(Minghui.org) I’m 75 this year, and I’ve practiced Falun Dafa for more than 20 years. I’d like to tell you about my son, to show how Master not only takes care of us Dafa practitioners, but also our family members—when we let go of human sentimentality.
My son is kind and honest and a very good son. Years ago, he worked as a law enforcement officer in a remote area. A few years later, a deputy position became available and upper management encouraged people to apply for it.
My son didn’t want to apply because he didn’t have a higher-education certificate or any social connections. However, two coworkers, who were heads of two other police stations, encouraged him to apply.
My son submitted an application for the position, but didn’t have much hope of getting it. There was only one position available, and many people were trying to get promoted.
To his surprise, he was not only promoted to the position of deputy head, he was also transferred to a unit close to where his wife worked. Until then, both of them had been living apart in different places. What’s more, his new work unit was very close to the provincial city.
One of his new coworkers asked, “What strong connections do you have to be transferred to the big provincial city? Usually, you need good connections and background, and of course a bit of bribery.” My son just smiled and said he hadn’t done any of that.
He mentioned it to me when he came home, because he thought it was rather unusual for him to get the promotion. I also found it a bit puzzling, but didn’t think much of it at the time.
I suddenly realized Falun Dafa provided his connection and backing! I felt quite excited by this realization, but reminded myself straight away not to develop an attachment of zealotry.
My son worked very hard in his new role, and was soon promoted to head of a new unit that was being set up. He saved his department money by cutting unnecessary expenses. This was greatly appreciated by his superiors, and my son was offered a Merit Award for his good conduct, and his wife was also praised.
Some years later, as he got older, he wanted to change to a less demanding position. He was eventually appointed to be a team leader in a rather sensitive department.
My heart skipped a beat when I heard the news: It would be very hard for him to work there. If he gets involved in persecuting Dafa practitioners, he would be committing sins; if he turned a blind eye, he wouldn’t be able to deliver results to his superiors.
I didn’t want him to work there. I thought: I should let go of my worries because there must be a reason he was transferred there. After all, it’s better for someone like my son to be the team leader, rather than someone who doesn’t know the truth and follows the CCP.
One day, while I was video chatting with my older grandson, he complained about how much homework he had to do. I reminded him to recite “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
“Please don’t say this,” my grandson said sadly. “My dad might lose his job soon. Someone reported him.”
I was shocked to hear this, and remembered what happened in the early days of the persecution, back in 2000. I was sent to a detention center because I practice Falun Dafa. The police tried to force me to give up the practice by threatening me with my son’s future.
My son had only started working a few years earlier and was still single. I didn’t have a solid understanding of the Fa principles at the time, and I was worried about my sons. I remember thinking: It doesn’t matter what you do to me, but leave my sons alone. I will never give up Dafa, or betray other practitioners, but I don’t want my sons to get hurt in any way.
Feeling helpless, I started crying loudly. As I was crying, I remembered what Master said in Zhuan Falun,
“Someone may say, “I’ll earn some more money to settle my family down well so I won’t have to worry about anything. Afterward, I’ll cultivate.” I would say that this is your wishful thinking. You are unable to interfere with the lives of others, and neither can you control others’ fates, including those of your wife, sons, daughters, parents, or brothers. Can you decide those things? Furthermore, how will you cultivate if you do not have any worries or troubles? How can you do the exercises comfortably and restfully? How can there be such a thing? That is what you think from the perspective of everyday people.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I thought, since I can’t interfere in the lives of my sons, why am I crying? I calmed down. I realized three points: If my son doesn’t have this tribulation in his life, he won’t suffer; if he does have it, then he’ll repay what he needs to; if he suffers because of me, he’ll be rewarded with virtue.
This thought made me feel calm and peaceful. That night, I dreamed of gourd vines climbing up a wall, bearing several tender, green pumpkins—a sign of good things. Two days later, a guard called my name and said, “Your son is here to take you home!”
Over 20 years have passed since then, and now I face a similar situation. I remembered the three points, and realized I must keep improving my understanding of the Fa principles.
I thought: I shouldn’t be moved by human sentimentality. Every being is taken care of by Master, and even deities have no say. Master has compassionately extended the lifespan of all beings so that they can learn the truth and be saved. I should let go of my human thoughts and worries.
When my son came to see me, I asked him about what my grandson said.
He replied, “It’s true that someone reported me. Three of our units are being combined into one, and the head of each unit had to chose one of us to be the top leader and the other two would be his deputies.
“One unit leader reported me, saying my mom practices Falun Dafa, so I shouldn’t be the top leader. However, my superior said that there wasn’t any relevant document addressing this issue, so in the end he appointed me to be the top leader.”
I could see that I still had the attachment of sentimentality towards my sons, and that’s why I had these tests. When I truly let go of these attachments, these tests will disappear.
The reason my son has good fortune is because he knows that I benefited a lot from Falun Dafa, and Falun Dafa is good.
Before I started practicing, I was very sick, almost on the verge of death. To everyone’s great surprise, after I began practicing I became healthy, so my whole family has been very supportive of my practicing.
In 2000, when the persecution was extremely severe, most people were very scared and tried to keep away from practitioners for their own safety.
One day, when my son was on duty, he saw two elderly ladies in handcuffs. They looked kind and he thought they might be Falun Dafa practitioners. He spoke to them and learned that they were indeed practitioners.
It was meal time, and my son asked if they had eaten. They said they hadn’t eaten anything, so my son immediately went out and bought them each a meal. I know that my son also did a number of other good things to help Dafa practitioners, and was so he was rewarded later on.
Through what happened to my son, I’ve come to understand that, as long as we let go of our own human attachments, Master will take care of the rest. My son worked in a rather sensitive position, and yet he didn’t lose anything.
I also noticed that some practitioners encountered very difficult situations at home, especially during the so-called “Door-Knocking Campaign” in 2017 and the “Zero-Out Campaign” a few years later, when the 610 Office harassed Dafa practitioners and their families.
When practitioners refused to stop practicing, the evil doers forced their family members to pressure them to write a statement giving up Falun Gong, otherwise these family members would be adversely impacted.
Such evil tactics led to big conflicts in some practitioners’ families, and in some cases, their family members (non-practitioners) even cursed Master and Dafa, and sadly fell into the evildoers’ trap.
The reason I told you about what happened to my son is because I believe that the root cause of the problem lies with us practitioners. When the old forces see our human attachments, such as sentimentality to family, they have an excuse to arrange tribulations to test us, hoping we will fall and commit sins against Dafa.
If we don’t have these loopholes, they won’t be able to do anything, or arrange any such tests. If we do well, sentient beings will have less chance to commit sins against Dafa. This is also saving lives.
When I was unlawfully held in a detention center, my husband’s younger sister was very angry with me and worried about what would happen to the family. She said, “You only care about yourself, and your son might lose his job, and he might not even be able to find someone to marry him!”
The fact is, my son wasn’t impacted at all, and got several promotions. He had no trouble finding a nice girl, they got married,and had a son. We didn’t need to pay any dowry for the bride, either, and they now enjoy a very happy family life.
All these things would not have been possible without Master’s compassionate care and protection. Thank you, Master!