(Minghui.org) My father, 69, was well known for being grumpy and stubborn. He was arrogant and always thought he was absolutely right. He thought my mother was a fool for practicing Falun Gong. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, he tried to force her to stop practicing, due to fear of the CCP.
My sisters and I were frightened of our father from the time we were young. It was impossible to reason with him, and he refused to listen to anyone because he thought he knew everything. If we tried to argue with him, he would lose his temper and raise his voice so much that people outside could hear him.
My father also had a strange habit. He wouldn’t tell us what he thought and told us to guess what was on his mind. If we guessed wrong, he would lose his temper. For example, when my mother asked him what he would like for dinner, he always answered, “Anything you cook.” However, if it wasn’t something he liked, he would scowl. If my mother dared to say anything, he would start slapping the table and throwing the chairs around. He made all the decisions on family matters. We grew up in fear of him.
My mother was exactly the opposite. She was an even-tempered, kind-hearted, traditional housewife. She did all the housework and put up with father’s bad temper. We hardly ever saw her smile due to the stress she was under, since we never knew when Father would explode. We had to be very cautious about every word we said. We always felt like we were standing on thin ice.
Things started to change when mother started to practice Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline for mind and body. Bright smiles began to appear on her face. When father lost his temper, she no longer forced herself to swallow her anger, but she didn’t take it to heart. She was able to stay calm.
Strangely, when she changed, my father also changed. He still lost his temper, but not as much as before. It seemed as if our family had suddenly been transformed from a snow-covered wilderness to a green meadow under the sun. Mom told me it was because “Bathed in divine light, conduct and thought become right.” (The Third Talk, Zhuan Falun) Although I didn’t understand what that meant, I just felt that Falun Dafa was good.
Because of Falun Dafa, Mother smiled from the bottom of her heart. Instead of harboring the aggression and complaints in her heart, she found true inner peace and joy. The atmosphere at home became harmonious.
My mother had been practicing Falun Gong for 25 years and she always wanted my father to practice as well. I thought that this would be impossible considering how strong-willed, self-righteous, and contentious our father was. Furthermore, after the CCP started the persecution of Falun Gong, he believed the propaganda and despised practitioners. He thought it was stupid to go against the CCP, and that my mother and her fellow practitioners were fools and had taken a wrong turn.
Things got worse after 2021 when one of my mother’s fellow practitioners was arrested and sentenced for distributing Falun Gong informational materials. Witnessing the reality of the persecution, father was afraid that my mother would suffer the same fate. He went crazy and tried everything he could think of to prevent her from practicing. He destroyed pictures of Master Li (the founder of Falun Gong), tore up Falun Dafa books, and threw away MP3 audio players with Master’s lectures and exercise music. My mother wept because she had failed to protect the Falun Dafa materials, and for the great karma my father had incurred.
Father couldn’t have cared less. He continued to insult Falun Dafa. From studying Dafa’s teaching, mother later understood, as she said, “Master never gives up on a life, even if the life has committed many sins. As long as the life still has good thoughts and a repentant heart, Master will give it a chance. If Master doesn’t give up on him, I will not.”
My father had always been in good health, which he was very proud of. But at the beginning of this year, his health collapsed. He complained that his legs were weak and his back hurt. He panicked and couldn’t sleep.
We took him to the hospital for a comprehensive exam, but he had no major problems. He felt as if he was going to die, and went over his will with us several times. For the first time, we saw our father being helpless.
His hot temper vanished with his health. He no longer had the strength to be angry. He was actually almost too weak to talk. But then he tortured us in a different way. He called us whenever he felt uncomfortable and made us take him to the hospital right away, regardless of whether we were at work or it was the middle of the night. We were exhausted.
Mother tried to persuade him to practice Falun Gong, but he didn’t believe it would help. Probably because no treatment had worked and he was really tormented, one day he finally said, “OK, I’ll try it.” I was surprised. In my memory, it was the first time he’d ever changed his mind.
But he called us again the next night and said he wanted to go to the hospital. I couldn’t help but feel annoyed, but I tried to stay calm, reminding myself, “I am a practitioner. This is a good chance to improve my patience. He is sick and acts like a child. I should not lose patience with him.”
When my sister and I got there, Father was already dressed. I asked him what was wrong.
He replied, “As usual, I feel panicky, unwell, and could not sleep. Not only that, something is spinning on top of my head, and I a feel cool breeze blowing out of my knee.”
I immediately knew what had happened, “Dad, this is a great thing. Master is purifying your body!” He froze for a moment.
Mother also realized something and said to me, “Last night your father knelt in front of Master’s picture and confessed his sins against Dafa, and he promised to practice.” It seemed to me that Master did forgive him and started to purify his body. How compassionate Master is!
I said to my father, “Dad, there are two paths for you. One is the normal path of getting sick and dying, and the other is the path of spiritual cultivation, which is beyond life and death. If you choose the first one, we will take you to the hospital. But if you choose the second one, then you should have faith in Dafa and let Master help you.” He said, “I want to practice.”
I continued, “I know you believe that cultivation is good, but you do not believe in Falun Dafa. Remember? At the beginning, you and mom both practiced Dafa. But you switched to something else after six months because you thought the progress was too slow. Mom has practiced Falun Gong for the past 25 years. She is always healthy, but you have to go to the hospital often. Think about it. Who took the wrong path?”
My mother said, “Getting rid of disease and keeping fit is not the purpose of practicing Falun Gong. We have to improve our characters according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Many people have practiced Falun Gong for decades, not because they are silly but because they personally benefit both physically and mentally.”
I chimed in, “Dad, actually, not everyone has the chance to practice Falun Dafa. If you want to practice, please be diligent. Stop thinking about your health issues, take it as a process of eliminating karma, and you will be fine.”
My father was persuaded and said he was determined to practice. He does the exercises and reads the book with my mother. Since then, I have never heard him complain about his health. He got better and better. After so many years, my father finally became a practitioner.
How he obtained the Fa was a miracle to me. That someone as stubborn as my father could be changed by Falun Dafa is yet another testament to Master’s compassion.
Looking at my healthier father now, he probably still does not know how lucky he is, nor does he know what a great opportunity Master has offered him. I hope more people will be able to benefit from practicing Falun Dafa like my father did.