A Practitioner's Recollections of the Early Years of Falun Dafa in China (Part 1)

In the spring of 1992 there appeared in northern China an extraordinary and wonderful practice called Falun Gong. Falun Gong resembled a resplendent bright pearl with its dazzling brilliance scattering away the dust that had settled in people's minds and illuminating the way for cultivation. In order to spread Falun Gong, the founder of Falun Gong, Master Li Hongzhi, left home for Beijing, Shandong, Taiyuan, and other places to hold classes in order to spread the teachings and teach the practice.

Because there were more and more people coming to learn Falun Gong and there was no formally published Falun Gong book, Master Li wrote the manuscript of China Falun Gong. Since Master had no money to buy the number for the copyright, he borrowed 8,000 yuan to have China Falun Gong published. The first batch of books were distributed and sold in every local bookstore. When people having predestined relationship had no money to buy the book, Master would give them a copy for free. After retailing all the books, Master still didn't have enough to pay off the money borrowed for the copyright number.

It was very difficult for Master to spread the practice at the beginning. Master only requested the lowest possible fees for the classes. It was impossible to offer free classes in society, since the lecture halls needed to be rented, and the departments or units that undertook the event asked for a handling charge. After assorted fees were taken out, there was little money left. Even for this little money left, Master himself wouldn't take any of it. He wanted it to be safely kept by a practitioner from each assistance centre in different regions. For the use of this sum of money, Master once clearly pointed out that this money represented the dedication of Falun Gong practitioners, and their support for Falun Gong. As such, it could be only used for the development of Falun Gong.

Master lived only a very simple life. He lived in a simple building that had no heating in the winter. The only electronic appliance was a TV set, and all the furniture was of an outdated style from the 1980s. Master was strict with his daughter and only gave her 100 yuan for living expenses every month including school fees. One summer, Master's wife brought their daughter to Beijing to meet Master, and Master bought a pair of shoes costing only 2 yuan for his daughter. The standard of living for Master's family was among the lowest even in Changchun City.

Wherever Master went he always taught by personal example and set an example for practitioners. At the end of 1994, Master ended his teaching in China, and in the beginning of 1995, he went overseas to spread the practice. Dafa is now widely spread in over sixty countries and benefits people everywhere.

In early summer 1995, Master took out all the money that was left from giving the lectures in China to have the lecture video recorded and distributed to all the assistant centres throughout the country. The entire set contained 5 videotapes and lasted a total of 900 minutes. At that time, there were almost a thousand assistant centres in China, which used this set of recordings to spread the practice. In just a few years, over 100 million people started practising Falun Gong and benefited from it, obtaining healthy bodies and minds, and upgrading their morality. This helped the mentality and spirituality of human civilisation to improve. Master's contribution of merit and virtue to China, to all the people, to all of humanity, is beyond expression. It is boundless and enormous!