(Minghui.org) I was born in 1948 in a remote mountain village in Northeast China. I had two older brothers; one died at the age of eight, and the other at the age of three. Perhaps my mother was grieving for my brothers, so she was often in a bad mood while she was pregnant with me. I was born frail and prone to illness. To make matters worse, my mother became pregnant with my sister before I was weaned, so I ate potatoes every day instead of breast milk. After each meal, my family put two potatoes in the hearth, and that was my next meal.
My digestive system couldn’t take it anymore after eating potatoes for so long. I had diarrhea, and I was so weak that I couldn’t hold my head up. I went limp from dehydration when my mother picked me up. My body began to smell, and it looked like I was about to die. My mother was scared and cried. A neighbor, Ms. Lu, and my mother were very close. She got a small packet of medicine from her father, who was a doctor, and I recovered after taking it.
I later realized that Master was already looking after me. I often dreamed of flying when I was young, and saw things that others couldn’t see. The adults didn’t believe me when I told them I saw the patterns on my kang (a heatable brick bed) expanding.
I started school when I was nine. Although I was thin, small, and sickly, I was smart and did well in school. The teachers liked me and appointed me as the learning commissioner and class leader. I didn’t take any physical education or labor education class during my three years of junior high, and I barely weighed 77 pounds by the time I graduated.
I was accepted into a technical college in another city, and when I took the train to the school, an elderly woman sitting next to me asked, “Young lady, are you on your way to see the doctor?” That should give you an idea of what my physical condition was like.
My husband was my college classmate. When we dated, I told him, “You need to be mentally prepared. I may only live another twenty years.” I thought my body would only hold out that long.
After we got married, we had to care for three elderly relatives (my father-in-law, mother-in-law, and grandmother-in-law) and raise two young children. You can imagine how difficult life was. My job kept me busy, and I was a competitive person who wanted to make a name for myself in everything I did. I relied entirely on my own efforts, and endured a great deal of hardship and suffering before working my way up to a mid-level management position (bribery wasn’t customary back then). I was frail to begin with, and pushing myself so hard eventually led to all sorts of health problems: hypoglycemia, gastroptosis, cholecystitis, chronic headaches, severe rheumatism, and my legs and feet felt as cold as ice year-round. I had to be hospitalized once or twice a year.
I looked fine at work, but I fell apart when I got home. My husband teased me, saying I was as frail as Lin Daiyu (a character in the 18th-century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber). My mother-in-law joked that I would lie in bed for three days if a fly kicked me. I knew deep down that no one would take me seriously if I was sick all the time.
The qigong craze swept across China in the late 1970s. I tried many different forms of qigong, hoping to cure my ailments, but I gave up because they were ineffective. In the summer of 1996, a hairdresser suggested I try Falun Dafa. I thought it was just like the other qigong practices, so I refused. She said, “This practice is different. It has amazing effects in resolving illnesses and improving health. I have a copy of Stories of Cultivation. You can read it and then decide.” I took her suggestion since I wanted to improve my health.
I felt drowsy as soon as I started reading Stories of Cultivation. I took a short nap, woke up, and finished reading it. I thought the practice was amazing and somewhat mystical. I was curious and signed up for the sixth Falun Dafa seminar organized by the local coordinators.
They played the video recording of Master’s lecture in Jinan city. I experienced what Master said in Zhuan Falun,
“A few individuals may fall asleep and wake up as soon as I finish my lecture. Why is that? It is because their brains have illnesses that need to be treated. One will be unable to stand it if one’s brain is worked on. Therefore, the person must be put into a state of anesthesia so he doesn’t know.” (Lecture Two, Zhuan Falun)
I fell asleep with my head on the desk throughout the entire class the first day. I arrived earlier the second day and sat in the first row. I didn’t think I would get sleepy, but I still fell asleep. My headache disappeared, and I no longer needed my astigmatism glasses afterwards. Thank you, Master!
Practitioners urged me to coordinate the group since I was good at organizing and willing to volunteer. We needed a place to accommodate 20 to 30 people, so I negotiated with the person in charge at the factory. They were very supportive and lent us an empty daycare center free of charge. Some of my former coworkers laughed and said, “Even though you’re retired, you’ve found another position.” I didn’t let their comments bother me.
I bought a tape recorder, audio cassettes, and videotapes, and brought my television and VCR from home so we could do the exercises. Practitioners wanted to split the cost, but I turned them down. I received money that I shouldn’t have when I was working, so I must have lost virtue and created bad karma for myself. I felt at peace spending my own money for Dafa, and that was my understanding at the time.
I took the tape recorder to the practice site every morning at 5:00 a.m., and we did the first four exercises. Then at 6:00 p.m., we studied the Fa and practiced the fifth exercise.
I didn’t even notice when my illnesses were gone. I was like a withered tree that came back to life, and I felt so much joy. Being healthy was such a blessing!
Practitioners and I went to the countryside to spread the Fa, and I didn’t feel tired after finishing a 15-mile round trip. I could carry a 55-pound bag of flour climbing five floors and not run out of breath. My mother-in-law was surprised and said, “You were a sickly person before, but you’ve become a different person after practicing Falun Dafa!” She often told others, “Falun Dafa is wonderful.”
My father-in-law was a hardworking peasant, and he wasn’t afraid of hardships, but he was promiscuous and a womanizer. He was later sentenced to eight years in prison for rape and was released within a year on medical parole due to illness.
I didn’t look at him or speak to him. I wouldn’t let him sit at the dinner table because the sight of him made me sick. Neither my husband nor my mother-in-law dared to object. My mother-in-law even said, “The food is the same no matter where he eats it.” He stayed out of sight when the guests came, as we were embarrassed by him. He would run to his room when he heard me coming home from work. On the rare occasions when we saw each other, he would stand facing the wall as if he was in prison.
My mother advised me, “You should let him deal with his own problems. He’s an old man, and you shouldn’t make him suffer.”
My older brother and my husband’s uncle suggested that I give him a break, but I refused to listen. I justified my actions by saying, “He needs to know who’s the boss and be afraid.” I thought I was quite intimidating and I could keep him in line.
After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I realized that I treated my father-in-law badly. I gave him dirty looks, scolded him, and forbade him to eat at the table. I was being unkind and must have given him a lot of virtue. I said to Master, “I know I’m wrong, and I will change.”
The power of the Fa is truly great. I no longer felt annoyed when I looked at him or felt nauseous when I ate with him. He was overjoyed. He would bring back Dafa materials that others discarded when he went out for a walk. He found a banner that said “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” and hung it on his headboard.
After my mother-in-law passed away, my father-in-law lived another twelve years. He was bedridden for six months, and I was the one who took care of him most of the time. He developed osteoporosis because of the sexual enhancement drugs he had taken before. When the pain struck, he didn’t know where it was coming from, and it felt like being gouged with an awl. He would cry out in agony, and the painkillers didn’t help. I told him, “Please say with sincerity, ‘Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’ Only Master can help you.”
He recited the auspicious phrases and added, “Master of Falun Dafa, please save me!” The pain subsided. He passed away peacefully five days later.
My daughter’s mother-in-law was about my age. She had little schooling, spoke her mind, and was quick to snap at people, which was why many people didn’t like her. After our families became in-laws, some acquaintances asked me, “Is this the standard you use when choosing a husband for your daughter?” They were implying that she had a bad reputation and came from a poor family. My daughter’s father-in-law was ill and feared he might not live to see his grandchildren, so the couple hurried to get married.
My daughter’s father-in-law passed away three years after her wedding. Her mother-in-law had no source of income, so I had my daughter and her family move in with me. Their vacated house was rented out to help my in-laws. I invited my in-laws over whenever I cooked something special, and this became a routine. If I occasionally forgot to invite her, my son-in-law would ask, “Why isn’t my mother here?” Or my grandson would ask, “Why isn’t grandma here?” We were one big family.
I went through a xinxing test one time. The gold necklace I gave my daughter as a wedding gift went missing. I had an acquaintance at the gold mine custom-make it. It had a unique and beautiful design, weighed about 30 grams, with matching earrings. My daughter stored it in a dresser drawer, and it disappeared, while the other jewelry was still there. My daughter’s father-in-law was still alive at the time, and my daughter didn’t want to upset him. She didn’t tell me about the necklace until I asked her one summer day.
People who knew about it said, “A thief would have taken all the jewelry. Isn’t it obvious who took it?” I thought about it for a long time, and sought enlightenment through the Fa.
Master said,
“Everything has its karmic relationship.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
Perhaps I owed my daughter’s mother-in-law from a past life, so I should pay back my debt. I continued to treat her well.
I went back to my hometown one day, and my daughter called the next day. She said her mother-in-law had sprained and fractured her ankle. She had her mother-in-law stay at my house since her in-law’s house was too cold. My daughter, her sister-in-law, and her brother-in-law and his wife had to work, so I returned home to care for her. My in-law stayed with us for more than a month, and I made sure she was well fed. She went home after she was able to walk downstairs, and she told everyone that I was kind and that I took good care of her.
My in-law often collected scrap, and sometimes she would find Falun Dafa pamphlets or CDs. She would clean and bring them to me. She used to have pain in her lower back and legs, but neither medication nor physical therapy helped. Her condition improved later, and I told her it was because she picked up Dafa materials. She believed what I said.
My in-law went back to her hometown one time and asked me for some truth-clarification posters. She posted them all over the village. The village security chief told her to stop posting them, so she brought back the remaining few.
My brother-in-law left home to serve in the military before my husband and I got married. After we were married, we helped our elderly parents change their registration to an urban household registration. When my brother-in-law was discharged, he automatically had an urban household registration and was assigned a job. We also helped him arrange his marriage.
My sister-in-law was an inarticulate person. She placed great importance on money, yet had no qualms about spending it. For example, she would buy clothes she liked and throw them away after she wore them for just a few days. She bought cotton-padded jackets and pants every winter and discarded them in the spring. She was very selfish toward others and her family. She possessed very few household items, such as pots, bowls, and utensils, and didn’t have extra bedding for visitors.
When they moved, one handcart was all it took to carry their belongings. We invited them for the New Year meal every year. They would come empty-handed, eat, and leave. They never brought up the topic of supporting their elderly parents. When my father-in-law was alive, he thought it was unfair to us and wanted to have a word with them. I stopped him and said, “You won’t go hungry living with us. Although this is not luxurious living, you won’t suffer either. Why haggle over that small amount of money? It’ll just make things unpleasant.”
My sister-in-law passed away from colon cancer in 2020, and my brother-in-law couldn’t afford to live by himself. We had a three-bedroom apartment, so I told my husband his brother could move in with us. My husband didn’t expect me to be so generous, and he was happy. My brother-in-law lived with us for almost three years. He didn’t pay any rent at first, but later thought it wasn’t right. He said he was receiving a pension check and should at least pay for some living expenses. So sometimes he paid 500 yuan or more.
My brother-in-law said that whenever anyone spoke ill of Falun Dafa, he would tell them, “My sister-in-law practices Falun Dafa. She had many ailments and was constantly on medication, but her illnesses were gone after she practiced Falun Dafa. She hasn’t taken any medicine in over twenty years. She takes care of the elderly and is very generous. She’s kind and helps people in need. If everyone were like her, our society would become a better place.” My brother-in-law got married and moved to another city, and brought his wife to visit us every year.
Treating others kindly and being generous has become second nature to me. Master bestowed blessings upon me, and Dafa turned me into a kind person. I have many more stories like this, and I’m fulfilling my vow according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
(Selected submission for the 23rd China Fa Conference on Minghui.org)