Because of Dafa, My Family Is Whole

(Minghui.org) I am a middle-aged woman who has practiced Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) for 26 years.

A Life of Hardship

People often say that an unhappy childhood takes a lifetime to heal, and my experience is indeed a testament to that. When I was two years old, my father was sentenced to eight years in prison, and I have no memory of him. My mother suffered a mental breakdown and spent her days in a state of confusion. My father died just two years after his release, and, when I was 17, I also lost my mother.

There were four of us siblings. My brother was the eldest, and my older sister married at 18. I was the third child, and my youngest sister was only six months old when our father died. As my mother lay dying, her gaze lingered on my little sister, just five years old, as though she couldn’t bear to leave her behind. Our family was desperately poor. On her deathbed, my mother entrusted me with the care of our family and begged me to arrange an “exchange marriage” for my brother. My brother refused, and my mother died with her eyes still open—unable to rest. We siblings carried on for another year.

Then, without our knowledge, my aunt gave my little sister up for adoption. From that point on, my brother and I had only each other. An elderly relative in our clan, concerned for my safety, insisted I sleep at her home at night. During the day, I cooked for my brother and kept house, and at night I went to the old woman’s home to sleep.

After several years of living this way, a mutual acquaintance introduced me to my future husband. We married and started a family. He is an honest and kind man who has always treated me well. Our first child, a boy, was born with profound hearing loss and was non-verbal even at the age of seven. Our second child was a girl. After she was born, my health quickly deteriorated—cysts, high blood pressure, cardiac issues, painful menstruation, and recurrent tonsillitis plagued me. Just recovering from her birth, I often wept, overwhelmed by everything I had endured—the hardships, the physical pain, the relentless pressure, and the helplessness of looking after my small children. I felt I could not go on, yet I was only 30 years old. Still, I could not bring myself to give up. I would gaze at the baby in my arms and wonder what would become of my children. Would they grow up without a mother, just as I had? Why had fate been so cruel to me, piling every misfortune on my shoulders? There was nothing to do but endure.

Joy After Hardship

March 16, 1999, was the most unforgettable day of my life. That was the day my husband’s sister-in-law introduced me to Falun Dafa. The moment I began reading the main book of teachings by Master Li Hongzhi, something became clear to me: the suffering in this life is the result of wrongdoing from past lives, and debts must be repaid. I thought to myself, “If this life is meant to be hard, I will cultivate toward the next.” That is how I came to the practice.

I came to understand that Master asks us to complete our cultivation in this lifetime, and there is no need to wait for another turn of the wheel of reincarnation. I began to practice, and all my ailments vanished. I was healthy, and my family was happy. I stepped onto an entirely new path. Master gave me a second life, and I will always be grateful for his grace.

My Son’s Story

Imagine having a child who cannot speak at seven years old. My son was born with profound hearing loss—90 decibels hearing loss in his left ear and complete deafness in his right. Regular schools would not accept him. With no grandparents to help and my husband working far away from home, I raised both children alone. When I heard of a speech and language kindergarten, I enrolled him at age seven. About three months after I began practicing Falun Dafa, my son called out “Mama” and “Baba” for the first time. At nine, he entered first grade at a special education school. He also studied the Fa with me and helped me fold truth-clarification pamphlets.

He graduated from a vocational high school and quickly secured a job. Intelligent and quick to learn, he is now able to communicate normally and uses smartphones and computers. He even helps me pay bills and fix computer issues. In 2018, he enrolled in driving lessons. Because no such training was available locally for people with his condition, he had to go a long way to a provincial capital. He passed the exam and earned his driver’s license—the first among his peers facing similar challenges.

At first, I was worried. How could someone with such hearing loss drive safely? What if he hit someone, or someone hit him? These were real concerns. But a practitioner said something that changed my thinking: “With Master watching over him, what is there to fear? Let him be a part of regular society.” Those words awakened me. Everyone has their own path. I chose to trust and let go.

Now my son has bought a car. Today he lives like any other young man, independent and capable. I no longer need to worry about him.

A Happy Reunion

We lost contact with my younger sister after she was adopted. We saw her briefly when she was eight or nine, but her adoptive family did not want us disturbing her life and kept us apart. In 2017, I decided to find her to share the goodness of Dafa. My husband and I went to the village where we believed she had grown up, but no one would tell us where she was. Eventually we learned she had married and moved to a neighboring village. When we got there, we happened to run into her mother-in-law—as if it had all been arranged. I found my little sister that day, and I gave her a truth-clarification amulet. She was in her 40s by then, with two children of her own.

My older brother and sister, both in their 60s, are doing well. I thought, “Somehow, we must arrange for them to meet their little sister.” At the beginning of the year, I took them to see her. We held each other and wept—four siblings reunited for the first time in 37 years. This absence had been a wound in my heart for so long—something I could never bring myself to speak of. Now, at last, it has healed. We know that each of us has lived a decent life. I hope they harbor no regrets.

Who could have imagined that a mute child would one day speak or that a sister given away as a baby would be found? The family that was once shattered has grown stronger and done better with every passing year under Master’s watchful care. Everything we have today is inseparable from his compassionate protection. I am deeply grateful.

Closing Words

By practicing Falun Dafa, I came to understand that all suffering stems from karma accumulated over previous lives. These debts must be repaid, and so life brings us so many trials and sorrows.

When the persecution began in 1999, the police asked me why I practiced Falun Gong. I told them, “Practicing has made me healthy, and my child learned to speak. How could I possibly give it up?”

I cannot be separated from Dafa. Studying the Fa and doing the exercises each day is my non-negotiable routine. Over more than 20 years of relentless persecution, through tribulation after tribulation, I never wavered or gave up. If anything, I emerged stronger, clear-minded and grounded, my character steadily improving. I have Master’s compassionate protection; the guiding principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance; and the support of fellow practitioners. Every obstacle and hardship has simply become another step upward on my path. I walk steadily forward on the divine road.

I am the happiest person in the world—happy from the very core of my being. I am grateful to Master for his mercy and salvation. The suffering I have endured has not broken me, because I have the greatest Master in the world. This is the power of faith. Dafa has given me so much—it has given me everything. I walk firmly on the path of assisting Master in Fa-rectification. I hope all kindhearted people will come to know what a profound and virtuous teaching this truly is.

Thank you, Master!