"I would like to share my personal experience to warn those who are still struggling in the bitter sea of evil cults: Evil cults harm both others and ourselves, so please break away from them and return to the right path before it’s too late,” said Teng Xin, a teacher and a former Falun Gong follower from Beiliu City, Guangxi Autonomous Region, with deep emotion after he had finally awakened to the truth with the help of anti-evil-cult volunteers, his family members and friends.
Not recognizing the true face of Falun Gong initially
How many 20 years are there in one’s life? When Teng Xin was listening to the cicadas chirping outside the window,his thoughts flashed back to the summer in 1996 that had changed his life.
Teng Xin was born in 1971 in Beiliu City, Guangxi Autonomous Region. After graduating from a normal school, he was assigned to be a teacher in his hometown. He liked reading Qigong books since childhood, hoping to cultivate his temperament and prolong his life by practicing Qigong. On a summer day in 1996, when shopping for books in the urban street in his spare time, he came across a book called "Falun Gong in China." Out of curiosity about the psychic powers described in it, he bought a copy of the book for reading at home. Since then, Teng Xin gradually got exposed to Falun Gong and was attracted by the various “benefits” mentioned in the book, such as that practicing Falun Gong can cure diseases, keep people healthy, cultivate "truth，compassion，forbearance", and so on. He felt confused in the beginning when he read the book because the ideas advocated in it conflicted with his own. However, as he read it more and more and was continuously indoctrinated with such ideas as “reaching consummation”, “ascending to high levels”, and “gaining psychic powers,” he gradually wavered in his thoughts and began to accept and believe firmly in the heretic ideas of Falun Gong ever since.
Falling into the mire of the evil cult
In order to ascend to high levels in the process of cultivation, Teng Xin, who had fallen into the trap of Falun Gong, gave up all his plans and pursuits in his life and made ridiculous acts like abandoning his family and career. Being no longer satisfied with just practicing Gong, He began to get in more contact with his fellow practitioners and read more Falun Gong books. Gradually, his behavior fell under the complete control of Falun Gong, to the extent that he, with a dull look in his eyes, often talked endlessly, worked irregularly, and ignored his family, trying to break away from normal work and family life. In 1999, Falun Gong was outlawed by the state, but Teng Xin was still very enthusiastic about Falun Gong: he bought relevant materials at his own expense at the practicing site and volunteered to distribute them to others; in order to pressure the government for an “explanation” for outlawing Falun Gong, he and his fellow practitioners went to Beijing of themselves to "protect the Fa."Finally, he was twice sentenced to administrative detentions for disturbing public order and thus violating the law.
Due to his addiction to Falun Gong, Teng Xin seemed to have fallen into the abyss of chaos. In the school where he worked as a teacher, his performance had been declining because he indulged in practicing Falun Gong with no interest in teaching. The administrative department in charge and leaders of the school talked to him several times, trying but failing to persuade him to concentrate his mind on his teaching task. Consequently, they gave him a serious warning by transferring him to a non-teaching position. His family members and friends had a heart-to-heart talk with him for many times, but he still went his own way, impervious to their words. In 2003, his wife decided, after a few failed attempts to improve their relations, to end her married life with him and went away, leaving behind a young son and daughter. A once-happy family had thus broken apart, which caused indelible harm to all the family members, with the children losing their family care, and their divorced parents feeling sadness and loss.
Lifting the clouds and returning to the right path
“‘Learn to be an Excellent Teacher; Act as an Exemplary Person’. I felt ashamed when I thought of the creed I once held to and reexamined my life experience against it," said Teng Xin when he recalled his past. As a former faithful follower of Falun Gong, Teng Xin resisted to contact with anti-evil-cult volunteers at first, but through their education by appealing to emotion and reason, Teng Xin began to reflect on his preposterous life as a Falun Gong addict and understood that the Falun Dafa that he had been assiduously pursuing and defending with his life was just a hoax. Little by little, he learned the truth about the so-called physical benefits of practicing Falun Gong and dispelled the mystery about the evil cult; step by step, he realized that the "consummation" described by Li Hongzhi had never been reached and what he said was just a series of self-contradictory lies; finally, he saw clearly the ugly face of Falun Gong and recognized its harmful nature as an evil cult. So, on his own initiative, he handed over his collection of materials such as Falun Gong books and CDs, stopped associating with followers of the evil cult and refused attending cult activities, so as to make a complete break with Falun Gong and return to the normal working life, throwing away the heavy shackles of his past.
Teng Xin's decision to make a fresh start was recognized by the community and welcomed by his school. In the beginning, Teng Xin carried a heavy burden in his mind, not daring to interact with others, for he was afraid of being looked at with strange eyes, unable to find the direction of his life. With the help of anti-evil-cult volunteers, who made several follow-up visits to him, Teng Xin gradually went out of his predicament and found hope in life. The administrative department in his school arranged for him to return to his teaching position that he once loved so much. Henceforth, Teng Xin refocused his attention on his family in everyday life, trying to bring love and affection back to his family, so that his parents could enjoy family affection again and live a peaceful life in their old age. As for Teng Xin’s children, they regained the love of their father and grew up healthily.
(A pseudonym is used for the main character in the story)
Postscript: Although Teng Xin has finally resumed his normal working life with the help of others and through his own efforts, the prime time of his life have been wasted due to his addiction to Falun Gong. When he realized his error, he found that he had gained nothing from the evil cult during his precious life time. I hope his experience will alert more people to the evil cult as a spiritual cancer.
