Shared at 2004 Washington DC Falun Dafa Conference
(Clearwisdom.net) Master mentioned in "Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference,"
"But when someone comes to persecute the Fa, what should you, a disciple, a particle of Dafa, do? Shouldn't you let the truth be known and make people aware of the facts? This is looking at it in terms of you. You are a particle of Dafa, so you should play this role."
I came to the United States in the beginning of 2001. My lack of English presented some difficulties for me to explain the facts about the persecution. One time, when I passed some materials about Falun Dafa to a Western person, he asked me a question and I did not understand him. When I gave a flyer to a Chinese person, I was ignored or even given a look of contempt. Some people even shouted insults at me, taunting me, "How much money do you make doing this?" and so on. When that happened, I became so anxious that I did not know what to say. When other practitioners encountered this kind of situation, they would keep explaining the facts very patiently to the person with the misunderstanding. This gave me an idea to make visits to Chinese people's homes in the US to explain the facts in more detail about the persecution of Falun Dafa.
The end of 2001, was the first time I went to a Chinese American family to be their housekeeper. At the beginning, when I explained the facts about Falun Gong and talked about my physical and mental changes since I started to practice Falun Dafa, they did not accept what I had to say very well. They asked me to play Master's lecture tape only in my room and not to let their children listen to it, and asked me not to bring my Dafa books into their children's rooms. They also said something to the effect that they did not understand Master.
During the one year that I worked for them, I demonstrated the high qualities of a Dafa practitioner. I practiced Falun Dafa in a dignified manner. I considered others first from many aspects of daily life, as was evident from my personal conduct. If there were any issues I would look inside myself first for my own shortcomings. I properly arranged to balance studying the Falun Dafa teachings, practicing the exercises and working as a housekeeper. I learned that it was the best to study the Falun Dafa principles and practicing the exercises in the early morning and late at night. The remainder of the time I did my best to take care of the children and do the housework. I did not forget my responsibility as a Falun Dafa practitioner, to explain the facts of the persecution in every opportunity without going to extremes or appearing too anxious.
When my employers asked questions such as, "Why does Jiang Zemin want to persecute Falun Gong? What was the self-immolation at Tiananmen Square all about? Where does the money come from for Falun Gong conferences, rallies and for printing the literature?" There were other questions, too. I answered these questions one by one. From the onset of admiring my work ethic, the family I worked for gradually reached a positive understanding of Falun Dafa. I kindly suggested to them that if they wanted to further understand Dafa they should read Zhuan Falun [main teachings of Falun Dafa] with an open mind. Finally, both the husband and the wife agreed to read Zhuan Falun. Their daughter also learned to practice Falun Dafa. The boy listened to Master's audio-lecture tapes ten times. At every holiday they wanted to give me a bonus in a red envelope, as is the custom in China. I refused to accept a tip for my work, but thanked them for it. They said, "We heard you always make phone calls to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to people in China. Please use the money to buy phone cards." I said, "Thank you for your kind intention!"
One time, the wife learned on the phone that her father was ill and was hospitalized in Beijing's 301 Hospital. She told her parents, "You should practice Falun Gong!" Her mother who still did not know the truth about Falun Gong said, "You want to push us into a fiery pit!" This showed how deceiving the propaganda from those evildoers was. Another time when she was chatting with her colleagues during a lunch break, one colleague said, "There must be some organizations donating money to Falun Gong; otherwise, how could they support themselves until now?" My employer said, "I know about this; my friend practices Falun Gong. Every time she joins any activities she uses her own money that she saved from her daily living expenses." After she returned from work she told me, "Look, even those Westerners won't believe that Falun Gong does not have support from society. Today I spoke out for you and finally they believed me." She also told me, "I was lucky that the first Falun Gong practitioner I met was you."
Several times when the husband spoke on the phone with his former bosses in Beijing, he made positive comments, how Falun Gong has been spread outside of China. One time he joined a reunion with more than 50 of his former classmates. Some people made negative comments about Falun Gong. He spoke out in front of all his former classmates, "If Falun Gong is negative, how can I leave my whole family in the trust of a Falun Gong practitioner to take care of?" It left those people speechless.
Finally, because my home was so far away from their home, I told them I wanted to stop doing the housekeeping for them. They said, "Then, please find us another Falun Gong practitioner!"
The second family's woman of the house was an important business manager of a company and had an eight-year old daughter. At the beginning when I explained the facts about Falun Gong to her, she did not want to listen. She told me, "If you believe, go ahead and practice. We have no problem with it. We don't want to get involved and we don't want to say anything." When I gave her some materials that explained in detail about the persecution of Falun Gong, she claimed that she did not have time to read it. She told me not to waste the material. During two months of contact, I spoke to her about my personal experiences, how many positive experiences had happened to me after I started to practice Falun Gong. She was moved by hearing my experiences. Finally she said, "Falun Gong is really great. I should learn more about it."
I gave her a copy of Zhuan Falun and several VCD's containing documentaries of the persecution in China. She told me that her husband had a company in China and remained in China for a long time. He came back to the US once a month. But since I stayed in their house for nearly a month, he did not go out for the whole period; he worked on his computer all day long each day. I thought it was strange. When the woman employer paid me my second month's salary, I asked her how things were going with her family. She responded, "To be honest, my husband and his friend's company went bankrupt. He has not found a job yet. We did not want you to know because if you leave, we will not be able to find such a good person like you in the future. We prefer to accept some of the difficulties to keep you here." I replied, "I finish the work you give me each day before ten o'clock in the morning. As Dafa practitioners we should consider others when we do things. I can not take more money from you like this." She said, "None of those housekeepers who worked in my house before said that they were overpaid. They all complained that there are too many things for them to do. You do things quickly and very efficiently." She also said, "I appreciate it very much that you consider my family like your own family." I told her, "After your husband finds a job, if you need me I will still come to help."
The third family's woman of the house was a restaurant owner who was busy all the time. She had one six-year-old girl and one nine-year-old boy. She asked me to take care of the children, to put them to bed at night and tell them a bedtime story before they went to sleep. I wondered what I should I read to them? I thought of telling them about Falun Gong, but I hesitated at the beginning. I was afraid that the children would tell their mother and that if she had misunderstandings it might cause obstacles. Then I thought again that explaining to people what is Falun Gong is the most holy thing one can do and I should not have any incorrect thoughts. I needed to adjust my understanding. This way, I am taking care of the two children with a Dafa practitioner's mentality.
The children were too young to take care of themselves. I patiently taught them every tiny thing in daily life, from brushing their teeth, washing their face, washing their hair, taking a bath and wringing out wet towel; I considered them as my own children. I told them how and why one should follow the principles of "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Tolerance," instructed them to always to speak the truth, and told them that swearing at others, beating others and stealing will make one to lose virtue. I explained that they should listen to their parents and be good children. I also taught them to recite Master's scriptures, to sing Dafa songs and to practice Falun Gong.
After that, the two children changed greatly. The little girl said that she was very comfortable while practicing Falun Gong and felt she was flying into the blue sky. While she was waiting for her school bus, while in school and in other public areas she would sit in the double lotus position and practice the meditation. Once she asked me, "Grandma [a term of respect, in Chinese, to an older person not necessarily a blood relative], if a person steals from others and beats others, what is going to happen to him if he used up all his virtue?" I told her, "He will be truly dead." One time she came back from school and told me, "My mother got a lot of virtue today." I asked her why? She said, "A thief stole a lot of money from my mother's wallet. The thief then gave my mother a lot of virtue."
When the little girl called her relatives she told them that she was practicing Falun Gong. She asked her mother to learn to practice it too. When her mother made the excuse that she was too old, her little daughter showed her the picture of an elderly lady on a Dafa bookmark and said, "She is much older than you and she practices Falun Gong." Her mother smiled. Every day after they came home from school, the sister and brother loudly sang, "Falun Dafa is Good!" I heard that they sang the song in the restaurant too, and all the customers heard them. It had a really good effect of introducing Falun Dafa to the public.
The children's true grandmother lived in New York. Before she retired, she was a deputy bureau head in China. She had some misunderstanding about Falun Gong as a result of the propaganda she was exposed to and was afraid that I would mislead the two children. She came here purposely to investigate the situation. At the beginning when she saw me, she was distant and asked me, "How old are you? When did you start to practice Falun Gong?" I told her about my personal experiences in a patient voice and described the positive benefits that had happened to me after I started to practice Falun Gong; for example, illnesses that doctors had said could not be cured were all gone after I started to practice Falun Gong. She was surprised and, faced with the facts, had to change her attitude toward Dafa. One afternoon when she wanted to go out, the two children wanted to go with her. She said, "It is too hot outside! You stay home and practice Falun Gong with ¡®grandma'." I gave her several VCD's about Falun Gong and she watched them all. She also read Zhuan Falun and asked me for a Falun Gong exercise tape. She wanted to practice Falun Gong after she got back to New York. Even though the children's mother did not try to learn more about Falun Gong, she had a good impression of Falun Gong. She said that many practitioners went to her restaurant to eat, and every one of them was kind and nice.
The owner of the restaurant invited two cooks who had misunderstandings about Dafa. Interestingly, one of them had witnessed the staged "self-immolation" incident on Tiananmen Square personally. He insisted that the Chinese Party did not lie, as he saw the fire starting and the police started to put the fire out right away. I told him it was true that somebody set these people on fire but they were not Dafa practitioners. I gave him a copy of a VCD with a documentary that shows the discrepancies of the incident. After he watched it, he did not make claims it was true any more.
Another cook said if Falun Gong is so powerful, how come that his friend's mother did not have her illness cured by practicing Falun Gong? I told him, "Falun Gong's book explains that someone who wishes to practice Falun Gong with the pursuit of curing illness will gain nothing. One must follow the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" to improve oneself. Illness then will be cured automatically." I also told him some examples. Finally he said, "Now I understand."
I was glad that they could understand the truth. Finally, because I needed to help a friend to take care of their children, I told the family that I wanted to leave. This way, I left within two months. Later, the friend's mother arrived and I came to the fourth family.
When I talked on the phone with the woman of the house she asked me how old I was. I told her that I was almost 57 but others said I looked younger. After we both agreed, I went to her home with my luggage. The hostess said, "Are you almost 57? You really don't look that way; your talk and walk don't show that you are that old and your mental state is also very good."
She wanted to know very much how I could be that way. This gave me a good starting point to tell her the facts about Falun Dafa. I told her that my physical condition was previously not good and I could not take care of myself. I needed a housekeeper to help me. After I started to practice Falun Gong, my physical condition improved greatly.
When she heard me begin to mention Falun Gong, she looked serious. She said that her friend's relative also practiced Falun Gong but she did not understand something he had done. I said, "If he did not do something well it was because of himself, not because Falun Gong taught him not to do well." Master told us to be a good person anywhere. When doing things we need to consider others first. We should be good employees in the work place and we should be worthy of our salaries; we should be good wives, good husbands, good daughters-in-law or good children at home. She said, "Your words were easy to understand. Let's talk more next time."
This family had two boys, one six years old and one nine years old. The younger one was medically diagnosed as a mentally handicapped child and could not take care of himself at all. He destroyed many things at home and sometimes he even hit his mother. If anything did not go according to his will, he would bump his head against the wall. The mother was often upset and crying over the situation.
One time during one of our chats, I told her that many children became healthy and improved their behavior after they learned Falun Gong, saving their parents a lot of worries. The hostess was intrigued and said, "Then you can teach my younger son to practice Falun Gong." I said, "I suggest that you also read through Zhuan Falun with an open mind and then we can talk about it."
She soon bought a copy of Zhuan Falun and started to read. Two days later she found that a small wart she had on her lower right eyelid for several years became soft. She told her husband. Her husband said, "Don't be too worried; go ahead and practice if you feel good about it." Two more days later something amazing happened. The wart the size of a small bean fell off. She came to me excited and told me, "Falun Gong is really miraculous!" I told her that many patients with terminal illnesses were healed by practicing Falun Gong. She was touched to hear that.
One night, the hostess brought her younger son to my room. I told them about the magnificence of Dafa and the greatness of Master; told them that Jiang Zemin persecutes Falun Gong by various means, and so on. While she was listening, her eyes turned red. She told her son, "Looks like auntie's purpose for coming here is for saving us." My tears ran down my face. I really felt the meaning of saving the lives using various methods mentioned by Master. She then bought a few Dafa books and Master's lecture audiotapes from the Internet. She read Master's lectures at different locations. She started to practice Falun Gong. I was really glad for her.
One time she took out 100 dollars and said that I could use the money for anything in support of Falun Dafa. I did not take it. I said to her that Master told us that Dafa does not gather money and possessions. She then bought 200 dollars worth of stamps for mailing letters to China that explained the facts of the persecution. I told her that her son's daily visit to the psychologist already was a high expense for her, and that she did not have to spend more money. She replied with smile, "You have done so much and I only did a little."
At several parties with her former classmates, she told them that she also started to practice Falun Gong. Some of them said, "Everybody knows about your boy's condition and we were worried about you. When we met, others complained about something being wrong in their families; only you are not complaining and your mental state is good. We feel relieved."
One day I talked to her husband. He also recognized that her mood was better than before and she would not get angry over trivial things anymore. While they were talking, the boy who used to speak only several simple words clearly shouted out "Falun Dafa is good!" twice and then started to sing the song, "Falun Dafa is good, Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa." The boy's mother was deeply moved and said that even she did not know how to sing the song, expressing "It is real that Dafa manifests miracles!"
Living in Chinese American families during the past two years and clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa made me feel deeply that it is an opportunity that Master gave me to offer salvation to people and to validate Dafa.
The above are some of my experiences. If there is any mistake, please let me know so I can correct it.
Thank you, Master, and thank you, fellow practitioners.
