(Minghui.org) I recently felt particularly at ease, with every joint in my body feeling relaxed and flexible. As I was returning home from work and climbing the five flights of stairs to my apartment, a thought popped into my mind: “I bounce, I jump! I’m like a little girl!” I was energetic and joyful.
I’m 54 years old, but I never feel that I’ve entered old age. Old age, illness, and death have no connection to me. Faced with challenges and pandemics, I do not feel panic. All of this is the grace of Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa!
1. I Finally Stepped onto the Path of Cultivation
In 1997, my father began to practice Falun Dafa. Before then, he suffered from coronary heart disease and was always worried. After practicing for only a short time, and without realizing it, he became rosy-cheeked, walked with vigor, and rode a bike effortlessly as if someone was pushing him. He even discarded the reading glasses he’d worn for over a decade and was living a joyful life.
I used to be introverted and timid, and I lacked confidence in myself. After seeing the miraculous changes in my father, I began learning about Falun Dafa. However, I did not fully commit myself to practicing. Nevertheless, Falun Dafa continued to transform me, and I gradually became confident and cheerful. After working as a salesperson for several years, I could quickly strike up a conversation with anyone, laying the groundwork for clarifying the truth to people.
In 2000, when I was more than three months pregnant, my husband had a work-related accident, resulting in an open comminuted fracture of his left lower leg. He underwent three major surgeries for bone reconstruction and skin grafting, leaving his health compromised.
I took meticulous care of him and did not allow him to do to any household chores, concerned that he might get cold, hungry, or tired. I worried about him all the time. Every day after work, I would prepare dinner and wait for him to come home. I would stand by the window, looking for his familiar figure. If he was late, I would be afraid something might have happened to him on the way. I felt like my life revolved around him, and I could not make it without him.
In 2009, my husband had a stent placed in his heart, which nearly depleted all our savings. My monthly salary was not enough for his medication, and the pressures of life and the hardships of work left me physically and mentally exhausted. I felt I could collapse at any moment, but I endured it.
He later started a factory with someone else. Just as the business was gaining traction, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In February 2015, he passed away and left me behind.
One’s destiny is not something anyone can control. It was then that I recalled a passage from Zhuan Falun:
“There is another way to change one’s life, and this is the only way: It is that this person takes the path of cultivation from now on.” (Lecture Two in Zhuan Falun)
With this precious human life, I then decided to truly cultivate in Falun Dafa!
2. Eliminating Attachments to Sentimentality, Personal Gain, and Fame
Sentimentality
Before my husband passed away, I worked as a babysitter for a family. When he fell seriously ill, I quit my job. After his death, that family had another child, and they invited me back to work.
In 2015, my monthly salary was 5,000 yuan. After working for just 12 days, they paid me the full month’s salary, and said that from then on, my paycheck would be given on the same day each month. I gave my mother-in-law 1,000 yuan every month to support her. I knew she had a difficult life, especially after losing her eldest son (my husband), whom she was very proud of.
When I was out distributing the truth-clarification materials, I was reported by someone who didn’t understand the truth, and I was illegally detained for five days. At that time, my daughter was only 14 years old. The police asked me to find someone to take care of her, so I called my mother-in-law to come over.
My mother-in-law also practices Falun Dafa. For my sake, she made a special trip back to our hometown to seek other practitioners’ help to send righteous thoughts for me. She went to the police station and the detention center to clarify the truth, explaining that I was kind to her because I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. She asked: “How many people are so filial to their mother-in-law in the absence of their spouse?” The neighborhood committee members tried to make trouble for her, but she had no fear and kept clarifying the truth to them.
While in the detention center, I felt that I was surrounded by a powerful energy field, and the music “Praise to the Master” kept echoing in my ears. The head cell inmate asked me to memorize the prison rules, but I memorized “On Dafa” and poems from Hong Yin instead. My righteous thoughts were strong, and I knew it was due to the righteous thoughts and support from other practitioners and strengthening from Master who was right by my side! I was joyful and had no negative thoughts. I felt that I wouldn’t stay there long, without fear of how it would affect my daughter if I couldn’t get out or how my parents would cope. As a result, on the fifth day, I was released and gained my freedom!
When I came out of the detention center, my family members who didn’t practice cultivation thought I would lose my job. However, my employer trusted me, saying that people with faith wouldn’t do bad things. I’ve been working for that family for more than 10 years now. It feels like we are one family—both children are like my daughters, and the elderly in the family are like my parents, who are willing to share their thoughts with me.
My salary has increased to 7,000 yuan per month, and I receive double pay during the Chinese New Year holiday. During the pandemic lockdown, when I couldn’t go to work, they still paid my salary. In 2021, during the CCP’s so-called “Zero-Out” campaign, it was the protection and support of this family that kept me safe from the persecution. All of this is the good fortune I’ve gained from cultivating Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance!
Taking Personal Gain Lightly
When my husband was seriously ill, he sold his share of the factory to his business partner. At that time, they signed a contract drafted by that partner, and he owed my husband 240,000 yuan. Almost two years had passed since my husband’s death, and his partner hadn’t yet paid the money. My family members was concerned that the contract might become void after two years, so they urged me to sue him. I was tempted to do so and consulted a lawyer, who assured me that we would definitely win the case. Filled with hope, we pursued the lawsuit but, to our disappointment, we lost. The court suggested that we file a new lawsuit on different grounds.
After discussing it with my mother-in-law, we decided not to proceed with the lawsuit. We both felt that our moral standards were declining during the process, and it seemed like we were no longer any different from ordinary people who didn’t practice Falun Dafa.
Through studying the Fa, we both realized that perhaps that money was not meant for us, and it was our attachment to personal gain that was our problem. So we withdrew the lawsuit. We didn’t feel like we’d lost anything, and it seemed like that money had no connection to us at all. During the Chinese New Year festival that year, I called that business partner and told him we no longer wanted the money. I advised him to remember that, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” and to stop deceiving and harming others in his business. I reminded him that such harmful actions would lead to negative consequences, and I wished his family a happy new year.
If I were an ordinary person, I would likely have fought and argued with him, leading to negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, and sadness, which would affect my physical health. Falun Dafa has truly changed me!
Not Seeking Fame
When my husband was alive, he talked about earning more money to buy a bigger house, get a nicer car, and provide a better life for our family. I also used to fantasize about that beautiful life and immersed myself in the pursuit of fame and fortune. However, things didn’t go as planned, and his death served as a wake-up call for me. Sometimes, I still hoped that my child would find a good job and a good spouse in the future. But these are all desires for fame and fortune, and I don’t want them!
The pursuit of fame and fortune is an attachment that ordinary people have. It must be eliminated, and we cannot let it interfere with the pace of our cultivation! I want to be a true practitioner of Falun Dafa, bring along my sentient beings when I reach consummation, and return home with Master!
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