PureInsight | July 4, 2005
[PureInsight.org] I was deeply moved three years ago I saw on a Taiwanese TV program that Falun Gong practitioners in China went to Tiananmen Square to display banners with the words, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." These are very good words. Why does the Chinese government subject Falun Gong practitioners to those appalling tortures? I burst into tears immediately.
Then I saw on another Taiwanese TV program that a group of western Falun Gong practitioners went to Tiananmen Square to show a giant banner with the same three words. They, too, were arrested and brutally beaten. I felt so sad for them. What on earth is Falun Gong? How did these people come up with the courage to risk their lives for the truth? After all, the gruesome images of the June 4 massacre of college students in 1989 are still haunting me today. Their uncompromising courage inspired me to learn more about Falun Gong. I went to a bookstore and bought all of Mr. Li Hongzhi's books. After I finished reading Zhuan Falun for the first time, I understood everything. I was very excited and immediately decided to practice Falun Gong.
For the first two years of my cultivation practice, I had to work long hours every day. Besides, I worked shifts around the clock, so my work schedule changed constantly. In addition, I had a strong attachment to comfort, so I did not study the Fa and practice Falun Gong exercises on a regular basis. I felt frustrated and was disappointed in myself. One day in early July 2003, I suddenly changed my regular commuting route and accidentally saw fellow practitioners practicing the Falun Gong exercises together. I felt very sad that I did not have the opportunity to practice the exercises with my fellow practitioners. The next day I passed by the group practice site again and started crying. Why couldn't I practice the exercises with my fellow practitioners? Why do I have to work long hours every day? Because of my work schedule and long work hours, I had been unable to attend group Fa study or group exercise practice. On the third time I passed by the group practice site, I burst into tears again. I made up my mind that I must find a way to join the group exercise practice.
Teacher said, "The cultivation practice form that I have left for Dafa disciples ensures that disciples can truly improve themselves. For example, I ask you to do the exercises as a group in parks in order to form an environment. This environment is the best way to change the surface of a person. The lofty conduct that Dafa disciples have established in this environment--including every word and every deed--can make people recognize their own weaknesses and identify their shortcomings; it can move their hearts, refine their conduct, and enable them to make progress more rapidly. Therefore, new students or self-taught disciples have to go to the practice sites to do the exercises." (From "Environment" in Essentials for Further Advancement. )
That evening I called the volunteer assistant of the group practice site. She told me that they start practicing the exercises at 4:55 A.M. every day. The next day I got up at 3:55 A.M. and practiced four exercises with them for an hour and a half. When I got off work that day, I practiced the second exercise at home. However, I could only join the morning group practice when I had the morning shift schedule. When I got the night shift, I wasn't be able to attend the group practice. As a result, I was unable to attend the group practice every day. I felt as if I was "an average practitioner."
Teacher said, "As for one who is an average practitioner, one is 'an average person who hears the Tao,' and one for whom it will be fine to either practice or not practice cultivation; it is most likely he will fail in cultivation." (From "A Clear and Clean Mind" in Lecture Nine of Zhuan Falun.)
I don't want to be "an average practitioner." I don't want to fail in my cultivation. I must find a solution!
In order to be able to study the Fa and practice Falun Gong exercises every day, I decided to change my career. I asked my colleagues who were company drivers about the market of taxi drivers. They all told me that the market of taxi drivers had become saturated and that I wouldn't make much money. I was not discouraged. I will be content as long as I can make ends meet. I didn't have much time preparing for the taxi driver's license qualification exam, but I passed it with flying colors. It was truly a miracle for a 56-year-old folk like me. I knew it was the Fa that had inspired my wisdom. After I passed the exam, a colleague that I had known for eight years looked for a taxi for me. Soon he found a nice taxi at a very reasonable price for me. It has all the necessary equipment for a taxi.
Thus I started driving a taxi since November, 2003. I have been attending the morning group practice since then. After the morning practice, I would start driving at 7:20 A.M. I would introduce Falun Gong to each and every passenger. Sometimes I go to the local culture center in Keelong (a seaport in northern Taiwan) and distribute Falun Gong flyers in front of the culture center. Sometimes I drive to Keelong's famous food vendors' market at the peak hour to distribute Falun Gong's flyers. On some Sundays, I distribute Falun Gong flyers in front of a local bank. My son asked me, "How can you distribute Falun Gong flyers in your taxi drivers' uniform?" I replied, "Why not? Falun Gong is most righteous. If I had not obtained the Fa, I wouldn't have become a taxi driver. It is an honorable mission to introduce Falun Gong to people. I am so happy that I want to cry!"
Once I distributed Falun Gong flyers in front of my son's store and he gave me a xinxing test. He told me, "Dad, please do not distribute Falun Gong flyers in front of my store. I don't think people will take flyers as they enter and exit a store." I thought to myself, "I am doing the most righteous thing, so I must be impervious to discouragement." In less than a hour, I finished distributing over 300 flyers. My voice sounded better as I talked to people more. In the end, I felt it was not my own voice. It sounded like a very kind man's voice out of my mouth. I didn't even realize it when tears came down on my cheeks until I tasted the tears in my mouth. When my son saw me crying, he came out of the store and helped me distribute the flyers. He even bought a canned drink for me.
Distributing Falun Gong flyers gives me an opportunity to offer Teacher's salvation to people. I believe that when I distribute flyers with compassion, people who take the flyers will know the truth about Falun Gong and might earn an opportunity to start practicing Falun Gong in the future. During the process of distributing flyers, I have learned that compassion comes from removing my attachment to self. When I let go of a part of selfishness, a part of compassion will fill in. When I distribute flyers with attachments, people are less receptive to the truth.
Teacher said, "But as Dafa disciples, you cultivate kindness, so you should be compassionate. Whether they're receptive or not, you should always treat them with compassion, and you can't get competitive with ordinary people or look at sentient beings with human thoughts. Just do whatever you should with compassion, regardless of whether they're receptive or not. Compassion comes from a person's cultivation, and it's not something that's acted out; it comes from deep inside, and it's not something done to show others. It's something that exists eternally, and it doesn't change with the passage of time or changes in circumstances." (From "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Washington DC Fa Conference")
Since I started practicing Falun Gong, I have become less attached to fame or wealth. All I ask for is to make ends meet. Although the market of taxi drivers is highly competitive, I enjoy the freedom of arranging my own work schedule. I now have the pleasure of attending group Fa study and group exercise practice every day. I also have the pleasure of attending truth-clarification activities. Since I became a taxi driver, I have never missed any group Fa study, group exercise practice, truth-clarification activity, or Falun Gong promotion activity. All the fellow practitioners at the group Fa study and group practice site are very diligent in their cultivation. I often feel I am falling behind. Because of fellow practitioners' encouragement, I have become more active in clarifying the truth about Falun Gong to people. Since I started attending the group Fa study and group exercise practice, I feel my xinxing has improved very quickly. I also feel highly honored to be able to assist Teacher in the Fa-rectification!
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2004/6/26/27862.html
