(Minghui.org) A few days ago in a park, I talked with a retired woman from out of town. She told me about her life experience and her current troubles, hoping to get some sympathy. While listening and trying to comfort her, I brought up the topic of Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa). I told her about the Tiananmen Square self-immolation hoax, Falun Gong’s widespread popularity around the world, and about reciting “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good.”
When I talked about the movement of quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), she stopped me: “Someone told me about this in my hometown. I told that person to go away.”
“Why? What happened?” I asked. Below was what she told me.
One day she and her husband were taking a walk, when a woman began to suggest that she quit the CCP and its youth organizations. She said to the woman, “The Party pays for your living, but you are doing this. Don’t you feel ashamed?”
The women turned around and left without saying a word. A few days later at a Walmart store, the same woman told her the same thing. She said: “It’s you again? You accept the Party’s pay…” The woman was embarrassed and left red-faced. The third time she met that woman was at the river bank. Before the woman could finish the first sentence, she said, “Don’t you remember me? I know you. You take paychecks from the CCP…” That woman was speechless and left again.
After listening to her story, I felt a predestined relationship with the retired woman. It was a shame that she refused to listen to the truth three times in a row. The fellow practitioner’s efforts were admirable. She must have been doing this on a daily basis and to many people. But she gave up too easily and did not adjust her words for each specific occasion. Maybe she did not have time to elaborate; maybe she was at a loss of words momentarily.
But after repeatedly being turned down by the same person, perhaps she should take a closer look at her approach. Not everyone will agree to listen to the truth with a simple sentence or two. Effectively talking with different people requires skill and knowledge to answer their questions in the right way. We need to learn some materials to address frequently asked questions. In the retired woman’s case, her roadblock was a simple misunderstanding, so the answer should not be that hard. We need to have a little more patience when addressing people’s concerns.
I said: “People work hard to generate wealth for society, so they surely deserve compensation for their efforts. No matter which country, people get paid for their work. It has nothing to do with any political party. Your salary does not come from the Party. In your case, you earned a pension with your life's work. It’s your money, not the CCP’s. We both lived through the years with a minimal salary, and we are being shortchanged by this government.”
She agreed: “My monthly salary was about 30 yuan, and my salary before retirement was below average. My pension now is about 2000 yuan a month.”
I continued: “A large portion of that was saved as social wealth. Your pension comes from there. It is returning your share of the money. The Party does not make products in a factory, and it does not do farm work. It produces no wealth. Where does it get all the money? From the people! But the CCP controls the government. It takes most of the social wealth and puts people’s money into its own pocket. Look at the corrupt officials at different levels of the government. They are bloodsuckers that steal and rob people’s money. Without the CCP, we should receive more money. In countries without Communist governments, the personal income of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is higher. For example, personal income in the U.S. accounts for 58% of GDP. But in China, it is only 8%. So the U.S. personal income percentage-wise is seven times that of China. In your situation, without the CCP stealing your money, your pension should have been between 10,000 to 20,000 yuan per month. What kind of life do you think that would be like?”
She nodded in agreement. I then brought up the three-year Great Famine (1959 -1961). She told me that she had no food at home, so she went into the mountains to gather wild herbs. Several times she passed out because of hunger. Millions starved to death. We also talked about the Cultural Revolution’s destruction of the economy, morality, and culture. Having lived through those tough times, she could understand that the CCP is the source of all of China’s misfortunes since it took power.
I continued: “The CCP has killed over 80 million of our compatriots. Do you think that the Party could escape from heaven’s justice? It will collapse when the time comes. That woman was really trying to save you when she asked you to quit the CCP. She wanted to help you separate from the Party, to spare you from the final trial of the Communist Party. You should have thanked her.” She nodded repeatedly. Finally, she agreed to quit the CCP.
Unfortunately, the CCP’s long-term brainwashing has fooled many people, from ordinary citizens to highly accomplished intellectuals and professionals.
A former colleague was highly regarded as an intelligent man with remarkable positions and accomplishments. We once were traveling together to teach classes as invited speakers. I gave him some truth-clarification materials. After reading the material, he no longer had a misunderstanding and no longer liked the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.
One day during a phone conversation, I asked him to consider quitting the CCP. He declined, saying: “If you disagree with the Party, you should consider moving overseas. I have some relatives living in foreign countries. If you have talent, you can pursue opportunities there. Since you are taking a salary from the government, it’s not nice to try to persuade people to quit the Party.”
I was saddened by his logic, but could not talk too long on the phone. I planned to talk to him in person after the pandemic situation lessens. Unfortunately, he died shortly after from a relapse of cancer. I felt very bad that I could not help save him.
Master said:
“I think that at the tourist sites, you should not take quitting the Party or the Young Pioneers, or the “three withdrawals” itself, as your goal. Remember, everyone, you are to have clarifying the truth and saving people as your goal! (Enthusiastic applause) If you feel that person can be saved, then that is fine. If you feel that person is only brushing you off, that is like you have been cheated by him. Of course, if he first agrees to quit, this is already a step. Clarify the truth to him further, so he can really know it, and then it'll be considered done.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIV)
Master wants us to focus our efforts on clarifying the truth about Dafa, so that people will truly understand the facts about Falun Dafa. Sometimes, I still could not reach that standard. Sometimes, I felt uneasy after submitting the names of people who agreed to quit the Party. I think some of them agreed after my persuasion, but they still do not see the CCP’s evil nature, and they have not severed their ties with the Party from their hearts. These muddleheaded people are not truly saved.