Falun Dafa Saved My Life from Alcohol Addiction

I am a 64-year-old retiree. My wife and I started to practise Falun Gong relatively recently. It was Falun Dafa that rescued me from the addiction to alcohol and gave me a new life. Once I start to practise my whole life was turned around for the better.

Over the last 45 years I have been an alcoholic, in order to stop me from drinking, my family members begged me; my friends tried their best to persuade me; my superior at work harshly criticised me; I repeatedly made resolutions to stop drinking when I was sober. None of this helped, and I continued to drink. People who knew me used to say, "If he can stop drinking, then I can stop eating." I was so dependent on alcohol that nothing could help me. Alcohol was a demon that I couldn't get rid of. It haunted me for most of my life been something that I couldn't shake no matter what.

I drank for the first time in 1960. That was the first time I attended the wedding of one of my coworker's after I began to work. After eating, I went to another table to ask other people to drink just for fun. I began drinking. I drank more than a fifth of a 750 ml bottle of liquor and was so drunk that I fell unconscious for twenty-four hours. In order to cool myself down, I went to the river and put my feet into the water, and I fell asleep by the river-bank. I might have died if one of my friends had not found me in time. I didn't learn my lesson from my first drinking experience. Instead, I began to get addicted to alcohol. Gradually, I had to have a drink with every meal. Sometimes I had to entertain customers 5 ~ 6 times every day, and I was drunk every time. I drank alcohol illegally when I was in the armed forces and was serving in combat on Zhenbao Island. My superior wanted to officially discipline me, and I was spared only when the regiment commander intervened. When I was working in the public security bureau, it was prohibited to drink alcohol in the bureau cafeteria, but I was allowed to drink with the special permission of the bureau chief. Since I was the party secretary of the bureau, the entire unit couldn't carry out the rule that prohibits drinking during working hours due to my drinking problem. I had to take early retirement and left my job due to my drinking problem.

Being depressed due to my retirement, I drank even more. I drank from the moment I got up to the time I went to bed. I was constantly drunk and wished to spend the rest of my life with alcohol. The nasty behaviour when I was drunk was so embarrassing that I don't want to talk about it. My wife was so upset with me that she thought about suicide. My alcohol addiction caused huge problems for my family, the people around me and for myself.

The 27th of March in 2005 was the most important day of my life: I encountered Falun Dafa and was reborn. I studied the Falun Gong books and Master's magnificent and profound teachings enlightened me and I began to walk on the golden road of practising Falun Dafa.

For many years, my wife was worried, depressed, sad, and was in bad health because of my drinking problem. In the May of 2004, she suddenly had an internal brain hemorrhage and was hospitalised for more than 20 days. In December she had two other serious illnesses and was hospitalised again. We spent more than 20,000 yuan* for her two hospital visits and she was not cured - *500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China. A Falun Dafa practitioner visited us on March 27th of this year and introduced us to Falun Dafa. My wife held the precious book Zhuan Falun and wouldn't let go. After she started to practise, her diseases mysteriously vanished. She threw away the blood pressure gauge and all the other medications. She was reborn.

In the beginning, I didn't have the courage to practise Falun Dafa because I worried about my serious addiction to alcohol. After reading Zhuan Falun with all my heart, and watching the videos of Master's lectures, I began to understand the principles taught in Faun Dafa and started to assimilate to the teachings. I felt especially affected by Master's teaching on how to stop drinking. Because I really wanted to stop drinking, Master therefore helped me and helped me remove my attachment to alcohol. I stopped drinking during the Qingming Festival of this year.

With Master's compassionate help, I didn't have too much difficulty getting rid of the addiction to alcohol. I didn't feel any pain, and I just didn't want to drink anymore, it was something that came from the bottom of my heart. Falun Dafa's power is simply incredible. Master tested me a few times after I stopped drinking and I passed the tests. One time I met one of my coworkers whom I hadn't seen for many years. He invited me to drink. I told him I had stopped drinking, which he didn't believe. He tried to drag me into a restaurant and almost tore off my clothes. He was really upset and took off. I used to drink a lot with one of my old friends. He called me twice to invite me to tour two different scenic areas and to have a drink after I had stopped drinking. I thanked him but politely declined. There were quite a few holidays in May. In addition, Father's day, my birthday, and my grandson's birthday are all in May. We had many family gatherings, but I didn't touch a drop.

My family members told me that it was if I were a completely different person after I stopped drinking. Falun Dafa rejuvenates me. I get up at midnight to perform the exercises, and then study the Falun Gong teachings in the morning. During the day, I either listen to or watch Master's lectures, or go out to take part in activities to let people know that Falun Dafa is been persecuted, and that the self immolation in Tiananmen Square and other such cases were all fabricated and designed to defame Falun Dafa. I tell people that Falun Dafa is welcomed all over the world and is spread in 78 countries. I am energetic and optimistic everyday. I was overweight in the past, and lost more than 10 pounds after beginning the practise. My wife is also completely healthy now.

It was Falun Dafa that rescued me from been addicted to alcohol. Falun Dafa saved my family and me. From now on, I will devote my life to spreading the practise: allowing more people to benefit and letting more people know that Falun Dafa is wonderful, and "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" are great.