(Minghui.org) We may not be able to choose when we will be born, but we can choose every step we take in life. Xiaowei, 58, is a Falun Dafa practitioner in Taiwan. What follows are her life experiences, as shared with a Minghui reporter.
A Miserable Childhood
When she was very young, Xiaowei noticed that her mother was somewhat different from other mothers. Her mother was unable to cook for the family and often beat and scolded her children indiscriminately. She also left home for no reason from time to time.
“I knew my mother’s mental state wasn’t good, so whenever she went out, I would follow her, fearing that something would happen to her. Because my mother was unable to take care of us, we often went hungry.
“Once, my aunt came to see us, and she put some money in my hand upon leaving. I refused to take it for fear that my mother would beat me if she found out. My aunt told us to hide the money in our shoes. My mother still found it every time, and beat us harshly. At one time, I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I covered myself with a quilt, thinking that it would be better if I just stopped breathing. Just then, I had a feeling that the Divine wanted me to live, so I quickly pulled the quilt away. Since then, no matter how hard life was, I have not thought of committing suicide.”
Xiaowei’s father tried very hard to find a cure for her mother’s mental illness. He sold the family’s land and spent all the money they had on treatment for his wife. By and by, their original prosperous life turned from bad to worse, and money became very tight. Xiaowei, her younger siblings, and their grandma had to live with their uncle temporarily.
Their grandma was well-respected in the area. She often told Xiaowei, “When others give you food, you must be grateful, and you should eat no more than one bowl of food.” From her grandma’s kind and stern reminder, Xiaowei learned that no matter how hard life might be, one must never forget to be considerate of others.
At school, Xiaowei always helped the kids in her class who were bullied and discriminated against. She was very kind to others and studied very hard. When Xiaowei was studying in a Gifted and Talented Education Program while attending junior high school, despite her heavy study load, she helped at her father’s noodle bar every day after school until late at night.
“My father worked very hard selling beef noodles. I always helped him after school until after midnight. When the school tuition fee was due, I didn’t dare ask my father for it. So I told my teacher that I didn't want to study in the Gifted and Talented Education Program anymore and I wanted to transfer to a regular class so that I could study in a vocational school and start working early to reduce the burden on my family.”
The learning atmosphere in the regular class wasn’t that good, and many students liked to fight with one another. Some girls also caused trouble for Xiaowei, but each time they did, a male classmate stepped in and stopped them. Many years later, that classmate became her husband.
Seeking a Righteous Faith
Life was far from ideal after Xiaowei got married. Her husband had a big family, with people engaging in illegal activities and shady religious worships, which made Xiaowei feel uncomfortable.
“What made me feel most miserable was the shady religion my husband’s family believed in. I was a very sensitive person, and I could feel that the things they believed in were not good, and I was quite concerned about them. Then, the thing I dreaded indeed happened—my husband’s family encountered both physical harm and financial loss, and when things were really bad, they even considered committing suicide. I told them to quickly break away from those bad things and not to have any contact with the shady religion anymore.”
Xiaowei didn’t know how to dissolve the evil entities in their messy home environment, but she held a firm belief in her heart: Where there is evil, there is good, and there must be a righteous faith in the world.
In 1998, a friend told Xiaowei that she was reading a book called Zhuan Falun. Out of curiosity, Xiaowei borrowed the book from her friend. As she was reading, she thought: “The words in this book are so true and so profound!” In the following days, she was often seen reading the book with full attention. Xiaowei was completely immersed in the happiness of learning the Great Law of the universe.
She found the teachings in the book to be very clear and easy to understand, and Master Li, Falun Dafa’s founder and teacher, explained the true meaning of life and the mysteries of the universe so clearly, using plain language. All Xiaowei’s doubts and confusions about life were resolved as she read the book chapter by chapter. She also understood why she felt that the Divine wanted her to live when she had thought about ending her life years ago. It was because the true purpose of life is to obtain the Fa and to return to one’s true self.
Xiaowei understood from Zhuan Falun that the true purpose of life is to return to one’s true self through cultivation
Xiaowei understands from the Fa principles that Falun Dafa is a mind-body cultivation practice. A practitioner should cultivate his xinxing (character) to transform de (virtue) into gong (high-energy matter) and do the exercises to transform one’s physical body. She said she has had quite a few miraculous experiences since starting the practice.
“After giving birth to my third child, I had trouble raising one of my hands, which meant that it was quite painful to do the exercises. I thought: I will persevere, no matter what.
“I stretched out my arms, and all of a sudden, I felt that the dense and chaotic things in the air shattered into pieces, and my hand was miraculously healed. There was no pain anymore. My spine, injured from giving birth, returned to normal as I did the exercises.”
When she first started the practice, Xiaowei could see scenes in other dimensions, which helped her understand the profundity of Falun Dafa more deeply.
“I used to see Master’s Law Bodies sitting high up in the sky looking after Dafa disciples. They were so gigantic that I could only see a tiny bit of their toes. The entire field was filled with a red light, and in this energy field, I felt I was completely relaxed, very peaceful and still.”
Xiaowei practicing the fifth exercise
Xiaowei also saw a magnificent scene while doing the sitting meditation with other practitioners. “I saw rows after rows of beings sitting in front of me. I was always the first to arrive at the practice site, and when I got there, I would do the sitting meditation while waiting for others to arrive. I felt that many high-level beings were also waiting in their dimensions.”
Amazing Changes in Her Mother-in-law
Realizing the preciousness of Falun Dafa, Xiaowei started to teach her mother-in-law. “My mother-in-law used to have a strong ego and a bad temper. She was very domineering and always got her way. But she turned into a totally different person after taking up the practice of Falun Dafa. She became very kind and considerate. Once, she even apologized to me for how she had behaved in the past. She began to treat me like I was her daughter, and we often did the exercises and studied the Fa together.
“My mother-in-law became healthier and looked younger after she took up the practice. In the past, she often complained about pains here and there, but they all went away after she practiced Falun Dafa. My mother-in-law was illiterate, but she was able to read Zhuan Falun after she studied it a couple of times. It was absolutely amazing. Her younger daughter and her husband also started practicing Falun Dafa after they saw the changes in my mother-in-law.”
Xiaowei’s mother-in-law passed away peacefully a few years ago due to old age. She said to Xiaowei before she left this world, “I’m very grateful to you. Thank you for helping me obtain the Fa.”
Xiaowei with her husband and their grandchildren
Everyone Should Have the Right to Know Dafa
On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a nationwide, ruthless persecution of Falun Dafa in China. Xiaowei learned about it from other practitioners.
Having benefited so much from the practice, she felt that she must take immediate action to negate the propaganda and help the people in China learn the truth and be saved. “My husband’s family had suffered so much pain and deception from the deviated religion they believed in earlier. So, when we came across Falun Dafa, we thought it was precious. Falun Dafa is completely free, and yet it can help people elevate both physically and mentally. I feel that everyone in the world has the right to know that Falun Dafa is good. So when I heard about the persecution by the CCP and how the CCP deceived the people in China, I felt I must do something to help more people know the truth about the practice.”
Xiaowei began writing letters, making phone calls, sending text messages, downloading chat software on her computer, and using other means to clarify the truth to people in China. “I want the people in China to know that there are tens of millions of people practicing Falun Dafa around the world and tell them what Falun Dafa is. After listening to me, some people said that I was like an angel. An army officer told me that their task was to persecute Falun Gong. After chatting with me, he took the entire group of soldiers to an internet café to listen to me talk about the goodness of Falun Dafa. There was also a factory director who told me, after hearing what I said, that he would switch on the loudspeaker straightaway so that everyone in the factory could hear what I was saying. He also told me to talk as long as I wanted to.”
Due to the CCP’s lies, many people in China misunderstood and had negative opinions about Falun Dafa. So, nothing could be more rewarding for Xiaowei than seeing people showing kindness towards Falun Dafa after they learned the facts.
“Anyone who gets to know the preciousness of Falun Dafa wants more people to know the truth. This is truly being kind to others. I don’t talk with people to benefit myself. I do it so that more people have the opportunity to be saved in these troubled times—an opportunity that comes only once in millions of years.
Xiaowei’s life is full of ups and downs. Just a few years ago, she experienced the unbearable pain of losing her daughter.
“I have experienced many hardships and tribulations in my life, and at times, living seemed to be more painful than death. If it weren’t for Master Li’s compassionate salvation, I can’t imagine how I would have coped. My life was in danger a number of times, but Master resolved all those dangerous situations. I felt that Master was looking after me at all times.”
At the end of the interview, Xiaowei said sincerely, “People in this world go through the cycle of birth, old age, illness, and death. After I learned Falun Dafa, I have gained a new understanding of the meaning of life. As I improve my character through cultivation in Dafa, I no longer see hardships as suffering. Please give yourself a chance to learn the facts about Falun Dafa.”
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