(Minghui.org) I am a 49-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner. Here I would like to describe how I twice missed the opportunity to cultivate Falun Dafa, and how the practice brought harmony to my family.
Some practitioners came to my village to introduce the practice in 1998 when I was 13 years old. They demonstrated the first, third, and fourth sets of exercises on the stage in the village center. Many villagers went up to ask about Falun Dafa and a large number joined the practice to improve their health. I was not paying much attention, but I was impressed by the words on the banners: “Falun Dafa” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”
I did not learn the exercises that day. In my mind, I was hoping for a society in which people respect each other, but I did not know where to find it. It was so sad that I missed the opportunity to learn Falun Dafa then.
The moral standard in society dropped quickly and I gradually acquired all the bad habits around me: playing mahjong and card games, gambling, and more. I had one child at the time, but I did not care about her. When my daughter came to the mahjong place looking for me, she could see me inside. I asked several people to stand in front of me, so after my daughter entered she could not see me anymore, and she cried.
I played mahjong all day and did not return home until I lost all my money. Because of that, people called me “Ms. Nothing Left.” My father lived in the same village and he was very upset with me. He came to me and threatened to beat me. I ran when someone alerted me, “You father is coming!” But afterwards, I continued my bad ways.
At home I also fought with my husband and his four siblings. When his family was splitting up their family assets, I fought with his elder brother with a knife and argued with his second brother. I threatened my mother-in-law and threw out her belongings. My terrible temper slowly drove my husband away, and he had an affair. At that time, I already had two children: an 8-year-old and a two-month-old.
A practitioner visited me in 2002, explaining Falun Dafa to me and telling me about the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I told the practitioner that I knew the good things about the practice and its principles when I was 13. I even said to one neighbor, “Please go practice Falun Dafa and you will have good health.” But I still did not practice myself.
After some time, I occasionally could not sleep at night. I still dreamed about the world I hoped for, in which people respected each other. Then I suddenly realized that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance will help us achieve that, and how important the three words are. I decided to practice.
Although the CCP suppressed Falun Dafa, many practitioners continued practicing – but they did not have extra copies of Zhuan Falun (the main teachings of Falun Dafa). Finally I heard that someone in the village, who could not read, had a copy of the book. I asked if she could give me the book, and she did. She reminded me to take good care of it.
With the book in hand, I learned how to be a good person. For example, as a mother, I needed to educate and care for my children without getting angry. As a child, I need to respect my parents.
One day, my husband’s second brother came to visit my mother-in-law, but I did not greet him. After he left, I felt bad. Zhuan Falun teaches one to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and I did not do that. I regretted it a lot. Later, when that brother visited us, I always greeted him with a smile.
Here is a story about my husband. One day he helped a relative move corn stalks onto a big wagon that was pulled by a mule. Because he was standing on top of the stalks on the wagon, he fell when the wagon started moving. His head hit the ground, causing his face and mouth to bleed. He was unable to lift his arm. In the evenings he joined me to do the exercises, while he managed to work during the day. Within a few days, he recovered.