(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 2: http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2012/8/11/134885.html)
Reporter: To repeat what you just said, there are six psychological motives that can help improve family happiness and they are: improved generosity and open-mindedness, rationality after learning the truth, being considerate of others, looking inward when conflicts arise, forgiveness and tolerance, and willingness to accept advice toward more kindness. In your opinion, any improvement in these areas observed in the 100 cases was from their practice of Falun Gong. Can you offer more details on this?
Ms. Tian: There are many factors that may contribute to the increase in a family’s overall happiness. When it comes to the 100 families studied, we can argue that their practice of Falun Gong was a key reason for their increased wellbeing. Let me elaborate on this point from six perspectives.
First, it is apparent that Falun Gong practice is effective at improving family relationships. In the Fenghua example I mentioned earlier, when her mother-in-law kept thanking her for inviting her to live with her family, Fenghua said, “It is Master Li Hongzhi who helped melt the ice between us. If you have to thank someone, thank my Master.” Another example concerns Family No. 41. Practitioner Feng Shumei’s tender care of her mother-in-law greatly moved her brother-in-law and she told him, “It is Dafa that is truly good. Dafa changed me into a better person.”
Reporter: I can see that every practitioner mentioned in your examples was enormously grateful to Falun Gong, but how about non-practitioners? What is the objective opinion of Falun Gong from those who are not practitioners?
Ms. Tian: My research indicates that the effectiveness of Falun Gong in increasing family happiness is also acknowledged by society as a whole. For instance, in Family No. 4, when Kan Jixiang, a practitioner from Mengyin County, Shandong Province, was subjected to persecution, her husband said openly, “All of my wife’s illnesses disappeared after her Falun Gong practice. She also changed into a totally different person, one who is tolerant and humble and takes good care of her mother-in-law. My whole village thinks she is a good person.”
Fenghua’s story was actually written down and sealed with her village’s official stamp in 1998 (before the persecution began). Witnessing her happy family life, her fellow villagers sang the praises of Falun Dafa’s amazing powers.
I can give you another example. Look at Family No. 32 from Taiwan. Huang Yuhua used to feel very uneasy around her mother-in-law since the latter would bother her husband with all kinds of matters, be they minor or major. After she began to practice Falun Gong in 2003, despite her busy job, she did her best to take care of her elderly mother-in-law. In May 2011, she was awarded the distinction “Taiwan Centennial Model Daughter-in-law.” She said gratefully, “I earned this award all thanks to my cultivation of Falun Gong!”
Huang Yuhua (right) and a friend at the Model Daughter-in-law awards ceremony
As you can see from the above-mentioned three cases, Falun Gong was well regarded by a husband, a village, and a local government. In sum, from this second perspective, society has acknowledged the significant effect Falun Gong has on improving family relationships.
Reporter: What is the third perspective?
Ms. Tian: The consistency and stability of Falun Gong’s effects is number three. Fenghua began her cultivation in February 1996, Feng Shumei in the spring of 1999, Liao Xiuzhen and Huang Yuhua both in 2003, and Yang Lili from Family No. 27 in 2009. Even though Yang was a relative newcomer, she was still able to achieve a close relationship with her mother-in-law soon after she began cultivation practice. In sum, the effect of Falun Gong on increasing family happiness does not seem to depend on how long a person has practiced.
Reporter: How about the fourth perspective?
Ms. Tian: This view demonstrates that the Falun Gong effect extends to non-practitioners. When non-practitioners heed practitioners’ advice and become better people, they will help further improve intra-family relationships. For instance, in Family No. 67, the mother-in-law caused her practitioner daughter-in-law all kinds of troubles, since the mother-in-law's mind was poisoned by the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) lies about Falun Gong. The daughter-in-law, however, still took good care of her, and the mother-in-law gradually changed her attitude toward her daughter-in-law. She began to recite, “Falun Dafa is good” and all her illnesses went away. The two women were able to get along really well afterwards. Another example concerns Family No. 98 from Laiwu City in Shandong Province. The daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law hadn’t talked to each other for more than 10 years and had conflicts all the time. When the mother-in-law tried to get water from the daughter-in-law’s well, the latter flatly refused to allow it. Later, the daughter-in-law listened to Dafa practitioners’ advice and decided to be a better person. She immediately asked her husband to extend the water pipe to her mother-in-law’s yard, and the latter couldn’t stop praising her.
Neither the mother-in-law in Family No. 67 nor the daughter-in-law in Family No. 98 was practitioner, yet they both benefited from heeding practitioners’ advice. I have a total of five such examples out of the 100 cases.
Reporter: I see. Non-practitioners may also be positively affected and change for the better, leading to happier families. What about the fifth perspective?
Ms. Tian: The data suggests that the effectiveness of Falun Gong in increasing family happiness depends on how diligently and persistently a person practices. Any slacking or termination of cultivation weakens the Falun Gong effect, which again attests to the important role Falun Gong plays in maintaining family harmony.
In Family No. 30 from Chongqing City, Daughter-in-law Liu Xinyu began her cultivation in the spring of 1996, yet she stopped practicing between June 2001 and February 2003. She described what happened during that period of time in her experience-sharing article, “Once you give up cultivation, there is no escape from illnesses even if you live a comfortable life. I began to have a violent cough non-stop and had trouble carrying out day-to-day tasks. Even sadder was that when I stopped living according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I returned to the old selfish, shallow, and jealous person I was before. As a result, my intra-family and social relationships became more and more tense. I had particular trouble getting along with my mother-in-law. My family and friends began to avoid me.” She was, however, able to enjoy a harmonious relationship with her mother-in-law after she resumed cultivation practice.
Family No. 51 is also an interesting case. The practitioner in this family is the mother-in-law named Huici. She felt her relationship with her daughter-in-law went up and down with the level of diligence in her cultivation. In her own words, “Sometimes my daughter-in-law complained that I only cared about my son, not her. When I looked within and realized that I wasn’t considerate enough, she changed her attitude immediately. Once she asked me to feed my grandson less. I replied that I knew how much to give to the baby. She got mad. I decided not to say anything, but in my heart I couldn’t stop complaining about her. Then I realized that, as a cultivator, it was probably time for me to improve my xinxing. As soon as I had this thought, she began to act as if nothing had happened.”
Reporter: The final perspective?
Ms. Tian: This one is the most critical. In other words, the effectiveness of Falun Gong in improving family happiness is all rooted in the Dafa principles discussed in Zhuan Falun and other books written by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Didn’t I list six psychological motives? We can find relevant Fa principles to support all of them.
Psychological motive 1: Improved generosity and open-mindedness
Relevant Fa principle: “As a genuine practitioner, however, you cannot practice cultivation with an ill body. I will purify your body.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
Psychological motive 2: Rationality after learning the truth
Relevant Fa principle: “Only through 'the Buddha Fa,' can the mysteries of the universe, time-space, and the human body be completely unveiled. It is able to truly distinguish what is righteous from evil, good from bad, and eliminate all misconceptions while providing what is correct.” (“Lunyu,” Zhuan Falun)
Psychological motive 3: Being considerate of others
Relevant Fa principle: “You should always be benevolent and kind to others, and consider others when doing anything. Whenever you encounter a problem, you should first consider whether others can put up with this matter or if it will hurt anyone. In doing so, there will not be any problems. Therefore, in cultivation practice you should follow a higher and higher standard for yourself.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
Psychological motive 4: Looking inward when conflicts arise
Relevant Fa principle: “In genuine cultivation practice one must cultivate one’s own heart and inner self. One should search inside oneself rather than outside.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
Psychological motive 5: Forgiveness and tolerance
Relevant Fa principle: “Forbearance is the key to improving one’s xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator.” (“What is Forbearance (Ren)?” Essentials for Further Advancement)
Psychological motive 6: Willingness to accept advice toward more kindness
Relevant Fa principle: “When an evil-minded person is thinking of something bad, this person might change his mind due to the powerful effect of your field; he might then no longer want to commit the wrongdoing.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
Reporter: So it is Mr. Li Hongzhi’s Fa principles that changed these practitioners and optimized their and non-practitioners’ psychological motives, which subsequently increased these families’ overall happiness, right?
Ms. Tian: Correct!
Reporter: I still have a question. There are numerous families practicing Falun Gong in the world, but you only have 100 families in your study. Are you sure these families are representative of all Falun Gong families?
Ms. Tian: Yes, I’m very positive about this because these 100 families were randomly drawn based on statistical principles. Note that they also include families where no one practiced but they still benefited after heeding practitioners’ advice.
Reporter: So, your research has an obvious conclusion – that the practice of Falun Gong can significantly increase overall family happiness.
Ms. Tian: Yes, this conclusion applies to people of different races and ethnicities all over the world.
Falun Gong is the supreme cultivation practice of the Buddha School and was introduced to the public on May 13, 1992, by Mr. Li Hongzhi from Changchun City, Jilin Province. Falun Gong is based on Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the fundamental characteristics of the universe. When practitioners follow this principle to improve their morality, they can purify their mind and body. Through cultivation, practitioners can enlighten to the reality of the universe and life.
Category: Perspective
