Cincinnati, Ohio

(Shared at 2000 Great Lakes Conference)

Dear Beloved Master Li and fellow practitioners, the following is my experience of spread the Fa at a spiritual weekend retreat.

Cincinnati, Ohio is situated between the states of Kentucky and Indiana. With beautiful trees, lakes and hills, the city is an attraction for many people from other states who come to attend yearly weekend retreats. Before practicing Falun Dafa, I was a Qigong master and a healer. Every year since 1992, I have been invited to one of these retreats. Each time I attended, I was not only offered free room and board, but I was also paid about a hundred dollars for conducting a workshop. However, after I started the cultivation [of Falun Dafa], I realized that this was not what Dafa required me to do. Therefore, I stopped practicing Qigong healing and did not give Qigong workshops anymore.

After studying Mater Li's new article, I decided to do a better job in assisting Master Li in spreading the Fa and clarifying the truth. I thought it would be a good idea to go back to the weekend retreat to do a workshop introducing Falun Dafa. I called the organizer and told her my idea. I also told her that I was not going to accept room and board, or accept any money for the workshop. The organizer was so happy and kept asking me, "Are you sure?"

A few days before the workshop, I had some concerns on my mind. I was afraid some people might think that my giving a workshop was to replace the Fa. Then Master Li's words came into my mind. He said (not in exact words): I know those disciples who went to spread Fa do not want to hurt the Fa... They were just introducing Dafa. He also said, not introduce too much at the beginning. Master Li's words encouraged me greatly. I made up my mind to do a good job at the workshop.

When it was time for the workshop to begin, I went to the meeting room. There were already about fifty people there, sitting quietly waiting for me. I was a little nervous. Then I felt calm. I went to the front and started introducing Falun Dafa with the following topics:

What is Qigong?; The difference between Qigong and Falun Gong; What is cultivation? Cultivation of mind vs. practicing meditation; Virtue and Karma; Virtue and Cultivation; Truthfulness, Benevolence and Forbearance as the only criterion for a good person; and Why the Chinese government tried to crack down on Falun Gong.

At the end, I showed them the book, Zhuan Falun, and told them that everything that I talked about was learned from this book, and that a good cultivation was dependent upon a thorough study of this book.

Every one seemed interested; they asked one question after another. After answering their questions, I led them to practice the five exercises. They were very serious and did a very good job. When the exercise was over, they started to share their experiences. Some said they felt a strong energy field; some said they had their third eyes opened and saw the light. One lady, with tears in her eyes said Master Li took her to a peaceful and beautiful place.

Before we knew it, the two-hour workshop was almost over. To conclude the workshop, I played Dafa music with a bamboo flute. After the music of 'Salvation', they sat there quietly with eyes closed. Some of them had tears on their faces. Looking at their kind faces, I thought maybe it was because their primary consciousness were so grateful to have this Dafa and so grateful to our benevolent Master Li that they were moved to tears.

In this instance, I did some work to validate the Fa and clarifying the truth; however, there is no comparison to the Dafa practitioners in China. Every time I think of the suffering they have had, the sacrifices they have given, my heart hurts. When they step forward to tell the truth, not only will they lose all they have but also face jail time, torture, labor camps, and even lose their lives. But when we, the practitioners in America, step forward to tell the truth, we lose nothing. We still have our houses, still have our jobs, and we drive our cars to spread the Fa. But because of the attachments we have, the ordinary people's concepts we have, we cannot step forward to tell the truth. I really wish we all could follow Master Li's teaching, take the Chinese practitioners as an example, be a particle of Dafa in the Fa rectification and let it shine.

Let us "validate the Fa with reason, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and offer people salvation with benevolence" (Rationality).