(Minghui.org) Because I practice Falun Gong, I have been forced to stay out of town to avoid the constant harassment by the local authorities.
In March, I learned by phone that my mother-in-law, who is also a practitioner, had been experiencing difficulty walking for almost half a year, which directly impacted her doing the exercises as normal. In addition, her eyes kept bleeding. She suffered migraines and couldn't walk straight. She had a hard time coordinating her hands and legs to walk. She sometimes could barely hold anything. She felt as if she was wearing a heavy shield on her head. She kept studying the Fa but did not know what she was reading. She kept sending righteous thoughts but quite often forgot the verse. She often had a hard time staying clear minded and suffered lack of sleep due to nighttime headaches. However, when talking to relatives on the phone she could chat about ordinary things without a problem.
My husband, who is also a practitioner, joined her in studying the Fa every day. But she did not even remember how to switch to the next line while reading the book on the computer. There was very little effect in studying the Fa in this way.
My mother-in-law, who is in her 70s and an outspoken person with strong will, had been actively participating in truth clarification and in good health. She used to have no problem walking up and down stairs several times a day. As I tried to understand her situation, I thought my father-in-law's passing away three years ago due to a long time illness karma might have been a heavy blow to her mental health, although she never said anything about it to her family.
I knew her situation was extremely critical, so the next day at the group Fa study I brought up her situation. One of the practitioners' experience sharing caught my attention. She said that my mother-in-law could overcome the situation if just a few days if others would accompany her in Fa study and sending righteous thoughts, which should be the only things she did besides eating and sleeping. She said at critical moments of one's cultivation, one could only plead with Master for help and, at the same time, hold a strong will to continue one's cultivation. She then provided two examples.
The first was a fellow practitioner who suffered similar severe health issues and a weak main consciousness. Several practitioners sat down near her and kept studying the Fa, sending righteous thoughts, and watching Master's lecture videos three times. During the process, the practitioner was completely clear-minded but others did not pay too much attention to her and just stuck to what they were doing. A fellow practitioner with an open celestial eye could see that her head was all dark initially, but after continuous Fa study, the energy kept flowing into her head which in turn quickly became bright and clear. The fellow practitioners did not fear that she was not clear-mind and might not be able to take in the Fa. As long as they just kept up the reading, the positive energy kept adjusting her body. Master took care of everything and the practitioner overcame the tribulation in just a few days.
The second example was her own mother, who had been not diligent in her cultivation and had pursued the curing of her diseases. After the persecution started in 1999, her health deteriorated. The worst thing was when she became paralyzed and bedridden for a year and a half. Master kept giving her opportunities and prolonging her life.
In the end, a fellow practitioner told her, “You should ask Master for one last chance to help you gain a little strength so that you can stand up to do the exercises.” She did and she started trying to do the exercises standing up. At first she feared falling down. But fellow practitioners encouraged her, “Even if you gather all your strength and can stand for just one minute, you should do it. Master cares about your heart. If you have the strong will to cultivate, Master will help you.” So she started by leaning against the bed with her daughter helping by her side. Later, her daughter bought her a hand-held cart so she could push the cart around to practice walking. In a week she could walk on her own again. When she tried to do the exercises, she could not hold the right hand positions initially, but after some time she had no problem at all. Initially her landlord's family did not have a positive view of Falun Gong. After witnessing her miraculous recovery, the whole family completely changed their view.
The fellow practitioner shared her understanding: “Master gives you a chance and restores your health. But it does not mean that all your karma and tribulations have been completely eliminated. They have to be overcome by enduring hardships and upgrading your xinxing.”
Although her mother recovered quickly, her xinxing did not improve much and she wanted to live an ordinary life. She enjoyed good relationships with all her family members except her daughter-in-law. After recovery from the illness karma, she lived as before without any improvement in that regard. When her daughter urged her to study the Fa more, she would snap back, “I am reading the book already. What else do you want me to do?” She pleaded with Master for one last chance, which Master gave her. But she did not cherish her last chance and did not cultivate her xinxing well. She eventually passed away.
I was moved by the fellow practitioner's sharing. I realized that believing in Master and the Fa is critical in our cultivation. In addition, our strong will to continue cultivation is very necessary. I hoped my mother-in-law would regain the same spirit as a cultivator that she had when she initially started to practice. I hoped she would think, “The evil arrangement did not want me to do the exercises. Then I will deny the evil's interference and do the exercises at any cost and ask Master to help me.” Master cares most about our hearts. As long as our hearts have reached the required level, Master will surely help us.
That night I wrote down my fellow practitioners' experience charing and my understanding and sent it in a letter to my husband. I also added another paragraph: “I think you should give this letter to your Mom, too. Don't be afraid that she might be unhappy about the criticism. We should exchange our experiences and views like this in order to obtain a clear understanding of the Fa as fellow practitioners. I don't think she is cultivating just to have her diseases cured. Let's have stronger righteous thoughts. I hope you and Mom can study the Fa more, send righteous thoughts more, and completely deny the evil interference. As long as our hearts are steadfast and our belief is firm, Master will take care of us for sure. Master is capable of anything.” I also sent forth righteous thoughts for my mother-in-law.
My husband wrote back, “Tomorrow I will do it.” The next day, he urged his mother to get up and do the exercises. She refused. He then showed her the letter. After reading it, her spirit was rejuvenated and she got up and did the exercises for two hours. At lunch time, she decided she wanted to go to the park nearby to participate in the truth-clarification activities.
Later, at the suggestion of the practitioner who had shared her mother's story, my mother-in-law started doing the exercises twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. Her health recovered quickly. In the following days of studying the Fa, my mother-in-law realized her attachments and shortcomings, such as being superficial and attached to formality in Fa study, not paying enough attention to sending righteous thoughts, etc. In about ten days, she regained her health and could go out to do truth-clarification work again. She also could do her regular activities, too, such as cooking. She felt so happy and thankful to Master and fellow practitioners who helped her along the way. Now she and my husband are coordinating well with each other and firmly walking their paths in assisting Master in the Fa-rectification.
To those fellow practitioners who have been in tribulations for a long time, please remember that those seemingly severe health issues and symptoms are superficial and you must maintain confidence. As long as your heart is on cultivation, Master will guide you and take care of you. It is a fine line between human and divine. If you give it a try, you are bound to experience miracles, too.