(Minghui.org) My mother began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. She worked in a factory during the day, and then on the farm. In addition, she had to do household chores such as washing all the clothes, cooking and taking care of the elders in the family. She often felt quite tired.
Years of this excruciating and excessive work made my mother sick. She suffered from serious inflammation of the tonsils and gynecological diseases. She was so frail that she had to wear a coat, even in the summer. There were all kinds of medicines at home that she took regularly, but they didn't help at all.
In the spring of 1998, our neighbor introduced Falun Dafa to my mother and said it would help her improve her health. She said Teacher Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, helps purify all practitioners' bodies. My mother was curious so she read Zhuan Falun and began doing the meditative exercises.
My mother changed into a different person after beginning Falun Dafa cultivation practice. She became healthy and more kind. She has been practicing Falun Dafa for more than twenty years now, and has faithfully followed Dafa's teachings. From her, I saw the peace, kindness and tenacity of Dafa disciples.
Perseverance in Faith
My father initially objected to Mother practicing Falun Dafa. Every day, he made her do many chores, using different pretexts, to stop her from studying the Fa and doing the exercises. But mother had strict requirements for herself. She wasn't angry at Father and didn't argue with him. She took care of all her work without any complaints.
My father saw the positive changes in Mother's health and her persistence in practicing Falun Dafa. Gradually, he got to know a little more about the practice and even often joined the small Fa study group.
In the spring of 1999, mother went to Beijing to participate in the peaceful petition at the Appeals Office of the State Council on April 25. After returning home, her work unit started monitoring her, as they didn't want her going to Beijing again. To dissuade her, she was transferred from the business post, that was envied by all, to the workshop. She was later transferred to dig sand. The chores were heavy and tough. Digging sand outside was hard and Mother was exposed to the sun all day long. These sufferings did not shake her determination, as she continued cultivating with no complaints or hatred.
The vicious persecution against Falun Dafa began on July 20, 1999. On that day, like tens and thousands of other Dafa disciples, Mother went to Tienanmen Square and the Office for Letters and Visits to validate Dafa and clarify the facts to the officials there. She was illegally arrested and taken to a brainwashing center. She underwent tremendous suffering, but nothing could stop her from cultivation.
My mother's work unit tried to pressure her to give up cultivation again in 2000, and ordered her to write a statement promising not to go back to Beijing. They threatened that if she didn't do this, she would be fired.
Mother didn't write the statement, and proudly quit her job. A former colleague of hers later told me what happened that day. As Mother was walking out of the factory, her colleague who had worked with her for almost twenty years tried to stop her from leaving. My mother said, “I choose to practice Falun Dafa. I won't write any statement!”
Our relatives and neighbors blamed Mother saying, “You lost your job because of cultivation. Is it really worth it?” My mother's reply was, “Everything of mine is given to me by Dafa. Without Dafa I am nothing. I want to practice Falun Dafa!”
Getting Along with Relatives and Neighbors
Before practicing Falun Dafa, Mother had a temper. When small things didn't go her way, she would get angry with me and Father. We were afraid of her. But ever since she began practicing, she became considerate of everyone in the family.
My father had been adopted when he was young. After he married my mother, she was kind to his adoptive parents and took good care of them until they passed away. Later, my father brought his biological parents to live at our house. Our relatives and neighbors felt sorry for Mother. They said, “You already did your part to take care of the adoptive parents-in-law. Now you have to take care of these other parents as well? That's not fair to you.”
Mother laughed, and replied, “No problem at all. This is what I ought to do.”
Father had four biological siblings. Although he was the one sent away for adoption, my biological grandparents loved my family the most because they all felt that my mother cared. She always cooked food they liked. My grandmother liked to talk to her, especially when she was worried about something, and Mother usually comforted her to make her feel better. My mother often taught Grandmother to say “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” and Grandmother happily repeated the sentences.
My grandmother stayed over at an uncle's house during the Chinese New Year. One day, Uncle phoned us and said, “Mom wants to eat dumplings with stuffed fennel.” After mother heard that, she went out to buy some fennel and started making dumplings. Then she took the public transit to deliver them to her.
Auntie was my mother's only sister. Her life was stressful and she often fought with her husband. She died at a young age. All our relatives hated Uncle and didn't have any contact with him at all. However, every New Year holiday my mother told me to buy some gifts and go see him. I wasn't pleased about this. “He treated Auntie so badly. If it weren't for him perhaps Auntie wouldn't have died at such a young age. Why go see him?” I asked.
Mother replied, “We are relatives after all. We need to go.”
I had no choice, so I bought some gifts and went. On my trip home, I chatted with the taxi driver about my visit to Uncle. The driver said, “Your mom is so kind. If it were me, I wouldn't go.”
I replied, “My mom practices Falun Dafa. She is kind. The propaganda that the government makes up and passes around is not accurate.”
The driver nodded in agreement.
Last year, my family's land was taken away by the government and we were compensated with over one million yuan. The moment the money was received, my uncle and neighbors wanted to borrow some. Mother agreed to allow all of them to borrow some money.
The money was all gone in less than a year, while our home still needed repairs. Mother lived frugally to save money for the repairs. I complained about this to her, but she said, “People came to borrow money because they needed it badly. We need to help them.”
All our relatives and neighbors praised Mother for her kindness. That is why when mother clarified the truth to them, they agreed with everything she said.
Giving Me Full Support
I began working as an elementary school teacher in 2006. My mother knew that I had a bad temper. She often reminded me not to be mean, and to treat parents, colleagues and children with Dafa's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
She told me to work hard and not be afraid to suffer. She also advised me that whatever the administrators asked of me, I should do it unconditionally with no complaints.
Many colleagues of mine were young and when the administrators delegated tasks, there were always some that complained. Sometimes their families would pressure the administrators, as everyone wanted to have an easy job. Apparently, it was only my mother, a Falun Dafa practitioner, who asked her child to do hard work with no complaints and cooperate with the administrators.
As an elementary school teacher, I basically took care of my own class. Because there were limited teachers, if a teacher took a leave of absence, the other teachers had to take care of her shift, which meant they had extra work.
My mother raised more than two hundred sheep to help make a living, and she wouldn't let me worry about anything at home. She said, “Just do your job well and look after your students. I'm fine with all the chores at home.”
So with her support and the good fortune that Dafa brought, I haven’t even taken one leave of absence in the past twelve years.
My school encouraged all teachers to upgrade their academic qualifications in 2013, so I embarked on post-graduate studies, which started in the summer. They had strict requirements; if one was absent for a third of the classes, they had to take the course over again. The workload at school was already quite heavy, and if I had to retake a course, lots of trouble would follow. My mother realized this and gave me much support. Although she had to shear sheep in the summer, she told me to concentrate on my studies and took over my task of making dinner every night.
In the summer of 2013 and 2014, all the chores at home were taken care of by my mother. When I asked her if she was tired, she replied, “I'm not tired. You just concentrate on your studies.”
Thanks to her support, throughout the two years of my post-graduate studies program, I didn't miss any classes and was able to complete the master's degree within two years.
I wrote these words in the acknowledgment of my master's thesis: “I am greatly indebted to my mother's support over the past two years. Without her, I wouldn't have completed my studies today.” These words were applauded by the professors who participated in my master’s ceremony.
My mother is an ordinary country woman; yet to me, she is very special. The practice of Falun Dafa makes her the greatest life in the universe. For the past nineteen years, the Chinese Communist Party’s vicious campaign against Falun Dafa practitioners has led to the suffering of so many practitioners and their families. Just as my mother persists in her efforts, tens and thousands of practitioners endure hardship and continue with their peaceful appeals to end the persecution.
I hope this article can help all kindhearted people get to know these practitioners of Falun Dafa and stand by their side. Your support and sense of justice will bring you a bright future!
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