(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in May 2014. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are Dafa practitioners who started practicing Falun Dafa before July 20, 1999. Shortly after they began, they spoke to me about it and encouraged me to practice. However, I cut them off, responded sarcastically, and didn’t let them say much. My staunchly atheistic mindset wouldn’t let me listen to them because I viewed it all as mere superstition.
In my view, people who practiced qigong fell into one of two categories: either they were suffering from severe, incurable illnesses and seeking spiritual solace, or they were retirees with nothing better to do, looking for physical exercise and a way to pass the time. Moreover, I was extremely busy with my business at the time and had no spare time to practice any form of qigong. What truly puzzled me, however, was my sister-in-law; she was young and well-educated—how could she possibly be so ignorant and superstitious? It was utterly incomprehensible.
The business I ran at the time was highly profitable, but I had to work from dawn till dusk every day, leaving me very little time to rest. Consequently, I developed serious problems with both my upper and lower spine. Cervical spondylosis in my neck caused nerve compression that frequently led to headaches and dizziness. During severe flare-ups, I was forced to go to the hospital for traction therapy. A herniated lumbar disc in my lower back eventually left me completely incapacitated. On one occasion, I was confined to bed for three days before I could get up and walk again. Conventional hospital treatment of both conditions offered only temporary relief, not an actual cure.
One day, while absentmindedly touching my neck, I felt a lump. Feeling scared, I rushed to the hospital. After an examination, the doctor told me the lump was too small to determine whether it was a thyroid tumor or a cyst. However, since its edges were smooth, he advised against immediate treatment and suggested simply observing it for now. He instructed me to return to the hospital for further medical attention only if I noticed the lump growing larger in a short period. From then on, the lump was a constant source of anxiety. I would find myself touching it every now and then just to check it. Fortunately, over the next few years, it barely grew at all.
During this time, my mother suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. I was in a daze, juggling my responsibilities while taking turns with my siblings to sit by her bedside and care for her. It was then that my thoughts turned to my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law. In all the years I had known them, I had never seen either of them fall ill. My sister-in-law’s good health could perhaps be attributed to her youth, but my mother-in-law used to have high blood pressure and a weak heart. Once, she even fainted while grocery shopping and had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. Yet, when I looked at my own mother, bottles of medicine, large and small, cluttered her bedside table, while my mother-in-law’s home was completely free of medicine. I began to wonder whether their spiritual practice was really having a positive effect on their health. I decided that the next time I visited them, I would ask to look at Zhuan Falun and other books. After all, my mother-in-law had told me that reading the Dafa books was the first step in practicing.
However, when I returned to my mother-in-law’s home, I couldn’t bring myself to ask about reading the Dafa books. This was because, in the past, whenever I visited and saw the two of them standing there with their eyes closed and one palm raised (I later learned they were sending forth righteous thoughts), I would either scoff dismissively and turn away or harshly scold them for their ignorance. Sometimes I would simply snap, “You’re out of your minds!”
Day after day, this went on, and I continued to feel too embarrassed to speak up. Yet my attitude toward them had shifted. Whenever I returned home and saw them sending righteous thoughts, I would quietly close the door, back out, and retreat to another room to sit for a while or do some chores in the kitchen.
During the 2014 Lunar New Year, a medical examination revealed that my son had a malignant tumor. I felt as though my entire world had collapsed. Because of China’s one-child policy, he was our only child. My husband and I immediately enlisted relatives to contact a hospital in Beijing, and as soon as the New Year festivities concluded, we set off for Beijing. Before we left, my mother-in-law gave us some parting advice, “Recite ‘Falun Dafa is good, and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good’ as often as you can. With Dafa and Master Li watching over you, everything will be fine. When you return, I will teach you the exercises.” Her words brought a great sense of calm to my panic-stricken heart. I felt as though I finally had a solid foundation of support to rely on.
During our stay at the hospital in Beijing, the combination of intense anxiety, physical exhaustion, and severe sleep deprivation caused the lump on my neck to grow noticeably larger. Yet at that moment, I couldn’t think about my own condition. My sole focus was on getting my son cured as quickly as possible.
By the time I returned from Beijing, the lump was visible to the naked eye. I couldn’t see it when sitting or standing, but a slight bulge was clearly visible when lying flat on my back. I immediately went to the hospital for an examination. The doctor said, “You need to be hospitalized for surgery. Whether the growth is benign or malignant, it must be removed and undergo pathological analysis.” As I walked out of the outpatient building, I tore up the hospitalization admission slip the doctor had issued. While in Beijing, accompanying my son through his medical treatment, I had witnessed all manner of illnesses, suffering, and the fragility of life at the hospital. I came to feel that being human was truly arduous, so I decided to return home to my mother-in-law and learn the practice of Falun Dafa. I, too, wanted to transcend this world of human suffering.
My mother-in-law gave me CDs containing videos of Master lecturing in Guangzhou and Dalian, which she had carefully preserved. After watching the first lecture from the Guangzhou series, I lay in bed and felt a pair of hands press down on my lower back, thump, thump, thump, three times. Master was adjusting my body. My mind was fixated on the lump in my neck, so after each lecture, I would feel it to check its size. By the time I had watched all nine lectures, the lump had shrunk considerably. I felt an immense sense of relief and elation—I was overjoyed. I thought that once I watched the lectures from Dalian as well, the lump would surely be gone, and I would finally be rid of this affliction.
However, no matter how many other lectures I watched, the lump stopped shrinking. I even did the exercises several extra times each day, yet the lump remained unchanged. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law told me I was too attached to the outcome. They explained that this is a powerful cultivation method of the Buddha School—not merely a method for curing illnesses in the human world—and urged me to stop touching the lump or dwelling on it. Instead, they told me to focus earnestly on cultivating my xinxing in accordance with the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance so that I sought nothing yet gained everything. As my cultivation level rose, my body would naturally undergo changes.
Through studying Master’s teachings, I realized why I was stalled. I tried to stop thinking about the tumor, yet sometimes I couldn’t resist touching it. This struggle went on for over a year, and the lump remained exactly as it was. Then, one day, I realized that the cervical spondylosis and herniated lumbar discs, conditions that had tormented me for so long, had not flared up at all during that year. I hadn’t given any thought to whether they would heal, yet they were completely gone. I had been preoccupied with the lump on my neck. In the context of xinxing cultivation, being unable to let go is a barrier. It was precisely this powerful attachment that prevented the lump from disappearing. It was a human mindset that said, “I have an illness here.” It was a human attachment that a cultivator must eliminate. Once that human thought is gone, the physical manifestation will naturally cease to exist.
Upon realizing this Fa principle, I let go of the matter instantly. My heart felt incredibly light and joyful. What did a lump, or its absence, have to do with me, a cultivator? It was merely a stepping stone to help improve my xinxing. Later, while showering, I washed my neck and found that the lump had vanished. I didn’t even realize when it had disappeared.
In 2016, at 86 years of age, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Given her age and existing health conditions, heart disease and high blood sugar, the doctors recommended conservative treatment. To put it bluntly, this meant simply going home to eat and drink well and wait to die. Although we tried our best to keep it from her, she had a hard lump in her breast and was frequently in and out of the oncology hospital for various examinations. Deep down, she knew exactly what was going on.
After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I wanted my mother to practice as well. However, she was not interested. When I asked her to recite “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” she refused. With her current condition, I urged her once more, “Mom, whenever you have a spare moment, recite ‘Falun Dafa is good’ and ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’ If you recite them with a sincere heart, your illness will surely be cured.”
To my surprise, after a brief silence, she said, “Teach me how to do the exercises.” This truly exceeded my expectations. Since she is illiterate, I immediately set up a DVD player for her and purchased an MP3 player designed for the elderly so she could watch and listen to Master’s lectures. When learning the exercise movements, she was very earnest. Despite her aging body, with joints that had become stiff and inflexible, she tried to perform every movement precisely.
While my mother was learning the practice, I wanted to ask her whether the lump was shrinking. However, having learned from my past mistake, I dared not say anything. Even when helping her bathe, I forced myself to refrain from touching the area, fearing it might trigger an attachment in her that would ultimately become an obstacle to her cultivation.
I limited my guidance to the Fa principles, encouraging her to study the teachings more diligently and to focus on cultivating her xinxing. Over the year, she showed no outward signs of illness and appeared to be in excellent health. However, we remained unsure whether her breast lump had shrunk or grown. Because we had kept the matter from her, none of my siblings or I dared to mention it or ask any questions.
At the end of 2017, while climbing the outdoor steps, my mother slipped and fractured her femur when she fell. The doctor informed us that she required femoral head replacement surgery; otherwise, she would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. However, given her age, she needed a comprehensive medical evaluation to ensure she was physiologically ready for the procedure.
During the breast ultrasound, I was incredibly anxious, unsure of the status of the breast cancer. Yet as the doctor moved the probe back and forth, the screen showed only normal tissue. The examination revealed not only that her breast cancer had vanished, but also that her heart function and blood sugar level had returned to normal. Consequently, she underwent the femoral replacement surgery without complications.
Her recovery after surgery went remarkably well. In just six months, she was able to discard her walker and walk freely. She is now 95 years old. Reflecting on my own journey of practicing Falun Dafa, I realize it was fraught with countless difficulties and obstacles—I nearly missed this rare opportunity of the ages. I often reflect that the single most important decision I have made in this lifetime was to begin cultivating Falun Dafa.
The Great Fa, which offers salvation to all sentient beings, has been widely disseminated throughout the human world. Yet, many people remain blinded by malicious lies and atheistic notions, failing to recognize its righteousness. Some even go so far as to slander and persecute it, thereby incurring immense karmic debt without realizing it. I have written down my personal journey—from initially resisting and misunderstanding the Great Fa to finally stepping onto the path of cultivation and reaping its benefits—in the hope of awakening those with predestined connections. The gate of heaven is opened wide. I implore you not to ignore this opportunity to be saved and return to the heavens.
