(Minghui.org) As a hair stylist, knowing what to say during the awkward interval when you actually cut hair is a job skill. Some people talk about sports or weather, but I typically use this opportunity to tell them the true story of Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa).
Since the Communist Party decided to begin an extermination campaign against the spiritual practice sixteen years ago, many people are curious about Falun Gong and why it would be persecuted. Through my daily chats with customers, many of them have realized how wonderful the practice truly is. Many of them, appalled by the Communist Party's brutal treatment of innocent practitioners, have quit the Party and its affiliates.
An old man came in one day during a busy hour. He looked thin and pale, and made for quite a ghastly figure. When he sat down to wait his turn, I chatted him up and asked about his health.
He lamented that there was only one way to get his health back, and that this method was out of his reach. I asked him what it was.
“I have to read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party,” he said.
I asked him why.
“In my village, a retired officer got a hold of this book. All his diseases were gone after he read it,” replied the old man.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yes!” he said. “However, the officer had cherished the book so much and he was kind of selfish. I tried to borrow it, but he refused. He told me to wait on a certain street, because there would be someone who hands the books out for free. But even if I followed what he said, who knows for how long I'd have to wait.”
I was happy to hear that people got to know the true colors of the Communist Party after reading the book, and that the retired officer had been blessed after he understood the truth behind the persecution of Falun Gong.
I took this chance to clarify the truth to the old man, and promised to give him a copy of Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.
Another morning, a family of three came to my salon. The husband wanted to get his face cleaned. While he was getting that done, the wife turned to me with a smile on her face.
“I remember you,” she said. “You've left such a deep impression on me.”
At first, I couldn't remember her.
She helpfully explained, “It was six or seven years ago, and the darkest period of my life. My child had just been born, and my husband fought with me almost every day.”
“One day, I had parked my bike outside your house. You came over and asked me if I knew the truth about Falun Gong. I was angry and tried to push you away, but you didn't get angry at me. Instead, you calmly asked if I could tell you why I was unhappy,” she continued.
“I was very moved; I couldn't understand how you could have such a soft temper. And the more you talked to me, the better I felt. That day, I remembered that 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance' is good.”
“I don't know why, but since then my world has seemed brighter,” she said. “I never got angry. Gradually my husband treated me better, and my son became calmer as well.”
“You've spoken with my husband before, and he's told me everything you told him about the persecution and Falun Gong. We read the materials you gave to us and watched the videos too. We believe what you said. I am infinitely grateful for your help and enlightenment.”
Though I couldn't remember all her words, this story wasn't new to me. From her happiness, I was able to truly feel the power of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance once again.
One cloudy day, I came back home to see a person sitting in front of my shop with her head down.
After I got closer, I found that she was my customer and wanted to get her hair done. But she looked unusually sad. I invited her to come in and talk.
It turns out that since a young age, she had been working out of town. While there, she met a fellow, whom she later would marry. But the marriage didn't work out – he divorced her and took their daughter with him. She had to come back to her hometown.
She found a second husband after she was forty, and they wanted a baby very much. However, their baby girl was born two months before her due date and was still in NICU at the time of our conversation. The doctor warned her that even if the baby survived, it wouldn't be as healthy as other children.
On top of that, her mother-in-law had wanted a boy and told her to give up the baby for adoption. She was desperate, and asked what she should do.
I have clarified the truth about Falun Gong to her and she has also quit the Communist Party. I asked her if she would believe me.
She replied without hesitation, “Of course!”
Then I told to sincerely recite “Falun Gong is good and Zhan-Shan-Ren is good,” and that miracles would happen if she did.
She not only recited the verse herself, but also asked her husband to recite it as well.
A few days later, her husband came to my shop to get a haircut, and I clarified the truth to him too.
When her baby girl was one month old, she came to thank me with her baby.
“It really worked! My baby is almost fully recovered,” she said.
I told her to continue reciting the verse, and things will keep getting better.
One year later, she saw me again while with her baby.
“See my baby? No body can tell that she was premature. She is no different from other kids, healthy and pretty!” she said happily.