The Best Present

(Minghui.org) My aunt grew up observing Chinese traditions. She had little education but was simple, kind, and believed in the divine. When she was young, she often went to local temples to pray. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took over and launched a series of political movements, the power struggles and how people who opposed the CCP were tortured terrorized her and scarred her psyche. However, she became a firm supporter of the CCP and thought anything it disapproved of was bad.

My mother and my aunt were best friends. During the holidays, they often went to temples together. Members of their families helped each other and got along well.

My mother began practicing Falun Dafa and stopped going to the temples because she felt that most of them just wanted money. She told my aunt about Falun Dafa and suggested that she stop going to the temples.

After the persecution started in 1999, the CCP mobilized its nationwide propaganda machines to slander Falun Dafa and Master Li. Any practitioners who spoke up to clarify the truth were arrested, incarcerated, and tortured. In those days, terror blanketed China, and people were afraid to even mention Falun Dafa.

My mother went to Beijing to stand up for Falun Dafa and was incarcerated when she refused to give up her faith. Many of her family members were threatened and implicated because she practiced Falun Dafa.

The day my mother was released, she was in a coma. She couldn’t straighten her spine and weighed about 60 lbs (27 kg). Seeing that her sister was on the verge of death, my aunt broke down and cried. We later learned that the guards force-fed my mother and beat her so severely that her spine was deformed. They gave her drugs that damaged her nerves and caused her to become incoherent and lose her memory. Because she believed the CCP’s propaganda and was afraid my aunt did not think the persecution was evil. She blamed Falun Dafa for my mother’s suffering and resented my her for not giving up her faith.

To everyone’s surprise, my mother survived the mistreatment and recovered. She practiced the exercises and quickly became healthy, and started clarifying the truth to people using her experience as an example of how the CCP treated Falun Dafa practitioners.

My mother’s continuing the practice angered my aunt. She genuinely resented my mother and berated her, “You just can’t stop talking about Falun Dafa. Why do you have to do what the government doesn’t allow? You have dragged our family into this, and you are selfish.” She told others that my mother would die if she were arrested again.

My mother knew that my aunt endured a lot and the CCP’s persecution and propaganda caused her to misunderstand Falun Dafa. My mother clarified the truth to my aunt whenever she could. At first, my aunt scolded her and told her to shut up. She refused to read any Falun Dafa flyers. My mother persisted and eventually my aunt stopped interrupting her when she spoke. She accepted the pretty Falun Dafa pendants my mother gave her.

My aunt was hospitalized for surgery that had a high possibility of failure. I went to the hospital and gave her a Falun Dafa amulet. I told her to recite the phrases “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” She gladly took the amulet, and said aloud, “Yes, I remember, Falun Dafa is good’ and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” The surgery was successful, and she quickly recovered.

My aunt’s attitude toward Falun Dafa improved after that. She went from vigorously opposing it to reminding my mother to stay safe. When she saw my mother with other practitioners, she no longer loudly berated them.

One Chinese New Year, I visited my aunt with presents, including a Minghui New Year’s calendar. After I handed her the calendar and a red envelope of money, she held the calendar to her heart but returned the money to me, saying, “I won’t take your money. This calendar is the best present!”

Tears filled my eyes—after decades she finally realized Falun Dafa is good.