(Minghui.org) “I began to practice Falun Dafa in March 2020. I consider myself very fortunate to begin cultivation amid the pandemic,” said Angela Guo, a new practitioner who lives in Vancouver, Canada.
Angela and her husband moved to Canada in 2012. She has three children: an 8-year-old son and two daughters, 3 and 1. The schools were closed during the CCP virus outbreak, so Angela took care of her three children. She was also concerned about her 80-year-old mother living in China. How did she manage to cope during this difficult period?
She said, “I read the Falun Dafa teachings with my mother online. The children read the teachings and do the exercises with me. My husband and his parents support me in my belief. We faced the pandemic calmly. I think we are very lucky.”
Her husband and his family disagreed with her practice initially but later all of them quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations and became very supportive of Falun Dafa.
Beginning to Practice After 23 Years
Angela learned about Falun Dafa through her mother. “My mother began to practice in 1997. She used to suffer from many illnesses including tuberculosis, stomach problems, inflammation of the urethra, arthritis and so on. These ailments disappeared after she practiced Dafa. She often said Master gave her a new lease on life.”
“My mother often spoke to me about practicing cultivation. She asked me to read Zhuan Falun. However, I did not become a practitioner because I believed the CCP’s lies which demonized the practice.”
Her family moved to Canada in 2012 to be with her husband’s family. “Perhaps it was destiny. At the end of 2017, through a relative, I reconnected with a friend and colleague Ms. Yu who lives in Toronto. We had not spoken to each other for two decades. I learned that she was persecuted in China for practicing Falun Dafa. Her children came to Canada because they were barred from attending university in China. Her experience helped me understand how irrational and brutal the CCP’s persecution is in China,” she said.
After the practice began to be persecuted in China, Angela’s mother lost contact with the Fa study group and her state of cultivation was less than ideal. She had a fall and her body became very weak. “I mentioned her situation to my friend Ms. Yu and said I was worried. She understood how I felt and said perhaps it was a reminder that I should practice Falun Dafa in order to encourage my mother. I was doubtful, but I still read the book Zhuan Falun. After reading a few pages, I became drowsy. On top of that, I had to take care of two young children. I soon gave up.”
In early 2020, Angela discovered her mother’s memory had greatly worsened through speaking to her on the phone. “She would forget what she just said. I learned that she had not been doing the exercises for several months. I asked why she stopped doing them. She said her legs had no strength and she could not stand up. I made an important decision at that instant: to do the exercises and study the Fa with my mother.”
Husband’s Transformation
Her children attended school at home as the CCP virus intensified in Canada. Every day the teacher would give lessons online for one hour only. “This meant that supervising the homework was left to the parents. Plus I had to prepare the children’s meals, take care of household chores and so on. I was very busy every day.”
“First of all, I had to get my husband to agree to my reading the Fa with my mother on the Internet. I knew this would be a huge issue and I was prepared for family conflicts and a battle. My husband believed the CCP’s propaganda so he was opposed to Falun Dafa. I tried to tell him the truth about Dafa in the past, but failed to get him to change his perception.”
Unexpectedly, when she tried to communicate her feelings with her husband, he agreed calmly. “I was truly astonished. Out of curiosity I asked why his opinion changed so quickly. He said a Chinese student at his workplace told him about Dafa and explained that the self-immolation at Tiananmen Square was staged. Besides, there are many people practicing Falun Dafa in Vancouver.
Angela studied the Fa with her mother in China daily and exchanged understandings on the Fa. Her mother quickly regained her health. She looked within often and corrected her shortcomings when she found them. Besides doing the five sets of exercises every day, she studied the Fa, sent righteous thoughts, memorized and hand copied the teachings. She was even able to walk three rounds around the area where she lived in the morning, afternoon and at night.
Husband’s Stubborn Ailment Disappears
Angela’s husband had severe pain in his elbow joints. The pain was so bad that sometimes he could not sleep. He applied medicated creams to stop the pain. Due to long term use of the medication, his skin became sensitive, and would fester and discharge pus. “I asked him to listen to Master’s recorded lectures at night with me on several occasions, but he refused,” she said.
Her husband finally agreed to listen to the teachings. “Once he started to listen to Master’s lectures, he could not stop. He would listen and mumble to himself that what Master Li Hongzhi said is great. Sometimes he had to attend to other things. He would take his phone with him so that he could continue to listen to the teachings. I never saw him like this before. He even forgot about putting the medicated cream on his elbows.”
After a month, Angela asked him, “Is the pain in your elbow better?” He then realized he had not applied the cream for a long time. He couldn’t even recall when it stopped hurting. The pain in his elbow has not recurred.
Educating Children Using Dafa’s Principles
Angela said that before she practiced cultivation, she often got into arguments with her husband due to their different perspectives especially in how to educate their children. “My husband is impatient. If he thinks my opinion is wrong, he tries to stop me from expressing my views. This makes me angry and I quarrel with him. This made our family environment unhappy.”
“After practicing cultivation, I knew to reflect on myself and measure things using the criterion of Dafa. I found resentment that was buried in my heart for many years. As a practitioner, we should have the habit of looking within whenever we run into problems. This is a great tool to improve our character. I teach my children to do this as well.”
Angela recalled a related incident.
“One day in April 2021, I discovered that if my son goes to bed early, he will be able to wake up early in the morning. I asked my husband if it was all right to let our son go to sleep earlier so that he could get up at 7 a.m. to do the exercises with me. He disagreed, thinking it is not good for children’s health to wake up early.
“Before I began practicing I would have argued with him. This time I just smiled and said all right. I told my son, “Dad does not want you to get up early to do the exercises. We won’t do it then. He agreed.”
But the next morning, he forgot he didn’t have to wake up early and ran to my room at 7 a.m sharp to do the exercises. My husband was furious. He shouted at both of us: “From today onward, I forbid both of you from practicing Falun Dafa! We agreed on this yet you did not do as promised. You are disrespecting me.”
I patted my son on the shoulder and comforted him. I reminded him, “Master told us to look within whenever there is a problem. We did go against the agreement. He doesn’t want you to get up early as it may affect your sleep. That’s why he is so angry.”
My husband said, “What are you two mumbling about? Don’t think I did not hear it.”
Looking at my upset husband, I said to my son, “Go brush your teeth then apologize to your father.” He nodded his head and went to brush his teeth before walking to the kitchen. He said to my husband who was making breakfast, “Daddy, I’m sorry!”
My husband’s mood suddenly changed and he told our son, “Daddy did not do well today, either. I did not control my temper.” He then turned his head in my direction and said, “I’m sorry! What I said today doesn’t count. Do the exercises or study the Fa if you want to.” My son and I laughed.
Son Stops Vomiting
Angela’s 8-year-old son had issues with his stomach and intestines since birth. Whenever he ate too much or caught a cold, he vomited. “After I began to practice cultivation, I encouraged my children to say, ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion- Forbearance is good’ before they go to bed. I would also let them listen to the Fa sometimes.”
“My son began to do the exercises after he finished his homework. He read the teachings for a while and I guided him in searching for any weaknesses in his character. Now, he studies the Fa whenever he has time. He was not able to do the sitting meditation in the full lotus position at first, but now he can. He can sit for 30 minutes now. Then, a miracle happened. He no longer vomits even if he eats a lot.”
Angela said, “During the outbreak of the CCP virus, my children and I practice the exercises together with my mother in China via the Internet. We study the Fa and do the exercises every day. I have benefited so much from practicing Falun Dafa that I joined the project making calls to China to help Chinese people to quit the CCP. I hope more people can learn about Falun Dafa and make it safely through this pandemic.”
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