Taking the First Step

"Clarifying the truth is something each and every one of you Dafa disciples must do" ("Lecture on the Fa at the Washington, D.C. International Conference")

The source of truth-clarifying materials had been cut off for a long time and we were worried about not being able to clarify the truth to offer salvation to people. Teacher said, "At present, humankind's every day is arranged according to Dafa's needs," ("What Are Supernormal Abilities") and, "You should also be clear that 'natural' does not exist, and 'the inevitable' has reasons behind it," ("Expounding on the Fa") We also thought that since this was absolutely not coincidental, perhaps we should clarify the truth with our mouths. It's easy with people who we know, but, when facing strangers, how could we approach them? A lot of human notions and fears emerged and we felt we couldn't take the first step forward. Why was it like this? Because we didn't study the Fa well, our righteous thoughts were not firm, and because we were not very familiar with the truth-clarification material, we were not confident enough. Therefore, we intensified our Fa study, reviewed truth-clarifying literature, and read experience-sharing articles written by fellow practitioners. We gradually broke through and eliminated various barriers that had resulted from human notions, and eventually we were all able to take this step.

Breaking Through the Human "Shell" Through Truth Clarification

We encountered all kinds of people during face-to-face truth clarification. When other people were being sarcastic or indifferent, cursed us, or even threatened to call the police, how we received this really tempered our xinxing [heart nature, moral character]. Our attachments and bad mental states, such as the mentality of showing off, complacency, attachment to fear, and impatience, were constantly discovered and eliminated through truth clarification, which enabled us to become more and more benevolent and do increasingly better.

Looking Inside Ourselves, Continuously Summing up and Sharing Experiences

Teacher said, "I often say that if all a person wants is the well-being of others and if this is without the slightest personal motivation or personal understanding, what he says will move the listener to tears.... While working, your tone of voice, your kindheartedness, and your reasoning can change a person's heart, whereas commands never can" ("Sober-Minded"). One day, when practitioner Z and I talked to two peasant women, one of them shouted, "We don't believe anything, and don't care about anything, so don't tell us..." She didn't listen to us no matter how we explained, so in the end, we sternly pointed out that not only did she not want to be saved, but also that she was hampering others from being saved. She walked away angrily, and we didn't achieve our goal of clarifying the truth to her. I knew that we must have done something wrong and immediately looked inside and found: 1. We were too eager to achieve results, 2. Our attitude wasn't kind enough, 3. We imposed our opinion on others.

After sharing with practitioner A, I found that although the purpose of our stepping forward was the same--to offer salvation to people--since we had different states of mind, we had different results. Sometimes, although the other person might admit that Falun Dafa is good, he or she might think that practitioners are foolish [for giving up their jobs, families and even their lives to validate Dafa]. However, practitioner A inspired their kind thoughts and consciences, so they said heartily, "We'll forever remember that Falun Dafa is good!" Some people obtained the Fa from their encounter with us, and some protected practitioners when a crisis arose.

Eliminate Interference Immediately, Send Forth Righteous Thoughts Continuously, and Stay Calm in a Crisis Situation

Several elderly people sat talking, and after practitioner Z walked up and said just a few sentences, an older man started talking about himself non-stop, making dance-like movements. Practitioner Z immediately sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil behind him. I also walked over to help eliminate the evil; however, he didn't walk away until all the other elderly people left. Afterwards I thought, "Why couldn't we send forth righteous thoughts to let him walk away?" From then on, when we encountered this type of person who talked nonsense, we would send out righteous thoughts to have him walk away.

Practitioner C gave some truth-clarifying materials to a middle-aged man who shouted out loud after opening it, "You guys can be sent to forced labor for three years for this!" Then he took out his cell phone and started to call the police. Practitioner C stayed calm and said, "Don't rush to call the police. First listen to me for five minutes." After he listened to practitioner C, he put away his cell phone and took the truth-clarifying materials, and said, "You guys be careful."

Through face-to-face truth clarification, we discovered that the results have been extremely good. It enabled people to truly understand Falun Dafa and correct their mindsets, which had been deluded by the TV and other media. Some people even obtained the Fa through this. Distributing flyers cannot be compared with this in terms of effect. The overall success rate is above 80% to 90%.

Lastly, I'll end with Teacher's words, "So, it was arranged that when you reach the standard for ordinary Consummation, you still have, in the human world, all kinds of ordinary human thoughts and karma. The purpose is so that while doing Fa-rectification things, you clarify the truth, whereby you all bring in, for the consummation of your paradises, beings that can be saved. As you consummate your own paradises you are, at the same time, eliminating your last karma, gradually getting rid of your human thoughts, and truly stepping forward from humanness." ("Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples")