(Clearwisdom.net) I am a retired traditional Chinese medicine doctor. Previously, I only knew that Falun Gong was criticized and banned but did not give it much attention, as I thought it had nothing to do with me. Every day I was busy treating patients. Then suddenly one event changed my viewpoint about Falun Gong and the persecution.

There was a long-term patient of mine, a woman from a farmer's family. She is about 60 years old. Before she practiced Falun Gong, she was dependent on herbs and other medication for more than ten years. She was treated by Western doctors and had surgeries. Still, more illnesses surfaced. Besides suffering from her illnesses, she was financially drained due to the medical expenses. Seeing the difficulty she went through, I usually charged her less than normal. But that did not solve her hardships and she lived with worry and anxiety.

Through someone's recommendation, the patient started to practice Falun Gong. Since then, she does not need to take herbs or other forms of medication anymore. Can Falun Gong heal illnesses? If so, then how? As a doctor, it was not easy for me to understand. I asked her why Falun Gong can cure illnesses and she replied with, "Falun Dafa is so wonderful because it requires the practitioner to focus on cultivating her character. One behaves according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and be a good person. This along with the 5 sets of exercises give the practitioner a wholesome mind and body, so it has a positive effective in healing illnesses." She has significantly improved physically and mentally. She is always happily smiling, and she looks younger with a fair and rosy complexion even though she is over 60 years old. One time she picked up 200 yuan¹ on the street and tried many ways through the Lost & Found to return the money to its proper owner. In her neighborhood, she never argues with anyone, saying that, "Our Teacher tells us to be considerate and compassionate to everyone, and not to retaliate when attacked or sworn at." Her neighbors say Falun Gong practitioners are good people and are trustworthy, so they want to be her friend. Seeing her positive changes, her family members also began to practice Falun Gong, as well as some of her neighbors.

I still did not understand the persecution and asked her, "Falun Gong is good but why don't you just quietly practice at home? Why do you insist on practicing openly outside your house?" She replied, "Falun Gong is so great, why not let more people know about it to get rid of their sufferings from illnesses? Why can't we practice cultivation in an open, upright, and dignified manner? Why should one who is practicing selflessness not tell the truth to the folks in their hometown or the government? Why is one not allowed to peacefully appeal, utilizing the citizen's right bestowed by the Chinese Constitution, to clarify the facts to the government and the people? I would like my neighbors to know the facts about Falun Gong. They should be able to decide for themselves if Falun Gong is good or bad by the actions of practitioners, not the government's propaganda. The illegal persecution of Falun Gong is based on Jiang's paranoia and fear of losing his power, as he saw too many people practicing and the millions of practitioners' appreciation and respect of Falun Gong for its effects in curing illnesses and making people healthy. Jiang was wrapped up in his own jealousy to consider if the persecution was right or wrong or if it would benefit the people, but instead started the bloody suppression of Falun Gong. He issued the order to suppress Falun Gong, "defame their reputation, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically. If they are beaten to death, just call it suicide." Hundreds of thousands of practitioners have been illegally sent to detention centers, forced labor camps, jails, and brainwashing classes. Some have been beaten to death, with a verifiable death toll of 901. Many practitioners' families have been broken, their family members killed and/or forced into hiding to avoid the persecution. Having benefited from the practice both physically and mentally, when Dafa is falsely accused and persecuted, shouldn't I step forward to tell people about the truth? Shouldn't I speak fair words for Falun Gong?"

The discussion of the persecution of Falun Gong dissolved a lot of my questions. Therefore, believing that Falun Gong will eventually be restored to its good name in the near future, I started to practice Falun Gong too. One day I explained to my grandson that he should get along well with his classmates and behave according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. To my surprise my grandson asked me, "The uncles and aunties in our neighborhood are good people and behave according to Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, but they were arrested. So will I also be arrested ?" At that moment I was embarrassed. Good people were being arrested. Do I tell my grandson not to be a good person and risk being persecuted? I was at a loss for words and did not know what to say. I also did not understand what kind of people the authorities want our children to be.

Now, I usually recommend my patients to practice Falun Gong, as it is beneficial to their health and can resolve many of life's tough questions. This is the Falun Gong that I know.

These are words from the bottom of my heart.

(1) Yuan: Chinese currency, the monthly salary for an average Chinese urban worker is about 500 yuan.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/2/29/68846.html