six months later, I was fitted with a prosthetic leg and returned to work. But I was no longer my old self. I had low self-esteem and was irritable. I got angry easily and cursed. I used any excuse to vent my anger to relieve my irritability and depression.
Several years later, I lost my job. I only had 300 yuan for monthly living expenses. My condition did not allow me to do physical labor. I saw no hope, so I played mahjong day and night to kill time.
In 1998, my younger sister started to practice Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) and told me, “This is really great! You should try it.” She showed me the exercise movements. “How am I going to do that?” I was taken aback when I saw one had to sit cross-legged for the fifth exercise. “I can’t even bend my leg normally!”
Several days later, my sister returned and said, “You can read the book first without doing the exercises.”
When I started to read Zhuan Falun I felt sleepy and kept yawning. But I remembered that my sister told me, “You have to finish the book in one go the first time. Don’t stop.” I washed my face, rubbed my eyes, and kept reading.
When I read the word “cultivation,” I was deeply moved. A thought came from the bottom of my heart: I want to cultivate!
In March of 1999, I began to go to the group exercises at the local practice site. At first, I felt inferior and I was afraid that the other practitioners might dislike me. When I read this part in Master’s Teachings at the First Conference in North America, I was moved to tears:
“Student: If someone is missing a leg and a hand, he can’t sit cross-legged or perform the movements. How can he cultivate?
Master: I have said that Dafa cultivation is a serious matter. I am teaching the Fa for people to cultivate. In other words, he is able to cultivate. It is his heart that matters. Without a hand and a leg, you still have your heart to cultivate with. Even if you do it with one leg and one hand, I think miracles will happen. The decisive factor is one’s heart.” (Teachings at the First Conference in North America)
So Master was looking at my heart! I was determined to cultivate well.
After a period persistence, suffering, and karma elimination, finally I was able to sit cross-legged. I was so happy! Miraculously, when I was doing the sitting meditation, even though one of my legs was a prosthetic below the knee, I could clearly feel from the calf down to the foot, all the way to the toes. Master connected my energy channels. My body in another dimension was changing. It was incredible! There are no words to express my gratitude to Master!
When I was in utter despair, Falun Dafa brought me hope. By practicing Dafa, I truly felt the extraordinary and wonderfulness of cultivation, which strengthened my confidence in cultivation. From then on, my life took a bright and positive turn.
On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang Zemin’s gang started the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa. All of China’s news media, such as China Central Television (CCTV), Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, Guangming Daily, China Youth Daily, which are all controlled by the CCP, launched a nationwide brainwashing propaganda campaign to incite hatred by slandering Falun Dafa.
It felt like dark clouds loomed overhead, and lies spread everywhere, poisoning all living beings. Practitioners’ peaceful appeal in Beijing on April 25th was falsely portrayed as attacking the central government building. Practitioners were sentenced or taken to forced labor camps because they went to Beijing to petition. All television and radio stations and newspapers in the country were following the CCP’s orders to demonize Dafa and advocate for the persecution. Practitioners not only lost their legal rights, there was no place for them to tell their side of the story.
In my area, all the local assistants were arrested and detained. All the police stations and employers collected the names of practitioners. At that time, I stayed home—I felt depressed and overwhelmingly oppressed.
An unexpected incident gave me a great opportunity to say the truth and expose the lies.
That day, someone from police station knocked on my door when my sister and I were studying the Fa. It was summertime and my prosthetic leg was clearly visible. When the person came in and saw my leg, he asked if it was true that I practiced Falun Dafa and that my physical condition had changed. I answered that was so. “Some people will come to interview you,” he said. “Great, I have been waiting for you,” I said.
Before my sister and I had a chance to change our clothing, several people rushed in. Some were from the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, others from the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and some from the local police station and community office. There were about 16 or 17 people, and one of them was carrying a big video camera.
“Do you practice Falun Gong?” They asked as soon as they entered.
When I told them I did, they asked, “How long have you been practicing?”
“Not very long,” I replied.
“Tell us what’s good about Falun Gong.”
Sitting on the bed, I started to tell my story. “Since I became handicapped, it has caused a lot of trouble for my family. Half of my body didn't work normally, not only my leg. I had no strength in my arms and hands. It was difficult for me even to hold a bowl of water. I had to rely on my family members to help and serve me. I felt miserable.”
“Now the government does not allow it. Are you still practicing?” A reporter asked.
“For a handicapped person like me, if I don’t practice Falun Gong, will you be responsible for my care? How much in medical expenses have we saved!” I said. The reporter went quiet.
“After I became handicapped, I suffered psychological and mental trauma. I became short-tempered and agitated. I cursed people all the time,” I told them. “After I practiced Falun Dafa, my temper improved and I no longer curse people. I became kind and patient. Now I can take care of myself, and I can even help with some household chores.
“My physical condition has improved so much since I started to practice Falun Dafa. In the past, I had to hold this leg to climb the stairs since the leg was very heavy. Now I can climb the stairs quickly and with a light step. It’s wonderful!”
The reporter asked if I was able to sit cross-legged with my prosthetic leg. “Sister, you show them,” my sister said. I sat down. A policeman quickly said, “Don’t do it. Don’t injure yourself.” I said, "I’m okay." I slowly moved my leg, and in several seconds I got my legs crossed. The police said quickly, “Oh, put your leg down, put it down. We don’t need to see it.”
In fact, at that time I normally would need to move my legs around a bit before crossing them. Yet on that day I was able to do it right away. It was Master who strengthened me so I could validate the Fa.
Sitting with my legs crossed, I showed them the hand movements for the fifth exercise “Strengthening Supernatural Powers.” I told them, “Whoever practices Falun Dafa will benefit from it. I benefited from the practice both physically and mentally. If you ask me to stop the practice, who will be responsible for my condition?”
The reporter asked again, “Now the government does not allow it. Will you still practice?”
I said to everyone, “Yes, I will!”
An officer from the Political and Legal Affairs Committee stared angrily and said, “No! No! Don’t record this!” He then turned to the others, “How can she not practice? The Falun is rotating in her abdomen!” They all left.
As soon as they left, my sister and I hugged. We were in tears. Our pent up feelings of oppression were finally relieved. My sister exclaimed, “That was wonderful! We have validated the Fa!” “Yes, we finally got a chance to speak and say what I wanted to say!” I replied.
We were so happy and excited. We laughed and cried. We were so grateful to Master!
The interview was arranged by the local Political and Legal Affairs Committee. They wanted to frighten me and force me to say I would not practice Dafa and then use the video recording to make negative propaganda. They did not expect that would I seized that opportunity to tell the truth of Dafa.
Twenty years have passed. This unforgettable scene remains vivid in my memory. I still feel the excitement and joy I did that day as if it happened yesterday.
I thank Falun Dafa for giving me a new life, and I thank Master for his merciful salvation!
(Selected submission in celebration of World Falun Dafa Day on Minghui.org)