[Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day] A Village Once in Turmoil Completely Changed

(Minghui.org) A mountain village in northeastern China was notorious. Vegetable farmers stole produce from others before eating their own, and their crops in turn were stolen. Street vendors had to bring another person to guard against theft.

Even the nearby villages were affected by the rampant crime in this “den of thieves.” Everything changed when Falun Dafa was introduced to the village, and the residents stopped stealing. People were shocked and said, “How come something that the police or government couldn’t change was corrected by Falun Dafa?”

I know many practitioners know how Falun Dafa can make someone a better person. But to change hundreds of people in a village–including bad habits passed down for generations–seemed inconceivable. I recently visited the village with another practitioner and I wanted to share the story with you.

Village Officer: “Things Changed After Falun Dafa Came Here”

I only knew one practitioner in the village, Gang, so we went to his place. The door was locked. A tall middle-aged man came and asked, “Are you here to visit Gang?” When we said yes, the man called Gang on his cell phone. Then he took a key from a spot near the door opened the house, let us in, and prepared tea.

“Seeing you smiling like this, I know you must be good people,” he said.“Are you a village officer? You must know Falun Dafa well,” I asked.

The man did not answer directly and replied, “This village was a headache in the past. People fought and stole a lot – no one could do anything about it. Everything changed after Falun Dafa was introduced here. When we collected fees, practitioners always paid first; when we looked for volunteers, practitioners responded first; when it was time to share benefits among villagers, practitioners often came last and just walked away if nothing was left. They are great,” he said with a thumbs up.

I was moved and said, “The villagers are lucky to have a supportive officer like you.”

Gang and his wife returned, and the village officer said good-bye. When I told Gang what the man said, he nodded, “Yes, he and other villagers trust practitioners very much. When there’s a conflict they talk to me. When I share understanding of the situation based on Falun Dafa’s principles, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the issues are resolved.”

Other villagers noticed practitioners enjoyed a harmonious family life. “We do not fight for fame or material interests. But everything we do turns out well. The villagers all see this,” Gang added.

After the persecution started in 1999, some village officers harassed practitioners and helped police to arrest them. Although the officers received promotions, many of them later suffered. “We did not hate them; instead we sympathized with them,” Gang explained. “We told them the facts about the persecution of Dafa and advised them to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations. They were very thankful.”

When new village officers came, practitioners told them the facts about the persecution, so they pushed back when higher officials came to harass practitioners. For example, township police and several officials came several months ago to harass practitioners. The village officer mentioned above stopped them and said, “All these practitioners became better people because of Falun Dafa. If you come and talk with them, they will tell you the same – what’s the point of coming here wasting your time?”

When township officials said it was an assignment from the county government, the village officer responded, “This is easy – just go to a village that has no practitioners. Otherwise, if you push these practitioners too much, they will go to different level of government to appeal – all of us will have a difficult time. Right?”

“It seems this officer does know Falun Dafa well and is not afraid of the CCP,” I replied.

“Yes, he does,” Gang continued. “He said he was born a farmer. If he is removed from the position, he’s still a farmer. So he has nothing to lose.”

Gang’s Story

Gang is in his 60s and told us the history of the village. Influenced by communist ideology, people constantly fought with each other. The children watched the adults and copied their bad behavior.

Family relationships were also terrible. Family members fought over a little property or about who would support the elderly. Someone’s elderly relative was sick and no one cared for them, another elderly family member was scolded, someone’s elderly relative was beaten... What was even worse was that the villagers developed the bad habit of stealing and robbing—including each others’ crops and animals.

Big items were missing. If you parked your motorcycle in the yard at night the valuable wheels and engines were gone in the morning. An old ox was taken to the river at night, and when it was found, only the cowhide was left. It was common to hear that someone’s beans or peppers were missing, someone’s chicken coop was emptied, someone’s cow was gone, someone’s motorcycle was missing, and so on. The people who were robbed cursed and swore at those who stole from them.

These villagers are not only targeted at their own neighbors, but also the surrounding villages. Even street vendors are targeted: as soon as the vendor’s cart stops, a group of villagers surrounded it. The villagers next to the cart seem to be selecting and picking goods. If the vendor didn’t keep an eye on them, the villagers who were selecting goods passed the items to the people behind them. Even if the vendor noticed they were stealing he dare not chase them. If the vendor left the stall there wouldn’t be anything left when he returned. This atmosphere scared vendors so they avoided doing business unless they brought two or three people to help watch their carts. People in the surrounding villages and the vendors called village, “a den of thieves,” and this nickname stuck for decades. Village officials and police stations changed many times, but no one could change “the den of thieves.”

Gang said Falun Dafa was introduced to the village in the spring of 1998. With the help of fellow practitioners in the city, a practice site was established in the village. Several local villagers who were practiced qigong took the lead in practicing Falun Dafa and took the initiative to buy tape recorders and video recorders at their own expense, and provided them free of charge to villagers who wanted to learn Dafa. It was the off-season for farming at that time. The villagers who learned Dafa put aside their past grudges and told their neighbors, relatives, and friends, “Watch the Falun Dafa lectures. It’s very good. It not only improves health, but also teaches people to be good people and gain blessings. And it is free.”

Few people came the first time the Falun Dafa video lecture was played. Most of them half-believed and half-doubted, but they came to watch out of curiosity and excitement. But the second time it was played, the seats were full every day, with 70 to 80 people. During the morning exercises, there were nearly 100 people, young and old, men and women.

The small village suddenly became lively. The topics that villagers used to talk about when they met, such as stealing and cursing, immediately stopped. They all talked about: This exercise is really good; I feel refreshed after practicing the exercises. I am full of energy, and I don’t feel tired when working; Dafa’s teachings are so good and so right. People said no one had ever taught them how to be a good person, and they didn’t know how important “virtue” and “accumulating virtue” were; nor did they know they have to return “virtue” to others after creating karma. “It turns out that the more virtue you lose, the less blessings you have. It seems that everything we did before was wrong!” one villager said.

All the villagers’ bad habits abruptly end. The arrival of Falun Dafa completely removed the label of “den of thieves” the village wore for decades. If the CCP had not launched the persecution of Falun Dafa in July 1999, there would have been more people practicing Falun Dafa, and more people would have benefited from it.

This village was already well known in the past. After the CCP began to persecute Falun Dafa, because so many people practiced, they were targeted by the CCP and the police. Officials repeatedly came to the homes of Falun Dafa practitioners to force them to renounce their belief and illegally searched the homes. Some villagers who did not have a deep understanding of Falun Dafa’s principles were so scared that they dared not practice. The remaining practitioners were forced to flee their homes; they were illegally sentenced to labor camps, kept in detention centers, and taken to brainwashing sessions. They also had to endure pressure from many aspects—financial pressure and society.

“Despite this, we are still firmly on the path of validating Dafa. We strictly require of ourselves to follow the standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” Gang said. “In the cruel reality created by the vicious CCP, we are able to live a stable and normal life, and we live better than the villagers who don’t practice. We all firmly practice according to the standards of Dafa, openly tell the facts to villagers, and lead them to become better step by step, gradually returning to tradition and kindness.”

Gang also told us about fellow practitioners in the village who improved themselves, convinced the villagers that Falun Dafa is good, and changed their bad habits. He said that there were many examples, so he only gave a few.

Supporting the Elderly with Sincerity and Without Complaint

Wei and his wife practiced Falun Dafa. Before they practiced, the parents gave all the property to his younger brother who later refused to take care of them. Wei wanted to take care of his parents but felt they were unfair to him, and was thus resentful. This caused constant conflicts between the brothers and they stopped talking to each other for decades. After practicing Falun Dafa, Wei and his wife learned how to be good people and better people. Dafa not only made them healthy physically and mentally, but also helped them resolve tribulations and crises many times. The couple is grateful to Dafa and Master Li (founder of Falun Dafa).

They remember what Master Li said, “Under all circumstances, we must be good and kind to others, not to mention to our family members.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)

The decided to take the elderly parents into their home, and they did not need to share all the expenses with the young brother. The elderly mother sometimes lost her temper, got mad, and cursed people. No matter how well the couple treated her, she was not satisfied, and often told lies that confused right and wrong. The couple did not take the mother’s unreasonable behavior to heart, but regarded it as a good thing to cultivate themselves and improve their xinxing. As always, they required themselves to follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and always looked for their own mistakes and where they could do better.

Finally, the mother was so moved by Wei and his wife, and she had nothing to complain about. As for the younger brother’s family, although they inherited all the family property, his wife was ill and had to stay in the hospital for a long time, so they lived a very difficult life. Wei and his wife put aside all the grudges and selfishness they had in the past and took the initiative to care for the younger brother’s family. When the younger brother was short of money, the couple sent him money; When he was short of daily necessities, the couple stepped forward to help. This happened many times and the family feud was melted by the kindness cultivated by Dafa practitioners and the family was harmonious than ever.

Wang’s story also greatly influenced the villagers. Wang’s husband had four siblings and all of them married. But no one took care of their blind, disabled mother. Wang was worried because her husband could not work due to a stroke, so she had to do all the household work and farm work. Considering herself a Dafa practitioner, Wang decided to take care of her mother-in-law as well. When she discussed this with her husband, he asked, “Can you do it? You know I can’t help you at all. I hope you don’t regret it.” Wang replied, “I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. I won’t regret it.”

It’s easier said than done. Her husband’s family and the villagers watched to see how long a weak woman like her could hold on. After Wang brought her mother-in-law home, she carefully arranged her daily life and met her various needs. When her mother-in-law was sick, Wang helped out without complaint. She washed clothes and cooked, planted in spring and harvested in autumn, looked after her mother, did temporary jobs to support the family, and was busy inside and outside. No matter what the situation was, Wang would rather suffer, be tired, and have less rest than let her mother suffer. She treated her blind and disabled mother-in-law with great care and looked after her for more than ten years.

Because she practiced Falun Dafa she arrested and detained in the past. She was beaten and scolded by her husband who did not practice. Her siblings and neighbors did not understand her: Why did she persist in practicing despite such great tribulations? Wang was kind to her mother-in-law for more than ten years, all of them knew that Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good through her actions.

When the old woman passed away, one sibling of Wang’s husband said to her, “You are amazing. Falun Dafa practitioners are really amazing. We are all convinced.” Wang replied, “You should thank Dafa and Master! If I hadn't practiced Falun Dafa and used Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance as my guidance, I would not have been able to do this.”

These stories had a great impact in the village. People saw them with their own eyes and admired the practitioners in their hearts. After that, there was no more cases of not caring for the elderly in the village.

Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law Finally Got Along Well

Practitioners Chen and Deng are of similar age, and had similar experiences. After getting married, they both moved to their parents-in-law’s house. They were at odds with their parents-in-law from the beginning. Their relationship became increasingly strained over time. They no longer interacted with their parents-in-law and were like enemies.

After they began practicing Falun Dafa, Chen and Deng realized their mistakes. They looked inward to find their own problems, and used Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance as the standard to require themselves.

Master Li said, “I said that if you can’t love your enemy then you can’t become a Buddha. How could a divine being or a person who is cultivating see an everyday person as his or her enemy? How could they have enemies?” (“Teachings at the Conference in Houston”)

Chen and Deng were awakened by Master’s teachings. Chen immediately let go of her resentment and took the initiative to care for her parents-in-law. She took their thirst, and hunger to heart and helped their solve problems. During every Chinese New Year or other major holidays, Chen prepared delicious meals and invited the parents-in-law to her home to celebrate holidays with grandchildren.

Chen not only cares for her parents-in-law, but also often reminds them, “Recite the phrases: ‘Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good’ more often, and you will have a healthy body and a bright future.’ When Chen saw the kind and satisfied faces of her parents-in-law with their children and grandchildren, she thought, “It turns out that the elderly are really easy to satisfy. I didn’t do that before. Thank you, Master, for saving me and them!”

Deng was not willing to lag behind, either. Her son was divorced and she has to raise and take care of two little grandchildren. She is very busy. But she studies the Dafa teachings and improves her xinxing. She follows the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, eliminated her human thoughts, and lets go of her resentment towards her parents-in-law. Deng often accompanies the elderly to chat as well as reminds to study Dafa teachings, practice the exercises, and recite the phrases mentioned above, which makes the elderly relatives very happy.

When her parents-in-law were ill, Deng took good care of him. Because the elderly lived in the home of her husband’s younger brother, Deng often told her husband, “Please pay more attention to your younger brother and the elderly, and buy whatever your parents want.” Deng also took the initiative to ask about the elderly’s health, and prepared clothes and good food in advance. She also often bought clothes and supplies for her sister-in-law, thanking her for her dedication to her parents-in-law.

All these would have been impossible before Deng started practicing. In the past, she a bad relationship with her parents-in-law, and the family relationships were strained. After practicing Dafa, Deng’s huge change made her husband very happy. He said happily, “Falun Dafa is great. Please study and practice well. I will take care of anything else. You don’t have to do the farm work. Just tell me if you need anything. I support you 100% in practicing Dafa.”

Her husband not only supports Deng in practicing Falun Dafa, but also stops anyone who slanders Falun Dafa in front of him. “Is there anyone in your family who practices Falun Dafa? Have you read the Falun Dafa books?” he would ask. “If you’ve never interacted with practitioners or read the Falun Dafa books, how do you know that Falun Dafa is not good?!” The person was often speechless.

The villagers were also shocked by the huge changes in Chen and Deng before and after practicing Falun Dafa. One of them said, “Such a terrible relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law can be reconciled. It’s incredible. It seems we should learn from them.”

A Successful Business

Feng is the oldest person in the village. When he was young, he had many brothers and sisters, and life was very difficult. He grew up by begging for food. Feng never went to school so he could not count. After getting married, Feng only wanted to live a good life. He worked from dawn to dusk all year long, but could not make ends meet. Instead, he had several illnesses and the most terrible was migraine headaches. He was always dizzy and sometimes rolled on the ground in pain. He banged his head against the wall but the pain did not stop. Doctors could not cure it and one expert said, “There is no way to cure this disease. It can only be maintained by regular injections.” Feng’s disease made the whole family depressed.

In the summer of 1998, Feng was fortunate to practice Falun Dafa. After about 10 days, all his illnesses disappeared, especially his headaches. Feng’s friends, neighbors, and family members all witnessed the miracles. Feng knew Master Li saved him and his family while gave him a second life, so he was determined to practice. He was illegally arrested and detained for more than 40 days because of practicing Dafa, but he did not give in and insisted on practicing.

Feng used to be illiterate, but now he knows all the words in Zhuan Falun. Feng can read Dafa books by himself, do accounting, and learn to run a small business. He can calculate addition, subtraction, and multiplication accurately within ten thousand, which is amazing.

Most businessmen nowadays tell lies, and pass off fake goods as genuine ones, hoping to get rich overnight. But Feng knows that he is a Falun Dafa practitioner and cannot do that. He needs to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and sell genuine goods at fair prices. For people in need, the elderly or disabled, he only takes the cost or does not make a profit. For the goods that customers are not satisfied with, he unconditionally takes them back, no matter how long ago they were bought. People are willing to buy his products, and his business is very prosperous.

His peers were very envious and said, “Why do you sell so many of the same products so quickly?” They all asked Feng for his secret. Feng told them his honesty, facts of Dafa and the phrases of “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” People in the small business circle now all know this secret.

Validating Dafa with Concrete Actions

Gong also grew up in this village. She had poor health since childhood, and returned home to help the elderly with farm work before she finished elementary school. By the time she was in her early twenties, most of her teeth had fallen out. After getting married, she often felt resentful and vented her dissatisfaction. As her health deteriorated, she became more depressed.

In the spring of 1998, Gong and her husband began to practice Falun Dafa. She understood the true purpose life, and let go of her previous resentment and dissatisfaction. She began by being a good person and telling the villagers about Dafa.

Gong takes the lead taking care of the elderly on both sides of her family. No matter how difficult, she gives them pocket money, food, and firewood. If there is delicious food at home, she invite them to eat. She treats her brothers and sisters well, lives in harmony with sisters-in-law, and never cares about gains and losses. During the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year, six brothers and sisters bring more than 20 people from six families to accompany the elderly to celebrate the holidays. Gong always makes arrangements, works hard, and never complains. The festival atmosphere was thus peaceful and the whole family is happy. The villagers and neighbors admire them and said, “Look at how well practitioners behave. She never have conflicts with their 7 siblings from her own family and their 6 siblings from their husband’s family. They get along so well. We’ve never seen something like this.”

Gong is not only kind to her relatives, but also very polite to other elderly people in the village. She is especially caring towards the children in the village. She often tells them stories about being good and helps them withdraw from the Young Pioneers of the Communist Party of China to keep them safe. The children all like her and say she is the best person.

In terms of material interest, Gong and her husband faithfully follow the standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Once, a man came to the village to sell big silver carp, and Gong’s family bought two. When they came home, they found that they had been given a few yuan extra, so Gong immediately returned the money. After explaining the reason, she handed the money to the vendor, but the vendor stood there in a daze. Seeing this, Gong explained, “I practice Falun Dafa, and I cannot take advantage of you.” The vendor looked at her with tears in his eyes and said nothing. Gong was a little puzzled.

When Gong went to a nearby store, she learned that the vendor had suffered losses. More than ten large fish were stolen by passerby, weighing dozens of kilograms. The vendor did not dare to leave the scene to ask for them. When the people in the store learned that Gong was returning the extra change for the fish, an old store owner sighed and said, “What a huge difference there is between stealing and giving back!” The villagers were so ashamed that they fell silent.

One summer, several merchants from other places came to buy fritillaria, a Chinese medicine, and Gong sold several hundred kilograms. After the buyers left, Gong found that she was overpaid by 50 kilograms, which was not a small amount. She immediately took the money and ran after them. She searched most of the village but couldn’t find them. Finally, she found them at the west end of the village.

Many villagers gathered at this house to sell fritillaria. “I finally found you! When you bought my fritillaria, the weight was wrong. I come to give you money for the 50 kilograms of fritillaria.” Gong told the vendors. “I practice Falun Dafa and I cannot take advantage of you.” The buyers then understood and said, “Falun Dafa is so good! It is different from what they say on TV! We’ve collecting medicinal herbs for more than ten years, and this is the first time someone gave us money.” Everyone was moved.

The buyer said, “We can split the money.” Gong said “no way” and returned home. After a while, the buyer went to Gong’s home with a big watermelon and insisted she take it, saying, “This is a small gift from us. It’s not worth much.” Then he wrote down his address and contact number and said, “If you have the chance, please come to my home. I want to have friends like you.”

Things like this happened frequently among Dafa practitioners in the village, such as returning money for corn, fertilizer, and medicinal materials. These touching stories deeply influenced the villagers and changed them. Now everything is fine: there is no more theft and no one takes anything even if it is left out in the open. Business people from outside the village happily said, “This place has changed. We are willing to come here. People here have money, and we sell more goods and sell them quickly. When we come here, everyone is willing to help us if we have any difficulties."

In the past, this village was notorious. But now people no loner need to lock their doors at night. Gang said, “Falun Dafa changed the people in our village. We are grateful to Master and Falun Dafa. We are grateful for the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance for blessing our entire village.”