(Clearwisdom.net) I live in a small district where most of my neighbors are colleagues of my parents, and many have known me since childhood. I am rather introverted, so in the early days of the persecution of Falun Gong I was unwilling to distribute truth-clarifying materials in my district. I also asked fellow practitioners not to distribute such materials in my district, because I didn't want people to think that I was distributing flyers. I thought this was imperative to protect myself. During the times when I returned to my district, I had a strange feeling. My parents also felt uncomfortable, because they thought I was hiding something. After studying the Fa for some time, I finally realized that distributing Falun Dafa flyers was important to help eliminate evil spirits. When people understand the facts about Dafa, they will have a positive view of the practice, and the cultivation environment will improve.
In 2010 our local 610 Office wanted to send me to a brainwashing center. The Party secretary at my school informed me ahead of time and asked me to just sign a guarantee statement, so I would not be taken away and also would be safe. I explained that things at the brainwashing center were not what he thought they were like or what was stated in the propaganda─it wasn't "education through constructive influence." I also told him that there were agencies that had to be closed because their employees were taken to brainwashing centers. I refused to sign a guarantee statement and asked to personally speak to the bureau chief.
-- By the author
Revered Teacher! Fellow practitioners!
I understand that the growth of righteous thoughts depends on studying the Fa diligently and cultivating well. Clarifying the facts about Falun Dafa will then be effective, and interference will be reduced to a minimum. If a practitioner has many human notions, the opposite will be true. I have not reached the point where I can speak freely to all kinds of people, but I can see that my environment changes in proportion to how well I cultivate.
Cultivating Well and Saving Sentient Beings
I live in a small district where most of my neighbors are colleagues of my parents. Many of them have known me since childhood. I’m rather introverted and seldom greet people I see in public. In the early days of the persecution, I didn't want to distribute truth-clarifying materials in my district. I also asked fellow practitioners not to distribute them in my district, because I didn't want people to think that I was distributing flyers. I thought this was imperative to protect myself.
During the times when I returned to my district, I had a strange feeling. My parents also felt uncomfortable, because they thought I was hiding something.
After studying the Fa for some time, I finally realized that distributing flyers about Falun Dafa was important to help eliminate evil spirits.When people understand the facts about Dafa, they will have a positive view of the practice, and the cultivation environment will improve, and I would also be safe.
Having come to the above understanding, I asked fellow practitioners to distribute flyers in my district before I went with my parents to celebrate the New Year during a winter break. After returning from the break, I met a friend. He looked perplexed and said, “Someone was distributing Falun Dafa flyers.” I smiled and said, “Really! That's good. It is normal to receive such flyers everywhere." I then told him about how I had been persecuted and he finally understood about the importance of receiving Falun Gong flyers.
I later also distributed the flyers in my district. Usually I selected a time when few people were out to avoid meeting familiar faces. However, such a meeting was not always unavoidable. In 2008, I went to a seven-story building intending to distribute Shen Yun DVDs. At one point I heard someone coming up the stairs. Before I could figure out what to do, the person had reached the sixth floor. There was no place to hide, so I went back down and saw a colleague of my mother. She was surprised to see me. I went ahead and gave her a DVD, telling her that it was a wonderful show with songs and dances. She took it and I distributed some more DVDs on my way down.
I later began to speak to people in my district about Falun Dafa. It didn't go well at first. Sometimes it took two hours before I met up with someone. Even if I cornered someone, he didn't want to listen for long. I thought about giving up this approach, but after studying the Fa, I decided to continue. I had to let go of attachments and overcome interference from my mother.
My mother is rather timid, has very little willpower, and is afraid of Communist Party members. When I was severely persecuted, she became mentally unstable and was hospitalized. When she found out that I was walking around our district talking to people for hours, she got very angry and asked me nervously, “What did you talk to people about? Was it about Dafa? On the surface they might be listening to you. In reality, they were laughing at you and might report you to the police...”
I calmly told her that people in our district were willing to listen to me. In fact, many people were rooting for me. Those who understood what Dafa was about were protecting me. Nonetheless, people who did not understand what Dafa was about could pose a problem.
My mother didn't agree, although I wasn’t moved by her words. I knew she was worrying about my safety. I had to cultivate well and be rational in what I was doing. With time, everything became and remained stable, so she no longer objected.
One day I met an elderly couple who listened to me attentively. I asked them whether they would like to read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. They said yes, so I gave them a copy of the book.
A few days later, upon returning home from work, my mother threw a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party at me saying, “Why did you give this away? If not for me, they might have reported you. Why are you so careless?”
I didn’t understand what had happened. Then, one day, I ran into the older woman. I asked her whether she had read the Nine Commentaries. She said that she did, but because the book touched on politics, she wanted to return it to me. When she arrived at my home, my mother was the only one there, and she told my mother that it was not safe to give this book to anyone else. Once I understood that these people weren't planning to report me, I talked to my mother about it.
Not very many people in my district walk the streets. On the Minghui website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom), many articles suggest that one should visit people's homes to clarify the facts and advise people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliates. I decided to go to a dozen homes where people were on good terms with my parents.
I went in the evenings to visit one family at a time. I brought a little snack with me. In the past, some people had listened to what I had to say, but did not do the “three withdrawals” (withdraw from the CCP, the Youth League, and the Young Pioneers). When I visited them at home, they felt very safe and thus were more willing to do the three withdrawals. Yet, there were those that didn’t want to quit the Party, and one refused to open his door.
A few days after I began visiting people at home, my mother got very upset. She was shaken with fear and had insomnia. I felt she was being persecuted by evil spirits from other dimensions, so I sent forth righteous thoughts to disintegrate these spirits, but the effect was limited. I found out later that she thought I had given a DVD to each family, which could serve as evidence for people to report me. She worried constantly.
I explained to her that I visited only families that we were well acquainted with and didn't say anything unless they were willing to listen. I could tell from their expressions whether I should continue, and I didn't distribute any DVDs.
My mother accepted my explanation and stopped being fearful. Actually, she is much better now, as compared to when I returned from a forced labor camp. At that time she didn't allow me to keep any flyers at home. She would search all the drawers to make sure there were no flyers. She also didn't like any fellow practitioners to visit me. I can now access the Internet, print flyers, and make DVDs. She also welcomes practitioners into her home and has said that practitioners don't rob, steal, or do anything illegal.
I understand that improving my character steadily by studying the Fa diligently is important to avoid evil interference and helps family members let go of fear.
Everyone in my district is now nice to me, whether or not they did the three withdrawals. I clarified the facts about Dafa to the doorman of the residential committee, and he protected me whenever there was an inquiry about me.
Saving People at Work
I work at a school and have changed my job several times because of the persecution. I arrive at work early, clean my office, and then try to make friends with whomever I meet.
I am an administrative staff member, and my responsibility is to make sure that no regulations are violated. While I follow the school regulations strictly, when a problem comes up, I handle it based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. As a result, I have a good relationship with teachers and have earned their trust, which makes it easier for me to clarify the facts to them.
My job includes visiting every office in the school once per week. Thus, I have many opportunities to speak to teachers alone or to give them a DVD. Of course, I also missed some opportunities because of my not doing too well.
The Party secretary in our school retired in 2007. The new secretary that came in followed the 610 Office directions very strictly. During holidays he arranged for Party members to check on me. After I disconnected my phone, he asked the staff in the neighborhood office to check on me.
After the holidays I saw him at the front door of our school, but he pretended not to see me. I approached him and said hello. He was surprised and just nodded his head. I later found time to go to his office, and I asked him if he had arranged for someone to call me during the holidays. He said he had. I told him that, because I was persecuted some years ago, calls from strangers made my mother nervous and unable to sleep, and, out of concern for her health, I disconnected my phone. I then told him about the fabricated stories on TV, how I was illegally imprisoned, and the tough time I had in the forced labor camp. He listened quietly and nodded several times. When I was about to leave, he said that he appreciated what I told him, and he welcomed me to come and talk to him again.
After school I didn’t attend the flag raising ceremony for four weeks. When I met the Party secretary, he told me that I should attend. I then remembered that I hadn’t given him a reason for not attending, so I went to talk to him one night. I told him that I wouldn’t participate in a political ceremony and I explained to him that loving one's country was not the same as loving one's party. After more than an hour of clarifying the facts to him, he finally came around to my way of thinking.
I talked to the Party secretary many times and gave him the Nine Commentaries. He has chosen what is good for his future. There is no one from my school checking on me now, and I can spend my free time studying the Fa.
In 2010 our local 610 Office wanted to send me to a brainwashing center. The Party secretary in my school informed me ahead of time and asked me to just sign the guarantee statement. I told him that persecuting me would not be beneficial for our school, and that I would not sign a guarantee statement. I asked him how this came about. He said that the chief of our Educational Bureau visited the director of the 610 Office, who asked how I was doing. The chief said that I was doing fine. The director said, “If so, let us close this case by asking him to sign a guarantee statement.” The chief thought this would help resolve the case and agreed.
After hearing what he said, I told him it was not like what he thought. This was just another way to persecute me. Because I hadn't signed a guarantee statement, I was illegally imprisoned at a brainwashing center and physically abused. The brainwashing center is not what he thought the “education through constructive influence” represents. I also told him that there were agencies that had to close down, because they lost workers to the brainwashing center. I refused to sign a guarantee statement and did not want our education bureau to be affected, so I asked to speak to the bureau chief. He provided me with the name of the person I should talk to.
A few days later I went to the Education Bureau and told the chief about the true nature of the brainwashing center. I also said that it was not in the best interest of the bureau to speak to the 610 Office, and that I would talk to the 610 Office directly. The chief said he would take care of that and that I didn't need to go.
Although this attempted persecution was not successful, I knew it had to do with my own character. I had not been sufficiently diligent in my cultivation and there was a lack of improvement in my character. My fundamental problem was that I still have attachments and I have not been able to remain diligent at all times. I have resolved to put in more effort into my cultivation so that I can save more sentient beings. I don't want to disappoint Teacher.
Please point out anything that is improper.
