Practicing Falun Dafa Gave Me the Compassion and Patience to Take Care of My Mother-in-Law

(Minghui.org) I’m in my 60s, and I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. After my husband lost his job, he spent 10 years working away from home. He returned on Friday and left on Sunday night. After my father-in-law passed away in 2018, I have been the sole caregiver for my mother-in-law. I prepare three meals a day to take to her, and whenever she’s unwell, I stay overnight.

Looking After My Mother-in-Law

My mother-in-law was a hard worker. Even in her 80s, she still farmed her own plot of land. The cabbages and radishes we ate in winter were all grown by her. She is also very traditional about meals, and liked the table to be filled with a variety of dishes. Whenever guests came to visit, during mealtime they would comment on how many different dishes there were to eat.

As my mother-in-law has diabetes, I always make sure she eats well. I prepare at least one new dish for her every meal, while I usually eat the leftovers. I rarely paid much attention to what I ate. I often accompanied her to the public bathhouse. She liked to sit on a stool and rock on it, balancing on one leg of the stool while swaying back and forth which always made me very nervous. She was quite heavy, and the plastic stools weren’t sturdy, so I was afraid she might fall. But no matter what I said, she wouldn’t listen.

Later, the bathhouse stopped providing stools, because they were worried someone might get hurt. So whenever we went there, I had to bring one myself. On the way, I would support my mother-in-law with one arm and carry the stool with the other. If she got tired halfway, she could sit down and rest. People who saw us often laughed.

Through these experiences, I was able to let go of many attachments, such as fear of encountering trouble and being blamed if something happened, looking down on her, showing off my filial piety, and seeking recognition from my husband. In the end, I learned to truly care for others and gradually let go of my selfishness.

The neighbors were all moved when they saw how I took care of her. One neighbor said, “At first, when I saw you going to your mother-in-law’s home every day and cooking for her, I wondered how long you could keep it up. But you just kept doing it day after day.” She said she truly admired me.

Another neighbor, an older man, told me, “Making two meals a day for your mother-in-law is enough, three meals is too much! What a hassle.” I told him that I can’t reduce it, as she has diabetes. He immediately gave me a big thumbs-up.

During the pandemic, I continued caring for her without interruption. The community staff saw everything. They never interfered or told me to stay home, and they even tried to help me. One of the staff told me, “Walk on the other side of the building—there are no surveillance cameras there, so you won’t be recorded.”

These experiences helped me realize that many community workers are actually very kind. It is the Chinese Communist regime that forces them to take part in the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners. We should recognize the goodness in them and try to save them with wisdom and compassion.

In early March last year, my mother-in-law suddenly began having difficulty moving her left leg and arm, We took her to the hospital for a check up, and she was diagnosed with a stroke. The entire left side of her body became weak, and she could no longer care for herself.

The hardest thing was helping her go to the toilet several times a day. Since one side of her body had lost its strength, every time she got out of bed, I had to place my arm behind her neck and lift her up with all my strength, so she could first sit upright. Then I would hold her hand and slowly support her step by step.

My mother-in-law was very strong-willed, and after the stroke, it was hard for her to accept the change in her situation. She kept asking why it happened. I told her, “Mom, no one can choose what illness they develop. We don’t have the final say in this. And nobody wants to get sick, so don’t dwell on it too much. Just quietly recite in your heart, ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance is good.’ Things will get better gradually.”

While my mother-in-law was in the hospital, one of the patients would often chat to me whenever I had a free moment. She told me she suffered from vertigo. At first glance, she seemed proud and somewhat arrogant. Seeing how well I cared for my mother-in-law, she assumed we were mother and daughter. Only after asking did she realize that I was actually the daughter-in-law. I told her, “I believe in predestined relationships. The fact that people can share connections is a kind of fate, and we should cherish these bonds.”

The woman’s vertigo could strike at any time. One moment she would seem perfectly fine, and the next the whole room would start spinning. She couldn’t even walk on her own and had to rely on others for support. I said, “I feel that, deep down, you’re carrying a great deal of emotional repression and psychological stress.”

“You’re right,” she replied.

I told her that if she could release that inner pressure, her symptoms might improve. I said, “I have an approach. I’m not sure whether you’ll understand it or not. I practice Falun Gong, and that’s why I’m able to treat my mother-in-law with such calmness and kindness. Many people say ‘Falun Dafa is good’ and ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good’ and have been helped.”

I continued, “Think about it. Truthfulness means being sincere and honest with everyone without deception. Compassion means being kind and treating others well. Forbearance means not hitting back when beaten, not talking back when insulted, and being tolerant and patient with others. If you recite these phrases often, you’ll gradually feel better, and your illness may improve as well.”

Then I asked her, “Do you believe what I’m saying?”

“Yes, I do,” she said.

Helping a Friend

A classmate had a stroke. She was divorced and her child doesn’t live with her. When she first became ill, she was completely unable to move or take care of herself. She spent more than a year in the hospital doing rehabilitation therapy. It was heartbreaking to see.

Although we live quite close to each other, we hadn’t kept in touch. We happened to meet at the COVD testing site, and that was when I learned about her situation. From then on, I brought her steamed buns and dumplings. I also bought her vegetables, rice, and flour, and helped wash her hair and take a shower. I also cleaned her kitchen. She was deeply grateful and kept saying, “How can I ever thank you?”

I told her, “You don’t need to take it to heart. Perhaps, it’s because we have a predestined relationship. I’m healthy, and it’s easy for me to do.” The second time I washed her hair, I asked, “Would you like to listen to some stories about traditional culture?”

She replied, “Anything you tell me must be good. I want to listen.”

She started listening to Minghui podcasts. After some time, I let her listen to Master’s lectures, but the interference she experienced was so strong that she could not continue. I asked her to say, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”

At first, even just reciting these words was difficult for her. As soon as she started, she felt so agitated and uncomfortable that she could hardly bear it. After repeating the words about 40 times, she had to stop again, so I stayed with her and recited with her. When she reached 80 repetitions, she stopped again, saying, “I can’t carry on anymore, I feel as if so many people are staring at me!” I kept encouraging her to keep going.

When she repeated the words about 150 times, she again felt she could not endure it any longer. I started sending righteous thoughts for her and I asked Master to help, and she managed to break through once more.

In the end, she completed 200 repetitions. From that point on, her symptom of anhydrosis disappeared, and she could sweat normally again. She experienced the miraculous power of Dafa.

My classmate liked to chat with my mother-in-law. One day, while the two of them were sitting together talking, my mother-in-law spotted me returning in the distance, and said excitedly, “Look, my daughter-in-law is back!”

Afterward, my classmate told me, “In that moment, I was deeply touched. When your mother-in-law saw you coming back, she was genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart. Seeing the relationship between the two of you… I’ve always longed for that kind of warmth and closeness, but never had it.”

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes—she truly admired and envied our relationship.

My classmate even went to the head of our community many times, asking her to praise me in the residential group. She said, “She is such a wonderful person. She’s truly kind! She helps me buy food, cooks meals, makes dumplings and so on, washes my hair, and cleans my kitchen without asking for anything in return. There are so few people like her nowadays. You really should commend her!”

The head of the community smiled and did not say much. Someone from our community once asked my classmate, “How often does she make dumplings for you?”

She replied, “I can’t remember exactly. Whenever I finish the frozen dumplings, she would come and make more for me.” My classmate said that I always seemed to show up whenever she needed me. One time, after heavy snow, she was home alone and had completely run out of food. I visited her to see whether there was anything she needed help with. The moment she saw me, she said, “How did you know I had nothing left at home?”

I helped her buy rice, flour, cooking oil, and vegetables, and I had to go to the specific stores she preferred. After shopping, I made some dumplings and stored them in the freezer. She was so moved that she cried and said, “Before you came, I felt like I gave up on life. You brought me hope.”

I believe that both of us were being embraced by the Buddha light of Falun Dafa.

More than 20 years ago, I suffered greatly from kidney stones, rheumatism, spine problems, and heart disease. At that time, whenever I boiled herbal medicine at my mother-in-law’s home, she wasn’t happy about it. But when I returned to my parents’ home to boil medicine, my father was unhappy too. He felt that a married daughter should not come back home just to boil medicine as it used too much fuel.

In the end, my mother insisted, saying: “If our daughter isn’t allowed to boil her medicine here, then we might as well get divorced.” I continued taking medicine for three months. Eventually, I felt sick and wanted to vomit when I saw the medicine.

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to begin practicing Falun Dafa. After I started my cultivation journey I was finally able to throw away my medicine pot and I was healthy.

I am deeply grateful for Master’s immense compassion and grace. I know that I am still far from meeting Master’s expectations. In the limited time left I will study the Fa more, look inward to improve myself, help Master save more people, fulfill my vow and return home with Master.