Helping My Mother-in-Law Read the Fa

(Minghui.org) My mother-in-law was in her 60s and in poor health. She was diagnosed with pulmonary heart disease at her local hospital, so she came to live with us in September 2009.

She often coughed up heavy phlegm, had rapid heartbeats up to120 beats per minute, poor breathing, dizziness, general weakness, and no appetite.

Modern medical treatment could not cure her illnesses. Doctors treated her with antibiotics, sedatives, asthma/cough relieving medicine, and many others. These treatments became less effective over time. She tried Chinese medicine, but it did not help either.

I watched as her illnesses became worse and she suffered more. I felt bad for her and wanted to help. I practice Falun Dafa, and suggested that she read Zhuan Falun with me. She said, “I only went to school up to the second grade.”

I told her, “You can listen to Master Li's Fa lecture recording.” She said she did not understand Mandarin. I felt defeated. Later, I said, “Then, how about I read a sentence of the book, and then you repeat what I read?” She reluctantly agreed.

Off to a Rocky Start

We began with reading, “On Dafa.” I read the first sentence and she started to repeat what I said, then her coughing began. She went to the bathroom and coughed and spit up for a while. She blew her nose, washed her hands, and came out wiping her eyes.

She sipped some water and began to read again. The coughing started up, and she once again went to the bathroom. I followed her, and saw she coughed up a thick, dark phlegm.

When she finished I said, “Mom, let’s try again and take it slow. We will just read a couple of characters at a time.”

She agreed and we began to read. After a couple of characters the coughing resumed. This pattern continued.

An hour passed and we had only read a few lines. I was frustrated and tired. I also became irritable and anxious, thinking, “At this rate, when will we ever finish?” I knew I could have been halfway through the Fa lecture if I was reading by myself. This was taking up a lot of my time.

My Compassion Grows 

When I stood up and was about to leave, Master’s teaching echoed in my mind,

“Of course, in practicing cultivation in ordinary human society, we should respect parents and educate our children. Under all circumstances, we must be good and kind to others, not to mention to our family members. We should treat everyone in the same way. We must be good to our parents and children and be considerate of others in all respects. Such a heart is thus unselfish, and it is a heart of kindness and benevolence.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)

I wondered, “Was I being compassionate to my mother-in-law? She had been suffering for so long, and I was anxious to finish with her so I could go about my business.”

I was being selfish. I also remembered that cultivating Dafa cured me of all the suffering I once had. Compassionate thoughts came to my mind. Looking at her coming out of the bathroom wiping her tears, I felt my own eyes tear up.

I made up my mind, “No matter how long it takes, I will help her read Zhuan Falun.”

My Improvement 

We continued our reading of “On Dafa”. She read a couple of characters each time. In the following days, although she still had to hurry to the bathroom after reading only a couple characters, and although I still heard her coughing, spitting, and blowing her nose, I stopped being anxious, and calmed my mind.

While waiting for her, I read a couple paragraphs of the Fa and when she came back, I helped her to read a couple characters of the Fa again. Every day, after we finished housework and meals, we kept reading together like this.

We read character-by-character, sentence-by-sentence, paragraph-by-paragraph, and lecture-by-lecture. My mind became calmer and calmer, and I had let go of my anxiety.

Gradually and persistently, to our surprise, we finished reading the entire book. I originally thought that I was helping my mother-in-law read Zhuan Falun, however, I soon realized that she helped me eliminate my anxiety.

My Mother-in-Law Improves

Furthermore, the phlegm my mother-in-law coughed up had become thinner and lighter, and coughing it up was getting easier on her.

We were both pleased with our progress. I continued to encourage her, “Mom, you are strong. During these long 92 days, you have persistently read the Fa with me and finished the book. I am happy for you. Let's keep working diligently together!”

This experience happened nearly 10 years ago, and yet it is still clear in my mind as if it just occurred. Master was helping and strengthening us.