(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa has spread around the world for 30 years. Countless people have embarked on the cultivation path, returning to their true selves. I’d like to share some of my cultivation experiences. I am so grateful for Master’s compassion.
I was a mid-level official, and had a relatively comfortable working environment. I often went down to the grassroots level to inspect and guide their work. Before I started practicing Falun Dafa, I was very sensitive and cared a lot about my reputation, and about what others thought of me. In the first few years of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Dafa, I was forced to leave home and work as a nanny or housemaid for a long time. When I first heard someone call me nanny, I felt uncomfortable. However, as time passed, I slowly got rid of those attachments.
I was a housemaid for a couple. The wife was often in a bad mood because her husband had an affair, and she treated me badly. She and her husband often fought, and sometimes her husband would even beat her. Every time it happened, I didn’t say a word, and just kept Master’s teachings in mind:
“I am telling everyone that when an interpersonal conflict occurs or when one kicks or hits someone else, it is likely that these people owed each other in the past, and they are clearing the debt. If you step in to stop it, they will not be able to clear the debt and must wait to do it again the next time.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
No matter how severe their fights were, there was no life at risk, and I did not say a word. I focused on doing my job well, even though the wife scolded me terribly. As a practitioner, I knew that Master was using her to help me improve my character. I did not argue with her, and instead I tried my best to do things well and better.
The wife sometimes suspected me of stealing her things when she couldn’t find them. One morning, after I had just finished cleaning, she said that her new watch was missing from the table, and asked if I had seen it. Her high school-aged son was there too and gave me a disdainful look.
I asked her not to worry and to think where she had been from the time she got up to see if she could remember where she had put the watch. After a while, she told me that she found it in the pocket of her pajamas. Similar incidents occurred multiple times, but I never took them to heart. Over time, she stopped suspecting me. She once said to me, “You are really good. When I said things were missing, you always remained calm.”
As a housemaid, I needed to go out to buy groceries. I kept meticulous records of every purchase, and it made the wife trust me even more. She let me handle many things and make decisions on my own. She even asked me to help attend the parent-teacher conferences for her son. I took these opportunities to clarify the truth to the people I met. The city where I stayed was small, and I was able to clarify the truth all over the city.
Another time, I took care of a partially paralyzed elderly woman. She soiled her pants and it was difficult to clean them at home, so I took them to the nearby river to wash. It was very cold during the winter, with bone-chilling winds, and the clothes I pulled out of the water would freeze solid. My hands were red and sore from the cold. To put myself in that kind of situation was unimaginable to me before.
Working as a housemaid or nanny helped me remove many of my attachments, including the fear of hardship, hard work, dirtiness, and unwillingness to serve others. But enduring hardship was not my goal, it was for me to improve my xinxing.
I used to work as a housemaid for a dance hall owner. At the beginning, he could not understand why I left my family and job for Falun Dafa, and he was strongly against my practice. When I tried to tell him the truth, he didn’t want to listen, so I stopped talking about Dafa. I just followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in my daily work. I wanted to prove that Dafa practitioners were good people.
Due to the power shortage in the city, the electricity was cut every other day in different areas during the summer. It just happened that his in-laws’ family had no power while his house had it, so on the day when his in-laws’ power was cut, they came to his house for dinner. Sometimes his in-laws brought friends over and played cards, and sometimes the performers of the dance hall would come over for meals. I had to cook many dishes for lots of people, which took a lot of time and energy.
His daughter-in-law gave birth, and they hired a babysitter. The arrangement was that the babysitter would only take care of the baby and not do any housework. After two months, they replaced her with another babysitter who had the same arrangement. As a result, I had to wash the baby’s clothes, and the babysitter’s clothes and bedding. In order to save money, the couple brought back the bedding, quilt covers, and performers’ costumes from the dance hall, which were supposed to be washed outside, and asked me to wash them.
So as not to delay the housework, I had to start washing at 4:30 a.m. I used to work in an office in the past and had never done heavy physical labor work like this. My wages were lower than most housemaids, however, but I did not complain no matter how hard I worked or how tired I felt. While working, I often recited Hong Yin with a calm mind and finished my work in a timely manner. I sometimes found money and earrings under beds while cleaning, and always handed them over to the wife.
I soon won the recognition of the employer’s entire family. The husband praised me for my good character and high morals. When I clarified the truth to them again, they listened. Sometimes the husband would look for me to tell him the truth. Later the entire family quit the CCP. I also clarified the truth to the babysitter and she also quit the Party.
After the baby turned six months old, the babysitter was asked to do the housework, and they no longer needed me as a housemaid. The husband took my safety into consideration, and arranged for me to work for another family. Before I left, he wrote several poems, praising me and describing the scene when the persecution ends and everyone rejoices.
From misunderstandings, to empathy, and then to praise, he also shared my experience with his relatives and friends, helping them understand the wickedness of the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa.
During those difficult days, I never forgot that I was a cultivator. Even though I cultivated alone, I studied the Fa every day without slacking off. Even when I was exhausted and tired, I still made time to study the Fa. I remembered my mission of clarifying the truth, and worked hard to do the three things well. No matter what environment I was in, I demanded of myself to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and demonstrate the demeanor of a Dafa practitioner in every situation.
During my time as a housemaid, I was not afraid of hardship, fatigue, or dirt, and I was willing to do any task. As a result, I gained recognition from the entire families of my employers. Therefore, when I encountered danger, they were willing to help and protect me.
The police took my photo and went to a family where I had previously taken care of their child, to question them. It happened two weeks after I left their home. After the police left, the father of the child immediately called me to inform me of the incident. Despite knowing that I was wanted by the police, the father helped, at great risk to himself, to take me to another city. And with the help of their friend, I found another job as a housemaid and had a place to stay.
When the couple where I worked were both on a business trip, I was alone at their home. I decided to go to a park near a tourist site to clarify the truth. But, when I got there, I found the admission fee was quite high, so I gave up. I decided to go to the surrounding areas of the city to clarify the truth and got familiar with the environment.
I didn’t take much money when I went out. After buying some necessities, I only had seven yuan left, which was just enough for a long-distance coach ticket. After getting off the coach, I had no money left to take a local bus, and I had to walk home. However, I wasn’t familiar with the area and got lost. It was getting dark, and I was anxious.
At that moment, I saw a car parked across the street. I walked over and asked the two young men inside for directions. One of them said, “You want to go there!? it’s quite far and it will take you a long time to walk. Let us give you a ride.”
During the ride, I told them the truth about Falun Dafa, and they were happy to listen. I knew that our great Master had arranged for them to drive me to the door of my employer’s home.
I deeply feel that Master is always by our side. As long as we have faith in Master and the Fa, and maintain righteous thoughts and actions, Master will protect and guide us. As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I have no way to repay Master’s immense kindness, only to be more diligent, and walk the path of cultivation well in the future!