(Minghui.org) I have fond memories of the practice group I was involved with prior to July 20, 1999. The group was a “pure land”, where people were kind and compassionate. We did the standing exercises in the morning and sitting exercises and the Fa study in the evening. Our conversations were always about how to be better people. For example, we would talk about how we did not lie following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance; how we did not fight back when we were bullied; how some of us made up with their mothers-in-law; how we overcame lust; how one made a special trip back to pay the vendor for a missed payment. Our minds and hearts were purified in Dafa and our moral standards improved.
There were many miracles too. One day, a practitioner who had been doing the exercises for only two weeks came to group practice. She showed us the ultrasound report announcing that her cyst that was to be surgically removed had disappeared! Shortly afterwards, many more people came to our practice site to do the exercises.
Ms. Zhao, a woman in her sixties, did not have good health. One day, shortly after being discharged from the hospital, her daughter was pushing her around in her wheelchair. When she saw us practicing the exercises, she didn’t want to leave. Ms. Zhao told her daughter that she wanted to do the exercises as well. Her daughter reminded her that she could barely stand, how could she do the exercises? Ms. Zhao insisted, so her daughter took her to group practice every day and picked her up afterwards.
A few days later, she was back on her feet. She wanted to study the Fa with other people after doing the exercises too, but she could not read. She could not even remember her home phone number. Nonetheless, she decided to purchase a copy of Zhuan Falun to read at home. One day, while she was trying to read, her daughter couldn’t help laughing, “Mom, you are holding the book upside down.” She wanted her daughter to teach her to read, but her daughter did not know where to start. She could not even write her name, so how was she going to read a book with over 300 pages? Ms. Zhao just looked at the book whenever she had time. Gradually she was able to recognize a few characters. Her daughter commented, “It’s strange, my mom only needs to ask me about a few words and then she is able to read the whole page.”
There were more examples. An illiterate eighty year old man was able to read after participating in group study. Also, a 4-5 year old Chinese child was able to read Zhuan Falun, one paragraph at a time.
In the beginning, we had a vacant room to which a few of us had the key. Whoever had time could go there. We had Dafa books, audio tapes and an empty box for collection of payments for supplies. We never worried about missing money. Later, we moved to a practitioner’s home and the owner made a few more keys for practitioners who he trusted very much. If the whole society was as trustworthy as that, we would not need to lock our doors at night. Practitioners in our group found 3 watches on separate occasions, one of which was an expensive brand name from Korea. Everyone submitted the watches to the local police station.
Following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, young practitioners also did very well at work. They were a good example for other employees. They were very honest and would not take any more pay than they deserved. These practitioners put others’ interests before theirs. Practitioners who were from the rural area had a rare opportunity to change their residence status to the city, but they would give their colleagues the chance first. In 1998, when there was flooding in the south, they were the first to donate money. The young practitioners did a good job, and even when they were let go as a result of persecution, they took their time to explain everything to their successors. Some colleagues commented, “We really like working with Falun Dafa practitioners. You are all so easy to get along with.” Falun Dafa practitioners are very popular with employers. Prior to the start of the persecution, for example, I know for a fact that the owner of the King of Pastry Restaurant looked for practitioners to hire for his business.
