(Clearwisdom.net) There are numerous advantages to practicing cultivation outside of China. For example, there are various truth-clarification projects one can participate in. However, because of this advantage, some practitioners do not appreciate the opportunity to clarify the truth to people they meet on the streets. They think that since they are already involved in so many different truth-clarification projects, they don't need to do those things.
I have distributed fliers and clarified the truth to Chinese people on the streets before, but I was never persistent. One reason was because I had seen practitioners who were diligent but would not approach people on the streets. Therefore, I thought it was unnecessary to do so. My excuse was that many Chinese people outside of China could read The Epoch Times themselves, so I did not need to talk to them. Another reason was that I wanted to protect myself from being embarrassed, and I was afraid of being hurt by other people's attitudes. As time went by, it became harder to speak to strangers. I thought it was more difficult promoting quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated Youth League and Young Pioneers' League than clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa.
Six months ago, I shared with a practitioner in China whom I know well, and I realized that I was falling behind in the Fa-rectification process. This practitioner often seizes the opportunity to promote quitting the CCP whenever she is out and about, and she is able to persuade several people every time she goes out. This sounded almost inconceivable to me. In my mind, it was very difficult to encourage people to quit the CCP. There is no guarantee that they will withdraw even after one spends a lot of time talking to them, so how can one ask a stranger to quit the Party in just a few words? Later, I read various experience sharing articles on the Minghui/Clearwisdom website on how practitioners promote quitting the CCP. I found out that numerous practitioners in China have been able to persuade strangers to quit with just a few words.
I realized that if the Fa-rectification process and the cosmic changes have reached this stage, and practitioners are able to persuade people to quit the Party in a few words, then it must not be difficult to do. I recognized that I was hindered by my own notions, and I was blocked by false illusions, thus I developed a serious fear of facing difficult challenges. I was especially concerned that people could not understand sayings such as "Heaven will eliminate the CCP" or "Erasing the mark of the beast." I thought those remarks sounded too lofty for most Chinese, who are atheists. The more I thought about it, the harder it was for me to speak to them. Even when I tried talking to people, I did not believe that I was saving them or that I was undertaking a solemn and dignified deed. Instead, I had all kinds of attachments and doubts, and I was afraid of being rejected and losing face. I even sensed that people could not understand before I opened my mouth. I felt that this was a complicated and sensitive topic, which required detailed discussion in order to explain it clearly. After I dug further, I realized that it was because I was not firm in my belief in Dafa. Therefore, I asked myself first, Do I really believe that a big disaster will eliminate those who have the mark of the beast? If I do, then do I think that saving people is an urgent matter? If I truly believe it, then losing face means nothing if I can save people's lives. Furthermore, the Fa-rectification process has already advanced microscopically to this stage, thus the knowing sides of sentient beings are completely able to accept this. It was my own human attachments and notions that could not understand such sayings.
Later I heard that several Toronto practitioners have been persuading people to quit the CCP in a straightforward manner, and the results have been good. An elderly practitioner often tells people directly that "Heaven will eliminate the CCP, disaster will arrive soon, and withdrawing from the CCP's organizations will save your life." A young practitioner first talks about the CCP's corruption, then encourages people to support quitting the Party. Thus, many people who dislike the CCP have agreed to quit. The entire withdrawal process is very smooth. After listening to their sharing, I decided to break through my own attachments and save predestined people while commuting via train. Apparently, just handing people the information is not enough. One must speak to them in order to give them the opportunity to withdraw from the CCP.
I remember when I first started to promote quitting the CCP. My notions and attachment of fear immediately came back. I really wished there were no Chinese people at the subway station so that I did not have to speak to them. Yet, I forced myself to approach two Chinese people. When I conversed with them, I was very nervous and my facial expressions were stiff. I handed them a "Quit the CCP" flier and asked them to read it. They did not say much, but smiled and took it. I met about seven to eight people, and talked to them while handing them the fliers. Although they did not respond, they all had good attitudes and read the information earnestly. This gave me great encouragement.
The attachment of fear appeared again the second day. I found excuses not to speak to people on my way to the station. When I arrived at the subway terminal, I promptly handed a flier to a lady standing next to me, told her briefly that quitting the CCP is for her safety, and then ran away. To my surprise, she ran after me and asked if I practiced Falun Gong. She was very nice. After we chatted, I found out that her mother was also a practitioner. I had previously thought she appeared mean and would reject me. Now I know these were merely illusions formed by my notions. It was Teacher who arranged it so that I could gradually break through my attachment of fear and so that I could see the sentient beings waiting to be saved.
Although the initial experience was quite good, I noticed the time I spent talking to people was very brief, and thus I could not say much. If I did not relay important information appropriately, then it was difficult to persuade people to quit the Party. I tried to emulate other practitioners' methods by initiating the conversation with small talk, then mentioning quitting the CCP, yet I still felt that there was not enough time. Furthermore, I am not good at conducting small talk with strangers, so it did not come natural to me. Later I designed a "Quit the CCP" signature sheet, and briefly listed the important information, such as the number of people that have quit the Party, "Heaven will eliminate the CCP," "Quitting the CCP will save your life," and the "Hidden words stone," (ancient Chinese prophesy) etc. Then I asked people to sign their names to support quitting the CCP. Because I sincerely wanted people to read it thoroughly, I made the content brief and concise. Two days after I printed the signature sheet, I asked two Chinese people to sign their names, and they both did. I first inquired if they came from China, then I quickly showed them the signature sheet and urged them to sign. They both read the information carefully, and I quietly sent forth righteous thoughts while they read. The first person asked me, "Is this really happening?" Then I showed him the flier that has the picture of the "Hidden words stone" and added, "Didn't the ancient Chinese say that one should rather believe in it than not? Besides, you don't have to spend any money to quit the Party, and using your pen name does not jeopardize your safety. Isn't it better to safeguard your life?" Upon hearing this, the first person promptly signed his name. The second person, without hesitation, instantly signed his name after reading the material. It was less than three minutes from the time I initiated the conversation until the time they signed their names. I became enlightened from this experience to the Fa principle:
"When it looks impossible and is said to be impossible, give it a try and see if it is possible. If you can actually do it, you will indeed find: 'After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!'" (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
This experience greatly encouraged me. My understanding is that many overseas Chinese have read The Epoch Times, know about quitting the CCP, and have seen the Chinese New Year Spectacular show. Although many of them are not against the withdrawals, they do not take the initiative to quit the Party on The Epoch Times website. When we ask them to withdraw from the Party, we are saving those with predestined relationships; it is as if we planted the seeds, and now the crops need to be harvested. Furthermore, although our media have adequately publicized quitting the CCP, and our parades promoting the withdrawals have shocked people's hearts, these methods cannot replace the direct approach we take in persuading people to quit the Party. I recall when we promoted the Chinese New Year Spectacular show. Practitioners' sharing concluded that even though we advertised it through several media channels and gained momentum, we still had to promote the show personally. By doing so, we incorporated our cultivation and that was the best opportunity to save those who were predestined.
There are roughly thirty to forty thousand withdrawals per day posted on The Epoch Times website, which is still far from the targeted number. Even though we have Quit the CCP Centers at certain locations, the numbers are limited. If every practitioner seizes the opportunity to meet Chinese people, then each of us can become a mobile Quit the CCP Center. Such mobile centers will flourish everywhere, thus providing the Chinese people with the opportunity to hear and learn about quitting the CCP and giving them a chance to make their choice. This will also allow those who don't withdraw to feel that the wave of the withdrawals is near them, and that it is common and popular. Not only will more people withdraw in this dimension, but people's hearts will also affect changes in other dimensions, thus bringing greater results. I feel that this is not any particular group's project, but is every practitioner's project. Practitioners involved with other projects can do it as long they want to. It does not require more time, because this can be done wherever one is. As long as one has the heart to do it, Teacher will arrange the opportunity and bring forth predestined people. We only need to let go of notions and the attachment of fear. This is how I look at the attachment I had - being afraid of other people slandering me. It may look like a coincidence, but we must believe that most people we meet are predestined people arranged by Teacher, and they are sentient beings who can be saved. Even if we run into a few who do not understand us and we feel awful upon hearing their words and seeing their attitudes, we should use that as an opportunity to elevate our xinxing.
I personally think that utilizing a signature sheet has the following advantages:
- One can be straight forward in introducing the topic of quitting the CCP. Even if the person does not want to quit, one can still carry on the conversation.
- It only takes less than one minute to read the introduction, allowing predestined people to withdraw very quickly.
- It is more effective if the person reads the information at places with noisy surroundings such as bus and subway stations.
- This is a good tool for practitioners who have heavy accents, or do not speak Mandarin or Cantonese, to encourage the withdrawals.
- Do not wait idly. The best time to send forth righteous thoughts is when the person is reading the information.
- This simplifies the process of the withdrawals, and since most people are familiar with signature collection, this allows more practitioners to participate.
- Western practitioners can participate as well. One just needs to ask in English if they are members of the CCP, CYL, or CYP.
March 26, 2007
Category: Perspective
