(Minghui.org) This story happened not long after I was freed from prison. I picked up an odd job in a friend’s lingerie store, which was not far from my elder brother’s home. My brother had some financial difficulties and had run into some hardships, so I went to see him one day with a bag of fruit.
His mother-in-law, who lived with him, was sitting on the sofa in the sunlight. She had serious diabetes and other ailments and had been getting injections every day for many years. All of her pension went to pay for her medications.
I greeted her and sat down beside her. She didn’t look at me and just kept looking out the window. She said without emotion that the room was too cold and she got some warmth by sitting in the sun. She still didn’t look at me. I felt unwelcome and didn’t know why. She looked pale and dispirited. I told her some stories of how people had become healthy by practicing Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong). She expressed disgust and badmouthed me and Falun Dafa. She said one would be imprisoned for practicing Falun Gong, and that would be a miserable life. Her expression and tone reflected her disdain, contempt, and ridicule.
I felt that I’d better not say any more because she had such a profound misunderstanding of Falun Dafa. On my way home, I felt bad. Everyday people were misled so deeply by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) lies and didn’t have the ability to discern good from evil. Did they only worship money? I wondered how I could help those sentient beings be more willing to learn the truth.
The apartment my brother rented was cold and in poor condition. His mother-in-law was in poor health and didn’t feel comfortable. I had lost my family and my job due to the persecution. My apartment was rented as well, but if I gave my brother some money, I thought that he and his mother-in-law would be grateful. I decided to show them how wonderful Falun Dafa is by my kindness.
I went to see him again several days later and gave him 20,000 yuan (USD$2,812). I told him to get the water, electricity, and heat installed first in his own new apartment and that I would give him more for the later stages of renovation. He was very touched.
His mother-in-law was instantly in high spirits. She dragged me to where there was sunlight and asked me to sit down. She said that her daughter-in-law was unwilling to lend her money and she was worried about the renovations. She was very thankful to me. I seized this opportunity to try to clarify the truth to her, but she still repeated the CCP’s lies about Falun Dafa.
I changed my tactics and said, “Auntie, do you know that my whole family has benefited from Falun Dafa? In fact, your son-in-law has benefited the most.” She didn’t expect this and was stunned.
I continued, “My father started to practice Falun Gong because of his poor health. If he didn’t practice Falun Gong he would be in poor health. Your son-in-law used to have to take him to the hospital all the time, but he has been in good health since he started practicing Falun Gong, so your son-in-law has benefited. My younger brother has taken care of our parents all these years and has never bothered our eldest brother to look after them, because he also practices and behaves according to Falun Dafa’s principles. He has borne all the expenses and has never asked your son-in-law to help pay for any caregiving.
“Also, if I didn’t practice Falun Gong, I wouldn’t have given my brother the money for his renovations. I was just released from prison. I lost my family and my job. I don’t own my own apartment and have to rent one, so I need money myself. But because I practice Falun Gong, I gave money to my eldest brother for him to use first. Hasn’t he benefited from his family members’ kindnesses? We practice Falun Gong and behave according to its principles, so we are kind and have high moral standards. Won’t these things change your view of Falun Gong?
“You said that Falun Gong is not good. Didn’t you hear that from the propaganda on TV? Do you see any examples of this in your daily life? You don’t. But you personally see what we have done, right? We are living examples of Falun Gong. You and your family are benefiting from Falun Gong.”
She listened to me intently, and I knew she was thinking. She then patted me and said that I was right. She told her daughter to buy the best beef and she would stew some beef and radish for me. I saw her make her way unsteadily into the kitchen to get ready to cook the dish for me. I was moved to tears. She asked me how to quit the Youth League. I told her that she could use her real name or an alias, but she must do it from the bottom of her heart. She said that she would quit using her real name.
Through the steaming bowl of beef and radish, I saw her heart. She now knew the truth. Her daughter asked her mother to learn the Falun Gong exercises from me, but her mother looked at me and said that she was too old to learn. I told her that she could recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” whenever she had time and she would benefit from it. She recited the phrases word for word right then. She had changed! This was the story of a bowl of beef and radish stew.
I visited them again after they moved into their new apartment. I saw she was in good spirits. When her eldest son passed away suddenly, we thought she would be hit hard and wouldn’t be able to bear it. My father, younger brother, and I went over to see her. She looked energetic and well. That Chinese New Year I gave her a Falun Dafa desk calendar. She seemed pleased to accept it. We thought she wouldn’t live long due to her poor health, but she lived 10 more years after she knew the truth. She was blessed. Thank you, Master and Falun Dafa!
I felt the power of compassion from this incident. Other people’s kind thoughts can indeed change sentient beings and save them. Thank you, Master!
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Category: Clarifying the Truth
