(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa cultivation teaches us the reason for being here and about life. We also know that being able to cultivate in Falun Dafa is a precious opportunity of the ages, and the time we have is fleeting. With the Fa rectification approaching its final stage, I sincerely hope that my family members can study the Fa and withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations. The purpose of this article is to share my experiences with elderly Dafa practitioners regarding promoting Dafa with my family of my husband, two daughters and a son.
I could not even recognize my own written name before I began studying the Fa. I went to Fa study daily, came back home, and asked my husband or my children about the words that I didn't know. They would tell me what those words meant, but I would soon forget. I thought that it would be great if someone in my family could study the Fa with me. During dinner I told them how wonderful Dafa is, and how Dafa had cured my illness. We ended up saving a lot of money that would otherwise go to medical bills and avoided a lot of burdens. "That is why I think all of you should study the Fa with me." My husband and children told me at the same time, "If you think Dafa is good, then you can practice, but we have to go to work!" I was then a new Dafa practitioner and did not understand the Fa too well, so I could not address their specific arguments, but I realized that I could not convince them, either. I had to do this by learning the words one by one. It was up to Master whether or not one would receive Dafa.
I first asked my younger daughter for help with Fa study. I asked her for one word, and she would tell me that one. I told her that I would understand better if she could read the whole paragraph to me. She was reluctant, but did it anyway. When she started reading, she was too sleepy to continue. My daughter has a short temper, but is otherwise a capable and caring person. To accommodate her personality, I told her that many people were at the Fa study group and I was the one left behind because I could not read. She asked, "How many people don't know how to read?" "Three," I said, "But they have strong family support. Their children would study the Fa with them, but I don't have this opportunity." When she heard that, she brought the book Zhuan Falun, sat with me and started reading slowly so that I could hear well. After a while I asked her to read another Dafa book and she did. We kept to this kind of Fa study for about twenty days. We had completed Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa and Zhuan Falun Vol. II.
One day when we were studying the book Falun Buddha Fa - Lectures in the United States, my daughter stopped at a section where a practitioner had a question for Master regarding the Qi-mechanism. "What is the matter?" I asked. She paused for a bit and said, "Hey, Mom, I saw purple lights on top of black printed words. They were flickering!" She also told me that after we studied the section regarding the third eye in the book Zhuan Falun a couple of days ago, she felt as if she were flying when she lay down that day, exactly like the book had described. It was a fleeting sensation and stopped after a while, but she could not control what was happening. She had this kind of experience three times. I was so glad to hear what she had experienced and told her, "Master has been taking care of you. You should follow me and cultivate in Dafa from now on." Each day before work, she had an assignment for me to be able to read one paragraph correctly from a Dafa book. She also reminded my husband to help me, in case I missed the words. I was very confident about my understanding of the Fa and confident that my daughter was closer to Dafa.
The power of Dafa has no limits. I had a feeling that my husband was closer to Dafa as well. He constantly asked me some questions regarding Dafa. I would encourage him to find the solution from the Dafa book and asked him to read a paragraph to me from time to time. Over time, my husband also started Dafa study.
I started approaching my son and asked him to read the Dafa book to me. After several attempts he lost his patience. I pretended that I was angry and said, "We saved every penny for your college education, yet you don't have any patience with me when I ask you for one word. You must get up and read this paragraph for me!" He saw that I was serious and smiled, "Sorry, mother. Don't be angry. I will read the book to you." After reading the Dafa book for a while, my son also recognized the goodness of Dafa.
My older daughter was married and lived elsewhere. I frequently visited her and told her that her sister and Dad had joined me in Falun Gong practice. I told her, "You are the only one left, and you have poor health. Falun Gong can cure many diseases. It would be good for your health if you practiced Falun Gong. Look at me! My chronic headaches are gone and I am very healthy." "Give me some time to think about it," said my daughter.
After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, my younger daughter and I continued practicing Falun Gong. My husband practiced occasionally, but not diligently. My son gave up Falun Gong because of the deception from the wicked authorities, but he did not interfere with my cultivation. My older daughter did the same. I had asked her several times to study the Fa but was not successful, and some of our conversations did not end pleasantly. For a long time I avoided the subject and instead told her about the benefits I've received and the persecution that practitioners were enduring.
I told her about the difficult situation many practitioners were in and said to her, "We have to protect the Dafa books. Could you help us to hide some Dafa books?" She agreed and helped me to pack a bag of Dafa books and Master's pictures, and placed them in a safe place. Later on, whenever there was one of Master's new articles, I would ask her to help me keep it safe. She would keep it but not read or study the article. I asked my younger daughter to go and talk to her. She did and it worked. My older daughter had expressed interest, but was reluctant to put effort into it unless she was frequently reminded. Her attitude remained this way until late 2004.
In late 2004, both my daughters went back to my hometown for a relative's funeral. On their return, my younger daughter wanted to do the Falun Gong exercises because she did not feel well. When we were practicing the second set of the exercises, I felt that I could not move and a strong white light shone upon me. My younger daughter saw that each of us was wrapped in a piece of long, white fabric. After a while the white fabric became a small red wheel, turned for a few seconds and disappeared. She also saw a black substance jumping out of her older sister's body and vanishing into the ground.
It was my older daughter's first day of practicing Falun Gong. She felt really good and did not want to stop. That day she suddenly became awakened. She was making gradual improvements in Fa cultivation. The more she studied the Fa , the more she understood. She complained that we had not talked about Dafa to her enough and reminded her more frequently, and that she had squandered several years that could have been used for cultivation.
I was extremely gratified that my two granddaughters also began Dafa practice. One day, my son returned as we were sending righteous thoughts as a family. He pushed open the door and after a while he said, "Falun Gong is amazing. Look at this! All the people in this room are Dafa practitioners, including the children!" I responded, "Not only that, your Dad is about to join the practice, and your brother-in-law has withdrawn from the Communist Party and its affiliated organizations. They are moving towards Dafa. You are the only one left, and you showed up at the door!" My son declared his intention to withdraw from the Communist Party and its affiliated organizations on that same day.
One might think that they have just begun and there is not enough time left, but I disagree. Master taught us, "In other words, two stages follow Dafa's introduction to the public." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Fa Conference")
Putting effort into helping family members to practice Falun Gong is not an attachment if we can do so with a high level of xinxing. We need to use the wisdom that the Fa has given us to inspire our families' Buddha nature. We can help them to awaken and choose a bright future for themselves.
