(Shared at 2001 European Conference)
My name is Peter Jauhal and I am a cultivator based in London. I am going to talk about my experiences in the Fa rectification process since 1999. As the events between April and July 1999 unfolded I had no doubts in my belief in Falun Gong. However, I did have some doubts about how I should act to help the practitioners in China. At first I thought that the crackdown was an excellent opportunity to tell the truth about Falun Gong and I was not too concerned about the treatment of practitioners in China -- I thought that this was an opportunity for them to reduce their karma. As time went on and I heard more and more stories about what was happening in China, I became more and more concerned about their suffering, and I was moved to act more and more by a wish to help reduce the pressure on them.
In the UK at that time there were many conflicts between practitioners. Instead of looking inwards, practitioners were quite open in their criticism of others. After a while I came to the view that the Fa rectification process in the UK would proceed much more smoothly without me, as I was often the person who thought differently from the others. Thus in December 1999, I stopped all contacts with the other practitioners, although I kept running my classes. As soon as I did this, my office work increased enormously, and I realise now that this was the karma coming in to stop me from working for Dafa. After several months like this I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable in my heart. I knew that I should be helping in the Fa rectification process but I did not know how I could work with the other practitioners in a way that would help them rather than hinder them.
In June 2000 three practitioners from other countries came to visit me. At that time, I was reluctant to meet them because I thought that they had come to criticise me. I only agreed to see them because I had known them from several years before when I had started to cultivate. When they talked to me they explained that it was very important for me to help in the Fa rectification process as I have many skills which other practitioners do not have. After listening to them I realised that there was a great deal that I could do. My focus changed to assisting the Fa rectification and not on my individual situation. When I don't consider myself first and foremost as a particle of Dafa then the issue was not about hindering others but of how best to assist Dafa. This change melted away my previous notions.
Following that meeting, I met with the other assistants in the UK and we agreed to work together in a way that used the skills of each person in the best way and established groups to deal with certain tasks e.g. Government, media, NGOs, academics, etc. We also decided to reduce the number of meetings we were having as these took up a great deal of time and did not achieve very much.
When I and others improved our xinxing, then the environment changed around us and became more positive. In the UK people are now working more harmoniously as particles of the same body, each with our different roles. As overall co-ordinator, I try to facilitate this process so that everything is progressing smoothly without becoming stuck. I offer support and assistance where I can and resolve disputes. I try to ensure that those who wish to participate in the Fa rectification process can contribute in the way that is most appropriate. I also try to be aware of any disruptive elements who try to damage the Dafa from within and make an attempt to root these out as much as I am able.
Since that meeting in June 2000, the Fa rectification process in the UK has been proceeding much more smoothly. We have established good relationships with several VIPs and the Chinese Ambassador in the UK has told us that he does not like what we are doing -- which means that we must be having an impact. There are still conflicts between practitioners but these are rare. More and more practitioners are becoming involved in the Fa rectification process and they are making a significant contribution. One of the UK Government officials that I met told me that he was surprised at the results that we had achieved with such a small number of practitioners. As we are so few it is very important that we work well together. So far we have received considerable support from politicians, academics, religious leaders, human rights organisations, lawyers, psychiatrists, businessman and members of the public.
The media have been difficult, but they are slowly changing and becoming more favourable to us. In one radio interview the reporter asked how his listeners could help! One newspaper, which was consistently negative towards Falun Gong, recently published an article which had interviews with practitioners in China and did not contain the Government propaganda that other reports in that paper usually contained.
The main point that I would like to make is that everyone can help in the Fa rectification process and that it is better to work together in co-operation with other people on these tasks rather than independently. In this way the Fa rectification process can proceed much more quickly and we can achieve a much better result.
