(Minghui.org) I am 67 years old and learned about Falun Dafa in 1999. My husband is not a Falun Dafa adherent but has suffered alongside me because of the past 20 years of persecution.
Our family life fell to a very low point during the persecution I endured. My husband took on the family responsibilities and took care of our son alone. We lost everything in business and lived in a rented home.
I was held in a detention center during the Chinese New Year festivities in 2000, so my husband took our son to his parents’ home for the holiday. While they were there, some family members made disparaging remarks about me, asking why I didn’t choose to live a peaceful life, instead of going to Beijing. One of his relatives suggested that he divorce me, saying that he would find a good wife for him. My husband said, “Doesn’t she just practice the exercises, what’s wrong with that? She doesn’t need to take medicine or injections, and all her illnesses are gone. She didn’t steal or rob anyone, and didn’t do anything bad.” Now, in a bad temper, he left and returned home with our son.
After I returned home from the detention center, the landlord said to me, “On New Year’s day, it was so pitiful to see they had nothing for the holiday.” The landlord wanted to help my husband make some dumplings. While they were making the dumplings, my husband passed out and fell to the ground. Normally, my husband is a carefree, joking, and broad-minded person. One can imagine how much pain and pressure he must have been enduring at that time.
I was thinking about going to Beijing to validate the Fa. I had only been a Falun Dafa cultivator for a little over a year at that time, and my understanding of the teachings were very limited. Our life was difficult, we had nothing materially, and there was only the three of us to depend on. I didn’t know if I would return safely after going to Beijing. If not, how would the two of them get by? I was very conflicted and thought hard for about ten days. I cried when my son went to school, and quickly wiped away my tears when it was time for him to come home. I was heavily interfered with by my sentimentality.
My husband saw that I was having a hard time deciding whether or not to go to Beijing. One day, he asked me, “Do you want to practice Falun Dafa?” I said, “I do.” He asked, “Do you want to go to Beijing?” I said, “Yes, but I don’t want to be separated from you and our son. You have suffered a lot, and I couldn’t bear to see you hurt again. I am very conflicted.” He said, “If you want to practice, you should go to Beijing. If you don’t want to go to Beijing, then don’t practice. These are the only two paths for you to choose—there is no other choice.”
After I heard his words, my churning heart calmed down. I thought, “Ah, there are only two options, so I must choose to practice. If I practice, I should go to Beijing. I have no other choice.” When my thoughts became firm, Master Li helped me get rid of the human attachments that were interfering with me, especially the attachment to family affection. The next day, my husband gave me 300 yuan, and I left home with a resolute and relaxed mind. I embarked on the path of Fa-rectification cultivation, and was fulfilling my vow.
Two local practitioners were arrested in 2014 while distributing Shen Yun VCDs. When I heard the news, I felt a little worried because it was I who burned the Shen Yun VCDs, and one of the arrested practitioners knew my address because he had been to my home to pick them up. I realized that my thinking was not righteous, so I immediately sent righteous thoughts to adjust my state of mind. Thinking that there were many things to do that could not be delayed, I discussed with practitioner Lan what we could do, and asked other practitioners to send righteous thoughts, gather information about the arrests, and expose the evil.
On the way, I suddenly realized that I had Juhua’s home key—a practitioner who had been arrested. Protecting Dafa resources was the responsibility of every practitioner. Juhua had informational materials in his home. A few hours had passed, and we needed get ahead of the evil, so as not to lose any Dafa resources. Time was very tight and the responsibility was heavy. I couldn’t remove the materials alone, and I couldn’t get in touch with Lan since neither of us carried a cell phone. I looked in several places but couldn’t find her. I felt anxious. Then, I remembered Master’s words:
“Cultivation paths are differentYet all are within DafaWith no attachment to anythingThe path underfoot is naturally clear”(“No Obstacles” in Hong Yin II)
I kept reciting the poem and tried to get rid of my impatience. I wanted to let nature take its course. I firmly believed in Master and the Fa, and believed that Master’s arrangements were the best.
I saw Lan when I walked up to the gate of a residential community. She had been looking for me too. We had a brief exchange, and she told me that she just saw a police car pass by. We hurried straight to her home, and found her neighbor, who is also my relative. We decided to store the materials in her home temporarily, and then pick them up after dark. After we moved two loads, someone knocked on Lan’s door. It was Juhua’s friend who had driven over in a car. We were pleasantly surprised, and knew that Master arranged for this help to be provided. We put our things in her car and left safely. Lan and I were very excited, and we thanked Master Li, the founder and teacher of Falun Dafa, for the ingenious arrangement and protection. The timing of her arrival was just perfect.
Lan had been cooperating with me in making the truth clarifying materials, but after a practitioner was arrested, she and her family members became afraid and were under a lot of pressure. She didn’t want to make the materials any longer and wanted to transfer the equipment to my home.
At that time, my husband and I were also under pressure, and he was especially concerned that I would be implicated. He was nervous whenever the doorbell rang. He kept saying, “Our family has become a small processing factory.” If I moved in with yet more equipment, how could I explain it to him? I had a difficult moment, my human notions also surfaced, and the tone of kindness disappeared. As a result, I criticized Lan.
For cultivators, nothing happens by chance. It must be a xinxing test. I looked inward and found the attachments of selfishness, fear, complaining, and sentimentality. I resolutely eliminated them. After improving through the Fa, I had a purer mind and I talked with my husband about the possibility of taking in more equipment. Although he was worried, he agreed to let me do it.
At that time, my husband had a broken leg because of a car accident and had to walk on crutches. My home was on the sixth floor, and it was difficult for him to go up and down the stairs. He didn’t complain though, and we moved the equipment and consumables to our home, with the help of another practitioner and our son. I was grateful for their help. Later, while I was doing the sitting meditation, I saw my son in front of me, with his back facing me, and he made an arc with his right hand and grabbed something as he scooped it up. Then, he opened his fingers and an amulet that said “Falun Dafa” appeared on his palm. I was very excited and thanked Master for the best gift.
My son has been supportive of my cultivation all these years even though he suffered a lot when I was illegally detained and treated badly. He suffered mentally and dropped out of school before finishing high school, but he never blamed me. Sometimes, when I ran into a problem installing a computer system for another practitioner, or when there was a problem with a practitioner’s computer, he would help resolve the issues. He helped me carry consumables, and was helpful in other ways too. He also supported me in my wish to sue Jiang Zemin for starting the persecution of Falun Dafa.
He told me one day that a friend of his was being detained, and he met an elderly Falun Dafa practitioner in the detention center who had been there for a long time. He said that no one ever visited her, not even her family members. She didn’t even have a quilt for her bed, which he thought was very pitiful. I wept when I heard about her situation. My son asked, “Why are you crying?” I said, “We are fellow practitioners, her suffering is like my suffering. She is over seventy and should be enjoying her life, but because of her belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, she is being persecuted and has suffered. Please help me find her name and home address. I will make an appeal for her on the Minghui website. Maybe that will help her.” My son got the information I needed.
Our whole family is grateful to Master Li. Master, you have worked hard.