(Minghui.org) Everyone has a different take on what happiness is, but to me, happiness is about giving of yourself and helping others - it’s why I practice Falun Dafa. If I did not practice Falun Dafa, I'd still be sick and suffering from all my health issues or I might have become even more selfish than I already was. Whenever I see people buzzing about in their daily lives, I sincerely wish that everyone would know about the universe's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and how important they are. I'd like to tell you my story.
Even though I was young, I suffered from high blood pressure and arthritis. I also had severe constipation and for seventeen long years nothing I tried alleviated it. Whatever I took for one condition seemed to aggravate the other condition - it was a vicious cycle.
A friend brought me in March 1997 the audio recordings of Master Li Hongzhi's (the founder of Falun Dafa) lectures in Jinan and two books, Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa and A Collection of Dafa Cultivation Stories. He told me that Falun Dafa was very effective in maintaining good health. I was desperate so I began to read Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa. I was pleasantly surprised, in the book Master answered many questions, such as: why do we humans have the wish to cultivate and how do we cultivate?
I immediately knew that this was exactly what I had been looking for! For years, I had wanted to practice spiritual cultivation but had no idea how to go about it and now I finally found it! Filled with excitement, I began listening to the audio lectures and I read the second book. I was thoroughly amazed and felt that Dafa was magical and wonderful. I was so happy that I completely forgot about the health problems which had plagued me for years.
I next went to the exercise site to learn the Falun Dafa exercises. In less than two days, all my ailments were gone – the constipation that had plagued me for seventeen years as well as the high blood pressure and arthritis. I was 44 years old, but I felt so light that it felt like I floated when I walked. I was so happy that I had trouble containing myself.
Before I began practicing Falun Dafa, I was extremely cautious with money. Some even called me a penny-pincher. About twenty years ago I paid 50 yuan for a dress and afterward, I fretted over it for an entire sleepless night. My husband asked, “Don’t you like it?” When I said I didn't want to spend that much money he said, “Consider it a gift from me and keep it!” Only then did I reluctantly keep the dress. I was always good at saving, thus my mother-in-law who thought thriftiness was the best way to look after one’s family, praised me. I could not relax even if I overpaid one single penny.
After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I strove to act in accordance with the teachings. I felt the primary cause of friction in any relationship between family members or friends is our tendency to protect our personal interests. So, getting rid of my attachment to self-interest was a critical cultivation milestone for me.
Master Li said,
“I’ll tell you a truth: The entire cultivation process for a cultivator is one of constantly giving up human attachments. In ordinary human society, people compete with, deceive, and harm each other for a little personal gain. All of these mentalities must be given up. Especially for people who are studying the practice today, these mentalities should be given up even further.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
I memorized these words to make sure I would put the teaching into practice. It has been my guide on my journey from a selfish, self-involved person to one that put others first. At work, I refuse to accept any money or gifts which coworkers offer in return for the favors that I've done for them. I just tell them that I'm happy to help because I practice Falun Dafa and follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Another example of how Falun Dafa has helped me to become selfless is the way I handled the inheritance after my father and my mother-in-law passed away.
When my father died, in order to get all the gifts (that are given to the deceased's family), my older brother and sister-in-law attempted to have my father’s body moved back to his hometown (where my brother’s family also lives) for burial. Because my younger brother and I did not consent to it, they left everything for us to handle and went home. Yet when the funeral was over, they demanded their share of whatever money was left. Despite the circumstances, I felt no resentment towards them but instead I felt sorry for them and empathized with their situation – they were getting old, were in poor health and had many other difficulties. When I suggested to my husband that we give them the 5,000 yuan which was our share of the inheritance, he agreed. Practicing Falun Dafa has helped me to take money lightly.
When my mother-in-law died, it took three years to settle the issue-ridden division of the inheritance. I felt sorry for my husband and assured him that I did not care how the inheritance was divided and that I wouldn't make it more difficult for him. Relieved to have a wife who practices Falun Dafa, he was able to resolve the dispute by accepting the smallest share of the inheritance.
In 2006, my sister-in-law’s family and ours jointly purchased a truck rental business. It lasted two years and we lost about 16,000 yuan. Since her family’s financial circumstances were poor, we bore the entire loss and I was fine with it.
I've always told my relatives and the people I meet that if they remember that, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” they will be blessed.
One day my sister-in-law was moving a fishbowl and tripped. Her bottom hit the floor hard while she braced the bowl against her chest. The edge of the bowl dug into her ribs. That night, she had trouble turning over in bed so she thought, “I should say, 'Falun Dafa is good'.” She soon fell asleep and when she woke up the next day, all her pain was gone. She told me, “Saying 'Falun Dafa is good' really works!”
She came to me one day and said, “The police told me to follow a practitioner they plan to arrest.” I asked her where the practitioner lived. I asked for Master’s help. We found him and alerted him. Later my sister-in-law told the police, “That man hasn't done anything wrong. Why do you want to monitor him? I don’t want to do this.” The police told her to forget it.
My mother-in-law had a brain hemorrhage and lost consciousness. The doctor warned us that she might not pull through because of her advanced age of 85. I felt responsible for her condition because I had offered to pay for her cataract operation and the hemorrhage happened the day she was about to have the operation. I urgently asked Master to save her. I also told my husband to keep repeating, “Falun Dafa is good” to his mother. The following afternoon, she suddenly woke up. I asked her to keep saying, “Falun Dafa is good” so she could get better. She smiled and nodded her head. She couldn’t enunciate the words very clearly at first, but soon her voice became clear and strong.
After she came out of the hospital she did not have any symptoms of having a hemorrhage. How amazing is Dafa!