PureInsight | June 21, 2004
[PureInsight.org] Today Jenny came to my clinic earlier than her scheduled appointment. She said she wanted to talk to me some more, so we continued our last discussion.
"Doctor, I have always demanded respect from others, but it never occurred to me that I needed to respect others as well. I thought seriously about what you said to me during my last visit, and I have tried to apply it when I interacted with my children and my husband, Mark. Then I realized that it is true that children do pick up many notions and behaviors from their parents. When I stopped interrupting my husband and actually listened to what he had to say, I could finally understand and communicate with him. I felt a harmony in my heart that I have never felt before. When I paid attention to my children, they immediately learned to pay attention to me in return when I talked to them. Thank God for his mercy! I have finally learned how to actually communicate with my family. For the first time in my life, I finally learned to stop arguing about who's right and who's wrong, and stop taking arguments as the only way of communication with my family."
Jenny also told me that her latest CAT scan result had astonished her primary care physician. It appears that she has made a tremendous improvement for the past several months. She used to have up to 10 seizures an hour, but now the frequency has been reduced to less than one an hour.
I knew in my heart that it was all due to her more peaceful state of mind and disposition. She used to get nervous easily but now she is learning to relax. She does not go into tantrums easily, and has become more forgiving and tolerant. Jenny's primary care physician told Jenny a long time ago that there is no cure for epilepsy and she would have to rely on prescription drugs for the rest of her life to control the frequency of the attacks. And that, even with the drugs, her epilepsy would only get worse and haunt her for the rest of her life. Jenny had accepted her fate after the initial shock of the physician's announcement. This is why her latest CAT scan results struck both Jenny's physician and herself with disbelief. In fact, her physician did not know how to explain the unbelievable phenomenon.
"Jenny, how do your siblings get along with your stepfather?" [Editor's Note: Previous installments in this series have described Jenny's recollections of her stepfather's abuse and her ongoing anger toward him.]
She shook her head, and seemed puzzled about her siblings' opinion of their stepfather. She looked up to the ceiling. "My brother believes that my stepfather could be a very successful politician, and could run for mayor or senator. One of my elder sisters believes that he could become a very good pastor because he is very articulate and cares about others' misery. My other elder sister once thought he used to be a teacher because he was very patient when he helped her with her homework. I dare not speak ill of him in front of my family, otherwise my whole family would rise up to condemn me. They would say that I am prejudiced against my stepfather. At home, he acted natural and amiable. He is like one of those thugs in this world who tells lies to get away with his bad deeds, while kind people are always being bullied and live in misery. I see that the Falun Gong practitioners in China are subject to persecution, but that scoundrel who ordered the persecution is still walking freely. The Chinese people don't know the truth behind the persecution, and they blame the victims."
I was very touched when I heard her mentioning the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China. It's extraordinary for someone who grew up and lives in a free nation such as Jenny to be empathetic towards the misery of people on the other side of the globe. Then we started to talk about Falun Gong's cultivation principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance," and the benefits of cultivation in improving one's spiritual and physical health. Then we talked about why we should try to be a moral, forgiving and altruistic person.
At this point she told me, "I don't want to become a cultivator immediately because I have to find out first who I am and why I was brought to the earth. There are a lot of things that I can't let go yet. Once I decide to let them go and become a good person, I will have to forgive my stepfather. At this moment it is impossible for me to forgive what he has done to me. In fact, I don't think I will ever give up [the idea of] revenge. Or, I could start cultivating Buddhahood now. But if I have the opportunity to take revenge on my stepfather, I would have to kill him first and then I would I start my cultivation over and become a good person."
Jenny's words made me realize that a man who commits a lot of wrongs will be forever hunted by his victims because they will not put down their hatred towards him until they take their vengeance or he has met with karmic retribution.
Think twice before you commit any wrongdoings! Good will be ultimately rewarded with good and bad will ultimately be met with retrubution!
[To be continued…]
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2003/6/17/22122.html
