(Minghui.org) Since I was little, my family, which has believed in Christianity for decades, hoped that I would follow in their footsteps. Particularly my father’s sister-in-law, whom we called Grandaunt. She graduated from Tianjin Theological Seminary in the Republic of China and has been the elder of the local Christian church since middle age. Although I had respect for them, I was not fully convinced.
When I saw Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa, I decided that this was the only choice I had been waiting for and searching for. From that moment on, I walked solidly on the path of Falun Dafa practice. Although I have been through trials and tribulations, I am tenacious and forging ahead. After hearing that I decided to practice Falun Dafa, Grandaunt said, “I know he is a child of God after all.”
Grandaunt has a daughter-in-law. We called her Aunt Yu and she is in her 80s now. She became a devout Christian in her 30s under the guidance of Grandaunt. Her husband, Grandaunt’s son, taught at a famous local school. They took good care of me when I was young. I am grateful for their care, and we are very close.
I often visited them during holidays and told them basic information about Dafa and the persecution. They both understood the facts and also quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and related organizations.
After Aunt Yu’s husband passed away, she was depressed and her health deteriorated. She was unable to take care of herself since last winter and relies on her sons to deliver food to her.
I realized the seriousness of her condition. We have always been very close, and I am one of her most trusted people. When I went to visit her, Aunt Yu told me a secret that she has kept for decades.
“This happened more than fifty years ago. My husband was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. He only received twenty yuan a month, which was just enough to cover his own living cost. By then, I was still breastfeeding my son. We had no money, and our lives were at stake. In order to save our lives, my parents gave us all their savings – four hundred silver dollars. In today’s society, this would equal about 600,000 to 700,000 yuan.
“But at that time, a silver dollar could only be exchanged for a maximum of two yuan. Although I was very reluctant to spend this kind of money, our lives depended on it. For several years, I had no choice but to use up all the silver dollars in a piecemeal manner. Besides my parents and my husband, it is a secret and most of those who knew it are no longer alive.
“But not long ago, my sister suddenly asked me about our parent's savings. I am a Christian and I cannot lie, so I told her the truth and asked for her understanding and forgiveness. I didn’t expect that my sister would get so furious and she scolded me so fiercely. She demanded that I return half of it to her, meaning 300,000 yuan. No matter how much I explained that the money had been used up in difficult times, she just wouldn’t listen to me.
“Every day, she called me and threatened to come to settle the score with me. She threatened to fight with me for her life. She is now in her 70s, and her health is not good. If she gets sick, my sin will be even greater.
“I thought that I could pay her with my late husband’s savings. But then my daughter-in-law had a serious illness and she was in critical condition. They took the money to pay for her medical cost without asking me. On the other hand, my two sons and their wives all knew about the silver dollars, and both of them suspected that I gave it to the other son. They had fierce conflicts themselves and there is no way for me to explain this to anyone. Maybe I committed sins in my past lives and now it is time to pay.
“I felt awful and my legs hurt so much that I could not walk. My shoulders were frozen and hurt a lot. I could not cook or do any household chores. I could not sleep. I saw no hope. Even though I pray and repent daily, I do not think my Lord is there anymore. I just hope to reunite with my husband soon.” Aunt Yu’s face was covered with tears.
After hearing Aunt Yu’s story, I felt deep empathy for her dilemma. For a Chinese farmer today, this amount of money can be considered astronomical. Not to mention an old woman in her 80s, even a young man in the prime of his life would not be able to accumulate so much savings after working hard all his life.
I comforted Aunt Yu: “It’s truly kind of you to have the wish to compensate your sister, but in reality, I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to do it. It’s reasonable for you to receive financial support from your parents in difficult times. And as far as I know, you took care of your parents in their later years and your sister didn’t do much. I think this could count as your repayment to your parents. You should let it go. Blaming yourself or feeling guilty won’t do you any good.”
I went on to say, “You are a person of faith, you should not be affected by secular people’s negativism. You can still ask your sister for her understanding and forgiveness. But I think the root cause of this situation might be the result of karmic entanglement of past lives. It is difficult to find a perfect solution for such things. If you trust me, whenever you have time, sincerely recite ‘Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’ Dafa’s Master is compassionate to all beings and has boundless power. He will help kind people to solve their problems and grievances.
“You know my cousin, who was also a devout Christian like you, had stomach cancer and it was at the end stage. His wife, who was also a Christian, was so depressed about his terminal illness that she committed suicide. When I went to her funeral, it pained me to see my cousin’s grief-struck face. He also felt that his prayer was no longer answered. I told him to recite the auspicious phrases and he agreed. Shortly after he began reciting the phrases, his stomach cancer disappeared. It has been four years now, and he remains cancer free. This is a true testament to Dafa’s power! So many people have benefited from reciting the phrases.
“Aunt Yu, I don’t intend to change your faith. I just can’t bear to see you suffer, and I sincerely hope that you can come out of the tribulation and get well soon.”
After listening to my kind words, Aunt Yu relaxed her eyebrows and smiled, expressing her gratitude and trust in me, and said she would sincerely recite the auspicious phrases.
As soon as Master’s new article “How Humankind Came To Be” was published in January 2023, my wife delivered it to Aunt Yu right away. I learned that her condition improved a great deal, and she was very grateful. I was very relieved to hear that.
We told her that it was the first time that Falun Dafa’s Master had ever written such a serious article for all of humankind. Nowadays, humans are morally depraved, and natural and man-made disasters abound. The pandemic is here to weed out CCP members and those who ascribe to the communist doctrine. We urged her to read it carefully and she might be inspired by it.
A few days ago she came to visit me in person with a big smile on her face. As soon as she entered the door, her first words were: “It’s amazing! It’s really effective! Falun Dafa is really effective!”
“Ever since your visit and after your kind remarks, I have been reciting ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good’ nonstop. My insomnia went away first. Then the pain in my legs and shoulder subsided. I’m able to walk and cook again. The improvement in my body happens on a daily basis. I also felt better, and not so depressed.
“What’s most amazing is that my sister made less vicious calls. Her demand is less, and her tone of voice is much more relaxed. During the New Year, I called her and apologized again. I said that I would do my best to compensate her. Her response was: ‘What compensation? You don’t need to make up for anything. I have my pension. My children are successful, and I do not lack money. I was just talking in a fit of anger. That’s all.’
“This big tribulation just passed without me knowing it. My sons and daughters-in-law also believed in me and understood me. My family conflicts have subsided. Falun Dafa is so effective! It’s amazing!
“That article ‘How Humankind Came To Be’ is simply the gospel of God. It’s so well written and every sentence is a heavenly secret. I’m reading it over and over again these days, and the more I read it, the more I love it.
“In fact, since you have practiced Falun Dafa, I have witnessed the changes in your words and deeds. Several people in our village who took up Falun Dafa also underwent a complete transformation and became better people. Compared to them, those in my church did so poorly fighting for personal gains after my mother-in-law passed away.
“I have long felt that this practice of yours is good, and now through this huge tribulation of mine, I have personally experienced the wonder of Falun Dafa. Master Li Hongzhi may be the true one that Jesus said will return at the end to judge mankind.”