(Clearwisdom)
Part 1.
My mother is 80 years old.
My mother started cultivating in April 1996. Before her practice, she suffered from poor health, had a heart problem and depended heavily upon medication. In 1996, she twisted her ankle, and later fell on a floor covered with ceramic tiles. She hurt herself so badly that she could not even get out of bed. It was at this time that she learned the Falun Gong exercises from me. Unable to stand up, she learned the sitting exercise first. She was able to maintain the double lotus position for the entire hour from the very beginning. She could walk one month after the practice. Since then, she joined other practitioners at the practice site doing the standing exercises. In the beginning, she fell many times during the exercises because she was still weak and had not recovered from her leg injuries. But with the practice, she gradually recovered and regained her energy. Since then she has had no need for medicine.
My mother was illiterate. In the study group, she was full of anxiety as she saw other people reading Zhuan Falun without any difficulty. On those days, she spent all her time learning to read the book. She would ask whoever came to the house to teach her the characters that she needed to learn. After a few years' effort, she can slowly yet surely read the entire book.
My mother understands that the teaching is about cultivating one's heart. Now, she is a happy and energetic person. She does not look 80 years old at all.
Part 2.
Since July 22, 1999, my mother did not know what she should do as the environment for cultivation had totally changed. There were so many questions for which she could not find answers. She did not understand why such a good cultivation practice would be banned. She was not vocal about it, but she told me that Dafa had created her life and Teacher had given her a new life. She would say that the only problem was that she did not cultivate as well as she wanted to. Mother loved the cultivation stories on Dafa websites Minghui and Zhengjian and admired those who she thought were solid practitioners.
One day, mother came to my house and asked me if I could take her to Beijing to appeal if I decided to go. She said she had already saved 1,000 Yuan [Chinese currency, the monthly salary for an average Chinese urban laborer is about 500 Yuan]. She does not have a pension and is not entitled to any social benefits.
Mother has been consistently involved in truth clarification from the very beginning. She distributes flyers and clarifies the truth whenever she has time. Considering her age, I asked her not to go to the high-rise but she did not say anything. But one day she told me that when she was on the 7th floor, she ran out of flyers (In this city, there are no elevators for buildings with less than eight floors)! Mom does not treat herself as an elderly person. She has just turned 80 this year and her children originally planned to throw a grand birthday party for her, but she would not let us, saying that she has been given a new life by Teacher and that she should spend her days cultivating.
Mother always visits her children and family members who are not practitioners. If people accept her books and flyers, she will happily tell me that great hope and a bright future are waiting for them. If people reject her, she will lament on how she is illiterate and how she does not study the Fa well enough to effectively clarify the truth.
Part 3.
On the Liaoning Falun Dafa Day, we decided to distribute truth-clarifying flyers to people in person. Due to my mother's old age, nobody wanted to go with her, but she wanted to go and said that she could do it on her own. I did not want her to do it alone, so I decided to take her and my daughter with me. While my daughter and I were busily distributing the flyers, my mother kept up with us and sent forth righteous thoughts from behind. Half way through completing our task, I was worried that she was tired, and I took her home so she could take a break. Then, my daughter and I continued distributing the flyers. When we finished, I called home, but she was not there. I almost jumped. I called around but could not find her. Eventually, at around five o'clock, she came home. She told us that she went out to distribute the flyers on her own. When she walked close to her brother's house, she decided to drop by as she thought that since it was the Winter Solstice, her nephews and nieces might be home. So she stayed at her brother's house, clarifying the truth. They all listened to her and she forgot the time until it was dark. I told her that the Liaoning Falun Dafa Day was a very special day and we were worried about her safety. Mom reacted to this cheerfully, " I am not really worried. Don't worry about me. I know that I am safe." Looking at her, a person with such benevolence, I was full of respect.