(Minghui.org) I’m 66 years old and I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. I was a child during the Cultural Revolution. What kind of person was I? I didn’t give in to anyone. If people bullied me, I beat them so hard that they needed to be hospitalized. I smoked, drank, and fought. I also took advantage of others and stole from my workplace.
After I began Falun practicing Dafa, I felt like I was reborn. I did good deeds, no longer stole from my workplace or competed to get ahead. I previously bullied a coworker, so he decided to retaliate by humiliating me in front of the others. When I had the urge to fight back, I suddenly remembered Master’s Fa:
“Forbearance is the key to improving one’s xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator.” (“What is Forbearance (Ren)?,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
I controlled myself and didn’t get angry, but he stomped on my foot and defiantly said, “Can’t you bear it? I realized that it was not enough to just endure, I had to apologize to him. So, I sincerely said, “I was wrong. I’m sorry for the way I treated you.” He smiled, patted me lightly on the shoulder and said, “Falun Dafa is so powerful, it has changed you. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself.”
The roads were icy after a snowstorm and there were few cars. Two practitioners and I were a hundred miles away from home. We were riding my motorcycle on the icy roads. Halfway home, the motorcycle engine stopped. I made some simple repairs, and we continued driving. We arrived home safely. I took it to a garage to have it repaired. The mechanic said, “The engine burst. You are lucky that you didn’t go too far, otherwise it would be dangerous.” I said, “I drove it a hundred miles.” He said, “Wow, that’s amazing.”
Many practitioners came to me for help. A practitioner in a rural area was illegally detained for 15 days. Her husband was angry and did not want to pick her up, so in the heavy snow two practitioners and I went to the countryside dozens of kilometers away to talk to him. Due to the persecution, he was under a lot of pressure. He was so angry that he refused our gift. We were not deterred by his emotions, and patiently persuaded him: Your wife is a good person and is being persecuted. If you don’t pick her up, the police will continue to persecute her. We will pay for the transportation, as long as you go. We will help you.” Our kindness touched him and he agreed to pick her up.
Because of the heavy snow, many cars were stopped on the side of the road. A practitioner said, “The four-wheeled cars are parked on the side of the road, can you make it with a tricycle?” I firmly said, “It can be done!” The snow was three feet at one point, but I felt the wheels leave the ground and the tricycle glided along like a boat. We got home safely. We deeply felt Master’s blessing. The next day, we brought the practitioner home with her husband. Her husband also changed his opinion of the practitioner.
With the advancement of Fa-rectification, most practitioners in my area are increasingly coming out to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa. My tricycle could not carry so many people, so I got a four-wheeled vehicle and traveled to cities and towns, and passing out Dafa materials. We have no fear or hesitancy, whether it was cold or hot, or we got insulted and falsely accused, or were faced with being arrested by the police. We pass out truth-clarifying materials not only at night, sometimes during the day, sometimes in person, not only locally, but also to other cities and provinces.
Practitioners in our region form a whole in terms of cooperation, and take the initiative to help each other. Some study the Fa together and send righteous thoughts to help practitioners in difficulties. Once, when Jing was bleeding profusely from her nose, I went to her home with several practitioners to send righteous thoughts. Her husband blocked the door and wouldn’t let us in. We told him that Jing would be fine with Master’s protection. Because Jing refused to go to a hospital, her husband let us in. We studied the Fa together, and sent righteous thoughts. Three days later Jing’s nose stopped bleeding. Her husband sincerely said: Falun Dafa is really good.
Another practitioner, Ying, had symptom of diabetes. Her husband and daughter did not allow her to eat fruit, meat, or other foods. She was only allowed to eat two small slices of corn at each meal, and had to walk 10,000 steps a day. Ying couldn’t take it anymore and left home. Her family looked for her everywhere.
Her daughter called me and said, “Is my mother at your place? If something happens to her, I will call the police to settle accounts with you.” I said, “Don’t worry, your mother will be fine.” But I was still a little worried about her calling the police, because I had been persecuted many times. But I realized my fear was my human notion. Only by correcting oneself can we help others.
We studied the Fa with Ying, and negated the false appearance of sickness. Three days later, we brought her home and told her daughter, “Your mother is fine.”
We thought her family would be happy, but her daughter not only did not thank us, she refused to look at us. I felt a little mad. I looked inward. Wasn’t my reaction an attachment to being rewarded and thanked? Isn’t Ying’s improvement due to Master? What did I do? How could I look for credit? I memorized the poem “Calmly Take a Look” in Hong Yin III “We ask for nothing in return and have no pursuit.” Why couldn’t I remember the Fa? Following the Fa is true cultivation.
When a practitioner’s husband was hospitalized in the provincial capital, another practitioner and I went to see him. He was very moved and said even his relatives and friends did not visit him. He changed his opinion about us.
We heard that Wang, a practitioner in a neighboring county was sick. When we got there we saw his complexion looked dark, as though he had hepatitis. We talked to his family and invited him to stay with us for a change of environment.
His family agreed. I brought Wang to my home. He brought his own utensils and ate alone. When I asked him why, he said, “I’m afraid of infecting you.” I smiled and said, “I’m a cultivator. I’m resistant to viruses, so your state has nothing to do with me.”
I ate with him. We memorized the Fa, practiced the exercises and went to Fa study. We didn’t treat him as a patient. In the cultivation environment, his mindset improved, and his complexion changed from dark to rosy. His eyes also changed from yellow to white. Before he came, it was exhausting for him to take a few steps, but now he easily walked up to the fourth floor. Ten days later, Wang drove himself home. His family was happy and surprised to see how much he improved.
Out-of-town practitioner Jia had a stroke as a result of the persecution and needed help. The local practitioners told us about his situation. The other practitioners and I bought food and went to his home. He had been tortured while being unlawfully detained and couldn’t take care of himself. His brother did not live in the area. The family depended on his father’s meager income. The two old parents worked very hard, and gradually became resentful of Dafa. They didn’t allow him to read the Fa or practice the exercises, and local practitioners were not allowed to visit him. The parents even threatened to call the police when they came to their home.
What to do in this situation? We decided to take Jia out of his parents’ house, so he could study the Fa, practice the exercises, and strengthen his righteous thoughts. This was also a test for me: What should I do if Jia’s family refused, and called the police? He can’t stay with female practitioners. I’m a man, so he had to come to my house.
Master said, “Compassion can harmonize Heaven and Earth, ushering in spring; Righteous thoughts can save people in this world” (“The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos,” Hong Yin II).
Master taught us to have compassion. So, we went to his house. I saw that Jia was thin, his eyes looked dazed, and he couldn’t make a sound. He was half paralyzed, and had to be fed by his mother. We had been illegally jailed together in a labor camp before. When he recognized me, he was very excited. His eyes asked for help, but he couldn’t make a sound. He gestured to his mother that we knew each other and had a good relationship. His mother dropped her guard.
I told his mother, “You can’t help him. I’ll take him to my house for a few days so you can rest.” At first, his mother disagreed, saying it was too much trouble, but she finally agreed. His mother told us that he could not eat fish, meat, or vegetables, and that she fed him bread soaked in water.
After arriving at my house, practitioners cooked delicious meals for him, mashed the fish and meat and fed him. He only ate one bowl of rice at his house but two bowls at my house. We read the Fa, practiced the exercises, and sent forth righteous thoughts. After three days, he was able to eat on his own. He was able to practice the exercises and meditate.
His eldest brother called me and shouted, “Where did you take my brother? What are you doing?” I didn’t get angry, but said kindly: “Your brother’s condition already improved and he’s in a good mood. Your parents worked hard to take care of him. I wanted to give them a break.”
Then his brother asked for a video conversation so that he could see his brother’s situation. I opened the video to let him see his brother eating by himself. The younger brother happily waved to his brother. Seeing that his brother was able to eat by himself, the older brother was surprised, and immediately changed his attitude.
On the seventh day, Jia’s father called and said that his mother missed her son and asked us to bring him home. I drove him home the following morning. Practitioners packed food and bought him new clothes. When his parents saw Jia walk up to the third floor by himself, and that he gained weight, they happily exclaimed, “Thank you so much! His own brother wouldn’t take care of him. You’re so good!” The practitioners took this opportunity to tell them the truth about Dafa. They accepted it, and agreed to let their son study the Fa and practice the exercises.
Thank you, compassionate Master for giving me a new lease on life! I will focus on eliminating my attachments and maintaining righteous thoughts!
(Selected submission in celebration of World Falun Dafa Day on Minghui.org)