(Minghui.org) When I accompanied my parents to the local records office to work on their house title, the clerk was so surprised to see my father’s age on his ID, saying, “Wow, a centenarian! I’ve been working here for so many years and met so many people, yet I’ve never met someone of such an advanced age who still looks so energetic!”
My father turned 100 last year, but he looked much younger. What was his secret to staying young? It’s Falun Dafa, an ancient spiritual and meditation discipline, that has blessed him with good health.
I began to practice Falun Dafa in 1998. While my father didn’t take up the practice, he identified with the teachings of Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa. He often recites the auspicious phrases “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” He was thus blessed.
My father was diagnosed with bladder cancer at the age of 73 and had surgery to remove the mass. He decided to stop the treatment after having only two chemotherapy sessions. We were worried but didn’t want to force him to continue. To our surprise, his cancer gradually disappeared on its own.
My father developed cataracts in his 80s. He often complained he had trouble seeing people’s faces clearly. Whenever he heard advertisements on the radio promoting some folk medicines, he’d ask me to buy them for him. I said that these medicines were not prescribed by his doctors and suggested he recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” instead. He heeded my advice.
One day just after dawn, I saw him reading a book by the window. I wondered why he didn’t turn on the light, given his poor vision. He told me, “I can see much more clearly now.” I asked what was his secret and he said he’d recited “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” 100 times before he went to sleep at night.
On another occasion, my father’s head became very swollen and he had severe headaches. I rushed to his home after learning about it from my mother. Since it was late at night, it was not convenient for a person of his age to go to the hospital. I stayed overnight and played Master Li’s audio lectures for him. His symptoms disappeared the next morning, and his head returned to its normal size. My mother commented that Falun Dafa is truly miraculous.
My parents live on the fourth floor of their apartment building. When my father was 90, he was still able to carry a sack of rice weighing more than 60 pounds from the first floor to the fourth floor.
My older sister’s husband had cerebral thrombosis in his 60s and became wheelchair-bound. My sister had to push him in a wheelchair to a nearby hospital to get injections on a regular basis. From their home to the hospital, there was a long stretch of the road that was an upward slope. It was very hard for my sister to push the wheelchair. One day my father offered to help, and he pushed the wheelchair all the way to the hospital without any trouble. People who knew him were amazed that a man in his 90s was able to push uphill his wheelchair-bound son-in-law three decades his junior.
My younger sister encountered some trouble at home when our father was 92. He got so worried that he started coughing and experiencing shortness of breath. He couldn’t lie down so he leaned against the headboard of his bed to sleep. His condition kept worsening and the hospital diagnosed him with asthma, cor pulmonale, emphysema, and space-occupying lesions on the lungs (suspected to be tumors). He was hospitalized for two weeks but there was no improvement. He insisted on getting discharged. After he returned home, he kept reciting “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” Before we knew it, he was fine.
My mother was the cook in the family and my father cleaned the dining table and did the dishes until my younger sister retired and took over his chores. He was 93 that year.
When my father was 95, he often hung out with his neighbors outside the apartment building. One thing he liked to show off was his rope stunt. He’d grab the center of a rope with one hand and then toss one end of the rope up with another hand. The hand holding the center of the rope would then move up and down in a way that both ends of the rope stood up and swayed from side to side like a fan. My sisters and I were never able to master the trick even though we tried hard to learn from him. He was also able to do magic with the rope and was really happy when people complimented him on that.
My mother was hospitalized when my father was 98. He asked to visit her, but no visitors were allowed due to the pandemic. He begged Master to save my mother and also recited “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” every day. My mother was discharged in two weeks and soon recovered.
One day my father had symptoms of a severe cold. He was so ill that we thought he wouldn’t make it. But two days later we heard him yell, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” We were shocked but glad to see his symptoms gradually subside. He regained his health without medical treatment.
Many people in my region got infected during the pandemic, and my father also tested positive last year. He felt sleepy all the time and had no appetite. He also no longer recognized his family. We were all worried, and my younger sister proposed sending him to a nursing home. I objected and moved my father to my home.
I played Master’s audio lectures for him to listen to every day. Gradually he became clearheaded and was able to eat and recognize people again. He also knew where he was and began to recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” again. He soon recovered from the infection. Miraculously, his hearing trouble was also gone and he found that his vision had become much better than before. When I read Falun Dafa books online on my phone one day, he also wanted to read. I was amazed that he had no trouble seeing the words clearly on the phone.
His neighbors said it was a miracle that a centenarian like him was able to beat the COVID-19 infection. Many elderly locals had died of it.
My father no longer has all his teeth but he has no trouble chewing ribs. He has no dietary restrictions either and can handle all kinds of food, be they sweet or savory.
My siblings and I often visit our parents over the weekends. My father likes to play the electronic organ with us. Whatever songs he can sing, he’s able to play on the electronic organ. His mind is still very sharp.
My father is a veteran and always keeps his back straight even after he turned 100 last year. My mother often says proudly, “Have you ever seen anyone his age who can keep their back as straight as he?”
We often hear my father recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I know that Falun Dafa extended my father’s life and enabled him to enjoy life like a young person.
My deepest gratitude to Master and Falun Dafa!