(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa prior to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) launching of the persecution in 1999.
I recall borrowing Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa,from a colleague. When I was reading Master Li’s (Dafa’s founder) Fa, “Zhen-Shan-Ren is the Sole Criterion to Discern Good and Bad People” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun). In reading this, my heart shook and I felt as though an electric shock flowed throughout my body. I finally discovered what I had been searching for and I decided to begin practicing Falun Dafa.
I was 28 years old when I started to cultivate. I was drawn to Falun Dafa because of reading its profound principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. As my cultivation progressed I recovered from all my illnesses, such as neuralgia, insomnia, migraine headaches, stomach spasms, and hereditary heart disease. I felt energized and clear-minded every day.
After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I understood why people suffer. and I learned how to face setbacks and misfortunes. I found direction in life and I became optimistic, open-minded, tolerant, and considerate of others.
During my more than 20 years of practicing Falun Dafa, my family and those around me have witnessed the preciousness of practicing Falun Dafa.
Compassion Resolved My Resentment Against My Mother
I never knew what it was like to be loved by my mother. She preferred boys over girls, and no matter how minor a mistake I made, she would often beat me. I couldn’t remember her ever speaking kindly to me.
Our family wasn’t well-off, and my mother had been trying to make ends meet. My two brothers rarely played with me, and my father frequently traveled for work. Growing up, I felt lonely and developed an introverted, sensitive, suspicious, and fearful personality. I felt insecure.
As I grew older, I began to dislike my mother just as she didn’t like me. Her attitude towards me only worsened after I got married - as the saying goes, a daughter married away is like casting out water.
Although my mother was not affectionate towards me, my husband and I were responsible for running errands, fixing things around her house, and buying whatever items she needed. Whenever anyone in our extended family fell ill or was hospitalized, my mother would immediately contact me to do something or pay for something.
After my father passed away in 2000, my husband and I were the only ones who took care of my mother when she was hospitalized. For years, every time she called me, it was either about things she needed done or to vent about her daughter-in-law. She would continuously vent her grievances without giving me a chance to speak, and would often abruptly end the call by saying, “That’s all.”
My daughter once joked that I was grandmother’s 911.
My mother gave my two brothers more than 300,000 yuan (about USD $43,680) that my father left behind. She requested I give up my inheritance rights to the three-bedroom apartment that my father left to her and where she currently lived. Even after I agreed, she had doubts and asked my husband to make a written commitment before she could put her mind at ease.
Despite giving all her affection and assets to her sons, my mother felt it was my responsibility as her daughter to take care of her. I silently endured her cold and unjust treatment, even though I would often feel angry and mistreated.
As a practitioner, I strove to live by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance no matter the circumstances. It was difficult, but I tried my best to control my emotions and show respect to my elders.
At first, I would struggle to hold back my tears, but as I continued to study the Fa, I learned to change myself from within, letting go of personal gain, fame, and emotions. I learned to empathize with others and expand my heart, allowing the power of compassion to gradually dissolve the resentment and grievances deep within me.
I would occasionally experience emotional fluctuations during the process, but I keep reminding myself that I am a practitioner and must follow Master’s teachings. Master saw my genuine wish to do well and helped me eliminate my negative emotions towards my mother.
As time went on, I gradually stopped feeling wronged and instead began to understand my mother’s difficulties. She worked hard her entire life and sacrificed almost everything to raise her children, yet, few people showed her filial piety. She especially relied on her sons for emotional support after my father passed away, but no one could truly give her what she was looking for.
Some unexpected events occurred later on, and my mother became even more vulnerable. Seeing her unsteady gait when she was in her 80s, I felt sorry for her. Regardless of how she had treated me, filial piety is a traditional virtue among Chinese, and I felt it was my duty to fulfill my responsibilities so she could enjoy her later years in peace.
My mother is healthy and has a good appetite despite her advanced age. Each time I visited her I would fill up her refrigerator with her favorite foods such as steamed buns, dumplings, pork ribs, and meatballs that I made for her. I never hesitate to meet her requirements and strive to satisfy her every need. I would feel relief and joy when I saw her smile of satisfaction.
Resolving Resentments with Colleagues
I was transferred to the finance office in 2003 as an accountant. There were two other people in the office: a cashier and another accountant with over 10 years of experience. The company assigned me to handle many specific accounting tasks and put me in charge. The other accountant was left with not much to do and felt it to be unfair, so she teamed up with others to give me a hard time.
I never took it to heart and treated everyone with kindness. Every day, I arrived at the office early and left late, I would boil water for tea, mop the floor, and clean every desk. I would greet the accountant, and use every opportunity to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa to her and tell her the importance of quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In China, the toxic CCP culture has caused people to view one another as enemies. The power struggle among the company leadership extended to the finance office.
One of the company’s vice presidents used the other accountant’s sense of unfairness and sent an anonymous letter to the headquarters, accusing me of practicing Falun Dafa. When the investigation team came to check my work, I learned the other accountant was involved in the accusation.
Given that Falun Dafa has been slandered and many people are still being misled by the CCP, as I understood that Master requires practitioners to assist him in saving sentient beings, I told myself, “I cannot create bad karma with people, they are waiting to be saved. I must resolve this with compassion, let go of my resentment.”
So I pretended that I did not know anything about the other accountant’s involvement and continued to treat her kindly. I knew that given Master’s protection nothing bad would happen to me.
Inspired by the power of Dafa’s compassion, I gradually learned to view everything around me calmly. One afternoon, the other accountant received a call from her daughter at school and learned that she was experiencing acute appendicitis and was in great pain.
Seeing that she was very worried, I told her, “Ask your daughter to recite ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’ It will alleviate her pain.” I previously shared with her many stories of how my daughter was blessed by reciting those auspicious words.
Later, the vice president who reported me was transferred. Guided by the principles of Dafa, I strove to expand my compassion, many colleagues observed and witnessed the entire process and withdrew from the CCP organizations, and this included the other accountant. She sincerely said in the office, “You Falun Dafa practitioners are really great.”
Helping People in the Detention Center
Someone reported me while I was putting up self-adhesive fliers to clarify the truth in 2018. The police illegally ransacked my home and took me to a detention center.
When I arrived at the detention center, my mind was filled with fear and confusion. However, over time, I was able to adjust my mindset and strengthen my righteous thoughts. I recited the Fa and meditated as often as possible, clarifying the truth to the inmates. and encouraging them to quit the CCP. I treated everyone with compassion.
A drug addict was detained for drug trafficking. She had symptoms of drug withdrawal, and she was so weak every day that she couldn’t sit up. The officers allowed her to lie down on a blanket placed on the concrete floor.
She needed help to drink and eat and vomited frequently. She hadn’t changed clothes for many days, which caused an unpleasant odor that everyone disliked. I took care of her every day by helping her with food and water, and she slowly regained her strength and could sit up on her own.
While I meditated after dinner, she sat next to me. One day after I finished meditating she said, “I felt so comfortable sitting next to you while you were meditating! It’s been so long since I have felt that way.”
I explained the truth about Dafa to her and told her that when practitioners do the exercises it benefits those around them. Master said, “The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
She understood the truth and quit the CCP organizations. She wanted to learn how to cultivate in Dafa. Because we were in the detention center, I suggested that she simply recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” every day, and assured her that she would benefit.
She said, “I will give you my brother’s phone number. When you are released, please contact me through this number and teach me how to cultivate in Dafa.” She spoke up for me later when the inmate cell head instructed the other inmates to prevent me from practicing Falun Dafa.
During our time together, the drug addict confided in me about a dream she had: “A dog was barking at our cell window while she was given a blood transfusion.” Other inmates overheard the words of her dream and said it was a good sign. Shortly thereafter, she received a sentence of just four months, which was much less than she expected. She was very happy.
When I first started clarifying the truth to the inmate cell head, she was not receptive. However, over time she observed that the inmates who agreed to quit the CCP after I clarified the truth to them were blessed to various degrees, and she began to pay attention.
A young woman in her early 20s would sit next to me every day to listen to my truth clarification, and she was interested in learning how to cultivate.
On her 37th day of detention, as we were preparing to take a nap, the young woman’s name was suddenly called to wait by the door and go home. As she was leaving with the officer, she turned around and exclaimed to me, “Thank you! Thank you!” I shouted back happily, “Remember what I told you (referring to ‘Falun Dafa is good, and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’)”
The inmate cell head immediately asked me, “What was she thanking you for?” I replied, “Didn’t I tell you? Remember that Falun Dafa is good, and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good. By withdrawing from the CCP and its organizations, you will receive blessings.”
Since it was nap time, she suggested we sleep first. As soon as the bell rang to conclude the afternoon nap, the cell head jumped up and asked me to explain in more detail what I previously told her. This time, she immediately agreed to quit the CCP.
As soon as she did it, someone told me more inmates were interested in quitting the CCP. I replied, “Sure, I’ll help them as soon as I’m done making my bed.” The cell head said, “I’ll make your bed, you go help them, that’s more important.” Several people chose to do the three withdrawals. From then on, she no longer stopped me when I did the exercises.
In the 10-square-meter (about 1200 square foot) cell, there were over 20 inmates, and sometimes even over 30. The bunks could only accommodate 20 people, and the rest had to sleep on the concrete floor in the walkway. Inmates could only lie on their side due to limited space and at times, some would quarrel in the middle of the night because they could have inadvertently rolled over and bumped into their neighbors.
For 365 days a year, we were served almost the same meal every day: yellowed rice and vegetable soup with a few dirty leaves floating on it. The inmates would fight over the sauce bag from instant noodles.
Occasionally, a cart of food would be pushed to each cell door for sale. A vegetable dish would cost 20 yuan and any dish with meat would cost 40 or 50. The detainees would rush to buy them despite the high price.
Each inmate was only given two cups of hot water per day, and the inmates would often argue and fight over it. The poor living conditions in the detention center magnified the evil in human nature and buried the good nature, making being there feel like hell on earth.
Falun Dafa practitioners were not only peaceful and quiet, but also considerate of others, and they would often share what they had. Inmates who transferred from other cells all knew it. When they arrived in a new cell, some of them might not have had enough “credits” (i.e. money or resources) yet, they would often turn to Falun Dafa practitioners for help with food and supplies.
During the holidays, each inmate would be permitted to purchase some fruits and snacks. I shared what I bought with the inmates who did not have sufficient “credits” yet. Gradually, Falun Dafa practitioners’ sincere attitude and kindness moved everyone in the detention center.
Many inmates suffered from depression and irritability due to the stress of their cases, the harsh living conditions, and their longing for loved ones. As a result, many experienced insomnia or had bad dreams.
I told them about the principles of Falun Dafa and I encouraged them to recite: “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” Many of them benefited from learning these principles and their mood improved. As a result, they no longer engaged in arguments with others, and were able to sleep better.
They all gave me their phone numbers and told me to contact them when I returned home. Some said, “I will definitely pick you up on the day of your release.”
The moments of people showing gratitude to Dafa after understanding the truth were unforgettable to me.
The morning I was transferred from the detention center to prison, the inmates were sitting in the courtyard, preparing for roll call. As the officers closed the iron gate with a clang behind me and prepared to take me away, suddenly there was a shout, “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!”
When I looked back, many inmates were standing at the entrance of the courtyard to see me off. Tears covered my face.
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