(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I am a Falun Dafa practitioner in my 70s. I am extremely grateful to Master for strengthening my righteous thoughts to do well the three things, purifying my body and mind, and turning me into a person who is always considerate of others and ready to help other people.
Not long after the persecution began, several dozen Dafa practitioners were holding a Fa conference when a group of police officers suddenly broke in and started to videotape us. Some practitioners got scared and quickly discarded their ebook readers.
The persecution in our area was very severe at that time. There were not many Dafa books available, so many of us studied the Fa with an ebook reader. I put mine in my pocket, saying in my heart: “You must not leave me, and I cannot leave you, either. No one can take you away from me. You have Dafa installed in you, and you are precious. Dafa is the foundation of my life.” With such a pure thought in my heart, I was protected by Master.
The police, two males and two females, started to body-search everyone. I held a thought in my heart: “You cannot search me.” When it was my turn, the two female officers were suddenly called away and I wasn’t searched.
After we were taken to a detention center, a female guard ordered me to take off my clothes to search me. I refused and questioned her in an upright manner: “Who said we have to take off our clothes?!” She went quiet and didn’t search me.
After we were taken to a cell, an inmate came over to search me again. I passed the ebook reader to a practitioner next to me, who had just been searched, and told her to give it back to me after the body search. The practitioner couldn’t bear the pressure at the time and put the ebook reader on the large bed shared by everyone in the cell.
The inmate searched me from top to bottom, without ever seeing the ebook on the bed near us. After the search, I quickly put the ebook back in my pocket. I never felt any pressure protecting the ebook reader, because it had Dafa in it and Dafa is so precious.
During the two months in the detention center, I and the other practitioners took turns using the ebook reader, and many of them memorized the poems in Hong Yin II. When the battery ran out, we took out the battery and took turns holding it in our hands, and it miraculously recharged! We were able to use the ebook reader to study the Fa again!
When I was transferred to a forced labor camp, I took the ebook reader with me. Regulations in the labor camp were much stricter, and searches were commonplace and frequent. Sometimes, we were searched a number of times a day, but the guards never found the ebook. I came home with the ebook when I was released two years later.
Master said: “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun) It was truly so!
Looking back, I realized that the reason for the persecution we experienced at that time was because we did not have a clear understanding of the Fa principles and did not fundamentally negate the persecution arranged by the old forces.
A few years ago, I was stopped by a police officer while going through a security check at a train station. The officer took a look at my ticket and said, “You won’t be going anywhere.” They searched my bag and found a copy of Zhuan Falun (the main text of Falun Dafa) and other Dafa materials.
I thought: “Truth-clarification materials are for saving people, including the police.” So I asked them to read the materials. Some of them did and a few also agreed to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its junior organizations.
Later, when the police wanted to take away Zhuan Falun, I said to them, “You cannot take away this book. My life depends on it.” So they gave the book back to me.
They ordered me to go with them to a detention facility, but I refused. I thought that if they unlawfully arrested me, they would be committing a big sin against Dafa, and it would cause losses to saving sentient beings.
I asked Master in my heart: “Master, I cannot go with them. Please help me.” Almost instantly, I exhibited a severe illness symptom and was taken back home the same day.
I looked within afterwards and found that it was my attachments to family that resulted in this persecution.
Fa-rectification cultivation is a very serious matter and the Fa has very strict requirements for us. Only when we align ourselves with the Fa and constantly let go of our attachments, can we walk our path well.
During my cultivation in Dafa over the past more than twenty years, Master has strengthened me, helping me to have purer thoughts. Over the years, no matter where I am, when it comes to validating the Fa, I can always let go of ego and cooperate with fellow practitioners unconditionally as one body. The following are a few examples.
Hanging Up Display Boards and Banners
While I was staying in the provincial capital city, we hung up a two-meter-wide display board and a vertical banner from an overpass a number of times.
Once, we were about to hang up a 3-meter-long vertical banner. A fellow practitioner asked where to hang it. “Hang it from the highest point on the overpass, so that more people can see it,” I suggested.
The banner was hung from the highest point on the overpass. It was very beautiful and eye-catching, with big characters “Falun Dafa is Good” printed on the golden silky fabric. There was also a big pink lotus flower printed at the bottom of the banner. I believed it would move people’s heart and soul when they saw it.
Sometimes, people passed by when we were hanging up banners. I always encouraged fellow practitioners, “We have nothing to be afraid of. We can give them a copy of the flyer, so they know the facts.”
It was very windy one day while we were hanging up a banner on an overpass. Someone came over and asked, “What are you doing?”
“We are hanging up a banner, come and help out,” I said to him calmly.
“How can I help?” he asked.
“Can you help tie up the rope?” I asked him. He agreed and helped us secure the big banner.
One time, we managed to hang a big banner on a train bridge. It was printed with the words “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” and “Falun Dafa is good.” The banner was clearly visible to all passing under the bridge, whether on foot or in cars. The banner stayed there for over a year. Even though the color faded a bit, the message remained clear and powerful.
At the beginning of this year, a local practitioner gave me some truth-clarification stickers. I carried them with me all the time and put them up wherever I went. I noticed that some of the stickers were still up six months later.
Clarifying the Truth Using Banknotes
When I was living in the provincial capital city a few years ago, I often went to the business district to exchange banknotes with truth-clarification messages printed on them with store owners. Each time, I was able to exchange between 10,000 to 20,000 yuan.
Once, a fellow practitioner told me that she had hundreds of thousands of yuan in banknotes with truth-clarification messages and they needed to be exchanged before the New Year.
The next day, we went out to the commercial district, which was full of shops, stores and clubs. We went to each store to exchange banknotes. The proprietors were all pretty happy to do it, as many business owners knew that spending banknotes with truth-clarification messages could bring them good fortune and blessings. We managed to exchange all of the banknotes within a week.
Once, a stall owner counted a wad of one-yuan notes. He did it twice and said we were one note short. I said to him, “How about counting it again? I can guarantee that there were 100 notes in the wad.” He counted again and I was right.
At a mahjong club, someone wanted to exchange 3,000 yuan, but he didn’t have enough money on him. I told him to fetch the money from home and we would wait for him. He was very happy, and when he came back, he exchanged 5,000 yuan for bills with the truth messages.
There was never a mistake in any of our wads of notes, and all of the people we exchanged money with gained a very good impression of our honesty and trustworthiness.
While doing banknotes exchanges, we also distributed various other materials such CDs and Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. We also persuaded people to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Most people have been very receptive and readily quit.
Always Doing My Best in Cooperating with Others
When I came back to live in my local area, I cooperated with local practitioners in whatever needed to be done. One of our projects was mailing truth-clarification letters to local residents. Each time I mailed the letters, I always communicated with the letters in my mind and asked them to help people better understand Falun Dafa.
I went around town to mail the letters in different mailboxes. I never paid much attention to the surveillance cameras on the street, even though fellow practitioners often warned me to keep away from them. Sometimes, when I noticed them, I would say, “Cameras, your mission is to monitor bad people, not Dafa disciples.”
A few years ago, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPF) issued a notice exposing relevant police officers and personnel in the judiciary system who had been involved in the persecution in our area. Fellow practitioners printed out copies of the notice, put them in addressed envelopes, and I mailed the letters to those involved in the persecution. This was to warn the evildoers that they must stop persecuting Falun Gong and make up for their sins.
One day, a fellow practitioner came to me with five letters and asked if I could mail them. “No problem,” I said. She then told me that it would be better if I could deliver the letters to the relevant agencies myself. “No problem, I will do it,” I said to the practitioner with no hesitation.
It was a winter morning, and I had yet to have my breakfast. I took the letters and went to the local police station. The letters were for the police chief, deputy chief, and the political instructor. We had each of their names written on the envelopes. In addition to the letter, we also prepared flash drives for them with additional information about Falun Dafa.
The gate of the police station was locked with a chain. I slipped the letters between the two panels of the gate, thinking they would see the letters when they came to work in the morning.
For the remaining two letters, for a local judge and prosecutor, I just mailed them. Later, I also went to the local police station and the procuratorate to give them copies of the Nine Commentaries and The Ultimate Goal of Communism.
Some practitioners who had been detained earlier said that the truth-clarification letters had had a positive impact, and after the police received those letters, that largely alleviated the persecution of Dafa practitioners in our area. Some practitioners were released soon after being arrested.
Once, after a fellow practitioner was unlawfully arrested, other practitioners did not know the name of the prosecutor handling her case, which made it difficult for them to rescue her.
Inspired by an experience six years before when I found the police officers’ names on the wall of the police station, I went to the procuratorate and got the name of the prosecutor.
In my previous experience, none of the local practitioners knew who arrested another practitioner. In order to find out, I went to the police station and saw photos of police officers and their names on the wall in the hallway. I waited there for a little while and then an officer came over and asked me what I was doing there. I said I was looking for the police officers in charge of our residential area. He told me to check in the hallway and copy down their names myself.
While I was doing so, another officer came in from outside and asked what I was doing. I calmly talked to him while continuing to copy down all the names and phone numbers. With the numbers, fellow practitioners can make phone calls to the police and clarify the facts to them.
As time passed, with the guidance and protection of Master, I have become even firmer in my faith, and my heart has also become purer and more compassionate. I have always held one thought: I am taken care of by Master and I only follow Master’s arrangements!
Once, a fellow practitioner told me that there would be a door-to-door check of local practitioners. “This has nothing to do with me. They won’t come to my home,” I said to her.
With this thought in my heart, Master has helped and protected me all these years. For the last few years since I returned to our local area, the authorities have never harassed me. Even during the coronavirus lockdown, when the police conducted a door-to-door registration, they never came to my home.
Over the years, fellow practitioners often bring things to my place for safe storage, and I always accept them with no hesitation. As long as they are for Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings, I always accept them unconditionally. I understand that fellow practitioners bring them to my place because they are under pressure, and I should always look at things from their perspective and unconditionally help reduce their pressure and stress.
Last year, a fellow practitioner told me that another practitioner had been arrested and told the police that she got the Dafa informational materials from me.
“This has nothing to do with me. I am taken care of by Master,” I said to the practitioner.
“But do you know who reported on you?” she asked me again.
“I don’t want to know who told on me. It has nothing to do with me. I am only taken care of by Master,” I replied.
However she still told me the name of the fellow practitioner who told the police she’d gotten the materials from me.
I didn’t feel anything, not a bit of resentment, as I understood the enormous pressure and difficulty the practitioner must have experienced at the hands of the police.
After she was released, I bumped into her on the street one day. She didn’t see me at first, so I warmly greeted her. She was also very happy to see me. I felt she was like my family. I truly cherish the sacred bond between Dafa practitioners and the precious opportunities for us to be together in this lifetime.
Last year, due to a large-scale unlawful arrest of fellow practitioners in our area, we experienced some interference and delays in the distribution of our truth-clarification materials.
A fellow practitioner brought me several hundreds sets of materials to distribute, including the Nine Commentaries, The Ultimate Goal of Communism and the Minghui Weekly. The materials piled up on my bed and in the closet.
I could not hand them out quickly enough all by myself, so I asked a few practitioners to help out. We went out to distribute the materials at night, and within a short time, all of the materials were distributed.
I also clarify the truth to people face to face whenever possible. I give them truth-clarification materials and encourage them to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
When I distributed the New Year calendars with information about Dafa, it seemed that everyone asked for one.
Once, I gave an elderly man a copy of The Ultimate Goal of Communism. He took it and read it carefully. A fellow practitioner came over and asked him what he was reading. “You didn’t get a copy, but I did. This is a treasure,” the man said with a proud smile.
No matter where I go to distribute truth-clarification materials, either on the street or in the supermarket, I don’t look around to check if there are any surveillance cameras or if there are any police cars nearby. I just clarify the truth to the people I come across, give them a copy of the materials and tell them to look through them when they get home and share them with their family members.
Once, my granddaughter in the provincial capital city asked me, “Grandma, Dafa is so magic, how come I haven’t seen any miracles that happened to you?”
I smiled and said to her, “After I started practicing Falun Dafa, I don’t even need to wear heavy coats or shoes in winter anymore, and I don’t feel cold even if I just wear a pair of knitted slacks and thin shoes. I used to be plagued with ailments, but now I’m completely healthy and don’t need any medication.”
“You’re right, Grandma. It’s really amazing, isn’t it!” my granddaughter agreed. “My maternal grandma is taking medication every day and she goes to the hospital very often.”
Before I started practicing Falun Dafa, I had various ailments, such as rheumatism and issues with my spine. Master saved me and gave me a second life. When I go out in thin clothes and light shoes in the winter to talk to people about Dafa, I don’t feel cold and am even very warm and sometimes I'm so warm that I sweat.
I remember that ten or more years ago, when my husband was still alive, he got very sick one day and fell out of bed. He was very heavy, but I was able to get him back into bed all by myself – and I was in my 60s. It would have simply been impossible without Master’s help!
A few days ago, I needed to move a double sofa-bed from a small room to another room upstairs. Even for a strong man, it would not be an easy job. I thought I would wait until a fellow practitioner came to help. Then I thought: This is an attachment of relying on others. This is my own chore and I should do it myself.
I asked Master to strengthen me and started to move the sofa-bed myself. When the fellow practitioner came, he was really surprised to see what I had done. He looked at the sofa-bed, and then at me, shaking his head in disbelief, as it was simply incredible that I could have moved such a big sofa-bed from downstairs, all by myself, a lady in her 70s!
I know deeply in my heart that on the path of cultivation, it’s my responsibility and mission to unconditionally let go of ego and cooperate with fellow practitioners as one body. Through cultivation in Dafa, I am able to remain calm and fearless in whatever situation I encounter because I have Master taking care of me and I only follow the path Master has arranged for me. I am determined to cultivate through to the end!
Once again, thank you, our great Master, for strengthening me to maintain righteous thoughts and righteous actions and to do well the three things. Thank you, all my fellow practitioners!
(The 18th China Fahui on Minghui.org)