(Minghui.org) I went back to my hometown on holiday in 1997. My brother said that he would lend me a book to read that taught people to be good. I shook my head in disbelief. Nowadays it is difficult to find a good person. I was a professional with a certain social status. Though I was not a good person, I hadn't done anything bad, either, so I was not a bad person.
My brother looked at me and noticed that I was not interested, so he said, “This book teaches people how to improve their xinxing. You should read it and find out how to be a better person.”
I didn't argue with him because I didn't see him much and didn't want to affect our relationship. I said to him, “I have good xinxing, so I don't need to read it.” He said, “A cultivator is able to refrain from hitting back when attacked and from swearing back when sworn at (from “Teaching the Fa at the Founding Ceremony of the Singaporean Falun Dafa Association”). Are you able to do that? That is the most basic requirement for a practitioner.”
It was inconceivable to me that someone would not retaliate when hit or sworn at. Who could do that that nowadays? It was even more unbelievable that it was a basic requirement for a practitioner.
My brother brought me the book the next day and said, “There is one requirement for you when you read this book: Do not draw or write notes in it. If you think you want to learn Falun Gong, you can keep it. If you don't want to learn it, return it to me.”
In the following month, I visited friends and relatives and often got drunk. When I didn't feel well afterward or had nothing to do, I picked up the book occasionally and read a few pages. The author talked about principles, very practical principles. I didn't disagree. In fact, I thought they were good.
I returned to work a month later. I calmed down and then thought of “refrain from hitting back when attacked and refrain from swearing back when sworn at,”(“Teaching the Fa at the Founding Ceremony of the Singaporean Falun Dafa Association,” Teaching the Fa at the Conference I) that my brother had mentioned. I remembered vaguely that there was an instruction site in each city. One weekend, I went out to look and finally found one more than 20 kilometers from my company.
I went in and saw an elderly man on duty. I asked him if this was the Falun Gong instruction site and if it was free to learn. He said, “Yes, young man. I can teach you if you want to learn.” I said that I wanted to read the book now, but not learn the exercises. He said that I was right to read the book first and then learn the exercises. I asked him what Falun Gong was. He mentioned many benefits, which I cannot remember. But, generally, he talked about how to become a good person.
Since he claimed he was trying to be a good person, I tested him, and what he said and did agreed with the requirements in the book.
So I told him to choose two of the most important books for me and I would buy them. He gave me two books, Zhuan Falun and Zhuan Falun (Volume II) , and said they cost 14 yuan. He told me not to draw or write in them. That was just what my brother had told me, even though they were a thousand kilometers apart!
I reached into my pocket, but pretended to be surprised and said that I didn't have any money with me. I asked if he would give me the books so I could study them and that I would bring the money the next Sunday. I told him that if I wanted to learn, I would keep them, but that I would return the books if I didn't want to learn. He said, “Not a problem” without any hesitation.
In such a mercenary society, he gave his most treasured books to a stranger. He must have reached a high realm. So I decided to study the books.
At home, I looked at Zhuan Falun closely. I was curious about the Falun. When I saw Master's photo, I felt close to him. I had a sacred feeling when I saw the lotus flower on the back page. I read the book through and roughly knew where a human being came from, the relationship between gain and loss, the transformation of karma, the cause of happiness and hardships, and the reason for illnesses. I corrected some of my bad habits and started to cultivate my speech.
However, I was unable to have a clear and clean mind. I had a shallow understanding of the heavenly circuit and could not understand “enlightenment” well. In Zhuan Falun (Volume II) were descriptions of human behaviors in the Dharma-ending period. I thought about how filthy this world is, and I thought about cultivation. When I read “Be Steadfast” in Zhuan Falun (Volume II) , I was determined that I would cultivate to completion, although I had never seen Master in person.
I came to understand the principle of “no loss no gain” and realized that I was laughable for testing the elderly man in the instruction center with my own mindset. I decided to pay him the following weekend.
He was there when I arrived. He said, “Young man, you look different. You look optimistic.” I gave him the money with sincere respect. I spent half a day there learning the exercise movements and shared experiences with him. Finally he said that I had a predestined relationship with Dafa and encouraged me to cultivate seriously. I bought exercise pictures and music cassettes as well.
So I started my cultivation and walked on the path of returning to my true self.
"Oh how many the years, looking for the master, Finally the day has arrived to meet him. Cultivate and return, the Fa now gained, And follow your master to return, consummated. (“Destined Return for the Holy Fruition,” Hong Yin)
This poem best describes my heart at that time.
When the CCP started to persecute Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, the TV programs kept broadcasting snapshots of books being destroyed by mixers or burned. The CCP didn't dare let people read the book, because it tells people the truth and describes the highest standard of human behavior and the principles for being a good person.
The CCP was born to harm people and destroy humankind. It is a heinous evil demon. It knew when it started the persecution that if people discovered what the book was about, they would not be deluded. So it aggressively destroyed Falun Dafa books so that people could not find out the truth about Falun Dafa. It would drag people who didn't know the truth down with it.
I sincerely hope that people will no longer listen to the CCP's propaganda and think for themselves about the three words “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” I hope they will calmly listen to the facts that Dafa practitioners tell them and read carefully the materials that Dafa practitioners give them. I hope that they will compare this with what the CCP has done to the Chinese people in the past decades. I believe they will then make the right choice for themselves.
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