(Clearwisdom.net) I have been practicing Falun Gong for 14 years, but I had never written an experience sharing article. I had difficulty writing articles; I could only narrate and let another practitioner help me put my thoughts down on paper.
I was born into a poor family and started to help with the cooking in my teens. I only went to school for three years. After I started cultivation practice, however, I was able to memorize and recite Zhuan Falun easily. I had suffered from asthma since I was young. When I had an asthma attack, I would have difficulty breathing. After I obtained the Fa, Master cleansed my body and I recovered from my illness within ten days. A new practice site was set up at my sister’s house. At that time, I followed along to study the Fa and do the exercises. But one night, my sister suddenly died from an apparent heart attack. This sudden blow was a shock to all of us. At that time I thought to myself: I will not stop cultivation because of the incident. Regardless of what others said, in my heart I believed that Dafa was good.
The practice site was moved to the house of another practitioner. I went there every evening to practice the exercises and study the Fa. I also shared experiences with other practitioners. My understanding of Master’s Fa became clearer. I understood that the cause of illness was karma as a result of bad deeds done in the past. I understood that in the future, I must never do bad deeds and need to strictly follow Master’s requirements.
Whenever I read these words by Master in Zhuan Falun:
“There are many outstanding examples in terms of xinxing improvement. One practitioner works in a textile factory in X city of Shandong Province. After studying Falun Dafa, he taught other coworkers to practice. As a result, the factory has taken on a new look. He used to take home pieces of towels from the textile factory, and so did the rest of the employees. After practicing Dafa, instead of taking things home he brought back to the factory what he took home before. When others saw his actions, nobody would take things home anymore. Some employees also returned to the factory what they previously took home. This situation occurred throughout the entire factory.”
I would recall all the places where I had worked and realize that I had taken things from them. I recalled that I used to work for a factory canteen as a cook and I took a big plastic pail home. Although these incidents had happened many years before, I knew I needed to live by higher standards, so I went to the head of the factory and returned the pail. I said to him earnestly, “In the past I was selfish and ignorant. I made a mistake. Now that I cultivate Falun Gong, I know that I should not have done what I did.” The head of the factory smiled and thought it unbelievable. Later the head of the factory allowed us to practice the exercises in the courtyard. Furthermore, a few years ago when I was clearing weeds, I took 20 ears of sweet corn from my neighbor’s field. I went to my neighbor’s house to apologize to her. I also took a big barrel of sweet corn with me and attempted to clarify the matter to her. She kept smiling and would not accept the corn. I said, “You know that I now practice Falun Gong; my Master told us to be good, so in the future I have to be considerate of others in everything that I do.” My neighbor then accepted the corn.
After July 20, 1999, when the persecution of Falun Gong started in China, I went to the provincial capital to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong. Upon my return, the local police came to my house to demand that I hand over all my Dafa books. I asked them, “If I give the books to you, how can I continue cultivating?” They did not have a choice and left me alone.
In early 2000, I went again to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. I was sent to Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City by the local 610 Office. After I was released, I went to the remote hilly areas to distribute informational materials so that more people could know the truth about Falun Gong. I was seized and incarcerated in Dabi Prison in Shenyang City for four years. After my release, a practitioner recommended me for a job as a cook in a big local factory.
More than 90 people worked in the factory. About one third of them came to the canteen for lunch. Before I took up this position, the turnover rate was quite high. The head of the factory was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member and was also a well-known entrepreneur in the local city and Liaoning Province. When I went to work, the head of the factory was away on business. It was his wife who employed me. When the head of the factory came back and saw me, his expression was one of shock. This was because he knew me and knew that I practiced Falun Gong and had been imprisoned for my beliefs. He believed that I was good for nothing, but found it difficult to dismiss me on that account.
The whole factory heard that the cook was a Falun Gong practitioner. I could tell that they looked down on me. The first day of work, two youngsters wanted to create trouble and picked on me. I sent righteous thoughts in my heart, thinking how, on this day, I was able come to work in this complex environment. I decided I had to use my actions to validate the Fa and help to save sentient beings. The walls of the kitchen were sooty black from the smoke and fumes from cooking. The moment I entered the kitchen, I started to clean it up. I did a little at a time. I did not cause mealtimes to be delayed for the workers and I did not take things from the kitchen. The female boss told me that lunch at the canteen cost one dollar for all workers. I told her that I would not take my meals at the factory. I said, “I practice Falun Gong, and I must follow the requirements of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and should not take advantage of others or take other people’s things. I live close to the factory and will go home to eat.” When the workers were eating, I did the cleaning. When they finished their meals, I would quickly clean up after them. Then I would ride my bicycle home just in time to send forth righteous thoughts. After lunch, I travelled with another practitioner on my bicycle to other townships to clarify the truth. Winter or summer, I did the same thing every day. At four p.m. in the afternoon, I went back to the canteen to prepare dinner. I then returned home at night to study the Fa.
One afternoon, the steamed buns that I had made were a little yellow. At the start of mealtime, I told the workers, “Today nobody needs to pay for their meals. I did not make the buns properly. I'm sorry, and I will pay for your lunches today.” To my surprise the workers all paid anyway and did not let me pay for their lunches. In the past, my boss collected the money herself. Now she has given me the coin box and lets me take charge. She told me, “I trust you.”
This year all the workers got a pay raise, 100 yuan more per month. The head of the factory did not inform me that he would increase my pay. At that time, the factory employed more workers. I was the only cook in the kitchen and found it difficult to handle the load. The boss helped me sometimes. Someone realized that it was not fair and told me, “Go talk to the head of the factory to ask for a helper and also increase your pay.” My heart was not moved. I thought, “What is mine will be mine; Master will make sure of it. If it is not mine, I will not fight for it.” At the end of the month my boss told me that my pay would be increased by 100 yuan.
One day, the head of the factory was having lunch with my husband. He told him his heartfelt words, “In the past, I did not understand why your wife would cultivate Falun Gong. But I now fully understand. Falun Gong practitioners are really great! Understanding this was beyond my expectations.” The factory head was later diagnosed with liver problems. I gave him a copy of Zhuan Falun and the videos of Master’s lectures. He also read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. My boss told me, “Your Master is really powerful!” The factory head and his wife both renounced their CCP membership. Their whole family knew that Falun Dafa was good. Now when I talk to others about Falun Gong at work, the atmosphere is much friendlier. I put the little booklets that let others know the facts about Falun Gong on the table near the office where deliveries are made at the entrance to the factory. The workers pass the booklets around and read them. Now most of the workers have renounced their CCP memberships.
Master is right beside me. I must be even more diligent and remember Master’s words: “As for you, disciples of Dafa, the closer it gets to the end the better you should walk your paths, seizing the day to cultivate yourselves well.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa”)
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
