RED DUST, GOLDEN LIGHT
As told to Sophia Bell by Professor Wang Ming
Chapter 9: Enlightening principles and the cultivation community (2) | Excerpt
From the skeptical lens of a scientist to an awakening to Eastern mysteries,
this book is a journey in search of truth amidst the fragile boundaries of life, death, and steadfast faith.
(…)
Miraculous Stories and Living Testimonies
The more time we spent with the new group of practitioners at Uncle Liu's home, the more of their personal stories we heard. These were not high-level theories or abstruse philosophies, but very ordinary life experiences that nonetheless held strange and wonderful things, living proof of the power of Falun Dafa to change people.
During the informal chats after reading the book together, or while sipping tea, people would naturally talk about their path to cultivation. What initially caught my attention, as a medical professor, were the stories of health improvements.
Mrs. Chen, the elderly woman with the kind smile we had met, had previously suffered greatly from a severe heart condition and arthritis that made it very difficult for her to walk, leaving her almost bedridden. She said her doctor had told her that her illness could only be managed with medication, and her quality of life was declining. However, since she started practicing Falun Gong a few years ago, not only did her spirits lift, but her health also improved in an unbelievable way. Now, she could walk briskly, take care of all her own needs, and even help her children with housework.
"At first, I just thought I'd practice to get healthier," she laughed, a radiant smile unlike that of someone who had been seriously ill. "But Uncle Liu told me that to cure an illness, you have to not only do the exercises but also cultivate your heart," she said, pointing to her chest. "You have to get rid of attachments like competitiveness, resentment, and baseless worries. I tried to follow what Master Li taught in the book, to live by Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Gradually, I felt my heart become lighter; I no longer complained about my fate or got angry with my children. And then, the illnesses just got better, I don't even know when."
According to what I had learned in medicine, Mrs. Chen's recovery was almost inexplicable. But it was impossible not to believe the truth right before my eyes: an elderly woman full of vitality, with a rosy complexion, walking briskly. And she was not the only one. Mr. Li, the young taxi driver, spoke of the chronic migraines that had tormented him for years, for which no medicine had helped, severely affecting his work. Yet, after just a few months of cultivation, the headaches became less frequent and then disappeared entirely. Ms. Hong, the retired factory worker, shared how her long-term insomnia and neurasthenia were gone, helping her find joy in life again.
I listened, an inner conflict between my medical knowledge and these incredible realities stirring within me. Clearly, these cases went far beyond the explanatory power of modern medicine, which usually focuses only on the physical body. But I could not deny the health and cheerful spirit radiating from the very people telling the stories. They did not seem to be exaggerating or fabricating anything. Moreover, they all emphasized a common point: health improvements always went hand in hand with the process of improving their mind-heart nature, of living according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It seemed there was a very close, profound connection between one's mental state, morality, and physical health that our science had not yet touched upon.
However, the stories that moved and impressed Qing Ling and me the most were the sharings about the changes in their moral character, in their way of life.
There was a man named Qiang, who was said to have been a heavy alcoholic and a troublemaker in the neighborhood. He recounted his unsavory past with a sincere, slightly embarrassed tone, telling of how he had made his wife and children suffer and caused his neighbors to avoid him. "Back then, I lived without thinking of tomorrow. As soon as I had money, I drank, and when I was drunk, I'd cause trouble. My wife cried more times than I can count," he said. "Fortunately, someone introduced me to Falun Gong. Reading the book 'Zhuan Falun,' it was like I woke up. I understood that the cause of my suffering was the karma created from my past misdeeds, and to change, I had to cultivate my mind-heart nature and be a good person." He said the process of quitting alcohol and changing his temperament was very difficult, but by persevering in reading the book, doing the exercises, and always reminding himself to be truthful, compassionate, and forbearing, he gradually succeeded. Now, Mr. Qiang had completely given up alcohol, become a responsible husband and father, and lived harmoniously with everyone. Looking at his gentle demeanor and modest speech now, it was hard to imagine the person he used to be.
Uncle Liu also once shared that he used to be someone who cared a lot about fame and gain at work, often calculating his own interests, and sometimes even using unfair means to compete with colleagues. "After learning the Great Law, I understood that the things ordinary people fight for their whole lives are actually just illusions," he said with a pensive look. "What one can truly carry with them is karma and virtue. As a person, you have to live truthfully and kindly, and always think of others first in everything you do. So I changed my perspective, stopped competing, worked diligently, and treated people more sincerely. My heart became tranquil, and life felt much lighter."
Qing Ling listened to these stories with special attention. She told me that the moral values they were practicing, such as sincerity, kindness, and forbearance, though similar to the teachings in traditional Chinese culture she had studied, were expressed here in a much more practical, specific, and systematic way. It was not just theory in books, but something each person strove to follow in every thought, word, and deed, every day.
Every story, every person we met in this small group, was a living testimony. They did not need to use any profound words to convince us. The positive changes in their health, the growth in their moral character, the peace and kindness that radiated from them were the most persuasive proof of the wonder of Falun Dafa. These stories and these people gave us more strength, solidified our faith, and encouraged us to take our first steps on the path of cultivation with greater determination.
Internalizing the Principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance
The stories we heard about the changes in health and lifestyle were truly impressive. But what drew Qing Ling and me in and made us want to learn more was the common thread that ran through all of them: the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. These three words were clearly not just a slogan, but the true foundation for all the positive changes we saw in them.
During the Fa-study sessions or when talking with Uncle Liu and the others, we didn't hear them analyze these three words in any high-level way. Instead, we heard them recount how they had tried to measure themselves against Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in very specific life situations.
We realized that, to them, Truthfulness (Zhen) was not simply about not telling lies, but also about being true to one's own heart, being upright and not deceitful in everything one does. Mr. Qiang, the former alcoholic, shared that his first step toward change was to truthfully acknowledge his own mistakes, without evading or blaming anyone else.
Compassion (Shan), from their stories, was not just about doing ordinary good deeds. It was about tolerance, about always trying to think of others first, even when one might be at a disadvantage. Mrs. Chen told of a time when there was a mistake and she was shorted on her pension payment. Instead of getting angry or demanding it back, she thought that perhaps the other person was also facing difficulties, so she chose to let it go gracefully. "I'm cultivating Compassion; I can't make things difficult for someone over a little money and disturb my own peace of mind," she said with a kind smile.
And Forbearance (Ren), perhaps, was what we heard them mention most when facing difficulties. It was not a weak submission, but a remarkable inner strength. We heard Ms. Hong tell of how she had endured the ridicule of her former colleagues when they learned she practiced Falun Gong, not arguing back but just quietly doing her job well. We heard Uncle Liu tell of how he had forborne unfair situations at work in the past, not competing but seeing it as an opportunity to pay off karma and rectify himself. It seemed that, to them, every conflict, every unfavorable event, was a "test," an occasion to practice Forbearance, to regain composure and view the problem from a cultivator's perspective.
What particularly caught our attention was their constant emphasis on "looking inward" when encountering problems. Instead of pointing fingers and blaming others, they would turn inward and ask themselves: "Did I do something wrong?" "Do I have some bad attachment (like competitiveness, jealousy, fear...) that caused me to encounter this?" This way of looking at problems was very strange to us, and we admired it greatly. It was completely different from the common habit of always finding fault with others first.
Listening to these sincere and simple sharings, watching how they treated each other and everyone on a daily basis, Qing Ling and I gradually came to feel the depth of the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It was no longer a set of foreign words, but came alive through each person, each story. We began to look at ourselves, realizing how many shortcomings we had, how many selfish thoughts, how many hot-tempered reactions had become habits.
An urge to change, to follow these good things, began to form in our minds. We understood that the path ahead was to constantly strive to practice, to live by these three golden words. That was the true core of cultivation, the key to becoming a better person, to returning to one's true nature. The light of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, though only just revealed through these initial experiences, was enough to illuminate our way and give us a firmer faith in the path we had chosen.
(…)
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