(Minghui.org) I am 80 years old. Because I was the only girl and had three brothers, I was spoiled from childhood on. As a young adult, my parents would not let me move away from home, not even when the village cadres found me a government job. My parents didn’t want me to marry to someone in another village. In the end, I married a man in our village who was three years younger than me, and poor. We had four daughters. I became a real “second-class citizen” (a farmer). However, I believed in Gods and Buddhas since I was a child, and traditional concepts had already taken root in my heart.
Miserable Days
After getting married, my husband and I lived in a compound with my parents-in-law and my husband’s eldest brother’s family.
My sister-in-law may not have been educated, but she was calculating, assertive, and domineering. She once pinned her husband, my husband’s eldest brother, to the ground and beat him up. She wanted my husband and me to move out, so living there meant we had to endure her temper. In the end, my husband and I had to move out, so we built our own house with financial support from my mother. My sister-in-law took over our rooms in the compound.
My parents were considered wealthy in the village, so whenever I lacked something, I went to my parents’ house to get it. After my parents passed away, the hard days began. Since I didn’t give birth to a son, which looked bad in rural areas in China, my husband adopted a boy to save appearance. My husband always seemed to have bad luck; he failed at whatever he did. We couldn’t make a living from farming. Other farmers raised chickens to sell to pay for their basic necessities, yet we couldn’t even afford to raise chickens. With the adoption of our son, we could not even afford to buy baby formula. Out of desperation, we had to find a husband for our eldest daughter, who was only 17 at the time, to marry.
My husband died of liver cancer at the age of 42, leaving me with a mess to deal with and a nine-year-old son. I was 45. Despite being over 40, a matchmaker still came to make marriage proposals, and asked me to remarry. Some promised to find me a job, and others offered money, but I refused them all. The education I received from a young age taught me that when you marry into a family, you should support your husband and educate your children. After my husband passed away, I felt I should remain loyal. I couldn’t abandon my four children to enjoy life by myself. No matter how hard life was, I refused all proposals. I swallowed my bitterness. After many years of hardship, I developed chronic hepatitis, which tormented me for over 20 years. I frequently had to get IV drips, and the little money I had was spent on medicine and tobacco.
Dafa Changed My Life
My late husband’s third brother and his wife came to visit me in the spring of 2005. I was on an IV drip at the time. They asked me what happened, and I said I had hepatitis. They suggested that I practice Falun Dafa. They told me that Dafa had demonstrated miraculous effects of curing illnesses.
I saw that they both looked radiant and full of energy, and I felt quite envious. But I was afraid that people would laugh at me if I started to practice Falun Dafa, since I had already changed from Confucianism to Buddhism. They said this should not be a concern, “People go from elementary school to high school, to college. Wasn’t your learning Confucianism and Buddhism done to lay a foundation for you to learn Falun Dafa today?” They also explained that Falun Dafa was a high-level Buddha Fa. “It has strict requirements for your character. Your illness won’t be healed if you don’t meet the requirements.”
They gave me a copy of the book Zhuan Falun. The book got into my heart as soon as I started reading it. The more I read the book, the more I loved it. Before I knew it, I had finished reading the book. I then learned the five sets of exercises.
Soon after, everyone noticed that I had changed. I was more energetic, and my face became rosy, instead of a dull, dark color. I even quit smoking, which was a habit I had since I was eight years old. The hepatitis I suffered for over twenty years was also cured. I was overjoyed and couldn't believe how miraculous Dafa was! I had to pinch myself to verify it was real! Since then, I was able to farm all the dozen or so acres of my land by myself.
Dafa Taught Me to Consider Others First
Falun Dafa taught me to become an altruistic person.
When the township government planned to pave roads in our village, the villagers were afraid of losing their land, so they rushed to build courtyard walls and fences. The road in front of my house was narrow and turned at a corner. When construction vehicles traveled this road they frequently had accidents. I offered that they could use my front yard. The construction team lead was so grateful. I told them I practiced Falun Dafa and my Master taught us:
“... to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
The lead exclaimed, “Falun Dafa practitioners are wonderful!” He asked what payment they should give me. I said I didn’t need anything as long as they cleaned up afterward.
A neighbor was building a new house and needed to run electrical wires. She came to me and said that my trees were in the way. I told her, “Just uproot whichever tree is in the way.”
Cultivating Diligently
Five years ago, my daughters invited me to live in their city. The comfortable life gradually made me slack off in my cultivation, and I didn’t clarify the truth to people as much.
After I read Master’s new lecture “How Humankind Came To Be,” I knew that I shouldn’t continue like this, or I would lose my chance to return to my true home with Master.
Because I continued to study the Fa and do the exercises, my physical and mental state were excellent. Everyone who saw me praised my radiant complexion. I thus took such opportunities to tell people the facts about Falun Dafa. I immediately helped two people withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliates. I knew that this was Master encouraging me.
I wanted to save more people. However I was unable to meet a lot of people when I lived with my daughters. So I explained why I was leaving and returned home. All my old friends came to visit me when they heard I was back. I clarified the truth to them, and they agreed with me. More old friends came to see me. Fellow practitioners said that Master had brought those predestined people to me so they could be saved. I was very happy. Master arranges everything!
I later started going to the township market to clarify the truth to people. I met many more pre-destined people there. The more I clarified the truth to people, the more I enjoyed talking to them. I even managed to persuade a retiree from the supply and marketing cooperative, who kept refusing to quit the CCP, to eventually quit.
In June, as I was going to the market, I fell headfirst to the ground while getting out of a vehicle. The driver was scared and wanted to take me to the hospital right away. I slowly got up off the ground. I touched my left temple, which was bleeding, but it didn’t hurt. Only my left thigh was very sore, and three toes on my left foot were injured. My nephews quickly came in their cars and wanted to take me to the hospital, but I didn’t go. I said, “Don’t worry, I will be fine. I have my Master taking care of me!” True enough. In no time I completely recovered.
I knew that Master's law body was watching over and protecting me all the time. I am such a lucky person! My life was given by Dafa. Everything of mine belongs to Dafa. I will follow Master, save more people, complete my cultivation, and return to my true home with Master!
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