My Back Is Straight Again!

A Falun Gong practice site was established in my home village of China. From the very beginning, Aunt Sanshen was a dedicated practitioner. Although she was elderly and couldn't read, she managed to regularly practise the exercises and keep up with studying the Falun Gong teachings, the Fa, by listening to the recorded lectures. Before long, Aunt Sanshen's diabetes disappeared. Many of the other diligent practitioners at the practice site also benefited.

When the former head of the Chinese Communist Party and instigator of the persecution, Jiang Zemin, began to persecute Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, local village police started spying around our practice site. The practitioners were afraid to do the exercises openly and therefore stopped practising, and so the site closed. Shanshen's husband passed away, but she and other elderly practitioners continued to come and offer incense, because the portrait of Falun Gong's founder, Teacher Li, was still at the practice site. The portrait was later also taken away by the officers, and practitioners were at a loss and stopped visiting the site.

It was suggested that they could practice at home instead. The suggestion created excitement, and soon a new tape player was bought and the exercise music recorded. Finally, the exercises and Fa-study resumed again!

Someone said to Sanshen, "Your son and son-in-law are both working. Aren't you afraid that their employment may be jeopardised if you continue to practice Falun Gong?" Later, both her son and son-in-law also objected to her practising the exercises. The stress made Sanshen's hunchback even more pronounced. She could walk only with the help of a walking stick.

One dedicated practitioner told her, "Cultivation is your own personal business. You'll benefit from it if you keep up with your practice." Inspired by these words, she again resumed her practice routine and became even more dedicated. Her health improved daily. Whenever she clarified the truth to others, she often used herself as an example, telling them how her health had improved since she began practising Falun Gong. Drawn by her sincerity, some people came around and asked to be taught the Falun Gong exercises. Then one of her daughters tried to persuade her to take up Christianity, and a niece also tried to get her to follow another religion. With great seriousness, Sanshen said, "Practising Falun Gong is not only good for me, but also good for all of you. If you support me, you will also benefit. Teacher has been protecting me all along. There is nothing I have to be afraid of. I am 78 years old, and if I hadn't been practising, I would not be as healthy as I am now." She was determined and would not be moved. She continued with her efforts to clarify the facts regarding the practice and the persecution and kept up with the three things.

During the winter 2005, Sanshen was left at home to look after the house, because other household members were away working in the city. Her grandson stayed behind at school, which was in town. That day it was especially cold. She asked the coal delivery man to move the coal-fire heater into her bedroom. There was the danger that once the door was closed, the gas from the coal would have nowhere to go. She was alright that night, but the next morning, she got up at 6:00 a.m., and after sending forth righteous thoughts, she carried on with her meditation. That is all she remembers.

Her grandson came home at 11.00 a.m. and knocked on the door, but no one answered. He got worried, forced the door open, and saw Sanshen sitting on a chair unconscious. Bursting into tears, he quickly went for help. His second uncle, aunt, and neighbours came over. They looked at Sanshen and shook their heads, saying, "I think she's finished," but feeling her strong pulse, they quickly took her to the hospital. She was diagnosed with gas poisoning.

Sanshen woke up at 2:00 a.m., wondering where she was. Her son said to her, "When we saw you unconscious in the chair with your arms hanging limp, we were all scared."

Sanshen said "You don't have to be afraid, I am all right." She slowly sat up and started to practise the sitting meditation. She said that her body felt abnormally hot. While she meditated, her back straightened. Everyone around was surprised to see her sit so straight. They could even hear her bones cracking. Sanshen's spine was no longer crooked.

Sanshen stopped meditating and gingerly moved her legs to the floor to see if she could stand properly. She found that she had grown taller. Testing herself again as she stretched, she cried out with tears of joy, "Look at me, my back is straight again!"

Everyone was amazed to see the miraculous transformation.

Sanshen started to relate her story: "When I was 70 years old my eldest son took me to a hospital in Beijing to see if something could be done about my back. The doctor said that three vertebra were severely damaged and that I would never be able to walk straight again. If I had an operation it could quite easily lead to paralysis, so no surgery was performed. It is hard to believe that because of Falun Gong, and with no surgery needed my crooked back is now straight. They told me that I was unconscious from the gas, but it was Teacher who made me unconscious to help straighten my spine." As she talked, she knelt down and respectfully gave teacher three bows. With tears in her eyes, she said, "My crooked back, which I have suffered with for more than several decades, has miraculously been cured. This is all thanks to Falun Gong and I hope that through this you can come to see what Falun Gong really is."