Giving Up a Seat for Another

The following is a true story that took place in China:

A fully seated bus was moving across the busiest street section in a rural town. The passengers aboard chatted about miscellaneous topics, such as state affairs, ongoing social problems, the SARS epidemic, etc, causing the bus to become noisy.

When the bus arrived at a small station, an elderly man from the countryside who appeared to be in his 70's got on carrying two bags. The female ticket seller said loudly to the passengers: "Could someone please give their seat to this old grandpa?" (In Chinese culture, the terms 'grandpa' and 'granny' are used respectfully to refer to elders, they do not necessarily imply familial relationships). The loud chatting suddenly came to a stop, and the atmosphere on the bus was completely still. In those few seconds of stillness, a young voice broke the silence, saying: "Grandpa, please come sit here!" As people turned their heads, they saw a smiling young boy of about 12 or 13 years old offering his seat to the old man.

Everyone was astonished: Why was the young boy the first to volunteer his seat to the old man?! The young people on the bus started to feel a little bit uneasy. Finally, the female ticket seller recognized the young boy's good deed, and said: "Boy, you are really nice!"

Still smiling, the young boy said: "Aunty, the reason I gave the seat away is because I believe in Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. Our Master teaches us to be thoughtful of others everywhere and at anytime, and live up to the standard of selflessness and putting others' interests before our own."

Although simple, these few short sentences left many people taken aback. Under the influence of the evil propaganda attacking Falun Gong, it seemed that the people had never associated "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance" with "selflessness and thoughtfulness." Instead, they always related it to the "self-immolation" and "murder," and other fabricated incidents. Slowly, the chatting on the bus heated up again and became noisy. However, the topics had now changed from various social issues and SARS to Falun Gong.

The young boy then took this opportunity to clarify the truth, and the passengers all quieted down again. He talked about how Falun Gong has been falsely accused with the staged "self-immolation" on Tiananmen Square, and that Falun Gong is now practiced and supported in over 60 countries around the world. The passengers listened intently. The young boy displayed such purity, calmness, and compassion that he was like an angel standing there radiating glory and good fortune over the entire group.

Suddenly a young man said with much excitement: "By the mere fact that this little Dafa practitioner gave away his seat alone, I now believe that Falun Gong is good and righteous." With that said, a loud and warm applause broke out on the bus. How many good thoughts and righteous actions did that applause signify?! The young boy smiled once again.

No language can describe the joy of the people after they learned the truth. The bus kept moving ahead as before, yet everyone's heart was filled with more security, safety, and blessings than they ever had before...