(Minghui.org) I am 70 years old this year. I started cultivating in Falun Dafa on July 25, 1997. This was the day I was reborn, so I offer incense to Master Li (Falun Dafa’s founder) on this day every year to thank him for his benevolent salvation.
From a young age, I had asthma and I later developed a skin disease. My body tended to get chilly when I bathed during the winter, and my whole body would be covered with rashes that were both painful and itchy. After I scratched them, the skin became hard later. The doctor said, “Shortness of breath is hard to cure, so is itchiness. Since you are suffering from both, you will need medication for the rest of your life.” I was so concerned about it that I ended up with neurasthenia. I would often hug my pillow, wrap myself in the blanket, and sit for nights on end. Over time, my back became hunched and I often had constipation. I also had arthritis. It got so serious that I could not touch water in the summer. If I touched cold water, my bones would ache badly. I had a hot temper and I did not eat proper meals. I had young and old family members at home and I did not earn much. As I did not eat much nutrient-rich food, I ended up with anemia, where my hemoglobin level was only 4.5 grams. I was living a torturous life.
One day, I heard people saying that Falun Dafa can get rid of illnesses and strengthen one’s body, so I decided to give it a try. On July 25, 1997, I started practicing Falun Dafa. At that time, I did not understand how precious the Fa is. I just wanted to do some exercises for better health, so I went to practice the exercises in the morning and went out to Chinese folk dance after dinner. I got a copy of Master’s portrait and placed it on top of a cabinet. One morning, I was going to get the gloves and keys that were placed beside Master’s portrait to go to work. I saw the portrait glimmering with light. I quickly called my husband to come and see. He was then also a practitioner. He came over, took a look, and said, “Your eyes must be dazzled, it must have been light from the sunshine.” I did not think about it anymore. However, after a few days, the portrait glimmered with light again. I thought, “What is happening?” Then I went to the practice site and asked another practitioner. He said, “You have a good foundation for cultivation. You should go home and read a Dafa book.” With that, I brought a book, Explaining the Teachings of Zhuan Falun. I read and learned that the portrait glimmering was due to Master’s spiritual body. Although I cultivated in this non-solemn manner, Master still helped me cleanse my body and all my illnesses gradually went away without my awareness.
Due to my ignorance about the importance of Fa study, I had not finished reading Zhuan Falunafter a year. In July 1999, when the persecution started, my books were being confiscated and I got anxious, “I still haven’t finished reading the book and it is being confiscated now.” I knew that Dafa teaches people to be good and it is a righteous Fa. I wanted to tell everyone that Dafa helps people to cultivate themselves to become better, so I went out to clarify the truth and distribute truth-clarifying materials. During the process, I was detained once and was sent to a forced labor camp twice. However, my determination to remain steadfast in my cultivation in Dafa did not waver.
Around October 2021, my body showed symptoms of a gradual reduction in urine and my lower body started to swell. My husband insisted I go to the hospital. He even called my three sisters and my son over to persuade me to do so. I resisted all their persuasion for half a month. Every day, my husband quarreled with me. I knew that this was not an illness. However, as I did not study the Fa enough, my xinxing could not keep up and I could not attain the standards that Dafa required. I felt that I could not overcome this tribulation so I went to the hospital. The doctor said that I needed to go to Beijing for a check-up, do acupuncture, and stay in the hospital for treatment. In Beijing, I was hospitalized for 17 days with the diagnosis of damaged renal tubules, with creatinine as high as 470, and I went for dialysis twice. My original weight was about 140 catties (185 pounds). After my body became swollen, it went up to about 170 catties (224 pounds). After the puncture, it went back to 140 catties. About 30 catties of water were being pumped out and the doctor said that I would need to go for dialysis and take medication for the rest of my life. After being discharged from the hospital, my husband sorted out the medication every day and watched me take it. He even asked me to open my mouth to confirm I had taken it. After more than two weeks, on two occasions the medicine dropped on the floor, and I understood that I should not be taking medication anymore. I told my husband that I would not take the medication anymore and that I wanted to do the exercises. My husband then called my son and my son said, “You cannot stop the medication.” I said, “Son, I am not sick. I did not pass this tribulation. Will the medication cure my illness? One of your father’s colleagues had uremia. He sold a set of buildings to get a new kidney but he still had to take medication for a long period of time. Where will we find the money to do that? Only Dafa can save me.” Hearing that, my son said nothing more.
I had never joined the group Fa study before. When I studied the Fa by myself at home, there were disturbances. I picked up the book and read just a few pages when thoughts would appear in my mind: I should do this or that. I also took a few peeks at the drama that my husband was watching. I could not finish reading one lecture the whole day. When I practiced the exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts, I often became sleepy. When my husband saw that, he would often say, “Hey, you are so sleepy.” When I lay on the bed, I thought, “Master, if only I had a group study site. I want to join the group Fa study.” One day when I went out to clarify the truth, I met a fellow practitioner. I told her that I was looking for a Fa study site and she introduced one to me. The practitioners all welcomed me to join them.
I started to join group Fa study on February 26, 2022. I recorded this date and thought that I wanted to compare my current state with that of the past. I thought that I would definitely improve. I initially found all sorts of excuses every night so I could go out without letting my husband know. After practitioners learned about that, they said, “You should let your husband know that you came out for Fa study and ask him not to worry. We must first attain the state of letting our family members understand. As our cultivation improves and they see the improvements in our mind and body, they will change from not being able to understand to becoming supportive and may even start cultivating too. Isn’t that creating a cultivation environment within your family?”
After returning home, I told my husband that I went to a practitioner’s house for Fa study. He immediately flew into a rage, stared at me, and said, “No, you cannot. If you insist on doing so, we cannot live together anymore. Either we live separately or we get a divorce.” I said, “I can be separated from you but I am definitely continuing to study this Fa.” He was so angry that he smashed my watch, alarm clock, and four music players. He even wanted to tear Zhuan Falun. However, as the book was wrapped up, he did not tear it up. He kept raging on until midnight. The next day, I made him breakfast as usual, but he did not eat it. At nightfall, he saw that I had not wavered and said, “I am not going to care about you anymore. You can go and study if you want to. However, you must be careful of your safety.” I was really happy. I could go to Fa study openly now. If I returned a bit later than normal, he would be worried, so I told him that the lecture for that day was a bit longer so I would return a bit later before I left.
In the middle of October, I discovered that my urine was starting to decrease and I thought, “I did not pass the tribulation well last year and Master has arranged this test for me again to help me get rid of my karma. This time, I must pass this tribulation well.” One day, a practitioner asked me if my legs were a bit swollen and I said, “Yes, I know that Master is helping me get rid of my karma and let me retake the test.” If there was still time after the Fa study session, I would go to another practitioner’s house to study one more lecture. I was really anxious about my lack of Fa study, so I wanted to study more. The practitioners also helped me send forth righteous thoughts. When I had time, I would listen to the Fa or study the Fa. When I was walking or doing housework, I recited, “Falun Dafa is Good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good.”
As I saw my legs grow more and more swollen by the day, I found the biggest pants to wear and did not let my husband know about it. The swelling gradually extended to my waist and my chest, such that I could no longer sit in the meditation position when I studied the Fa and would need to support myself with one hand. Although I wore loose clothes, my husband still managed to see it. He asked my son to call me and I said, “Our son’s district is still under lockdown so he cannot come out. You also should not call my sisters, because I am just getting rid of my karma. Master is helping me cleanse my body.” He was so angry that he kept scolding me. I did not waver and when I shared my experience with fellow practitioners, I asked them to help me get rid of the interference controlling my husband. A practitioner said, “You send forth righteous thoughts to get rid of the interference from your husband, but what wrong has he done? At the human level, he is concerned and worried for you, so he has done nothing wrong. Master asked us to look within ourselves. It is due to the fact that you have an attachment to complaining about your husband. You feel that he is disturbing you. I think that you should get rid of your incorrect thoughts, remain steadfast in your righteous thoughts to believe in Master and the Fa, and overcome this tribulation. When he sees the miraculous nature of Dafa, he will acknowledge Dafa and help to promote the Fa. He might even start to cultivate. Won’t that be even better?” I thought that what the practitioner said made sense, and I also understood my husband’s worries. Therefore, I looked within to get rid of my attachment to complaining about him.
He then did not insist on calling my son and sisters over. He took up the tasks of buying food, making meals, washing dishes, and doing the housework. He said, “Seeing you in this state makes me feel heartbroken. I will cook what you feel like eating. We have been a married couple for 43 years and I feel I have not let you down. I will have no regrets.” My husband is a righteous person who knows how to live a life. He also has very good character and I understood his feelings. However, I knew that Master was watching over me and Master would decide if I go or stay. I would just hand everything over to Master.
This time my heart did not waver and I persisted in going out to {clarify the truth and save people. When it became very hard to walk, such that I could no longer go out, I stayed at home to study the Fa, send forth righteous thoughts, and memorize the Fa. I tried to not think of using my fingers to press my legs to see if there was any improvement. I also ignored the discomfort in my body.
I persisted to wake up at 3.50 a.m. to do the exercises every morning, completing all five sets of exercises in one go. While doing the fourth set of exercises, although I was not able to bend my waist, I also persisted in finishing the exercises. One morning, I was doing the second set of exercises and I felt something spinning fast at my lower abdomen. I knew that Master was correcting my body. After that, my urine increased day by day. After that, the swelling in my body went down as the days passed.
After more than two months of getting rid of the karma, the swelling went down completely, leaving just some saggy skin without much flesh. Now, my body is gradually recovering, and it feels as though all my flesh and muscles are new. Master saved me. Dafa helped me overcome this tribulation.
I totally recovered by December 23 of the lunar calendar. At the end of the year, my son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter came home and my husband described the whole ordeal to them of how swollen I became and how I finally recovered without taking any medication or going to the hospital. He even told the children, “Your Mum is just getting rid of her karma.”
On Chinese New Year’s day, my sister, nephew, and his wife came to visit us. I was just about to enter the house from outside when I heard them talking inside. My husband was telling them, “Her whole body was swollen. Her legs and waist swelled that much. I witnessed her full recovery. It is really miraculous. If others said this, I would never have believed it. But this is true. Why didn’t we let you all come last month? We were afraid that you would feel uncomfortable seeing her in that condition. No matter how I persuaded her to go to the hospital, she just would not go. She said that she was just getting rid of her karma.”
I opened the door and entered the house. My sister said, “She looks fine. She seems to be doing quite well.” My husband said, “Hey, you did not see what state she was in at that time.” He gestured to them using his legs, stomach, and back, “Her legs were this swollen and her stomach and back were like that. They looked like they weighed 200 catties. It was much worse than the previous time.”
Just a few days later, I heard him calling my cousin in the corridor happily. My husband was telling all of our friends and family about this matter. My sister said, “Sister, you have been telling me this for so many years. Honestly, I really did not believe in it. But I really believe in it now.”
Now, when it is time to go for small group Fa study, my husband will remind me, “Why haven’t you left the house? It is time to go.”
I thank Master for his benevolent salvation and fellow practitioners for their help. I truly experienced that believing in Master and the Fa originates from studying the Fa with a calm mind. Righteous thoughts come from the Fa. Only by believing in Master and the Fa unconditionally when facing death can we overcome the tribulation.
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