(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) in July 1999 and am now 62. I wanted to share my experiences of striving to be a good person by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, as well as the benefits I’ve gained from Dafa.
Embarking on the Path of Cultivation
Before I began practicing, I was the kind of person who wouldn’t let things go and always insisted I was right. I didn’t believe in God or the idea of heaven; I trusted only myself. When a coworker mentioned Falun Dafa, I said, “Don’t talk to me about that. I’m an atheist; I only believe in myself.”
But after quietly observing this coworker for a few days, I noticed she was very reliable and sincere, so I asked her, “Can I look at the Falun Dafa book you’ve been reading?” She agreed. After reading Zhuan Falun from cover to cover, I found answers to many questions that had long puzzled me, and decided I would start practicing.
My husband smoked and drank every day and, aside from cooking, took no responsibility for anything. We argued constantly about this, and I felt I couldn’t go on living without a change. I thought I might as well get divorced to get some peace and quiet. After I began cultivating, I came to understand that people go through cycles of birth and death, and that nothing in life happens by chance; the cause-and-effect of accrued karma governs everything. It’s a universal truth that good and evil acts will be repaid accordingly. I suddenly realized that if I owed others from a past life, I must repay them in this one.
Because I owed my husband a debt from a past life, I was repaying him in this one. I then dropped my intention to divorce him. I went to work, cared for our child, and managed the housework on my own. I stopped nagging him about his smoking and drinking. But as I changed, he changed, too. Gradually, we stopped arguing, our family became harmonious, and I felt at ease.
Before I knew it, my allergic rhinitis had cleared up, and the postpartum ailments I’d suffered after giving birth had also healed. My mind and body felt light and at ease. It’s Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance that were transforming me into a better person.
Earning Management’s Esteem At Work
After I began cultivating, I became diligent and responsible at work. I stayed calm even when someone spoke ill of me or yelled at me. I didn’t hold it against them, something that would have been impossible before.
Managing the warehouse was a coveted position that everyone wanted. Because it involved protecting merchandise and promotional items, some unscrupulous individuals would steal and sell them. With poor accounting, falsified records, and substantial expenses for use of company vehicles, management was concerned. So the warehouse staff was rotated every year or two.
Since I began overseeing the warehouse, there has been no need for replacements. My records are transparent, I do not falsify accounts, nor do I embezzle or take anything for myself. I also refuse all requests from coworkers to use company vehicles for personal purposes. Management is reassured, and my coworkers have no complaints.
In the past, the warehouse had to hire temporary help during a four-month peak season every year. Since I took the position, the company hasn’t hired anyone. During the busy season, I handle the workload of two people on my own and save the company a significant amount of money. Sometimes, I even volunteer to work overtime without asking for overtime pay.
Building Relationships With Neighbors
I live in a city of over 10 million people and own a two-story house in a downtown alley. It was modest in size, with the first floor serving as a storefront.
In 2000, a number of older buildings were to be demolished to allow for new construction. Several neighbors in the alley collaborated on the project, and they all began building on the same day. During the construction, one neighbor’s family encroached upon my property by at least 50 centimeters (20 inches) in width and 11 meters (36 feet) in length; their new building was to be four stories tall.
After the building was completed, both my storefront and living quarters were narrower, while my neighbor’s storefront and living quarters were wider. Other neighbors asked, “Your house has become narrower. What are you going to do about it?” I replied, “I practice Falun Dafa. If I weren’t a practitioner, I would have fought this case to the bitter end, even if it meant diving to the bottom of the ocean to search for snails. But Dafa teaches me to be a good person who embodies Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, so I won’t go to court over this.”
Tribulations in My Family
My sister-in-law's daughter is eight years older than our daughter. Back in 2000, 50 yuan could buy many snacks, but my mother-in-law gave all the snacks to her other granddaughter and gave only beverages to my daughter. My daughter cried and complained about this. I explained, “Your grandmother may have owed your cousin from a past life, but maybe she doesn’t owe you anything. Giving you bottled drinks is already generous.” My daughter became used to this favoritism after it happened a few more times.
Bu when I brought home snacks, my daughter proclaimed, “Grandma doesn’t give me any, so I won’t give her any.” I replied, “You should share. One of the traditional virtues of the Chinese people is respecting the elderly. We can’t be so unkind—we have to share with Grandma.” My daughter understood and shared her snacks.
I never hit or scolded my daughter, and she was very well-behaved. From elementary school through her first year of middle school, her teachers always praised her when I spoke with them at parent-teacher meetings. However, by the second year of middle school, she became rebellious. She started hanging out with a few kids who had transferred to her school, stopped studying properly, and let her grades plummet. The teachers then started criticizing our daughter. I knew that competition was fierce in the elite high schools, and ranking students by test scores was the norm.
Having cultivated for nearly 10 years, I remained calm in the face of such stark changes. I knew that schools today do not teach traditional culture, and it was impossible for children not to be influenced by societal norms. A child’s character and well-being were my top priorities, so I always guided my daughter with compassion. After speaking with her teachers, I never relayed their criticism to her. I just told her that the teachers praised certain students and pointed out others’ shortcomings.
By the time my daughter reached the third year of middle school, she spent all her time at home playing on the computer and dressing up her dolls. She could sit motionless for hours and wouldn’t listen to a word I said. Sometimes, I would rack my brain trying to help her with difficult homework problems, while she played on the computer into the night. The next day, she would drag herself to school. Consequently, her midterm exam scores were not good.
My daughter wasn’t willing to attend a free public high school and insisted on going to a top-tier school. Although her grades were high enough, we still had to pay tens of thousands of yuan in school selection fees. In 2009, I spent tens of thousands of yuan so she could attend a top-tier high school. But faced with my daughter’s poor behavior, I didn’t know what to do. I decided I would cultivate myself according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, refrain from losing my temper, and offer her earnest, patient advice.
Once my daughter entered high school, she gradually improved her ways and became a student who won the praises of her teachers. She once told me, “I was so immature in middle school, wearing those clothes, getting my hair permed right after the midterm exam, then using chemicals to straighten it out again.” I replied, “It’s good that you’ve corrected your behavior. I always believed you wouldn’t go astray!”
High school meant a lot of academic stress for my daughter, but I never put extra pressure on her. I constantly helped reduce her stress: “Whatever grade you get is what it is. Just do your best and be true to your conscience. Don’t worry too much about the numbers, and don’t let your emotions get the better of you; it’s bad for your health.” In the end, she got into the university of her dreams.
She now has a successful career and her own family. I told her, “Be grateful for your mother-in-law. She raised an outstanding son—your husband—who has given you a happy life. She even helps take care of your child.”
The house registered in my mother-in-law’s name was slated for demolition, even though my in-laws had passed away more than a decade earlier. In 2018, my younger sister-in-law bribed officials at the demolition office to plot against us. Officials from the office came to our home and tricked my husband, who was in poor health, into signing the demolition agreement. Not a single penny of the nearly one million yuan in compensation was given to us. My husband passed away from a stroke that October and, when the compensation payment was disbursed the following April, my sister-in-law claimed it was rightfully hers.
When we went to the demolition office to ask for the compensation, the staff told us that my sister-in-law was paralyzed on one side of her body, and that her husband had died of cancer a week before the Chinese New Year. I then said, “I don’t want the money anymore. Please let my sister-in-law keep it all.” The four people in the office were stunned. One of the women, regaining her composure, said, “Don’t talk about that right now. If you want the money, just ask for it. Don’t bring up anything else.” My daughter and her husband wanted to take my sister-in-law to court, but I said, “She’s in such a poor state, I don’t want to fight over the money anymore.” After I held my ground, they decided not to take legal action.
