Pure Lotuses in a Muddy World

(Minghui.org) My mother started practicing Falun Dafa in 1997 and recovered from the chronic illnesses that had bothered her for years. She became physically and mentally healthy. Her experience convinced me of the goodness and benefits of practicing Falun Dafa. But when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners in July 1999, my fear overwhelmed my desire to practice. Although I was supportive of my mother’s efforts to continue practicing, I remained hesitant to start cultivating myself.

Yet, compassionate Master continued to watch over me. I finally started cultivating Falun Dafa in 2004. Twenty years have passed, and I have experienced many miracles on my cultivation path, many of which have profoundly impacted my life.

Validating the Fa While Illegally Detained

I was illegally detained by the CCP for practicing Falun Dafa in 2011. I was held in a forced labor camp for nearly two years. I would wake up at 5 a.m. every day, work in the fields, sew women’s clothing in the camp workshop, then work in the fields in the evening.

Although each day’s schedule was fully packed, we were allowed a 10-minute break after lunch. Sometimes, the female guards would return from their supply runs and ask detainees to help move the purchased goods into camp. Thinking that the older and younger fellow practitioners incarcerated with me needed more rest, I always volunteered to help. Over time, I became familiar with these two guards who helped purchase our daily supplies and began explaining to them why I practiced Falun Dafa. I also told them about its miraculous effect on curing ailments and keeping its practitioners healthy. They willingly listened to me and even withdrew from the CCP.

Whenever they came across damaged toothpaste or instant noodle packages that nobody wanted to purchase, I would say, “I’ll buy them.” That way, I earned their gratitude. By selling all the goods they had on hand, the guards would be able to report a perfect accounting

When I was released from the labor camp, those guards were reluctant to see me go. They came to see me off on the day of my departure. One of them told me, “Through your words and actions, I have come to believe in the goodness of Falun Gong.” The other guard asked me to send her a Falun Gong truth-clarification CD after I returned home. She wanted to play the CD for her mother and teach her mother to recite the phrases, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”

Striking Up a Friendship with My New Neighbor

After I emigrated to America, I settled down in a big city for a few years. All my neighbors were Westerners. I learned that my neighbor on one side was a successful entrepreneur who ran hotel and theater businesses. His was a typical American family.

I explained the facts about the persecution of Falun Dafa to my neighbors the day I moved in. I even told them about Shen Yun Performing Arts. In America, affluent people seem to pay attention to a person’s social class and will only open up to those who are in the same social strata. While my neighbors treated me cordially, I still felt a certain coolness in our interactions.

One day, I accidentally scratched my neighbor’s car as I was backing up. He happened to be out that day, so I left a note on his car, owning up to what I did. I also left him my phone number and asked him to contact me so I could reimburse him for the repair.

To my surprise, he contacted me that same day via text message, enthusiastically thanking me for my honesty and informing me that he would arrange to get the car fixed later. After that, the distance between us vanished, and he began talking to me warmly, sending food to my home now and then, and even helped me move a large, heavy package upstairs.

When the COVID-19 epidemic was declared over and Shen Yun resumed performing in our area, he unexpectedly approached me and said, “I want to see the [Shen Yun] performance this year. I want to buy tickets and see it with my family.”

For a Dafa practitioner who lives according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, my owning up to hitting his car was only natural. Yet, to my neighbor, moral standards have declined so drastically that truly honest people are rare. Perhaps my honesty so impressed him that he decided to see Shen Yun on his own. I was happy to know my neighbor and his family would be saved.

Every word we say and every thing we do can help convey the truth to sentient beings. By embodying the qualities of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in our everyday lives, Falun Dafa practitioners are in fact helping to validate Dafa. I will continue to work hard and meet the standard of a Dafa practitioner.