(Minghui.org) A call for submissions to commemorate World Falun Dafa Day 2019 was recently published on the Minghui website. In the notice, the editors stated that in a society with degenerated moral values, “it is our responsibility to share Dafa's wonderfulness with people so that they can understand the truth, break free from the CCP's lies, and be blessed by Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” (Notice: Call for Submisions to Commemorate World Falun Dafa Day 2019)
I agree with the sentiments expressed by the Minghui editors, as during the past 25 years of practicing Falun Dafa, I have heard and read many outstanding stories. These stories not only appeal to practitioners, but also to everyday people. Some of the readers saw hope in the articles and later became practitioners.
Two of my three stories are from the time before the onset of the persecution in July 1999, and one after the communist regime launched the persecution.
One Village and Four Speakers
We traveled to nearby regions in 1995 to tell more people about Falun Dafa. Several young practitioners and I traveled dozens of miles, carrying a television set, to a rural village. As soon as we entered the village, we saw four large speakers pointing in four directions, attached to a tall wooden pole.
“This is really impressive!” said one practitioner, “With these big speakers hanging so high, I bet everyone, far and wide, can hear everything loud and clear.”
We found the village head's home and met his wife. The village head was in bed with a cold. We told him stories about Dafa that we had experienced, witnessed, or heard, including some from people who had recovered from incurable diseases, some who were hardworking and selfless, and others who became so nice that they treated their parents-in-law just like their own parents, after they practiced Falun Dafa.
Interested and excited, he sat up to listen to us. He broke into a big smile when he heard that practitioners in Guan County, Shandong Province, had turned in their tax grain without being asked, and the grain was of such premium quality that inspection was waived.
He said, “If residents in our village practiced Falun Dafa, I would no longer have to collect the tax or road repair expenses door-to-door.”
He approved our plan to play the video lectures and teach Falun Dafa free of charge without hesitating. When we told him we had brought along a television set and asked if he could notify the residents about our lecture, he leaned forward and pressed a button next to his bed and said,
“Hey, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, may I have your attention please? Falun Dafa is here and we will have a free lecture at the village building this evening. Everyone is welcome and please remember to bring a stool with you. Falun Dafa is so good and popular. You don't want to miss it!”
We were confused for just a minute. Then, we heard his voice – loud and clear. We realized that he had installed a microphone next to his bed, so that he could make announcements through the speakers at any time.
Many people showed up that evening. As the village building could not accommodate everyone, we played the video lecture in the yard area.
Over the next nine days, we played all the video lectures, one each day. Then, on Sunday, the 10th day, we had an experience-sharing conference. Dozens of practitioners came and shared their stories, including recovering from fatal illnesses, taking care of the elderly for years with no complaint, working diligently at the workplace without pursuing fame or money, broken families becoming harmonious, and many more.
The open field was large and there were many people. Some passed by on bikes and stopped to listen, and some parents walked back and forth holding their babies while listening. The giant speakers were now hung on several trees, and everyone could hear clearly, even from far away. The residents were touched by our stories and quite a few of them were in tears. Many years later, when local practitioners recalled how they began to practice Dafa after hearing fellow practitioners' experiences that day, they had tears in their eyes.
We brought the video lectures and experience-sharing to many more places. Practice sites were established everywhere. Falun Dafa, along with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, reached more and more people.
One town not far from us, had only fewer than 20 practitioners in 1996. By late 1997, based on copies of Master's lectures we printed and distributed, there were at least 40,000 practitioners.
Dealing With Cultivation Tribulation
We once had an experience-sharing conference in our region. Many articles were submitted and practitioners talked about their improvements after they began to cultivate. Meanwhile, I also noticed that some articles included very few details.
A practitioner named Wenhua talked about her xinxing improvement while taking care of her mother-in-law, who had been paralyzed and experienced memory loss. In the article, Wenhua said that none of the woman's children wanted to live with her because taking care of her was dirty, laborious work, and listening to her complaints was not pleasant. Before she practiced Falun Dafa, Wenhua did not consider helping her mother-in-law. But once she started following the Dafa principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be a better person, she began taking care of her mother-in-law.
Since her article was short and concise, I chatted with Wenhua to get more details. She told me that there was an evening Fa-study group near her home, but she was always late. When other practitioners asked why, Wenhua said that her mother-in-law found ways to stop her from going to Fa-study, and her husband just wanted to watch television. She even regretted that she—instead of her husband's siblings—offered to take care of her mother-in-law. Practitioners discussed that and reminded her to be patient and compassionate. They also reserved a spot near the entrance for Wenhua when she arrived late for the Fa-study.
Every day, Wenhua took care of her mother-in-law. She cooked dinner, fed her, dressed her, and changed the bed sheets. Just as Wenhua picked up her mat ready to go out for Fa-study, her mother-in-law would stop her, and claimed that she needed to use the restroom.
“By then, I wanted to cry,” she recalled, “because I was so eager to go to the Fa-study. Nonetheless, I had no choice but to take care of her. When I saw her satisfied and smirking at the success of her trick, I immediately became furious. Then, a giant Chinese character for 'Forbearance' appeared in the corner of my eye. I thus tried my best to control myself, clean her, and hurry to Fa-study.
This continued, so Wenhua reminded herself to be compassionate. But the xinxing test did not stop there. Although her mother-in-law praised her when they were alone, she complained a lot in front of others. One time a group of people came to visit from the neighborhood committee. Her mother-in-law acted out and claimed that Wenhua mistreated her, did not give her food, and so on. Upon hearing that, Wenhua was very upset and thought about quitting. But while studying the Fa in the evening, she gained new understandings and remembered the tenants of a practitioner.
Wenhua's mother-in-law's daughter heard about this and comforted Wenhua, “We all know what happened. Please don’t be upset about that. You are the best daughter-in-law in the world.”
Several months passed and Wenhua calmed down. She did not complain and treated her mother-in-law as if she were her own mother. The mother-in-law also changed and enjoyed talking with her.
Wenhua and some of the other practitioners rewrote their stories, and the experience-sharing conference went very well.
Many people were eager to study Zhuan Falun, including my uncle. My mother and I had introduced Dafa to my uncle some time ago, but he always shook his head, saying he was too busy with his job.
To their surprise he said, “After hearing that so many people improved their moral character because of Falun Dafa, such as Wenhua and others, I am so touched and I want to cultivate too.” My uncle and his entire family became practitioners.
Importance of Sharing Understandings
The persecution against Falun Dafa started in July 1999. During those days, practitioners traveled from everywhere to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Dafa, They did the exercises and unfolded banners at Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
I lived with my uncle and aunt at that time. They could not find me at one time, and asked my cousin to look for me. My cousin visited Ms. Yang, a practitioner. Ms. Yang invited her to a discussion by practitioners including some from Changchun, Master's hometown.
My cousin told me that she was very impressed by the sharing. She told me one of the stories, “One of the practitioners walked all the way to Beijing, because he lacked the money for a train ride. Whenever he was hungry, he found food on the roadside. When it was about to rain, the wind blew a large piece of plastic towards him. When he was tired and wanted to take a rest, he aways found trees and shade.”
She continued, “I am not a practitioner. But after hearing these stories, even I want to go to Beijing and tell people that the propaganda against Falun Dafa is all lies.”
I told her that most of the practitioners went to Beijing that day after hearing those stories. Some left without going home. I was at another practice site that day where I heard similar sharing, and went to Beijing as well late that day. According to an officer from the 610 Office, more than 400 practitioners from this city went to Beijing that evening.
This is what was said in the Minghui Editorial’s call for submissions, “These experiences, no matter how trivial we think they are, bear witness to the process of lives' elevation and can help validate Dafa's purity and selflessness and attest to the goodness of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” (Minghui Editorial)
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