(Clearwisdom.net) I obtained the Fa in 1997. Before that, my husband and I had serious problems in our marriage, and we fought frequently. But now, thanks to Falun Dafa, my husband and I have changed, and my entire family lives in peace and harmony.
1. A broken family
Prior to learning Falun Dafa, my husband and I seldom lived together. My husband was a hot-tempered, lonely person. He would nag endlessly about trivial things, beat me, or break things when he was feeling irritable. The situation worsened after our children were born. He had very little patience with children. When I went to visit him every year (we worked in two different cities), he would beat me, and I always left him when we were both in agony. After we had four children, we transferred our jobs to be in the same place. After that our conflicts became even more frequent. We would fight almost daily. Our children were afraid to see him.
Unable to endure any longer, I wanted to divorce him and offered to take care of our children by myself, but he refused to divorce me. Left without hope, I moved back to my hometown with our children and we began to live separately. My children grew up to do very well. Three of them passed the college entrance exams and attended college. The fourth one has a good job. Yet, during that time my physical health deteriorated. I suffered from a variety of illnesses. My right leg needed surgery, and I had arthritis, severe insomnia, and venous distension (pressure in the veins leading to the heart). Life was miserable and hard for me.
I was fortunate to be introduced to Falun Dafa in 1997, and I began to truly understand the meaning of life. From then on I became refreshed and energetic, and disciplined myself with the principles inherent in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I was determined to be a genuine cultivator. My xinxing improved and my physical condition changed completely. All the illnesses that I had suffered before disappeared.
When my husband retired in 1998, I knew that my cultivation environment had become even more complicated. When I read Zhuan Falun, Master's words jumped out at me, "As long as you treat yourself as a practitioner, you can handle it properly."
2. Working hard on Forbearance
The conflicts had always aggravated me. Studying the Fa gradually let me raise my xinxing. I realized that my husband was there to help me improve.
He came home drunk toward the end of 1999, on the day after I was released from illegal detention. He pushed all the food I had prepared off the table, and broke our tape recorder. When he was about to smash our only TV set I held him and gently told him, "That's all we have now; please, keep it for us. We've been married for dozens of years, but we don't really have anything else that's precious." Hearing that, he stopped. I remembered what Master said, "When it's difficult to endure, you can endure it." (Zhuan Falun) I did not blame my husband.
One day in early 2000 he came home drunk again. He fiercely called my name, "I'll kill you today. Tell me if you dare go to Beijing again." I firmly replied, "Yes, I'll definitely go to Beijing again [to appeal for Falun Dafa]." Hearing this, he went inside to grab something to beat me with. I saw him coming out with a clothes hanger instead of a knife. After striking me twice with the hanger, he was done. Tears filled my eyes. I knew that Master had helped me resolve the tribulation for me when my mind was steadfast.
3. Learning to think of other people
After my release from detention at the end of 1999, I was forced to pay 6,000 yuan by the authorities. Detention center officials deducted the amount from my paycheck. At home, my husband said he needed to tell me something. Since I had been detained several times, he had lived on boxed lunches and instant noodles, because a dance club owner got him drunk and then bilked him of 7,000 yuan. He had no choice and used up all of our savings. Hearing this, I felt that my head was going to explode; however, quickly I calmed myself, thinking that as a practitioner cultivating in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I should forgive him instead of blaming him. Besides, he had already admitted his mistake. I should encourage him to correct his mistakes. After this incident, he began to have a good impression of Falun Dafa practitioners.
4. Dafa helps me broaden my mind
After obtaining the Fa, my mind's capacity grew. Master said, "Cultivation is about looking inside yourself. Whether you are right or wrong, you should examine yourself." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles" 2006)
One day in early 2008, I told my husband something out of concern for him. Before I had time to finish what I was going to say, he turned on me with nasty remarks and struck me. I remained silent and later asked with a smile, "Are you done?" He picked up a stool and claimed he would kill me. Grabbing the stool, I asked him what would happen to him if he really killed me. I was calm, and he quieted down. Laying down the stool, he said, "I was wrong. You're a Falun Dafa practitioner. A noble person like you - you don't hold grudges against a villain like me." This experience taught me that once my xinxing improves, my tribulations are resolved. He was here to help me improve my xinxing.
From then on he stopped beating and verbally abusing me. My husband got trigeminal neuralgia (a nerve condition that causes pain in the face) in April 2008. At first he did not tell me, but took pills and got injections. Because neither the pills nor the injections worked, he thought that a tooth was causing the problem. However, after the tooth was extracted, he was still in pain. The doctor told him to have surgery, which would cost 15,000 yuan, but the surgery could only help lessen his pain and not cure the illness. He was desperate. I suggested that he read Zhuan Falun, and told him that it would be good for him. In great pain he started to read. After having read the second lecture, the pain was gone and has not recurred. In addition, his high blood pressure also disappeared. Delighted, he said, "This is a magical book. It's so worth reading it!" Although he has not practiced the exercises, he reads Zhuan Falun every day now and he has become healthy. What's more, he has rid himself of his bad habits and become a completely new person. Who says that it is hard to change one's true nature? Falun Dafa can change everything. Now he supports me when I do Dafa work. When the situation permits, he even helps explain the facts to others. We now have common ground, and he wishes that we had got along well before.
We would not have come this far without Master and Dafa. We thank Master and Dafa for our good fortunes.