Living a True Life with Falun Dafa

Robert Nappi, Virginia, USA

Once upon a time in 1998, I was reintroduced to a reason, for life. It seems, I've "awakened" within this little universe or form of animation I reflect on when I look into a mirror. I call this my Self. Let me begin my story with the explanation that I died in a car accident in 1991. I've been told that I would not be alive today if the accident had not been witnessed by a doctor, as he was backing out of his driveway at that moment, on his way to work. He managed to help me breath again and acquired a helicopter to take me to the hospital, where I lived for a year. I had a left hemisphere brain injury which has taken much of my memory of the last 30 years of my life away. It took me about 7 months to learn to walk again. I could not read or write for over 6 years. What a boring, useless, and lonely life this turned out to be, as I would spend my days drinking alcohol, smoking pot and taking drugs just to tolerate my lonely, wasteful and useless existence. Then along comes destiny trying to catch my attention and lead me through and out of this maze of confusion I called reality. I was turned onto Zhuan Falun. It's a wonderfully powerful and majestically enlightening book. Anyone who reads it will tell you that it explains and guides one towards and down the path of Life's Cultivation, to find Our Individual Beings--True Self.

This book helps guide our understanding, with truths and reasons for the purposeful existence of our being, within and as a part of life. It is written and shared with us by the Master Teacher Li Hongzhi. He has this compassionate understanding of our need for help with the guidance through this maze of misunderstandings that we find ourselves lost in and trapped by. I will try to explain this adjustment my being's awareness has realized since I have awakened to the reality of my life and why I felt the need to purposefully cultivate such a gift. I think one would have to live in my shoes to experience my short-term memory loss I've suffered and lived with. Wondering what was I just doing or thinking? I got started and already forgot. And I could not read well enough to tolerate the challenge of trying to learn again.

Now call this a coincidence, but I prefer to see it as a miracle involved with my cultivation. When I opened the book Zhuan Falun, I could read all of a sudden. I felt as if I'd just woken up. Also I forgot all about smoking and drinking, plus had no desire to do so anymore. Now to those who would say that these first two miracles are just all in my mind, I would say that we all have been given a free will and chose what we settle for, as we mold our belief systems.

However, this third event dealing with my awakening, through the cultivation of my True-Being was nothing less than a miracle (the type you'd have to see to believe). One morning when I was working in my garden, I accidentally dropped a big log on my finger, broke and cut it badly. At that time, my wife was ready to start her daily Falun Dafa exercises, so she suggested that I do the movements along with her, that it would help. She had been involved in this already for a few months. I still hadn't taken this seriously yet. I was told these movements change our bodies on a subatomic level by cleansing the bad karma from our bodies that we have accumulated throughout our lives. Not that I necessarily had a lot of blind faith, or expectations in the event about to take place, I was just looking to try and calm down. I was told to just do the movements and remain tranquil with no mind intent. Ten minutes after we started my finger felt a little better, ten more minutes, much better, after ten more minutes went by there was no sign of any damage to my finger anymore. It was no longer black and blue, and no longer felt broke. Also the inch long cut was miraculously healed. It's hard to believe, but absolutely true. That experience turned out to be truly a magical event. I still find it hard to accept as reality but I have a witness in case I forget.

These days I find myself more diligently practicing the movements, plus reading the book. Now keep in mind that for the last 6 years I've had no feeling in my right arm due to the operation done on my brain that caused me to have a stroke. But one Saturday, I was at the Mall in D.C. and while practicing a Wheel Embracing movement of Falun Gong, my back began hurting real bad, then all of a sudden, a loud pop sound came from the middle of my back. Seconds later, another loud pop sound came from my wrist. Suddenly I had feeling in my arm once again. I was told that my energy channels must have been opened. Of course, some would simply call that a physical alignment, but I call it another miraculous event.

I could go on and on about these miraculous events happening to me. Instead, I would like to try and explain some realizations I have been awakening to. As there is this great foundation of truth, blossoming within my being. Many truth seekers are aware that master teachers have periodically appeared for us throughout the ages and have tried to guide us out of this maze of misunderstandings. We must realize we're part of the universe and the only way for us to gain the ultimate health is by assimilating within the true nature of this universe with Truth, Compassion and Tolerance. But with the confusion brought on by ourselves, we, as man have lived with an obscured view of reality. Most of mankind has built life on belief systems with untrue or shaky foundations. The book Zhuan Falun can and will give those of us with the desire and destiny for a life filled with enlightenment, a chance to cultivate our true nature. Loads of addictions and attachments like gravity pull us down into that maze of misunderstandings. And these, we should not hold on to.

So what makes Falun Dafa so appealing to those seeking after the truth about life is simply obvious to anyone who will look with an open mind and a heart of understanding. While observing these Falun Dafa practitioners, you will notice the truthfulness that flows in a natural way from within their being. They seem to project a certain compassionate tolerance, and great endurance towards disharmonic situations. These coincidentally and by no accident just happen to be the foundation underlying the teachings of Falun Dafa--Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. I have never felt more at home and comfortable since I have taken part in this cultivation. This book of truth is waking me up from this maze and has completely changed my outlook on life. But if we continue to surround ourselves with all kinds of attachments camouflaging our awareness, and continue to find unbalanced and unjust ways of dealing with life as if it were some kind of accident, we will continue sleepwalking through this maze of misunderstandings. One of the most beneficial lessons I have learned from our Master Teacher Li Hongzhi is, when reacting to incidents or dealing with people and circumstances, we should always check within ourselves, as if we are being educated for a higher purpose. Think why this is happening to me and what I can learn from this. Don't jump to conclusions for things only happen to teach us some sort of life-lesson. It is our own free will that will manifest our reactions. Hopefully we can always remember Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, and try to reach out to our true beings.