(Minghui.org) When I started practicing Falun Dafa (also called as Falun Gong) in 1996, I experienced the joy of spiritual elevation and bodily purification. I also experienced the hardships of being incarcerated in a forced labor camp, being destitute, and being deprived of a retirement pension. Only with Master Li’s protection and guidance was I able to make it through. I will strive to be more diligent on my cultivation path and be worthy of Master’s salvation.
Letting Go of Fear to Talk to People
In mid-September 2022, I was arrested and taken to the police station because I talked to a plainclothes officer about Falun Gong. I made up my mind not to be afraid and did not cooperate with any of their demands. I kept telling them the truth about the persecution and how practicing Falun Gong reflects a return to traditional Chinese culture. I also explained the evil nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and helped several police officers quit the CCP. With Master’s strengthening, I walked out of the police station with righteous thoughts within 24 hours.
However, I became afraid afterward. About a month after I was released, I suspected that everyone around me was monitoring me, and I dared not go out to talk to people. I knew that my state was not right and looked inward for the reason. I realized it resulted from my inflated attachment.
Sometime before my arrest, a fellow practitioner and I went out to clarify the truth regularly. She sent righteous thought while I did the talking. We were able to help 30 to 40 people quit the CCP and its youth organizations every day. But my zealotry and show off mentality became inflated, and the evil took advantage of my attachments. I also came to understand that fear is a deadly barrier on the path to divinity. I knew I needed to break through it. So I studied the Fa and sent forth righteous thoughts with great diligence.
Master said,
“The old forces don’t dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What’s key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things. (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2002 Conference in Boston, U.S.A.,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume II)
Master’s words seemed to be specifically aimed at me, and I felt ashamed for being afraid. Through studying the Fa and sharing thoughts with other practitioners, I was able to strengthen my righteous thoughts. I overcame my fear mentality and went out to talk to people face-to-face again. I went out every day no matter whether it was cold or hot, rain or snow, and I did not even rest on New Year’s Eve.
Overcoming Financial Hardship
I should have retired and started collecting my pension in 2006. However, the CCP illegally denied my retirement benefits because I refused to sign statements to give up practicing Falun Gong.
I lived alone and had to work as a nanny and do odd jobs to make a living for the first dozen years. As I got older, it became difficult for me to find a job, and I had to rely on support from my daughter and sisters. However, my daughter’s bridal shop and pet shop went broke during the pandemic, and her family was infected with COVID several times.
Considering my daughter’s situation and not wanting to rely on support from relatives and friends, I started a small business. I sold pickles, popcorn, and other snacks at a morning market. This business gave me opportunities to talk to people about Dafa. I passed out Falun Gong calendars to most vendors at the market and also used paper currency with messages about Falun Gong on it. I helped many vendors and their employees quit the CCP. They received blessings for understanding the truth about Dafa and their businesses became better and better.
They treated me very well. When I had to leave my stall, they often watched over my stuff and helped me sell my goods. Some bought my goods just to help my business and some shared their space with me. One day last winter, a shopkeeper gave me a pair of gloves to wear.
I then got a small cart and pushed my goods around the market to sell. I was then able to talk to more people about Falun Gong. In the past several years, I came to know all the people selling goods at the market and advised most of them to quit the Party.
Many farmers came to the market in the summer to sell vegetables. When I saw new faces, I went to buy their vegetables and advised them to quit the Party. Almost all of them accepted my words and quit.
I met an elderly woman who was saddened that her children were not treating her well, and said that she didn’t want to live anymore. I explained why people came to this world and explained that suicide is sinful. I also told her about the principle of karmic retribution and advised her to be kind and considerate of her children. I said that life is not easy for anyone. I then advised her to quit the CCP for a safe future, and she agreed.
There was a woman selling kittens and puppies at the morning market. She said that she had undergone surgery, but could not afford her follow-up treatment. She hoped that I could help her out. I knew that practitioners should not kill or raise animals, so I did not buy any. But I gave her two yuan and helped her quit the Young Pioneers (One of the CCP’s youth organizations). I then told her that if she sincerely recited, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” she would receive blessings.
I saw a woman selling vegetables on the street. She seemed to have difficulty with half of her body and her speech was garbled. It looked like the result of a stroke. There was also man lying on the ground beside her. I offered to buy one yuan worth of cilantro, talked to them about Dafa, and advised them to quit the Party. They agreed. I gave them the money, but did not take the cliantro. The man kept saying, “You’re a good person, a good person!”
Some people may think that giving away one or two yuan is not worth mentioning. But I had no pension, no minimum subsistence allowance, and did not accept any support from my relatives. I lived on the 50 cents or dollar I made running my small business every day.
I once found 300 yuan on the street. I could not find the owner and finally gave the money to a Dafa materials production site. I also picked up a 12-pound pack of meat off the ground and waited for the owner, but no one came. I then left it on the side of the road before leaving.
Maintaining Righteous Thoughts
A practitioner told me I had been selling stuff at the market for a long time, and that all the people there knew me. He said that it was unsafe for me to talk to people there anymore. I thought about it and believed that saving lives is my mission and that as long as I am compassionate, selfless, and have a pure mind, Master will protect me. I kept talking to people at the market, and kept doing what a Falun Gong practitioner should do with determination. Sometime later, the practitioner who went out with me was arrested and sentenced. But I kept going out to save lives and maintained a strong belief in Master and Dafa.
Except for eating and sleeping, I’m busy studying the Fa, doing the exercises, sending forth righteous thoughts, telling people about Falun Gong, and running my business. I’m busy, but I feel fulfilled. I believe that by immersing myself in Dafa and doing the three things diligently, I will succeed in cultivation. Fellow practitioners, let’s keep going!
Thank you, Master! thank you, fellow practitioners!
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Category: Clarifying the Truth
