My Driving Lessons

Since my retirement, I had been helping out with my family business, which required me to take public transportation for business trips. As I started visiting more clients, I was often advised to learn to drive since we had a car in our household. I had never thought of learning to drive because of my age.

One day my uncle called on me and suggested that I learn to drive. I used my old age as an excuse again, but he told me that I was too narrow-minded. I felt a little uncomfortable. It just so happened that I had to visit a fellow practitioner because my printer was out of order. During the visit, I told her about our family car. She was pleasantly surprised by the news. She exclaimed, "You have a car?" I nodded. "Then why don't you take driving lessons? Do you realize how much we need a car?" I explained, "Taking driving lessons will take up a lot of time. I don't have time for that." She said, "What do you mean you don't have time? The driving lessons will be part of your cultivation practice. The people you will meet at your driving lessons are lives you are supposed to save. You can use those opportunities to clarify the truth (about the persecution of Falun Gong) to them and help them quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its two youth organizations! You have nothing to lose. Hurry up and start taking driving lessons!"

So I signed up for driving lessons. Indeed, there were a lot of opportunities to meet people, and it was quite easy to clarify the truth to them and help them quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. The people I approached included schoolteachers, college professors, physicians, nurses, small business owners, actors, day labourers, CCP cadres, military personnel, etc. I met new people nearly every day.

One day a new young man showed up for a driving lesson. I clarified the facts to him like I had done with others I had met there. There was hostility in his eyes and he was very unfriendly. He checked me out and demanded, "Which organization do you work in?" I answered him with a smile and continued to explain the truth to him, but he refused to listen. He was the first one that was not receptive at the driving school. I remained calm nevertheless. I acted as if he were my own child. When he was driving, I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate any interference. When he was between practice driving sessions, I explained the truth to him. I told him that people around the world practice Falun Gong and that people in China have regained their health by practicing Falun Gong. It was obvious that he sometimes tried to avoid me. I overheard him say, "Handle this case" in his conversations as he apparently did not want to deal with me. I also overheard the chief of police ask him how the "case" should be handled. But that had no effect on me. I continued to clarify the truth to him and advise him to quit the CCP (Chinese communist party). When I was at home sending forth righteous thoughts, I remembered to focus on helping him make the right choice. After three days of truth-clarification, the young man finally accepted the realization that Falun Gong is good and agreed to quit the CCP. It was not until he had agreed to quit the CCP that I realized that he worked in the State Security Bureau. Not only that, I learned that he was a rising star in the bureau.

After I learned to drive, my family gave me a car of my own. I still remember the first time I drove to a brainwashing centre with a fellow practitioner to send forth righteous thoughts. When we took off, the weather was very nice. Shortly after we departed, it started to rain cats and dogs. The raindrops shot at the windshield like bullets. Under the overcast sky, I could hardly see the road before me. I was a little scared and said, "How are we ever going to drive there?" I glanced sideways at the other practitioner. She sat quietly, looking ahead and sending forth righteous thoughts. After a while, the rain stopped and the sun came out from behind the clouds. Since then, we have made many trips to different forced labour camps, detention centres, prisons, and brainwashing centres to send forth righteous thoughts.
One day a practitioner asked me to come with her to her farming village to help an elderly couple with their truth clarification work. We brought with us a computer, a printer, a DVD burner, DVDs, ink cartridges, and paper. This was my very first long-distance drive. Naturally I was somewhat nervous, but I also felt fulfilled that I had the opportunity to use my driving skills for the Fa. Meanwhile, I felt dignified and full of strength because I felt Teacher and the Fa close to my heart and because I had a fellow practitioner beside me.

The elderly couple greeted us with great joy and delight when we arrived at their home. They had prepared a room where they planned to produce truth-clarification materials. Before we took off that morning, we had tested the computer and the printer to make sure they were in good working order. However, once at the old couple's home, the printer stopped working. The practitioner that travelled with me tried a few things, but nothing worked. I felt terribly disappointed and guilty at the same time. I had been producing truth-clarification materials for four years by then, but I always depended on her whenever my printer was out of order.

This experience was a wake-up call for me. Since then, I have tried to handle it on my own whenever there is a problem with my printer. I knew it was high time for me to be independent. I learned to search inward and asked Teacher to give me a hint when I sent forth righteous thoughts. Because of Teacher's hints, I managed to solve some printing problems quickly. I also learned to find the solutions in the printer manual. In the past I didn't understand the manual, but now I can read and understand its contents. I can solve almost all printing problems on my own.

We made the next trip to the farming village to help fellow practitioners troubleshoot their printers. Apparently, two out of three printers at their truth-clarification material sites had stopped working. The practitioner travelling with me couldn't figure out how to fix one of the two broken printers. I realized that it was the same problem I once had with my own printer. I applied the same solution and it started working again. I knew Teacher was encouraging me. As long as we are willing, Teacher will give us hints to accomplish whatever needs to be done. Teacher has prepared for us everything we need.