(Minghui.org) I am 80 years old and have cultivated Falun Gong for 9 years. I feel it is important to share my story because, in my mind, it is different from that of other practitioners.
My husband suffered from a genetic degenerative illness, a condition that is passed from parent to child, for nine years. For the last three-and-a-half years, he could not go to the restroom by himself, and I had to clean him. I was not that healthy, either, and suffered from a number of ailments, including leg pain, gastric perforation, heart disease, and cataracts.
Protected from Doing Anything Rash
My husband always made a mess, and I could no longer tolerate it. I bought a bottle of sleeping tablets and took all of them at once. I woke up after two days and felt very dizzy. I could hardly stand but felt better after a while.
When my son and daughter-in-law visited my husband, he told them that I had taken sleeping pills, which scared them.
Because my husband had a bad temper, I tried to commit suicide again. I hit my head against a stone wall. I was injured but not that badly. I realized that, somehow, I had to live. Now I understand that Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, was already protecting me from doing anything rash.
Falun Gong Helps Overcome Unpleasantness
My second daughter-in-law, her mother, sister, and sister-in-law are all Falun Gong practitioners. They had asked me to practice Falun Gong in the past, but I was just not interested. They asked me again and said that other relatives' health had improved after they started to cultivate, and they overcame unpleasantness all-around.
This time I decided to give Falun Gong a try. My daughter-in-law showed me the exercises only three times before I could do them on my own. She also brought me Master's Fa lecture audiotapes.
I began getting up at 4:00 a.m. to do the exercises every morning. Whenever I had time, I listened to Master's Fa lectures. I began to see more clearly how it truly teaches the Fa principles, so I decided to continue practicing Falun Gong.
After my husband passed away, I had more time to study the Fa, and all my ailments disappeared gradually. Falun Gong also helped me get over so many tribulations.
Soon after my husband's death, my older son, who was an alcoholic, fought with his wife and she killed him by accident. Master and Falun Gong helped me pass this tribulation so I could let go of my sadness.
When I could not sleep, I listened to Master's lectures and continued to do the exercises daily.
Refusing to Take Advantage of Others
My daughter asked me to take care of her house when she and her husband went to visit their son in Xinjiang. I stayed there at night and went home during the day. I burned incense in the morning and at night to honor revered Master during this time.
It is a short disance between the two houses. As I walked over there one day, I felt as if my feet were not touching the ground. I thought I should not let others see it and stopped.
Ever since, I have felt lightfooted and energetic. Everyone who knows me says that I look like a young person, which validates the Fa. When I talk to my neighbors about how good Falun Gong is, they all agree with me.
I sell waste for recycling to make a living. The people in the factory know that I practice Falun Gong and am a good person, that I never take advantage of others.
One time I sold them over 500 lbs of recyclables. Although I had never checked how much money they gave me in the past, I did so this time. I thought that they had given me more than they should, so I asked my sister-in-law to calculate what was owed. She discovered they had given me an additional 113 yuan, which I returned.
The accountant, the director, and the person who in charge of storage were all there. The accountant said, “We would have never known where the extra money went if you did not return it. We would have had to pay the money out of our own pockets.”
They wanted to give me 13 yuan for my troubles, but I would not take it. I then talked to them about the persecution of Falun Gong, and they, as well as many of the other employees, quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations.
Illiteracy No Longer a Problem
My daughter-in-law brought me a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Gong, and wanted to help me read it. I was not sure how I could ever learn to read such a thick book, because I was illiterate. I told her that I could not.
“This is not an ordinary book,” she said. “If you want to read it, you can.”
I tried to understand the characters in the book for some time and then put it away. But one day I took out Zhuan Falun and looked at it quite closely. I thought I could just somehow learn to read it. I just had that sense.
When I was a child, I took a class to learn Chinese characters but forgot almost everything. Now I felt I was remembering them again. First, I read it by myself; then I attended a group Fa-study. Whenever I had a question, I would ask fellow practitioners. I also wrote down words that I did not know and asked neighbors for help.
Strengthened by Master, I can now read all of Master's books. I can also read the Nine Commentaries of the Communist Party, Minghui Weekly, and Falun Gong truth clarifying brochures—all without reading glasses.
Sometimes when I read Zhuan Falun, the characters looked yellow. I turned to different pages and they all looked yellow. That happened for a few days. Sometimes I dreamed that I was memorizing the Fa. I know it was Master encouraging me.
