(Minghui.org)
Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I live in the countryside and I have practiced Falun Dafa for 22 years. I am a home improvement contractor in my late 50s and always try to be a good person following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. For example, I always try to help my clients get the best results for the least cost.
Having benefited from Dafa physically and spiritually, I took many opportunities to share the goodness of the practice with people. Because of the ongoing persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), I also disproved the regime’s defamatory propaganda about Dafa so that people would quit the CCP for a better future. Whenever I had time, I distributed truth-clarification materials, put up posters and flyers, and hung up banners.
The Cold Cannot Stop Me
Master said,
“For a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, personal liberation is not the goal of cultivation: when you came, saving sentient beings was your great aspiration, and that is the responsibility and mission history has bestowed upon you in Fa-rectification. Thus great numbers of beings are to be saved by you.” (“Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World’s People,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress III)
I had a better understanding of this after the pandemic started. After other practitioners made Dafa materials, I would take some (often between 100 and 300 copies) home. After stapling, binding, and packaging them, I would go out with my wife and distribute them.
It is very cold on winter days in northeast China. Cold to the bone, my mouth and nose frozen, and my fingertips hurting like they’d been bitten, every now and then I would wonder if I should continue or stop distributing materials. But recalling how much I have benefited from Falun Dafa, how Master had helped me, and how many people could be blessed like me, I often continued as usual.
A Neighbor Finally Listens
After the Chinese New Year was over, my son, daughter-in-law, and wife went back to the city to work while I stayed in our hometown. Every morning, I did the exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts before studying one lecture of Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Dafa. Since there was little home improvement contract work in the winter here, I would then go to the local market to distribute materials.
Many interesting things happened as I distributed materials. After placing some materials in a bike basket at a market and then walking on, I looked back and saw a man named Yong from my village heading toward the bike. He picked up what was in the basket, looked at it, and put it back. I later told my wife about it.
A few days later, my wife went to visit Yong’s family. She saw one of the brochures and asked Yong’s wife, Yan, about it.
“Yong got it from the market and I think it’s really good,” Yan said. “In the past, my husband always had a dull look about him. Since he’d read these things, he’s become happier and treats me well.”
My wife and I are happy for the couple.
A Miracle about Money
Last January, I went to the market with nearly 40 pamphlets and some cards with a QR code linking to information about the Falun Dafa and the persecution. Since there were not many people at the market, I decided to focus on talking to people and giving them the pamphlets.
After handing out all of the pamphlets, I decided to buy some food before going home. But I felt no money in my winter coat pocket, where I had also kept the QR code cards. I was positive that I’d had 400 yuan in cash in that pocket. Could it be that the money had slipped out when I’d handed out the cards to people earlier? Knowing that the main reason I was there was to clarify the truth, I decided not to worry about the money.
At that time, I also recalled Master’s words,
“Even if the sky were to fall, a cultivator's righteous thoughts would stay unshaken--that is cultivation, and that is remarkable. A cultivator is not attached to anything in this world.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. VI)
I continued to hand out the cards with QR codes when I suddenly saw the 400 yuan between two of the code cards! I was certain the money wasn’t there before because I had checked my pocket and rummaged through the cards several times. It was such a miracle! I was very thankful to Master for the help. After all, 400 yuan is not a small sum for a countryside villager.
The night of the Lantern Festival, two weeks after the Chinese New Year, I rode my bike 25 kilometers (about 16 miles) round trip to hang up banners that read, “Falun Dafa Is Good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Is Good.” Under the full moon, the banners on the trees looked beautiful. Riding up and down the mountain road, my breath became white frost in the cold. But I did not feel cold, because what I was doing was very important.
Being Considerate of Others
Someone once referred me to a client who lived far away. The client, a woman in her 40s named Shan, lived in the city but had come back to her rural hometown to help her mother renovate the family home. She planned to repair some parts of the house on her own with concrete, but she wasn’t strong enough to do the job. She said her son couldn’t help either.
Although I did not come to make repairs and would not get paid for doing that, I decided to help her because I am a Dafa practitioner. She was very moved and thanked me. Since she had lower back pain, I told her to keep in mind the phrases “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” which would help her in the long run. She agreed.
As we continued to talk, I explained how the CCP had harmed innocent people during its political campaigns. She decided to quit the Party’s Youth League that she had joined when she was young. Her mother and her son, who were also there at the time, agreed to do the same.
The Importance of Perseverance
On a bus into the city, I ran into Dong, whom I’d worked with about 20 years before. We chatted for a while, and I thought of telling him about Falun Dafa. He said he’d be getting off the bus at the final stop. Even though that was not my stop, I decided to ride with him all the way so I had more time to talk to him.
After getting caught up on how our lives were going, I told him that I’d chosen to stay on the bus to chat with him. When I asked if he would like to quit the CCP, he smiled and said, “You have stayed on the bus for a long time just for me. Of course I will quit the Party organizations!”
There were also people who refused to listen to me explain the facts. One example was Fu, who lives in my village. Over the past few years, I talked with him many times about Falun Dafa and quitting the CCP, and my wife did, too. But he never agreed.
My wife ran into him again last winter and still couldn’t persuade him to quit the CCP. She told me about it, and I wondered if it was because Fu had been a soldier and seriously indoctrinated by the CCP. I also said it could also be because my wife and I hadn’t had enough compassion to remove the CCP toxin in his heart. My wife wondered if Fu belonged to the group of people who were just unsavable. But I did not want to give up.
In January this year, I went out on a motorcycle to buy seed corn. On my way back, I saw someone walking on the road with a heavy bag. It turned out to be Fu, who had also just purchased seed. I offered him a ride and he thanked me.
It was only a few minutes more to get to Fu’s home, so I slowed down on purpose to allow myself more time to talk to him. I again urged him to quit the CCP and I asked Master for help. At that moment, I felt immersed in compassion.
“Look at how much seed you’ve purchased. You must expect a big crop,” I said.
He said that was true, adding that we villagers do not have many other options to earn a living anyway.
“Yes,” I said, “life goes on no matter what. Look at the people around us—some cannot do physical labor even if they want to. We need good health and to be safe, right?”
He agreed.
I then told him that Falun Dafa practitioners like myself and my wife just want people to enjoy good health and be safe and that we were not seeking anything in return when we urged him to quit the CCP.
“I have known you for a long time. I am very worried about you and other villagers,” I said.
He was touched. “Yes, every time you and your wife see me, you often bring this up,” he said. “I hear you and I’ll quit the CCP today.”
I was happy for him. When we got near where I lived, he asked me to drop off him right there. I said I’d drive him all the way to his home. He thanked me again and again. At his home, he got off the motorcycle, stood up straight like a soldier, and kept nodding his head, saying, “Thank you!” He said he would when I reminded him to keep in mind “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
Three Visitors
This March, the local authorities intensified the zero-out campaign aimed to force every Falun Dafa practitioner on the government’s blacklist to renounce their faith. I was targeted, too.
I was at home working on an 85-year-old practitioner’s article that she wanted to submit to Minghui for World Falun Dafa Day when I heard someone knocking on the window.
I looked out and saw a village official and two young men I did not know. I let them in since I knew the official well. At that time, I didn’t know their visit was part of the “Zero-Out” campaign.
The official saw my Falun Dafa books, pens, and dictionary on the desk and asked if I was studying. He said their superiors had ordered them to see if practitioners were still at home. It then dawned on me that they were there for the zero-out campaign.
Picking up my draft on the table, the official read, “I am 85 now...” “What is this?” he asked.
I said it was the experience sharing of an 85-year-old practitioner whose health and character had improved from the practice of Falun Dafa. Since the two young men accompanying the official were just assigned to work in my village, I decided I’d take this opportunity to clarify the truth to them. So I then began to read the paper to them.
After five or six minutes, the official stopped me. “Very well written,” he said. “We just wanted to visit you. Nothing else.”
“Well, you know best,” I said. I explained I used to have many health problems and could hardly work, and my family was very poor. Now, because of practicing Falun Dafa, I had not seen a doctor or taken any medication for more than 20 years.
“Yes, your house is neat and well organized,” one young man said. I told him it was Falun Dafa that gave me good health so I could work. “In fact, we are following the principles of Falun Dafa to be better citizens that are considerate of others.”
When the man offered me a cigarette, I explained I had not smoked since becoming a practitioner. “In fact, Falun Dafa teaches one to improve their character while eliminating bad habits such as smoking and drinking.”
“I see. It seems I need to learn Falun Dafa, too,” the young man said. “Then I wouldn’t need to worry about smoking.”
“Sir, I have read Zhuan Falun. What you said is true,” the other young man added.
“Look, both of you are young and have great potential,” I said. “Please think about the long term and do not persecute Falun Dafa. We Chinese know ‘good is rewarded with good’ and ‘evil incurs evil.’”
“We have not gotten involved in the persecution,” one of them said.
“It is just our job since the township head asked us to visit practitioners,” chimed in the other.
“I knew you were smart,” I continued. “See, your parents raised you and paid for your college, hoping you would have a great future.” I explained that I was also a parent who supported his son to finish college and I knew all too well what parents want for their children.
I continued, “We all know anyone who hopes for a safe and happy future will not participate in the persecution. Please keep in mind ‘Falun Dafa is good, ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’”
“Yes, Sir!” both of them responded at the same time.
“You know, we planned to come here to convince you to give up your belief,” one of them said. “We did not know you would persuade us.”
“I just told you the facts,” I replied, “because I care about you just as if you were my own children.”
The village official then said that they were ready to leave. I asked them to tell the township head that Falun Dafa practitioners are kind, innocent people who deserve respect instead of harassment. All three of them nodded.
Later on, I heard the township head did ask the three of them about the visit and me. “He [referring to me] is a great practitioner!” one of them replied.
Above are some of my experiences. I know there is a long way to go before I fully assimilate to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I will do my best and help save more people.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
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