From Being a “Good Person” with No Principles to Being a “Genuinely Good Person”

(Minghui.org) I was unhappy to be called “a good person” before I started to practice Falun Dafa because “a good person” was a derogatory comment. It meant someone who agreed to anything and never offended anyone. It was a synonym for “useless.” I was kindhearted by nature and wondered if I should be a “good person.” Was being a good person worth it? I couldn’t change my notions until I started to practice Falun Dafa. 

A Helpless “Good Person”

I had a weak personality and a strong sense of inferiority from a young age. I lacked confidence in everything. I didn’t dare to join any activities. I dared not play jump rope or jump rope with other kids. I thought I would not be as good at these things as others and would be laughed at. My friends usually helped me. People considered me only book smart with no common sense.

I didn’t think that I could help other people, so I never offered help to anyone. I didn’t voice my opinions about anything and was always agreeable. But I was kind and didn’t hurt people. People called me a “good old person.” 

Life was awkward for me and I had tons of anxiety. I was afraid of losing this and that. I had disdain for the corrupt activities in society, such as playing mahjong and dancing all night, but many people I knew were addicted to these things and seemed to never grow tired of them. 

I sometimes wondered if I was too lofty by not following the crowd. I wanted to follow traditional ways but was afraid that other people would call me backward. I was afraid of being bullied if I was kind. I was afraid that I would be taken advantage of and regarded as a fool if I didn’t fight for personal gain. I always heard people say, “Kind people will be bullied. Never ever be a good person.”

To protect myself and because I took the “good advice” of other people, I tried to learn how to be bad and harsh. So when I first went to work, I cursed at and hit students if they didn’t listen to me. But this didn’t work. I even hit a student in the nose and made it bleed. I became afraid and saw that this method didn’t work. And if the students wouldn’t obey me and rebelled, I would lose face. 

I changed my methods and started to tolerate the naughty students. I paid more attention to preparing for my classes and made the content easier to understand, more interesting for the students, and got the students more involved in the classes. This had good results. The students’ scores improved a lot. This reinforced my confidence. I didn’t try the bad methods anymore. But my health started to decline. I came down with two illnesses. My health worsened in the following years and this caused a lot of pain and trouble for me. 

So that other people would not call me a “good old person” at work, I intentionally fought with other people for personal gain. For example, I was not properly paid, so I spent almost a year talking to several leaders until I finally got my salary raised by one level. Later on, I often helped the accountant, and she then gave me an industry allowance. I was back paid for that. But this allowance was not something I was eligible for in my line of work. 

During the following summer school holidays, I came down with a troublesome illness. I incurred 2000 yuan in one month on medical expenses and spent all of my extra pay. It was at this dead-end that I started to practice Falun Dafa. 

Obtaining the Fa and Becoming a Truly Good Person 

After I started practicing Falun Dafa I finally understood why a person has to be good and why a kind person is a good person. 

Master said:

“One should return to one’s original, true self; this is the real purpose of being human.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)

“Zhen-Shan-Ren is the Sole Criterion to Discern Good and Bad People” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)

I studied the Fa and cultivated my xinxing every day. I tried to let go of my bad thoughts. I became very assured and happy. I could finally become a good person openly and with dignity. I felt that the world had become so beautiful. Even the color of the sun looked so nice. 

Less than a year after I began practicing, Jiang Zemin’s regime started to persecute Falun Dafa. For the next over 20 years I bore a lot of pressure. But I never wavered in my righteous belief in Falun Dafa. I required myself to behave according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I tried to be a good person, a better person and become a genuine cultivator. 

An old Chinese saying goes: “It is easy to change mountains and rivers while it is difficult to change a person’s character.” But Falun Dafa has fundamentally changed me. I became strong and no longer cowardly; confident and no longer inferior. I became ready to take on responsibility and not afraid to express my opinions. I became considerate, and I offered to help others without seeking anything in return. Thanks to the guidance of Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I have come through my tribulations and become a good person who has been praised by my family members, colleagues and friends. They admire and respect me. 

Selfless Contributions to Family

I was very good to my parents-in-law before I started to practice Falun Dafa. But I was good to them only superficially. I believed that they had to take care of my kids. I took them for granted. I tried to get money from them when I was going to buy a new apartment. I said that I wanted to borrow some money from them, but in my heart I didn’t plan to pay the money back. 

I didn’t get along with my husband’s sister because I thought my in-laws had given her too much and she hadn’t returned their kindness and was ungrateful. I argued with her over trivial things. I was laughable when I look back at it. But at the time I thought I did quite well and kept a lofty attitude. I always compared myself with people who did more poorly than me. 

I started to see my selfishness, jealousy and pursuit of personal gain after practicing Falun Dafa. I understood that my parents-in-law did not have easy lives. I talked with my husband and paid back all of their money. I thought in my heart that they had built the house for us to live in and now it was time for us to build a house for them to live in. We shouldn’t spend their money anymore. 

My husband has given them living expenses every month since then. I also give them pocket money on top of that. I was satisfied that they looked after our children and cooked for us. We shouldn’t make them spend money on us. I looked after my husband’s two sisters’ children just like they were my own. Three children stayed in my home during the summer and winter school holidays. I paid for their living expenses as well as their tuition for tutoring classes and home tutors. I would not have done these things if I didn’t practice Falun Dafa.

From my changes our family members understood that Falun Dafa practitioners are indeed good people. They all accepted what I said when I clarified the truth to them. People say that in-laws are difficult to get along with. But we get along with each other very well. During the holidays we gather together amicably and everyone is considerate of each other. We have no arguments or pursue any personal gain. This is a manifestation of: 

“The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities.” (Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)

My mother-in-law fell from a tricycle several years ago. Her right arm and left hand were fractured. Because she couldn’t move her arms, I looked after her and stayed with her at night. I helped her brush her teeth, wash her face, go to the bathroom, and gave her a sponge bath. I had to use caution because her cast was heavy and would cause her pain if I was not careful. She woke up in the night because of the pain. I dressed her and put the sling back on her. Her arm was in pain with the plaster and she felt hot. She was upset and complained that her husband had caused her injury. 

I said to her, “Father didn’t do it intentionally. He regrets it very much. Please don’t blame him. Things happen for a reason. It might mean that we should have this tribulation. When you complain and get angry on top of having the pain, you will not recover easily.” I comforted her constantly and told her amazing stories about practicing Falun Dafa. I asked her to recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” She finally recovered from her injuries.

My father-in-law was getting old and had chronic diseases. Sometimes he had to be hospitalized. I looked after him in hospital and bought him soup and other dishes. I let him eat first then finished the leftovers. 

When he was not in a good mood, he complained that we were irresponsible and didn’t do well. I would argue with him and make him angrier. Later on I looked within. I found that what he said was correct. I indeed didn’t do well. I stopped arguing with him. I did what he told me to do. He didn’t get angry. The hostility between us disappeared. 

The patients in his room asked me why his daughters didn’t come when they saw that I had stayed overnight. I told them that one of his daughters was busy with work and the other daughter was not able to ask for leave and had poor health. 

I didn’t complain about them in my heart. But when other people asked me such questions, I knew that my heart was moved, so it was a test for me. I studied the Fa more and tried to let go of jealousy and impatience. I calmed down so I could look after my father-in-law well. When he was having an infusion, I chatted with him instead of looking at my mobile phone. I listened to his stories about his family, relatives and things that had happened in the village. I listened to him with patience and guided him with kind thoughts. I encouraged him to do kind deeds. I told him traditional stories and amazing stories of Falun Dafa. He gradually gained confidence and recovered quickly. 

Many people asked my mother-in-law if I was her daughter. They were amazed when they learned that I was her daughter-in-law. Actually I should look after my in-laws more. But because I was busy, they took care of us more and sacrificed more. They knew that I was good to them from the bottom of my heart. They understood me and trusted me. They liked to tell me anything. I helped them as much as I could. If I couldn’t do it, I asked my husband to do it for them. 

I also look after my own parents. I give them pocket money and chat with them. They are in good health. Many of my friends envy me and say that I am blessed. I not only have a daughter and a son, both my parents and in-laws are still alive and healthy. 

Because I practice Falun Dafa, I can stay calm and deal with things. I help my family based on the Falun Dafa principles and our family has weathered storms safely. I am indeed blessed. Practicing Falun Dafa is my greatest blessing. 

Helping My Neighbors

My upstairs neighbors spent Chinese New Year in another city several years ago. The night that they left, water leaked from their apartment down into my bathroom. My husband called our property management company, and they discovered it was a leak from a heater. They switched off the heating valve. 

With the agreement of the owner, several neighbors asked a locksmith to open the door so we could inspect the rooms. We drained the water, cleaned away the debris, opened the windows and changed the locks. 

When the neighbors came back, they were very thankful and tried to give me 500 yuan as compensation. I didn’t accept it. The ceiling in my bathroom was fine, though water had dripped through for six hours. 

Doing a Good Job and Being Responsible

I started working in a computer unit more than 10 years after I started practicing Falun Dafa. We had no safety issues in the computer room. The equipment was duly maintained and some of it had been used for more than 10 years which had saved some costs for the company.

I had never taken anything from my company home. We had some new employees in our department. I told them about Falun Dafa and the principle of “no loss, no gain.” They understood and never took anything home either. 

Before I practiced Falun Dafa, I was not like that. When I saw other colleagues taking things home from the company, I would follow suit. When my company could not pay our salaries, I took desks and filing cabinets home. But I still thought I was better than the corrupt officials. I just followed the crowd and didn’t realize that I had become bad. 

Unwavering Belief Despite Huge Pressure

Jiang Zemin’s regime started the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa in July 1999. I didn’t give up my practice despite the adversity. Master teaches us to be good and kind. This is not wrong. I continued practicing Falun Dafa and through my words and actions proved that Falun Dafa is righteous and wonderful. 

I tell people about Falun Dafa so that they will not be deceived and can benefit from Falun Dafa as well. People who have learned the truth respect Falun Dafa practitioners. The environment around me has changed. I walk my cultivation path steadily. 

I refused to sing the red songs praising the CCP organized by my company on New Year’s Day one year. I told the leaders that it was not good to sing such songs to praise the CCP. But they didn’t listen.

My work was affected. I couldn’t accept their way of handling this situation, so I kept talking to the leaders and told them the truth about Falun Dafa. They finally decided not to reprimand me.

Though I was a bit afraid at the time and didn’t handle it well, as a Dafa practitioner, I must follow my conscience and not just go along with the crowd. I thought about other people while facing adversity and tried to persuade other people to do the right thing. I was responsible and a genuinely good person. 

The power of Dafa makes me strong and has enabled me to walk through the severe persecution. The people around me have learned the truth and treat me kindly. My environment has become better. 

Over the past 22 years, countless Falun Dafa practitioners have been telling people their own experiences that demonstrate that Falun Dafa is good and that the world needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.