(Clearwisdom.net) I compiled my mother's cultivation experience from this last year in order to let more people share our happiness.
My mother had diabetes, heart disease, and osteophytosis for many years. She was a nurse for over 30 years and relied heavily on various treatments. Three years ago when my mother came to the U.S. to visit us, she brought two pieces of luggage with her. One contained her daily clothes and the other was entirely packed with all kinds of medication. She swallowed handful after handful of medicine each day, was kept on a strict diet, and needed to monitor her blood sugar at all times.
If her blood sugar level was not controlled well, it would result in further complications of the capillaries as well as other problems. These would greatly accelerate the development of additional illnesses. In order to regulate her blood sugar, my mother was forced to decline all sweets. She could not even eat a little more of her favorite starchy foods, and fruit was completely out of the question. Only when her craving became too hard to bear did she dare to take a small bite.
After moving to the U.S., the thing that my mother feared most was falling ill and giving me trouble, so she often said, "How wonderful it would be if I were someday cured of diabetes!" However, as a biologist, I knew the chances of her diabetes being cured with medicine as it stands today is very small.
I really hoped to find a true belief, but for some reason my heart was not moved by today's religions. The atheist education that I received formed a thick wall around me and I found it hard to believe in anything.
Nevertheless, I instinctively felt that there was some sort of arrangement governing one's life. As for what the force was, I did not know. Coursework in the U.S. was very demanding and I gradually conformed to an old idiom, "Respect the gods and ghosts by keeping a distance." I made an effort to restrain myself from seeking any belief and forced myself to fight for one pragmatic goal after another, such as which experiments to do, what papers to publish and where to go for the holidays, etc. However, the inexplicable feelings of loss and confusion often kept me up at night. Was there no more meaning to life?
Later, pathological changes were apparent in my mother's eyes. Sudden fuzziness of vision often occurred and would take a long time to recover. The frequency and duration gradually increased, and I despaired that my mother would soon lose her eyesight. I immediately made an appointment for my mother with the ophthalmology department diabetes division in the Massachusetts General Hospital. The earliest slot available was not until half a month later.
I often discussed my mother's illness with my colleagues. One of them practiced Falun Gong for many years and advised my mother to give it a try. Although I had seen people practice Falun Gong in China 10 years ago, I was not very familiar with it and regarded it as just a form of qigong to strengthen the body. After moving to the U.S., the mother-in-law of one of my colleagues practiced Falun Gong, yet I did not give it much thought. Later I heard from a classmate back in college that his parents had practiced for many years and his mother's stroke was healed after only a few days of practice. After learning of this, I still did not see it as anything. Then my colleague gave me a copy of the book Zhuan Falun and said, "Let your mother read the book first and then decide whether or not to practice"
My mother enjoyed reading the book very much, so I borrowed the exercise instruction tape from my colleague for her to learn at home. But she never seemed to get the gist of it. Later my colleague suggested that I take her to study the Fa and do the exercises with the group. I hesitated. After the June 4th Tiananmen Student Massacre, I vowed never to inquire about politics. I didn't even know who the current Chinese leader was. I was afraid of unknowingly becoming labeled anti-party or anti-communism, as a traitor to my country. Moreover, the people against Falun Gong had said many bad things about it. I was afraid that in addition to not having her illness cured, my mother would be confused. However, the practitioners I know are very good people. So I thought to myself, "Whether a person goes astray in cultivation is probably related to one's educational background."
I decided to read Zhuan Falun myself so that I could warn my mother if I saw anything inappropriate. However, I could not put the book down once I started. So this is what Falun Gong really talks about! I was relieved and took my mother to attend group Fa study. There were two seniors close to my mother's age at our practice site. They were both very ill in the past; however, after practicing Falun Gong their health continued to improve, and they found no need to take medication any more. At first, I was playing with the children in another room. Although I believed Falun Gong was good and was supportive to my mother's decision, I doubted I would be able to follow the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance at all times. I thought cultivation was too difficult and I could not make up my mind to do it. I was not quite sure what those elderly people said to mother and still held doubts to the miraculous power of Falun Gong.
After two weeks, I took my mother to the eye appointment that I set up for her. The doctor told me that there was nothing wrong with her eyes and that the symptoms of diabetes disappeared. I was very surprised and asked him whether there was a mistake. He affirmed his diagnosis and probably thought that I was making a fuss out of nothing. Since I talked with the doctor in English, my mother could not understand. Seeing the serious look on my face, she thought the results were not good. I told her, "The doctor said you do not have diabetes." She was overjoyed and her first reaction was, "Teacher must have cured it for me." Then she secretly told me, "I have not taken the medication for a week now." At that time I was not completely convinced that my mother's diabetes was cured so I said, "Let's not rush to conclusions just yet. It's better to continue with the medication." My mother did not say anything to me. Once we got home, we immediately tested her blood sugar using mine as a background. My mother's blood sugar was indeed normal even after meals.
Each patient fully realizes how precious it is to have a healthy body. For a person diagnosed with an incurable disease, the restoration of health is no longer just pure happiness. There is also shock and gratitude that resonate from deep down in one's heart.
Without medication, my mother was cured of her eight years of diabetes. She has been practicing for almost a year and has not touched a single tablet since last June. Her other illnesses disappeared as well and her health is getting better each day. If I did not major in biology and this had not happened to my mother, it would be hard to convince me how wonderful Falun Gong really is.
Now I proudly acknowledge Falun Gong as my spiritual belief and am no longer puzzled in life. I also understand why there were so many people practicing Falun Gong in China before Jiang launched the persecution. Furthermore, it is clear to me why even after the Cultural Revolution and the June 4th Tiananmen Student Massacre that there are still people in China willing to follow the standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. If Falun Gong does not possess such miraculous, pure and stunning powers, how could it possibly move the hearts of the Chinese people, who had been through repeated deceptions and are numb to belief?
I sincerely hope that more people can have the chance to truly understand Falun Gong and improve themselves through cultivation.
All content published on this website is copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Health Benefits
