Helping Practitioners in Need and Improving in Cultivation Together

(Minghui.org) I am a veteran practitioner who started practicing Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) in 1996. I am almost 90 years old.

A few of us practitioners went to Beijing in 2000 to appeal for the right to practice Falun Dafa, and were illegally detained. One of the practitioners, whom I didn’t know, was worried, as her salary had been stopped. There was no money for her son to go to college, and her husband was complaining and angry. I thought that her child going to college was an important matter, so I told her that I could help.

After returning home, I gave several thousand yuan to another practitioner and asked her to pass it to the practitioner who was in need, tell her that it was for her child’s tuition, and that she was not expected to pay it back.

Later, when we were sending forth righteous thoughts as a group, a practitioner smiled at me. I asked her if she knew me. “You must have forgotten,” she replied. “You gave money to me for my son’s schooling.” I really didn’t recognize her.

She told me that when her husband learned about it he exclaimed, “You Falun Gong practitioners are really great!” She later earned money by selling ice lollies, and insisted on returning the money to me.

In a similar situation, I met a practitioner on the way to clarifying the truth. She looked very worried, and said that her son had been admitted to a university and school was about to start, but she didn’t have enough money for his tuition. She had been running around for several days to borrow money but had not been successful. I told her, “I have a savings account of 3,000 yuan. Please come with me and I will withdraw it. Is that enough?”

She burst into tears and said that it was enough. She kept thanking me and said that she would definitely repay it. I replied, “You should thank Master. This is Master’s arrangement. Otherwise, why would we have met here? Sending your child to college is important.” Her husband and son were both very happy. They developed a positive understanding of Dafa and Dafa practitioners.

Strictly Looking Inward and Following the Correct Path of Cultivation

When the persecution first started the practitioners were united in standing up to the persecution, and formed an indestructible body. Many people had their wages withheld and their lives were often in jeopardy. My salary was not withheld for some reason, so I felt it was my duty to help other practitioners who were in need.

I saved a portion of money every month for Dafa projects. I felt that this money should be used for the Fa, so I was very frugal in my daily life. I bought cheap, leftover vegetables from supermarkets, and sometimes there would be cockroaches inside. I shook them clean, blanched the vegetables in boiling water, and put them in the refrigerator to eat every day. I exchanged the shopping cards relatives had given me for cash, and gave the money to practitioners for Dafa projects.

The practitioners later asked me to take charge of the money they donated for use in Dafa projects. I packed my own donation and the money collected from other practitioners together, and stored it in a dedicated place. But for a while there were rumors that I was not discrete enough with my spending. A practitioner even came to my home, wanting to check my spending record.

I said to her, “I don’t have it. Minghui has taught us a lesson, that we can’t keep records or names.” She questioned how I could prove that the money was used for Dafa. I patted my chest and replied, “I rely on my conscience. Master is watching, and fellow practitioners who used the money can prove it. If you’re worried about the money you donated, I will pay you back with my own money.”

She said, “I’m not here to ask for the money. I’m just afraid that you may make a mistake.” I told her not to worry, and that I would never do anything to let Dafa down.

I felt aggrieved and distressed after her visit, and I sought out practitioners to discuss and vent my displeasure. Fellow practitioners first affirmed my character and thought that happened for me to improve my xinxing. They suggested that I look within when I encountered problems.

I was studying “Teachings at the Conference in Singapore” at the time, where Master said:

“So whenever we encounter a problem, we must look at both its positive and negative side, and look for the causes within ourselves. With everything we come across, we should look inward for the reasons and for our shortcomings.”

I calmed down and looked within, thinking, “I have not spent a single cent of money for Dafa on myself, and have a clear conscience. So why do practitioners still doubt me?” The first thing that came to mind was that I should not take the money donated by other practitioners, but should ask them to give it directly to the relevant practitioners.

They are all veteran practitioners and know each other well. I always liked to meddle in things, and the practitioners also wanted the convenience. I decided that from now on, when practitioners tried to give me money, I would tell them to give it directly where it was needed.

When I dug deeper, I found some improper behavior. For example, one time a practitioner lost his source of income due to the persecution and wanted to rent a small shop to make a living. He came to me to borrow money. I didn’t have that much at the time, so I used the money I had saved for Dafa. I wrote a note and put it in the purse, and tore it up when I added the money back. This happened twice.

Although I was helping the practitioner, wasn’t this a misappropriation of public funds? That’s was where the problem was. After reading Master’s new article, “The Ordeals Our Spiritual Discipline Faces,” I realized that I had made a mistake and I stopped using the money I saved for Dafa for other purposes.

Treating Funds Seriously and the Difficulties Were Solved

A practitioner came to me around 2017 for money to hire a lawyer for another practitioner, who was being persecuted. I had prepared 5,000 yuan for my husband’s hospitalization at the time. I thought, why not use it for Dafa first since it was an urgent need? When a practitioner found out about this, she brought me 3,500 yuan, and said, “This money is also reserved for Dafa, but we don’t need to use it now, so why not use it for your husband’s hospitalization?”

I asked if it was appropriate. She said, “Of course it is. Why don’t you use it for the hospital deposit first?” So I kept the money. Afterward, I discussed this with the practitioners in the Fa-study group. They said that it was alright.

However, a veteran practitioner later said, “No! As long as the money is given to Dafa, it cannot be used for anything else.” Upon hearing this, I took the money out and gave it to practitioners to make truth clarification materials.

My husband was hospitalized. I found a stack of money when packing things for him. It was exactly 5,000 yuan. I didn’t remember when I had put it there, but the problem was now solved.

We had to pay a 5,000 yuan deposit in cash because the insurance card procedures were incomplete. The insurance card issue was later solved, and the hospital expenses were paid by the insurance card. We tried to get the deposit back when my husband was going to be discharged, but we could not find the deposit receipt, so we were not be able to get the deposit of 5,000 yuan back until now.

A practitioner told us that this was Master’s arrangement for me because he saw that my xinxing was correct on this matter. It not only solved the problem for my husband’s hospital stay, but also eliminated my attachment to profit during the process, because the deposit money was not mine. I think the fellow practitioners’ understandings were correct. Thank you Master for your compassionate care.

A practitioner once wanted to print the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, but he had no money. I had also run out of money. At this juncture, my children gave me some money to support the project. I collected it and took it to the practitioner right away. The practitioner said with emotion, “This is what Master gave us!”

Nowadays, everyone is well off. I can’t give money away even I want to. But I still save a portion of money every month. Although it’s not much, I think I can use it to buy tickets for those who are destined to see the Shen Yun show when it comes to China one day. I now no longer buy leftover vegetables at the supermarket. I choose small stalls where it is convenient to tell the vendors the truth about Dafa.

Helping Each Other and Improving Together During the Pandemic

The community was under lockdown during the pandemic, and entries and exits were strictly controlled. One afternoon, a practitioner who came from out of town to work temporary jobs called me, and said that he had had a fever for a week. He had a cough, sore throat, felt weak all over, and could not eat. I said, “Come and live at my home and refresh yourself.” He agreed and asked for my building access card.

But these cards have a photo, and cannot be used by others. I said, “Just walk in openly. We have Master watching over us. Those who should come in will be able to.” I put my hands in front of my chest, bowed to Master’s portrait, and asked for strengthening. I then went to the community entrance to pick him up. He rode in on his electric bike and the security guard paid no attention to him.

The practitioner told me that he had been unable to go to work and had not studied the Fa or done the exercises. I said, “Let’s study the Fa.” I made him egg soup for dinner since he could not swallow well. We insisted on finishing two lectures and then started the exercises.

He had never done the one-hour second exercise before. While doing it, he couldn’t keep his arms up and his whole body was shaking. I stood opposite him and held his hands. After finally finishing all of the exercises, he had to rest. I let him sleep on the sofa in the room where Master’s portrait was, to have a good rest. We planned to get up in the morning to do the exercises again.

I lay in bed and couldn’t fall asleep. I was filled with anxiety, which was becoming more intense. Finally, I thought of Master and was relieved. Master said:

“With Master and the Way by my side, what is there to fear?” (“Lecture Given at the Conference in Sydney”)

Wasn’t it Master’s arrangement that allowed him to come in my home?

I woke the practitioner up to do the exercises the next morning. He got up right away and was doing much better than the previous night. He ate some egg soup after sending forth righteous thoughts. I encouraged him to look inward. We studied the Fa again, and he had some lunch at noon. I asked him to listen to articles on Minghui.org regarding illness and karma. He was very inspired, and said, “I found my attachment! I have been browsing on my phone alot recently.”

I told him about the harm of being obsessed with mobile phones. He recognized the seriousness of cultivation. He said that he browsed the phone all the time and did not study the Fa or do the exercises, and was not behaving like a true Dafa practitioner. It was no wonder that he was infected with COVID-19. We continued to study the Fa and do the exercises. He was able to perform the movements correctly and was sweating all over. I knew he had recovered.

On the third day, another practitioner discussed and studied the Fa with him, and did the exercises in the evening with him. On the morning of the fourth day, he said, “I’m fine now. I’m going back home today.” I gave him a disk with music for the one-hour version of the second exercise, and asked him to persist in practicing.

I told him listen to Master’s lectures if he really couldn’t calm down to study the Fa. All were on the disk. I gave him 500 yuan (paper bills with messages about Falun Dafa printed on them) for meals. He said he would pay me back later. I told him, “You don’t have to pay me back, just help me with some Dafa work in the future.” He burned incense in front of Master’s portrait and left happily. I felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from my shoulders.

I was in the best state during those four days. I studied the Fa and did the exercises very seriously, with my mind very clear and my energy abundant. This is strengthening from Master’s Dafa, and the result of fellow practitioners helping each other.

Thank you Master! Thank you fellow practitioners!