Once an Atheist, Now a Falun Dafa Practitioner

Lin Hua, had been an atheist all her life; she did not trust or believe in anything but herself. However, this life-long philosophy came under question when she was involved in a traffic accident.

An Opportunity to Learn the Practice

In 1995, Lin Hua was in her early thirties and in the prime of her life. She was planning to put her career in to full bloom, by establishing a company and doing business on a large scale. But in that year, 1995, she was involved in a traffic accident, which altered her life. In the blink of an eye, before she could think or react, she was hit by a heavy truck.

Lin Hua said of the accident, "In the crash I was hit very hard; in less than a second I might have lost my life. But at that moment I felt there was something or someone that came between me and the truck, protecting me. A thought suddenly occurred to me: God really exists! At that moment I believed this to be true."

After the accident, Lin Hua began to change her attitude and way of thinking. She started to believe in God, and went to many temples to burn incense and worship the Buddhas there. She wondered if there was an authentic Law.

Lin Hua traveled to Italy in 1997, to attend a wedding. She first visited the US and her friend asked her, "Tomorrow I am going to participate in a qigong class, which will introduce Falun Gong. Would you like to come?" Lin Hua was shocked, "Falun Gong! Is this what my mother told me about two years ago! It was spread in Mainland China. How come its also in US?"

Lin Hua and her friend attended the class held by a Falun Gong practitioner. During the class, Lin Hua was suspicious and boldly questioned the practitioner. After she returned home and sat in the crossed legged position, and thought, "You must go and learn this Gong."

The next day, Lin Hua learned how to do the five exercises and contacted some Falun Gong practitioners in New York to order some lecture tapes and CD's. Lin Hua said, "At the time I did not pay for the materials, I only left my telephone number and address in Japan. When I returned to Japan from Europe, I was very surprised to see Teacher's lecture tapes had already been delivered. Then I thought, how could there be such people, who will send things without receiving money first!"

When Lin Hua watched Lecture 2, she felt her a rotation in her abdomen. She said, "Although I could not see it, I really felt the rotation of Falun. Then I thought: it's real! Every day I felt it rotating. One week later I sensed that there were many Falun rotating in my home. I began to realize the Gong is so marvellous."

In March, 1999, Lin Hua saw a small advertisement in the "Journal of Chinese Students Studying in Japan" about Falun Gong's free exercise classes. She immediately called the number and got in touch with the local practitioners. Lin Hua said, "I had the opinion then that one will not get the real teachings of Dafa if one has not met the Teacher. Fellow practitioners told me that there would be a Fa conference soon in the US, and I immediately said I wanted to go. At the Fa conference I did see our Teacher."

When Lin Hua was very young, she did not trust anyone, especially after she started doing business. She felt that within society there was nobody that could be trusted. However, after she saw Teacher, Lin Hua said, "There are few people that I really admire. But Teacher, I admire from the bottom of my heart! What Teacher said in that Fa conference gave me the sense that He sees people clearly. Since then I started to seriously cultivate Falun Gong."

Removing the Strong Attachment to Self

Lin Hua said, "Before practicing Falun Gong I wanted to be stronger, and would not tolerate anyone who tried to damage my pride. Usually people couldn't beat me in a fight of words, as I would be very aggressive with my speech and always have the last word. Later, I found that it was my son who hurt me the most. All the anger I vented off to my husband and other people, returned back to me through my son."

Lin Hua's son had almost a mirror image of Lin Hua's temper. Whenever hearing a few improper words from her son, Lin Hua 's anger would boil.

Lin Hua said, "As a mother I thought that I can not be treated like this. Whenever I needed to use violence I used it." The relationship between Lin Hua and her son was very intense at times. Just like two tigers in competition, no one yields to the other. Sometimes a conflict might last for several months with no talking between mother and son.

Outside the home, no one could insult Lin Hua. Actually, no one dared to offend her. However, through conflicts with her son, the deep rooted pride in Lin Hua's heart was often hit upon. Lin Hua said, "Since I started practicing Falun Gong, I began to calm down and consider what Teacher said. When I blamed my son for his behaviour, I would realize how I used to pressure and order others around. I slowly started to change my behaviour. Sometimes we would quarrel, and I would learn to apologize for it. I also learned how to get along with my son and joke with him." With Lin Hua's change in attitude and behaviour, her home environment became more harmonious.

Overcoming a Major Tribulation with Righteous Thoughts

The hardest test to face is when a practitioner has to part with their fundamental attachments. But, at crucial moments, if we can remind ourselves that we are cultivators, we can elevate our Xinxing (heart and mind nature, character) and remain on a righteous path. When Lin Hua was involved in another serious car accident, she believed in Teacher and the Fa and had righteous thoughts.

In March 2005, as Lin Hua was driving home, she felt very sleepy. Initially she had an idea to stop for a rest, but since she would be home in another five minutes she continued driving. Then suddenly, her car veered over to the opposing lane and hit a car travelling in the opposite direction.

Lin Hua felt like her spine had been ripped open, as immense pain pulsated from top to bottom. Lin Hua said, "I undid my seat belt, then I collapsed like a building in an earthquake. At that time I felt it was the end of my life. Then I felt as if someone was pulling me downward. Just with that thought, I realized that I should not think like that. I immediately sent forth a righteous thought: I probably did something wrong, but I have my Teacher; I do not belong to the old forces. Then the pulling stopped. Although I was in extreme pain, I had been sending forth righteous thoughts and told myself that everything would be fine."

When the ambulance arrived, five people pulled me out of my car, strapped me to a stretcher and put an oxygen mask over my face. I felt suffocated and clearly sensed that some kind of power still wanted to seal my fate. So I immediately removed the mask.
At the hospital Lin Hua had an X-ray. Her bones looked fine, and the doctor said there was nothing wrong, but she had to remain in hospital two extra days for observation. Lin Hua recalled the situation that night, "If my doctor said there was nothing wrong with me, then the only thing remaining was how I treated the situation. That night I experienced pain all over my body. In my dazed state, I heard a voice clearly say, 'It is time to go!' I was scared to fully wake up, and said, 'Even if it's time for me to go, I will not go with you!' Then the voice disappeared."

Lin Hua continued, "Later, another voice said, 'Although your X-ray shows nothing is wrong with you, all your internal organs have already stopped working.' I replied, 'Even if they have stopped, I do not belong with you.' After hearing the two voices, I became totally clearheaded. Since I felt so painful lying on the bed, I decided I wanted to sit up and do the exercises. As I slowly tried to raise my bed to sit upright, I felt even worse and the pain was everywhere. I could not even raise my hands, but I did have movement in my fingers. Then suddenly, two sentences appeared in my mind, "When disciples have ample righteous thoughts Master has the power to turn back the tide" ("The Master-Disciple Bond" from Hong Yin II, translation version A). I burst into tears, and knew Teacher was encouraging me. After that I could move my arms as high as I wanted them. I clearly understood that Teacher was helping me. Although it was painful to hold the positions during the one hour of sitting meditation, I knew Teacher was helping me, so I must stick it out to the end."

The next day, as Lin Hua tried to do the standing exercises, it took her two and half hours to complete them. Her doctors were astonished at the speed of her recovery and were amazed that she could stand. Two days later, Lin Hua returned home and immediately went to the bathroom. She excreted a lot of green and black excrement. All those bad elements inside her body were excreted out. One month later, Lin Hua had fully recovered.

When a cultivator faces a test of life and death, a single righteous thought can make all the difference. When we are able to face it with righteous thoughts, and give up what we have, what we will obtain will be something exceptional. We have seen such miracles, from Lin Hua's story and thousands of cultivators like her.