(Minghui.org) I'm the youngest of three sisters, and my husband's family is very large. I would like to talk about both the joys and hardships I have encountered on my cultivation path in Falun Dafa.
My Mother
My mother attended Master's Fa lecture series in September 1992. At the time she was almost 80, and she needed cortisone injections for her swollen right knee. I pushed her to the lecture hall each evening in a wheelchair. When the lecture was over, everyone gathered around Master outside; my mother was even fortunate enough to shake hands with him. Upon returning home, she discovered her knee had returned to normal.
When she started cultivating, my mother's face turned rosy, and the wrinkles on her forehead disappeared. People said, “Your mother's skin is like a baby's.”
During the 2001 Chinese New Year, my mother and I went to my oldest sister's home to celebrate the holiday. While everybody was busy making dinner, the TV was airing the staged Tiananmen “Self-immolation.” I stood there and cried. I thought, “How could anyone make up such a thing about Falun Dafa?”
During the height of the communist regime's persecution, my mother gave up her practice. She was very healthy, but one day, she could no longer get out of bed and showed symptoms of cerebellar atrophy.
My mother lay in bed for almost six years, but never caught a cold, coughed, or became short of breath. Her vital organs were fine, and she never took medication. She ate three meals with fruit every day. But she was only able to walk a little bit every two weeks. One day, I dyed her hair and noticed her temperature rose to 107 oF. The doctor checked her and said, “Eighty-seven years old, but her heart functions likes someone who is 60.” I told him, “I practice Falun Gong. When I practice, my mother benefits from it.”
I played Master's lectures to her every day. She passed away in my arms at the age of 94. Although she normally clutched her hands, on the day she passed away, her hands were open in the lotus palm position, and her legs were crossed. On the morning of the funeral, a practitioner with her third eye open saw my mother drifting to the sky while sitting on a lotus flower. She was wearing a cassock and smiling. The practitioner also saw that we were both surrounded by a very colorful, glimmering light.
My Oldest Sister's family
Before retirement, my oldest sister was head of a department and her husband was governor of a bank. They enjoyed high social status and were wealthy enough to afford a second residence in Hong Kong. But even though they attended Master's lectures in person, they believed in nothing but the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). For almost ten years, they did not change and would always say bad things about Dafa. I tried to persuade them to quit the CCP but was not successful.
Three years ago, they went to Hong Kong again and noticed that many people were freely practicing Falun Gong there. My sister took a picture and showed it to me when they returned. I liked the big words on the banners in the picture, “Falun Dafa Is Great!” and “Heaven Will Disintegrate the CCP,” so I asked for a copy. But she refused and intended to hide the picture.
My sister has two daughters and a son. My nephew is stationed overseas and didn't come home very often, so I stayed in his home from 2007 to 2009 to take care of his 15-year-old daughter, my great niece
My nephew's wife had to leave on an overseas trip the day after I arrived. I went to pick up my great niece from school, but she said she didn't like the way I looked and even said the taxis wouldn't stop for us because of my hairstyle and clothing. She told me to keep a distance from her and stay outside the schoolyard. I was very hurt and thought, “I have a comfortable home, I didn't come to live with you just for free meals.” But upon self-examination, I realized that thought didn't sound right. I started reciting Master's Fa and studied Zhuan Falun that entire night. When I studied Lecture Six, I came to understand a lot of things. I said in my heart, “Master, this situation has been arranged by you. I came here to help save sentient beings. I shouldn't have grievances. I need to look inward and rectify myself.”
The next day I waited for my great niece after school. She surprised me by coming up, patting me on the back, and greeting me very pleasantly. I asked, “What makes you so happy today? Did you get an A?” She replied, “No, that's not it. When I was calling the taxi this morning, you seemed so nice. When I saw your back, I wanted to cry. I don't know why. I've never felt that way about anyone before. My heart was light today. I kept thinking of you. I just wanted to smile.”
When we got home, she asked me what Falun Gong was, so I clarified the facts to her and persuaded her to quit the Communist Youth League. I told her to give herself a pseudonym for the declaration. She said, “Just use my given name.”
I then realized that, as soon as I rectified myself, this child changed into a different person. Master was waiting for me to cultivate myself!
From then on, she often said considerately, “Aunt, don't always think about me, you should take good care of yourself,” “Put on layers when you go out,” and “Have you eaten?” In her mother's words, she had never seen her be so considerate. One day her father came back and saw us getting along so well and asked, “Aunty, what magic did you use?” I said, “I don't know what you're talking about. Practitioners do things from their hearts.”
In 2008, my nephew asked for a copy of Zhuan Falun. He read the book for an entire evening and told me the next day, “I have more than 50 friends overseas. Most of them believe in Buddhism. We often chat, and they said Falun Gong must not be slandered.” His third eye is open and has seen Zhang Guolao (one of the Eight Deities) standing in front of him. He said, “Aunty, I have seen you several times; you're a Buddha...” He asked me to teach him the sitting meditation that day and entered tranquility immediately and was able to see Master's law bodies.
While living in my nephew's home, I had been buying train tickets with my own money and always bought the cheapest tickets so that I could save money to do Dafa things. Except for food, I used my own money on expenses. One day as I was leaving for home, my nephew's wife gave me a wad of money to buy air tickets, but I returned it and told her I didn't like flying. In fact, it was because I always carry Dafa books and materials with me, so I couldn't fly. (Passengers are checked more thoroughly in airports.) When I left, she said to her husband, “I can't understand one thing about Aunty. Her smile confuses me.” He said, “I'll explain it to you. She is a practitioner of Falun Gong. They do not bring worries to others. So she is always happy and always smiles.”
Why do I always smile? Because I'm so lucky and so happy! I live in the period when Master is spreading Dafa; I have met Master in person while so many other practitioners haven't; Master is next to me and watching me cultivate every day--how could I not smile! In cultivation of Dafa, even suffering hardship is a good thing-- how could I not smile?
My Brother-in-law
My brother-in-law is 80 years old. He had tumors in his brain and neck and was hospitalized and scheduled for surgery right after the New Year. One of his daughters was a director in the hospital. His son asked me, “Aunty, please save my dad!” I said, “To save your father, he has to agree to quit the Party from his heart.” Before his operation the next day, I told my brother-in-law to say, “Falun Dafa is great. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is great.” My nephew asked him to agree, but he didn't respond. In the past, he would have badmouthed Dafa. The doctor told us my brother-in-law probably wouldn't make it through the surgery. My niece became so frightened that her voice changed; she kept blowing her nose. I kept my eyes closed and sent forth righteous thoughts.
My brother-in-law went into a coma after the operation. My nephew asked me, “Shall we play something for him?” I said, “I only have Master's lectures, Pudu, Jishi and Dafa songs.” Because there were 20 beds in the critical unit, we ended up playing Pudu and Jishi for him. My niece asked the nurse to charge the player frequently so her father could listen anytime. More than three weeks later, my brother-in-law gradually came to. His two daughters said, “We've got to talk to him and let him know there are Buddhas and gods. Otherwise, he won't believe in anything except the CCP.” They reasoned with him, and, seeing that all three of his children had agreed to withdraw from the Party and its affiliated organizations, he finally consented to do the same.
For the entire four months of my brother-in-law's hospitalization, I watched him at night and didn't skip Fa study and doing the exercises. And I went out to validate Dafa during the day. It was very hard, and I sometimes hid in a corner to cry. But as soon as I thought of the hardship Master has had to bear, I didn't feel it was hard anymore. I reminded myself what our ultimate goal is. Didn't we come here to save sentient beings? I recited Master's Fa,
“Make known the truth and get rid of evil spirits
Spread the Nine Commentaries and the evil Party will fade
Save the world’s people with righteous thoughts
Expose the lies and open the locks in people’s hearts
We don’t believe consciences can’t be brought back”
(“To Save the World” in Hong Yin III)
Let me earnestly wake them up!
I also helped clear out my sister and brother-in-law's house by taking down the Party flag and burning it outside. When my niece came back, she said, “What a bright house! The Party flag is gone.” In the past, my sister would never have let me do this, because she regarded the CCP as more important than her life. Now she said to me, “Practice at home. Don't go out so much. Give me some peace of mind.” My nephew would say, “Mom, save your worries for my Aunty. She's the most rational, and her mind is the most sober!” My niece also said, “The wisest person is Aunty; the kindest person is Aunty; the most generous person is Aunty. She does not take anything and always gives and thinks of others.” I asked, “Why?” She answered, “Because you practice Falun Gong!”
(To be continued)
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