(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master and fellow practitioners!
My family is in the business of renovating residential homes. When the real estate market peaked in China, we did very well and our business took off. There are all kinds of shady dealings in this industry: cutting corners, quality issues, making money out of rebates from buying materials and so on. As a practitioner, I know I must be strict in conducting myself according to the principles of the teachings. I always do things properly, pay attention to quality and every detail, and try my best to be considerate of my customers.
In the beginning, I did not do the right thing because my cultivation was not solid. I accepted a rebate after buying materials for a customer. When I got home, the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I felt. Wasn’t this an attachment to gain? I should hold myself to higher standards since I am a Dafa practitioner. I returned the rebate the next day. The supplier was so moved, she hugged me, saying: “There are still good people like you in the world today!” I took the opportunity to tell her about Dafa and she accepted the truth.
I stopped buying materials for customers to avoid such troubles. When customers insisted that I buy the materials, I never accepted the rebates. The things I bought were good quality but not overpriced. The customers were very happy.
One time, my husband and I renovated a woman’s house. She praised our work and referred us to her sister, who was also renovating her place. When we went to her sister’s house, her husband was there. He was a police officer and haggled with us. He pushed the price so low that it was less than the pay of a tradesman. I took on the job because I felt he had a predestined relationship and should be saved.
But I hesitated to clarify the truth since he was a police officer. While painting the house, I explained the facts to his wife. She quit the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) and its affiliated organizations. I never saw her husband. I deeply regretted not clarifying the truth to him. If he knew the truth, not only would he be saved, it would also lessen the persecution of other practitioners. I looked inward and found selfish thoughts such as fear of arrest and losing face. I sent righteous thoughts to eliminate these attachments and said, “Master, I really want to save this man.”
An amazing thing happened. Several days later, the client phoned and said there were cracks in the ceiling and one wall had bulged. Being in business for so many years, I always paid attention to doing high quality work. This had never happened before. As soon as I stepped inside, I noticed her husband was home.
I cheerily chatted with him as I worked. I began to explain what Falun Dafa is, how it's practiced in many countries worldwide, how the various political campaigns launched by the CCP killed millions of people, etc.
The police officer renounced his party membership after our conversation.
Master said in Zhuan Falun, “Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while transforming gong is done by one's master.” When I have the heart to save people, Master creates opportunities. I am extremely grateful to Master for his compassionate arrangement.
The policeman’s wife is a teacher. The principal at her school was renovating her house and she recommended me for the job. The principal had many valuable things at home. She trusted me and never scrutinized my work. She also asked me to find a cleaner after the place was renovated, instructing me to put things back in their original place. I did as requested and when the keys were handed over, she was very pleased with our work.
The woman’s son was getting married, and she asked me to renovate the newlyweds' home. I clarified the truth further to the police officer and got his son, who recently graduated from the police academy, and his wife to quit the CCP. I told them the principle of good is rewarded with good and vice versa, as well as incidents where high ranking officials lost their positions because of their involvement in persecuting practitioners. I also asked them not to help the CCP persecute practitioners so that they will have a bright future.
Often, customers would introduce us to their friends and relatives, neighbors, and coworkers because we are honest, our fees are low and we do a good job. I was able to clarify the truth to these people while renovating their homes.
I noticed that one homeowner had many Buddha statues. I told the couple about Falun Dafa and the wife agreed to quit the CCP, but not the husband. After we put wallpaper on the wall behind the TV, the man said it did not look good. I realized that he wanted us to redo it but did not want to pay for it. I said, “If you don’t like it, we can redo the wall and I won’t charge for it.” He happily bought new wallpaper. I took down the old paper and put up the new one. In the process, I kept clarifying the truth to him. He still refused to quit the CCP. I was not discouraged and continued cheerfully working.
The man had many wall cabinets and he wanted me to paste paper inside of them. I said this was not part of the renovation. That afternoon, I had planned to go out and clarify the truth to people after finishing the job. But I changed my plans because he hadn't been saved yet. I offered to paste the paper inside the cabinets. He was overjoyed. It was a tough job. I squeezed into the tiny space between the shelves of the cabinet and applied paper all afternoon. While I worked, I explained the facts about the persecution. I felt that I had said everything I could, but in the end he said, “I will think about this later.”
I finished the job at his place with regrets. He asked me to give him a bit more time to pay, as he was strapped for cash. I agreed because Master said,
“Also, with those people that you run into by chance, who you run into in daily life, and the people you run into at work, you should all clarify the truth to them. Even when in your daily life you pass by people so quickly that you don't have a chance to talk to them, you should still leave them with your compassion and kindness. Don't lose those who should be saved, especially those with predestined connections.” (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference)
One day, that man phoned my husband and said the cable hadn't been connected properly. To fix the problem, he cut through the wall and he asked how to re-plaster it. My husband told him what to do, but did not offer to help. I said I would go and help him fix it because he should be saved.
I went to his place after work and helped him repair the wall. It took me over two hours. In the meantime, his relative came to visit and I clarified the truth to him. His relative agreed to quit the CCP. Before leaving, I said to him kindly, “Why don’t you quit the CCP? I'm asking this for your benefit. You won't be held accountable when the CCP has to pay for its crimes.” He happily replied, “All right, please help me renounce my Party membership.” I thanked Master that he was finally saved.
Clarifying the Truth to Guests at My Daughter’s Wedding
My daughter’s wedding was postponed to August 8 due to the CCP virus (coronavirus) lockdown. According to village customs, the man and woman host separate banquets. I read an article on the Minghui website in which the practitioner shared her experience of clarifying the truth to guests at her child’s wedding. I was inspired.
But I did not have strong righteous thoughts. I then recalled that it was not a coincidence that my daughter got married during this pandemic. Isn’t that a sign I should tell people about how wonderful Dafa is and save them? I told other practitioners my plan and they said they would come and help by sending righteous thoughts. This boosted my confidence. My husband, son, daughter, and parents all expressed their support.
By the end of July, my mother and husband’s parents told me about orders from above that no wedding ceremonies could be held after August 1. I knew the old forces were interfering with my saving people. I asked Master for help and I continued preparing for the banquet, ordering the best food and sufficient quantities to treat the guests sumptuously.
Distant relatives whom we had not met in 20, 30 years said they would come. But they later said they couldn’t come. I asked Master to let them come so that I could save them. In the end all of them were present that day.
On August 8, my daughter’s wedding ceremony went on as scheduled. I played songs composed by practitioners and the atmosphere was peaceful and joyous. I wasn't nervous when I went on stage to speak. After making polite remarks, I recited Master’s poem “Talking of Karmic Bonds”:
“In the vast sea of people, it’s hard to meetA smile encountered by chance is from a karmic bondQuiet down your mind and hear the truthYou’ve waited millennia for these wordsThe saving Dafa is spreading in the worldEach word of the heavenly secrets is true” (Hong Yin III)
I said, “Dear friends and relatives, this year has been extraordinary. Although the pandemic broke out globally, there is a way to avoid danger. That is to sincerely remember and say, 'Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance is good.' I hope everyone keeps safe.”
My nephew ran up to me and said, “Aunt, your voice is a bit too soft and those at the back cannot hear you.” I repeated my words again more loudly. Somehow the speaker kept playing what I said. Practitioners also sang a song composed by Dafa disciples. The guests said that it was a lovely song.
My neighbors gave me a thumbs up when I got off the stage. My husband said, “You don’t have to do anything today. Just tell people about Dafa.” I helped people quit the CCP while mingling with the guests. The next day, my sister-in-law said, “I didn’t know you were so eloquent.” My son said, “Mom may not be highly educated but her speech was good.” I smiled and answered: “I’m just a village woman. I am not good with words but Dafa has given me wisdom.”
Letting Go of Fear, Cooperating Well with Other Practitioners
I try to do the three things well. This includes cooperating with practitioners in saving people. One year, we made truth-clarification calendars at my house. Two practitioners printed the calendar and the third person bound them. I started to grumble when practitioners did not clean up after the materials were printed. When I went to look for them to help, I realized that I locked the door but left the key inside.
As a practitioner, nothing happens by chance. I quickly looked inward and found my impatience and attachment to self. When practitioners chatted while they worked, I told them to keep quiet and even ordered them around. I thought it was my right—I was in charge since it was my house. How arrogant I was! I said, “Master, I am wrong. I must change.”
The third year, we went to another practitioner’s house to print calendars. The coordinator asked three practitioners to print the artwork at their homes and then take it to another place to bind them. However, practitioner Annie did not listen and brought two printers to the place, printing and binding the materials at the same venue. The next day, practitioner May told me, “There was a large scale arrest. The coordinator’s phone was tapped and he was arrested. Annie did not come back to print the artwork and one printer is not working. We already bought paper and other materials, we should not waste resources. We have to keep going.” I agreed to help her out.
I was nervous because the coordinator had sent me 10 boxes of paper the day before. I thought, “He was followed for many days before his arrest—did the police discover my house and the place where we finished the calendars? I better move the paper quickly.” I stopped myself from thinking along these lines and I sent righteous thoughts, “This paper is magical. Every piece is a sword that can eliminate the evil. They must not be moved. I must get rid of my fear!” I sent righteous thoughts continuously and asked Master for protection.
I went to the place where the calendars were made. When I walked in, May and her son were repairing the printer. I was so moved I wept. She did not stop in spite of the recent, large scale arrests. She is remarkable. I was determined to cooperate with her. We thought of moving to another place because we didn’t know if the police had found that location. But, since there was so much equipment and supplies, it would draw attention if we tried to move everything. We decided to leave everything to Master and stay put.
At group Fa study, Annie said that the location had a bad energy field. My third eye is not open—but I was moved by the terrifying atmosphere of the arrests. When I went to the place at night to make the calendars, it was rather scary, especially when the room was dark. I turned on the light and saw Master’s portrait. I immediately felt much better. I knew we are doing the most righteous thing in the world and everything would be fine.
I sent righteous thoughts or recited the Fa as I made the calendars. I asked another practitioner to help me because there was a huge demand for the calendars, as practitioners were giving them out to people during the day. The practitioner left early and my fear came out again as I saw it was pitch dark outside. I realized I shouldn’t rely on others. It was time to improve my xinxing and temper myself in this environment. I sent righteous thoughts non-stop. She returned after 8 p.m.
We heard the police siren wailing as we sat down to send righteous thoughts. It seemed to stop downstairs. I got nervous and wanted to see if there was a police car outside the building. I negated this thought and stayed put. Master said in the article “To Vietnamese Students”: “Steadfast cultivators, when the heart does not move, ten thousand moves are subdued.” Neither of us moved and we continued sending righteous thoughts. I suddenly realized the lights were still on and thought I should turn them off. Again, I did not act on it. I must not move. If I moved it meant that I acknowledged this persecution. Nothing happened that night. With Master’s blessings, both of us passed the test.
When I reflected on my shortcomings after the incident, I discovered attachments such as egotism, resentment, and fear. I know I’m far from meeting the requirements of Dafa. This was a good opportunity for me to cooperate well with other practitioners and progress in cultivation together.
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