I Finally Know How to Cultivate

(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in the spring of 1997. Due to my work, I didn’t have a lot of contact with people, so I cultivated alone. Although I had a lot of time for Fa study, I did not know how to cultivate, and didn’t handle things well when I encountered xinxing tests from my family. Thus, I endured hardship for a long period of time. It was only in recent years that I gradually became diligent in cultivation.

I Did Not Know How to Cultivate

My mother-in-law was strong-willed, and my father-in-law was a male chauvinist. When I married into their family and lived in their home in the winter of 1999, my mother-in-law was in poor health. Although it was nothing major, she continuously suffered from minor ailments.

My husband was the only son and was a bit spoiled. He is straightforward, but does not speak eloquently. Regardless of what his mother said, he always listened to her. Especially when there was a conflict between his mother and me, he was always on her side. Because of this, I strongly resented my husband and mother-in-law for over 20 years. As a Dafa practitioner, I did not enlighten to this problem, and did not know that Master was using them to help me eliminate my karma and elevate my xinxing. Instead, I wished that one day they would repay my efforts, and I would live a happy life.

Because my xinxing and enlightenment quality did not improve for a long time, the old forces finally exploited my weakness and persecuted me. My husband broke his ankle while he was drunk. My resentment and jealousy sparked a family feud. From then on, I was trapped in pain, unable to pull myself out. I immersed myself in the illusive world of ordinary people, listening to novels online, playing on TikTok, watching short videos, and shopping online. I occasionally studied the Fa, but it never took root, and I fell further away from being a cultivator.

Two years passed quickly. I felt weak all over, with discomfort in my heart. I had frequent headaches, nausea, and vomiting. I went to the hospital for checkups, but they could not find anything wrong. After trying various ordinary means to no avail, I finally picked up the Dafa books again and started studying the Fa and doing the exercises.

Right after I recovered from that, my only son was diagnosed with severe lymphoma. The doctor said there was no effective treatment other than chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which were extremely painful. I felt as if the sky had fallen. I was at a loss. I simply held Zhuan Falun,looked at Master’s picture and cried, begging Master to save my son. He was only 23 years old.

My husband accepted the diagnosis and rushed to a large city with my son for medical treatment. While studying the Fa, I cried and begged Master to help my son return safely. I knew only Master could save him. I also realized the seriousness of cultivation, and that Dafa is both compassionate and strict.

My husband and son returned home due to insufficient medical records. I realized it was great Master protecting my son. From then on, I began to cultivate seriously, not daring to slack off for a moment. I studied the Fa and cultivated with a strong attachment to healing my son. Later, through extensive Fa study, I understood that this was disrespectful to Master, so I quickly sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate this pursuit, and studied the Fa and cultivated with a pure heart.

I Began to Seriously Cultivate, and Things Changed for the Better

Knowing that Master wants practitioners to sincerely cultivate, I took cultivation seriously and eliminated many attachments. The first was the attachment to my cell phone. When I decided to stop playing on my phone, all sorts of distractions and temptations came up. As soon as I picked up the phone, my favorite novels and short videos popped up. They appeared on my phone or in my head. I restrained myself, resisting the temptation to look at them, while sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate them.

For a while, I suffered from frequent headaches and nausea. I knew it was Master clearing the bad elements from my body. I truly wanted to let go of the attachment, and I firmly strengthened my main consciousness. After I overcame them, my mind felt refreshed and comfortable. Thank you, Master!

As I Memorized the Fa, I Began to Assimilate to Dafa

After I resumed cultivation, I asked some former practitioners to come to my home to study the Fa together, and my home became a Fa-study site. Due to my son’s health, we only studied the Fa together twice a week. Then I read experience sharing articles on Minghui.org about how practitioners experienced rapid improvement after memorizing the Fa. I said to the group that we also should do it, “If we cannot do long passages, let’s start with short ones.” I suggested that we start with Hong Yin VI to clear out the evil elements of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP); I estimated we could memorize one poem a week.

However, when I started memorizing, even the short passages seemed difficult to retain. Either we couldn’t remember them, or we didn’t understand their surface meaning. We couldn’t memorize a single poem in a week. However, we were determined to persevere, and started memorizing the Fa together after each Fa study. Once we overcame the initial difficulties, our memorization progressed quickly, and sometimes we memorized two or three poems a week.

As we memorized the Fa, the Fa principles continued to surface, and our xinxing subtly improved. One day, as I turned around and saw my husband walking to the bathroom, I inexplicably felt pity for him, and instantly all the resentment and hatred I had toward him faded. After that, whenever he and I had minor disagreements, I was able to control myself and our family became harmonious.

Helping My Son to Improve

My son did not want to study the Fa with us when he first started cultivating. He wasn’t diligent—studying sporadically and staying occupied with everyday matters. Seeing him like this made me very anxious. I thought, “You’ve already obtained the Fa, why don’t you make the most of your time?” I monitored his cultivation progress daily. Sometimes I spoke loudly, as if blaming him when I got anxious. But he remained the way he was, showing no sign of changing.

Later, through studying and reciting the Fa, I realized that cultivation is about cultivating oneself. I needed to look inward and get rid of all my acquired notions and human attachments, and let go of sentimentality for my son. From then on, my son gradually began to study the Fa more.

But as my son’s symptoms of illness karma became increasingly severe, my remaining human attachments began to surface uncontrollably. Sometimes I’d argue with him, blaming him for not studying the Fa hard enough. I’d constantly blame and demand things of him, but did not put myself in his shoes and consider his interests, as Master taught. He had only been cultivating for a few months and needed the guidance of veteran practitioners. I had to be patient and encourage him more. He endured excruciating pain every day, yet still persisted in studying the Fa, doing the exercises, and sending forth righteous thoughts. That’s truly remarkable. I realized that I couldn’t let the old forces exploit any loopholes and create a rift between us.

I began to adjust my thinking, correcting any unrighteous thoughts toward my son and my demands on him. A fellow practitioner shared her experience and said, “You can’t do anything, but Master can do everything. Just let go of your attachment and leave everything to Master. Our Master is almighty.” She also reminded me that Master said, “When disciples have ample righteous thoughts, Master has the power to turn the tide” (“Master-Disciple Bond” in Hong Yin II)

It was easier said than done. Sometimes, the pain was heart-wrenching. Without Master’s protection and strengthening, it would have been impossible to get through.

My son’s illness symptoms became so severe in the beginning of 2025 that he couldn’t even walk. His body was hunched over, swollen and black. A young and handsome man had disappeared, replaced by an ugly and terrifying person. His mouth was severely ulcerated, and it was difficult for him to breathe. His hearing also deteriorated badly. His stomach was swollen and hard as a rock, and he ate very little. His father prepared an oxygen machine for him.

My son truly realized how dangerous his situation was and was afraid. Thus, he began to cultivate Dafa earnestly. With Master’s protection and the help of fellow practitioners, I also calmed down. I encouraged him, “Just follow Master and cultivate diligently. Master will take care of you. Let go of your human reasoning (he studied medicine), maintain strong righteous thoughts, and don’t give up. With Master and the Fa, there is nothing to fear, and I will be here for you. Master said, ‘Things are bound to turn around after reaching the limit!’ (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun) This is all good. This is the bad stuff deep within your body coming up to the surface. We must firmly believe in Master and Dafa and not let the old forces’ schemes succeed! We want sentient beings to see the beauty of Dafa! If you can’t practice standing, then you can sit by the bed, but you can’t get comfortable. You need to try your best to stand, even by leaning against the bed. We must negate the old forces’ arrangements and follow Master.”

Through hard work and unwavering faith in Master, my son got better day by day. He gained even more confidence and strengthened his belief in Master and the Fa. He studied the Fa more. Everything is now moving in a positive direction for him. I’m so grateful for Master’s blessings.

I noticed my son was a little down one evening. I asked him what was wrong. He said, “Cultivation is so hard. There aren’t even any holidays. I want to rest, I want to go out and have fun like a regular person. This has been the worst year I’ve had in 25 years.” I knew these words weren’t truly from him; they were the old forces interfering again. I refused to acknowledge them.

I told my son, “The first poem in Master’s Hong Yin is ‘Tempering the Will.’ One cannot achieve anything without sacrifice.” He wouldn’t listen, and his words became increasingly illogical. He burst into tears. I argued with him at first. Then I felt that it would only provoke even greater negative thoughts in him. So I calmed down and listened, all the while I sent forth righteous thoughts, “We must not allow the old forces to create a barrier between us, and potentially hinder sentient beings’ opportunities for salvation.”

I began reciting the Fa from Hong Yin and Essentials for Further Advancement to him after sending forth righteous thoughts for a while. He gradually calmed down, realizing he’d said the wrong things. He firmly stated, “That wasn’t me. I don’t acknowledge it.” He had formally begun cultivation after New Year’s Day 2025. He studied the Fa, did the exercises, and sent forth righteous thoughts without missing a day. I knew he must be feeling very bad. He was a six-foot-tall handsome young man who is now a ghostly figure everyone shuns. He is having to put aside the things he enjoyed. He must be very frustrated. I encouraged him rather than blame him, saying, “You’re truly amazing. Let’s keep working together! Master said, ‘Advance together, ever diligent, To a glorious future.’” (“One With the Fa” in Hong Yin)

This year, with my son and I supporting each other, I eliminated many attachments in myself: resentment and jealousy toward my in-laws and husband, attachment to reputation, comfort, laziness, self-righteousness, and avoiding criticism. With Master’s protection, my son has also rapidly improved, going from not knowing how to cultivate to being able to do so, and from not being able to look inward to being able to. His faith in Master and Dafa is now incredibly strong, and I sometimes admire his perseverance and willpower. He initially needed to take two breaks to do the whole set of standing exercises, and now he can do them without resting.

In the practitioners’ sharing articles I read, it seems that illness karma tribulations pass pretty quickly for them. I wondered why my son’s passed so slowly. I knew I wanted him to recover quickly, and was attached to it, but I couldn’t help it. I even complained about him not being diligent. When I saw him doing something wrong, instead of kindly pointing it out to him, I ignored him. Then Master’s Fa would suddenly pop into my mind: “You are all fellow practitioners. Do you think you’re enemies?” (“Fa Teaching Given at the New York Fa Conference Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Dafa’s Spreading” in Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIV) That’s right! I almost fell for the old forces’ trick again. I need to destroy it! I firmly believe in Master and Dafa. Everything is arranged by Master! The cultivation path Master arranged for me is the best.

The most profound lesson I’ve learned this year is that one must follow Master’s instructions and study the Fa diligently. The Fa is the foundation for cultivation improvement. Only by studying the Fa well can we maintain righteous thoughts and overcome tribulations.

The day before I finished this article, my son was able to drive me over to my parents’ home. I bow in gratitude, and thank Master again.