Firmly Cultivating Myself Helped Me Overcome Major Tribulations

(Minghui.org) I’m 66 years old and I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1996. I live in a rural area. I had a stroke and passed through some major tribulations. I’d like to tell you about my experiences.

The Physical and Family Tribulations

In mid-April 2019, my husband and I went to my daughter’s place in another city to help take care of her child. I brought a computer, Zhuan Falun and the exercise music, thinking that I should be able to do the three things required of practitioners anywhere I go.

My daughter’s house is in a remote area. I felt out of place, as if I was in a foreign country because I could not understand the local dialect. Three weeks after we arrived I wanted to go home. I missed our Fa-study group and the cultivation environment back home. My daughter didn’t want me to leave. There was no taxi service and one had to call a taxi on a mobile phone, which I didn’t know how to do. Besides, it was a four hour taxi ride from my daughter’s house to the airport.

I started to feel frustrated and refused to eat or drink, thinking that this way, my daughter would give in and let me go home. The result however was the opposite. My extreme behavior caused me to develop symptoms of a stroke (cerebral infarction), which Dafa practitioners understand to be karmic elimination. My daughter wanted me to get treatment in a local hospital, but I refused. I insisted that I would get treated in a hospital back home. I called a fellow practitioner and told her about my situation. That practitioner immediately notified local practitioners to send forth righteous thoughts to support me.

My condition appeared to be rather serious. My son-in-law took me to a local hospital and the doctor determined that my condition was due to a blood clot in my brain. “You came too late,” the doctor told us. I could not move or control the right side of my body and I could not talk properly. I also felt confused. When I tried to walk, it felt as if I was walking on a pile of cotton. I went back to my city and my son took me to a hospital. When the doctor said they couldn’t treat me I knew that only Master could help me.

My son suggested we go to a bigger hospital where I could have brain surgery. I said, “I don’t want to undergo surgery. I’d rather go for some conservative treatment. Brain surgery is very complicated, and the success is not guaranteed. I might die on the operating room table or end up in a vegetative state.” My son agreed with me.

Practitioners came to see me in the hospital and tried to give me some money. I said, “I can’t accept it. If I do, it means that I admit that I’m sick. We are Dafa cultivators, and we don’t have any true illness, only karma elimination.” I also asked my husband to return the money to relatives and friends who wanted to help out.

After I was discharged from the hospital 14 days later, my son didn’t want me to go home, but drove me straight to the airport as he wanted me to go back to my daughter’s place. After I returned to my daughter’s home my condition worsened and I could no longer take care of my daily needs. I was really worried as I could not even pick up a piece of paper with my right hand.

I thought to myself: I must not think with human attachments. I’m a Dafa practitioner and I should act according to Dafa’s teachings. So I started reciting the Fa as much as I could and kept sending righteous thoughts. I knew that Dafa’s power is boundless.

About a month later, I felt that I could take care of myself again. I was so happy and told my daughter about it. To my surprise, she said to me, “Mom, I know very well why you fell sick. You got too uptight when I didn’t want you to go back home to study Dafa. I have already talked with my brother, and even if you get well, I will not allow you to practice Dafa.”

I knew that my daughter was affected psychologically by the persecution I suffered earlier and she didn’t want me to practice. I said, “But this is not up to you to decide. Dafa is in my heart. How can you possibly stop me from practicing?” She was very quiet.

Gradually, I was able to do grocery shopping with my daughter. One day, she asked me, “Mom, do you ever feel regret for practicing Dafa? If you didn’t practice Dafa and went to the hospital for treatment right away, you might not have ended up like this, right?” I said, “Look around, many people are in wheelchairs. They are not Dafa practitioners and might have received the treatment in time, but their conditions are not as good as mine. We should be grateful to Dafa!” My daughter did not say a word.

I was under great pressure due to the continued elimination of karma. However, I was determined to pull through by having strong faith in Master and Dafa. When I meditated I sat in the double-lotus position, but my daughter stopped me each time and urged me to go out for a walk. When I went out I would try to find opportunities to practice sitting in a double-lotus position. If my daughter wasn’t home, I would practice at home and think about how to get out and raise awareness about the persecution.

One day, I received a call from my son. He angrily asked me, “Mom, would you choose Dafa or your son?” “Who said one would give up her children to practice Falun Dafa?” I asked. “If you continue to practice Dafa, I would chop off a finger and mail it to you!” he threatened me. I knew he was controlled by fear to say those irrational things. After I hung up the phone, I sent forth righteous thoughts and recited the Fa. The best way to handle the situation was to stay unmoved.

As time went on, I began to feel depressed. Still, compassionate Master kept reminding me of Dafa’s principles and strengthening me, which helped me overcome one test after another.

Keeping up with Fa Study

In December 2019, I went back to my home with my daughter, and at last I was able to read Zhuan Falun. As my daughter was still against me practicing Falun Dafa, I could only read the book at night after she went to bed. When a practitioner came to see me, I asked her to get me an MP3 so I could listen to the Fa lectures.

Ten days after I returned home, my son came and drove us to his place. He said, “Mom, you don’t need to do anything, just practice walking.” So, I used the “walking-practice” opportunities to listen to Master’s Fa lectures. When my MP3 stopped working, I called a practitioner to get me another one. She came and brought me a smaller book of Zhuan Falun, a new MP3 with exercise music, and an e-reader with Master’s articles. All these fit nicely into the new bag my daughter bought me. After the fellow practitioner left, I went to a quiet place and read one lecture in Zhuan Falun before I returned home. I was very happy to be able to read Zhuan Falun again and do the exercises when I was home alone.

Doing the exercises was not easy for me physically at the time, and I could only manage half an hour for the second set, as I had difficulty raising my arms and my hands also kept shaking terribly. One minute was the best I could manage for holding the wheel above my head. While doing the sitting meditation, my right leg kept cramping and shaking, causing me a lot of pain. My back also throbbed. I kept pushing on no matter how painful and difficult things were. I held firm faith in Master and Dafa, believing that as long I study the Fa well and keep doing the exercises, I would be able to make improvement in cultivation.

My Fa study plan went on for quite some time before my son found out what I was doing. “Mom, you have been practicing Falun Dafa for about twenty years and you should be able to recite the book (Zhuan Falun) and know the exercise movements,” he said to me one day. “So, I will put away your book and the exercise music till you become healthy again.” He took out a clean piece of paper and carefully wrapped up my book and the MP3, saying, “I’ll put them on the highest place in the cupboard, and I promise to give them back to you when you become healthy. You are a cultivator and should be trustworthy. So, don’t try to get them yourself. If you do not agree to this, I will not allow you to practice Dafa even if you become well.” “Of course, you can recite the Fa and do whatever exercise movements you can remember,” he added.

I wept, feeling that I failed to meet Master’s expectations. I asked myself: For twenty years now, what have I achieved in Dafa cultivation? If I memorized the Fa, would I have to face such a difficult situation now? All these tribulations occurred because my heart was not on the Fa and I tried to find faults in others instead of myself. At critical moments, I can’t align my thinking with the Fa. I failed to look within and cultivate myself.

I must look inward instead of blaming my children. My son took my Dafa book because I failed to look at things based on the Fa and merely wanted to be a good mom. Aren’t they helping me improve my xinxing? I should be grateful. So, I started to recite the Fa and kept up with doing the exercises again.

After my daughter-in-law became pregnant, my daughter bought a house and moved here. She took over the cooking for the family and I helped wash and clean. Once, a water pipe on the ground floor burst and both elevators of the building were out of operation. We were told that it would take three days to get it fixed. My daughter said, “Oh dear, we’ve run out of veggies and we can’t use the elevators for three days!” She was worried as my son’s apartment is on the 13th floor.

Quietly, I took a bag and walked all the way down to the ground floor. I bought the veggies and my daughter-in-law’s favorite fruit. As I was about to return home, I got a phone call from my daughter-in-law, “Mom, where are you?” “I am downstairs,” I said. “How did you get down?” she asked me in surprise. “I walked down,” I told her. “Mom, you’re awesome! Now that you are already downstairs, could you get some condiments as well?” she asked me. “Sure, no problem.” I said to her and went to a supermarket nearby to get the condiments.

“Hi, Aunty! You are so lucky!” a shop assistant who knows me greeted me as soon as I walked in, “I just got a text message saying the pipe has been fixed and the elevators are working now.” “That’s great news!” I said to her with a smile. When I got home, my daughter-in-law couldn’t help praising me again, “Mom, you’re truly awesome! How did you manage to get all this stuff up to the 13th floor?!” “Isn’t it a miracle?” I said to her with a mischievous smile, “Actually I came up in the elevator." “But didn’t they say that it would take three days to fix the problem?” “Yes, that’s what they said, but it was fixed very quickly.” I knew in my heart that Master helped me. Master always gives us the best.

The Turnaround

Three years passed and I pulled through the tribulations one by one with Master’s compassionate protection. I firmly believe in Dafa and keep up with Fa study and doing the exercises. My children have also witnessed how I became healthier through practicing Falun Dafa. They no longer try to stop me from practicing.

Just as I was recovering well, my husband suddenly became very ill. He could not eat or drink and relied on some supplements to survive. Months later, he passed away. Having seen how meticulously I looked after him, my son said, “Mom, dad is gone. I have only you now. From now on, you can do whatever you want.” I said, “I just want to read Zhuan Falun.”

“I support you, mom,” my son said, “I hid the book in the cupboard in the past because I was worried about your health. In fact, I didn’t feel good doing that because I know Dafa is good. I also recited ‘Falun Dafa is good’ in my heart. I just wanted you to get better first.” Even though I was still grieving over my husband’s death, I was overwhelmed with joy to hear my son say this.

Master said in his recent article “How Humankind Came To Be,”

“...and only when things are trying and painful may a person elevate himself through spiritual practice and shed his or her karma.”

I now realize that every tribulation I experienced was a good thing to help me improve my xinxing and eliminate my karma. My persistence in doing the exercises and studying the Fa during the tribulation helped. Now I can do the second exercise for an entire hour and meditate in double-lotus position for an hour. My back is straighter than before. I can also go out to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa to people in the community.

I now live with my daughter. While she is at work, I look after my grandson, who is very sensible. I often tell him to recite “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”

I am deeply grateful to Master for his immense compassion and protection. I’ve now fully recovered from my ordeal and I will continue to study the Fa well and clarify the truth to more people to fulfill my pledge made eons ago.

Thank you, Master!