PureInsight | June 25, 2001
Because I found Falun Dafa, the last 3 ½ years have been the best years of my 67-year-long life.
Everyday people’s blessings abounded even before – surviving a middle-class German childhood in WWII, protected from the ravages of that era; subsequent marriage in Copenhagen to my ethical lawyer husband; motherhood to four accomplished offspring, and grandmother to five healthy grandchildren, all equally good people; a department head high school teaching position; an advanced academic degree; bilingual ability; an attractive home and garden of 44 years in a safe, quiet neighborhood; creative retirement; extensive travels; loyal friends. All these worldly accomplishments brought a lot of karma. And yet, something was missing. I was hollow inside. Were these the best years of my life?
Then, within one year, the illnesses arrived… ten of them – chronic, debilitating. Benefits of expensive medications, prescribed by overpriced, well-meaning doctors, disappeared. Depression, psychiatric treatment and weight gain set in. The ability to walk became diminished. Early teaching retirement followed. Belief in the tenets of mainstream religions and their rituals also waned. Too many unanswered questions remained. Thoughts of suicide cruised through my brain. I had arrived at yet another crossroad in my life. What to do? Where do I find a teacher and a path to follow that would lead me home?
Teacher Li must have been looking out for me. In September of 1997, a local Chinese doctor introduced me to “Zhuan Falun” and told me about the five Falun Gong exercises, cautioning me that cultivation is not for the purpose of healing illnesses. I began reading Zhuan Falun immediately, but did not begin the exercises until January of 1998. Within a few months, the benefits of practicing the guiding system of the Law of the Universe, Zhen, Shan, Ren, were dramatic, mostly in the form of massive amounts of karma removal. Since I realized that achieving a pure physical body is crucial to the practice, I discarded all my prescription medications, cut down drastically on nutritional supplements and within a few months no longer took any kind of medication or supplements and suspended all treatments. I also lost a large amount of weight. One year later a western doctor determined that my physical illnesses had completely disappeared and he wanted to know what I had done, telling me a miracle had taken place. “There was no hope for you. Are you a religious person who prays,” he asked? “Did prayer cure you?” I told him about the practice of Falun Dafa which had cured me. He smiled condescendingly, but said nothing.
The symptoms of intense physical pain, however, diarrhea and insomnia, lasting almost two years, were another trial to pass. Teacher Li said in Zhuan Falun, ”After passing the shady willows, there will be bright flowers and a new village ahead.” Whenever a series of days of severe physical pain arrived, I told myself that this is another test to overcome and reminded myself of Teacher Li’s words. I also repeated over and over in my mind “I am a practitioner, not a wimp,” and continued reading the book, which I do daily. During this Fa-rectification period I also do daily hongfa work and attend Fa study sessions twice a week.
In the ensuing weeks and months I realized that I better, and quickly, overcome my then biggest attachment – thinking as an ordinary person, which even now occasionally is an annoyance and a part of me that is not yet completely eliminated. Rising to that challenge became easier however with each subsequent reading of Zhuan Falun and the numerous Falun sightings I experienced, a powerful encouragement to keep up the cultivation practice - a practice that is not for sissies and weak-minded people. I am ready to deal with and learn from whatever trials and tribulations will yet come my way. I am aware that they are only means to improving my xinxing. It is extremely difficult, but at the same time also quite easy to become and remain a genuine Falun Dafa practitioner. Getting to know Falun Dafa is the best thing that can happen to a person, a once-in-a-lifetime-chance for truly fulfilling one’s purpose on earth, for the best years in one’s life.
Formerly I had frequent nightmares, fretted about dozens of everyday problems, imagined uncounted personal and environmental misfortunes and generally played the “What if…” game. Due to Falun Dafa, my mind is now at peace. Truly these are the best years of my life.
I was attached to scores of material things – expensive jewelry; fine foods; memberships in prestigious clubs; shopping in avant-garde stores. I don’t need those any longer. I “lightened the load” and these days I also avoid other, common people’s psychological burdens like the plague. Teacher Li reminds us that we have all these “things” for only a short while.
We need to concentrate on “going home” where we belong - to our eternal home, the place where we came from. We are, after all, only guests on this earth. In order to earn this privilege of a guided homeward journey, we must walk the straight path of Falun Dafa, the Universal Law. We cannot risk deviation from the itinerary of our journey, no matter the hardships. With Falun Dafa as our guide, the best is yet to come.
Thanks you, Teacher Li, for your compassion and your gifts to us.
Another Western Practitioner in the US
May 2001
