(Minghui.org) I’m 63 years old. In 1998 when it seemed my life was coming to an end, I was fortunate to find Falun Dafa. I was only 37 years old, but I felt lost. I was deluded by my pursuit of fame, money, love and hatred.
After I got a copy of Falun Dafa’s main book, Zhuan Falun I read it constantly—I wasn’t able to put it down. I knew Falun Dafa is rare and precious. By continuously reading the Fa (teachings) my questions were answered: 1. Where did I come from? Where am I going? What am I here for? 2. Everything in the human world is an illusion. 3. People are subject to the cycle of reincarnation and karmic retribution. 4. The pain, conflicts, gains, and losses in this life are caused by the karma from the wrong I committed in past lifetimes. 5. Master came to save people. He uses Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to eliminate our karma, guide us to practice Falun Dafa, and save us from the mortal world, so we can return to heaven. Master supports and protects us.
Guided by Dafa I gave up the bad habits I developed in ordinary society: acting like a tyrant, being bossy, using foul language, being competitive and aggressive, and being unforgiving. Most importantly, I stopped resenting my mother-in-law.
When I was 26 and my husband was 30, we were preparing to get married. His parents didn’t want him to marry me. My family had many siblings and couldn’t afford to give money for a dowry, so we had to borrow money for our wedding. My husband borrowed 1,600 yuan, and I borrowed 1,700 yuan. On our wedding day, my mother-in-law and I had an argument and afterwards we stopped speaking to each other. She secretly pocketed our gift money. She even took all the untouched food from our wedding banquet. After the guests left, I calculated the expenses for the wedding banquet, and found I was 1,600 yuan short! To put it into perspective, my monthly income at that time was only 46 yuan, and my husband’s monthly income was only 39 yuan. After the wedding, we lived frugally, and it took us six years to pay off this debt.
Five days after our wedding, my in-laws went on a trip to Beijing. It was truly a case of the son gets married, but the parents go on the honeymoon! Not only did they go traveling, they also locked up the food and cooking oil and my mother-in-law had her younger sister look after the house. Even more infuriating was that shortly after I returned to work, she actually had her niece break into my home and put their white wooden coffins inside my fully furnished new home. My husband went to his parents’ home to ask about this and returned home with his clothes torn because my mother-in-law beat him.
I went to their home, held back my anger, and calmly asked to speak to her. She not only didn’t respond, but she started hurling insults at me. I really wanted to beat her up, but she quickly ran behind my father-in-law. Feeling awkward, my father-in-law said to her, “Just say what you want to say, why are you cursing at her?” This finally calmed things down. I did not go back to my in-laws’ home, and when we encountered each other on the street, we treated each other like strangers.
After I began to practice Dafa, I realized that all the grievances and resentment I had were caused by karmic debts I accumulated throughout my past lifetimes, one of which led to the terrible relationship between my mother-in-law and me in this life. After I understood these principles of the Fa, I felt much lighter, and my resentment towards her disappeared. At that time, my mother-in-law sent a message inviting me home for the Chinese New Year holiday.
After we spent some time together my mother-in-law apologized to me three times. She kept saying, “Why did I misunderstand you before?” The third time she said this, I gazed at her weathered face, and quietly asked, “Mom, why are you apologizing to me? Actually, I’m the one who was wrong, but it was not in this life, it was in a previous life. I practice Falun Dafa now, and Master has made everything clear to me. I owe you so much from a previous lifetime, which is why you treat me badly in this life. I’m the one who should apologize. I will be filial to you from now on!” She was surprised and deeply moved. As I write this, I made the gesture of Heishi in gratitude, thanking Master for his boundless compassion in resolving the lifelong resentment between my mother-in-law and me.
My mother-in-law also started believing in Dafa. She not only strongly supported me, but whenever she had a headache or other minor ailments, she said, “My daughter-in-law practices Dafa, so I’m fine. Master is watching over me too.” Each time, she miraculously recovered, and she was very happy.
When the CCP persecuted Dafa, I was arrested and taken to a detention center. My mother-in-law came to see me, crying bitterly, and she confronted the police, saying, “You wicked people arrest good people instead of bad ones! What crime did my daughter-in-law commit? Her son is so young, and she can’t take care of him now. She’s dedicated to her work. Yet you still arrest her like she’s a criminal! Where is the justice?!” The police were speechless.
My mother-in-law was diagnosed with heart disease when she was 86 years old. She said to Master, “Master, I’ve been hospitalized four times, and each time I recovered quickly under your protection. This time, I’m not asking for your help; I’m asking you to let me go.” With her faith in Dafa and her reverence for Master, my mother-in-law peacefully left this world.
Twenty-six years have gone by in the blink of an eye. Time has passed quickly. I’ve stumbled many times and overcome many challenges. But I’m grateful that with Master and the Fa, I finally know how to cultivate, and I finally found my way home.