(Minghui.org) My father’s godmother exhibited “true insanity” in the last three years of her life. My grandmother told me stories about her, and I also witnessed some of the extraordinary things that she did. I would like to share her experience as evidence that “true insanity” indeed exists.
Repaying Karma
Godmother lived in the same village as my great-grandmother. Her mother-in-law died early, so her father-in-law lived with them. She gave him decent clothes to wear but poor food to eat and did not treat him well. Her father-in-law worked in their fields all day long but only returned home to eat after everyone in the family had already eaten. As time passed, he became very thin.
One year during the Chinese New Year season, Godmother suddenly began to behave strangely. She went to everyone’s kitchen in the village, drank three scoops of cold water from their water tank, and then kowtowed to the eldest person in each family, thanking them for letting her drink their water. She also made sure to wash the bowl she used and put it back before leaving for the next house.
It is not customary for Chinese to drink unboiled water, especially in the winter, so everyone was shocked to see what she was doing. She told people, “Thank you for your water to cleanse my heart. I treated my father-in-law badly and made a big mistake. Gods in heaven are punishing me, and I have to drink cold water from every household in the village to purify my heart. I was wrong. If you forgive me, I will get up. If you don’t forgive me, I’ll kneel here like this until you do.”
She was barefoot, her hair pulled up like an actor in an opera, and she only wore white trousers and a white blouse. In the winter, she went from house to house in only a light jacket. She explained that she was being punished by Gods and that was why she should not wear a winter coat.
Insane but Not Foolish
Meanwhile, she still cooked meals for her family perfectly well. When everyone finished eating, she drank the leftover soup after apologizing to her father-in-law every day. Then she cleaned the dishes and ran outside again. Nobody could stop her.
She slept in a haystack every night, even in the winter. As soon as the sun rose, she went home and did all the chores for her family.
Her family wanted to take her to a hospital to have her mental issues treated, but nobody, even a young man, was strong enough to haul her there, so they just left her alone.
In the spring when work on the farm began, she carried dung, hoed the fields, and did all the dirty chores that she would not do in the past. After finishing the hard work for her family, she helped other families. When there was no work to do, she ran around the village recklessly, rain or shine. The worse the weather, the more often she ran out. She also picked up gravel and bricks on the road and put them away. When beggars asked her for food, she took them home and gave them as much food as they asked for.
She treated others very generously but was cruel to herself. In the winter, her feet got frostbite because she seldom wore shoes outside. The donkey dung on the roadside was frozen like a stone, but she picked it up and ate it. No one could take it away from her. She said that she was eating “delicious meatballs!” She also drank animal urine. Villagers stopped tying their mules and horses outside so that the animals did not leave their droppings on the streets.
Her family locked her up in her room to prevent her from going out. But she was able to open the lock instantly. No ropes could restrain her, and even chains were useless. On holidays, she fed her portion of holiday delicacies to the dogs.
Even though she seemed to have lost her mind, she was not foolish at all. When her sons kowtowed to her on Chinese New Year, she told them to be filial to the older people and to not do what she did in the past to her father-in-law.
Supernormal Abilities
Three years later, on the same day she became insane, she did not run out after cleaning the dishes. She boiled a pot of water, washed her hair and body, changed into her normal clothes, and put on shoes and socks. After that, she cut her hair and combed it back like she did three years before.
When my father was only a month old, he fell seriously ill. The doctors had nothing that could help him. When there was no hope, my grandparents took my father to my great grandma’s house. Then Godmother arrived and said that if they accepted her as my father’s godmother, she would cure him. She blew on my father’s head three times. He cried out and was cured just like that.
Godmother also seemed to have clairvoyance. During the peak of the Cultural Revolution, my father went to great grandmother’s house to hide from the chaos in the city. One night, Godmother went to their house and told Father, “Someone will smash the temple in three days, so don’t go there!” Three days later, the temple was indeed destroyed.
My Childhood Memory of Godmother
I was very young when I met her for the first time. According to tradition, my father’s godmother is therefore my grand-godmother. So my parents took me to her house to visit her. She gave me a very sweet peach and told my mother, “This child is blessed...”
She ate a bowl of dumplings at lunch that day but stopped eating food altogether after that. She only drank a small bowl of water at each meal. Concerned, my parents and Grandmother took me to visit her again. She was sitting under the grape trellis in her yard. When she saw us, she stood up to greet us. She walked and talked the same as last time I saw her and did not seem to have lost any weight. When dinner was ready, she said, “I can’t accompany you anymore.” She then went to her room. That was the last time I saw her.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival, her grandchildren came home with their wives and children for the festivities. On the night of August 15, Godmother sat in the yard with everyone and watched her family eat watermelon. Before going to bed, she gave each child a hug. The next morning, her family found that she had passed away.
When I was in college, I searched for an explanation for how Godmother could become mentally disordered but then recover without being treated. No book in the college library could answer my questions until I read Zhuan Falun by Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong. I realized that Godmother might have had “true insanity.” I now understand what Godmother went through, thanks to the teachings of Falun Gong.
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Category: Traditional Culture
