(Clearwisdom.net) Master said in "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference,"
"In terms of Dafa disciples' responsibilities, there are still many things that need to be done in greater depth, especially clarifying the facts. Doing a better job of informing people about the facts more deeply is tied to the people of the future obtaining the Fa, tied to all beings being rescued, tied to negating the old forces, tied to eliminating the evil and this persecution, and tied to your own Consummation."
After reading Master's lecture over and over, I have obtained a newer and deeper understanding of truth clarification, and have also become clearer on the Fa-principle of why we should go out to clarify the truth to the world's people. By comparing myself against Master's lecture, I have found that I have many shortcomings and gaps. Sometimes I work very hard, sometimes I slack off, and sometimes I am interfered with by fear of difficulty. When measured with the Fa, I know that I do not have enough of a benevolent heart in saving the world's people. Through studying the Fa, I feel the urgency of saving sentient beings and the big responsibility on my shoulders during this Fa-rectification period. After improving myself in the Fa, my xinxing level also elevates continuously, and my righteous thoughts become strengthened. I have realized why Master has asked us to do well the three things. Now my wish and sense of responsibility to go out to clarify the truth to the world's people have become stronger and stronger. As a result, the environment around me has also changed. Master has created the environment for me to clarify the truth, and to connect with those people who have karmic relationships with me and are out there waiting to hear the truth.
Below are some of my experiences of clarifying the truth to people I met while working in November 2004.
The effect is good when we create an environment to clarify the truth face to faceIn November 2004, I was working at a big state-owned chemical factory that was in charge of tearing down buildings to do property management work. My work was to go to the field to look after the scrap iron and tools at 4:30 p.m. every day until 6:00 a.m. the next morning. My working hours were long and the weather was cold; it was really hard. I could only sleep for a little more than 4 hours every day, and needed to study the Fa, do the exercises and send forth righteous thoughts. At that time, the facial expressions of everyone I met were cold.
At the beginning, I could not get used to it. But after a few days, I made use of the night work schedule to clarify the truth to the other two people working with me. Both of them had been deeply poisoned by the evil's slanderous TV programs and did not know the truth of the staged Tiananmen self-immolation incident and why practitioners went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. Because of being brainwashed by the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) culture, they claimed that if they were the country's leaders, they would do the same thing. I realized that they had been poisoned to a great degree, and could not correct their thinking in a short time.
Every day, I made use of some of the time to clarify the truth to them, and thus slowly and without realizing it, they finally came to understand the truth of Falun Gong and the persecution. Every day when I did the exercises, they would practice together with me. I gave them truth clarification booklets and VCDs, and they had their family members see them too. I also gave them cards with the words, "Falun Dafa is good," and told them to silently recite the verse in their hearts every day, so that they would be safe and sound. After my colleagues understood the truth, we became like brothers.
Clarifying the truth to college students
Once when there was a heavy snow, we went to a nearby workshop to escape the snow and get warm. The person working there was a woman in her 30s, who was a college student. She asked me many questions about Falun Gong. I then talked to her about how my whole family practiced Falun Gong and benefited both physically and mentally, and told her of the good deeds done by practitioners in the course of our cultivation. I told her how the persecution of Falun Dafa started and that the reason we go to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Dafa and Master was to seek redress for false accusations made against Dafa and Master. Finally, I talked about how practitioners were imprisoned in forced labor camps and tortured by the authorities in an effort to make them give up Falun Gong.
The young woman listened very attentively, and sympathetic tears ran down her face. She talked to her co-workers about what I had told her, and later they found me to learn more about Falun Gong. They wanted to practice Falun Gong as well. I then gave them a copy of Zhuan Falun and some truth clarification booklets and VCDs.
They told me, "Originally we did not believe in the existence of gods, and we believed that money could buy everything. But after learning the truth, we have really changed our minds. How can money buy conscience? How can money buy eternal life? Money can only make us more ignorant and confused." I felt very happy after hearing this. Dafa can change people's hearts; Dafa can save all of the world's people who have predestined relationships.
Clarifying the truth to my boss's wife
One day, I met my boss's wife and started to chat with her. I talked about the problem of the downward slide of people's morality. She felt it made sense after hearing it and told me that when my boss started his business, both he and she worked hard to make a go of it, and they had a very good relationship and cared for each other. However, after they became successful in their work and made a good amount of money, my boss had become bad and had extramarital affairs. Their relationship became worse and worse, and they had come close to breaking up. She said that in this society, without money, man cannot survive, but when he has money, man becomes bad.
I told her that the most critical reason for her husband becoming bad is that now mankind does not believe in the existence of gods, and abandons tradition and commits amoral deeds without constraints. This is the bad fruit resulting from the atheism advocated by the CCP. In addition, the corruption in society, and the flaws and unfairness in the social systems all have contributed to lowering the moral level of today's people. Everybody's morals going down has accelerated the downward slide of the morality of the country as a whole; so everyone has been a part of it. In this dirty and corrupt society, it is nearly impossible for one to stay uncontaminated, because everybody is in it.
My boss's wife asked me how we could make things better. I told her that only studying Dafa could change people's hearts. I took the opportunity to tell her the facts about the staged Tiananmen self-immolation and gave her a VCD and a few booklets before I left. After a little while, she found me and asked me to tell her more about Falun Gong. I told her about the changes I experienced both in body and mind after practicing. After hearing the truth, she had a deeper understanding of the persecution suffered by Dafa and Dafa disciples, and told me that she will practice Falun Gong after the persecution ends.
The last time I clarified the truth to her, I found that she had changed a lot. She didn't use foul language any more and had become better tempered. She has looked for me several times to learn more about the truth.
All of our encounters with people in our work and daily life have all been arranged by Master, and none of them are coincidental. We must not miss the opportunity to clarify the truth to everyone we meet.
A bottle of water became the starting point for truth clarification
One afternoon, a dozen or so workers were loading iron. People in the truck all had a dissatisfied attitude towards me. At that moment a young man asked me to get him some water. I immediately gave him a bottle of water from my coat. The young man asked me for the price of the beverage. I told him to just have the drink, and that there was no need to mention money.
After the young man finished with the water, he felt very appreciative. I took the bottle back and brought another bottle of warm water to him. All the people in the truck looked at me and smiles appeared on their faces, and the atmosphere changed at once. They asked me what I was doing for a living and said that nowadays good people like me are not very plentiful.
I then told them I practice Falun Gong, and that we practitioners act according to Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, and we are taught to be considerate of others. We do not pursue fame and profit, and we all strive to be good people. I asked them if they thought Falun Dafa was good or not. They all said that it was good! Afterwards, I talked about Dafa and how Dafa disciples are being brutally persecuted. I talked about how the Tiananmen self-immolation was staged in order to frame Dafa, and how it was meant to incite hatred towards Falun Gong. I again talked about the miraculous effects of Dafa in curing illnesses and improving health, and how Jiang Zemin has been sued in many countries in the world. I told them of various manifestations of the wonders that Dafa has brought to human society.
On that day, the workers understood. I gave them all of the truth-clarification flyers I had and told them to remember at all times that Falun Dafa is good and "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" is good. I also told them to tell the facts to their family members and friends, and that they would accumulate virtue because of it. When they said goodbye to me, they told me that Dafa's good name will definitely be reinstated. They asked me to pay attention to my safety and said that if everyone practiced Falun Gong, society will altogether become good.
Dozens of farmers say silently, "Dafa is good!" to start their workday
People with whom I have the longest contact in my everyday work are the farmers who pick up the iron. There are more than 50 of them and they are all uncomplicated and honest people. Their work is very hard and also dangerous. I made use of every opportunity to clarify the truth to them. I gave them all kinds of truth clarification materials to read. I gave every one of them a card and told them to silently recite, "Dafa is good!" "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!" and I told them that if they did so, they would be safe and sound. Every day before they go out to work, they first say silently, "Dafa is good," then start working. All of these people can accept the facts I told them and can understand Dafa well; they all have understood the truth of the persecution, and at the same time, they know that Falun Dafa is good and that Dafa disciples are good people.
When we said good-bye to each other before the Chinese New Year, the leader told me that they had had no accidents or injuries this winter; it seems that Dafa and Master had protected them. The farmer asked me to tell Master that they thanked Falun Dafa for their safety. Every year there had been accidents with various severe injuries, but this year nothing bad happened. Every one of the farmers brought back the truth clarification VCD's and materials to their hometowns. Before they left, they held my hands and on behalf of their family members, they thanked me.
I told them that they should thank Dafa and our Master if they wanted to thank anyone. Some of them even wrote down "Falun Dafa is good!" "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!" in large, tidy characters with colorful chalk on the cement columns in the factory area.
"The clothes you gave to me is like sending charcoal in snowy weather"
One day the temperature dropped suddenly. The gale-force northerly winds mixed with the snow made one feel even more bitterly cold. A middle-aged man picking up iron that day had his pants and coat torn by the iron. He used wire to wind up the bottom of his pants and to hold his coat together. He did not have a winter coat or warm trousers, and he had to keep walking all the time. His back was bent as he tried to resist the cold and the roaring wind. After I went back to the dorm, I wrapped up my sweaters, woolen pants, sweat shirts, coats, and sports pants into a big bag and gave it to him. He told me, "At this time, giving me such good clothes is like sending charcoal in snowy weather, your heart is so good! In the past, it was said that Falun Gong practitioners are good people. Seeing so for myself is better than hearing it from others. Today, I have seen it. Later if someone says Dafa is bad, I will correct him and tell him the true stories of good people doing good deeds."
The workers around us saw this and said that practitioners are really good, being so helpful to an unknown poor guy. Some helped the man to put on the clothes, and he happily said that this Lunar New Year there was no need to buy new clothes. He said that the clothes I gave him were like new. I told him to learn Falun Dafa and that Dafa could change everyone. He told me that he would learn Dafa later for sure, and I gave him some truth-clarification booklets and cards. He said very thankfully, "In this cold weather, you gave me warm clothes. In addition, you give me the truth and materials to save me; I have met a good person! Now that my body has become warm, I feel even warmer in my heart." During the holiday, he came to thank me again and said good-bye to me.
After the Chinese New Year, I quit that job. This April, I took the opportunity to go there once again for a visit. Those people that had heard the truth from me greeted me like family . I found that their expressions had become kinder and their minds had become purer. I told them about publishing statements to quit the CCP, the Youth Pioneers and the Youth League. So they all volunteered to publish statements to quit the CCP and those other CCP organizations. Some also encouraged their family members to withdraw from the CCP and its youth organizations. They also read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and I sent them copies to help them clearly understand the evil party's true nature.
It is so important for us to clarify the truth to people. If people know that Falun Dafa is good and that this persecution is wrong, it will be easy for them to accept the Nine Commentaries. This way, more people will publish their withdrawal statements and gain a bright future.
Further understandings
Below are further understandings I gained during this truth clarification period.
In my two months at that job, I also clarified the truth to the bosses who came to buy and ship the iron, the drivers, as well as the workers. I gave them Dafa truth clarification materials directly. These people came from other provinces. Other people that I clarified the truth to included factory workers and cadres with whom I could get in touch. There were more than 100 people to whom I directly clarified the truth face to face, and the effects were very good. At the same time, I brought out the beauty of Dafa, the pure kindness I had gained through Dafa cultivation with righteous thoughts and actions. All this was to help the world's people wake up from the poison of the evil party's lies as soon as possible and thus be saved by Dafa.
Those who understand the truth, and have family members, friends and colleagues, will clarify the truth and share the wonderfulness of Dafa with their relatives and others around them. Therefore, every time we clarify the truth, not only that one person is listening, but others with karmic relationships can also hear the truth indirectly. It really can achieve the good effect of spreading the truth by word of mouth and from heart to heart. All of these encounters have been arranged by Master. As long as we put down our human thoughts, we can clarify the truth well.
Some fellow practitioners asked me to share my experiences in truth clarification. I feel that in clarifying the truth, we cannot just use any specific method, as it is impossible for the people we meet to all be the same. If I clarify the truth in a certain way, people listening to the facts may accept it. However, if you say it in the same way to some other people you meet, they may not accept it. Whether the world's people accept our truth clarification is a manifestation of our xinxing level, and at the same time is a display of our benevolent heart cultivated in Dafa. Only when that has been displayed, can we clarify the truth well, and can we also help people change their misunderstandings and notions. From my experience, I have found that the most important thing is to study the Fa often, study the new lectures often; at all times and in all situations, use Dafa's "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" to test whether we have done something right or not, and whether it satisfies the requirements of Dafa or not. If we steadily do well the "three things" Master has asked us to do, everything will be taken care of.
Our righteous actions can play the important role of letting the world's people know more about Dafa. At the same time, righteous actions are the best starting point for us to clarify the truth to people that we meet. Please do not neglect this. The ability for us to act righteously is obtained from Dafa, and we should bring the beauty of Dafa to the people through our noble actions. At the same time, we must tell the facts about Dafa to everyone who has a karmic relationship with us, and play the role of validating Dafa and safeguarding Dafa.
There is no shortcut in clarifying the truth and nothing unexpected will fall down from the sky. Only after we have put down our human notions, and cultivate selflessness, can the Chinese people, whose minds have been poisoned the most by the communist's evil spirit, be saved by Falun Dafa through truth clarification by Dafa disciples.
Master had said in "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference"
"As Dafa disciples have clarified the facts you have saved many beings who were supposed to be saved, but it's not enough. In fact, so far, what you've accomplished is still limited, and in terms of numbers the proportion is still quite small. The Dafa disciples in Mainland China, in particular, have the greatest responsibility. The main body of Dafa disciples is in China, so the Dafa disciples there should do even better; through lessons learned they should become more rational and more clearheaded, and do things more righteously; they should allow more sentient beings to be saved; and they should have the effect of the main body of Dafa disciples."