(Minghui.org) Approximately 500,000 people live in our city, which is located in a remote area. In late 1994, six people from our region, including government officials and farmers, attended lectures given by Master Li Hongzhi in the cities of Jinan and Guangzhou. After that, they followed Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and strove to become better people.
They also enthusiastically introduced Falun Dafa to our area so more people could benefit. Through word of mouth, the popularity of this free practice spread rapidly. The exercise music could be heard everywhere—from urban neighborhoods to rural villages.
Because of its remarkable health benefits and the guiding principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, Dafa had a positive influence on the community and contributed to noticeable improvement in moral standard. Falun Dafa has no organization or membership requirements. Within less than five years of its introduction, nearly 10,000 people in our city were practicing it.
These practitioners came from all walks of life, including government agencies, factories, businesses, education, healthcare, law enforcement, and farming communities. Those who practiced became kinder, more tolerant, and healthier, which created an atmosphere of peace and harmony. Buddha’s light truly shone everywhere! Virtue was valued once again, and people’s hearts were rectified.
Practitioners did good deeds, and many miraculous things occurred. To encourage everyone to learn from one another and improve as a whole, practitioners organized a number of citywide experience-sharing conferences, also known as Fa conferences.
The conferences were held in rented auditoriums, which were filled to capacity with thousands of people. Some of the venues were so full that people even sat in the aisles. At each conference, about 12 practitioners from various professions and age groups shared their experiences. The conferences usually lasted over two hours. During the experience sharing, everyone in the audience as quiet and attentive. The auditorium staff were often astonished: “We’ve never seen such a large gathering of people with such manners. Not a single person spoke or behaved inappropriately. Falun Dafa is truly remarkable!” This was a natural reflection of practitioners’ self-discipline and high moral standards.
As people who practiced Falun Dafa improved their moral standards, almost everyone had extraordinary experiences. Some recovered from chronic illnesses, others’ tumors or gallstones disappeared, some who were illiterate learned to read and write, others returned lost property, some paid outstanding debts, while a few people were able to walk after suffering from debilitating bone conditions. Many students also saw significant improvement in their academic performance.
One man was a notorious troublemaker in his village, and people feared him. After he began practicing Falun Dafa in February 1997, he realized that his behavior was wrong, and he resolved to rectify himself according to Falun Dafa’s principles. He used to have terrible arguments with his mother, which made her move away for several years. Even after she returned, he refused to acknowledge her. But after he began practicing Falun Dafa, he deeply regretted the way he treated her, and their relationship improved.
Another incident involving a man that occurred in 1995, two years before he began practicing Dafa. He sued the village committee over unpaid taxes, then secretly recorded the village committee officials saying things that would benefit him. He used this to file a complaint with the town government and got the debt dropped.
After he began practicing Falun Dafa, he held himself to the high moral standards of a cultivator and felt terrible for not paying the outstanding taxes. In the fall of 1997, he sold his apple harvest to pay back the full amount in one lump sum.
Another young man in the village had also been troublesome before he began to practice Falun Dafa. He refused to pay his taxes, sought to exploit the village, and even planned a revenge killing. After he began practicing Falun Dafa, he abandoned the idea of revenge and paid his outstanding debts. When village officials praised him, he said, “I’ve completely changed because I practice Falun Dafa.”
A 70-year-old woman had been in poor health since the age of 47. She was bedridden and unable to work. She stayed in several different hospitals for three years, but her condition did not improve. Eventually, she ran out of money and had to sell her home. She ended up living with relatives and was bedridden for 20 years.
In January 1997, someone in the village suggested she practice Falun Dafa, and her family encouraged her to try it. Her husband pushed her in a small cart to a practitioner’s home one evening. She sat in a chair and listened as practitioners read the Dafa books. While seated, she tried to imitate the exercise movements as she watched others do them. She had to rest over 10 times just to complete one exercise. Because she was illiterate, she listened to the recordings of Master Li’s Fa-teaching lectures.
On the fourth night, after finishing the exercises, she no longer needed her husband to push her to the group, and she walked home all by herself. It’s really a miracle that she could walk again after being bedridden for over20 years!
From then on, she studied the Fa and practiced the exercises diligently, rain or shine. She strictly followed the requirements of Dafa, improved her character, and became a better person. Her health improved dramatically, and she became free of illness. Her skin became soft and smooth, her face became rosy, and her menses, which had stopped over 30 years before, returned.
Her whole body felt as light as a young person's, and she could do all kinds of housework. She was filled with joy and told people about her experiences wherever she went. Three of her relatives witnessed these miracles and also started practicing Falun Dafa. All their homes became Dafa practice sites.
A 77-year-old man suffered from leg pain, immobility, and cataracts for over 40 years. He was blind in one eye, and his back had been hunched for 30 years due to bone hyperplasia. Because of his spine deformity, he was bent over at 90 degrees. These conditions left him miserable and deeply self-conscious. He often joked bitterly, “I’m lame, blind, and hunchbacked.”
In February 1997, his son-in-law gave him a copy of the precious book Zhuan Falun, telling him this was the great law of the universe and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He thought that since he was already in such poor condition, he must have a great predestined affinity to obtain this Dafa. He then devoted himself to wholeheartedly studying the Fa and forgot about his health problems.
Miracles soon followed. First, his back, which had been bent for more than 30 years, straightened. Then the eye that had been blind for over 40 years recovered to 80% vision. His severe leg pain completely disappeared, and he could walk again. He said he felt like a strong young man; no one believed he was nearly 80 years old.
A villager went to the city in January 1996 to learn Falun Dafa and, when he returned, he introduced Dafa to his village. The villagers were enthusiastic about studying the Fa and set up several Fa-study groups. By January 1997, 85 villagers had begun practicing Falun Dafa. By January 1998, the number had grown to more than 180, including men, women, and children.
A number of these practitioners worked in the fields during the day and participated in group Fa-study at night. Some had their cancer resolved, others’ chronic diseases disappeared, and many experienced significant improvement in their minds and bodies. At home, they respected the elderly and cared for the young. As good villagers, they obeyed the laws and actively participated in charitable activities.
Before she began practicing, one villager suffered from many health issues and spent a lot of money on medical treatment, but nothing helped. After she began practicing Falun Dafa, all her ailments disappeared without spending a penny. Other practitioners paid off their debts to the village. And some who had been estranged from their in-laws reconciled with them. There were many similar stories.
In 1997, the village held an evaluation for the “Ten-Star Civilized Household Award,” and all 77 families in the village that practiced Dafa received the award. Many village officials said, “It seems those who want to earn this title should practice Falun Dafa.”
Falun Dafa teaches people to be kind, improves their health, and benefits society.
It’s a righteous cultivation practice! Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!