(Clearwisdom.net)

I am a self-employed businessman in [county name withheld to protect author]. I am 32 years old. From an early age, I liked to practice martial arts. I developed a good strong build and quite a reputation locally. Gradually I developed bad habits: gluttony, drinking, smoking, and gambling, to name a few. I often fought with people. I also started associating with very bad elements both locally and from other areas. When we saw people not obeying or listening, we would beat them up or curse them at will. People kept their distance and were afraid to upset me. I became a famous bully. In doing business, I did whatever I wanted and bullied people with that bunch of "brothers". I cheated and defrauded people and that was sinful. I bribed officials with money to ensure I had no competition in business. Whatever business I was in, other people automatically gave way. The money I made was dirty. When I borrowed money from people, I would not pay it back if I didn't want to. My creditors might be angry but suffered in silence, never daring to ask for their just return.

In September 1996, I had the predestined good fortune to meet Falun Dafa. In only several months, I had undergone tremendous changes in my mind, and in my thoughts. To quench my thirst and relieve my hunger, I read Zhuan Falun. Time after time, I examined the path of my life that I had traveled and I am truly remorseful. Teacher Li says: "As a human being, you are a good person only if you can follow this universe's characteristic of Zhen-Shan-Ren. A person who deviates from this characteristic is truly a bad person." "As a practitioner, if you assimilate yourself to this characteristic you are one that has attained the Tao--it's just such a simple principle. "

When I did business before, I lied and cheated, that was not "Truthful"; bullying and cheating people is surely not of "Compassion"; fighting and hitting people does not display "Tolerance". Without learning Dafa, I would have slipped further into this dreadful state. In retrospect, I was really fearful. Through diligent study of the Fa, I have a deeper understanding of the content of Dafa and I am stricter with myself. I do not forget "Truth Compassion Tolerance" at any moment and respectfully remember Teacher's teaching: "Study the Fa and obtain the Fa, Share in learning and share in cultivating, Following [the Fa] in everything, Compliance is cultivation." [Solid Cultivation]

Once I went to the Northeast to purchase timber. I wanted to skim 7,000Yuan off the top at the time of clearance of the goods. As soon as the thought came up, I promptly reminded myself that I am a practitioner and I must do things according to "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance." At once, that bad thought disappeared. There are three situations that illustrate my change before and after Dafa cultivation.

The first case: I owed 7100 Yuan in two debts in my previous business dealings. The initial debt was 3500 Yuan and the latter one was 3600 Yuan. I wrote receipts for these debts. Yet I really did not want to pay back the debt and it remained outstanding for several years. After studying the Fa, I realized that there is a truth in the universe: that if there is no loss there is no gain. What I got was not justified and I lost what was most precious: De (virtue). I had to give up de in exchange for this money. So I wrote a letter to the creditor and also called saying that I would return the money. Because it had been a long time and people also knew who I used to be, the creditor dared not come for his money. When he came, he only asked for 3500 Yuan because he only had the 3500 Yuan receipt and the 3600 Yuan receipt was missing. I told him: I remember clearly I also owe you another 3600 Yuan. Even though you do not have the receipt, I need to pay you back. Finally I paid 7100 Yuan in full. This really moved him. He said he really did not expect the money to be paid.

The second example was a debt I owed to people in Wuji County, Hebei Province for 7800 Yuan. With my influence, and my connections to illegal elements, they were afraid of me and did not dare ask for the money. This had dragged on for quite a few years. It was the power of Dafa that awakened me and Teacher Li's mighty virtue that led me from this lost path. I realized that I must cultivate my Xinxing and get rid of my karma in order to return to my truly beautiful home. I should not make any new karma and pay back my old debts so as to elevate my level. Not only did I contact the other party for the payment, but I also spread Dafa to them and told them that our Teacher Li asks us to be good people. I could not be who I am today without learning Dafa. Afterward, I used my own money to buy Dafa books and videos for other people.

The third case was from March 1997. I drove a motorcycle into a car parked alongside the road. The owner was not there. If this had happened before I obtained the Fa I would have either driven off, or berated the other party for obstructing traffic. If I had I lost my temper, I might have beaten the owner up and intimidated him into paying my damages. Since I am a practitioner of Falun Dafa, I must use the standard of "Truth Compassion Tolerance" to think about other people first. So I waited there for more than one hour. When the owner came back, I apologized to him. He cursed me vehemently when he learned of the collision. I maintained my Xinxing and apologized a second time. When he saw that I was very sincere, he also changed his attitude. He wanted to just drive away, but in order to compensate his loss, I insisted on paying him 100 Yuan.

With more Fa study and further cultivation of my Xinxing, tribulations come one after another. I voluntarily paid back my debts and compensated others. I am strict with myself and generous to other people. At the beginning, my wife and father-in-law did not understand and thought I should not have returned the money without a receipt since the other people could not prove the existence of the debt. My business was not profiting like before (because a majority of the previous profit was made by cheating or lying). My wife first complained, quarreled, and even threatened to divorce me. My old business associates did not understand either and they ridiculed and even threatened me.

In light of all of this, I painfully re-examined my past. I thought, "Why didn't people bother me when I did bad things, and why do they want to trouble me when I want to be a good person?" Teacher says:

"The human moral standard is declining tremendously, and human moral values are deteriorating daily. People only pursue self-interest and will harm others for a tiny bit of personal gain. They compete and struggle against each other by resorting to all means. " "When someone is doing a wrong deed, he will not believe it if you point out to him that he is doing a wrong deed. That person indeed will not believe that he is doing something wrong."

Through Fa study, I suddenly enlightened to it. In my life before, step by step, I had already reached the precipice. If I had not begun to cultivate, what would have awaited me could have been total annihilation of body and spirit. Thinking of this, I am more steadfast in my heart to cultivate (Dafa). I need to take all of these hardships as critical steps in my cultivation and good opportunities for elevating my Xinxing. I am determined to study the Fa more diligently, cultivate my Xinxing more, bravely advance in my cultivation, and reach consummation at an early date.

1997-10-31