(Minghui.org) When people drive long distances they hope for a safe journey. I’d like to share a secret to ensuring a safe trip every time.
Someone owed me money and refused to repay me. When I kidnapped their son for ransom, I was given a heavy prison sentence. I heard about Falun Dafa and started practicing while I was incarcerated—this was before July 20, 1999, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Dafa.
At the time, I had only read a few Falun Dafa books, but I strove to improve myself by following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Because I had limited contact with other practitioners, I didn’t learn all five exercises. After the CCP began persecuting Falun Dafa, I was transferred to a strict control group inside the prison, which was specifically for persecuting practitioners. I endured years of persecution until my sentence was completed and I was released.
After I got out of prison, I faced the challenge of finding a way to make a living. I tried starting small businesses or partnerships, but none of them worked out. Since I used to drive a taxi, I thought about doing that again, but it was difficult to go through the necessary procedures to get approved.
I noticed that many people in my hometown turned to freight transportation, which was more lucrative than driving a taxi. So I decided to drive a large cargo truck. However, I lacked both the funds and the experience. After obtaining my truck driver’s license, I bought an inexpensive, second-hand truck and decided to start with short-distance routes.
An Old Truck Supported My Family
I bought the old semi-trailer at a low price—it cost slightly more than a scrapped truck. After running short-distance routes for a while, I found the truck was in decent condition. I then tried longer routes and it performed well. I started taking jobs as they came, whether they were long or short-distance, and I earned as much as drivers with brand-new trucks that cost tens of thousands more. The money I earned was enough to support my entire family. I even renovated our house.
Our friends said I was lucky to support my family with such an old truck, but I knew this was a blessing I received from practicing Falun Dafa. As Master said,
“ ... it will be ensured that you, a Dafa disciple, can make a living, which is the way it should be.” (Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Switzerland)
The Truck’s Steering Did Not Fail
After the COVID outbreak, the CCP implemented strict lock downs, health codes, quarantines, and other measures. Many truck owners stopped running their vehicles for fear of getting a red health code and being forcibly quarantined. Unsold goods piled up at production sites, and there were shortages at the markets.
A local fruit dealer approached me, and asked if I could deliver apples to a city over 500 kilometers away. I hesitated. My family was worried about the ongoing pandemic and was afraid I’d be stuck in a distant city due to the lock downs. I also noticed a problem with my truck’s steering before the New Year—the steering wheel seemed loose. I planned to wait until the repair shop reopened after the holidays to fix it before I took the truck out again. But the dealer was desperate and couldn’t find another driver. I thought, as a practitioner, I should help others in urgent need. After consulting the repair shop again, they assured me it shouldn’t be a major issue. So I agreed to deliver the apples.
Due to the market shortage, I loaded the truck with apples every day and delivered them to the market in that city. After unloading, I drove the empty truck back, making a round trip of nearly 1,000 kilometers each day. I noticed the steering wheel became worse, to the point where I had to turn it almost half a circle before it responded. I was always in a hurry to meet the schedule and didn’t think much about it. Besides, the repair shop said it was fine, and this was normal for old trucks. So I kept driving it.
After a week of continuous trips, I returned to the village on the last evening. The person guarding the pandemic checkpoint at the village entrance was already asleep. Not wanting to disturb him, I decided to wait until morning to enter. I parked near the checkpoint and lay down in the truck. I suddenly remembered hearing about a common steering issue with this type of truck, so I decided to check.
I got out and used the flashlight on my phone to look under the truck. To my horror, I discovered the four nuts securing the bolts between the steering column and the front wheel steering mechanism had all fallen off, leaving only the bolts loosely inserted in the holes, ready to come out at any moment. I was terrified when I thought about the past few days of driving 7,000 to 8,000 kilometers on the highway, carrying over ten tons of cargo, with countless turns and steering corrections. The risk of losing control at any minute is truly terrifying. If the steering had failed, the consequences would have been catastrophic. I felt deeply grateful to Master for protecting me.
Avoiding Accidents Due to Drowsiness
When I first started driving long distances, I wasn’t used to driving at night for hours, and I didn’t arrange my rest time properly. This led to several instances where I dozed off, and I experienced one scare after another. Most of the goods I transported were fresh fruit or vegetables, which had to arrive in time for the morning market. I loaded the truck with freshly picked produce during the day and then drove overnight for hundreds or even over a thousand kilometers to ensure the goods would arrive on time for the early morning market.
I always put the clients’ needs first, and tried to arrive early to avoid delaying their sales. Even when I felt drowsy, I pushed through. Despite constantly reminding myself to stay alert, I couldn’t always fight off the sleepiness during those long night drives. Whenever I dozed off, the truck veered to the right. As soon as it left the lane, I woke up just in time to pull it back. When I was very drowsy, I repeatedly veered off the road. I then splashed water on my face or ate something to stay awake.
I noticed that whenever the truck veered to the right, there was always an emergency lane on that side, so it wouldn’t immediately hit the guardrail. On highways or tunnels without emergency lanes on the right, the truck veered to the left. Each time the truck left the lane, I woke up in time, shook off my sleepiness, and continued driving.
Miraculously, I always arrived safely at my destination. Thinking back, how could I have subconsciously known whether to veer left or right depending on the road conditions? And why did I always wake up as soon as the truck left the lane? One time, I fell into a deep drowsy state and didn’t notice a parked vehicle ahead. It felt as though someone pulled my hand, causing me to instinctively steer left. I woke up just in time to avoid hitting the parked vehicle.
However, not every drowsy moment ended so smoothly. One time, there was a loud “bang” as the truck crashed into something. It was around 1 or 2 a.m., and I was driving on a narrow county road. Ahead was a steep slope. I was still alert when I shifted gears at the bottom of the hill, but as I reached the top, I dozed off again.
When I opened my eyes at the top of the hill, I saw the road was blocked by something resembling a blue wall just two meters ahead. I slammed on the brakes, but it was too late—the truck crashed into it.
I was terrified. Steadying myself, I thought, “This time I must have damaged someone’s property, and the truck’s headlights or front end must also be wrecked.” However, when I got out to inspect, I discovered that it was a temporary barrier for a construction project. They were building a village sign structure across the road and had blocked it off completely, redirecting traffic through a detour on the side.
No one was around, so I quickly got back into the truck and reversed. Luckily, the truck was still operable. I turned onto the detour road and continued back to the main road. After parking, I got out to check the truck—it was intact, and there was not even a scratch on it.
My Attachments Are Revealed
After driving my old truck for a while, I started feeling increasingly confident, thinking my truck was more powerful than others, even better than some newer models.
While driving uphill on a long slope, I noticed a truck ahead that was almost identical to mine. Such encounters were rare. I was determined to overtake it. I started accelerating, and the distance between the two trucks gradually shortened. My excitement grew as our front bumpers were nearly level. I thought to myself, “In the next second, my truck will edge ahead, and I’ll win.” My elation peaked at that moment. Just as the trucks were almost side by side, a loud “bang” shocked me, leaving my mind blank. I immediately slowed down and pulled over.
The other truck also stopped ahead to check, probably because the driver heard the noise and wasn’t sure whose vehicle had the issue. But I already knew—my rear tire had blown out. The tire was relatively new, and the weather wasn’t hot, so why did it blow? I realized, as a practitioner, I must look within and address the problem. I found my mentalities of competing, contentiousness, showing off, and excitement—all kinds of issues. These attachments caused this mishap. I immediately apologized to Master, “Master, I was wrong. From now on, I’ll correct myself and eliminate these attachments.”
It ended up costing over a thousand yuan to fix the tire—a costly lesson! This happened three or four years ago. After that, I often remind myself to maintain a cultivator’s calm mindset.
Repeated Stalling After Unloading
The truck was old, and some parts of its wiring were quite worn. Within two months, it stalled twice due to power loss, but each time, it recovered within a few seconds.
I consulted an electrician, who said everything appeared normal, and he couldn’t pinpoint the issue. He suggested either continuing to use it as is until it became unworkable or replacing the entire wiring system—a costly option.
Considering the cost, I decided to make do, although I felt uneasy. The truck mainly transported fresh produce. Once loaded, delays were unacceptable. The trips took anywhere from several hours to over fifty hours. A single truckload could be worth hundreds of thousands of yuan, and any delay could result in significant losses.
The truck stalled twice more on the road but, fortunately, it recovered quickly each time. However, the last incident occurred after unloading the goods. On the way to the parking lot, about four or five kilometers away, the truck stalled repeatedly. It took considerable effort to finally park it.
Fortunately, once the goods were unloaded, there was no urgent pressure. I could finally have the truck repaired. It took nearly an entire day, and three different electricians were involved before the fault in the wiring was found. I felt very fortunate that this didn’t happen on the highway with a full load of goods.
There were many similar miraculous experiences. Was it really just good luck? As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I know deeply that Master was protecting me behind the scenes, allowing me to navigate through dangerous situations and turn misfortune into blessings.
It is precisely in these ordinary situations, like driving or working in the secular world and facing various conflicts, in which a cultivator uses the principles of Falun Dafa to guide their actions, striving to be a good person and cultivating true goodness.
Truly understanding the facts about Falun Dafa and having genuine faith in the practice not only ensures safety on your journey, but also helps you navigate the treacherous path of life, leading you to the road of returning to your true self.
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