(Minghui.org) Today, when human morality is rapidly declining and sentient beings are in extreme danger, Master has spread the most precious universal law (Falun Dafa) to the world, bringing the hope of salvation to people who have lost their way.
Looking back on my cultivation journey of more than 20 years, I am filled with emotion, and my gratitude to Master is beyond words. Master has protected and guided me step by step with the universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Dafa has given me a healthy body, purified my dirty mind, and allowed me to keep kindness in my heart in this turbid world of material desires and to be a good person wherever I am.
Holding Fast to Traditional Filial Piety
Filial piety is part of China's 5,000 years of civilization. After I started practicing Falun Dafa, I kept Master’s teachings in mind and followed traditional filial piety. I respected the elderly and loved the young and was kind to everyone. My neighbors said that I was both a good daughter and daughter-in-law. My mother-in-law lived in the countryside at that time, and my father-in-law had passed away years before. My husband and I were both working in the city.
In the early years, we didn’t have much, and with a child to raise, money was always tight. But when it came to giving money or things to the elderly in the family, I couldn’t have been more generous. We visited my mother-in-law two or three times a month and always brought her food that she liked. When fresh fruit and seafood were in season, we would always buy some for the seniors in both families. Usually, we would give a bit more to my mother-in-law’s family because my parents-in-law were older and on a fixed income, and my mother’s family was relatively better off. Over the years, there was never any conflict between our two families.
I have clarified the truth to many people in their villages, and most of them quit the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) organizations. The relatives in both families support me in practicing Falun Gong. A few years ago when I was arrested for not renouncing my faith, they all helped me in one way or another. I’m very grateful and feel in my heart that they will have a bright future for helping a Dafa practitioner.
Once when I went to see my mother-in-law, she said, “I’ve been nicer to my younger son’s family over the past few years. I gave them money when they built a new house, and I bought them a tractor and a motorbike, but I have never given you any money—you always give me money.”
“Mom, don’t worry about such things,” I said. “Feel free to help your younger son’s family if you can. Your older son and I both work in the city and are paid good salaries. You don’t need to worry about us—we will look after you in any way we can in the future.” She was really pleased to hear that.
Later, I was fired for refusing to give up Falun Gong, and my husband’s company wasn’t doing well. Our son was still in college and needed our support. Life was very hard for us in those days. When my mother-in-law heard about it, she insisted on giving me money (my father-in-law left her some money from running a vegetable garden). I was quite touched and said to her with tears in my eyes, “Mom, I appreciate your kindness, but keep the money for yourself. I have enough to keep us going. Don’t you worry about us.” With tears in her eyes, she held my hands tightly, and it warmed my heart.
In the early days of the persecution when all the media outlets in China were slandering Falun Gong, and my husband and I were arrested, my mother-in-law believed the CCP propaganda and stopped supporting our cultivation. But I was still kind to her and told her the facts many times. In the end, she understood and changed her mind. When the police harassed her, she rebuked them, and they left. Neighbors told me many times, “Your mother-in-law always sings your praises, saying that you are a very good daughter-in-law.” I said, “Falun Dafa’s Master taught me to be good to everyone. She is my mother-in-law, and I should treat her well.” I was always kind to my mother-in-law until she passed away a few years ago.
Being Considerate of Others
I have lived in the staff housing building of my workplace for nearly 40 years, and I’ve always respected and been kind to everyone. I greet everyone I meet and always offer a helping hand whenever I can. My neighbors all say that I’m a nice person. When I clarified the truth to them about Falun Gong and encouraged them to quit the CCP organizations, they all listened to me and agreed to quit.
A couple in their 80s lives downstairs from me. They take over the public space in the hallway wherever they choose and have quarreled with quite a few neighbors. Nobody wants to have anything to do with them, but I get along quite well with them.
A few years ago, the couple left a pile of junk in the hallway downstairs. My son was getting married, so we wanted to clean up the place a bit. I went to the old lady and asked if we could help move their pile of junk somewhere else. “I don’t know—go ask my husband,” she replied coldly.
When I went to talk to the old man and asked if we could move the junk somewhere else, he said with a long face before walking away, “We still need that stuff, and there is nowhere else to put it.”
Two days later (the day before my son got married), a few relatives came to help us clean up the hallway. They chucked out some useless things, such as an old broom and some broken boards. One day, the old lady saw me and said coldly, “I wonder who threw our stuff out.”
“Oh, it must have been my relatives who came to help clean. If you still need them, I’ll pay for your loss,” I said. “Well,” she replied, “they were not really of any use. I was just asking.”
A couple of days later, I bought some presents and went to see the couple as a token of apology. They were very surprised. After that, they said to others many times, “She practices Falun Gong, and she is a very nice person indeed.”
One day, the old lady overheard several police downstairs say that they were there to arrest me. She rushed up the stairs and told me to keep the door locked. “Stay inside. If you need anything, I’ll get it for you,” she said to me quietly. I was very touched by her kindness. Thanks to her warning, the police failed to apprehend me.
My neighbor upstairs moved in a few years ago. I always greeted her each time I saw her. She was rather cold and arrogant at first, but soon changed her attitude and greeted me warmly as well. When my son got married that year, we renovated our apartment and covered the walls with beautiful wallpaper.
But just a few days after the renovation, I noticed that the walls around the toilet were damp, and the wallpaper was discolored. I asked someone to call the upstairs neighbor to come and look. When she saw the damage, she said to me, embarrassed, “I’m so sorry. It must be my daughter. When she washed her long hair, it blocked the drain. You can get it fixed and I’ll pay for it.”
“It was an accident,” I said. “Just have her be more careful next time.” I said to my husband, “It was an accident, and money can’t buy friendship. Let’s just leave it, and not ask her to pay for the repair.” My husband agreed.
After that, she was even friendlier and said to her friends, “This neighbor practices Falun Gong, and she is a very nice person. All that slander on TV are lies to deceive people. We must not believe them anymore.”
The sound insulation in our building is not that good, so I always remind my family to be quiet so that we do not disturb our neighbors. I’ve cleaned the hallway regularly for years. In the winter when it snows, I sweep away the snow around the entrance, so it is easy for people to go in and out. My neighbors have noticed these small things that I do and often praised me. They all know that I’m a Dafa practitioner.
My two next-door neighbors are in their 80s and live on their own. I always help them in any way I can and we get on very well. I told them about Falun Gong, and they were very receptive. Every year, I give each of them a truth-clarification calendar, and they both like it. During the pandemic lockdowns, I gave them home-made steamed buns and dishes to help them in those difficult days. They were very touched by my kindness.
The old lady living on the left once said to me, “I felt you were a very kind person the first time I saw you, and I told my children that I was very lucky to have a Falun Gong practitioner as a neighbor. I told them that you are a very nice person.”
The elderly man on the right also said to me, “You are the nicest person in the whole building. I trust you, and I will remember Falun Dafa is good. Thank you for being so kind to me.” In fact, a fellow practitioner who used to work in the same place as the old man tried to clarify the truth to him a number of times in the past, but the old man was rather stubborn and refused to listen. I’m so pleased that he has now learned the truth.
Letting Go of Resentment and Hatred
Before I started practicing Falun Gong, more than 30 years ago when I was still working, the wife of one of the leaders in our company insisted that I had ruined her nephew’s marriage. She cooked up lies to discredit me and spread them among my colleagues. Some people believed her and formed a negative impression of me.
In fact, I didn’t know anything about it. I later learned that her nephew and a relative of mine had dated—but only twice. My relative felt that they were not a good match and stopped dating her nephew.
I was very angry because I always had a strong sense of self-esteem and self-discipline. It was very hard for me to endure the rumors and slander. However, that lady was a well-known “tigress.” I had to keep my hatred for her to myself and tried to avoid her and her husband as much as I could.
After I started practicing Falun Dafa, I kept Master’s words in mind: “The only thing you have a role in is saving people...” (Teaching the Fa in the City of Chicago). I let go of my resentment for her, with no more hatred in my heart.
Once, I saw her out in public. She turned away when she saw me from a distance. I approached her and greeted her with a smile. She looked at me in surprise and blushed, “Oh, it’s you. I’m just going shopping in the mall. Where are you going?” Before I could answer, she said, “How come you never seem to age?” “Because I practice Falun Gong,” I said. But before I could say anything else, an acquaintance of hers called her away.
I thought that I had to clarify the truth to her and save her. I ran into her husband and told him the facts about Falun Gong and asked him to tell his wife what I said so that she could be saved, too. He said he would. I also talked to his younger sister and gave her some truth-clarification materials. I told her to pass them to her sister-in-law after she finished reading them. Later, when I bumped into the lady again, we had a very nice chat.
More than 30 years ago, out of sympathy, I invited a relative to live with us. She had suffered from neuralgia since she was a child and was unemployed at the time. I enrolled her in a sewing course nearby and paid her tuition, hoping that she could learn some skills and make a living in the future.
She lived with us for almost six months. My son was still young at that time and my health wasn’t that good, either. It wasn’t easy for me as I had to work, take care of my son, do the household chores, and cook for the family. She went to her sewing class every day and never helped me with anything at home.
I tried my best to help her so that she could eat well, live comfortably, and acquire some skills for a better life down the road. When she went home to visit, I would always buy her good things to take home to her mother and daughter.
She suffered a number of neuralgia attacks while living with us, and each time, I bought her medication and cooked special food for her. I stayed by her side day and night to take care of her. However, she never said a word of gratitude and was even a bit jealous of me.
Once, her mother told my mom that her daughter said to her, “My ‘sister’ [referring to me] lives in paradise. She has a nice, good-looking husband who can make money. I am not as lucky as she is.” I didn’t take it to heart when my mom told me about it. After she finished the sewing course, she returned home and opened a small shop, and her life improved.
About a year later, I heard from another relative that when I was away from home, she seduced my husband, and they had an affair. I almost exploded when I heard this, and my heart was filled with hatred and self-blame. I thought of revenge, divorce, and even suicide. But when I thought of my young son and my aging parents who’d raised me all those years, I gave up those ideas. I was too proud to talk to anyone and buried that pain inside. By and by, my health got worse and I suffered from neurasthenia, gastritis, colitis, heart problems, anemia, hypoglycemia, and other health problems.
The physical and mental trauma left me feeling pessimistic and disgusted with the world. My personality also changed. I lost enthusiasm and confidence, and really resented my husband. I looked down on him and lived in pain. The relative I’d helped unconditionally was now my hated enemy. I vowed that I would never, ever forgive her! I ended my relationship with her and had no contact with her for eight years. When we occasionally bumped into each other, I would not even look at her. She was aware of my feelings towards her and stayed away from me.
However, all this changed after I started practicing Falun Dafa. I let go of the hatred and resentment deep in my heart and forgave all those who had harmed me in the past. I became warm and kind again. I now understand that all sentient beings have once been part of Master’s family, so they are also my family. They have all come to this human world to be saved by Dafa in this lifetime. The CCP has completely destroyed China’s traditional culture and values, and morality in today’s world is rapidly declining. How many people can control themselves and not do wrong?
I reconciled with my relative and told her about Dafa. I gave her a copy of Zhuan Falun, and she took up the practice and became a Dafa practitioner. I once asked her to take me to my junior high school teacher, who lived in the same village she did. I clarified the truth to my former teacher and her husband. Both of them were very happy to see me and learned about Falun Dafa. I thanked my relative for helping find my former teacher. My relationship with my husband also returned to normal.
Epilogue
After I let go of resentment and tore down the thick wall blocking my heart, I felt assimilated to Dafa and that I truly elevated in xinxing cultivation. I understand that Dafa has created my life for the benefit of others, and the only thing I have a role in is to clarify the truth to save people.
Without Master and Dafa’s salvation, I cannot imagine what I would have become in today’s chaotic world. As Dafa practitioners, we must conduct ourselves according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and become even better people. Only Dafa can fundamentally change people. We must make good use of the precious time we still have and do the three things required of us even better and fulfill our mission to assist Master in saving more people. Thank you, Master!
(Selected submission in celebration of World Falun Dafa Day on Minghui.org)
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