(Clearwisdom.net) I began practicing Falun Gong in 1998, when I was 69 years old, and benefited greatly. I suffered from many illnesses before I began practicing, including high blood pressure, angina, nervous headache, cervical spondylosis, lumbar spine bone hyperplasia, arthritis, and atherosclerosis. However, after I practiced Falun Gong , all my illnesses disappeared. My way of thinking also changed greatly and my xinxing improved.
Dafa Melted Away 20 Years of Deep Hatred
In 1980, I found out that my husband had been having an affair with Ms. A who lived in the same building as we did. It was so painful to learn this, and I couldn't forgive him for many years. What made it worse was that I saw Ms. A almost every day. Although my husband had already corrected his mistake, I still held a strong feeling of hatred. The thought of revenge permeated my mind.
After I began practicing Falun Gong, I studied Teacher's lecture "Teaching the Fa at the Eastern U.S. Fa Conference," where Master said,
"People are saying nowadays that women are becoming more and more liberal and their personalities are getting stronger. In fact, you aren't being driven by your kind (Shan) side. I don't think strength is necessarily reflected in a person's outward expression. If in your daily life you're like a gentle, true woman, your competence will let you have everything you deserve all the same. You don't necessarily have to express yourself in tough and manly ways to obtain those things. Do you understand what I'm getting at? (Applause) In other words, if you're a woman, you must act like one, and be kind and gentle. Only then can you gain respect and love from men. If you aren't kind and gentle, men will be afraid of you when they see you, (laughter) and you won't be able to have the love or even the family affection that you're supposed to have."
For the first time in my life, I began to look inward. In the past, I had always thought that my husband hadn't treated me fairly, but now I began wondering whether there was something wrong with my behavior. I soon realized that I was too ambitious, like a man. I paid too much attention to my work, and even went to work on Sundays and holidays while I neglected my husband and child. My husband did the washing, cooking, and the other housework. I was impetuous, careless, and lacking in generosity. I didn't take good care of him. I wasn't kind and gentle. My husband had said, "You don't act like a woman." The more I looked inside myself, the more I felt unworthy of him. I was responsible for his wrongdoings. I apologized to him sincerely and began treating him nicely. My husband was very much moved and thanked Dafa for changing me to be a better woman. He now practices Falun Gong too. I was also able to forgive Ms. A from the bottom of my heart. I talked with her, and she was very touched and said, "You Falun Gong practitioners are so nice." Since then we have gotten along well with each other. I later clarified the truth of Falun Gong to her, and she quit the Chinese Communist Party.
It is benevolent Teacher who helped me resolve the 20 years of hatred.
Getting Over Being Cheated Out of All My Money
On May 25, 2010, I was cheated of 63,000 yuan by a fraud gang. This was my life savings, and after the deception, my mind was numb. I then thought to myself, there are no accidents in a practitioner's path, nothing happens accidentally. So I looked inside and found that I was cheated of all the money I had saved because I valued money too much, and I was always afraid that I would lose it. A little loss would always lead me to great pain. It was the evil old forces who had taken advantage of my loophole of being attached to money, and created this tribulation for me, attempting to pull me down and destroy my opportunity to cultivate. Teacher said,
"...no matter how rich you are or how high your rank is, it only lasts for a few dozen years, it can't be brought with you at birth, and it can't be taken along at death." (Zhuan Falun)
Money is a worldly possession. What is yours is yours. If it is not yours, you cannot get it, no matter how hard you compete for it. No loss, no gain. What I lost was an attachment, what I gained was the uplifting of my xinxing. What Teacher taught us rang in my ears. My mind opened up and became bright, while my utmost pain from the loss of the money disappeared.
The following morning when I told my son of my realization about being attached to money, he was surprised and said, "I didn't imagine that you were so wonderful. I couldn't fall asleep last night and worried about you. I was afraid that as a nearly 80-year-old lady you might not endure this unexpected disaster. Dafa is really awesome. If you didn't practice Falun Gong, you couldn't have treated it so calmly and peacefully."
Teacher said at "Teaching the Fa at the Conference in the Midwest-U.S.,"
"In this society of practical interests and amid the emotions of the human world, it's not enough to just talk about letting go of attachments and dealing with conflicts in a way that's different from ordinary people. They have to put it into practice, and that is hard. Staying unaffected with these practical interests before them, dealing with all of it with a smile when faced with anger and hatred, and checking for one's own faults in the middle of conflicts--these are things ordinary people can't do. "
Teacher's words ring in my ears like a bell. I'm ashamed of myself that I have just now learned how to cultivate myself. I am also grateful that I finally found the golden key to open the door of cultivation.
Category: Improving Oneself
