(Minghui.org) My father used to be a high-level government official. After the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong, he never doubted the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s broadcasts that maligned Falun Gong. There was seemingly nothing I could do to change his mind about Falun Gong.
I was arrested in May 2000 for telling people about the persecution and was imprisoned in a forced labor camp for three years. When I was released, my father said, “I would have tortured and beat you if I were in their place.”
My parents came to stay with us for a few days in 2006. Without telling me, he had my daughter skip class, so he could spend time with her. After I told him that it was unacceptable for his granddaughter to lie, he got angry. He told my mother that he was going to report me to the police for practicing Falun Gong.
My daughter overheard the conversation and called to warn me. From that day on she refused to come home after school and be alone with them. My parents went home shortly after.
My parents came to stay with us when I bought a new home. They only stayed for a few days because my father thought my family was strange--we didn't fight with each other. He was a firm believer in Mao's famous words: “Can 800 million people manage to get on without struggle?”
This was a reflection of the principles upon which the Chinese Communist Party--an entity born of conflict and “struggle”-- was founded. So my father could not understand how anyone would seek out harmony and live by Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It would take a life-changing event for him to become open to an alternative to the CCP ideology that he had been immersed in all his life.
My mother died three years later, and my father was diagnosed with late stage prostate cancer. I asked him to come live with us. A fellow practitioner brought him articles that addressed cancer and a return to good health from the Minghui website. He went from no interest to greeting the practitioner warmly and actually asked for his articles.
After we had a good conversation, my father mulled over the Falun Gong issue. He finally admitted that the practice had indeed brought my family great blessings. My past ailments were gone and I looked great.
My father stopped rebuffing me and started to show concern for my wellbeing. One night at the dinner table, my husband criticized me for being slow. My father wasn't happy and told me so in private. It happened again the next day, and I explained to him that it was indeed my fault and that Falun Gong taught me to forbear and to look within and correct my mistakes. He was amazed by my tolerant reaction.
He stayed with me for two months and saw firsthand how Falun Gong brought out the goodness in people and made our family a happy one.
He understood that people benefited from the practice and decided to quit the CCP and its affiliates. His health improved and he became more energetic. Falun Gong had moved my father's once implacable heart.
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