(Clearwisdom.net) I have been making phone calls to rescue persecuted practitioners for three months. I have benefited greatly. I find it isn't difficult to do and it is not really different from calling people and encouraging them to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. Both involve clarifying the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution, and then letting the other person take responsibility for making his or her choices in life. It is only that the content is different. One involves advising them to withdraw from the Communist Party and the other advises them to stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners and to atone for their criminal acts.
I usually begin by saying, “There's some news I would like to share with you.” When I call a police station that hasn't specifically persecuted Falun Gong practitioners, I tell them that I hope they understand the facts about Falun Gong, and I urge them not to participate in persecuting practitioners. For those that have committed crimes against practitioners, I say that I hope they committed them unknowingly. I tell them the facts about Falun Gong and try to inspire them with a kind thought. I tell them that it's a crime to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, and advise them not to serve as scapegoats for the Chinese Communist Party. I inform them that the international community is investigating these crimes. I tell them that good is rewarded and evil is punished. If they persecute practitioners, it will bring misfortune to them and their families. I say I hope they can understand what they have done and that they will atone for their crimes. I suggest that this is the best way that they can protect themselves.
I remain composed and calm when I make the phone calls. Only practitioners can save those that have unknowingly committed crimes against Falun Gong. So whether the other party hangs up on me, swears at me, argues with me, or threatens me, I stay composed and tell them the consequences of their actions and the impact it will have on their families. I can feel the breadth of my mind gradually expand and my manner become more gentle. I sense more how pitiful these beings are and feel more compassion for them.
I once felt that making phone calls to rescue persecuted practitioners was different from helping people withdraw from the CCP, where results and the improvement in my level seemed more obvious. The number of people withdrawing from the CCP helped me become more energetic in my efforts. It is more difficult to see the outcome when making calls to rescue persecuted practitioners, and the reaction from the other party isn't necessarily as positive. But now I feel differently. Some police officers quietly listen to the facts about the persecution. They have changed from swearing at me to listening attentively. Some were arrogant at first and fiercely defended themselves, yet others gave righteous responses. I feel that these phone calls are very effective.
I use a script when I make phone calls. Depending on who I am speaking with, sometimes I will skip over a few paragraphs. I can send righteous thoughts at the same time that I am speaking because I am very familiar with the script. Sometimes I have seen evil, messy ghosts that look like fat pigs or jump like monkeys, which I have eliminated when I sent righteous thoughts. We destroy evil elements every time we make phone calls.
Maintaining a Calm Heart
Master said,
“If we determine that it is interference or damaging, when we deal with the specific problem we should try our best to be calm and kind to those people who are at the surface, because when the evil uses people, they usually aren’t aware of it themselves (although the people who are used are usually either people whose thoughts are bad or people who have bad thoughts arising). As for the interference by evil in other dimensions, we must seriously eradicate it with righteous thoughts.” (“Fa-Rectification and Cultivation” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I have found that the evil people are truly frightened when they are told the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution. It is our supernormal abilities that destroy the evil. Our supernormal abilities are most effective when we are benevolent and kind.
I remember a police officer once shouted at me, “If you call again I will break the bones of your fellow practitioners!” I calmly said, “I hope you will consider the wellbeing of your family and yourself.” I then told him the principle that if one does evil deeds, he will receive retribution. His tone softened and he tried to defend himself.
One practitioner thought that my tone was too soft in the beginning. Later we made phone calls together, and this practitioner called the director of a detention center first. Her tone of voice was rather severe. He swore at her, but when I called back with a gentle tone of voice, he listened attentively and kept saying, “OK.” Later, another practitioner even helped him withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations using his real name. This incident truly impressed the practitioner who spoke sternly. She understood the importance of being compassionate when calling, and later, by looking within, understood why she had previously been so stern.
I remember once I was listening on the platform to three practitioners making phone calls. Their voices were very kind and I was almost moved to tears. The righteous field is very strong when the atmosphere is benevolent and kind. There was a police officer who didn't want to listen at first, but persuaded by Practitioner A, he quietly listened to the whole conversation, and Practitioner A actually hung up first. The same day Practitioner B persuaded a police officer to withdraw from the CCP. Practitioner C said that a police officer listened to her respectfully, and his responses were positive.
I know that some practitioners have a very strong desire to save sentient beings. I am deeply moved by their great compassion. I also realized that in Fa Rectification, to just sound calm and composed without first having a heart of compassion to save sentient beings is undoubtedly attending to the surface of things and missing the essence. It is also essential to cultivate oneself diligently while saving sentient beings.
Master said,
“...we should try our best to be calm and kind to those people who are at the surface...” (“Fa-Rectification and Cultivation” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I have found that this is the golden key to raising our xinxing when making phone calls. When attachments, including attachments to hatred, self-importance, self-righteousness, fighting with others, and even being sympathetic to other practitioners, are worn down, what is left is pure compassion to save all sentient beings.
During Fa Rectification, the situation has gotten better and better in many places in China, but there are still places where the evil is rampant. In those places they will arrest over a dozen or even several dozen practitioners at the same time. This unbridled evil offers practitioners the opportunity to collectively concentrate and eliminate it.
In some places, due to investigations by the international community, practitioners continually explaining the the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution, and phone calls and text messages from practitioners, some of those people responsible for persecuting practitioners have stopped committing crimes against them and are atoning for those crimes that they already committed. Consequently, the environment for clarifying the truth is very positive and more beings are being saved. They aren't simply clarifying the facts to one or two individuals, but rather whole areas of sentient beings, who have been saved.
I feel more and more that making phone calls to evildoers is like “To catch bandits, first catch the ringleader.” We are attacking the crucial part of the evil that is preventing sentient beings from being saved. It feels like the battle has already been won and only a few incompetent bandits are left. We should grasp this final opportunity to make more phone calls, disintegrate the evil, save sentient beings, and fulfill our great, prehistoric vows.
