(Minghui.org) When I obtained the Fa in 2008, I felt as if I had awakened from a dream. After reading Zhuan Falun, many of the things in life that had baffled me suddenly became clear. I finally understood why my mother had passed away so early, and I was able to find closure.
Dafa completely changed my outlook and has brought me and my family countless blessings. The longer I cultivate in Dafa, the more I realize how lucky I am to have obtained this great righteous practice.
Sham Qigong Ruined My Mother's Health
I had practiced other qigong before. My father used to suffer from kidney problems and became very ill in 1994. The doctors told him that there wasn't much they could do, but my parents didn't give up hope.
They decided to try a qigong retreat in Hebei that a friend had told them about and, after a year of treatment, my father's kidney problem was gone. My parents became firm believers and taught me the practice, too. I was only 14 years old at the time, and believed that qigong must be good because it healed my father's disease.
My mother made a pledge to help spread the practice if my father could regain his health and that's exactly what she did after returning from Hebei. That qigong's teaching was that healing illnesses accumulated virtue and saved people. My mother was convinced. She quickly gained some abilities through the practice, and was able to see the pathogenic qi in a patient's body. She started treating patients and healing people's illnesses.
My mother was very healthy when she started but, as she treated more and more patients, her health declined. She treated a patient with protrusion of the lumbar intervertebral discs in the fall of 2004, and suffered a stroke the very next day.
She became dull, could neither talk nor remember things clearly, and had a dark complexion. Feeling that she had lost all the good energy in her body, my mother became easily scared and was afraid of going to sleep at night.
I accompanied her back to the qigong retreat in Hebei and spent more than 30,000 yuan on treatments, but her condition didn't improve. She suffered another stroke in the winter of 2005 and passed away.
I didn't realize then that it was the sham qigong she practiced that ruined her health. Knowing about it now makes me cherish Dafa and the predestined relationship that much more.
Meeting My Husband, a Practitioner of Dafa
I was 26 years old when my mother passed away. Though I was young, I already co-owned a company with my father and was doing well financially. I was single at the time and got set up with dates by friends and relatives a lot. But I could easily see through those guys and their ulterior motives, so I did not marry.
I went on yet another blind date in 2007 and met my husband. He was the first guy I had met in a long time that seemed genuinely nice and sincere. I later learned that he practiced Falun Dafa.
Being young, attractive, and successful made me feel superior to my peers. I was such a brat when we first started dating and often talked to my now husband in a condescending way, but he always just smiled and never seemed to mind.
He often talked to me about Dafa and how wonderful it is. Because I was heavily brainwashed by the Communist Party's lies slandering the practice, I rudely cut him short and never let him finish. I even threatened him. “I'll break up with you if you talk about it again.”
I really did break up with him for a while. However, that break made me realize how hard it was to find a good guy like him. We married in the beginning of 2008.
Obtaining the Fa
After we married, my husband used every opportunity to try to convince me that Dafa is good, but I was not about to change my mind. I told him, “You're welcome to practice Dafa all you want. I like my practice and I am going to stick with it.”
My husband didn't give up. My mother's death came up one day during our conversation, and I told him that she used to treat patients. He told me Master had explained it in the book that one exchanges virtue for patients' karma when treating diseases. That explanation made more sense than any other that I had ever heard. I asked my husband if I could borrow his Dafa book.
After I read Zhuan Falun, I finally understood why my mother passed away so early. Master made it very clear in Zhuan Falun:
“Some people with good inborn quality exchange their inborn quality with others for karma. That person is ill and has a lot of karma. If you heal a patient who has a serious illness, after the treatment you will feel very uncomfortable at home. In the past, many people felt this way after seeing a patient: The patient is recovering, but you are very ill at home. As time passes, more karma transfers to you; you give others de for karma. No loss, no gain. Though what you get is illness, karma must be paid for with de.” (“The Issue of Pursuit” from Zhuan Falun)
My perspective in life was completely changed. I was convinced by the profound principles and started cultivating in Dafa.
A Little Disciple
I gave birth to a healthy nine pound baby boy in June 2010. Our entire family was overjoyed and my husband and I were instantly in love with our son.
Before I even laid my eyes on the baby after giving birth, my husband claimed excitedly, “There's no way to mix this baby up with others. He's got two big dimples and his ears have multiple folds on the helix. He can be distinguished from miles away.”
We took our newborn home after a couple days. When he cried at night, my husband played Dafa music for him. He cried for a long time one night and nothing seemed to comfort him, and my husband held him close. “I know you came to our family to obtain the Fa. Your mom and I will take good care of you.” The little guy stared at my husband as if he understood, and started laughing.
Our son is six years old now and is very bright. He is a fast learner and has learned many Chinese characters through reading Dafa books. He can read Zhuan Falun fluently. He sometimes reads along with the adults at our Fa study and everybody likes to hear him reading. He also reads other Dafa books independently and at a good speed.
Since he was very young, I started teaching him the Fa principles. I told him to be honest and kind. I told him to not take things from others and not to pick up money from the ground because it's not his. He is willing to follow the Fa principles and sometimes even asks questions about cultivation.
Once I was chitchatting with a practitioner while my then five-year-old stood to the side. He noticed that our conversation was not related to the Fa, so he hit my chair hard to get my attention. With a very stern look, he said, “Studying the Fa is the most important.” The practitioner and I looked at each other, and we knew right away that he was right. I thank Master for giving me such a good boy, a little Dafa disciple.
Challenges as a Mother and Cultivator
Like all mothers, I love my son very much. I spend a lot of effort to make him delicious and balanced meals and worry about him being too warm or too cold. I read up on how to raise young children and am always very pleased to share my knowledge with my mommy friends, without knowing that sometimes it's my mentality of showing off surfacing.
When my husband pointed it out, I was not happy. “Dafa is great,” I said, “but it doesn't give me answers to specific questions in raising kids. The books that I'm reading tell me exactly how to deal with specific issues at different developmental stages.”
My husband said, “Yes. You love your own child, but can you love all children the same way?” I was speechless and knew that I needed to cultivate my compassion much more.
I used to lose my temper in a flash when my son didn't do as he was told. One time, he waited until I calmed down to tell me, “Mom, you are so scary when you lose your temper. If you lose your temper too often, you won't become a Buddha.”
I was so ashamed. “What have I cultivated? I'm worse than a child. He is right. I really have to thank him for the reminder.” I do try my best now to stay calm and not lose my temper.
A Successful Second Surgery
Due to blockage of the bile duct, my father had a persistent low temperature and was hospitalized in 2015. He was scheduled for a minimally invasive surgery that according to the doctor would “take about a half hour tops.” On the day of the surgery, my father was very clear-minded and his spirits were high. I signed the paperwork and watched him being pushed into the surgery room.
I waited outside and became anxious when the doctor didn't come out after an hour. When he finally did, he announced that the surgery had failed. My father's bile duct was abnormal, which made the surgery very difficult. The doctor had to give him a second dose of anesthesia and continued operating on him, yet he still failed.
I rushed to his side when he was being pushed out of the operating room. My father looked like a completely different person—he was disorientated with dull eyes and was drooling from the corner of his mouth. Seeing him like that, I burst into tears.
Back at the ward, my father couldn't sleep for days. He was given IV fluids continuously and the doctors decided to operate on him again a few days later. If it failed again, the doctor explained, they would have to do an open surgery, which would cause a lot of damage and pain for the patient. For an older patient like my father, the recovery process would likely be long.
My father was very stressed and worried about the second surgery. I was also worried. I knew that only Dafa could save him, but how should I explain it to him? He used to practice a different qigong, which he believed had saved his life. He was also deceived by the Communist regime's propaganda against Falun Dafa.
My father is very opinionated, argumentative and strong minded. He also has a very bad temper. Growing up, I had never been able to talk to him openly and honestly. If I had a different opinion on something, I kept it to myself because I didn't want to upset him. This had put a strain on our relationship and I never felt close to my father.
Seeing how sick he was, I knew I had to try. I couldn't bring myself to do it until the day before the second surgery. My father and I were alone in the room. I sat next to him and started talking about Dafa. I watched him closely as I talked and was afraid of how he might react. To my surprise, he was very relaxed and calm. I told him about two local practitioners who got rid of cancer by practicing Falun Gong, and he was greatly interested.
I told him that if he sincerely recited “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” he would receive blessings. First he had to cut all ties with the Communist Party because of its crimes. He gladly took my advice and agreed to quit the party. I couldn't believe how well it went and was so happy.
Before his surgery the next day, I whispered in his ear and reminded him to recite, “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” He nodded. The surgery went smoothly and he was out of the operating room in twenty minutes.
Talking to People About Dafa
My son started preschool this spring and after I dropped him off at school every morning, I would go to a nearby park. Many elderly people gathered there to do their morning exercises. I wanted to talk to them about Dafa, but it was hard at first because I was afraid of being rejected, knowing how most Chinese people are deceived by the Communist Party's lies.
Just as I felt defeated that I couldn't overcome my fear one day, an elderly gentleman started talking to me. He asked me warmly, “How old are you, young lady?” Seeing that he was so nice, I told him my age and struck up a conversation. The older gentleman was very talkative. He told me a lot of things he had gone through as a young man.
As I listened, I tried to find an opportunity to tell him about Dafa. Soon he mentioned the city he used to live in and that the major enterprises there have all shut down. I jumped in and said, “The Communist Party has nearly wiped out all of our traditional culture. The Chinese character for 'enterprise' was traditionally written with many elements inside the outer frame. But now it's been simplified and there's nothing left inside. Of course, they would all empty out and bankrupt.” He seemed very impressed.
I compared how the governments of Taiwan and mainland China have treated traditional Chinese culture. I told him I had been to Taiwan and had seen for myself many traditions and artifacts that no longer existed in China, but had been preserved in Taiwan. I told him about how Falun Gong had spread to more than 100 countries and regions in the world. It is welcomed everywhere except for here in China, where it is persecuted.
I told him what I have witnessed in Taiwan and he listened carefully. I explained to him at the end why one should cut all ties with the Communist Party, and he readily agreed to quit the party. As I stood up and said goodbye, he held my hand and said, “Thank you so much!” I could tell that he was really grateful. After this experience, I became much more confident in talking about Dafa.
Looking back at my cultivation journey over the past eight years, I often regret that I have not been very diligent and that I am still far from meeting the standard of the Fa. But I am so grateful to Master, who has given me and my family so many great things and blessings in life. I feel truly lucky to have obtained the Fa. I will cultivate solidly in the future and not let Master down.
