(Minghui.org) My husband and I had different personalities, so we divorced. Because I was poor and therefore could not bribe the judge, he ruled that my husband did not have to pay me any alimony or other benefits, and I had to raise our 12-year-old son by myself.
Back then I was a mess. I suffered from severe anemia and had regular headaches, dizziness, insomnia, periarthritis, coryza, leg pain, gynecological problems, etc. I was close to a breakdown due to the constant pressure, torment, pain, and resentment. I even thought of suicide, but could not leave my son behind. Needing to survive, I dragged myself to look for jobs out of town, leaving my own farmland to others.
I soon had to come home because of my poor health. Then I came across the book Zhuan Falun in 1998. I read it in one go and began to cultivate.
Whether I Was a True Cultivator Was Up to Me
Soon afterward, I was tested. Cadres from the village and township arrived to collect taxes for my farm. I protested, “I gave my farm to others, so they should pay the taxes. That is the rule in my village. I refuse to pay any taxes.” The cadres informed me that farm taxes were mandatory by law and that they had to be paid. When I heard the word “law,” I started to cry and said, “What law? It was the law that took everything from me!”
Back then, I was just getting to know Falun Gong, and I was still at the level of an ordinary person. I even said mean things to the cadres and they left. Later, when I discussed this issue with fellow practitioners and asked them what I should do, they told me it depends on whether I wanted to be a good person and become a true cultivator in Dafa. It was up to me.
That worried me, and I was afraid that Master might not accept me as his disciple because of it. Thus, I paid the taxes with gritted teeth. I continued to study the Fa and cultivated my character. Not only did my health improve, I also learned why it is important to be a good person, and my character improved also.
The next time when it was time to pay taxes, I paid them all at once. Someone said, “If everyone was like Falun Gong practitioners, the cadres would have nothing to do anymore.”
Helping Others Resolve Difficult Situations
My son's teacher taught him to be an electrician in 2002. This teacher had a feud with his neighbor. One day the neighbor turned a cutter toward my son, and sparks flew all over him. An argument broke out, followed by a fight. The neighbor lost, so he went to get help--and so did my son's teacher. The neighbor's friend beat my son so severely he had to be taken to the hospital.
When I arrived at the hospital, his teacher had brought some of his cohorts with him, and one was saying to the teacher, “Since you trust us, we will do whatever you need us to do and to whatever extent.” He then said to my son, “You just follow our lead. If someone comes to question you, just pretend your head hurts.”
Witnessing this, I thought that, as a Falun Gong practitioner, I could not let this happen. Master says,
“When there are disagreements, however, people do not endure them and fail to realize that they are paying off their karma from the past. If a person is not treated well by others, he will treat others even worse, thereby producing new karma before paying for the old. This makes society’s moral values decline daily, and everyone becomes enemies among one another. Many people cannot understand this: What’s happened to people today? What’s going on with today’s society? If mankind continues like this it will be extremely dangerous!”(“Sickness Karma” from Essentials for Further Advancement I)
I said to my son's teacher, “What has happened has happened. We can only make the problem smaller, not bigger. Reprisal breeds reprisal without end. Let's not fight anymore.” Then I said to my son, “Do not listen to them. You must report the incident truthfully, the way it really happened. Making false statements will only harm you.” His teacher then treated his cohorts to dinner and had them leave. Thus, a brawl was avoided.
My son was kept in the hospital for a while for observation. When it was confirmed that he was in no danger, I urged him to pay the medical fees and leave the hospital. This made him angry and he said, “I got beaten up, and now I have to pay my own medical bills?!” I explained the following principle of Master to him:
“...if every one of us examines his own character for causes, if when we don’t do well we look inside ourselves for the cause, and we try to do better next time, and if we think about other people first any time we do something...” (Zhuan Falun)
"Sure it was their fault," I said, "but if you had spoken calmly, had you not hurt others with your words, maybe this feud wouldn't have happened. It was also our fault and we must be responsible. Imagine if the police were involved. Would you have the money to pay them?" After thinking about it for a long time, he finally decided to pay the bill, and from then on he wanted to learn how to endure.
One time my father was hit by a car, and the driver immediately took him to the hospital. When my father was released from the hospital, the driver offered him 500 yuan as compensation. I advised my father not to accept it since he did not hit him on purpose. My father indeed did not take the money.
Why Am I So Strict with Myself?
1. Being a good person is the basic requirement of a Dafa disciple. It is also the fundamental principal of Falun Gong.
2. Everything that the evil communist party has used as evidence to persecute Falun Gong practitioners is a lie. Through my own actions, I want to show everyone that does not know Falun Gong what it really is. I want to remove their bad impression of Falun Gong that the evil party has instilled into them.
3. Falun Gong cultivates Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. These words seem to be easy to live by, but they have deep content. They are the fundamental nature of the universe, the highest Buddha law. They are the sole criteria to determine if someone is good or bad. I am a Falun Gong practitioner, and I base my actions solely on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Category: Improving Oneself
