(Minghui.org) After my mother injured her back, she was unable to get out of bed. I have four younger sisters and a younger brother. My second sister and I moved in with our mother to take care of her. Our other siblings came over to see her when they had time.
I have had mysophobia (an extreme fear of dirt and germs) since I was young, so I asked Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, to help me get rid of this fear. Because my mother developed incontinence, I had to clean up her feces and urine. I had never cleaned human waste before, even for my children, so I felt sick and wanted to vomit every time I saw the urine and feces. I told myself that as a Dafa disciple, I must let go of my everyday human notions about sanitation in the human world.
I used toilet paper to wipe up my mother's feces and then cleaned her up. I did not smell anything, and neither did I feel dirty. I absolutely could not have done this before I began to cultivate Falun Dafa. I am thankful to Master Li for taking away my intense fear of dirt.
Not Being Tempted
I took very good care of my mother and did my best to keep her clean every day. Being unable to move, she often displayed moments of frustration, but no matter what she said, I didn’t argue with her. Instead, I told her traditional stories and kept her company to make her feel better. My mother and second sister were very moved and said that I was kind and patient.
One day, my third sister phoned, and during the call, my mother kept praising my second sister for cleaning her and taking good care of her, although it was I who cleaned up her feces and urine every day. Hearing their conversation, I felt uncomfortable at first, but I quickly remembered that being a Dafa disciple, I should not be tempted to feel unappreciated. Master must have arranged this opportunity for me to remove my attachment to wanting to be praised.
Right after that test, another one soon followed. One day, my second sister said, “Our youngest sister brought six chickens from our hometown, and we have split them between two families but not yours.” Although I didn't say anything, I felt a little upset. I had just treated both my fourth and second sisters’ families to a nice dinner, yet they didn’t even offer to give me a chicken. However, I immediately realized that it was a good opportunity to purge my self-interest, and that I should be happy instead.
Two days later, my second sister told me that the third sister mailed me two large quilts, but now they wanted to convert the two large ones into three smaller quilts so that our second sister, our younger brother, and our mother would each have one. This time, my mind was not stirred at all. When I was able to remove my attachment to loss and gain, my second sister made a lovely quilt especially for me.
Telling the Facts to Family Members
Mother had followed a religion for more than 20 years, but she was opposed to my practicing Falun Dafa. My second sister had also made some negative remarks about Dafa before, and she didn’t want to listen to the facts about Dafa. I begged Master to help me save them.
Both my mother and second sister had bad tempers. They quarreled every day. One day, they argued again, and my second sister yelled, “I don’t want to follow your religion anymore. You’ve been a believer for over 20 years, and you haven’t changed a bit. I’ll learn Falun Gong from my sister. Look at how much she’s changed, and she never quarrels with people the way you do.” Hearing this, my mother was furious.
I told my mother, “My sister is an adult, and she should be able to distinguish between good and bad. Let her make up her mind about what she wants to believe. Don't force her to follow your religion. I admit that the divine being you believe in is a good one.” My mother replied, “I quarreled with people because they were wrong.” I told her, “Even if they are wrong, they don’t have any faith. You are a person of faith; why don’t you look within to find your faults? Master Li tells us that when we encounter problems, we should first look within ourselves unconditionally because we have faith.”
I recited one of Master's poems to her:
“Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong
As a cultivatorOne always looks for one's own faults'Tis the Way to get rid of attachments most effectivelyThere's no way to skip ordeals, big or small[during a conflict, if you can remember:]“He's right,And I'm wrong,”What's to dispute?” (“Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong,” Hong Yin III)
I continued, “We Dafa disciples cultivate our minds. We follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance at all times whether or not others are watching.”
I told her that one day my husband and I walked on a section of a road that was very muddy, so we both used paper to clean our shoes. Since the road was so dirty, I threw the dirty paper on the ground after wiping my shoes, but my husband took his dirty paper to a trash can far away. I immediately realized that my husband, a non-practitioner, behaved better than I did at that moment. We cultivate our heart. The divine beings can see everything we do even when no one else is present.
My mother seldom listened to me in the past, but this time, she asked me to tell her more. In the end, she said, “I’ve been a believer for over 20 years, and no one has told me these things but you.” I knew that once her heart was touched, she would change for the better.
In the past, my sister often quarreled with her husband and even scolded him for trivial matters. I told her that cursing is immoral. If she wanted to avoid quarreling with her husband, she should first change herself and be a good person. She asked me when she would be considered better. I replied, “When you can regard your mother-in-law as your mother, then you will be considered a better person.”
Both my mother and second sister have changed now, and they rarely quarrel. My sister recites “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” every day.
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Category: Improving Oneself
