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Reflecting on My Son’s Death

Sept. 25, 2024 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Hunan Province

(Minghui.org) I’m a 73-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner from Hunan Province. My son was born in the 1980s and he started practicing Falun Dafa in 2003 after graduating from college. With strong faith in Falun Dafa and Master, he cultivated diligently. 

When the persecution began in 1999, we started a material production site in our home. My son printed materials and we distributed them, about 100 copies each week. When he talked to people about Dafa and clarified the defamatory propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), he could explain things clearly with convincing talking points. For example, after my grandson went to elementary school, every student was required to join the Young Pioneers. My son talked with the teachers and the principal. With Master’s help, my grandson was the only student who did not join the Young Pioneers. In addition, my son helped my grandson study the Falun Dafa teachings, do the exercises, send righteous thoughts, and distribute materials. My grandson was able to read Zhuan Falun (the main teachings of Falun Dafa) when he was six years old. 

After distributing materials one day in 2022, we were arrested by officials based on a surveillance video. The police ransacked our home and planned to detain us for 15 days. My son told officials the facts about Falun Dafa, and he was able to return home within two days. I was very thankful to Master for helping us. 

However, the old forces took my son’s life in March 2024 in the form of a stroke (cerebral hemorrhage). He was only 43. The sudden blow was a loss for local Falun Dafa practitioners and my family. I was sad and couldn’t understand it. 

When a friend visited me in April, we talked about this and I wept again. “Please don’t cry anymore, Grandma,” my eight-year-old grandson said. “Life is like a drama – Dad finished his part and we will continue.” I thought about this: During this Fa-rectification period, there are many things we Dafa disciples need to do to help Master save people. The drama is not over yet so how can we say my son finished his part?

Master said, 

“Clarifying the facts at this point in time very much requires manpower, and if sentient beings are to be saved, it will take participation from more people. More people need to be involved in the variety of projects that aim to snuff out the evil’s persecution. In this light, then, a great deal of strength is lost when there is one less person, and a great deal of strength is gained when there is one more set of hands. So I don’t wish to leave a single person behind, nor do I want to lose them or let them depart too soon. There is no more question of Dafa disciples achieving Consummation. However, were you to depart early, it would undermine what Dafa disciples are trying to achieve, and it would amount to allowing the old forces to exploit your gaps. This is a time when manpower is really needed. Don’t allow that kind of loss to happen. I would like to see everyone try his best to do well, have ample righteous thoughts, and avoid any losses.” (“Fa Teaching Given in Manhattan”, Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume X)

Identifying Our Missteps

I realized my son’s death was not Master’s arrangement. First, my son and I must have some loopholes that the old forces took advantage of. After we were arrested in 2022, because of fear, we didn’t distribute materials or tell people about Dafa face-to-face as often as we used to. After my husband and I moved to another city in 2023, I seldom worked with my son on anything related to Dafa. 

Second, I asked my daughter-in-law what happened before my son’s death. After a friend lost his job in early 2023, he invited my son to play video games with him on the Internet. At first, my son only played a little in the morning. Since September last year, he also played in the afternoon until 4 p.m. daily. He increasingly became addicted and in the end, lost his life. 

This is a serious lesson. When an everyday person plays electronic games, his or her life could be ruined. We Falun Dafa disciples have a mission to help Master save people. If we fail to do these things or do them well, will the old forces let us go?

Master also said, 

“Spending unnecessary time on the computer or playing video games has the same effect; it’s the same idea. If you want to quit, that thing won’t want you to since it would die. And so it will do all in its power to make you engage in those things. And if you try not to, it will interfere with your work or studies by causing your mind to crave them. If you refuse, it might even make you do those things in your dreams.

“It strikes me how easily human beings are controlled by foreign entities. The human body is really just a vessel made up of the foods a person has consumed and that is inherited from one’s parents. With the consumption of food, it grows, but it is really weak, as anyone or anything can control it. Things that are formed in other dimensions are sentient, and though their plane may be low, they still have the ability to control people since the human body is weak.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference”, Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XV)

My son’s situation was like this. There was a warning one day in May 2022. When my son went out for some errands, he suddenly had chest pain as if a big hand was grabbing his heart and twisting it. He leaned against a tree and called out, “Master, please help me!” It took several minutes before he could breathe normally. Looking back, I realized the old forces were trying to take my son’s life at the time – it was compassionate Master who helped him. My son and I enlightened and realized we needed to eliminate the old forces’ interference by sending righteous thoughts. But we didn’t realize Master extended his life and we should look inward unconditionally and improve ourselves. 

My son’s death also brought a huge loss to the family. My daughter-in-law used to be supportive and even occasionally read Dafa books, but she couldn’t understand what happened; my grandson also lost his cultivation environment. My husband also had some negative comments. His relatives and friends knew my son well and supported Dafa, but now they have different opinions. 

I sincerely hope fellow practitioners will stay away from electronic games, cell phones, WeChat, TikTok, and so on. Please remember what happened to my son and don’t waste time on them. No matter how many things you did in the past, the old forces are still able to take advantage of the loopholes and Master cannot help much when that happens. 

Master said, 

“My point is that you shouldn’t become less strict with yourself in your cultivation. You’ve made it through the hardest part of the journey, the roughest stretches, with all of your efforts. Of course, walking one’s path well is easier said than done, I know. But however difficult it may be, this is what you came here to do. And however difficult it may be, this is what your life was created and made for.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.”, Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XV)

Of course, practitioners who have passed away are all waiting at a wonderful place. Master said, 

“The Dafa disciples who have departed early for whatever reason are all, regardless of whether they did well or not, quietly watching you from the special dimension where they abide, awaiting the final conclusion of this all.” (“2018 Fa Teaching Given in Washington, D.C.”, Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XV)

When my son was cremated, many people saw a magnificent scene: A giant eagle hovered over the urn; after the urn was placed in the funeral home, the eagle called a few times loudly and left. Some staff members who worked there for more than 10 years said they never saw anything like this.