Repaying a Past Kindness

By a Falun Dafa practitioner from China

(Clearwisdom.net) Through cultivation, I gradually came to remember a previous life. It was the time of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) so-called "Great Airing of Views" campaign. I, in my previous life, spoke about my true feelings and as a result, was sent to a labor camp. The "Great Leap Forward" campaign started a few years after that. The "Great Leap Forward" caused the largest famine in one hundred years in China. We in the labor camp faced the same fate. Everyone was made to do hard labor even though we were all starving. We made large baskets using branches from low-growing trees. We then used the baskets to carry soil to landfill sites. It was very tiring work. We were only given a small amount of food each day and were so hungry and weak that we had difficulty walking. Besides being forced to move the dirt, we also had to suffer many kinds of inhuman treatment.

The nearest village was about 10 miles (16.7 km) from our camp. The man who is my father in my current life, a farmer, lived in this village. He was well built and strong. We met one day while working. He was a young fellow then and he admired my literary talent. When he saw how I suffered from hunger and weakness, he gave me a piece of bread he had brought for his lunch. I was very moved as the bread wasn't even enough to satisfy his own hunger and yet, he had given a part of it to me. I was very grateful, but didn't have anything to give him in return. I tried to give him my shovel, but he refused, saying that I would be punished if I didn't have a shovel. Although I wanted to repay his kindness, I had no way to do so. Soon, the prisoners in our camp started dying, one after another, from starvation, fatigue, or torture. Not long after, I died too, a victim of CCP persecution.

Because of that encounter with the kindhearted farmer, I had formed a predestined relationship with him and was born as his son in my present life. At that time, China went through waves of political movements instigated by the CCP. The whole country was destitute--our family was extremely poor. We didn't have enough food to eat or adequate clothing to keep warm in the winter. To pay back the debt of gratitude to my father, I didn't complain or cry, afraid that I would disturb him. Once, during a particularly severe winter, when I was a baby, I wet my cotton pants. My mother removed the pants and left me there without any undergarment, since I didn't have any other clothing to put on. Mother became busy with other things. It became so cold that I couldn't help crying out. Mother rushed over and found that my hands and feet showed signs of frostbite. The scars caused by the frostbite remained visible for the rest of my life. When I was old enough to walk, I would fetch chopsticks and a chair for my father. When I learned how to start a fire, I would boil hot water and heat food for my parents when they came home for meals. I did everything I could to help my father.

When I reached school age, my parents didn't send me to school, but I went to school anyway and made up a name for myself so that I could attend. While going to school, I still helped my parents with the work required of them by the "production team." I worked until very late each night. Since we didn't have a clock, I didn't know the exact time. I didn't go to bed even though I was very tired. To keep from falling asleep, I would stand up to do the work. When I went to school during the day, I had to take my younger brother with me.

Because I didn't get enough sleep, I frequently fell asleep in class. I didn't do the assigned homework because I didn't have time. My teachers were angry with me because I would frequently oversleep and be late for school. In class, I would sleep by resting my forehead quietly on the desk. When the teachers saw that I had fallen asleep, they would make me stand up to answer questions. When a teacher suddenly called my name, I would stand up reflexively. If a teacher called my name before asking a question, I would be able to answer the question. If the teacher asked the question and then called on me, I wouldn't able to answer the question, because I wouldn't have heard the question.

At that time, students could work part-time and go to school part-time. In this way, I was able to finish middle school without costing my family a penny. When I was about to enter high school, the country started to promote education. I was admitted to an excellent high school due to my high preadmission test score, which surprised many of my classmates and teachers. Actually, much of my knowledge was gained from my previous life. I then left my parents to attend school at a young age. When I eventually started working, I frequently sent money home to my parents to help them. After I started practicing Falun Dafa, I knew that the most precious thing I could give my family was to introduce them to Falun Dafa.

When the persecution of Falun Dafa began, my work unit leader called me and asked me if I still practiced Falun Gong. I told him that I did. He then told me I would be fired. Soon after, he and other leaders were forced to retire. It was the first time this kind of thing happened in our unit.

There was a leader in charge of persecuting Falun Gong in our unit. Whenever he said something bad about Falun Gong, his heartbeat would become irregular and he would suffer chest pain. He would also suffer swelling under his skin and unbearable skin rashes. He could neither sleep nor work; even ten days of medication and shots didn't seem to help. When he stopped arresting Falun Gong practitioners, his illness went away by itself. If he began arresting practitioners again, his symptoms would return.

I knew that Teacher was protecting me and preventing this man from committing more crimes. The evil forces tried to harm me several times, but Teacher protected me. I was thus able to maintain my job while validating the Fa.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/9/27/111323.html

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