The winter wind commands the leaves to fly,
As fading moonbeams track the changing sky.
Though tempests rise and human resolve may bend,
The inner fire endures until the end.
No speed demanded, and no outcomes sought,
One line of mercy breaks what shadow wrought.
Though seasons shift, the steady mind remains,
The boundless Dao outlasts the mortal pains.
The Cross-Border Terror
An autumn wind swept across the porch, carrying yellow leaves down the quiet street. Hoa Long sat before his desk, moonlight cutting through the window as the computer monitor glowed in the night.
A reply appeared in his mailbox—written in Chinese characters:
“Do you comprehend that what you execute is exceptionally dangerous?”
Hoa Long read the words calmly. Behind those characters, he sensed no malice, only a fear deeply buried under decades of total information control. He closed the monitor and sent forth Righteous Thoughts to clear away the darkness obscuring the recipient's conscience. Outside, the wind continued through the night.
The Momentum of Complacency
A few mornings later, a young practitioner who worked as a pharmaceutical representative sought Hoa Long out:
“Long, I have an idea. Chinese tourists arrive here in large numbers. We should print materials in their language and hand them out directly.”
Hoa Long listened without immediately objecting:
“Have you really thought through how this should be done?”
“I see it as urgent. They have entered the outside world, yet many still know nothing about the truth.”
Hoa Long nodded gently:
“What you intend to do is righteous, but your mind is running faster than your footsteps.”
The young man fell silent, yet his eagerness to act remained an attachment to results. Sometimes, a cultivator had to encounter a trial before truly understanding a principle.
When Reality Misaligns
At first, the young man carried out his truth-clarification with intense zeal. However, when he handed materials to workers in a distant district, he was detained by the local authorities for two days and two nights.
The aftermath of that first arrest was devastating:
❖ Loss and Fines: The officers confiscated his precious copy of the True Scripture along with all truth-clarification materials, imposing a heavy administrative fine.
❖ Family Abuse: Instead of receiving sympathy, he faced bitter condemnation and relentless verbal abuse from his family, who blamed him for bringing shame and financial strain upon the household.
❖ Career Abandonment: Unable to withstand the crushing social and familial pressure after failing this spiritual test, the young man lost his mental balance and abruptly resigned from his prestigious position as a Pharmaceutical Representative at Pfizer.
❖ Family Rejection: His sudden resignation enraged his mother. Driven to her limit, she cast him out of the house into the freezing night the very moment he declared he had quit his job.
His wife was consumed by resentment. In her eyes, her husband had ruined his career and their future by following Hoa Long's path, abandoning a prosperous life for a practice that brought only disgrace and suffering.
The Breaking Point
mid-afternoon, a short text message appeared on Hoa Long’s phone:
“I am at the police precinct. I will probably return late.”
This was the second arrest.
Hoa Long set his phone down, sat upright, and silently sent forth Righteous Thoughts, targeting the invisible darkness behind the incident.
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By evening, the situation erupted. Returning home from work and discovering that her husband had been detained once again, the young wife reached her absolute breaking point. Overwhelmed by months of accumulated anger, fear, and despair, she called Hoa Long, her voice on the verge of exploding:
“Can you meet me? Please. I need to talk to you right now!”
Hoa Long set down his chopsticks. If this was not handled with profound compassion and wisdom, the young man's marriage and family would crumble completely.
A Dialogue in the Quiet Coffee Shop
They met at a quiet corner of a local coffee shop. The young wife sat opposite him, holding a warm cup with trembling hands, unable to contain her tears:
“Before all this, my husband used to take me and our child to the square. He was happy, laughing with everyone. But now he hardly talks or smiles.”
She wiped her eyes, her voice shaking with rage:
“The first time he was detained in that distant district, he was fined, lost his books, and then quit his job at Pfizer—a position people dream of having! My mother-in-law was so furious she threw him out into the street in the middle of the night. And now, he’s arrested again!”
She stared directly at Hoa Long:
“He did all of this because he followed you! He learned Dafa from you, and now he’s ruining our family!”
Unraveling the Root of the Trial
Hoa Long listened compassionately, without anger or self-defense. When she finished, he spoke softly:
“I understand your pain. If I were in your position, I would feel the same anger. But let me tell you the true origin of how your husband came to practice.”
The woman looked at him in surprise.
“At first,” Hoa Long explained, “I gave him the True Scripture because he wanted to give it to his mother. His mother had an inclination toward Buddhism and suffered from chronic illnesses that Western medicine could not cure. Hearing that Dafa had miraculous healing effects, he wanted to help her.”
He paused, letting his words settle:
“Later, when you took your child to a fortune-teller, the fortune-teller warned that your husband might not survive past his thirty-first year. Driven by extreme fear, he sought Dafa as a shield to escape his earthly fate.”
Hoa Long looked gently into her eyes:
“From the very beginning, his heart in entering cultivation was not purely for the Fa—it was driven by filial affection, fear of death, and a desperate search for protection. Because these fundamental human attachments were never truly relinquished, his path became filled with intense friction and severe tribulations.”
The wife froze, unable to refute a single word.
Dissolving Extremes with Altruism
Seeing her silence, Hoa Long continued with calm wisdom:
“I see that your husband has become somewhat extreme. In his eagerness to advance in cultivation, he easily stumbles into pitfalls. But notice this: while he pushes toward one extreme, you are running toward the opposite extreme. Naturally, the distance between you two widens. If each of you can step back and think for the other, the problem will naturally resolve itself.”
The woman stared at her coffee cup, completely silent.
“Don't worry,” Hoa Long assured her gently. “I will advise him to find a stable job soon to settle your family's life. Dafa cultivation requires every disciple to be selfless—to think of others first. If everyone in society lived this way, the world would be peaceful and prosperous.”
He looked out the glass window, his voice turning deep and reflective:
“Do you know why human beings fell down to this mortal realm in the first place? It is because of selfishness (vị tư). Everyone constantly says: my job, my career, my family, my child, my husband... It is always about 'the self,' isn't it? That is what causes moral decline, societal friction, and even human suffering and disease.”
Hoa Long paused, bringing his gaze back to her:
“As for the worker he gave the material to during his first arrest—even if that worker doesn't cultivate Dafa, he still deserves to know the truth and have the chance to choose a bright future for himself. Spreading the truth to the world is the sacred mission of a Dafa disciple.”
The Turning of Destiny
The young wife sat motionlessly, as if a heavy fog had suddenly lifted from her mind. The resentment that had consumed her for weeks dissolved into profound clarity.
“I didn't see it this way before,” she whispered softly. “I thought he had simply lost his mind.”
She looked at Hoa Long with renewed hope:
“Can you come with me to the local police precinct right now? I want to help get my husband back.”
Hoa Long stood up and nodded firmly. Because the wife’s heart had transformed and resentment had dissolved into understanding, the spiritual environment shifted instantly. Master had smoothed away the impending ordeal.
When they arrived at the precinct, they found the young man already released, sitting alone beneath a large tree near the entrance.
Restoring Balance in the Secular Realm
Hoa Long suggested that the young wife head home first to rest. He then walked back to the coffee shop with the young practitioner.
Sitting across from his junior companion, Hoa Long spoke with gentle seriousness:
“Look inward and examine your heart. Has your haste and zeal bordered on extreme behavior? Cultivation is not about reckless leaps; it is about taking steady, solid steps to validate the Fa in ordinary society.”
The young man lowered his head in remorse, deeply pained by his past mistakes and the chaos he had caused.
“Your first priority now,” Hoa Long continued patiently, “is to bring peace back to your home. Look for a stable job to support your wife and child. When you show true responsibility and kindness as a husband and father, your family's heart will settle, and your environment will naturally open up again.”
The young man listened intently, the chaotic excitement in his eyes giving way to quiet resolve.
Echoes in the Night
Late that night, as Hoa Long prepared for rest, his phone chimed gently on the nightstand.
It was a text message from the young wife:
“I don't know what else to say to thank you. Thank you for everything.”
Hoa Long read the message, a warm, tranquil smile gracing his face.
He sat quietly, sending forth Righteous Thoughts into the peaceful midnight air. He realized that truth-clarification was never merely about handing out leaflets to strangers. It was about untangling the knots of human emotion, dissolving resentment with genuine compassion, and restoring the harmony of life itself.
Canto 68 — The Weight of a Single Dispatch
The winter wind commands the leaves to fly,
As fading moonbeams track the changing sky.
Though tempests rise and human resolve may bend,
The inner fire endures until the end.
No speed demanded, and no outcomes sought,
One line of mercy breaks what shadow wrought.
Though seasons shift, the steady mind remains,
The boundless Dao outlasts the mortal pains.