(Minghui.org) My parents are teachers at a university. When I was little, my mother’s health was poor. She often complained about headaches and pains and had to see doctors often. Neither western medicine, Chinese medicine, or qigong practices helped her recover from her illnesses.
My father’s health was poor too. He had serious neurasthenia and suffered from insomnia frequently.
My parents’ poor health resulted in bad moods, and they often quarreled, which made me sad. I remember one day, they got into a fight early in the morning. I picked up my school bag and walked to school in tears. When I was in the second and third grade, for a long time I worried my parents would get a divorce.
In the summer of 1997, my mother took me to visit her mother and stayed for a few days. A relative introduced my mother to Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, and took her to a local practice site.
The first time my mother tried the Falun Dafa exercises, she felt relaxed and comfort she had never felt before. As soon as the music ended, she exclaimed, like a little child, “Wow, this practice is wonderful!” With practitioners’ encouragement, she began practicing Falun Dafa.
My mother brought home a copy of Falun Gong. She treated the book as a treasure and read it often. She even brought it with her when she took me to the park, and read it while I was playing. She was always happy after she read the book.
Before long, my mother recovered from all her illnesses. Later on, she bought Zhuan Falun the main book of Falun Dafa, and other Falun Dafa books, and started a practice site at the university. Some faculty members saw the dramatic changes in her and came to learn Falun Dafa.
Prior to practicing Falun Dafa, my mother often got upset at my father because he did not do any house chores. After she practiced Falun Dafa she no longer complained about it or got upset, instead, she cheerfully did all the house chores. From her, I learned what it meant by “Bearing hardship without complaint.”
Once, my father suffered insomnia for several days in a row. My mother read Zhuan Falun to him. Soon, my father fell asleep and didn’t wake up until daybreak. He said happily, “I haven’t slept so well for so long! This book is amazing!” My father began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998.
Since my parents both began practicing Falun Dafa, our family has become more and more harmonious. I did not have to worry about them getting divorced, and I began practicing Falun Dafa too. Every morning, I joined my parents to do the exercises, listen to Master’s lectures, and read the precious book Zhuan Falun.
I went from being a mediocre student to an honors student in my class. I often heard other parents asking my mother, “How did your daughter’s academic performance improve so much all of a sudden?”
Master said,
“In educating a child, an adult often teaches him, “You should learn to be smart,” so that in the future he will get a foothold in ordinary human society. From the perspective of our universe, “to be smart” is already wrong, for we require following the course of nature and caring little for personal gain. Being so smart, he intends to pursue self-interest. “Whoever bullies you, go to his teacher and find his parents.” “Pick up money if you see it on the ground.” The child is taught this way. From childhood to adulthood, as he receives more things, he will gradually become increasingly selfish in ordinary human society. He will take advantage of others and lose de.” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
If my parents had not practiced Falun Dafa, they would have become the kind of parents that Master described above. Fortunately, my parents practiced Falun Dafa and followed Master’s teachings. Every time I encountered a problem, they would first read Dafa books with me, and then encourage me to think about how to go about following Master’s requirements and live by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
In China, students are under a lot of pressure with schoolwork and exams. My classmates were often scolded or even beaten by their parents if they did not do well in exams, and some of them were afraid to go home after getting a bad score.
But my parents never beat me or scolded me; they just patiently helped me analyze what my problem was. When I didn’t do well on an exam, I wanted to go home as fast as I could, because my home was a warm harbor where my parents were, and they would always be patient with me and help me find my problems so I could improve.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution of Falun Dafa after July 20, 1999. The university authorities talked to my parents many times and pressured them to give up their practice. My parents believed there was nothing wrong with practicing Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and did not give in.
The CCP police arrested my mother when she was distributing truth-clarification informational materials, and illegally detained her for 15 days.
I was in junior high school at the time. I often came across problems that slandered Falun Dafa in political science and chemistry exams. I always left them blank. When the teachers asked me why, I told them, “What is said on television (TV) is very different from the truth.” The teachers then left me alone.
Once, the chemistry teacher said to the class during a post-exam review session, “This question – referring to the question that slandered Falun Dafa) was made up. The founder of Falun Dafa did not say such things.” I was happy for the teacher.
Later on, my political science teacher talked to my parents, “Is it worth it to leave out questions unanswered, and lose points in the High School Entrance Exam, keeping your daughter from getting into a key high school?” My father replied confidently, “Don’t worry. My daughter will enter the key high school even without answering such questions.”
In junior high school, our Chinese language teacher required us to memorize an article entitled “Talking about Backbone,” which quoted Mencius, “He is not to be corrupted by wealth and honors; not to be swerved by poverty, and not to be bent by force.” I have admired my parents for their backbone since then!
When I was in high school, my mother was away from home for a while to avoid the CCP followers’ harassment. My boarding school was very strict, and I had a lot of schoolwork. My father gave me a set of tapes of Master’s lectures in Jinan, so I listened to it before bedtime each night.
During my last year of high school, I was under a lot of pressure and valued each test score. My father often read Master’s Fa to ease my pressure.
“Don’t think about getting into college, just work hard to study well, and that’s enough. When you have done well with your studies, college or graduate school will come along, right? That’s how it works.” (“Teaching the Fa and Answering Questions in Guangzhou,” Zhuan Falun Fajie)
Later on, I did my undergraduate and graduate studies at a major Chinese university. Upon graduation, I landed a job in a top international bank. While I was in graduate school, my parents were both taken to a brainwashing center and suffered harsh persecution. My mother almost died. Shortly after I started my new job, the CCP arrested my father once again.
My parents have gone through a lot of demonic tribulations. Despite the CCP’s evil suppression of Falun Dafa, they firmly believe in Falun Dafa and Master Li and persisted in clarifying the truth to people in China.
Now I am thousands of miles away, but I never worry about them; whenever I think of them, I feel at ease. They have Master Li watching over them and have Falun Dafa guiding them. They are advancing diligently in their cultivation practice.
My parents get up a little past 3 a.m. every day to do the Falun Dafa exercises. Then, they begin their day of Fa-study and truth-clarification. During the pandemic, my parents went to the countryside from time to time to distribute truth-clarification materials from house to house at night. One night past midnight, my mother shared a poem as soon as they got home,
Twinkling stars looking down on earth where few were walking;House lights far and near beckon Dafa disciples to save those who live in;Holding truth in my hand, I gift it to people to discern good and evil;I wish all beings understand the truth and embrace a new beginning.
My mother emailed me the poem. A picture appeared before my eyes: the night sky was dotted with stars, and the streets were empty; near or far, house lights beckoning to my parents and asking for truth-clarification materials; my parents placing the materials at the doorstep of houses, hoping people could understand the truth, survive the disasters, and have a bright future.
Thank you, Master! And thank you, Falun Dafa, for bringing such phenomenal changes to my parents. They not only have regained their health, but also have become the kindest people in the world – Falun Dafa practitioners!