(Clearwisdom.net) When I saw the e-mail from Lucy, I was very surprised. She said in her e-mail, "Jane, I have already finished reading Zhuan Falun. I feel that the basic principals of Falun Dafa are similar to the ones of Christianity even though there are some differences between them. Is there any book that teaches the exercises? I want to learn to practice Falun Gong right now."
I could not believe that she had brought Zhuan Falun all the way to Africa, so far away. I had printed the English version of Zhuan Falun and bound it in a hardcover binder. It weighed several pounds. When I think about Lucy and that she had put this thick copy of Zhuan Falun in her luggage, I really feel that she is very lucky and I am happy for her.
Lucy used to be my classmate. Now she is working in Sudan as a member of a United States African Education Project. After she finished her Masters degree in education, she found this job that is a one-year commitment. This way she is able to contribute her knowledge to her home country, which has experienced a lot of wars.
I met Lucy two years ago. Because we had the same major and we chose the same class and we were the only two people of color in the class, we talked to each other when we met in the computer lab. The following semester, we met each other at a professor's classroom. At that time, I had not been cultivating for very long, so I didn't mention Falun Gong to her.
The following year, I gradually clarified the truth of Falun Gong to all my fellow classmates and professors. Lucy hated persecution due to one's beliefs. Her family were all pious Christians. Ten years ago, because they were being persecuted for their belief and race, her family escaped to the United States. Under the protection of the United States government, they became legal U.S. citizens. She felt pity for Falun Gong. In a class where we could introduce personal projects, I cleverly used Falun Dafa as the theme of my project. I made a presentation to show the beautiful and silent pictures of the sitting meditation to my classmates and the professor, and I also added many pictures of the persecution. All the American students and the professor were impressed. After that, Lucy wanted to know more about why there are many different races of people practicing Falun Dafa. I told her about the Dafa website. When we met each other by chance during the busy semester, we would naturally talk about Falun Dafa. She always listened to me carefully. It seemed that the three words "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" touched her heart.
In our last semester, we were working at different high schools. We would meet each other at our weekly classes in the university. Every time I asked her about her experiences as a teacher, she would shake her head. She said, "I really wish that my students could practice Falun Dafa, so that they would't fight with each other in class." I learned that the bad behavior of students was really a headache for her.
Once I called her and asked if she would come to my apartment to talk about our graduation thesis. It took her a long time to find my place. I was so moved that she did not give up. We chatted from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., but we only talked about the thesis requirements for the last half hour. The rest of the time we talked about Falun Dafa. She told me that she had religiously followed the teachings of Jesus, and she had expected to find real truthfulness and benevolence in her life, but this had not happened.
So I gave her my only English version of Zhuan Falun. I advised her to read the Falun Dafa books and maybe she would be able to widen her viewpoint. I was not sure if she could really understand this book because she was born in Africa, grew up in a Christian environment, and had received a higher education in the United States. But from her shining eyes, I could feel the hope of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" in her heart.
When we met each other again at the graduation ceremony, she told me that she was going back to Africa. When she thought about going to her long-lost home country and using her knowledge to contribute to her compatriots, who live in a place with lots of wars and calamities, she was excited and eager. When I asked her if she understood Zhuan Falun, she told me honestly that she could understand most of it. I suggested to her that she should finish reading Zhuan Falun. "I will finish reading it," she said without hesitation. I told her that I was going to New York to clarify the truth of Falun Dafa to people and that I would spend my entire summer vacation there. I did not know when I would meet her again and I hoped that we could chat with each other again before she left. She told me that her school vacation started in June and that she would leave after the semester ended.
At that time, I was busy with clarifying the truth about the persecuted Falun Gong children. I called Lucy and said that I hoped she could collect signatures from her students to support the rescue of the orphans. She wanted me to clarify the truth of Falun Dafa to her students, so another American practitioner and I went to her school. We cooperated very well. One of us clarified the truth, and the other one kept sending forth righteous thoughts. Then we gave every student a postcard about the rescue of Falun Gong children. Lastly we wrote "Falun Dafa" and "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" on the chalkboard. Lucy asked us to tell her students about "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" in more detail. I took some material from the cultivation experiences of young practitioners that I had with me, and then I told the students the story of Nuonuo. Nuonuo is a seven-year-old practitioner. When other kids grab his toys, he won't struggle with them. When other kids treat him badly, he won't treat them badly in return. He follows "Tolerance." He took the initiative and helped another boy who had lost his parents to become happy again. The light of his benevolence shines naturally from his heart.
All the students listened quietly. The seed of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" is rooted in their hearts. During the entire morning, three groups of students heard that Falun Dafa is good. We collected almost 50 signatures in support of rescuing Falun Gong orphans.
Not long after that, I went to New York. I lost contact with Lucy for a short time. When I came back to school and began my studies for another degree, I learned from an e-mail that she was already in Africa. She told me, The rhythm of life here is very slow, but the work of every day is meaningful."
In her recent e-mail she told me that she had finished reading Zhuan Falun. That made me happy, as I had not expected her to take Zhuan Falun to Africa. I wrote back to her: "Lucy, I was happy to hear that you had finished reading Zhuan Falun. This is a book from heaven and I have read it many times. Among practitioners, many of us have read it more than one hundred times. I hope you will keep on reading, because every time you read it, your understanding of the Fa will rise to a higher level. This book can guide you at all times until you reach the highest state of your life. If you want to learn the exercises, you can go to our website or I can also mail the video to you."
I know that there are practitioners in South Africa, but I could not offer her information on practitioners in Sudan. I believe that, in the not too distant future, the seeds of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" will sprout everywhere in the land of Africa, and that there won't be any more killing or conflict between the different races on the edgeless deserts. Instead, Africa will be a beautiful place and the land green again.
