Helping My Father Learn the Truth

(Minghui.org) My father joined the Chinese army and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the age of 18. He lived through the entire process of Mao's Great Cultural Revolution. It can be said that he used to be a typical atheist.

Indoctrinated and Deceived: My Father Suffered Physically and Mentally

I was fortunate to obtain the Fa and began to cultivate in Falun Dafa in 1998. My mother and sister also became practitioners. In a family of four, only my father was left behind. Sometimes he sneered at us, thinking, “You were all fooled!”

The overwhelming suppression of Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) began on July 20, 1999. Influenced by the false propaganda on television (TV) and fear of the evil CCP, my father began to oppose our practicing strongly, said many disrespectful words about Master and the Fa. Soon after, my sister was illegally detained for distributing Dafa truth-clarifying materials. This made my father even more furious and forced his wife, our mother to give up practicing Dafa. In such a stressful environment, every family member felt tormented.

During this period, some strange things happened to my father. For example, my father was once renovating the house. Suddenly his right foot was smashed by a heavy object. The strange thing was that his right foot was normal, but his left foot was swollen badly. He was very confused. Another time, my father dreamed meeting a deity who told him that he was going to be struck by lightning. He even remembered how he replied in the dream: “I didn’t do anything bad, I have nothing to be afraid of.” There is much of these happenings as recalled by my father.

Witnessing all this, I sincerely advised my father, “Please do not say disrespectful words about Master and Dafa in the future. This is a heavenly warning to you! Such a wonderful practice, how could it become bad overnight just because the evil Party says it’s not good?” Since then, my father started paying attention to his speech.

Cultivating: Telling my Father the Truth

After my sister was released from prison, she kept telling our relatives and friends about the torture and persecution she suffered during her illegal detention. My father tried to stop her, afraid that my sister might be persecuted again. He was also afraid of being implicated.

In response to this problem, we looked inward and found that we didn’t consider other people’s feelings first. We only thought about showing off how fearless we were, which in fact is no difference from the person that Master mentioned, “Watch, I can walk in the middle of the street holding the book and no car dares to hit me.” (“Talk in Guangzhou to Some Assistance Center Heads From Around the Country”)

From my father’s point of view, he was afraid of the evil Party, and he was afraid that we would face more persecution if we didn’t pay attention to our safety.

Once we learned this, when we chatted with my father again, we paid more attention to our speech and tried not to touch negative factors. In the meantime, we purified our minds, sincerely served his interests and made him truly understand the truth about Dafa.

Master said,

“If you are always compassionate and friendly to others, if you always consider other people when you do things, and whenever you have issues with other people you first think about whether they can take it or whether it will cause them harm, then you won’t have any problem.”(The Fourth Talk, Zhuan Falun)

In fact, my father knew too little of the truth and had listened to too many lies and propaganda. Realizing the fundamental reason, my sister (a fellow practitioner) asked other practitioners to help deliver all kinds of truth-clarification materials into his mailbox on a regular basis.

We chose not sending him directly for two reasons. First was not to let him worry about our safety. Second was for him to be able to keep his dignity. We also asked fellow practitioners to install a satellite receiver so he could watch NTDTV at home. My father was changing day by day, and he agreed to withdraw from he CCP and its youth organizations.

Nine Magic Words

One year, my father was hospitalized due to urinary tract calculi. The calculi seen on CT were sharp. The hospital used a shock wave lithotripsy machine to break down the calculi, but it was unsuccessful on my father.

My father was in great pain at the time because he couldn’t urinate. His entire body was swollen, and he felt a constant sharp pain. He couldn’t sleep all night.

I remembered it was Friday, the attending doctor came to inform me that we had to wait until the next Monday when all the doctors met for diagnosing and deciding the treatment solution. Without any choice, my mother accompanied father back home.

My father then began to experience more and more unbearable pain. We advised him, “We understand that you are suffering. Sorry that we can’t share your burden. Please recite the words ‘Falun Dafa is good, and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good’ in your heart. We don’t have any other way to help you. Many people have tried this. Please give it a try.” Seeing my father still a little concerned, I told him, “You can recite it with sincerity in your heart and it will not affect others.” My father nodded.

Early the next morning, my mother called and said, “Those stones were discharged, and your dad doesn’t need to go to the hospital. It’s all right now.” We went to my father’s house around breakfast time. The first thing my father said when he saw us was that he recited the nine magic words all night. My mother told me, “He went to the bathroom around four a.m. The stones came out, and no pain during the process.” Master’s compassion and the magic of Falun Dafa deeply impressed my father.

Good Fortune Follows Change of Mindset

Later, my sister and I took my father on a trip to Taiwan. What we really planned is to have him watch the Shen Yun performance. Luckily, when we arrived in Kaohsiung, it was just in time for Shen Yun Performing Arts to perform in Kaohsiung. After the show, my father said, “It was really amazing to see it live!”

During our trip to Taiwan, we saw Dafa practitioners clarifying the truth to mainland tourists at many scenic spots. One day, it was raining all the time. After visiting a scenic spot, we returned to the bus and saw Dafa practitioners standing calmly in the rain with a small display board at hand. My father said with emotion, “It’s not easy for them.” He also said, “They are so peaceful.”

Because my father had good thoughts in his heart, even though he is 80-years-old, he is very healthy and in good spirits. These are the blessings brought to him by knowing the truth and changing his mind. Many other amazing things happened to my father. I may share them when I have a chance next time.

Thanks to Master for his merciful grace! I hope that the people of the world will not miss this precious opportunity. What matters is our own choice.