(Minghui.org) I started practicing cultivation in 1995 and during these years, I have truly felt the greatness and beauty of practicing Falun Dafa. I will talk about my experience of cultivating Dafa and harmonizing family relationships, and how we have been blessed by Master’s compassion.
I used to have many illnesses, such as stomachaches, leg pain, lumbar osteoporosis, gynecological disease, high blood pressure, and vertigo. I was free of all illnesses within a month of learning the Fa, and I’m grateful to Master for eliminating my karma.
When I was in elementary school, I was once almost swept away by the flood. When I was young, I was almost crushed underneath a truckload of dirt. After practicing Dafa, I realized that it was Master who has been watching over me throughout all my lifetimes.
Taking Care of My Mother-in-law
I used to have many conflicts with my mother-in-law. She was bad-tempered, and whenever something didn’t go her way, she would make a fuss. My mother came to visit when I was giving birth and said a few kind words, but my mother-in-law misinterpreted them, and she was angry with me for a month. I cried for a whole month and was unable to produce milk for my child. After I started practicing Dafa, I realized that these conflicts were all due to karmic relationships; I owed my mother-in-law from my previous life. Fellow practitioners asked if I had any resentment and a desire for revenge. I said no. Although I cried at the time, I came to understand what was going on.
After I got married, I initially lived in the same courtyard as my mother-in-law. But when my brother-in-law got married, he had no house, so my husband and I built our own and moved out. My mother-in-law then lived with my brother-in-law. She and my sister-in-law often quarreled. Shortly after I started cultivation practice, my mother-in-law knocked on the door when we were about to go to bed. She had a big fight with my sister-in-law, so I let her stay at my house.
My house was a Fa study site, so she’d listen while we read the Fa. She knew that Dafa teaches people to be good, and she agreed with Dafa’s principles. Her temper began to change for the better. She stayed at my home for more than three months and then returned to my brother-in-law’s home because they were busy working outside, and there was no one to take care of the children.
My mother-in-law continued quarreling with my sister-in-law and ended up moving in with her eldest son, who let his daughter take care of her. However, the granddaughter’s cooking didn’t suit her taste, so she didn’t want to live there any more. When I went to visit her, she said, “Why don’t you take me to your home and serve me well?”
I didn’t agree to her request the first time because I didn’t understand the Fa well and had selfish thoughts. I thought that if I took her in, in addition to serving her, I would have to receive so many grandchildren and relatives, which would affect my truth-clarification efforts. Besides, her other children wouldn’t be able to fulfill their obligations to care for her. When I went to see her again, she still asked me to take her in. I then thought of what Master said,
“Of course, while cultivating in ordinary human society, we should be good to our parents and look after our children. Under all circumstances, we must be good and kind to others, not to mention to our family members.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
I want to do things according to Dafa’s requirements. Everyone has parents and should be filial to them. In May of that year, I brought her to my home and remade all the bedding and coverings. I also made her a pair of soft, warm cotton-filled pants and bought a coral fleece comforter. She was very happy and said she didn’t expect to wear such nice pants.
It was not easy to serve my mother-in-law, and she sometimes nagged me when I didn’t do a good job. I couldn’t help but argue with her, but then I remembered Master’s words in “Don’t Argue” from Hong Yin III, so I didn’t argue with her anymore.
Afterwards, I continued to improve in studying the Fa every day, and I treated my mother-in-law well from the bottom of my heart. Her life had not been easy. When she was young, she was bullied by her mother-in-law and her husband. Her husband passed away early, and she raised her seven children. Since she was older, I wanted to treat her well.
Once, when I finished cooking for her, she said she didn’t want to eat that dish again. I said, “In the future, just tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll cook it for you.” She was sitting in the bed and suddenly got up. I asked what she was doing and she said, “I have to give you a kowtow (bow). If you wait on me like this, and I still pick on you, I’m inhuman!” I replied, “Don’t be like that, this is what I should do. If you really want to thank someone, please thank Master. I couldn’t do this if I didn’t practice Falun Dafa.”
Some people pointed out that my mother-in-law had seven children, but I was the only one taking care of her and asked, “Don’t you feel it’s unfair? Don’t you have any grievances?” I replied that when I was young, I had a traditional mindset and knew I should respect my mother-in-law. After practicing Falun Dafa, my mindset has been constantly improving. I’ve been kind to others from the bottom of my heart, much less my mother-in-law.
My relatives benefit from Dafa
When my mother-in-law stayed at my home, she knew that Dafa is good, and she could validate Dafa in her way. My relative, who was a school’s logistics director, asked me to help him find a night watchman. But he said that the school had told him not to hire someone who practices Falun Dafa. When my mother-in-law heard this, she said, “Why not look for someone who practices Falun Dafa? I’ve heard the contents of Zhuan Falun, which says that people are not allowed to do the least bit of bad things. So if you hire someone who practices Dafa, he will do a good job for sure!”
After she said this, her asthma of many years was gone! Since then, she chants “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” every day. She once said she wanted to ask my sister-in-law for money and start a fight with her, but then she thought: “Haven’t I been saying ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good?' So I’ll endure it!”
Back when my mother-in-law was living with my brother-in-law’s family, she insisted that I go to her home and get something, so I went. I saw her in the kitchen and asked what she was doing. She said she needed to light liquefied petroleum gas to boil water to wash her hair. I said I smelled a gas odor as soon as I entered the room. She said she smelled it too and turned it off. But I looked and found that the gas had been turned up instead. I heard the sound of gas still escaping. I immediately turned the valve until it was fully shut off.
I realized that since my sister-in-law was always angry with my mother-in-law, she rarely interacted with her. So Master arranged for me to go to her place so that nothing bad would happen. If it wasn’t for Master’s protection, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Another incident also happened before my mother-in-law moved to my home. I was cooking for a construction site cafeteria one evening when I received a phone call that my mother-in-law was sick. I went over and saw that she was unconscious. I called out to her, and everyone in the house called out to her, but she didn’t respond. I called out to her again and said, “Mom, do you remember what I told you? Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” She nodded slowly and opened her eyes. She was sweating, and her clothes were soaked through. She was taken to the hospital and discharged after 10 days.
Those days I worked during the day and stayed with my mother-in-law at the hospital overnight. When I saw that she was connected to an instrument, and it was very uncomfortable for her, I said, “Do you still remember to recite ‘Falun Dafa is good?’” She said she had never forgotten it for a moment. After she returned home she kept chanting “Falun Dafa is good!” and the stomach disease she had suffered from since she was young was cured. She never had a relapse until she died at the age of 89.
Because I practice Falun Dafa and act according to the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, I get along with my extended family of sisters-in-law, relatives, and neighbors. They all agree that Dafa is good. Someone once said Dafa practitioners are not filial to their parents-in-law, and my third sister-in-law replied, “My sister-in-law practices Falun Dafa, and she treats my mother very well, Something we can’t even do!”
Once, my eldest sister-in-law wanted to use my electric bicycle to learn how to ride. I didn’t think much of it, so I lent her the electric bike and taught her how to ride in her yard. She had just ridden two meters away when the bike jerked forward to the roadside. It seemed that it would hit a tree. Unexpectedly, when it reached the tree, she fell down and the moment before her head hit the tree, she dodged it. I quickly helped her up and told her, “It was Master’s protection that avoided a big disaster. We must thank him for his compassionate protection.” Thinking about it now, I still feel scared. If she had been hurt, how could I bear the consequences?
This is the first time I've ever written an experience sharing article. A thousand words cannot express my infinite gratitude to Master. I know that only by cultivating myself well and saving more people can Master be pleased. I will work hard to do the three things well and be steadfast in walking my path of cultivation.
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