(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in November 1997, and I’m now 78 years old. Through studying the Fa and doing the exercises, Master eliminated my illnesses. My complexion became rosy and healthy, and I felt light and energetic even when I walked. My coworkers said that I seemed like a completely different person.
Before I started practicing I experienced many hardships and suffered from numerous illnesses. My husband had an affair, which led to the breakup of our family when my son was only eight years old. Fortunately, I encountered Dafa, which helped me survive these difficulties. Because I had limited education, I didn’t understand many of the Fa’s principles when I first began practicing. I simply felt that what Master taught was excellent. In particular, the words “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” deeply moved me. I said, “I am determined to practice Falun Dafa. From today on, I will use Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to change myself.” With that single thought, I felt like a different person.
Putting Others First
In 1990, I moved into a new residential area provided by my workplace and I lived on the first floor. After I began practicing Dafa, I cleaned the stairway from the sixth floor to the first floor every week. I did this for more than 20 years. (The property management company initially cleaned it, but later no one took care of it.) Before the Chinese New Year holiday, officials from the local street office came to inspect sanitation conditions in our community. After I returned from out of town, the neighborhood committee director told me, “The director of the street office came with a group of people to inspect the area. I told them that some people say Falun Dafa is no good, but I said practitioners are good people. Look at this stairway, it’s been cleaned for years by a Falun Dafa practitioner.” The street office director smiled and left with the group.
After high-rise buildings were constructed by my workplace, some residents moved away and new families moved in. Some of the newcomers purchased furniture and discarded the packaging materials and other debris in the courtyard downstairs. The courtyard was not spacious, and the clutter made it difficult for elderly people and children to walk through it. Seeing that no one was taking care of it, I dismantled the packaging, organized the materials, and arranged for the person who recycled materials to haul them away. The security guard asked me how much I paid to have the items removed. I replied, “One hundred yuan.” He nodded approvingly.
I said, “Before I began practicing, I would not have done this. Falun Dafa’s Master teaches us to think of others first. If these things are left piled up, it looks messy and unpleasant. Once they are cleaned up, everyone feels better when they walk through the courtyard.” He replied, “Only people who practice Falun Dafa would do something like this.”
Letting Go of the Attachment to Personal Gain
Because of my limited education, there were many parts of the Fa that I couldn’t fully understand. However, I felt that the Fa is great and precious. I understood that Master was teaching the Fa for a limited time, so I treasured the opportunity and made every effort to study the Fa and practice the exercises diligently.
In 1998, some coworkers said that employees in our work system could retire early. I was pleased because I just turned 50 and I was eligible to retire. My workplace would provide a monthly medical subsidy of 300 yuan, and at the end of each year I could submit receipts and receive reimbursement of up to 3,600 yuan for medical expenses. At that time, my monthly pension was only about 300 yuan, so this was a substantial amount of money. Through studying the Fa and discussing with other practitioners, I realized that I should not accept this money. After I began practicing Falun Dafa I was healthy and I no longer needed medication. Submitting medical claims would not be truthful, so it wasn’t in accordance with the Fa.
At the end of the following year, the head of the personnel department called me and said, “The deadline for medical reimbursements is almost here. Submit your claim.” I replied, “I practice Falun Dafa and I’m no longer sick. I can’t lie.” He said anxiously, “That’s 3,600 yuan a year!” I said, “Whether it’s 3,600 yuan, 36,000 yuan, or 360,000 yuan, it doesn’t matter. In the past, I would never have given this money up. But now I’m a cultivator and I can’t lie.” He said, “Unbelievable,” and hung up.
Later, the reimbursement program was converted to medical insurance benefits worth several thousand yuan each year, and there was also an annual physical examination allowance of 1,000 yuan. I never used any of it. I saved China a large amount of money over the past 27 years.
Repairing a Water Pipe
Last summer, when temperatures reached 40°C (104°F) every day, I was meditating in my living room one afternoon around five o’clock when water suddenly rushed across the floor and reached my feet. I quickly searched for the source and discovered that the water pipe broke at the section above ground. I immediately went to the courtyard to find the shutoff valve, but no one knew where it was. I ran to my former workplace, which was behind the residential complex, and explained the situation to the security guard. He said everyone already went home. After much effort, I found a property management employee on duty, who opened the water access cover and shut off the valve. I hurried back home, worried about how badly the house might be flooded. When I opened the door, I was stunned. The entrances to all three rooms were dry. No water had entered any of the rooms. The kitchen and bathroom floors were lower than the living room floor, yet no water entered them either. It was truly miraculous! A large amount of water accumulated only on one side near the living room door. Tears streamed down my face as I loudly said, “Thank you, Master, for helping me.”
The next morning, a community worker came by after residents reported the water outage. I explained that the water supply pipe broke and that neither my former workplace nor the property management company was willing to handle the repair. I said, “I’m an elderly woman, and my son doesn’t live nearby, could you discuss this with the workplace leaders?”
After he left, I called my niece and asked her to help me find a plumber online. She said, “Auntie, you’re a retired employee of that workplace. This is their responsibility or the property management company’s responsibility. If they refuse to fix it, no one will have water. Just lock your door and come stay with me. Then someone else will be forced to deal with it.”
I replied, “I’m a cultivator. I can’t do that. It’s so hot, and more than sixty households in this building have no water. How can that be? Please just help me find someone. I’ll pay for it myself.”
The courtyard was in an uproar all day. I went to the community office to find the person who visited that morning and ask how their discussions were progressing, but I was told he had gone to a meeting. Around 4 p.m., my nephew arrived and said his sister called him. A plumber he knew was currently working on another job and could come the next day. I said that would be fine. Around 5 p.m., Mr. Liu, the community worker responsible for our residential area, came and said, “I discussed it with the leaders of your former workplace, and they won’t take responsibility.”
A group of residents gathered around the community office and refused to leave, so he came to talk with me. Many residents came as well. I said, “It’s extremely hot, and more than sixty households, including elderly people and children, have been without water for more than a day. If we can find a plumber and get it fixed quickly, I’ll pay the cost myself.”
Mr. Liu turned to the crowd and said, “This elderly lady is paying for the repairs herself, so what are you all arguing about?” He then said it was too late to find someone that day because everyone had already gotten off work, but he would help find a plumber the next day. I agreed.
At daybreak the next morning, my nephew arrived with a plumber. After inspecting the underground pipeline, the plumber said that replacing the pipe would be difficult and it would cost 3,000 yuan, including labor and materials. I replied, “That’s fine, as long as the water can be restored as quickly as possible.” They immediately got to work, and the entire house became a mess during the repair process. Around 9 a.m., a plumber arranged by the community office arrived. When he saw that the work was already underway, he left. Later that morning, Mr. Liu came by, and the workers told him that they were using the best materials available and would guarantee the quality of the repair. Around 5 p.m. that afternoon, the work was completed and the water service was restored.
Clarifying the Truth to Community Workers
A few days after the water pipe was repaired, Xiao Liu came with a young man and said, “Auntie, this is a new employee in our community office. I’m showing him around. In the future, he’ll be responsible for assisting the elderly residents, so if you need anything, contact him.”
After he said that, he left. Something about the situation didn’t seem quite right to me. In order to prevent further harassment, I later went to the community office and found the young man. I asked, “Are you newly assigned here?” He said yes. I then told him directly that I practiced Falun Dafa and I asked whether he ever read any materials about Falun Dafa. He said he hadn’t. I said, “The couplets on my door have been there for four years, and I haven’t replaced them. If you take photos of them, it won’t be good for you. It could affect your future and even bring trouble to your family.” He immediately took out his phone and said, “I’ll delete them.” (In fact, I hadn’t actually seen him taking photos, but it turned out that he had.)
I then explained to him why I practice Falun Dafa, that Falun Dafa is a cultivation practice of the Buddha School and is practiced in more than one hundred countries, and that the so-called “Tiananmen self-immolation” incident was fabricated. I also told him why practitioners encourage people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations. After listening, he immediately said that he had once joined the Party organizations and that he wished to withdraw from them. I also asked him to say, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” and that he would be blessed. I encouraged him to tell his family members as well so that they could benefit.
I said, “A few days ago, the water pipe in our residential area broke. During such hot weather, no one was willing to take responsibility, so I hired someone myself and spent 3,000 yuan to have it repaired. If you were in the same situation, would you pay for it?”
He replied, “No. These days, it’s difficult for anyone to come up with 3,000 yuan.” I said, “This is what makes Falun Dafa practitioners different. My Master teaches us that cultivators should always put others first.” He responded, “That’s incredible.” After that, the young man never harassed me.
