(Minghui.org) I was incarcerated in a forced labor camp for my belief in Falun Dafa when my son got married in 2002.
My daughter-in-law and her mother came to see me with our eight-month-old grandson after I was released in 2003. I had lost a lot of weight because I had been tortured in the labor camp. My hair had turned gray, so my daughter-in-law dyed it and asked me to rest.
I quickly resumed my regular cultivation routine – reading the Dafa teachings and doing the exercises every day. I joined other practitioners to clarify the truth about Dafa. Within a week, my health was restored, and my facial complexion became rosy again.
People who knew me commented, “You look like you'd never been incarcerated, and no medicine would've been able to help you regain your physical health so quickly. No wonder you refuse to give in to the government oppression and renounce Falun Dafa!”
Both my daughter-in-law and her mother were impressed with my quick recovery. They are both very supportive of my cultivating in Dafa. In fact, my daughter-in-law told me that she thought that I was very kind, and different from other people when she first met me. She still decided to marry my son, despite knowing that it comes with the risk of being implicated in the persecution against my faith by the Chinese communist regime.
Tests for Mind and Body
During the days when I was incarcerated, my daughter-in-law's mother took care of our grandson. Since she was very busy with her hot-pot restaurant, I offered to watch our grandson after I was released.
My daughter-in-law also owned a restaurant. Since she believed in “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” she received blessings from Dafa, and her business was booming.
I didn’t only cook for her and my son but also cooked for her 10 employees. I also did all the other household chores for the entire family. At night, I woke up two to three times to feed the baby. Yet, I still found time to catch up on reading the Dafa teachings, doing the exercises, and sending forth righteous thoughts. I also produced Dafa informational materials at night, which I would distribute while grocery shopping.
Young people are picky eaters and like to waste food, so I ate the staff's leftover food every day.
Teacher said,
“If one does not have any attachment, it is fine to eat just about anything to fill the stomach..” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
I felt my xinxing was elevating, and I didn’t complain about all the work I was responsible for each day.
Teacher said,
“The more the junior monk suffers, the easier it is for him to achieve the Unlocking of Gong.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
Although I had little time to rest each night, I was very energetic during the day.
Once my daughter-in-law asked me to wash her dirty underwear. I hesitated for a moment but immediately realized that being a Dafa practitioner, I must be compassionate. My daughter-in-law was too busy to do her own laundry, so I washed it for her without complaint.
On another occasion, my daughter-in-law asked me to cook amaranth soup for my grandson every day, although he liked to eat the vegetable porridge I made for him. I told her that simmering amaranth for a long time in water would destroy its nutrients, but she still insisted, so I did what she asked.
One of her employees later told her that it was unnecessary to cook this way and that she wasn’t being considerate of me. I thought that my daughter-in-law would get upset, but instead, she apologized to me. I felt happy that I passed this test and had not argued with her.
Letting Go of Resentment
After we moved back to our hometown, my daughter-in-law often came to see us. She wanted everything to be clean at all times and was very particular about the food she ate. Therefore, I started to resent her lifestyle and blamed her for suffering from a severe “mysophobia.”
One day, my daughter-in-law told me, “Mom, don’t just sweep the floor in the middle of the room--do the corners and under the furniture as well. Over time, dust and garbage will accumulate in the corners and it's unsanitary.” While nodding my head to pretend to agree with her, I thought to myself, “Is this the way you should talk to your elders?” I even wished that she would stop coming to see us from then on.
Soon after that, I began to have severe back pain and saw fresh blood in my stool several times a day. It appeared that I had uremia, which should be treated right away.
I'd suffered from a variety of illnesses before I became a practitioner, but my health was restored after cultivating. However, now the symptoms of some of the illnesses suddenly recurred. After many years of cultivating in Dafa, I had been very healthy. I knew that I must have done something wrong.
My daughter-in-law asked me to clean my house thoroughly. Teacher must have used her to send me this hint that cultivation is like cleaning up the house and that I shouldn't just pay attention to the surface. After that enlightenment, I regretted resenting my daughter-in-law!
Teacher said,
“Not only should you not compete and fight like him, but also you should not resent that person in your heart. Really, you should not hate that person. If you hate that person, aren’t you upset? You have not followed forbearance. We practice Zhen-Shan-Ren, and you would have even less compassion so to speak of.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
As I had trouble standing because of the back pain, I knelt before Teacher's portrait to admit my mistakes and promised that I would always remember that as a Dafa cultivator, I must rid myself of all resentment and cultivate diligently.
Chilly air left my body, and the pain was lessened right away. About an hour later, the blood in my stool stopped, and my body quickly returned to normal. It was indeed true that genuine Dafa cultivators are being looked after by Teacher!
I explained to my daughter-in-law the cause for my physical problems, and she replied, “Dafa practitioners are indeed different. I wish my mother were like you!”
She told me that her mother had a bad temper, and did not get along with her brother and his wife. In fact, my temper was not good before I practiced Dafa. It was the teachings of Dafa that had taught me to put others before myself. I knew that I would have had conflicts with my daughter-in-law had I not cultivated in Dafa.
Daughter-in-law's Mother
My daughter-in-law brought her mother to stay with us for a few days and told her mother to practice Falun Dafa with me.
After she left, she told me that her daughter often spoke highly of me whenever she went to see her. Our grandson had also been very healthy after we took care of him. I gave her the book Zhuan Falun to read and taught her the exercises. After reading a few pages, she said that the book was very good—her back did not hurt as much and she felt refreshed.
Every year on the ninth day of the lunar Chinese New Year, my in-laws host a banquet for family and friends. She and I clarified the facts of Dafa to their guests and helped them quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
