(Clearwisdom.net) Before practicing Falun Gong, I suffered from hypertension, gastric diseases and arthritis. Due to congestion in my tear ducts, I had excessive tear production all year round and had to go to the hospital twice a week for treatment. However, there was nothing the doctors could do to relieve my pain. Then in December 1997, I fortunately learned of Falun Gong. The first time I read Zhuan Falun, my whole body felt warm and the overproduction of tears immediately stopped. After that, I could not stop reading this wonderful book. My menstrual period also resumed after three months of practicing Falun Gong. I became really energetic, not easily fatigued, and my health improved dramatically. At that time I was 60 years old, but people thought I was only fifty.
Four generations of my family live together. My mother-in-law is ninety years old. She has the habit of sleeping during the day and disturbing others at night. She could not go to the bathroom on her own and often wet her pants. At first, my husband did not object to my practicing Falun Gong. However, after July 20, 1999, he feared that I might be imprisoned and would often beat or scold me. To prevent me from having time to do the exercises, study Zhuan Falun, send righteous thoughts, and clarify the facts, he made me responsible for all the household chores, everything from preparing meals three times a day for our big family, sending my grandson to kindergarten and picking him up, and taking care of my mother-in-law was all on my shoulders. I had to get up before 6 a.m. and work until after 9 p.m. every day. As a result, I have not gotten more than three to four hours sleep each night since I began practicing Falun Gong eight years ago. I get up at 2 a.m. every day to study the Fa; do the exercises; and distribute, paste and hang truth clarification posters and banners. After accomplishing all these things, I usually find my family still sound asleep upon my return. Since I pay attention to sending righteous thoughts, I always come home safely. I usually find time to exchange experiences with fellow practitioners during the family's naptime. In the past eight years, I have never once felt tired. For me to have this kind of endurance would be simply impossible if I did not practice Falun Gong. Teacher gave me a healthy body, and I must do well what I should do.
Seeing that I still had energy to spare, my husband increased my daily chores. In the summer of 2003, the weather became unusually hot, over 40 degrees Celsius, and persisted for nearly three months. My husband would invite friends over every weekend to play mahjong, and I had to prepare and serve them meals and water. This made my schedule even tighter, yet I still managed to cope. Many fellow practitioners were outraged by the unjust treatment I received at home and advised me to clarify the facts to my family. If the situation did not improve, they proposed that I move out and live by myself. However, if I chose to leave my family, all my relatives and neighbors would think that I was selfish and that I only cared for myself. This would have had a negative effect on Dafa. So I endured everything quietly. My mother-in-law continued to lose her ability to care for herself, and the house began to smell of excrement. My husband wanted to send her to his brother's home in the countryside. However, I was concerned with the living conditions there and insisted on keeping my mother-in-law in the house, even if it meant I had to spend more time taking care of her.
Now my mother-in-law understands the truth about Falun Gong and always tells others that I am a good daughter-in-law. She also said to me, "Your Teacher taught you well!" Afterwards, when she saw me get up at two in the morning, she would say, "You are going to do the exercises so I won't disturb you. I will go to sleep." My husband no longer beats or scolds me, and I can openly study the Fa and do the exercises at home. In the past I would have to hide in the bathroom to send righteous thoughts or my husband would interfere. I now send righteous thoughts in my room. The practitioner who told me to leave my husband said to me, "You did a wonderful job! You persisted in being compassionate and tolerant. By doing so you changed the environment and helped your family see the truth about Falun Gong. My suggestion was due to my own competitive mentality and attachment to comfort. I should learn more from you."
I had the symptoms of a stroke twice during the eight years of my cultivation. The first time it happened I was at home. My mouth suddenly twisted towards one side, my right hand had difficulty holding a cup and my right leg could not sustain my weight. I immediately thought to myself, "I practice Falun Gong, and the evil dares not interfere with my body. Leave at once!" I also repeated in my mind, "One righteous mind can subdue one hundred evils." We had not yet learned to send righteous thoughts back then. After fifteen minutes, everything returned to normal and I continued with my chores.
The second time I was at a practitioner's home sharing experiences. Half of my body was paralyzed, and my mouth again twisted to one side. I said to myself, "Nothing will happen to me. Do not bring trouble to other practitioners. I must get home." Dragging one leg behind me, I finally made it home with another practitioner's help. On my way back, I continued to repeat in my mind, "A Falun Dafa disciple must stand up. Nothing will happen to me. One righteous mind can subdue one hundred evils." I dropped onto the bed when I got home but my mind remained righteous. Like the previous time, I realized that this was the evil persecuting me. Hence I thought to myself, "I will not be scared of the evil. I am a Falun Dafa disciple!" Indeed, in half an hour I recovered my mobility, got out of bed, and began to cook dinner.
Because my family was poor, I was given to a foster family when I was young. My foster father lived all by himself after my foster mother died. Three years ago, he developed severe hypertension, rendering him unable to care for himself. I visited often to help him and told him to say, "Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good." Each morning and night, he would stand at the porch and say these two phrases sincerely from his heart. Approximately one month later, he amazingly recovered from his ailment and continues to say these phrases each day. He is now over ninety years old and is still able to climb up and down six flights of stairs each day to go out and get groceries. He is fully capable of taking care of himself, and I need only to help him with laundry once in a while. Before the Chinese New Year of 2005, my foster father was diagnosed with a vertebral compression fracture. The doctor said that he needed to stay in bed for at least three months; however, he fully recovered in just one month. My family all witnessed these wonderful transformations brought about by Dafa and, through these incidents, gained a better understanding of Dafa.
After the Chinese New Year, my two sisters-in-law, my fourth brother and my biological brother fell ill one after the other and were admitted to the hospital. I experienced the greatest hardships since the beginning of my cultivation. Never did I have to shoulder so many things at one time. First, my 50-year-old second sister-in-law broke her left leg in three places. I told her to say, "Falun Dafa is Good," "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good" and to read Zhuan Falun. She was considered a miracle in the bone traumatology department for regaining the ability to walk without aid in just two months. Now both my second brother and sister-in-law practice Falun Gong. My third sister-in-law, who was also about 50, developed pancreatic cancer in 2004. Several large hospitals were unable to treat her illness. During that time, she began reading Zhuan Falun because of my efforts to clarify the facts to her. In December 2004, the hospital asked a physician from another town to operate on her. Before the operation, the doctor explained to us the risks of this surgery, and so her husband and daughter kept repeating sincerely the words, "Falun Dafa is Good," and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good" throughout the eight-hour surgery. After regaining consciousness, she herself also began saying these two phrases. After the surgery, she was able to leave the intensive care unit after three days, when normally it would take approximately a week. She left the hospital in 24 days. After three days at home, she was able to take the bus to the hospital by herself for medication. The doctor said with amazement, "This is truly a miracle!" My sister-in-law is now completely recovered. Her whole family has attained the Fa and has hung a picture of Master in their house. My fourth brother was hit by a bus on December 5, 2004. He was unconscious, had multiple fractures, and his pupils were dilated. The doctors all thought his chances of surviving were slim. Hearing the news, his wife and daughter broke into tears. That evening I began reading Dafa materials to my brother, and he regained consciousness after four days. I also told him to say, "Falun Dafa is good." He had a leg surgery on the seventh day. All of his family kept repeating, "Falun Dafa is good," and my brother came out of surgery safely. Now their whole family studies the Fa.
My biological brother living in the countryside contracted pneumonia, but recovered swiftly also by saying, "Falun Dafa is good." He had a full recovery in just half a month in the hospital and subsequently began practicing Falun Gong. Now all my relatives thank Falun Dafa for saving their lives and for their receiving both mental and physical benefits from practicing. All my relatives have declared their withdrawals from the Communist Party, the Communist Youth League and the Young Pioneers. At that time I had to run between two hospitals and four wards several times a day to deliver meals. My fatigue was unimaginable, but I was comforted by the thought that so many people were being saved by Dafa. I thank Teacher from the bottom of my heart, and I feel so happy for my relatives.
For the 2005 Chinese New Year, I chose to paste outside our door the couplets, "Keep Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in one's heart, great fortune will accompany those who are kind." My husband did not have any objections, but my daughter-in-law was afraid. I told her firmly that nothing would happen. Indeed, when the residents' committee director came to call on us three times, he never mentioned a word about the couplets.
During the course of my cultivation, countless miracles brought me to safety in the face of danger. All I did was follow Teacher's teachings in doing what I should do, and Teacher helped me with the rest. In fact, I did complain and cry about the unjust treatment I received at home. Sometimes I even felt that cultivation was just too difficult. Now, looking back on my journey, all the tribulations seem like nothing. Just as Teacher said,
"When you are overcoming a real hardship or tribulation, you try it. When it is difficult to endure, try to endure it. When it looks impossible and is said to be impossible, give it a try and see if it is possible. If you can actually do it, you will indeed find: After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!" (Zhuan Falun)