(Clearwisdom.net) I agreed with an everyday person to help his friend install a chat-room software. Living on the edges of the city diagonally across town, we were about 50 or 60 kilometers apart. It would take us at least five hours to travel to and from by bus, so I wanted my husband to take me in his car to the place where we agreed to meet. But my husband didn't want to go. He parked his car in front of his company building and said he would rather I take a cab. I could drive, but he wouldn't let me.
I found him hard to understand: giving me a ride could save both money and time, and yet he wouldn't do it. I had no choice but to take a cab.
When I got into the cab, I saw that the driver was a burly man with a fierce look on his face, inhibiting me from clarifying the facts. What should I do? Then I noticed that the company he worked for had the same name as that of a hotel, so I struck up a conversation by asking him whether his company was associated with the hotel. He was quite talkative, although he was rude, too. He told me that he had beaten and sworn at his passengers more than once. I told to him about Dafa's principles and explained how conflicts should be settled. Then I started telling him about the importance of quitting the communist organizations, and, unexpectedly, he agreed readily.
When I got out of the cab, I discovered I had left my cellphone in my husband's car. I was worried because I had saved my friend's number on my cellphone, and now I could not contact him. The agreed meeting time was fast approaching, so I had to take another cab and go back for my cellphone. Luckily, it was not too far, and another ten yuan would take me back. Besides, the traffic was not bad, either.
I got into another cab, anxious to get back. When I took my seat beside the driver I suddenly realized, "What am I anxious about? Now is the time to clarify the facts to him." So I went straight to the point and told him about the importance of withdrawing from the CCP and its related organizations and he too agreed. I had first thought of asking him to wait for me as it wouldn't take me long to get my cellphone. On second thought, I could tell one more person the truth if I took still another cab, so I wished him well and got out of the car.
I called my friend as soon as I got my cellphone and told him I would be back in ten minutes. I took another cab, and that driver, too, agreed to quit the communist organizations after I talked to him.
Thus, within 30 minutes, I took three cab trips and clarified the facts to three drivers, all of whom quit the communist organizations.
Delighted, I got out of the cab and waited for my friend on the sidewalk. Five minutes later, he came. He insisted that we go to Chang'an Boulevard. I said that the traffic heavy there and there were too many lights, but he was adamant. As we were approaching Xidan [a shopping area in Beijing], it occurred to me all of a sudden: "I should send forth righteous thoughts when we arrive at Tiananmen Square." When we arrived, we were stopped by a red light. I thought, "Heaven is assisting me." I held up a big lotus hand sign and started sending righteous thoughts. Our car started forward a few feet before coming to a stop--again, it was the red light. I kept sending righteous thoughts--toward the portrait of the wicked party's head, the police cars, the policemen, and pedestrians. When I finished, the car moved again.
When we got to his friend's home, I found out that she, too, was a practitioner, and even this friend of mine didn't know it. I was not familiar with the computer's sound card, but the installation went very well.
I took a bus home, and when I was about to arrive at the bus terminal, I found an empty seat in the last row. I walked over and sat down. On my right was a young girl. I glanced at her and thought, "Is this the moment to clarify the facts to her?" But she stepped off the bus a few minutes later. Another girl boarded the bus and sat on my left side. When I was about to get off the bus, all of a sudden, she asked me, "Excuse me. Can you tell me how to get to...?" My home happened to be near where she wanted to go, so I said to her, "Come with me." We got off together. She could get to where she wanted to go by going through the community where I lived. Walking together, I learned that she was an English major. I tried to help her understand the facts by using the Bible and English words. Then she told me that her family, her father in particular, believed in Buddhism. So I provided further guidance to her by citing classics in Buddhism. Impressed, she listened to me with admiration. When we arrived at her place, I told her about withdrawing from the communist organizations and advised her to quit, too. She said, "All right, I will quit later." Looking into her eyes, I said seriously, "I can help you quit them, and I can do it right now." She hesitated and said, "All I am thinking about now is the thing I want to do." I said, "Don't worry. Since you are a Buddhist, I am sure you know that your path has been arranged. All you have to do is to walk ahead. And our encounter is really predetermined. We hit it off right away. Many of the topics we discussed may not come up even in conversations with our next door neighbors. We probably won't have a second chance to meet each other again. I think you are a kind person and I want to help you quit them. Let me give you an assumed name. How about 'Angela?'" She said, "All right." With that, we parted.
Then she stopped and turned. "Wait a minute. Please use 'Emmy,'" she said to me. "It is my real English name." Her last words made me really happy because I saw that her true thoughts had come forth.
I came to understand a lot of things through this day's experiences. I had always thought that time was short and whenever I needed to do something I always took a car or a cab. Moreover, I held an incorrect mindset when I helped everyday people, thinking it was a waste of time. But the fact is that everything we do is arranged by Master, and if Master had not arranged it, it would not have happened. Another thing is that I have an attachment to the fear of wasting time and to the desire of seeking comfort. When my husband did not want to give me a ride and did not want to let me use his car today, I was upset. Actually it was to reveal my attachment, wasn't it? Didn't it show that I was at odds with Master's arrangement? Had I used my husband's car, would I have met the four persons who needed to be saved?
A while ago, a practitioner from out of town came to Beijing several times to apply for emigration. I was always with her when she came, and I kept all her documents. Whenever she needed me to do something for her, I would do it. But I was not happy about it and felt she was too attached to going overseas. I thought, "There is so much that needs to be done in China in clarifying the facts and persuading people to quit the communist organizations. Isn't she escaping validating the Fa in China?
Her own attachment has affected my cultivation practice, as I don't have enough time to read the book and do the exercises." So I was perturbed each time she said she would come, and I even became reluctant to take her phone calls. Meanwhile, I also realized I was not right and I was not compassionate and tolerant enough. It was not until now that I have realized it was because of my selfishness. I was afraid of wasting my time and of my cultivation practice being affected.
Actually cultivation practice is not just about our own studying the Fa, performing the exercises, and doing Dafa's projects. Everything in our daily life is cultivation practice. These things would not have happened were it not for our own improvement and cooperation in saving all beings. When I became aware of this truth, I let go of my attachment to the fear of something being too much trouble and wasting too much of my time. When the above-mentioned practitioner came to Beijing, we worked together to explain the truth to many people.
Master said in Zhuan Falun,
"Once mankind gets its thinking stuck in an old, deep rut, it's hard for people to accept new ideas. And even when the truth is revealed people don't dare to accept it--they just reject it impulsively."
"Mankind will make a leap forward if it can take a fresh look at itself and at the universe, changing its rigid way of thinking."
Before I became a practitioner, I was very stubborn and self-centered. Constantly at odds with others, I resisted and rejected anything that was not in line with my notions. The same happened during my cultivation as well. I impulsively objected to others' ideas that were in disagreement with mine. I knew I was not right, but I didn't find the real cause. I only felt that I should do more for others and increase my tolerance. Actually, it was not that. It was that I should abandon my fixed notions and follow Master's arrangement. In fact, the cultivation practice Master has arranged for us is a straight path. Each time a test or a challenge comes up, if we can raise our awareness and abandon the bad things without holding on to any human notions, we will be able to walk straight on this path. Oftentimes, however, either we are not aware, or although we are aware, we are reluctant to let go; when that is the case, we will be on a bumpy road or take more detours.
October 6, 2006