(Clearwisdom.net) When I was encouraging people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at a market in Hunan Province, a gentleman in his 70s helped me by saying, "Falun Gong is indeed very good. I saw Mr. Li Hongzhi with my own eyes." Initially I thought he was a fellow practitioner, but later learned that he was an ordinary person who had attended Teacher's Fa lectures. The following is his account of seeing Teacher in person:
"When I was young, I joined the army. I once learned meditation from a monk. It was not qigong exercises but simply resting in tranquility with the legs crossed in the lotus position. I have been doing this for more than 25 years. Now I live in a relative's home in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, to take care of a patient.
"I would meditate in the frontyard of a memorial building every morning. There were many Dafa practitioners practicing the Falun Gong exercises there. I usually sat behind them and listened to their exercise music.
"One day in December, I arrivwed early, so I sat casually next to the memorial statue. By around 6:00 a.m., many practitioners around me were practicing the exercises. After they finished, a practitioner in her 50s from Wuhan Electric Power Institute had a conversation with me. She introduced Falun Gong to me. However, I only practiced for several days and slipped back into my old practice.
"One day this practitioner told me that Mr. Li Hongzhi was coming to Wuhan to give "Fa" lectures and she gave me a ticket. I still remember that the location was the auditorium in Wuchang Hongshan Hotel. About two to three thousand people attended.
"Mr. Li talked for several hours. He was about 1.80 meters tall. The impression I had was that his appearance and spirit were both so extraordinary that I felt that his morality surpassed the morality of human beings.
"Now that you tell me that Falun Gong is cultivating Buddhahood, I recall that his appearance was just like a Buddha. It was truly illuminating."
At last, he asked, "Is it Mr. Li that that says withdrawing from the CCP is to ensure one's safety?" I said, "Teacher told us to be a good and kind person. We need to consider others. Therefore we need to tell them about the truth of Falun Gong and stop them from being deceived by the CCP." He said, "You don't need to explain any more. Please help me to withdraw from the Communist Youth League. I joined it when I was in the army."
February 4, 2007