When I Changed, Everyone Else Changed

(Minghui.org) May 2, 1997, was an unforgettable day. That was the day Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, saved me from attempting to commit suicide. Since then, my life has gone through dramatic changes.

Before I started practicing Dafa, my father-in-law died and we held a funeral. In preparation for the guests, I moved our table out into the courtyard because I was afraid the guests would make a mess inside. This upset the host, who complained to my husband. My husband was so mad that he fought with me every day after that. One day, after a particularly terrible fight, I decided I would leave and kill myself.

That day was my father’s birthday, so I wanted to see my parents and siblings before I ended my life. While I was with them, I told my sisters about my situation. My older sister said, “Whether you were right or wrong, just let it go. Practice Falun Dafa and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance with me! Since I started practicing it, my heart disease and other illnesses have all gone away; I can assure you it will only do you good.”

After that, a few of our siblings became Falun Dafa practitioners. Only after practicing Dafa did I know that committing suicide is wrong. I felt so fortunate! If I hadn’t started to practice Dafa, I’d have died over 20 years ago. That would have harmed not only me but also my family. I am truly grateful to Master and Dafa for saving my life.

Dafa has given me a healthy body. By the time I was 40, I’d already developed heart disease and had long-term insomnia. Then I came down with Meniere’s disease. When I started feeling dizzy, I would vomit and couldn’t eat or drink for several days. I also had serious gynecological pain. I was on medications every day and felt that life was so painful. I spent a lot of money on fake drugs. After I started to practice Dafa in 1997, all my illnesses disappeared. I truly came to feel that my body was light and illness-free. More than 20 years have passed, and I haven't taken any medications or spent a penny on medical expenses. I am so grateful for Master’s saving grace.

Master saved my life on another occasion. I raised cows and had to use boiling water to sanitize the bucket each day. July 23, 2016, was a hot day, so I didn’t burn firewood—I put a large pot of water on an induction cooker to boil. When it was boiling, I picked it up to dump it into the bucket when I slipped and the pot of boiling water ended up pouring all over me.

I was in so much pain that I screamed and rolled all over the floor. I couldn’t get up for a long time. The pain was beyond description. My granddaughter was so petrified that she cried out loud. I said to Master deep down, “Master, please help me not to get hurt. I still need to go out to clarify the facts. I also have a lot of household chores to take care of as well as helping my son. Master, please help me.”

I managed to get up after quite a bit of effort. When my husband came home, I asked him to check my back. He said my skin was just a bit red, whereas everywhere else was fine, no skin peeling off or blisters. The next day, the redness disappeared. This was a manifestation of the miracle of Dafa. I truly appreciated Master’s protection.

Being at Peace with My Husband

I used to be short-tempered. I always fought with my husband and never wanted to back down. If he tried to beat me up, I’d grab anything I could find to fight back regardless of the consequences.

When I started cultivating, I read what Master asked of us:

“For starters, a practitioner should be able to hold back from retaliating, and patiently endure. Anyone who succumbs to retaliating could hardly be called a practitioner. Those who have bad tempers might think that this is too hard for them to do. But I think they simply need to work on their tempers, as practitioners should be able to stay composed.” (The Ninth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

This passage of the Fa pointed to my exact attachment. I followed Master’s teachings and held myself to the requirements of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and stopped arguing with him. One time during a fight, he grabbed my hair and pulled out a bunch of it. It really, really hurt, but I managed to endure it. I thought that as a practitioner I should not be like him. It all came down to the fact that I didn’t do well. I remained very calm, and, afterwards, he was sorry. From then on, we stopped fighting with each other and peace reigned in our family.

Being Kind to My Daughter-In-Law

When I was persecuted for my faith in Falun Dafa, the authorities extorted over 10,000 yuan from my family. My daughter-in-law wasn’t happy about it. She started to resent me and stopped talking to me. But I still helped her babysit her daughter. Whenever my granddaughter said with me, “Falun Dafa is wonderful, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful,” she gave the child a terrible beating.

In 2012, her brother wanted to buy a house but was short of money. He asked all his relatives, but at the end of the day, he was still short 50,000 yuan. My daughter-in-law was so worried that she asked my son to see if I could lend them the money. I said, “I’m a practitioner and I cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Whenever others need help, I’d try to give them a hand. Whether she treats me well or not doesn’t matter. I still have to be nice to her and lend her the money.”

So I went to the bank and took out all the money I had. She was very excited and kept saying, “Mom, you are so nice, so wonderful. I will remember this forever!” Then she held me in her arms and took a picture with me using her cell phone. Through this opportunity, I asked her to remember the phrases. She only recently repaid me, but I didn’t take it to heart.

In recent years, our family was assigned a few apartments as compensation for involuntary relocation. After I did the renovations and rented them out, my son and daughter-in-law took the rent. I also gave them my cattle farm and they were very happy. Besides that, I covered their day-to-day expenses. I didn’t care about what I lost, as I have let go of material interests. I could get by on my husband’s pension.

Now she has changed. She gives me gifts when they visit me on holidays. She also acknowledges that Dafa is good. Her parents and siblings have also chosen to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and ensured their safety. My granddaughter told me once, “Granny, my mom said she especially likes you—from the bottom of her heart.”

Respecting My Mother-In-Law

As a saying goes: Of all the virtues, filial piety is the most important. I put my heart into looking after my mother-in-law who was old and needs help. I was also considerate of her in all respects. I made delicious meals for her and prepared clean clothes for her. She enjoyed being clean, so I often gave her a bath. She was very happy with me and kept praising me.

She has three daughters. When they came home to take care of her, she said I took the greatest care of her. My mother-in-law spread the word and let people know how wonderful I was. So when villagers saw me, they patted me on the shoulder and said, “Your mother-in-law said you had changed for the better, that you are a very nice person now.” I said, “This is because my Master teaches me to be a good person; it’s all because of my Master.” After my mother-in-law passed away, my daughter had a very vivid dream in which my mother-in-law smiled at her and said, “My grandchild, I didn’t expect your mother to treat me so nicely. I’m very happy with her.”

Being Humble with My Sister-In-Law

Prior to my cultivation, I was often at odds with my sister-in-law. She liked to take advantage of me, but I never gave in. After I became a practitioner, I came to understand loss and gain and let go of my self-interest. My mother-in-law had four vats of wheat and my sister-in-law took all of them, but I didn’t mind. After my mother-in-law passed away, my sister-in-law gave me 1,000 yuan, saying it was from my mother-in-law. But she took over 2,000 yuan and spent it. I said to her, “It doesn’t matter. Even if you didn’t give me anything, that would be fine.”

There have been many such examples. I never took any of them to heart. Not only is my sister-in-law happy with me, her whole extended family knows that Falun Dafa is wonderful and decided to quit the CCP to ensure their safety. She is very happy with me and tells everyone she knows, “After my sister-in-law learned Falun Dafa, she became really good and very nice.” Ours is now a happy family.

Resolving a Conflict with a Friend

I had a friend many years ago, but we had conflicts and stopped talking to each other. After I began practicing Dafa, I contacted her and apologized. I said, “We didn’t get along well before, but that’s in the past. Since I practice Dafa, I will not be at odds with you anymore. If we ever have a conflict again, it will be my fault, not yours. Because I am a practitioner, I should hold myself to high standards. My master asks us to treat everyone well.” She was touched by my words and acknowledged that Dafa is good. When she ran into my daughter, she told her, “Your mother and I get along very well.”

Believing in Dafa and Having Good Fortune

My daughter is very supportive of my practicing Dafa. When I was persecuted by the CCP, my family wanted to burn my Dafa books, but my daughter said, “These books are very precious. If you wanted to buy them, you can’t find them.” She put them away and returned them to me after I came home. I was so moved.

She was soon rewarded. Before that, she lived with her in-laws, and five of them were squeezed into a 650-square-foot apartment. But soon enough, she had two 1,100-square-foot apartments: one she bought for much lower than the market price and the other we gave her after our old house was demolished and we had to relocate.

My son-in-law was laid off ten years ago. His old company was going to call three people back and short-listed 20 former employees. In the end he and two others were hired. He also got a salary increase. My daughter ran her own small business, and it went very well. One night, my grandson got a headache. My daughter asked her family to recite “Falun Dafa is wonderful, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful.” Then his headache went away, and he felt fantastic. After that, every time he didn’t feel well, he’d recite the phrases and it always worked.

Since my parents passed away, I haven’t been back to my hometown. My relatives in the village were very affectionate when they saw me and kept asking me why I looked so young, and why my hair was still fairly dark, compared to people of my age. I said, “We are all one big family. I am illness-free because I practice Falun Dafa and have been blessed by Dafa. Please remember ‘Falun Dafa is wonderful, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful’ so that you can escape the calamity when it comes. What’s shown on TV is all lies, pure lies. Please do not be taken in by that.” When my relatives learned the truth, they decided to quit the CCP.

I feel grateful for benevolent Master’s saving grace! Only by cultivating diligently can I repay Master for his saving grace.