(Clearwisdom.net)
July 28 was the first Saturday after the Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference. On this day, we D.C. Dafa practitioners started our truth clarifying activities to the Chinese delegates. At the same time we told people from all over the world about the persecution occurring in China and introduced Falun Gong to them. From that day on, we persisted in coming to Capitol Hill everyday from 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon.
One approach we took in clarifying the truth was to show a video program. There were at least 100, sometimes as many as 300 Chinese delegates visiting "the Hill," and most of the visitors were Chinese VIPs. The powerful attractiveness of the video prompted one delegate to say, "No need for the information packet, we just want to watch the TV." Every time we showed the video, the delegates' eyes were glued to the screen with genuine interest.
Another effective approach we took was to use posters. Although we could only place the posters flat on the ground due to various restrictions, all of the visitors would nonetheless look at them. The biggest eye-opener for the Chinese delegates was learning about the awards and recognitions our Teacher had received in China and the majesty of Falun Dafa spreading all over China before the persecution began. We also displayed two poems written by Teacher. The delegates couldn't help but read them. They were astounded to see that our Teacher had written poetry. This by itself was enough to dissolve the poisonous effects caused by the slanderous lies they had heard from the Chinese government.
We also made a very effective picture book. It served as a good conversation piece when we exchanged experiences with the visitors. We also created posters with lists of those people who have persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners in China. It answered many of the questions raised by the visitors.
In the following, I would like to share some of our stories of promoting the Fa, as well as discuss our recent understandings.
Cultivate great compassion
There have been ample opportunities to cultivate great compassion. On one occasion a practitioner was speaking to a large group of Chinese delegates in a rather rude manner and they soon got agitated. Throughout the conversation I could identify the reason why the practitioner had frustrated and alienated the delegates - it was because he never stopped talking to allow them to be included in the conversation. At the very least, he showed them little respect.
Unable to bear listening to him from a distance myself, I immediately spoke to him about my observations as soon as the Chinese delegates had left. He recognized his shortcomings at once, and openly admitted that he had a habit of categorizing people he met into two classes: those who could be saved and those who could not be saved. For those he felt could not be saved, he would not give them the opportunity to talk so as to avoid the potential of them bursting out with their evil nature.
I found his explanation humorous. I told him, "The best way to suppress their evil nature is with our peaceful attitudes and honest words. On the other hand, it was precisely your prejudice of them that caused the eruption of their evil nature, and you ended up losing control of your own words in the end." After seeing him wake up to this I was very happy. Later on I realized that this was a manifestation of great benevolence. Among practitioners, we can only do our very best to use our abilities to help each other, and not rely on methods that are often adopted by ordinary humans.
Rectify ourselves before rectifying the Fa
A practitioner said that one time while clarifying the truth to a tourist, he found that his body disappeared while talking. He felt that it was his thoughts talking with the tourist and that the dimensional fields from himself and the tourist were linked up together, as though he could seize the tourist in his palm. From this, he comprehended that we must first rectify ourselves before rectifying the Fa. Only then can we have the power to rectify all that is unrighteous.
Fa study becomes more effective
A practitioner said she could see more helpful hints in the book when studying the Fa. In Zhuan Falun Teacher had pointed out to her the answers of all those eagerly anticipated questions raised by tourists. She indicated, "My feeling towards the phrase 'The Buddha's light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities' differs drastically from before. Now, every time I meditate in front of Capitol Hill, my mind is always filled with the phrase, 'The Buddha's light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities.'"
Before, when I studied the Fa I was pretty passive. Now, I feel that I am much more motivated and proactive. Why was it that we sometimes could not adequately answer other people's questions? Was it because Teacher did not expound on the Fa enough? No. Now, whenever I study the Fa, I can often see that Teacher has provided answers to many different questions and issues. In most cases, Teacher has provided direct answers to many of those questions. For example, in Teacher's article "Some Thoughts of Mine," he answered numerous specific questions. Many people have asked, "Why doesn't your Teacher return to China himself?" In the article, Teacher indicated that if his return to China could resolve the problems, he was willing to go back. After I understood the critical reason for Teacher not going back was that Jiang Zemin's regime actually had no sincerity and good faith, I could deal with this type of question easily and with confidence.
Genuine sincerity
Oftentimes, the abrupt and harsh questions from tourists conveniently provided us with opportunities to display the mighty virtue of Dafa practitioners. Once, a tourist guide pointed to a practitioner among us saying, "Hey, you told me you could only come here once a week. How come I see you here every day?" That practitioner sincerely replied, "I deliberately took time off of work to come here, just so I could tell everyone the truth. My boss is also Chinese and he supports me." He then took out his identification of "visiting scholar in the United States" and the tour guide could not utter another word. Our genuine sincerity touched the hearts of all the tourists.
Unified group
In D.C. there were many practitioners who could not come to Capitol Hill very often, but recently more and more of them have been coming more frequently. One Western practitioner shows up nearly every Saturday. She feels this is a critical place. One time after I finished meditating around noontime and opened my eyes, I found her next to me. I asked her why she now had time to come in the afternoon and she replied that she was out on business, and quickly passed by here on her way back to work. Like many of us, she would carefully look for the reasons within herself whenever we encountered problems at Capitol Hill. Sometimes when we were short of manpower, some practitioners would take half a day or even a whole day of personal leave from work. The Dafa TV team also gave us a lot more support. They produced the master tape for the VCD, and then produced a suitable video program for short viewing based on our needs. Practitioners responsible for the posters also produced Chinese-English versions of the posters based on our requests.
Wisdom
Gradually we discovered that we needed pamphlets in different languages. We printed some, but it was not adequate. We then designed plastic bags with beautiful tags for the pamphlets. This way the tourists could take the pamphlets themselves. They were very happy to read brochures in their native languages. Later on, we found out that after seeing pamphlets in so many different languages, the Chinese delegates were convinced that Dafa was well received overseas on an international scale.
Eradicate evil with righteous thoughts
Every practitioner who comes to Capitol Hill knows the importance of generating righteous thoughts. Many practitioners can sense the evil force getting more rampant whenever there is a large group of Chinese delegates. If we are just a little bit careless, some of them burst out with their evil nature. Whenever we encounter such situations, we join together to send forth righteous thoughts and eradicate the evil elements that are influencing them. Tourists often see us quietly standing there smiling and looking at the delegates. They don't know that we are actually sending forth righteous thoughts in our hearts.
Some tourists questioned us about the principle of "Good is rewarded with good and evil is rewarded with evil." They could not understand it, thinking that we were cursing other people. How could they possibly know that we value their future more than they do themselves? What would you say to someone who was blindfolded and walking towards the edge of a cliff? Would it be better for him if you warned him not to keep walking in the same direction, or would it be better for him if you just watched him fall to his death without uttering a word?
Comprehension of clarifying the truth
One practitioner said that during our efforts of clarifying the truth, the ever-changing questions as well as the interference coming from different sources provided excellent opportunities for our continuous advancement. In the past, Teacher always answered our questions on the spot and with ease. Regardless of however unexpected the questions were, we could always experience the compassion and wisdom of our Teacher as he answered them. By doing so, he has given us a model for how to answer questions in a correct manner. It is now our turn as Dafa disciples to clarify the truth to ordinary people and answer their questions. Teacher has placed us in this most sacred and revered position. My fellow practitioners, we must be worthy of everything our Teacher has done for us. We must be worthy of the title "Dafa disciple."
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