(Minghui.org) I live in a poor mountainous area where it’s difficult to travel. After a college student attended a nine-day lecture series given by Master Li (Falun Dafa’s founder), she introduced Dafa to our county.
In the beginning, she was the only practitioner in the area. Her uncle had previously undergone two surgeries for a brain tumor. His doctor said it would be too risky to have another surgery. In desperation, the uncle began practicing Falun Dafa, and his tumor disappeared. This was major news in our area, and their relatives and neighbors began practicing Falun Dafa.
To let more people know about Falun Dafa, we prepared a three-meter-long banner with the words “Falun Dafa Is Good.” Led by the young practitioner, other practitioners from several years old to practitioners in their 80s visited all the surrounding villages, and we told people about Falun Dafa.
After they listened to our experiences and learned that the practice was taught free of charge, many people were interested. We would find an open area and teach people the exercises. Some people stopped what they were doing and came to learn, and some opened their windows to watch. It went very well.
To help more people know about Dafa, we went to a large farmer’s market and did the exercises. The area was poor and hardly had bicycles, let alone cars. That means we had to travel on foot to the markets. About 100 practitioners participated in the first group exercises, and the scene was amazing. Many people watched. They were happy to hear the information, and some began to learn Dafa.
The farthest market was about 45 kilometers (or 30 miles) away. We had to leave at 2 a.m., and we arrived there around 9 a.m., and we then did the group exercises at 10 a.m. Some people began to learn the practice at the site. After the event was over, we walked back. Because of the long distance, some elderly practitioners had difficulty walking. We supported and encouraged each other.
We had no money to buy food. We just had the cucumber or yam we brought from home. We gave the food to the elderly practitioners. After a young practitioner saw an elderly practitioner having difficulty walking, she carried her on her back. We took turns carrying the elderly practitioner.
The following day, we went to another place to introduce Dafa. We were happy to do this because we wanted others to benefit from the practice. One practitioner said, “Even if one person learns Dafa, our trip is not wasted.” Initially, some areas we visited only had one or two practitioners. Later, many people practiced Falun Dafa.
Within a year, Falun Dafa was well known in all towns and villages in the county. When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to suppress Dafa, there were about 10,000 practitioners in our area. Our county had the highest number of practitioners in the province.
After the persecution started, we went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa—we walked, took a bus, or went on bikes. In December 1999, 29 practitioners took a bus and went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Dafa.
In the past, villagers often gossiped about conflicts between daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law, or fights between husbands and their wives. After many people began to practice Dafa, villagers often commented on how a person’s bad temper was gone after they began practicing Falun Dafa, or how that person’s illness disappeared. Some said how family life became harmonious as family members followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Everyone was happy.
Village officials were also pleased. In the past, several families refused to pay their grain levy fees, and the officials said it was a headache. After these families began practicing Dafa, they took the lead to pay the fees and even paid the fees they owed previously.
When it snowed in winter, officials had to pay people to clear the roads, and some people complained that the money was too little. After they began practicing, people voluntarily cleared the roads without asking for a penny. “These are blessings from Dafa,” one officer remarked. “If you practitioners need anything, please let us know, and we will help.”
Dafa improved our minds and bodies. We had lots of energy while we worked during the day, and we happily gathered after dinner to study the Fa (teachings) or do the exercises at night. Practitioners shared how they improved their xinxing during conflicts, or how Master protected them. We had countless happy stories.
Gang and his wife Mei, owned a drug store in the county seat, and they began practicing Falun Dafa in spring 2014. They followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and were considerate of others, and they did not overcharge their customers.
A man who had pneumonia spent over 10,000 yuan in 2017. He stayed in the hospital for more than 20 days, but did not improve. He could not lie on his back when he slept. When he came to the store to buy medicine, Gang told him to say, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” The man only spent five yuan on medicine and soon recovered. He was impressed and said Dafa is extraordinary.
Wei was diagnosed with late-stage stomach cancer in 2014. He was only 56, and the family was devastated. Because the cancer had already spread to other parts of his body, surgery would not help. But his family had already paid for surgery and spent their entire savings.
Even after surgery, Wei still could not eat. When he was transferred from the city hospital to the local country hospital, the doctor said he would not live another year. Among the five patients in the hospital with stomach cancer, his was the most severe, and the other four died. He hadn’t eaten for a long time and could not have a bowel movement.
In the summer of 2016, Wei and his family managed to visit the drug store. Seeing his suffering, Gang told him about Falun Dafa, how the CCP defamed the practice, and helped him quit the CCP and its affiliated youth organizations. He also reminded Wei to recite the auspicious phrases.
Gang also gave him medicine but did not charge him a penny. Wei was moved and kept reciting the phrases. When he visited the hospital in autumn 2019 for a checkup, the doctor was shocked and asked what treatment or medicine he’d received. Gang said he only recited the auspicious phrases, and his wife confirmed this. The doctor was amazed.
One neighbor had a stroke and could not take care of herself. Mei heard about it, and the couple took her home in early December 2017. Mei looked after her day and night and helped her recover. Several weeks later, the woman regained her health and returned home. Her family was very moved.
One village had ditches on both sides of a road. No one cleaned them for years, and they were filled with dirt, trash, and human waste. When it rained, it overflowed the road and even entered nearby houses. The village officials offered 6,000 yuan for people to clean it, but no one did.
Several practitioners decided to help, and they started cleaning the ditches in the summer of 2000. Five practitioners participated in the beginning. After they heard what they were doing, three practitioners from nearby villages also joined. There were two male practitioners and six female practitioners. To avoid affecting their families, they worked on the ditches at around 3 a.m. and returned home at dawn.
The ditches were one meter wide and over one meter deep. One was so deep that if a person stood at the bottom, others could only see his or her head. It was relatively easy in the open field, but difficult to clean under bridges since one had to dig things out. But no one complained.
The practitioners worked like this for two weeks and cleaned all the ditches. The village head hauled the trash away in a truck, and practitioners then cleaned the road. The entire village was thankful. “Falun Dafa is indeed great,” remarked a village officer.
The woods near the village sometimes had wildfires. The village paid money to those who helped put out the fire. Some people signed up to help to get money, but they did not put out any fires. Dafa practitioners also helped put out fires, but they did not ask for money. “Dafa practitioners are good people,” one village commented.
Fen, a practitioner in the village, once sent her child to school, and she saw money on the ground. She counted it, and it was 870 yuan. She waited on the street, and several people walked out of the store later saying that they had lost money. When Fen asked them how much, the amount matched the amount Fen found. She returned the money to them, and they offered 100 yuan to Fen to thank her. Fen refused and explained she practiced Falun Dafa. The people were moved and said the practitioners were really good people.
Bin was a gangster and was notorious for fighting with people. After he began practicing in 1999, he followed Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and completely changed.
Once, two practitioners were illegally arrested. Because of heavy snow, it was impossible to ride a bike on the road. Bin had to walk and notify other practitioners to help send forth righteous thoughts.
Bin had a car, and he often gave people rides for free. Once, a young man missed a bus, and Bin drove more than 25 kilometers to take him home. He told the man about Dafa along the way and did not ask for money. Another time, a woman also needed a ride. Bin drove about 15 kilometers and took her home without asking for money. He also told the woman about Dafa.
Bin had an older brother who was intellectually challenged. Their mother took care of the brother. After she passed away in 2013, Bin began to look after him. This continued for 10 years until the brother passed away due to illness. Relatives and village officials were surprised. “It is hard to imagine that a former gangster could change so dramatically,” one of them said.
Over the years, we tried our best to help people know the facts about Falun Dafa and the persecution. Within 15 months, we distributed copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Partyto every household.
We also helped out in a neighboring county. Liang went there in October 2022 to distribute materials in a village. A middle-aged man walking in an alley asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Here is an important book for you,” Liang replied.
The man took out his cell phone to call the police. Liang said, “You are a good person. Please don’t do that.”
As they were talking, two men who’d finished playing mahjong were heading home and passing by.
“What is it?” one of them asked.
“A Falun Dafa practitioner is distributing materials,” the middle-aged man replied.
“It is none of my business,” the mahjong player replied, and they walked away.
Liang told him his personal experience of practicing Dafa, including how his health and morals improved. He also mentioned how the CCP deceives people.
After a while, the two mahjong players came back. “Do you have any flyers? We just heard what you said, and we want to read about it,” one of them said.
The middle-aged man also changed his attitude. “You are right. Falun Dafa is great. I will help you distribute materials. You practitioners are the best!”