A Pilot Finds a New Kind of Freedom Through Falun Gong

After many years of searching, Terri found the Falun Gong book, Zhuan Falun, a wonderful book from the East. She had this feeling, which she said, was indescribable in words but resonated with one's soul.

Terri has a very beautiful Chinese name, Mo Daili. She likes to tell people she meets for the first time, that her family name is Morse, the same as in the "Morse Code". Most people are familiar with Morse code "SOS" which is widely used for emergency rescue in the aviation or maritime. Terri has a pilot's license for commercial aircraft but has never sent out any "SOS" signals during her flights. .

Terry and her airplane	Terri is practising the fifth exercise

Drawn to Eastern Culture as a Child: A Guanyin Statue Brings Comfort

Terri was born in Washington DC. Her mother is from Korea, and her father is American, with ancestry from Wales. He is a retired engineer who has worked on various NASA spaceflight projects. He is proud of an award he received from Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut to walk on the moon.

The earliest memory Terri has is when she was just three years old. Her father held her hands to help her walk. She was suddenly attracted by a glass cabinet on the table and stretched her arms towards it. When the two approached the cabinet, little Terri became excited and stretched out her hands and grasped the wooden Guanyin statue in the cabinet.

In her childhood, Terri had learned to play piano, cello and also practiced ballet. However, she was very weak and often fell ill. When she fell ill and lay in bed, the little American girl liked to hold the Guanyin statue in her hands. She felt comforted when she was holding and looking at the statue. Many years later, when Terri received a wonderful book called Zhuan Falun from the East, she had a similar feeling, which she said was indescribable in words but resonated with her soul.

What a Feeling, Soaring through the Air

When Terri was five, her father took her to an air force base. Looking at the blue sky, she said she wanted to be a pilot when she grew up. When she was in high school, her father took her up in an airplane . She fell in love with the feeling of the plane soaring into the sky - taking off, lifting and feeling free. Terri said, when in the air, everything on the earth and everything in the mortal world suddenly changed and became unimportant.

When Terri was in college, her specialties were humanities, business management and marketing. At the same time, she also took lessons in a flight school and obtained both a private pilot license and a commercial pilot license. Terri's husband Tom is also a pilot. They met at the airport. With common interests, they eventually married.

Terri works as a coordinator at a flight school in Philadelphia. She enjoys helping others experience the joys of flying.

Seeking the Root of All Wisdom

Fourteen years ago, Terri had a rare disease known as Lyme disease, which was in its late stages. Her every bone and every muscle ached. She had a weak heartbeat. Half of her body lost sensation and she had no strength. She tried all kinds of treatments but they had no effect. Her life was sustained with antibiotics. She began to look for alternative medicine such as Chinese acupuncture and other therapies.

These alternative therapies helped her to survive. At the same time, she realized these were just surface things and the final solution must come from her mind and her soul. The answer was on the spiritual level.

Therefore she started to learn Buddhist scriptures. In one of the Buddhist Scriptures she learned that at the very beginning of the universe, there was nothing except the most primitive wisdom. She said to herself: "This is just what I want to understand, the most primitive and purest wisdom with no formality of worship, organization or form."

In February 1999, a Chinese friend informed Terri that in the museum of University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia there was a booth where they were introducing a Qigong practice from China called Falun Gong, with five sets of exercises and a set of cultivation theory. Later the same friend brought her the book Zhuan Falun.

In April 1999, just three months before Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong, Terri started to practice Falun Gong. After reading the first page of Zhuan Falun, she raised her head and looked at the ceiling. She said to the Teacher, "Thank you!"

The Chinese friend who gave her the book, called back later and asked, "What do you think about the book?" Terri asked back, "Do you know what the book is about?" The friend was silent. "He finally comes!" she said. The friend who introduced her Falun Gong didn't understand her meaning at that time.

After Terri practiced Falun Gong, the symptoms of Lyme disease disappeared completely.

Terri is distributing the truth-clarifying materials to passerby.

SOS! Calling Upon the World's People with Kindness and Compassion

Walking the streets of Philadelphia's Chinatown, Terri sincerely wanted to say a few words to the Chinese, "Falun Gong is indeed good. Even if you do not agree, please respect it. Let others have their own belief. Also, if you open your heart a little, you will discover that many things are possible."

On April 25, 2004, it was a lovely spring day. Instead of flying her PIPER-J-3 seaplane and soaring in the sky, Terri sat in lotus position on the large lawn in front of the Liberty Bell in the Philadelphia town center. She was appealing for help on the anniversary of the tragedy that happened five years ago in China. For five years, each and every day in China there has been brutal persecution of Falun Gong and its practitioners.

SOS! Stop persecuting "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" - was the appeal with kindness and compassion from Terri, who was doing exercises auspiciously on the green grass. She was doing it for a distant land in the East called China, and for "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" that can bring the best future for all sentient beings.