Not Missing an Opportunity in the Rain

(Minghui.org) After being imprisoned for three-and-a-half years, I was released in October 2018. I turned 55 that year. Due to the persecution I experienced in prison, my legs became swollen and stiff. The pain all over my body was so bad that I’d wake up in the middle of the night.

I had been living with my elderly father for years. My daughter visited me for a couple of days and had to return to her work which was in another city. Despite the pain, I had to take care of my father who was in his 80s.

I was able to endure the pain, but it was unbearable to think what I had done in prison. I couldn’t stand the torture and signed a guarantee statement to give up my faith in Falun Dafa. I felt so much shame for letting down Master’s compassionate salvation. I felt desperate under the psychological agony and the spiritual torment. I almost completely gave up on myself. Feeling lost and aimless, I often cried by myself.

I took my father out for a walk after his afternoon nap every day. One day in mid-October, we walked a small path among trees of autumn colors. It suddenly started drizzling. We didn’t have any umbrella with us, so we went into a small convenient store nearby.

It was a simple store with few items for sale. An older man sat inside with a gloomy, straight face. Standing at the door, I asked him if it was okay for us to take shelter in his store from the rain. He replied softly, “Come in,” and handed us a couple of folding stools. I thanked him and sat down with my father.

The older man ate sunflower seeds slowly. I bought a bag of sunflower seeds and started eating them with my father, too. Seeing that I was holding the shells in my hands, the man said, “It’s fine to drop them on the floor.” I took out a plastic bag and put the shells in it instead.

The older man spoke very little. He ate sunflower seeds and glared outside of the windows without any facial expression. I tried to chat with him. He told me that his wife used to run the store, but they planned to close it because of her poor health. Their daughter was a good student and did well on the written civil service exam, but she didn’t get a job for a long time. Someone told him that he needed to resort to bribery to make it happen; his daughter finally got hired.

Seeing his sadness, I wanted to tell him the truth about Falun Dafa, but I saw a surveillance camera when I lifted my head. A warning note next to it said something like “connected to the police station.” My heart started to pound. I had flashbacks of my time in prison. I hesitated.

The older man’s gloomy eyes rekindled my compassion. Thinking how much sentient beings had endured to wait for this day of hearing the truth, I told myself, “I must save him!”

I sent forth righteous thoughts to the surveillance camera and started clarifying the facts of Falun Dafa to him. I began by talking about how Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members involved in the persecution have been passing away, the hidden character stone which prophesied the demise of the CCP, and the strong tide of people quitting the CCP.

The man started to pay close attention. I asked him, “Have you ever joined the Communist Party?” He replied, “No, but I joined the Youth League and Young Pioneers when I was in school.” “What’s your last name,” I asked? “Lu.” “How about quitting these organizations with a nickname ‘Lu Tongtian?’” I asked him. He immediately said, “Sure!”

My father became afraid. He urged me to leave. I told him, “Could you wait for me outside? Let me finish.”

I also told the man about Falun Dafa’s popularity around the world and the truth of the self immolation hoax on Tiananmen Square. Before I could finish, he slowly uttered, “I have read about it. When I was working as a security guard in a residential compound four years ago, I saw a Falun Gong brochure on a door. It talked about the self immolation hoax.”

Something told me that I was the one who had put the brochure there. Before I was thrown into prison, I distributed brochures in my locale for six months. I asked the man, “Which residential compound?” He told me in detail where it was. I was sure I was the one who had put the brochures there. I used to think while in prison, “My suffering is worthy even if one person has read the brochures I distributed.”

Master must have arranged for me to meet the man today in order to tell me that my suffering wasn’t in vain! I was filled with gratitude! My confidence slowly grew.

The rain stopped and the cloudy sky cleared. The man was awakened to the truth. I felt that the sunshine reached my heart.

Looking at the older man, I suddenly found that he had completely changed. A benevolent smile replaced his gloominess. His face even radiated with a gentle glow. I was amazed by the power of Falun Dafa. Master is great! How blessed sentient beings are for knowing the truth of Falun Dafa!

I kept thanking Master in my mind on our way home. I had found my true thoughts and knew what to do. I was no longer lost in my self-interest. Sentient beings are longing for salvation. I have no time to waste crying or blaming myself.

Master has told us,

“I don’t like it when you blame yourselves, it’s completely pointless. I’ll just repeat what I said: If you’ve fallen don’t just lie there, get up right away!” (Teachings Given on Lantern Festival Day, 2003)

I decided to do what Master taught: get up right away! Time is pressing. Wasting any time is wrong. I have resumed my mission of clarifying the truth of Falun Dafa since that day.