(Minghui.org) My mother-in-law is 85 years old. In the spring of 2018, her left eyelid started to droop, so my father-in-law took her to the medical center. She was given some medications. She also went to the local medical center daily to have a shot.
Each time she went for an injection, she was given an eye mask to cover her left eye. But as time went on there was no noticeable improvement, and her eyelid drooped more and more. Eventually, she couldn't see anything out of that eye.
My husband and I, along with the in-laws, took her to the hospital again. A CT scan showed a tumor in her brain that was pressing on her optic nerve. The doctors wanted to operate, but there was no guarantee of success. Because of her age, her children didn't think she should have surgery. So we went home.
I felt really sad for her.
I’ve practiced Falun Dafa for over 20 years, and I know that the power of Dafa is boundless. Before the persecution of Dafa began in 1999, my mother-in-law learned it, and she saw many things when doing the sitting meditation. But she took up the practice with the specific purpose of being cured.
Master said:
“I do not talk about healing illness here, and neither will we heal illness. As a genuine practitioner, however, you cannot practice cultivation with an ill body. I will purify your body. The body purification will be done only for those who come to truly learn the practice and the Fa. We emphasize one point: If you cannot relinquish the attachment or concern for illness, we cannot do anything and will be unable to help you.”(Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
She said, “Why were other people cured but not me?” Because she also had fear when the persecution began, she decided to stop practicing Falun Dafa.
I did ask her later if she wanted to return to cultivation, but she was uncertain. Once in a small group study I talked about her and said how sorry I felt for her. Another practitioner said, “Only Dafa can save your mother-in-law. I'll go talk to her.” I told my mother-in-law about Ms. Wang, and she agreed to see her.
So Ms. Wang and I went to my in-law's home one afternoon. Naturally we talked about how we benefitted from the practice, and Ms. Wang also told stories about how her family benefits from Dafa. But since both my father-in-law and mother-in-law had lived through the Cultural Revolution, they said they didn't want to go against the government. Ms. Wang said, “We are not going against the government. We are being wronged and persecuted, and we tell people about it. We want the persecution to stop, and we tell the truth.”
I didn't fret about my mother-in-law returning to cultivation. I just felt that, for her sake, I needed to bring up the possibility. But it turned out that, after that conversation, she started making changes. She said, “Ms. Wang cultivates so well. If she can do it, I should be able to do it, too.”
In the evening, when my father-in-law watched TV, she would read Zhuan Falun. She used to go to the Fa study group before 1999. Now she had to study on her own. She never went to school, so whenever she didn't know a word, she asked my father-in-law. But when he got tired of her repeated questions, he taught her a “trick” that resulted in her mispronouncing many words.
Nevertheless, my mother-in-law’s determination was strong and pure. She sat on the sofa reading aloud word by word, usually for two to three hours at a time. She ignored everything happening around her.
My in-laws lived in their younger son’s home. Last October, he wanted to bring his in-laws to the house, so my in-laws moved in with us. That gave me many opportunities to read and discuss the teachings and share thoughts with my mother-in-law. I felt that Master arranged this. Being with her helped me to see many of my shortcomings. Her thoughts were pure, she was direct, and she was engrossed in what she read. I usually let her read out loud, because she read slowly, paused at the wrong spots, and often missed punctuation marks. So I helped her by writing down what she needed to pay attention to. When we finished reading each lecture, I helped her review what was written down in the notebook.
During the day, we went to work, and she studied the Fa alone. Her surroundings didn’t bother her at all. Sometimes her daughters invited her to their houses to stay for a couple of days. She always brought along her copy of Zhuan Falun. Sometimes she forgot to bring her dentures, but never forgot her Dafa book.
As she continued to read the Fa, she told us that, when she read well, meaning when she was able to pronounce the words correctly and understood the surface meaning of the sentences, she would see yellow or blue light under each character. Sometimes she saw a light bulb the size of a grain of rice turning very quickly under the characters. These phenomena helped her gain confidence in reading the Fa and strengthened her will.
Once after she read, she covered herself with a blanket and took a rest. Then she felt something swirling in her abdomen from one side to the other even though she was covered with the blanket. That excited her.
My mother-in-law is remarkably determined. When she began doing the exercises, she had no strength in her legs, so she placed her knees against the bed to stand when she did the first four standing exercises. Especially when she did the second exercise—the Falun Standing Stance—after holding her arms up for just two minutes she was already sweating, but she tried to resist putting them down. She said she sometimes talked to Master in her mind: “Master, however long you think I can stand, then I will hold it and I will be very comfortable afterward. My legs won’t be tired.” It turned out that she could do it and didn’t feel tired.
When she did the fifth exercise, she had to cross her legs. After 20 minutes, her legs hurt, but she thought, “Pain won’t kill me. It is a good thing because it can help me reduce karma.” She tried to sit for as long as she could. When she was finished, her pants were wet from sweat. Yet she felt extremely light and comfortable.
Master said,
“Due to karma resulting from past wrongdoing, one has illnesses or tribulations; suffering is repaying a karmic debt, and thus nobody can casually change this.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
“This is because once karma is produced, one must eliminate it and suffer for it. .” (Lecture Eight, Zhuan Falun)
Indeed, she has understood the meaning of cultivation. She knew that illnesses were caused by karma, so she tried to resist the pain. She often said, “My karma is so huge!” The original thought of practicing Dafa to cure herself was no longer there.
My mother-in-law practiced the exercises every day. She can now hold up her arms for 30 minutes to do the Falun Standing Stance and can now sit for 70 to 80 minutes to do the meditation.
Three months after she resumed practicing, she could open her left eye, which made the whole family very happy. First she could open it only a little, then gradually she could open it wide. She said Master was cleansing her body. We asked her how she knew. She said recently that her left nostril was often blocked, but her right nostril was fine. That had never happened before. It seemed like she had good enlightenment.
I once asked my mother-in-law, “Now that you are practicing Falun Dafa again, how is it different from when you practiced in 1999?” She answered in a clear voice, “Firm belief!”
Indeed, she has a new starting point. She believes in what Master teaches and does what she is required to do. This is true practice!
Master said,
“When a person cultivates, the matter of insight runs throughout, start to finish, and he has to cultivate amidst delusion. The West values faith, and stresses this from beginning to end. Without faith, everything else is out of the question. As long as you have faith, there will be a response [from God].” (Zhuan Falun Vol II)
As far as cultivating her mind is concerned, I saw some other changes in my mother-in-law. She used to be quite chatty. When the family sat together, it was mostly she who talked. As she studied the teachings more, she began to notice that there were topics she couldn’t casually talk about. For example, complaining about my father-in-law not being helpful, talking about relatives behind their backs, and so on.
Sometimes when she finished saying something, she realized that she shouldn’t have said it. Sometimes, the moment she opened her mouth she realized that she should refrain from speaking. She said she had to guard her speech and not say things that weren’t good. She said she had to uphold Dafa’s requirements. Her health has now greatly improved.
The orchid that we grow at home began to flower, and I took a picture of my mother-in-law in front of the plant. She looked so calm and vital. Of course, she no longer wears the eye cover.
Master said,
“Your life initially did not include cultivation practice, but now you want to practice cultivation. Accordingly, your future life must be rearranged, and so it is permitted to adjust your body for you.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
My mother-in-law has taken a new path.