(Minghui.org) On a rainy day, I inexplicably took a detour on my way home from the mall when a lady on her bicycle stopped in front of me. She lifted the hood of her raincoat and asked, "Madam, have you joined the Youth League or the Young Pioneers?"
I first thought she had stopped to ask for directions, but was elated to find out she's a Falun Dafa practitioner just like me. I told her I had just persuaded a union director at the mall to quit the Chinese Communist Party. She smiled and left.
Looking at her disappearing into distance, tears blurred my vision. I was moved by the fact that both she and I were working hard to tell people about the CCP's persecution of Falun Dafa and to urge them to sever ties with the Party.
My chance encounter with the fellow practitioner reminded me of what just happened at the mall - it took four practitioners, me included, to get that union director to quit the Party. I couldn't help but marvel at Master's painstaking arrangements for us practitioners to work as one body.
“You're the Fourth One to Ask Me to Quit the Party”
On that rainy day, I was taking a break in the mall rest area when I saw an old lady beside me. She was amazed that I looked younger and more energetic than her, even though she was older in age.
When I told her that I practiced Falun Gong exercises to keep fit, she blurted out, “One time a lady on her bicycle asked me to quit the Communist Party. I said, 'No! The Party pays your salary. Why would you go against it?' Another time, a teacher also tried to persuade me to quit the Party...”
I interjected, “When they asked you to quit the Party, do you think they did it for fame, personal gain, or power? They could be arrested for just talking to you! How courageous they were!”
She blushed and said that the encounter happened several years ago. Her tone changed: “I like you very much. I couldn't find a person like you in this neighborhood.”
I shared my own health improvement stories with her, “I got hurt at work in my thirties and had a disc protrusion along my spine. I relied on others to carry me up and down stairs. All these ailments disappeared soon after I started practicing Falun Gong.”
She was quite surprised and said, “Wow, that's miraculous. I couldn't imagine you were like that before.”
I seemed to have won her trust as she began to complain to me about her strained relationship with her two sons.
I comforted her and said, “I also have had my fair share of troubles in life, but I discipline myself according to the principles of Falun Dafa, 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,' and I regard those conflicts as chances to improve myself.” She marveled, “You Falun Gong practitioners are great.”
I then shared with her Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, which lists the atrocities the Communist Party has committed throughout its history.
She agreed to quit the Party and said, “You're the fourth one to ask me to quit the Party.” I responded, “It's because the other three practitioners didn't have enough time to explain. Today, the time is right.”
I realized that we had chatted for more than an hour. Before we parted ways, I gave her two pamphlets containing information about Falun Dafa and also told her that reciting “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” will bring her good fortune.
She pressed her hands together in front of her chest and said, “I will read it [the pamphlet], I will read it. Thank you! Thank you!” I was excited, too, because one more life had been saved.
“It's Not That I Helped You Pass the Test–Rather, You Helped Me”
My experience at the mall left me with a deeper understanding that Dafa practitioners are truly one body during the process of saving sentient beings. The one body also manifests when we help one another and improve together on the divine path of cultivation.
I always thought I was on the giving end while working to help fellow practitioners break through their sickness karma or improve their xinxing. However, a recent incident made me realize that I was actually the beneficiary.
Below is a story of what I learned from a fellow practitioner (whom I referred to as Ms. Li hereinafter) who experienced some severe sickness karma.
A veteran practitioner in her seventies, Ms. Li, hadn't participated in group Fa study for a long time. She would only keep in touch with me since our husbands used to be colleagues. I became her “go-to” person each time sickness karma struck and she needed a fellow practitioner to help her pull through the tribulation.
She had “health problems” again last April. Her husband was furious that she refused to go to the hospital to treat an infection in her left eye. I also became a bit worried as she couldn't see at all with her left eye and that side of the face all swollen.
I debated with myself whether to bring her to my home for intensive Fa-study and experience sharing, as I did before with each of her sickness karma episode.
If something should happen to her while she stayed with me, how could I face her family? However, I immediately changed my mind: “No! That's not right! Nothing I encounter is accidental. The evil is also taking aim at me. I will not acknowledge it by any means. Master is here. The Fa is here. What's to be afraid of?”
Ms. Li on the other hand was very determined that only Master could help her, which furthered my resolve to help her just like before.
While at my home, we studied the Fa, practiced the five sets of exercises, and sent forth righteous thoughts together.
She realized why she became a target of the evil: “I only stayed home studying the Fa and doing the exercises, yet out of fear I never went out to tell people about the persecution of Falun Dafa. I also worried about my husband since he still refuses to practice cultivation.”
I also identified my fear and many other attachments. We realized that as Dafa practitioners in the Fa-rectification period, we shoulder historic responsibilities of assisting Master in Fa-rectification. Therefore, we must overcome our fear and go out to clarify the truth.
Despite her eye problem, Ms. Li and I went out to different places to distribute Shen Yun DVDs and to urge people to quit the CCP. We also sent forth righteous thoughts near a detention center where practitioners were illegally confined. After we came home, we shared understandings with each other and identified problems that we still had.
Ms. Li never complained about her eye pain. She said, “I know well Master bore the suffering for me every time I had sickness karma.” We didn't regard it as illness or inflammation. Five days later, her swelling went down, and her eyes returned to normal.
She went back home. We made plans to distribute pamphlets the following week, which however saw more than 20 local practitioners arrested.
To my surprise, Ms. Li arrived at my place as planned. I had thought to call off the scheduled outing, but as soon as I saw her, I realized I was wrong. We sent forth righteous thoughts, packed up the materials, and departed as planned.
It was her first time to distribute materials in a rural village, where the roads were often uneven and dimly lit at night. Even though her vision was still a bit blurry, she insisted that she distribute materials to households on one side of the road while I worked on the other side.
As we made our way into the village, two dogs rushed out, circled us, and barked ferociously. I comforted Ms. Li, “Don't be afraid. The dogs are afraid we might miss their owners. They came to lead us to them.” The dogs took us to a courtyard, where we delivered a bag of materials. The dogs stopped barking and never came out again.
On our way back home, Ms. Li said, “You're right! Those dogs are clever.” I shared my experience of overcoming the fear of dogs while distributing materials in villages. We usually sent forth righteous thoughts before going to villages so that the dogs would not bark at us. Actually, I learned that from other practitioners.
It was midnight by the time we got home.
I said to her, “You always thank me, but today, I want to say, thank you. It's not that I helped you pass the test–rather, you helped me. If you didn't come today, I wouldn't have gone out to distribute materials. More than twenty local practitioners were arrested, including those in our Fa-study group. I didn't dare to tell you to avoid affecting you.”
She responded, “Even if you had told me, I wouldn't have been affected. We should have gone out as planned.” Her simple reply showed her elevation in understanding the Fa. Before, I only saw her fear, but now I realized Master arranged for her to serve as a mirror to reflect my own fear.
I came to see the contrast between me and her. She is modest and tolerant; I tend to be aggressive. She diligently practiced the exercises, but I often slack off.
This incident helped me get rid of many human attachments. I also disintegrated a lot of Party culture that existed within myself.
Meanwhile, Ms. Li's family witnessed Dafa's healing power once more!
Thank you, Master! Thank you for your painstaking arrangements.
