(Clearwisdom.net) I started practicing Falun Gong at the end of 2004. I cannot describe the glory and joy I feel as a practitioner. I am deeply touched by Dafa's benevolence, dignity and sacredness. I read fellow practitioner's suggestions on the Internet that practitioners should write about those seemingly trivial personal cultivation experiences and let non-practitioners see how practicing Falun Gong has helped them improve themselves. Each and every one of these cultivation stories happen in practitioner's lives. They are a very good way to tell non-practitioners about the truth of Falun Gong.

Returning 27 Yuan

While on a vacation out of town, my son and I were dining at a restaurant. According to the restaurant's policy, customers had to buy a card with a chosen dollar amount on it and the waiter would swipe the card after placing the order. The remaining balance on the card would be returned to the customer. I told my son to buy a card with fifty yuan and ordered two bowls of beef noodles at a cost of fifteen yuan each.

While we were eating, my son told me that the waiter entered three yuan instead of thirty when he swiped the card. I told my son to go and pay the twenty seven yuan that was under charged. He replied with a whisper, "It' not our fault." My son is not practitioner and he was not willing to do it. I said to myself, "Since he is my child, I should guide him on the right path and not let him follow the path of selfishness in the human world." But, I did not want to force him. So, I said to him, "It is not normal that we would only spend three yuan for our meal and they will figure it out easily when we get back the remaining balance on the card. It would be better for us to pay the under charged amount right now."

After a while, my son went and bought three steamed stuffed buns with the card. Initially I pretended not to notice. Later I asked him, "Did you buy the extra buns just to raise the amount so that they won't find out about the under charge?" My son didn't answer, and I became a little angry but thought, "Did I mislead my son? Did my words come across the wrong way?" Then I calmly said, "We are on a very pleasant trip in this city. I will leave this matter in your hands. You should do what you think is right." After a few moments of silence, my son put the card in my hand. I said, "If you leave it to me, I will return the money because we can't take what is not ours. If we did, the waiter would have to pay out of his own pocket." He nodded in agreement.

Turning on The Light for Others

My husband is not a practitioner. It is customary in his line of business to drink and play poker when making business deals. It disgusts me and it interferes with my sleep when he comes home late at night smelling like alcohol. Before I started practicing Falun Gong, we argued a lot because of this. After I started practicing, I became more tolerant when facing the problem. Last summer when my son was on school break, my husband went out more frequently. In the beginning I was very angry, but I said to myself, "I am a Dafa practitioner and I should not behave like an ordinary person. When he comes home late at night, it must be pitch dark in the stairwell and he could be injured if he stumbles." [Note: In Communist China, it is rare for apartment owners to provide lighting in hallways and stairwells at night.] Therefore, I turned on the light in the stairwell and put a glass of water on the table for him before going to bed. One day it occurred to me that when I turn on the light, it is also a convenience for others who live in the same building. Whenever we saw someone walking under the light, I said to my son, "We don't spend much money for the electricity, but so many people can benefit from it. It feels good to turn on the light for others." My son was very savvy but he could accept it with no problem at all. Sometimes, he would even turn on the light for others himself.

After a while, I noticed a change in the building. Other people began to turn on the light on their floors too. So, when we come home late at night we can enjoy the convenience of light on the other floors too. I said to my son, "Who would have thought in the very beginning that the light we turned on for others would eventually light up our way back home too."

Indeed, as long as we keep a benevolent heart, we can bring warmth to others even if we can just turn on a light. As long as we keep the light on, sooner or later, there will be tens, hundreds, or even thousands of lights. We will warm each other on our way back home.

Today I wrote down the two trivial stories along my cultivation path. Practitioners' stories are a reflection of their cultivation. I hope that through reading this, the readers can get to know the truth about Falun Dafa and feel Falun Dafa's benevolence and mighty virtue. I hope that all readers can avoid being poisoned by selfishness in the human world and walk on the path of cultivation and self salvation.

August 23, 2009