(Minghui.org) I am a 50-year-old female Falun Dafa practitioner who obtained the Fa in 1994. I returned home in March 2019 after being illegally imprisoned for more than three years. I was weak and all my teeth were loose. I could not chew vegetables and my stomach struggled to digest the things I ate. I suffered from insomnia each night, and I looked pale and old. I was so emaciated that people asked me, “How did you become so thin?” Because I hadn’t recovered from the psychological harm caused by the persecution, I did not offer them any explanation. In my heart however, I still believed in Master and Dafa, and I knew that only Dafa could save me. I persisted in studying the Fa, practicing the exercises, and sending forth righteous thoughts. I gradually recovered.
Master saved me and I wanted to go out to clarify the facts and save sentient beings. I thought that if I had a job in a supermarket, I would be able to come into contact with many people and there would be more chances for me to clarify the truth. So I applied to work in a supermarket in September 2019. This supermarket was relatively large. Due to its rather secluded location, business was quite slow. I was determined to do my job well and create a good environment for clarifying the truth. I eventually encountered many people with affinity.
The Story of a Pious Old Granny
One afternoon, a faltering and haggard-looking older woman came to buy adult diapers and disposable gloves. I asked her with concern, “Grandmother, do you have a bedridden patient at home?” This question opened our conversation and she poured all her worries and grievances out to me.
Her husband was seriously ill and was still hospitalized. Her son had not come to help, so she had to look after her husband by herself. But because her health was poor, she was struggling with the situation. She depended on her husband’s pension to cover her living expenses, so she was worried that if her husband could not make it through… Hearing that, I comforted her, “Grandma, it has not been easy for you and your husband. Now that your husband is ill, you have tried your best to look after him. Although it is hard and tiring, you have done what you should have. You have not let him down, and you will not have any regrets in the future! Please don’t be angry with your son. If your anger causes you to fall ill, nobody will bear the suffering for you. You need a good attitude and sound body to look after your husband well! There is always a way out. Grandma, people your age believe in gods. Let me teach you to recite ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’ It can help you survive disasters and turn bad things into good things!”
She nodded her head but still looked a bit sad as she left. Two days later, the lady came back. She came to look for me and said, “I will recite the phrases that you taught me. Could you listen to see if I have remembered them correctly?” She carefully and sincerely recited word by word, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” After reciting the phrases repeatedly a few times to confirm that she had not made a mistake, she was finally at ease. The lady told me that her husband’s illness had already improved a lot.
Doing My Job Well
Most of the workers at the supermarket are young and did not want to listen to the truth about Dafa. Some of them even asked the others behind my back not to talk to me. How could I change this situation? I thought that only by abiding by Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance could I validate the Fa and save sentient beings.
Master cited such an example in Zhuan Falun,
“Since learning Falun Dafa these workers have been putting in extra hours and working conscientiously and with a lot of heart. They don’t quibble over the work they’re assigned to do, and aren’t just thinking about themselves.” (The Fourth Talk, Zhuan Falun)
I must first do my own job well and not worry about personal gain.
I had never worked in a supermarket before, so my job was arranged by the salesgirl who worked the shift after me. She taught me how to categorize, display, check the barcodes, restock products, and clean up the place. She did very little herself and sometimes did nothing at all. I was not bothered about this, because this was my platform to validate Dafa and I must do well. So I just let her do what she was willing to. After observing this for a few days, the general manager said to me, “You just do your job, you don’t need to compare yourself with her. We all know that she is used to being lazy.” After that, the general manager went to criticize her, and the salesgirl got angry with me, thinking that I had complained about her. I did not take that to heart. I just thought that since she was a senior staff member I should respect her.
I discovered that her movements were always slow when she was at work, and she was always very careful when she turned her body. I asked her if she was not feeling well. She said that her lower back was aching. I reminded her to be careful, and I tried to do more of the work.
A few days later, the sales people from my shift all joked and said, “Where did our manager go to accidentally get such a hardworking person? Quickly come and rest or the manager is going to cite you as a role model again and we will get scolded again!”
Master taught us to think of others in everything that we do. I saw that the cleaning cloths they used at the supermarket were dirty and did not absorb water. So I cut some old towels that I was not using at home into pieces and gave every sales person two pieces. They were very happy. Sometimes when other staff were not available, I helped them serve customers. I also helped them mop the floor after the night shift. We finished our morning shift once and then had to carry a big stack of thick, large promotional flyers out to distribute in the afternoon. We had to come back to work the night shift after that. Everyone was tired and our legs ached, so everyone was full of complaints. I bought some small mandarin oranges for everyone to share and said, “Everyone has worked hard. Let me take the boss’ place to reward everyone!” They were very thankful for this friendliness and care so they all expressed their thanks. Gradually, they let go of their rejection of Dafa, and the barriers between us gradually melted away.
Salesgirls’ Positive Attitude Toward Dafa
Here are some examples of the changes in the sales staff: Once, when I was clarifying the truth to Xiaoqing (pen name), she was very angry and said, “Are you Chinese?” You go against the Party. Without the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), how can there be a new China? I do not want to listen to you talk.” She walked off angrily and then often looked at me with a despising look. Later on, the supermarket arranged for us to go out to distribute flyers together. As I distributed the flyers, I introduced the promotional activities to the villagers. As she listened on one side, she found it very interesting and filmed me with her mobile phone. She sent the video to the supermarket working group chat.
On the way back, the two of us started chatting. She was upset about the situation with her husband’s great grandmother. The great grandmother has several children but only her in-laws were willing to take care of her. She was angry about why the other relatives would behave like that. I told her, “The kind will be rewarded. When you are so filial to the old folks, you are setting the best role model for your children. When you grow old, your children will also treat you well. Furthermore, traditional Chinese culture teaches that being filial is the most important form of kindness. Being filial will accumulate virtue for yourself. This virtue will accumulate for your descendants, so your children will get into good universities, find a good jobs…” She seemed relieved to hear that, and her glare softened. When I told her the truth about Dafa again, she was able to listen. I encouraged her to quit the Communist Youth League and she happily agreed. After I quit the job at the supermarket, if I saw her when I went there to buy things, she told me that none of the workers that had been hired after me were such good people like me.
I also went through a lot of trouble with another salesgirl named Xiao Ya (pen name). Xiao Ya was not against Dafa, but she also did not want to accept Dafa. Whenever I tried to clarify the truth to her, she would wave her hand and say, “I do not meddle in such stuff.” She would then smile and walk away. She was not willing to listen to any further explanation. I was later assigned to a newly-opened supermarket on the main street with her. The business there was good, so we were busy every day. I remember that on the first day of Chinese New Year in 2020, when I had just reached the supermarket and was preparing to load the goods in the back, Xiao Ya called me to the front counter to get some sweets to eat. I took the chance to say to her, “Xiao Ya, when I told you the truth about Falun Dafa in the past, I did not try to force anything on you. We ask you to remember that Falun Dafa is good and to quit the CCP and its youth organizations so that you can obtain peace and safety during disasters, such as the COVID pandemic. Being safe and living in peace is what everyone needs! Quit the Youth League and the Young Pioneers that you joined when you were in school!” This time, she understood what I said and happily agreed.
There was also Xiao Min. Her initial attitude and the change in her later were beyond my expectations. Xiao Min is a cheerful girl who treated others with kindness, and was always be smiling. However, much to my surprise, when I mentioned the truth about Falun Dafa to her, her face immediately changed. Frowning, she solemnly chided me with a black face, “Do not talk to me about that!” She then picked up the goods and went off to work on her own. I did not take her unfriendly attitude to heart, as she was also a victim of the lies fabricated by the evil Party. I still treated her normally, but I worried about how to continue to clarify the truth to her in the future. However, about one and a half years later, I was buying some stuff at another supermarket and someone behind me patted my shoulder. I turned around and saw that it was Xiao Min. She was smiling so happily! Passionately, she held my hand and started to chat with me. I combined the truth about Dafa and the current pandemic situation into my conversation with her, and this time she listened quietly until I finished talking. She agreed to quit the Youth League and Young Pioneers. I also smiled happily!
I once heard a sentence, “The whole world’s darkness cannot make a small candle lose its brightness.” Yes, although we live in the darkness that is caused by the evil CCP’s lies and suppression, as long as everyone of us Dafa practitioners abide by Dafa to cultivate ourselves, the brightness of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance that emanates from our bodies can dissipate the dark clouds in the souls of the sentient beings around us, caused by the lies and disinformation, thus brightening their future.
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