(Minghui.org) I feel fortunate to have cultivated in Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) during the past 26 years. I am also proud to be a Dafa practitioner of the Fa-rectification period. After my arrest in China for my belief in 2012 and a seven-month detention, I left China and emigrated to the United States. While cultivating diligently to improve myself I clarified the truth to Chinese tourists at San Francisco’s tourist attractions, distributed the Epoch Times newspaper to business owners in Chinatown, and demonstrated the beauty of Dafa to my employers, neighbors, and everyone around me.
Since taking up Dafa cultivation in 1998, I have strived to follow the Fa principles “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” to become a better person. I no longer fight for benefits at work and take self-interest lightly. When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution of Dafa in July 1999, administrators at my workplace were ordered to report any employee who practiced Falun Dafa. To protect me, my supervisor did not report me. Before my arrest in 2012, I was under the radar of local authorities and enjoyed relatively more freedom in clarifying the truth.
The police followed a practitioner to our Fa study group in May 2012 and arrested everyone there. I was taken to the county police department and interrogated. Before that I had been very careful when talking to strangers about Dafa and often spoke from a third person perspective. Now that the police knew I was a practitioner, I thought, “Why not tell them about Dafa in an upright and dignified manner, just like a true practitioner?” I spoke to the two officers interrogating me and helped them to quit the CCP and its youth organizations—the Young Pioneers and the Youth League.
I was transferred to the district detention center the next day. Soon after arriving, I clarified the truth to a female guard and helped her quit the Party. Having learned that the practitioners are innocent and wrongfully persecuted, she protected us whenever she could, and even told the inmates not to bully us. With her help, I was able to freely study the Fa, do the exercises, and clarify the truth. During my seven- and-a-half months in there, I helped 28 people quit the CCP.
I was released on bail in January 2013 in front of my family. The guard told me, “You’re free! Now you can practice Falun Gong at home.” Her support and friendliness made a huge impression on my family, who relaxed their opposition and loosened their restrictions on my Fa study and clarifying the truth.
However, a probable sentence still loomed. A practitioner suggested that we leave China and move to the United States. I told Master in my heart, “I am going to the U.S. to help Master rectify the Fa and fulfill my vows, not to pursue a more comfortable life.”
Everything worked out extremely well, and we soon arrived in San Francisco. After contacting local practitioners, the very next day we went to Portsmouth Square in Chinatown to clarify the truth.
I decided to use my mornings to clarify the truth, and only looked for a part-time afternoon job. I just wanted to make enough to support myself, but not spend any more time than I needed to. I worked as a caregiver to elderly people and was paid just enough to cover my rent, groceries, and other expenses. I clarified the truth at local attractions every morning and worked in the afternoons.
I clarified the truth at Portsmouth Square in San Francisco’s Chinatown for the first eight months after coming to the States. Then the practitioners at the Palace of Fine Arts needed help, so I started going there. For more than five years I went to the Palace of Fine Arts every day, including weekends and holidays, rain or shine, until the COVID-19 pandemic brought tourism to a halt.
I usually left home at around 7 a.m. with a packed lunch so I could go directly from the Palace of Fine Arts to work. We saw a high volume of tourists before the pandemic, with more than a few dozen tour groups visiting the attraction each day, especially during the summer and winter breaks. Most of these tourists were from China.
To break the ice I offered to help the Chinese tourists take photos. While snapping pictures for them, I clarified the truth and helped them quit the CCP. On busy days, I could help as many as 80 people to quit the Party. By the time the number of Chinese people who had renounced the CCP and its youth organizations reached 300 million worldwide, my log showed that I had helped at least 30,000 Chinese quit the Party since moving to the States. A practitioner suggested that being preoccupied with the numbers could be a pursuit, and said, “Isn’t it an attachment?” So now I no longer keep track.
The COVID-19 pandemic gave me a renewed sense of urgency to tell people about Dafa. As fewer and fewer tourists visited the Palace of Fine Arts, I started going to the Service Center for Quitting the CCP in Chinatown to distribute fliers and talk to people about Dafa. If they were short-handed I also sometimes went early to help set up, and stayed late to take down the booth.
A practitioner approached me in November 2020 and asked if I could help deliver the Epoch Times. I readily agreed because I knew our media’s role and impact in clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings was huge. In order to free up some time, I quit my job as a caregiver for an elderly lady.
The lady was sad to see me go. It’s now been three years since I left, yet she still often calls me. She doesn’t have any other family, and kept my number in case of emergency. I was her contact when she was hospitalized, and was the person the hospital staff called whenever she needed something. I visited her a few times and she was happy to see me. She wanted to compensate me for my time and for helping her, but I politely turned it down. She asked me, “Why don’t you come back and work for me?” I told her I didn’t have time. She then asked me to see if any of my practitioner friends would like the job. She knows that Dafa practitioners are all good people, and trustworthy.
I did ask the practitioners around me, but nobody had the time. A few months passed, and the lady called me, saying, “How about you only come one day a week?” Her caregiver worked a full day once a week for a different employer. After a few times talking to her I finally agreed, as I didn’t have the heart to turn her down again.
When I showed up at her place, she greeted me excitedly, “Please come in! I’m so happy you’re here. I know I’m in good hands when you’re here.” She put a CalFresh (California’s food stamp program) card in my hand and said, “I wanted to pay you for visiting me three times at the hospital but you didn’t want my money. How about you take this and get some groceries?”
I gave the card back to her, saying, “You don’t have to give me anything. I qualify for this program myself and have received two letters urging me to apply. It won’t even affect my ability to become a U.S. citizen. I didn’t apply because I don’t need it. Please keep it for yourself. I don’t want to take your benefits.”
The lady sighed, “Everybody wants to make more money but why not you? When you worked for me seven days a week, you only worked a few hours in the afternoon and cooked one meal, and you were making more than $2,000 after taxes. But you quit the job—isn’t that foolish?”
I smiled, and replied, “I’m all alone in the States and have no financial burden whatsoever. As long as I have enough to cover my expenses plus a little extra pocket money, it’s enough.”
I truly don’t have the desire to make more money than I need. The CCP launched the Great Culture Revolution when I was only a child. I wasted the next ten years, and didn’t learn anything during my most inquisitive and formative years. Now I cultivate in Dafa. I just want to spend more time studying the Fa so I have ample righteous thoughts to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. It took me almost a decade of searching and trying different types of qigong in my youth, and finally I found Dafa. It was a difficult journey but well worth the wait. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to cultivate in Dafa and I truly cherish this predestined relationship. The practitioners in China risk their lives to clarify the truth every day. What reason do I have to not do the three things well in this free country?
I live by myself and try to keep things as simple as possible. I don’t need fancy meals as long as my stomach is filled. It gives me more time to help Master rectify the Fa and fulfill my vows. Of course, each practitioner has his or her own path. I enjoy the unpretentious lifestyle I have now. It’s not exciting, but each day I feel happy and fulfilled.
During the past ten-plus years of clarifying the truth at local attractions, and care giving to seniors, I got rid of many human notions and attachments. I no longer seek comfort and easy ways to avoid trouble, and now even have a much higher tolerance of filth.
I am a Dafa practitioner, so I follow Master’s teachings and do what Master asks of practitioners. Whenever I have the chance, regardless of where I am, I clarify the truth to people around me all the same. I don’t discriminate and have no fear. I always carry truth-clarification booklets or fliers with me, and distribute them as I go.
I’ve moved a few times over the past ten years and have always clarified the truth to my neighbors. Before moving into a new place a few years ago, I told the manager about Dafa and helped him quit the CCP. After I moved in, I started clarifying the truth to my neighbors. Some didn’t want to listen at first, and some were even hostile toward me, but I didn’t let it get to me, as I knew that they had been deceived by the CCP’s lies and propaganda. I looked for opportunities to talk to them, and little by little I told them what Dafa really is, and about the wrongful persecution.
After the pandemic broke out, I partnered with a new practitioner who speaks Cantonese. We distributed truth-clarification booklets to every household in my apartment complex, and told them to recite, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I no longer live there but whenever I ran into old neighbors from that apartment, they said ‘Hi’ to me. If I see them walking by our booth for quitting the CCP in Chinatown, I give them copies of the Epoch Times. Most of them gladly take them, and quite a few have quit the CCP.
I moved to my current place about a year ago. The kitchens and bathrooms in the complex are shared among a few households. When I first tried to clarify the truth to my new neighbors, they didn’t want to listen nor take any fliers. They simply ignored me when I talked to them. I thought, “Maybe they all are heavily brainwashed by the CCP.” I didn’t let it discourage me. I decided to focus on being a good neighbor first, and thought that they would come around eventually. If a neighbor comes into the kitchen while I’m cooking, I always let them use the stove first. I tell them, “You can use it first. I’ll finish cooking later.” If someone comes in right after I’m done cooking, I greet them warmly, saying, “Hi. Do you need the stove? I’ll leave it on for you.”
The neighbors have become more and more friendly towards me, and some even insist that I use the stove and finish cooking first. When I run into them on the street, they always greet me. They can sense the kindness radiating from Dafa practitioners, as we are considerate of others in everything we do. Some neighbors told me, “You are a good person.” Some have started reading the Epoch Times, and a few have quit the CCP.
I take the bus on a daily basis and always get the $40 low-income monthly pass. As soon as I climb onboard, I show my pass to the driver. The drivers usually give me a thumbs up, and then I give them a Dafa flier or a Ganjing World bookmark. More than 90 percent of the drivers happily take them. I walk down the aisle and pass out Dafa fliers and bookmarks to the passengers. I clarify the truth to the Chinese passengers and help them quit the CCP if they agree to it. When it comes to westerners I just greet them with a friendly smile and a few simple English phrases.
When I go shopping, I take truth-clarification fliers and Ganjing World bookmarks with me to give to the business owners, their employees, and customers.
While caring for the seniors, I strive to meet the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. All the elderly people I have cared for trust me, and have told me I am a good person. I said to them, “That’s because I practice Falun Dafa.” They too have learned the truth about Dafa.
One elderly lady I cared for asked me to bring her a newspaper that is heavily influenced by the CCP. Instead of giving her what she asked for, I gave her old issues and special editions of the Epoch Times. I told her, “Only this newspaper reports truthfully.”
I deliver the latest issue of the Epoch Times to the newspaper vending machines in Chinatown first thing in the morning. After I am done at around 10 a.m., I drop off copies of older issues to the retail businesses. After getting to know the business owners and their employees a little bit better, I find opportunities to clarify the truth to them. Most of the Chinese people I’ve talked to have quit the CCP. People from Taiwan or Hong Kong would most likely have learned the truth about Dafa if they read the Epoch Times.
Whenever conflicts arise while working with other practitioners I always look inward to examine myself. Most of the time, I find that they are caused by my impatience, irritability, and tendency to complain. I also have a strong attachment to fame. To improve myself and get rid of these notions, I have strengthened my Fa study and started to memorize the Fa. By measuring up to the standards of the Fa, I have gradually eliminated these notions and attachments.
Besides studying one lecture of Zhuan Falun with a group each day, I’ve also been getting together with two other practitioners online to memorize the Fa after delivering papers in the mornings. I join another online group to study Master’s new lectures from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. every morning. I get up at 2:50 a.m. to send righteous thoughts and do the exercises, and on days when I don’t have to deliver newspapers, I try to do the second exercise for an hour.
I’ve become more calm and centered after strengthening my Fa study. When others are being rude to me, I can stay calm and quickly look inward to examine myself. When I find my human notions and attachments I suppress and eliminate them. I can now quickly work through any tribulations or tests that come my way without feeling resentful, and things no longer bother me as much. I realized that if I don’t have any attachments, others would not treat me this way.
Master said:
“You will be made to abandon all those attachments that you cannot give up among everyday people. As long as you have them, all of those attachments must be removed in different environments. You will be made to stumble, whereby you will become enlightened to the Tao. This is how you go through cultivation.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
I am so thankful for Master’s guidance and practitioners’ help.
I am extremely impatient by nature. When I do something, I want to get it done right away and do it well. I also like to talk and sometimes talk too much. I think out loud and speak before thinking things through. This often prevents me from considering things from others’ perspectives, thus hurting their feelings. I know I have probably caused discomfort for other practitioners. When interacting with ordinary people, I am able to pay attention to my speech for the most part. I try to showcase how wonderful Dafa is through my words and deeds, so they can learn the truth and be saved. But when it comes to practitioners, I often relax my standards and am not as strict with myself.
Master’s new article “A Wake-Up Call” truly served as a wake-up call for me. I was able to see where I felt short more clearly. I have to rectify myself and be considerate and compassionate toward everyone, not just ordinary people but also fellow practitioners.
I also help promote Ganjing World by distributing bookmarks every day. While out in the morning on my paper route in Chinatown, I talk to people and give out Ganjing World bookmarks. If I don’t have anything else going on, I go back to Chinatown in the afternoon to pass out more bookmarks before going home for dinner and Fa study.
I started joining practitioners in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco to raise awareness about the persecution and clarify the truth. Practitioners who have been going to the consulate for the past twenty years have aged collectively. The coordinator looked for practitioners who were willing to join and support them. So since February, I’ve been going to the consulate every Tuesday from 10 a.m. until noon.
After we set up the truth-clarification exhibit and hang the banners, some practitioners send righteous thoughts and do the exercises, and some pass out fliers to passersby. I usually give out fliers to people lining up in front of the consulate, clarify the truth to them, and help them quit the CCP and its youth organizations. I can help more than a dozen people quit the Party if it is busy, or at least a few when there aren’t a lot of people.
When people learn the truth and decide to renounce the CCP I feel happy for them because I know they will be saved. I wish them good luck. While participating in various Dafa projects, I have come to believe that when practitioners work well together we can make a huge impact.
Every step I take in my cultivation journey is only possible because of Master’s compassion, protection, and help. I will cultivate even more diligently and continue to improve myself. Together with practitioners, we will wake up even more sentient beings.
My thanks to Master, and my thanks to practitioners.