The Symphony of My Life

Overture
It was an ordinary day in the summer of 1996 and I was chatting with my classmate outside my apartment building. I unintentionally raised the topic of the universe and outer space. “I have a book,” he said, “that has the most complete coverage of these topics.” He started to introduce the book. As I listened, I became more and more interested and developed a strong curiosity about the book and its author. Since my classmate’s apartment was just across the hall from my apartment, I immediately followed him upstairs to his apartment seeking more information. Once I started reading the book, it was hard for me to put it down. My classmate saw that I liked the book so much, and decided to lend it to me. I took it home as if it were a treasure. I enjoyed reading the book through the whole night without feeling sleepy. This book completely changed everything about me; my attitude towards life and my view towards the world and others. This book was Zhuan Falun.

After I obtained the Fa, I conducted myself according to the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” taught in Zhuan Falun. I was full of joy every day. My study, life and voice were full of sunshine. It was like I was being geared up, and completely changing from a quiet, depressed person who had lacked confidence in the past.

First Movement
During high school, I was diligent, enjoyed helping others, and was often selected as an honored student. I often gave public speeches as a student representative, and my academic performance improved as well. I was a good student in the teachers’ eyes, a good boy in the eyes of other students’ parents, and a good role model in the eyes of other classmates.

Sometimes I was concerned about my ranking as a student. When a student looked to me for an answer to her problem, I thought, if I give her the answer, her study will improve, and what would happen if her rank then surpassed mine? I pretended to be embarrassed and said I didn’t know either, and advised her to ask the teacher. After a while, I felt bad thinking, this is not being truthful. Later through studying the Fa I understood it was selfish to seek rank and fame. Master Li said, “One who is for fame resents till death, One who is for gain disavows family; One who is for sentiment brings vexation on himself, Bitterly fighting each other, making karma over a lifetime. Not seeking fame, enjoying leisure, feeling content, Not stressing gain, a benevolent righteous person; Not moved by sentiment, clear-hearted with few desires, With benevolence, cultivating oneself, accruing virtue over a lifetime,” “Being a Human,” Hongyin. From then on, I helped other students without reservation, answering any questions they asked. In the next examination, not only did my rank not drop, it increased and passed several people. It really is, “Not seeking fame, enjoying leisure, feeling content”!

The college entrance examination was coming and I applied for an arts school. The competition was tense and I was nervous. That summer, after the college entrance examination, I was really suffering! I could not relax, sleep or eat well. I could not even concentrate on reading Zhuan Falun. In the past, whenever I felt unhappy, I would read the book and get cheered up. This suffering continued until one day one sentence from the book jumped into my mind: “We cultivators always let things happen naturally. If something is yours, nobody will take it away, and if something isn’t yours, you won’t be able to get it even by fighting for it,” The Seventh Talk, Zhuan Falun. Then I suddenly enlightened. That’s right; I should be facing it with normal attitude. As long as I have tried and put forth my best effort, I should have no regrets, even if I did not get admitted to college, my family members, teachers and fellow students should understand me as I have already tried my best. In the worst case it would mean one more year of preparation. My parents and other students did not like what I said. They felt my attitude was not right and I should be more concerned. I expressed my thoughts to them and they became more understanding. Then a miracle occurred. I stood out strong in the competition and was one of only 40 students admitted out of 2500 candidates. It should be mentioned that some candidates spent a lot of money seeking inside favors to help with their admission.

Later, I heard that because the exam was leaked, many candidates obtained the answers to the music theory exam before the examination. No wonder so many people turned in their exam sheet so quickly. I hadn’t even finished the answers and there were only a few candidates left. I was thinking my study was probably not solid, others might have done better! Later, the family of these candidates, in order to get their children into the top 40, struggled with each other below the belt. In the end their fraudulent conduct was brought to light, and even the provincial board of education became aware of it. Those who had obtained their position in the top 40 fraudulently were removed. I ranked around 60 so I got admitted without any drama! It is just like what the Fa stated, “We cultivators always let things happen naturally. If something is yours, nobody will take it away, and if something isn’t yours, you won’t be able to get it even by fighting for it,” Zhuan Falun.

Second Movement
At university I still conducted myself according to "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance." I was a role model in military training, a coordinator in study, unselfishly helping others in study and daily life. Since there were fewer boys in the arts school, our class had only seven boys, among which I was the oldest, they called me “boss,” and the girls also called me “boss.” I was the most generous person, so the students would look for me for help when they encountered any difficulties in daily living or study, which I had become accustomed to. They also said it would certainly work if they “looked for help from the boss.” Every summer and winter break, I volunteered to help them buy train tickets without charging any extra fee. Several times, I carried more than 20 student ID cards to the station, lining up for a few hours to buy tickets. At the ticket booth, the conductor looked at the list of tickets, frowned and asked if they were truly all tickets for students, implying I was a scalper. I showed more than 20 student ID cards to him. At first he was surprised and then, with an apologetic and reddish face, checked all the tickets and handed them to me with a smile.

The university had a small community. There were many conflicts between students, and some were even very intense. A student was isolated by others in her dorm, and anything bad that happened would be blamed on her. There were often intense fights, and everyone looked down on her. Her reputation was very bad in class. My piano practice room was next to hers and I could often hear her shut herself in the practice room and cry. The whole building was very noisy, so most people wouldn’t have heard her. Every time I saw her walking out of the room, I could tell she’d been crying. I heard she had attempted suicide with sleeping bills and was rescued. I felt sorry for her and wanted to help her. One day I stopped her and asked her to enter my piano room. I kept the door open to avoid arousing suspicion. Both of us did not date anyone and I wanted her to feel at ease. We chatted, and I combined what I learned from Zhuan Falun and my personal experiences to share my understanding of how to handle conflicts. No blaming, no complaining. I did not impose my philosophy and personal views on her; I was speaking totally for her good, to help calm her emotions, and was eventually able to successfully untie the knot in her heart. Finally, she said with tears: “If I did not chat with you for over two hours, I would still want to commit suicide.” Later, she wanted to borrow the treasured book Zhuan Falun. After reading the book, she told me firmly that she knew what to do now and also felt the book was really good. She said that she was not ready to practice now but would definitely practice in the future. Watching her walk away, I remembered a phrase of Master Li’s, “…, at the very least you can be a good person even if you can’t be somebody who cultivates by the Great Law, and that will benefit our world. Actually, now you know how to be a good person, and after this class you can be a good person,” Zhuan Falun. It was Dafa that saved a life.

Third Movement
It was July 20, 1999, when I felt the sky sink and all the colors in life become gray. Shortly after school began in September, I was expelled because I refused give up my belief. I remembered all the students and teachers cried at the scene. The girl, who gave up the idea of committing suicide after I convinced her, cried the most. They were all angry over the school’s decision. Later I continued to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to those who were deceived. I was kidnapped illegally by Chinese communist police and sentenced to twelve years in prison. That was my sophomore year at the university and I was only twenty-one years old. During that long term jail time, I suffered from both physical and mental persecution. My hands which should have been flying, turning and jumping at the black and white keyboard, were forced to do physical work, fourteen or fifteen hours a day, 365 days a year for a period of nine years.

After I was released, I slowly straightened up my thoughts and adjusted myself. When I had time, I would play a few almost forgotten pieces of music on the black and white keyboard, which looked both familiar and unfamiliar. As for finding a job, I was in a state of "seeking but content." Later, it was not me who found the job but the job that found me. I got a teaching position at a piano studio, moreover, the owner did not care about my education level (I did not have a bachelor degree as I had been expelled from university). I was content that I had a job that suited me.

Fourth Movement
In my teaching job, I still conducted myself according to "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance," and gradually won the praise of my boss and the students’ parents. Once, when faced with a picky parent’s vexations, I stayed calm and rational, and did not argue with her. Finally that parent admired my tolerance and felt comfortable to let their child take piano lessons from me. There was a very naughty child, and other teachers did not want to teach him. I offered to teach him and through my guidance, he won a prize and began enjoy playing piano. He even sent me a picture of a big carp (he was good at art, and had won numerous prizes). Though the picture was drawn only with pencil and wasn’t in color, it still looked very nice.

There was another naughty student, very smart, a quick learner, but he did not practice what he learned. I did not blame him as other teachers did, but patiently guided him. He was a very selfish person, but one day he put his most favorite snack into my hand, saying he liked me. The other teachers were very envious of me, and even the owner looked at me differently.

Another student had a strong personality; it was him who chose the teacher, not the teacher who chose him. He could not be questioned, and if your tone was not very tactful, he would choose not to cooperate with you. When I was teaching him piano, I treated him as a friend so we did not have the gap between a teacher and a student. He treated me as a friend and made rapid progress. A few days prior to participating in a national competition, he was playing with other students and affecting their practice. I did not hold my xinxing and criticized him in front of the entire class. I could have found a different way and treated this matter discreetly. He cried and ran out of the classroom and I got worried. The competition day was approaching, and my attitude could affect his performance. Moreover, his chance of winning was high. I regretted my words and deeds and thought, "Will his parents become furious? Will it have any impact on my job? What if the students are no longer fond of me? I would have less income if my student count was reduced.” Through reading Zhuan Falun, I realized my unkindness, which had hurt his heart, and that I had been too selfish. I humbly called his parents and made an apology. The parents said their child did not mention it. After hearing his, I felt even worse as a child had done better with forbearance. I was a teacher, even practicing Dafa. I really did not do well. I told the parents what had happened, and they understood. Then I talked with the boy and sincerely apologized. The boy cried and I did too. The gap between us disappeared and we felt even closer, more like two family members. He then had the best state of mind and the best attitude to participate in the national competition. He returned with a gold medal. I was so happy and in tears. He was happy too, and so were his parents.

One day, the owner told me that she used to have certain opinions about Falun Gong practitioners. She felt they lived a boring life and were brainwashed. However, through interactions with me, she had new views towards Falun Gong practitioners—having faith is a very happy thing!

A Beautiful Episode
My aunt had practiced Falun Gong before July 20, 1999, but due to fear had stopped the practice after July 20. However, she knew that Dafa is good so she kept an MP3 player, which contained a recording of Master Li’s lectures. As she recited “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truth, Compassion and Tolerance are good” everyday, she had been in good health. One day, last October, she was crossing a road as usual on a bike and needed to make a left turn to go home. She looked back and saw a taxi far away in the distance, so she felt safe to make the crossing. When she got to the middle of the road, the taxi started going surprisingly fast. Suddenly it was in front of her and hit her. Her body smashed heavily into the taxi’s windshield then onto the ground. The whole windshield was smashed into pieces and the tyres left skid marks more than ten meters long. The bike was completely ruined, and even nearby residents heard the huge sound from inside their apartments. After she was sent to the hospital, they did not even find any bruises on her skin. She just felt a little dizzy from the shock. Her brain scan also came out normal. When I visited her, she was in tears and quietly told me that in the few minutes before she crossed the road, she had recited “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truth, Compassion and Tolerance are good,” and that it was Dafa and Master who saved her life. She promised that she would continue with the practice. The driver of the accident came over and wanted to compensate her. She learned that the driver’s family was not rich and she only took 3000 yuan to cover her medical costs and let him leave. Other people said she was dumb and it was a good opportunity to rip off the driver. She said the driver reported the accident by himself and accompanied her through all the examinations in the hospital. Moreover, the driver’s family also had financial difficulties, and she did not want to put more pressure on him. She said: “If I received any money I did not deserve, it would not be easy for me to spend it and my mind would bear the feeling of guilt.” Actually, she still had certain issues. She did not tell the driver that it was Dafa that saved her life and it was because of what she learned from Dafa that she did not ask him for any extra money. Still, she had great changes inside her, and became fully convinced instead of skeptical.

Falun Dafa is really great; it has changed tens of thousands of practitioners like me, and their family members and friends. I have obtained a lot more benefits from Dafa, here I listed just a few instances as a dedication to the 20th anniversary of the vast spreading of Dafa.

Everyone in the world is writing his or her own symphony, and my symphony is continuing on as well.

Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/node/110778