(Minghui.org) When I had a conflict with the wife of my brother-in-law, he hit me, so I hated them for fifteen years. I also did not talk to my parents-in-law for ten years because they blamed me for causing the conflict. After I began practicing Falun Gong, the teachings helped me see conflicts from a different perspective. I finally let go of the fifteen-year-old grudge against them and took the initiative to reconcile with my brother-in-law and his wife.
I knew my husband’s family since I was sixteen years old. My husband is the third of six brothers in his family. Because of his position in our family, after we were married I was responsible for most of the household chores. Problems among the brothers’ family members often occurred, but my conflicts with his second brother’s family were particularly intense. Although we lived separately, we often fought with each other over trivial matters.
One evening in 1985, I quarreled with second brother’s wife again, but the brother suddenly came at me and hit me in the face. He hit me so hard, that even the neighbors heard it. I felt dizzy and as if everything around me was spinning. My husband was not home, so I went to complain to my parents-in-law. However, to my surprise, they blamed me for all the problems I'd been having with my brother-in-law's family. After that, I stopped talking to my in-laws for ten years, and the brother's family for fifteen years.
For ten years, my hatred for them grew, and during that time, I would not let my husband live in peace. Unable to do anything about it, he decided to have me and our child live with him at the army base after he was promoted.
Nine years later he retired from the army, and we both got good jobs in the city near our hometown. Although we were highly regarded by the local residents in our hometown, I still could not let go of the grudge I had towards the brother and his wife.
Our friends and relatives tried very hard to help us reconcile, and the brother also came to visit us several times hoping that I would forgive him. However, it was impossible for me to let my hatred go. Every time he left, I would vent on my husband by refusing to eat and drink anything to torture him mentally until he apologized to me. I also threw away all the gifts his brother brought us, and I prohibited my husband from going to visit his family.
My my sister came to see me one day in June 1999 after she had just Zhuan Falun , the main book of Falun Gong. After she excitedly told me how miraculous Falun Gong is, I said that if the practice was so amazing, I wanted to practice too. After I read the other book my sister brought, Essentials for Further Advancement , I became even more eager to cultivate in Falun Gong.
It was hard to get a copy of Falun Gong books back then because hundreds and thousands of Chinese were practicing. I joined the local practitioners and began to practice the exercises with them first. A few days later, my sister finally brought me a copy of Zhuan Falun which I still have today.
After I read Zhuan Falun the first time, I had the urge to go solve my problem with my brother-in-law's family immediately.
One day, my husband’s fifth brother came to visit us. I told him that I had begun practicing Falun Gong, and how Falun Gong teaches people to follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I also told him that practitioners treat others with compassion.
We traveled back to our hometown one Sunday morning. On our way there, I told myself that I must resolve the decade-long problem between me and the second brother’s family, or else I would not have peace of mind.
The fifth brother and his wife were home when we arrived. Shortly afterward the second brother and his wife returned from their farm field. In the past, I would have simply turned away without saying anything, but not this time. I knew that Master had arranged this opportunity for me, so why wait? I immediately went up and greeted them, “How are you?”
Surprised to hear me greeting them so happily, they did not know what to say and mumbled to themselves, “After fifteen years of animosity, why is she so happy to see us now?”
The fifth brother told them, “I know why: She’s a Falun Gong practitioner now!”
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Category: Improving Oneself
