(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. For over 20 years, I’ve been guided by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and protected by Master through the ups and downs of life.
Because I was the only girl in my family, I was pampered by my parents. I became self-centered, competitive and willful. I met my husband when I reached marriageable age. His elder brothers and sisters started their own families and moved out, leaving their mother and my husband alone in their family home. My husband started his own business, and invested all his family’s savings, so there was no money left for our wedding. My traditional parents told me, “Your mother-in-law is already in her seventies. If you agree to this marriage, don’t embarrass them.”
As a result, we held no wedding ceremony, and I simply moved into his home. This was the 1990s, when grooms were expected to pay high prices for brides. This was particularly so in rural areas, so my wedding was very different. Afterwards, whenever I saw my classmates, friends or neighbors getting married, I envied them—especially when they held a grand wedding. This strong sense of jealousy and inferiority built up until I felt I was unable to hold my head up. When things didn’t go my way, I let out my frustration on my husband and blamed him for being incompetent.
Soon after we married, we sold my husband’s business, paid off some of our debt, and found ourselves with tens of thousands of yuan. In a venture with my father, we pooled this sum of money and tried to start a business together but lost everything due to our lack of experience. My introverted and stubborn husband blamed my father for the failure and began quarreling with me whenever he encountered setbacks in life. In turn, I refused to accept his criticism about my parents and family.
My husband stopped working and developed a negative attitude towards life. Our family’s finances went from bad to worse, and it became difficult to make ends meet. We quarreled day and night, even after our son was born. I was only in my 20s, yet buried under grievances and resentment of my unjust fate, I developed neurasthenia, chronic insomnia, heart problems, and suffered from constant dizziness. Due to long-term malnutrition, I also suffered from low blood pressure.
One day, I was visiting my mother at home when I ran into my aunt. After hearing about my woes, she retrieved a book from her bag and handed it to me, saying, “Read this book. It can help resolve the troubles in your heart.” She advised me to treat this book with reverence and wash my hands before I handled it. Filled with curiosity, I took the book and saw that it was a copy of Zhuan Falun.
After she left, I read more than 40 pages of Zhuan Falun in one sitting. The contents instantly convinced me to consider practicing Falun Dafa and return to my true self. The door to salvation had opened and I found my goal in life! After returning home, I finished reading Zhuan Falun and decided to devote my life to this practice.
Under the guidance of compassionate Master and the Fa, I started to understand the meaning of life. I understood that the hardships, injustices and conflicts people encounter are caused by their own karma. One must suffer to repay karmic debts incurred from the past. My pursuit of fame, wealth, and love caused me to accrue new karma before I paid off the old, resulting in illness and a harsh life. The Fa principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance shone like a beacon, guiding me on the right path. I stopped complaining, became optimistic and cheerful, and my illnesses soon disappeared.
After seeing my positive changes, my husband eagerly listened as I told him what I’d learned through cultivation. His attitude towards my family gradually changed for the better. Falun Dafa dissolved our hatred, restored our marital relationship, and brought harmony to our family. For years, my husband suffered from a herniated disc in his lower back. The condition caused one of his calves to atrophy, and each painful attack left him bedridden and immobile. However, because of his strong belief and support for Falun Dafa, his condition disappeared.
Having observed how our lives and characters changed for the better, my parents began practicing Falun Dafa as well.
One day in October 1999, my husband brought home a young girl. They were soaking wet and he told me he saved her from drowning in a river. My previously selfish and indifferent husband used to believe he risked being blackmailed if he performed any good deeds. Under the influence of Falun Dafa’s teachings, he did the right thing. The girl was shivering from the late autumn cold, so I quickly found some dry clothes for her to change into. Afterwards, I tried asking her for her home address. She turned out to be intellectually challenged and could not tell us. We decided to take her to our village committee.
After the girl was returned to her family, a village committee member visited our home and said the child’s mother wanted to express her gratitude. I tried to turn down the request but he insisted I go. I thought to myself, “This cannot be a coincidence.” By then, lies slandering Dafa were everywhere. “Isn’t this a chance to validate the Fa?” I thought. “I could use this opportunity to prove the goodness of Falun Dafa.” On the way there my heart pounded with nervousness. The pressure was great, as no one in the village knew I practiced Falun Dafa. I encouraged myself to validate Dafa openly in order to clear my Master and Dafa’s good name. My heart gradually calmed down.
When we arrived at the village committee hall, the girl’s mother stood up, excitedly clasped my hand and said, “Thank you for saving my daughter’s life.” She took two hundred yuan from her pocket and said, “I’ve spent my life savings over the years to treat my daughter’s illness. While this amount isn’t much, I hope you will accept my token of gratitude.” I hurriedly replied, “I can’t accept this money. I practice Falun Dafa, and we follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be good people. Our Master taught us not to accept rewards for good deeds. If you want to thank someone, thank my Master. He taught me to be a selfless person who cares for others.” When she insisted that I accept the money, I said, “If you really want to express your gratitude, then thank the village committee. They were the ones who helped reunite you and your daughter.” Almost everyone from our village committee was present that day so they all heard what I said.
This encounter created a very good environment for my truth-clarification efforts. I live in a small village with 500 households near the suburbs of the city. I distribute Falun Dafa truth-clarification materials several times a month to each household, and post truth-clarification stickers everywhere. During the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Dafa, misinformed people often reported me to our village committee. But I remained safe and sound, as the village committee members who were there the day I met the rescued girl’s mother secretly protected me.
After a report was lodged at the local police station against me and my husband, my home was illegally searched in March 2002. The person who lodged the report accused us of being Dafa practitioners, even though my husband was not a practitioner at that time. However, my husband remained highly supportive of my practice and often accompanied me to distribute truth-clarification materials. We were evicted from our home, and forced into homelessness, before we finally settled down in the suburbs of a distant town.
Our new landlords, a husband and wife, along with their son, were lay Buddhists. They often shared with us details of their Buddhist belief. In turn, I told them about Falun Dafa and how we were persecuted and displaced from our home. We got along very well, and the family expressed sympathy for our plight. They offered to lend us a quilt, and seeing our financial difficulty, even offered to reduce our rent by half, saying, “We have come to know each other so well, we can tell you are good people.”
Our landlords have a grandson the same age as our son. Our son visits us during his winter and summer vacation, and the two boys often hang out together. One day, our landlord’s son complained to me, “It is hard to educate children nowadays. I’ve pasted the classical Chinese text, ‘Standards for Being a Good Student,’ on our wall to teach my child these good values. My son refuses to follow it! Your son is very sensible and always gives way to my son when playing with him. He often takes care of my son and never fights with him. Once, I heard a group of children go into someone else’s garden without permission to pick fruit. Your son was the only one who refused to enter. How did you educate your child?” I smiled and replied, “I didn’t deliberately educate my son to follow certain moral values. I practice Falun Dafa, and my son has been practicing with me since he was young. We try to be good people and follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Whenever we encounter problems, I educate my child according to these principles taught by our Master.”
Our landlord’s younger brother also knows we practice Falun Dafa, and he and his wife are very sympathetic to our plight. One day, our landlord’s brother found his child and a group of playmates with a pile of Falun Dafa books in their possession. The children had unearthed a pile of Falun Gong books from somewhere and were tearing them up. Our landlord’s younger brother instantly put a stop to their activities and told his son to bring the books to me. I was so moved that I thanked him profusely. During the peak of the government’s persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, he told his family and our landlords, “This couple are good people. We must not tell anyone about their background.” At that time, the local police often went around checking household registrations in an effort to find Falun Dafa practitioners. The police confiscated our ID cards, yet each time the police came, our landlord’s family secretly protected us.
Through the repeated cycles of reincarnation, we gradually lost ourselves, drifting aimlessly through the mundane world without knowing the meaning of life. Falun Dafa’s Master awakened us from this long dream, purified our bodies and minds, and gave us salvation. However, the CCP’s severe persecution of Falun Dafa has torn apart and destroyed countless families in China. I sincerely hope that everyone can understand the truth, withdraw from the CCP, and choose a better future for themselves!