My Falun Dafa Experiences

Augusto Andrade

Raleigh, North Carolina

I’m Augusto Andrade from Raleigh, North Carolina. I’m originally from Ecuador, South America. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share my experience in my 6-month Falun Dafa practice.

In order to achieve the highest level of cultivation, I had been practicing some other cultivation way for about 24 years. I had always been trying to improve the health of my body, mind and spirituality. For many years, no matter what I tried to do to improve the quality of my life, I always had a lot of tribulations, problems, misfortunes and miseries.

Fortunately one morning six months ago, when walking around a lake, I saw a young man performing his meditation practice. I thought to myself that I would like to practice that type of meditation together with him. Something stronger than my own wish was pushing me to talk with him, but I couldn’t because I felt respect for what he was doing and didn’t want to interrupt him. On the next day same thing was experienced. But on the third day I couldn't hold my strong desire to talk with that gentleman; and I decided to interrupt his exercise practice. I introduced myself to him.

After a short animated conversation, I asked him if there existed some kind of books describing his exercises. Thirty minutes later, he was at my home with a set of books China Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun and one exercise tape. Since that day at the end of September 1998, thanks to Master Li’s wonderful teachings of cultivation: Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance, my life has changed a great deal within my physical body, as well as my mind and my spirituality.

At present, I am a well understanding person, and I offer my benevolence at every mistreatment when they arrive to my life; I think that it is an opportunity to increase my forbearance, and to practice what I have learned from Falun Dafa.

For example, a few weeks ago, I was returning home from group practice in the park. I was driving on a road with two lanes merging into one; and I had the right of way. Suddenly a car from the other lane cut me in front. Since I was comfortably driving under the speed limit, I had no problems controlling my car. Unfortunately another person tried to do the same, but he failed; and my car was hit on the rear right side; I reduced my speed to stop. This person was SO upset that he hit my car at back again

on purpose.

Both of us stepped out of our cars. When I was approaching him, that person was a bully, he insulted me with a lot of bad words. At that moment I was starting to experience the reaction that I had in a similar situation years ago, but this time my mind was thinking Master Li's teachings about forbearance. Therefore, with a sweet voice I told this guy: I do not understand why you're so upset; it is my car which was damaged, not yours; besides that, it was your fault, not mine. He had no option but to cool down. When I was going to get some paper to write down his name and driver license, I saw him suddenly driving away… so fast that I could not even see his license plate number.

I thanked Master Li for giving me the opportunity to practice forbearance and I behaved in a different way from I used to. I did not lose anything other than a few minutes and some scratches in my car. But at the same time I have gained a lot of peace in my soul; I now know that it is indeed possible to love and forgive who try to do bad things to us. I have been experiencing that my life is a lot better when my heart is practicing truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance.

I also had great experience on my physical body. I had an accident 40 years ago while I was doing some gymnastics exercise when I was in the army in Ecuador. My spinal column had been slid twisted since then. When I first sat down to do meditation, it was almost impossible because of its twisted configuration; the pain I experienced in my whole back was extremely severe, and I couldn’t sit for more than three minutes. Two months after practicing Falun Dafa, one day, when I was doing my meditation practice in the park, I heard some loud crackling throughout my spinal column bonds. It was really amazing that, without any pain, my spinal column was stretched out after forty years. And now, I can sit there for 45 minutes without the pain at back.

Another physical change is: before I practiced Falun Dafa, every night I had to get up to use bathroom 4 or 5 times. Since one or two weeks after I started Falun Dafa practice, my sleep has been perfect and I don't have to get up at night any more.

I would like to share another experience that has been my biggest relief of sentimental pain. I was married to a person whom I love with all my loyalty, dedication, love, tenderness, and understanding that very few people can do it. After 30-year marriage, my wife changed her attitude towards me. In the last six years, I had been trying to do my best in favor of my family as well as for every human being. My moral value, my principles, my integrity had been growing up with the practice of my spirituality. Unfortunately nothing had been good enough for my spouse.

A couple of years ago she asked to divorce me. Of course I tried to avoid it; I told her I was willing to do any thing to make her happy, and if I had something to change, I wanted to know. I did whatever I could to save my family and marriage, but I failed. I had loved my wife harder and harder every day although I knew she did not want

to be together with me. It was an obsession for me just to see her and to hear her voice. We were separated for over a year; and during this period, my pains grew until two month ago.

One day when I was in meditation crying like a baby, Master Li came to my mind. With a kind voice inside my heart, he told me he was there to help me diminish my sentimental attachment. Suddenly I saw many black spots in my head around my brain, but those spots started to change in color, getting clearer and clearer until they disappeared. Immediately after that, I felt the most wonderful experience of peace and harmony that I never had before. Now, I still love my spouse, but in a different way; I do love her as my children’s mother, but not as my wife any longer. Sentimentally, this has been my best experience.

Spiritually, I was a very dedicated person to my rituals and beliefs, always hoping to get something better for my soul and spirit; but my improvement was very slow. In my first month of Falun Dafa practice, my spirituality grew so faster compared with my previous 24 years in other cultivation way. Today I can block out my thoughts whenever I want, and using this exercise I can drain out every negative thought that has arrived to my mind; before, it was almost impossible to do it.

One of Master’s Li teachings is: "Want nothing, and you'll gain naturally". How wonderful this teaching has been for me; it has been giving me peace in my mind, serenity in my heart and the power to relinquish a lot of my attachments that I had accumulated throughout my years before.

Of course cultivation practice is not easy. Still I have a lot of things to remove from me; a lot of pain to endure in order to remove my karma. But, to increase my forbearance ability in conjunction with truthfulness and benevolence, is a great bliss that is enlightening my life to share the peace that every body wants to feel inside. Because of the above changes, today I am a peaceful, harmonious, healthier, happier, and with a lot more tenderness, benevolence, love, respect, tolerance, understanding and forgiveness, not only for my family members, but for the whole humanity.

In short, Falun Dafa is the greatest Cultivation System for body, mind and spirit. I would wish, from the bottom of my heart, that every single person in our world, would be a dedicated Falun Dafa practitioner.

Master Li: Thank you so much for all you have given to me.

March 1999