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What Does It Mean to Be Truly Filial?

September 07, 2018 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in China

(Minghui.org) My mother and I are both Falun Dafa practitioners. In 2014, she was diagnosed with late-stage cervical carcinoma. This news was very difficult for my father. He became very frustrated. I was just about to graduate and, by default, became the main decision maker in my family.

My relatives put a lot of pressure on me to seek ordinary treatment for my mom. Under this pressure, I decided she would start radiation chemotherapy treatment. However, due to a physical issue, my mother could not continue the treatment. The doctor just prescribed some nutritional medicine for her liver and kidney.

My aunt also practices Falun Dafa. She and I stayed very close to my mom during that period of time. We practiced the Dafa exercises every day and used all our spare time to study the Fa and send forth righteous thoughts. Within two months of her diagnosis, my mom miraculously recovered. A six-inch tumor disappeared and the problem with her kidney vanished.

Her doctor just couldn’t believe it. She figured that there had been a mistake in her original diagnosis. But all my relatives and family knew that it was our great Master, Mr, Li Hongzhi (the founder) and Dafa that saved my mom’s life and offered her a second chance. But due to the persecution of Falun Dafa by the Chinese Communist Party, my family members were too afraid to speak out about the real reason she had recovered.

Challenges During her Recovery

During the process of her recovery, I underwent several tests. As the patient’s “primary caretaker,” I had to read all kinds of medical reports about my mom’s condition and listen to the doctor as she described how advanced the cancer was and how low her chance of survival was. When she told me the first time, I just ignored her and sent righteous thoughts. I held the thought “Only Master can make decisions for Dafa disciples.”

Listening to my father and relatives' criticism of my decisions on how to handle my mom’s condition was also a major trial for me. I was under huge pressure to take the ordinary way of treating the symptoms. My behavior, in turn, was not consistent with the requirement of a Dafa disciple. As a result, my father became furious at me and said that I was not nice and did not treat our relatives well.

When my aunt and mother became aware that I was having trouble holding up under the pressure, they studied the Fa with me. During our study, I found my loophole: When I was with my mom in the hospital, I acted out of line with Dafa.

When relatives and friends came to visit her, they tried to give us some money. But I refused it and said my mom was healthy. When the doctor described her illness, I refused to look at her. I quietly sent righteous thoughts, so the doctor wondered why I looked so dull and had no response to such grave news about my mom. When my uncle delivered a meal for my mom, I was indifferent. I acted like I just wanted him to leave so we could study the Fa.

My actions were really negative towards people during that time, This caused me to not be considered a filial daughter by my family or the hospital staff. Once I realized it, I felt regret and realized that my responses might have caused those people to have negative thoughts towards Dafa.

I sincerely apologized to my father and uncle who had brought the meal for my mother. After things settled down, I cultivated my compassion and improved myself through more Fa-study and sending forth righteous thoughts.

I realized the true filial standard should be measured by the Fa, not an ordinary person's standards. If I had taken the ordinary way to treat my mom’s cancer, they would have considered me a very devoted daughter. But once I corrected my own behavior and exhibited the compassion required of practitioners, I could focus more on restoring harmony in our family.