(Minghui.org) I’ve had many ups and downs in the 22 years since I started to practice Falun Dafa. I have been thrown into labor camps where I was beaten and tortured, but my faith in Master Li Hongzhi and Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance has remained strong. I have walked my cultivation path with determination.
In 2017, village officials notified me that they wanted to pave the road, which had been widened 20 years earlier, and would be infringing on some of my land to do it. Although I did not ask for compensation for the land, I resented what they were doing.
Master stated:
“But often tensions like these won’t count or achieve what they are meant to, or help you to improve, if they don’t actually bother you.” (Lecture 4, Zhuan Falun)
I had hoped that the road would be built somewhere else, but that was not to be. As a practitioner I knew I should not treat the situation with ordinary human reasoning: I had to set a higher standard for myself and look at things through the lens of Dafa. Paving the road was a test of my character and a reflection that I had given up my attachment to the land it occupied. But my thoughts that surfaced exposed my selfishness and impure notions.
When the village leader asked if I would allow the road to be paved, he said, “Isn’t this a good opportunity to validate Dafa?”
“As a Dafa practitioner I follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and consider others first, so naturally I agree,” I replied. “If I were not a Dafa practitioner, would I have agreed—and with no compensation?”
The leader said, “Falun Dafa really is indeed good.”
I am a farmer, so I have a great deal of time-consuming work to do every day. When things get busy, it’s a constant test to put cultivation first.
Every morning, I do the exercises and meditate until its time to cook and go to work. I study the Fa daily and regularly attend a local group Fa study. When selling vegetables at the market, I always tell people about the benefits and goodness of Dafa. During the off-season, I cooperate with other practitioners to distribute Dafa materials, put up posters, and help the residents in my village understand the truth about Dafa.
One day when a lady stopped to buy some vegetables, I told her that Dafa is good and that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of the practice and its practitioners is wrong. I told her how important it was to quit the CCP and distance herself from it. She was interested and asked, “Why does the Party persecute Falun Dafa?”
“The communist party harms good people,” I said. “It uses its media to suppress the truth, spread lies, and dupe people into going along with it, even when it is obviously wrong. They claim there is no God and don’t allow people to practice religion. The foundation of the Party is corrupt. I am suggesting that you quit the CCP, but it is your choice whether to quit or not. The freedom to choose: It is not something political. It is given by the Creator.”
She nodded in agreement but then quickly walked away. When I turned, I saw a policeman standing next to me. I asked him, “Did you hear what I just said? Why don’t you quit, too?”
He turned and walked away so I hurried to catch up with him and said, “Many innocent police officers are being used to persecute Dafa disciples, but God gives you the opportunity to choose your future. I hope you make the right choice and quit the CCP.”
He responded, “I am the chief of police. I know the truth about Dafa and that you are all good people. Please help me quit the Party.”
He cautioned me to pay attention to my safety and then said, “The young police officers won’t listen to reason, so be careful.” I thanked him.
Under Master’s arrangement, I have sold vegetables in five different markets. Every time I go to a different market, I talk to people about Dafa. I encounter people of all ages and from all walks of life while I sell my rice and vegetables. Since our produce is excellent quality and we deliver to the elderly if needed, our customers are like a living media who tell others about the goodness of Dafa.
I truly want to help the Fa-rectification and rectify that which is not righteous. I have found that when my own thoughts are righteous, the environment improves very quickly. Those who defame Dafa become kind and helpful after they learn and understand the truth about the persecution. As long as I follow Master’s Fa, things always work out for the best.