(Minghui.org) When I suffered tremendously and felt there was no way out, I recalled that my old neighbor had introduced Falun Dafa to me. When I first started to cultivate in Dafa, it was my most fortunate time. Being able to practice Falun Dafa made me feel that I was the happiest person in the world.
Difficult Times
I was born in the 1950s and had led a difficult life, for I had experienced the Great Famine and Great Cultural Revolution. When these devastating times had passed, my life became less difficult. Unfortunately, I developed rheumatism. With the aging process and heavy burdens in life, I came down with a number of illnesses, including heart disease, gastroptosis, gynecological problems, varicose veins, and sciatica. When my back pain was severe, I was bedridden and unable to do household chores.
While suffering in pain, I always felt depressed. I had tried Western medicine, Chinese medicine, massage, acupuncture, and several kinds of qigong. I had worshiped foxes and wild animals, and also joined some religions. I had tried everything that I possibly could find, yet nothing worked. But, when one illness subsided, another one flared up. The big container I used for my medications was always full.
My family’s financial situation was not optimal, as I had to spend much on medication. When we were short of money, we had to go into debt to cover my medical expenses. Over time, my relatives and friends became reluctant to lend money to us. With life going on, I had thought to myself: When would be the end of this?
Regaining a New Life
On New Year’s Day in 1999, I asked my husband to go to the Falun Dafa practice site to take a look. After he came back, he told me that practicing Falun Dafa was great. He also brought back Zhuan Falun – the main teachings of Falun Dafa. Upon hearing that, I wanted to learn. I was doing some sewing work at home. Meanwhile, I was thinking about how to get the work done as quickly as possible, then I could go to the practice site to learn the exercises.
When I felt tired, I began to read Zhuan Falun. When I came across lecture three, I started feeling terrible pain in my belly.
Master Li Hongzhi said:
“Your life initially did not include cultivation, but now you want to cultivate. Accordingly, your future path must be rearranged, and so it is permitted to adjust your body for you.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
“When you feel very uncomfortable, it indicates that things will turn around after reaching an extreme. Your whole body will be purified; it must be completely purified.” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
I had thought that it was related to purifying my body – within one day, my belly stopped aching.
After my husband came back from the exercise site, he began to do the exercises, so I could follow him by standing beside him. As soon as I lifted up my hand, I felt strong energy. I felt this practice was extraordinary.
Soon after I began to practice Dafa, I recovered from all my illnesses, I felt that my body was light. I used to be so afraid of the cold. After I started practicing, I could sit on a cold stool. I used to have to wear thick insulated winter pants even in summer. When I was able to wear a skirt again, I felt extremely excited.
Improving Xinxing
After reading Zhuan Falun, I came to understand that the true purpose of being a human is to return to one’s original and true self and be a good person by following “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” Before that, we had financial difficulties and had to rely on a low-income subsidy. After we began to practice Dafa, I talked to my husband about giving up the low-income subsidy.
There was one neighbor who also had financial difficulties. One year, his child got admitted to the university, however, he didn’t have enough money to cover his son’s tuition fee. He tried to borrow money from his sister but in vain. After we learned it, we decided to lend him 6,000 yuan to help his son go to the university. He and his wife were very moved. My husband said, “If you want to thank someone, please thank Master Li (the founder). If it wasn't for practicing Dafa, we wouldn’t have offered you help.”
My son was in his second year at the university, and our financial situation improved, but we only had very little savings on hand. However, upon seeing them struggling with money, and since Master had asked us to think of others at all times, we decided to give them a hand. After all these years have passed, we have moved and we were no longer neighbors. But, when we ran into each other, he still appreciated our help back then.
Practicing Dafa Brought Our Family Good Fortune
After I began to practice Dafa, I became very healthy. Then, my husband and I started a small business. We didn’t make a lot of money, but on the other hand, we were never short of money either. When my son was about to start with the university, our savings were just about enough to cover his tuition fee for one year. Then we managed to have savings to pay for his tuition fee every year until he graduated from the university.
Later after my son started working, he decided to buy property. The money we saved was just about enough to cover his mortgage down payment. When he got married, we'd saved just enough to cover his wedding expenses. Compared to back then, we had to borrow money to cover my medication expenses. I also didn’t have to worry about my son’s work and marriage--they both worked out well for him.
I said to my son, “If it were not for our practicing Dafa, I don’t know how bad things could have been. We couldn’t have afforded to support you to go to university or buy property. You have to remember that Dafa is wonderful.” He agreed.
Family Benefited
My mother is a tiny and smart person. She has been working tirelessly for her children all her life. When she was in her 80s, she chose to live by herself and lived in a flat in the suburban area. After my father passed away, my mother didn’t do well. So I went to take care of her for a while in 2017.
Even though she knew that I recovered from my illnesses, she didn’t understand me in terms of my spreading Dafa, and helping people with renouncing their memberships in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). When a visitor came, as soon as I began to talk about how Dafa has been persecuted, my mother always tried to stop me. After the visitor left, she would be a bit unhappy and said, “Don’t say the CCP is bad.”
“The CCP persecutes Dafa, and it has confiscated my books as well as my personal belongings,” I said.
She challenged me, “Why are you still practicing? When the government doesn’t allow it, then don’t do it. The CCP is giving us labor insurance payouts.”
I replied, “If you didn’t pay the insurance premiums, would the CCP give you anything? For people who didn’t pay that, they wouldn’t get it, would they? Isn’t it something you deserve?”
The next day, she felt a bit dizzy, her limbs didn’t work as well as before. Then she went to the backyard with the help of a walking stick. When she came back, she told me she almost fell.
She is a kind person by nature, it’s only that her nature was covered up since she had been brainwashed and deceived by the CCP. I really wanted to help her understand the truth. When I had time, I played on my MP3 the stories about traditional Chinese culture, good and evil having its due course, and so on. For stories that she didn’t quite get, I’d explain them to her in detail. Sometimes while she was listening, she’d tell me, “I like to hear stories about compassion.” I also played for her the truth-clarification phone call recordings and quitting the CCP to ensure one’s safety.
Gradually she changed. She said to me, “Actually, Falun Dafa is great! It teaches people to be good.” When I clarified the facts to other people, she was not against me doing so. One time, when I talked to my sister-in-law about helping her quit the CCP, my brother tried to stop me. My mother saw that and scolded him, “Don’t argue with your sister.”
When a guest came, she also encouraged me to play stories about traditional Chinese culture for the guest. One time, when we were chatting, my mother asked me, “Does your son also practice Dafa?” I said, “He doesn’t have time because he is too tied up with work, but he supports me.” Then she said right away, “I also support you in practicing Dafa.”
Without noticing, she did better and better. Before that, she had to rely on us to cook for her, take care of her laundry and garden work. Later, she could take care of them all by herself. She is 88 years old this year and her mind is still very clear. When we came back to visit her, she could still cook for us.
“This Is Solid Proof”
My sister-in-law lives close by. I often talked to her about the preciousness of Dafa and asked her to remember “Falun Dafa is wonderful! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful!” Since she only received a very limited education, out of the concern that she didn’t quite get it, I had to explain to her that Truth is to tell true words, treating others sincerely; Compassion is kindness, treating others well; Forbearance is tolerance, one doesn’t care how one is treated by others in a conflict. All in all, we should be good people by following “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance”, she acknowledged what I said.
One snowy day morning, on my way home, I visited her. She happened to have a relapse of high blood pressure, coupled with a high temperature. Besides, she was vomiting and had diarrhea. Her eyes were closed, she couldn’t move, and could barely talk. My brother-in-law was very worried. After I talked to him and got his okay, I said to my sister-in-law, “Can you recite with me: ‘Falun Dafa is wonderful! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful! Master, please save me!’” She followed me in a low voice. As time went on, soon enough, she had the strength to talk, her voice became much louder. She could sit up and began to chat with me. It was as if she was never sick.
The next day when I went to see her, she told me, “Sister-in-law, yesterday my relative came to see me. She told me that someone in her local area had the same symptoms as I did--they were the signs of a stroke. On his way to the hospital, he got worse and died by the time he got there.”
She told me before that one of her relatives believed in a certain religion and she developed diabetes. She always got her daughter’s money to buy medication, but could not recover from her illnesses. She also tried to talk my sister-in-law into following the same religion. My sister-in-law said, “I don’t believe her. But I believe you, my sister-in-law. You recovered from several illnesses after practicing Dafa. Your health is solid proof.”
Sometimes when things didn’t go well, or others treated me terribly, I’d follow Dafa's requirements to hold my actions. I relaxed and didn’t get hurt. I also shared my view with the people around me. Before that, my sister-in-law always fought with my brother-in-law. After he swore at her, she came to me to complain. She said she was so upset that she had a stomachache. I then shared with her Dafa principles. I comforted her by saying: “Don't be like him. He was not doing well, that’s why he got a bad temper, but his nature was kind. You should be more understanding.” She listened to me. Falun Dafa helps people elevate their morality.
