(Minghui.org) After I worked as a temporary teacher for five years, I took the entrance exam for a teacher’s college and I was admitted—I ranked first in the county. After I graduated I was assigned to teach at a rural primary school. I was hardworking and ambitious, and I yearned for a better life, but my life was full of hardships and setbacks. Things often happened that left me physically and mentally exhausted—I endured sleepless nights, and I was plagued by various illnesses. It was truly miserable. Just when I was at my wit’s end, I was incredibly fortunate to hear about Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa is like a guiding light, dispelling my confusion and helping me find value and purpose in life.
My husband has five brothers, and he is the second oldest. After we got married, we shared a home with his oldest brother, each family having one and a half rooms, and sharing the same yard. The day we moved in, my husband’s older brother was very unhappy, but we swallowed our anger. Life became even harder after that. In order to occupy more rooms, my older brother-in-law ostracized us at every turn. He poisoned the bees we kept, and let his geese eat the vegetables we grew in our garden. He sprinkled soot from the bottom of the pot on the clothes we hung out to dry, and poured his dirty water into our side of the yard. My husband couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to reason with him. He beat my husband so badly that he had to get several stitches in his ear.
The in-laws wouldn’t help, and the village officials couldn’t resolve the issue either. We couldn’t take it anymore, so we decided to move out and rent a place. A neighbor offered 500 yuan to buy my rooms. I discussed it with my father-in-law, who said, “You have the right to live here, but not the right to sell. If you want to sell, sell it to your oldest brother. He’ll only give you 200 yuan.”
He was offering 300 yuan less than its value—it was practically free! At that time, my monthly salary was less than 100 yuan. I angrily said, “This is outrageous! I don’t want the rooms anymore. I’d rather sleep on the street than set foot in your house again.” Just like that, my husband’s oldest brother seized our rooms without giving us a penny. From then on, I was estranged from my in-laws.
My resentment towards my in-laws was deeply ingrained. I ignored them if we bumped into each other on the street, and I was upset when my husband visited his parents. I thought about divorcing him. Years of resentment caused my health to decline, and I suffered from multiple illnesses, becoming bedridden in my forties.
Just as my life was hanging by a thread, I was fortunate enough to hear about Falun Dafa. I read the Dafa books every day, and their profound principles deeply moved me. Dafa constantly enlightened my compassion, purifying my mind and body, melting away the stubborn ice of resentment that remained frozen within me for years. Through studying the Fa, I suddenly realized, it was all about repaying debts—perhaps debts we owed to my husband’s oldest brother in past lives, or perhaps karmic debts accumulated over countless lifetimes. In any case, these tribulations were a good thing for a cultivator; why should I still harbor resentment? I calmed down and I could feel the resentment within me weakening.
Although I understood the Fa principles, I hesitated to put them into practice—I was afraid of losing face. Fellow practitioners talked to me and they were worried for me. One day, at the end of our group Fa study, the coordinator said, “The Fa rectification is nearing the end. You are willing to save others, but your in-laws haven’t been saved yet. What are you waiting for?” I half-jokingly said, “You go save them, I don’t want those sentient beings anymore.”
The coordinator said, “Those are your sentient beings. Master told us that even the police who persecute practitioners must be saved. Where is your compassion?” All sentient beings in the world are Master’s relatives. Master hasn’t said he doesn’t want them, how dare I speak so recklessly? At that moment, I felt a sense of urgency.
One day, I studied Master’s teaching, “For this reason I tell you that when you can’t see me, you must take the Fa as the Master. Take the Fa as the Master.” (Teachings at the Conference in Australia) Master’s words awakened me, and I decided to let go of personal gain and loss, and put aside my pride. I shouldn’t disregard the lives of sentient beings for my own selfish reasons; I must save them.
As soon as the thought arose, Master arranged an opportunity for me. My husband’s family called my husband and my oldest sister, saying that my father-in-law was unwell and wanted to see me, his daughter-in-law whom he hadn’t seen for many years. It happened to be my father-in-law’s 80th birthday. At the banquet, I toasted and wished him a happy birthday. My father-in-law was so happy that he shed tears. Looking at his aged face, my heart ached. I thought about how hard it had been for my in-laws to raise their five sons to adulthood, and how I harbored resentment towards them for over twenty years for my own selfish interests. I truly regretted it. Thank you, Master, for resolving my grievances.
Afterwards, I had a vivid dream in which three sets of keys I had lost were placed in front of me. I realized that I did the right thing; finding the keys was like opening the door to salvation, bringing me one step closer.
Six months later, my father-in-law passed away. My mother-in-law gave her home to her oldest son, and she lived with him. My husband and I often visited her and helped her with whatever we could. Our relatives and friends noticed this, and I took the opportunity to tell my husband’s family about Dafa and about withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated youth organizations. Now, only my husband’s oldest brother and his son haven’t withdrawn from the CCP. Dafa has truly changed me.
My mother-in-law has five sons. My husband’s oldest brother is a contractor with a high income. My mother-in-law favored this son the most, and gave him her savings, salary, home, and even the money from selling her forest land. Now, my mother-in-law is in her nineties and can’t do anything, yet her oldest son kicked her out. Only after the police intervened was she allowed to stay temporarily. My husband’s oldest brother married three times, and squandered hundreds of thousands of yuan of his mother’s money. She filed lawsuits to get her money back, but the cases were dropped due to lack of evidence. In a fit of anger, she attempted suicide by poisoning herself. Although she survived after being rushed to a hospital, her health was severely compromised.
After my mother-in-law was discharged from the hospital, we wanted to bring her to our home, but she refused, saying she wanted to die in her own home. My husband’s third brother hadn’t visited them for years because the parents favored their oldest son. His fourth brother already passed away, leaving only my husband and his fifth brother.
I conducted myself according to the standards of the Fa—I set aside my resentment and bitterness and I took care of my mother-in-law. I played the recordings of Master’s lectures, taught her to recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” and used Dafa’s principles to guide her, “Mom, let’s not take the money. Falun Dafa teaches ‘no loss, no gain.’ He took your money, but he will give you virtue, which will keep you healthy and prolong your life. Just live well; we don’t ask for anything else. Don’t you still have your second son (referring to my husband) and fifth son? We’ll give you money if you need it, and we’ll take care of you. Don’t think about anything else.” My husband’s fifth brother’s wife was also filial, and with our care, my mother-in-law quickly recovered.
Dafa helped me eliminate my selfishness and narrow-mindedness, and taught me tolerance. Now I am nearly seventy years old, in good health, and my life is full of sunshine. My husband and I both have pensions, and our daughter bought us an apartment in the city. All of this is a blessing bestowed upon us by Dafa. Thank you, Master, for your compassionate salvation!
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Category: Improving Oneself
