(Clearwidsom.net) We clarify the truth to people in New York's busy Manhattan, up and down its broad avenues. These are some anecdotes about New Yorkers that I'd like to share with everyone.
The other day I was giving out truth-clarifying material. As I turned my head, I saw a lady standing in front of the torture exhibition and busily explaining to three or four companions about Falun Gong and why practitioners are being persecuted. I was pleasantly surprised and asked her, "Are you helping us to clarify the truth and explain about the persecution? This is great!" She nodded her head with pride so I could not help but hug her. She was very happy that she could help us. She also told me that she knows the truth about the persecution and had helped distribute truth-clarifying material previously. I gave her more leaflets when she expressed the desire to give some to her friends and colleagues.
Another New Yorker, who had come by the day before and taken a lot of truth-clarifying flyers to distribute, came back again to ask for more material to distribute.
On Saturday afternoon a lady who works in a nearby office building came to the torture exhibition. She went straight to the table containing materials and petitions and signed her name. She said that she had taken a flyer in the morning and read it straight after she got back to the office. She felt unable to sit still after she had read the information, so she rushed back to our location in the afternoon and asked what else she could do. I recommended that she tell the truth about the persecution to other people. She nodded and said that she would clarify the truth to government officials such as the senator in her district, the mayor, the governor and so on and urge them to continue their efforts at ending the persecution of Falun Gong.
After he learned the facts of the persecution from us, a gentleman told us that we should let more people know about our activities. He mentioned a weekly magazine in New York City that reports all the local events such as street fairs, educational activities, entertainment, appeals and demonstrations. They could report the times and locations of our Torture Exhibits in advance so more people could learn about our activities.
When people hurriedly walk by without accepting a truth-clarifying flyer, I often feel a gentle sadness as I watch them disappear into the distance. A few times, some of them have turned back to grab material from me.
After another New Yorker listened to the facts of the persecution, he told me that he had a Master's degree in Library Science. He signed our petition with the surname "Wood." We kept chatting and finally he bent down and added a few more letters to his surname and made it "Woodstock." He looked at my puzzled expression and, with a little embarrassment, explained that "Woodstock" was his real name, but he had been a little worried at first so he didn't write his complete surname.
A couple that came from Europe to tour New York was very supportive after we clarified the truth to them. Some time after they departed they returned to give us some of their food and water.
On Saturday a New Yorker named Anthony came and told me that he had learned a great deal about the East and China and that he had practiced a kind of Daoist gong. After I clarified the truth to him and told him about Falun Gong, he expressed the desire to learn it, so I taught him the first and second exercises and the Lotus position of the fifth exercise right there. When he was learning the meditation, he could only manage it in the single lotus position with his leg turned high upwards. He came by again on Sunday and told me that he had practiced at home Saturday and his leg turned much lower during the meditation. He again studied the posters and the torture exhibition carefully. With deep sympathy he looked at the older female practitioner who was acting out the "Tiger Bench" (1) torture and asked her how long she had been practicing Falun Gong and where she was from. Before he left he said that he would continue to distribute truth-clarifying material for us and he would find the exercise practice sites in New York City.
(1) Practitioners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead.
