(Minghui.org) I was very fortunate to be introduced to Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) not long before the persecution started in July 1999. However, I was young, and just like many others my age in ordinary society, I was very cynical and was only interested in dating. Sometimes I didn’t even come home at night. Even though I knew Falun Dafa was great, and that it was something that one might not come across during many lifetimes, I felt that Dafa’s requirements were too high for me to follow. So I didn’t formally begin cultivating until several months after the start of the persecution.
When I saw the false news about Dafa overwhelmingly broadcast over and over again on TV, my heart was deeply hurt. It was because I had witnessed so many positive changes in people after they started to practice Dafa. For example, I also had read in the book Zhuan Falun, “For practitioners, we have set the strict requirement that they cannot kill lives.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
Before my mother practiced Falun Dafa, she would often kill chickens, ducks, and fish for special meals during the holidays. But she stopped killing anything after she began practicing Dafa. I also noticed that gradually my mother stopped arguing with my dad. She told me that Dafa required that practitioners, “… to not fight back when you are beaten or sworn at …” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
Wow, she had realized that she should not argue with my dad. I was so surprised and happy, because they had been fighting for over 20 years, and kept fighting no matter how our families and friends tried to mediate between them. But this all changed after my mother practiced Falun Dafa, and our family became harmonious. Those were the happiest times in my family, and we were so thankful to Dafa.
I also knew another practitioner, a young man, who would fix other people’s electronics for free. Once he fixed them, he would deliver them to your door. He was very polite and humble, and everyone praised him in our neighborhood.
There was another person who used to be part of a group of thugs. He didn’t have a job, and often fought with others. As a result, he was frequently jailed. But, after he began practicing Dafa, he changed completely. He found a regular job, and became an honest and reliable person. Even his appearance changed. He no longer looked so fierce, but became very gentle. He told the people that he used to hang out with, “I practice Falun Dafa now, and I must be a good person. I can no longer be involved in criminal activities.”
There are many more such examples of people who changed after they began to practice Falun Dafa. They all just wanted to become a better person and follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I really saw their magnificent changes after they practiced Dafa and improved their xinxing. I felt that Dafa was so great and it truly created a pure land in the human world.
However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was determined to eliminate such a good practice. Seeing all the slander and lies on TV, I was so hurt. I could not stand the injustice Falun Dafa suffered, and I wanted to say something fair for Dafa.
It was probably because of this righteous thought, I was helped by a positive force in another dimension. I finally decided to end the shameful cohabitation I was involved with, and then I formally began to practice Falun Dafa.
After I began to clarify the truth about the persecution, I was included on the police's wanted list. I was forced to leave home, and traveled all over the place. But, even during the most difficult times, I still kept Master Li’s teachings in mind and firmly resisted all the temptations happening in ordinary society.
I eventually was able to settle down and find a stable job. At work I tried to strictly follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. For example, when selling food, I always put myself in the shoes of the customers and looked at things from their perspective. I also tried not to waste anything, and saved as much as I could for the company owner’s benefit.
Sometimes there were products that had passed their expiration dates, and I did not want to sell those. I talked with the owner about it. I pointed out the negative consequences of selling them, and made a reasonable suggestion to him about what to do. But he didn’t agree with me. I felt a bit helpless and thought, “Whatever. It wasn’t me who wanted to sell them.” However, after I sold something that was expired to a regular customer, he never came back again. I knew I was wrong, and I really regretted it.
As a Dafa practitioner, I could not do bad deeds like this. So I decided to buy all the expired food myself. That month I ended up spending over 100 yuan on expired food. I thought, “I will just look at it as if I had donated the money for some good purposes.” Thus, I was at ease. However, when I got my salary that month, I found that I did not end up losing that money. It was miraculous. I realized that it must be encouragement from Master, telling me that I did the right thing.
When I was arrested for clarifying the facts, I talked with the police about Dafa and the persecution in the police station. I told them how great Falun Dafa is and about my experience at work, and how I followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. They were very moved and said, “You are such a good person!” I told them that it was Dafa that changed me. The police understood, and released me.
Master told us,
“I also want to tell you that your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others—or even future generations—along with Dafa’s eternal stability.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature”, Essentials for Further Advancement)
The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners has been going on for 20 years. On this path of clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings, whenever I encountered conflicts or unfair treatment, I would always remember Master’s teaching. I would ask myself, “Am I truly and wholeheartedly being good to others? Is there anything I could do better? How can I do better in the future?”
I have been practicing Dafa for over a decade, and I still have quite some distance to go in comparison to those practitioners who are very diligent. I feel that sometimes I am not diligent enough. I still have some bad human notions, and attachments that I need to eliminate. However, Dafa has pointed me towards a bright path and I will strive forward toward the light of heaven. I hope that all people will understand Dafa, and come to see the facts about the persecution.