(Minghui.org) My granddaughter Zizi was born in 2007, the year I was illegally detained and sentenced to an eight-year term for my spiritual beliefs.
When I was released from prison in 2015, Zizi was well over 6 years old. But she still needed a grownup to help her eat or get dressed and would stay in bed when it was time to get ready for school. She also had a bad temper and would scream and yell, saying, “I am not going to listen to you guys, so what can you do about it?” Her parents were helpless and did not know what to do.
Zizi was no different when dealing with me. She was very stubborn. Sometimes she would stretch out her arms in an attempt to block me. At other times she would run to me and raise her arms as if she wanted to be carried, but take off the moment I got near her.
While I was illegally detained, my husband passed away. My daughter was scared and felt hopeless during that time. Under the guidance of someone else, she started to believe in Buddhism. My daughter instilled her religious beliefs in Zizi.
My daughter and her husband would often quarrel and argue. After arguing, my son-in-law would get a really bad headache. I told him to sincerely recite, “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” When Zizi heard me, she reminded her father, “Dad, we believe in the Buddha school, not in the Fa.” Instead of fighting with her, I thought that I needed to awaken the conscience of this young sentient being.
My daughter got divorced in 2016, and I started to look after Zizi. I played the story of “The Red Eyed Lion” for her to watch. When she saw that the people were being washed away by the flood, she asked, “Grandma, why are those people being washed away by the flood?” I told her it was because they did not believe that God could protect them! Zizi said that she believed in God. I held Zizi in my arms and said, “Zizi you are a good kid.” From then on, Zizi and I became closer.
I would read cultivation stories, and Zizi listened. I told her that Falun Dafa teaches you to become a better person. I said, “Just look at your mother, she believes in Buddhahood, and yet she still argues with your father every day. If she cultivated Falun Dafa, followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and endured a little more, your mother would not argue with your father and they would not get a divorce.”
Zizi agreed. I said, “Then, you should always recite ‘Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!’” She started to recite those words and also told her friends to recite them.
I taught Zizi how to memorize and recite Hong Yin and, when it was just the two of us she would start reciting. At times when we were taking a stroll, she would remind me, “Let’s recite Hong Yin.” We would take turns reciting, sentence after sentence.
Zizi started to change. She would dress herself, eat by herself, and no longer refuse to get out of bed. She started to listen to the adults, and when Zizi’s father saw the change in her he asked how come she was now listening to her grandmother without yelling and fighting.
When I got ready to go back home, Zizi asked me why I had to leave. I told her that there was much for me to do at home. She said, “I am a Dafa disciple too, can you tell me what you have to do?” I told her about clarifying the truth to awaken people’s conscience. When I was not with her, she stored my belongings in a safe place and waited for me to come back.
Once, my daughter said something that hurt me deeply. Although I did not say anything, I felt really uncomfortable and it showed on my face. Zizi said that I had told her that Dafa practitioners don’t get angry, so why did I get angry? After I explained, she said, “You are a cultivator and my mother isn’t. It is not the same.” At the moment, I felt relieved and said, “You’re right, you’re right, I am a Dafa disciple and I shouldn’t get angry.” Zizi stayed close by me as she smiled with tears in her eyes.
I looked at Zizi and pondered. A child’s image of a Dafa practitioner is always so clear. I need to do better. From then on, when I encountered any tribulations with my daughter, I would first remember that I am a Dafa practitioner and that I should not be moved by her words.
During holidays I took Zizi to Fa study groups. She would read word by word, sentence by sentence, and could recognize many Chinese characters. When we returned home I said, “Zizi, you have studied the Fa with us today and you are a Dafa disciple. Would you like to say anything to Master?” She thought for a minute and said, “I do not want nightmares anymore, and I do not want the police to arrest my grandmother.” After hearing what she said, I was really happy for her. This young sentient being had already been immersed in Dafa and had completely changed.
At times Zizi would ask, “What is organ harvesting? What is self-immolation?” I would tell her about the organ harvesting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has carried out against practitioners and about the staged self-immolation, set up by the CCP to frame Falun Gong. She would be so angry and say, “The CCP is too evil, it needs to be eliminated!”
One day, Zizi saw me correcting some characters in Dafa books, and asked, “Grandma, why are you correcting Dafa books?” I started to tell her why. I said, “Look at the word ‘進’ (meaning to come in) which is originally written like this (in traditional Chinese, it is made of the Chinese characters for ‘walk’ and ‘fine’). The character literally means to walk to a better place. But the CCP wanted to simplify Chinese characters so they changed it to ‘进’ ( which is made up of walk and well in Chinese characters) which actually means to walk right into a well. Won’t we drown if we stumble right into a well? The CCP wants to destroy mankind and only Dafa truly guides people to be better.” Zizi said, “Grandma, the CCP is too evil!” She also started telling her classmates about the meaning behind those words.
One time when I was cleaning the coffee table, my daughter came over and told me I did not clean it properly. She started to reprimand me and got louder and angrier. I remained calm and did not take it to heart. Zizi walked right in front of me and gave me a thumbs up. She softly said, “Grandma, my mother is giving us virtue so we can go back home quicker.” I asked, “Which home?” She said, “The home up in the heavens!” Both of us started to laugh.
One day Zizi said, “Grandma, the heavens do not tolerate the CCP and its destruction is justified by the heavens.” I replied, “Do you know what justified by heavens means?” Zizi said, “I know, it means that the heavens have already planned it from the beginning.” I smiled and said, “Zizi, you are very intelligent.”
Zizi would also help her classmates quit the CCP and its youth organizations. She would say, “There is an organization that needs you to fight for them, will you do it?” Her classmate said, “Yes, of course!” Zizi said, “What if you need to fight for them your entire life?” Her classmate said, “I would still do it!” Zizi asked again, “What if you have to go on the battlefield?” Her classmate replied, “I would still do it!” Zizi continued asking, “What if you die on the battlefield?” Her classmate replied, “No, I do not want to do it if I have to die!” Zizi said, “Since you won’t do it, you should quit that organization.”
Recently my daughter hurt her back and was bedridden. She needed assistance at all times and as a result she was constantly asking me to get things for her. In addition to being by her side all day, I still needed to find time to study the Fa. When Zizi saw me, she said, “Grandma, when my mother calls for you next time, I can go take her the things she needs. You can help if she needs assistance to get up. This way, you will have more time to study the Fa!” I was very touched and said, “Thank you Zizi, you are all grown up now!”
One time Zizi and I went to the supermarket, and we saw one yuan (Chinese currency) on the ground. She passed by the one yuan as if she did not see it. Later when I asked her, “Why didn’t you pick up the one yuan?” She said, “It does not belong to me.” I said, “Good job Zizi, we should not take things that do not belong to us. You did the right thing.”
I would use my cellphone to set an alarm for sending righteous thoughts. Whenever my cellphone alarm rings, Zizi would remind me to send righteous thoughts and she would turn off her storybook audio. One time she reminded me it was time to send righteous thoughts, but because I was in the middle of doing something I did not send righteous thoughts immediately. Zizi said, “What could be more important than sending righteous thoughts? If you do not come here now, I won’t play with you anymore.” I realized that this was Master enlightening me. I said, “Thank you Zizi, I was wrong.”
With regard to the CCP Virus (Wuhan coronavirus) epidemic, I told Zizi, “This epidemic is targeting the bad people, and the good people are safe. The good people are those who support Dafa and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” After listening to what I’ve said, Zizi told my daughter, “Mommy, we shouldn’t be afraid of the epidemic. My grandmother said it targeted the bad guys. Mommy, you support what grandma practices, don’t you? If you do, you are a good person.” My daughter did not say anything. Zizi said, “My mother did not say anything, so we don’t need to be afraid anymore.” Zizi told me secretly, “Wouldn’t it be great if my mother would practice Falun Dafa!”
My daughter has a stainless steel thermos. One time I used it to store water and my daughter told me not to use it because it rusts very easily. I did not use this thermos again. However, I realized that at times Zizi liked using this thermos. I told Zizi not to use it as it rusts easily. Zizi said, “I like using this thermos because it does not spill when I am trying to pour water out.” I let this matter slip by.
One time, my daughter saw that there was water in the thermos and she yelled, “Mother, didn’t I tell you not to use this thermos? Why did you insist on using it?” I did not try to explain nor say anything and Zizi was at my side. She said, “Grandmother did not use that thermos, I used it.” I praised Zizi for telling the truth and told her that young Dafa practitioners should conduct themselves this way. Zizi was very happy that I praised her.
Zizi is 10 years old now. She is very independent and is able to go to school by herself. She also helps her mother with household chores like mopping the floor, drying the laundry, folding the laundry, and some cleaning. She will also cook for herself when her mother gets too busy. She never gets sick and smiles all day. Everyone likes to be around Zizi. At the end of the semester she received the “Excellent Student Award.”
The words “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” are deeply embedded in her heart, and those words will remain with her for years to come.