(Minghui.org) Six months after I finished reading Zhuan Falun, Falun Dafa’s main book, the then-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin and the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) launched the persecution in July 1999. The police arrested almost every practitioner I knew. I stopped reading the book and doing the exercises. Nonetheless the principles of Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance) were rooted in my heart. I still tried to follow the principles every day.
I met a practitioner in 2005. She asked if I still practiced. I told her that I didn’t even own a copy of Zhuan Falun. She brought the book to me. After that, I resumed practicing. At first I kept it a secret. My husband later found out and tried to stop me. I asked him, “If I didn’t follow Zhen-Shan-Ren, would I have been so kind to your parents?” He didn’t say anything.
I lived with my in-laws after I got married. They didn’t have pensions and were financially dependent on my husband and me. I never complained. Falun Dafa showed me how to be a good person and to be altruistic. The teachings showed me how to treat my in-laws with compassion and to resolve the conflicts between us.
One time my father-in-law got upset and threw a lid. I wondered what I did wrong to make him so mad, “Master taught me to look within in conflicts and to find my shortcomings. I should put myself in his shoes. He needs to speak his mind.” With a smile on my face, I said to him, “I am probably too young to understand how you perceive things. I treat you like my own father. Please tell me what I did wrong instead of keeping it to yourself. I will correct whatever you think I am doing wrong.” He smiled.
My mother-in-law would scold me just because she was in a bad mood. I didn’t let it bother me, knowing that it was her habit, and old habits die hard. I couldn’t change her, but I could certainly try to be considerate. One day she asked for eggdrop soup, and I made it for her. She complained that it was too starchy. I gladly made another bowl of soup for her, which she said was too watery. At the time I had to be somewhere, but I knew that I had to prioritize her needs. I smiled and said, “I’ll make some more.” When I put the third bowl in front of her, she said it was too starchy again. I made a fourth bowl of soup. She probably felt embarrassed and stopped complaining.
One day my then three-year-old daughter cried while we were sitting next to my father-in-law. It upset him, and he tried to drive us away by pushing me from behind while I had my daughter in my arms. A relative who was there at the time raised her voice and said to my in-laws, “The two of you live with your daughter-in-law. You are old and sick. She takes care of you, does your laundry, tidies up the house, and cooks for you. Where else can you find a daughter-in-law who does so much? You two are so spoiled. Anybody else would have picked a fight when you tried to drive her away because her child cried.” My father-in-law stopped pushing me.
Master teaches us, “...to not fight back when you are beaten or sworn at.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
Nothing happens by accident, and my in-laws helped me to improve my character. I knew I should thank them.
The relationship between me and my in-laws improved. A relative once told my mother-in-law, “You are so lucky to have such a daughter-in-law.” Often I heard relatives, friends, and neighbors tell me, “You have done a good job (with your in-laws).” I always replied, “I couldn’t have done it without Falun Dafa to guide me.”
I bought almost everything for my in-laws during the years they lived with us. Several times when they were hospitalized, I brought them freshly-cooked meals every day. We paid all of their medical expenses. We took care of their every need until they passed away.
When my husband and his first wife divorced, she took their daughter. My husband did not pay any child support. After we got married, I told him, “The divorce was not the child’s fault. You should pay child support and fulfill your duty as a father.” My husband was moved and decided to support her through college, and I supported his decision.
His ex-wife brought their daughter back to town to visit the child’s grandparents during the Chinese New Year. My husband went to the grandparents’ home and brought her over to our house. I treated her like one of my own and bought her clothes. We’ve been close ever since. It felt like she might have been my daughter in a previous lifetime. She quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations after I told her why the persecution of Falun Dafa was wrong. She also promised to often recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I knew that she’d have a good future.
In our town, we burn coal for heat in the winter. One freezing cold winter morning, I woke up feeling dizzy and nauseous. I struggled to get to the kitchen and threw up. Just then my two children woke up. They could not stand up and were wobbly. I realized that all three of us had carbon monoxide poisoning. The night before when we went to bed, I’d stuffed too much coal in the burner and blocked the air circulation. I asked Master to help us and had the children recite “Falun Dafa is good.” Ten minutes later they were fine and began playing and laughing. I also stopped feeling sick. Most people become unconscious from excess carbon monoxide. The children and I woke up on our own. I thank Master for saving our lives.
Since the two children were little, they studied the teachings with me and memorized Master’s poems in Hong Yin. I listened to Master’s lectures as I cooked, and they sat in the kitchen and listened, too. They sometimes corrected me and reminded me of Master’s teachings when I made a mistake.
When my children got sick, I had them recite “Falun Dafa is good,” and each time they got through the tribulation just fine.
One winter day my daughter had a fever. Her skin was burning up and she could barely breathe. I recited “Falun Dafa is good” with her, and shortly afterwards she started playing. The next day she was fine.
My son complained that his tooth ached and kept hitting his face where the tooth hurt. I reminded him to recite, “Falun Dafa is good” and he did. The pain started to subside and then disappeared. He told me, “Mom, reciting the phrase really works!”
Another time he became feverish in the middle of the night and kept crying. My husband insisted that we rush him to a hospital, while I wanted him to recite “Falun Dafa is good.” We had a bit of a standoff and my husband wasn’t happy. I eventually left the decision to him, and he said nothing. I then said to my son, “Let’s recite ‘Falun Dafa is good’ together.” As we did, my son fell asleep, and his fever went away.
My husband did not like it when I played Master’s lectures for our children. He even tried to stop me. After the children got sick a few times and recovered quickly after reciting “Falun Dafa is good,” he changed his mind.
A student kicked my son in the head, and his forehead became terribly swollen. My son did not complain about his classmate. He touched the bump on his head and said that it didn’t hurt. I met with the student’s father, who was worried about my son’s injury. I comforted the father and did not blame his child. The head teacher said that I was really nice and did not make a scene.
Another time a student cut my son’s face with a stick, leaving a deep, three-inch-long gash. The student’s father called and I told him not to worry. “Nothing will happen,” I said. After the wound healed, my son had a three-inch-long scar, and the parent offered to pay for plastic surgery. I declined, knowing that things would turn out fine. Now his scar is so faint you can barely see it. He made friends with the classmate who injured him. Other parents who knew what happened praised me for being a good person.
Had I not practiced Falun Dafa, I wouldn’t have been so kind and would have treated many things differently. If my son did not study the teachings with me, he wouldn’t be so forgiving. We thank Revered Master and Falun Dafa.