(Minghui.org) I'm a 68-year-old farmer and I only have an elementary school education.
Before I started practicing Falun Dafa, I suffered from various illnesses including rheumatism, eye diseases, gynecological diseases, anemia, and dizziness. I always felt tired and uncomfortable and wanted to lie down, but when I did I couldn't sleep.
After I started practicing Falun Dafa in November 1997, all my illnesses disappeared. Since then I've been healthy and haven't taken a single drop of medication.
Having Compassion For the Person Who Reported Me
My husband and I bought a house in our village in 2000, and we've lived here since.
One elderly villager supported herself by scavenging trash, and her life was very difficult. I wanted to talk to her about Falun Dafa and the persecution. After we chatted a few times, one day in 2002 I told her how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was persecuting Falun Dafa.
She was deeply influenced by the CCP's propaganda and did not accept what I told her. Instead, she reported me to the Residential Neighborhood Committee.
Two days later, the committee's secretary, deputy secretary and director came to my home. They demanded to know if I practiced Falun Dafa. I realized that the elderly woman had reported me.
I calmly told them how wonderful Falun Dafa is, and how my health had dramatically improved after I began practicing. The secretary said, “It's fine, as long as you are healthy.” Then the three of them left.
Afterward, I did not hold any hatred towards the elderly woman. I understood that she was also a victim of the CCP’s poisonous propaganda. I smiled and greeted her as usual whenever I saw her, as though nothing had happened.
Forgiving the Neighbors
In order to further advance our income, we planted a lot of bamboo near my old house in the countryside, and we sold a few thousand pounds of bamboo every year.
A merchant who wanted to buy the bamboo came to my home in 2007. We agreed on a price and he wrote out the order.
When it was time to harvest the bamboo a few months later, I traveled to my old house. To my surprise, all the bamboo was gone, including all the young bamboo shoots! The land was stripped bare.
I knew in my mind that my neighbor had done it. I calmed down and reminded myself that I shouldn't get upset. I said to myself, “I cultivate 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance', and I shouldn't get angry with them. I need to contact the merchant and tell him not to come.”
I remembered what Master said,
“How should our practitioners treat losses and gains? It is different from ordinary people. What everyday people want is personal gain and how to live well and comfortably. Our practitioners are not this way, but exactly the opposite. We do not seek what everyday people want. Instead, what we get is something everyday people cannot obtain—even though they want to—except through cultivation practice.” (Zhuan Falun, Lecture Four)
I understood that I must follow a higher standard – the standard of the Fa. I treated what happened as re-paying my neighbor for what I must have owed him from a previous life. With that thought, I was filled with peace. If I didn't practice Falun Dafa I couldn't have been so calm and forgiving.
I had also planted about two dozen trees. By 2012, these trees had grown and their trunks were 6-8 inches in diameter.
My neighbor had a large buffalo. He did not have a hitching post and always tied his buffalo to one of my trees. The buffalo rubbed its horns against the trunk and soon killed the tree. The neighbor started tying the buffalo to another tree, and he chopped the dead tree down and took it for firewood.
After I learned what was happening, I remained calm and I did not fight with them. One day, the family's elderly aunt came over and yelled at me.
I did not argue back or defend myself. I understood that she was helping me to improve my xinxing. I shouldn't resent her, and instead should thank her!
My Brother-in-Law Gave Me an Opportunity to Cultivate
My brother-in-law was appointed the leader of the village’s production team in 2008 and was responsible for reassigning farmland to the villagers based on a family’s headcount. My husband and son had already moved their residency registration out of the village and I was the only one in our family who was registered in the village.
Good land was assigned to the other villagers, while my brother-in-law assigned me with land that was difficult to grow rice, and was surrounded by rocks, a pond and other people’s land.
Anyone else would have refused to accept this land if it was assigned to them. It was obvious that my brother-in-law was bullying me. Several other villagers also felt that he was treating me unfairly.
I remembered that I'm a practitioner and should consider his situation. I realized that it wasn't easy to be a team leader, and I shouldn't complain about the land he assigned me. I invited his family to have dinner with us and talked to them about Falun Dafa. They were all very happy.
I sincerely thank Master for his merciful salvation. I will cultivate more diligently, and awaken more people.
Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions or understandings. All content published on this website are copyrighted by Minghui.org. Minghui will produce compilations of its online content regularly and on special occasions.
Category: Improving Oneself
