(Minghui.org)
Hardships of My Own Making
I am a country woman from a mountainous area in eastern China. Before I began to practice Falun Dafa, my life was one of pain and despair.
Although I was born and brought up in a poor family, our lives were filled with love and harmony. My parents worked for local farmers and raised and educated five kids. My two older brothers and a young sister attended prestigious universities, while my older sister finished high school. After I completed middle school, I went back home, worked on a farm, and tried to run small businesses here and there.
I married a villager in a neighboring county at the age of 20. That is when my life got unhappy. My husband worked in a city in south China and womanized, which caused me a great deal of heartache. I tried to run a bamboo plant, because I wanted financial independence.
But day after day, the bitter reality exhausted me, and I started to gamble. I lost lots of money and my husband refused to send any more. My two kids and I had to rely on my siblings for financial help. But when I continued to gamble and racked up huge gambling debts, my siblings stopped helping me.
Dafa Set Me on the Right Road
At the point of no return, I found a way out. My younger sister, who practices Falun Dafa outside of China, told me the facts about this cultivation practice in 2001, and I quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). She also said that if I frequently and sincerely recited “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good”, my problems could be resolved. I thought that this was easy, so I agreed to live by the Dafa principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
I recited the phrases whenever I had time. In time, I no longer wanted to gamble, and sometimes even forgot about it. I worked in the fields, planted crops and vegetables, and took care of my children.
I had a good harvest, earned enough to support my kids and myself, and gave what was left over to my mother and brothers. My younger sister was surprised and helped me clear my gambling debts.
Benefits from Studying Master's Lectures
My sister sent me an MP3 player in November 2014 so that I could listen to Master's Guangzhou lectures. She told me to listen to the lectures and I took her advice. I listened to them every evening. The first week, I dreamed that many people attended Master's lectures, including me.
After listening to the lectures, I felt many changes in my body. I was no longer sleepy. I have not felt unwell or caught a cold over the past 10 months. My sister-in-law, who is 3 years younger than me, said that I looked younger and better than her.
Returned to the Innocence of My Youth
Yes, in other people's eyes I did improve a lot, and I felt as if I had returned to my teenage years. However, in my eyes I gained so much. All the problems I went through during the past 20 years disappeared from my mind without a trace. My husband's philandering was well-known among the neighbors. Now, I feel very lucky that my conscience has returned and I was saved by Master and Dafa.
I told my mother, “Mom, I listened to Master's lectures and returned to innocence, as if I was a teenager. Dafa has purified me.” She smiled.
My mom began reciting “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” before I did. She also benefited from Dafa. But the changes she saw in me made her very happy and relieved, as I used to be her biggest worry.
Returning to My Original Nature
Filled with happiness because of Dafa, I had another dream. I saw that Master taught the Great Law to many people, including me. Master said to me after he finished his lecture, “Xiao Mei is better than this.” ("Xiao Mei" is my nickname.) I realized that Master was telling me that my original divine nature was much better than my human nature, so I decided to cultivate diligently and return to my original nature.
From now on, I will listen to and study Master's Fa more diligently. I firmly believe that Dafa not only brings me a beautiful today but also gives me a bright future.
