Cultivating Myself Well and Helping My Family Quit the CCP

(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in September 1998, and I am now 61 years old. Over the past 26 years of cultivation, I have experienced the profound seriousness of Fa-rectification cultivation, as well as the challenges in saving sentient beings and transcending human notions and attachments. Only by following Master’s teachings can we negate the old forces’ arrangements and the persecution, walk our cultivation path righteously, and save people.

I’d like to share some of my understandings about cultivation and saving my family.

Breaking Through Family Tribulations

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999, cultivating became very difficult. My family could not understand why I continued practicing, and my husband wanted to divorce me.

In early 2000, I went to Beijing to speak up for Dafa. I was illegally detained, put under house arrest, fired from my job, and subjected to forced labor. My in-laws’ family, who once regarded me as a good and filial daughter-in-law, began encouraging my husband to divorce me. My mother-in-law in particular ripped up some of my Dafa books while I was detained.

After I lost my job in April 2000, my mother-in-law, who used to always speak to me very politely, suddenly began to scold me. On one occasion, she spoke sharply to me, saying, “You said you’d treat me nicely, but you don’t even have a job. How can you treat me nicely now?”

I said, “Mom, I used to have a job and a salary to honor you. Now, although I don’t have a job, as long as I have ten yuan in my hand, it’s yours.”

Although my mother-in-law didn’t say anything at the time, she later told my husband when he came home from work that I upset her. She returned to her hometown the next day.

My husband and I worked at the same company. After my mother-in-law left, my husband began going out drinking almost every night. When he came home, he slapped and kicked me almost every day.

When he came home one night, I was sitting on the bed meditating. He grabbed me around neck with both hands and squeezed as hard as he could. Had he continued for another minute, I might have died, but he suddenly let me go and left. My hands stayed conjoined and my feet remained crossed. I sat up straight and continued to meditate without a trace of resentment in my heart.

On another occasion, I was sitting on the floor meditating. When he returned that night, he slapped my face and yanked my ears so hard he tore them, and blood ran down my cheeks. Throughout the ordeal, I remained still. Afterward, he took a shower and went to bed.

After I finished meditating, I quietly washed his clothes. I glanced at myself in the mirror. Noticing blood still dripping down my cheeks, I began to cry.

When Master’s new article “Your Heart Should Know” (The Essentials of Diligent Progress II) was published, a practitioner called and told me about it. I carefully copied it down line by line and left tit on my dresser. That night, my husband came home late, smelling of alcohol. I was in bed, still awake, when he turned on the light. When he saw the article, he began to roll it up to tear it. Alarmed, I sat up, pointed at the paper, and said sternly, “If you tear that up, my life will be over in an instant.”

He unfolded it and left without another word. He never beat me again.

After I was fired from from my job, my husband was solely responsible for supporting our family. Every time he handed me 200 yuan for basic expenses, he told me I had to record everything I spent. When I needed more, he would carefully review the every expenditure. Only if everything checked out would he give me another 200 yuan to cover our needs.

After I was released from the labor camp, it took me a while to find a job. I found one that paid 3,000 yuan a month. Filled with joy, I immediately sent 1,000 yuan to my mother-in-law, hoping that she would be pleased to receive it.

But when I called her, she said, “Don’t you just want me to know that you earned this 1,000 yuan?”

I was stunned. My emotions welled up inside me, but I managed to hold back my tears. After trying to calm myself down and chatting with her for a bit, I hung up the phone and began to weep.

There are five siblings in my family. I have two older brothers, one older sister and a younger sister. My mother passed away when I was 13. A year and a half later, my father remarried a woman my mother’s age who had two children of her own. My siblings and I were separated and seldom spoke. I usually only speak to my younger sister.

When I was released from the detention center in September 2000, I noticed the people waiting for me included police officers, my husband, and my two brothers. I got into my brothers’ car. On the drive home, my oldest brother asked me, “You have nothing now, will you still practice Dafa?”

“Dafa teaches people to be good. I’ve never done anything harmful to society or people, so how did I break the law? Now the government doesn’t allow us to speak out. But there is nothing wrong with my being a good person. Even if you offered me a gold mine, I wouldn’t want it. I would only practice Dafa,” I replied.

They didn’t say anything else, just took me home. Before I got completely out of the car, they took off.

I was only home for seven days before I was arrested again and held in the local detention center. I was illegally detained in a forced labor camp for three years. None of my siblings visited me.

I was released from the forced labor camp before my child took the college entrance exam in 2003. Shortly after I returned home, through what seemed like a chance encounter, compassionate Master helped me connect with a few practitioners I’d known in the past. Through them, I was able to get a copy of Zhuan Falun and resume practicing. When I read Zhuan Falun, I was interfered with and felt sleepy. I heard someone say, “You don’t deserve it.”

I thought, “Since you won’t let me study the Fa, I will persist.” When I found it hard to sit and read the Fa, I stood up and walked around the room. Despite the constant interference, I did not back down. I soon experienced a breakthrough. I knew our benevolent Master did not give up on me and guided me back to Dafa cultivation. I was determined to catch up in my cultivation and return to my true home with Master.

Treating My Family with Kindness

After I returned home, I spent hours reading the Fa. I also held myself strictly to Dafa’s standards. I was kind to my family.

My in-laws’ family live in the countryside. It was the busy wheat harvest season, and I explained to the family that I couldn’t help with the harvest—instead I sent some money as a gesture of goodwill. When I finally was able to visit my hometown, I prepared gifts for both my in-laws’ family and my own relatives. For Chinese New Year, I not only gave my mother-in-law money to help cover the cost, I also brought food, daily necessities, and new clothes. They were delighted, and my mother-in-law praised me to everyone she met. Before I left, I quietly gave her 1,000 yuan as a gift.

During my stay at my in-laws’ house, I did all the housework, including lighting the fire, fetching water, cooking, washing, etc. I was always respectful when I spoke to them and never looked down on them. Sometimes it seemed that I was at a disadvantage with my sisters-in-law, though I didn’t say anything, I felt bad deep down. I just recalled what Master said,

“When it is difficult to endure, try to endure it. When it looks impossible and is said to be impossible, give it a try and see if it is possible.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)

By letting go of my feeling that things were unfair and ceasing to fight for that tiny bit of self-interest, my relationships with my sisters-in-law became harmonious.

My father-in-law came to visit us in the township. When I went to the station to pick him up, I noticed three workers who looked very familiar, so I approached them. I learned that they were from the same village as my in-laws. They appeared disheartened, and I learned that their boss owed them wages, so they had no money to buy food and had gone an entire day without eating. Without hesitation, I bought them three big bags of food and drinks. They were deeply grateful and shared the story with everyone when they returned to their village.

A practitioner’s pure honest and kind demeanor was recognized by my in-laws’ family, my neighbors, our relatives, and our friends. Many relatives developed a deep respect for Dafa and decided to renounce their memberships in the CCP and its affiliates. When the great tide of “quitting the CCP” began, my in-laws’ family, my two brothers-in-law and their families, my sister-in-law and her family, my husband’s uncle, as well as our neighbors and the other relatives I was able to contact all decided to quit the CCP. Both my husband and daughter wrote their own declarations to quit. My daughter also helped each of her college roommates to quit, helping them chose a bright future for themselves.

It’s worth mentioning that when I helped my brother-in-law quit the CCP, he was serving as the secretary of the CCP committee in his village. I spoke with other family members on my in-laws side face-to-face, but I felt some reservation about approaching my brother-in-law and was concerned about telling him directly.

After some time, I called my brother-in-law. I said, “Brother, there’s something very important I have been thinking about and would like to discuss it with you.”

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

I then explained to him that quitting the CCP could help ensure one’s safety. To my surprise, he agreed to quit immediately. When I asked him what name he wanted to use, he said it’d be just fine to use his real name.

After the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published, I realized the urgency of truth-clarification and the importance of helping people to quit the CCP. Regarding my siblings on my side, including the two from my father’s second marriage, I called each of them to help them quit. Because my older brother has a quick temper, I worried that a phone conversation might not be effective, so I made a long-distance journey specifically to visit him at his office.

I caused a minor incident at his office. I brought a bag of informational materials and handed them out in his company. My older brother, the office manager, was responsible for overseeing the situation. He saw what I was doing from his office and considered calling the 610 Office, but since it was me, he decided against it.

When I went into his office, he was very upset and said, “What are you doing here?”

“I came here to clarify the facts to you.” I replied.

I spoke with him in detail about Dafa, and before long he decided to quit the CCP. He also helped his friends from the army, as well as his wife, son, and daughter-in-law withdraw from the CCP.

My oldest brother’s wife was not easy to talk to, so I got on the bus and brought some gifts to visit her family. My genuine kindness and sincerity as a practitioner touched them, and in the end, they all decided to quit the CCP. My oldest sister lived in another city, so I took the opportunity to visit her and her family. They too, agreed to quit the CCP.

The Fa-rectification is about to end. It’s crucial that we follow Master’s teachings and use the Fa to judge what should be done and what should not be done. We must be careful not to follow individuals instead of the Fa. The degree to which one’s celestial eye is open should not be used to determine how well one cultivates.

It is essential to do the three things well. For one to study the Fa well is the prerequisite for everything else. Only by cultivating oneself well can our words be pure and have the penetrative power to touch a person’s very fiber so that we can save them.