(Minghui.org) Greetings, esteemed Master and fellow practitioners.
In May this year I attended the 2016 New York Fa Conference and listened to Master's lecture. It made it even clearer to me that saving people is our responsibility and that we must do it well. I then had a wish to save even more people.
Looking back over the years, I’ve always gone to tourist sites to tell people about Falun Dafa. I did it three hours a day without any slacking off.
After I came back from the New York Fa Conference, I started to stay five hours a day at the tourist sites. This was very tiring during the first days. However, Master said that a cultivator should align with "Eating bitterness treated as joy." ("Tempering One's Heart and Will" from Hong Yin)
I started to study the Fa more, read Zhuan Falun, recited poems from Hong Yin IV and sections from Zhuan Falun daily. On my way to the tourist locations I usually recite Lunyu two or three times, as well as poems from Hong Yin.
I reach the site at around 10:30 a.m., when the volume of tourists usually reaches its peak. I cannot be late, because I do not want to miss even one predestined person.
No matter what the weather is like, I never skip a day. I walk quickly beside the tourist groups. It is like a race against time. Quite often I get sweaty and a dry mouth, but to save sentient beings, all efforts are worth it.
When I go home with 30 or 40 or even more than a hundred names of people who agreed to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations, I can truly feel the happiness of fulfilling my vows.
Cambridge, with its world-renowned university, attracts tourists from all over the world every year, including many Chinese tourists.
Local practitioners have set up an area in the city center where they meet to clarify the facts to people every week, especially to Chinese tourists. Some of us turn on the Dafa music to do the exercises. Others distribute Dafa informational materials. We also help people to quit the CCP, and/or the Youth League, and/or the Young Pioneers.
During the school holidays, floods of tourist groups from China visit Cambridge. Even more than usual have come from China this year. I know it is Master who sends us these predestined people.
A most important topic among practitioners is how to make the Chinese people understand the seriousness of the persecution.
The most troublesome issue is the tour guides’ interference. I’ve met so many different types of tour guide. They used to swear at me, tell me to leave, or be sarcastic or arrogant or ignore me. The majority tried to prevent any access to the Chinese tourists and made sure they did not take any Dafa materials. Some even forbade the tour group from stopping. They treated us as if we were their enemies and avoided us at all costs.
How were we to resolve the hatred and misunderstanding in the tourists’ minds? I started with the tour guides. I followed the Dafa principles Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and treated each tour guide with great compassion and forbearance.
During the peak season, I arrived at the tourist spots very early and politely welcomed the tourists from China. Then, I approached the tour guide and talked to him or her about my mission in lowered tones. I expressed my concerns and sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors behind them.
Over time, many of the tour guides started to change. I’ve even become friends with most of them over the last few years. Nowadays, about 80 percent of the tour guides don’t interfere when we talk to the Chinese people. Some even bring their group to our area and ask them to meet up at that point later on.
One time, a tour guide was looking everywhere for me because he wanted me to talk to two tourist groups. I also seized this opportunity to talk to him in more detail and he quit the CCP. Many of the tour guides have warmed up to me and bring their groups to hear the facts from me. If they have not seen me for a while, they will tell me that they missed me.
In the past I did not really care about what was going on around me. Nor did I pay any attention to how receptive the person seemed to be or how he or she reacted to my explanations. All I wanted to do was to tell them the facts about Dafa and how evil the wicked CCP is, and I did it in a very loud and aggressive way.
In May of this year, I was clarifying the truth to a tourist group as usual. I talked about Dafa and how the CCP is responsible for the deaths of millions of Chinese people. I said they even harvested organs from living Falun Dafa practitioners and sold them for profit. I explained that quitting the CCP meant that one would not be implicated when the CCP falls. I made sure they knew that they could quit with a nickname or pseudonym.
Then, one man said that he would quit if I paid him. I continued to talk to him loudly and did not pay much attention to what was happening around me. I only stopped walking and talking when this man also stopped. I then realized that the tour guide was explaining the history of a particular tourist spot. The tour guide’s voice was quite low so I could not hear her.
When I realized that I had interfered with her job, I immediately apologized. She said not to worry and asked me to talk first. “This is your job, of course you should speak first,” I responded. When she had finished her explanation, I tried to talk to this man, even though he wasn’t interested.
I thought I should still let the others know the truth.
“We love China but not the CCP,” I said. “The communist party is a ghost from the West – those are Marx’s own words.”
A young man in the group told me that I was being a nuisance and to stop talking. I said, “If you don’t want to listen then don’t listen, but others who understand and agree to quit will be safe.” He then got very aggressive and demanded that I leave.
The female tour guide noticed the altercation and said to me, “Ma’am, people have different beliefs. Don’t take them too seriously. I’ll talk to them later. You work so hard, you must take care of yourself.” Suddenly, I could feel her kindness and how considerate she was. I almost cried.
“I truly wished these tourists well,” I thought, “so why couldn’t they accept it? Why did they tell me to leave?”
After looking inward, I realized that I had the attachment of competitiveness. I just kept on talking even if they didn’t like it, and I was loud, too, so that no one could interrupt me. I realized that what I said could not touch their hearts. I understood that I was wrong.
Master taught us: “So you have to do it sensibly and in an intelligent way. Don't annoy people.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of the Minghui Website’s Founding”)
When I recalled Master's words, I was ashamed and upset. This also made me see that I had still not eliminated the Party’s indoctrination, that I was forcing my own opinion upon others. I believed that whatever I said was the way it should be. I thought they were too poisoned by the Party and I didn’t care about their feelings. That’s why I annoyed them. Instead of saving them, I actually pushed them away.
That tour guide brought another group of people and greeted me. She told me what she had said to the tourists the other day. She asked them not to treat me badly, because I was truly wishing them well and that they should respect me. She also told me that she would talk to her colleagues and tell them that we, as Chinese, should understand and respect each other.
“I wasn’t upset because they treated me badly,” I said. “Instead, I was moved by your kindness. It helped me realize my shortcomings. We are Falun Dafa practitioners and we cultivate Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Our Master asks us to save those precious Chinese people. How can I save them if I annoy them?”
She was really touched by my sincerity, so I seized the opportunity to clarify the truth to her in depth. Although I had already talked to her about Dafa, she was only now ready to quit the CCP organization she had once joined, the Young Pioneers. As I was talking to her, one person in the group listened in. About eight in the group also quit the CCP.
I enlightened through this incident that, in order to save more people, we must cultivate ourselves well, achieve compassion, and truly be considerate of others.
There was a piece in the Shen Yun show called “The Power of Compassion.” Compassion has enormous power. When we assimilate ourselves to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the mighty virtue of Dafa will manifest. When we depart from Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, we will be limited by negativity. We can only achieve our goal by cultivating ourselves well.
There were many other tour guides who did not know the truth because they were brainwashed and threatened by the CCP. They also changed gradually.
A male tour guide in his 40s was very stubborn. When he got out of the coach, he chanted, “The CCP is good.” He never accepted anything I gave him but just kept chanting, “The CCP is good.” He was very irrational. After many encounters, he came to understand what Dafa disciples have been doing and why we work so tirelessly. He used to believe the CCP lies. Once he finally could accept the truth, his attitude changed and he quit the CCP.
Most of the tour guides have learned the facts. Once they understand the true situation, it paves the way to help more tourists understand Dafa.
Since Master spoke at the New York conference back in May, the number of people who have quit the CCP has doubled. I understand that cosmic changes are the deciding factor. The sentient beings are now awakening and eager to be saved. Master has pushed the Fa-rectification process to this stage. It all depends on our ability and willingness to do our part.
During the peak tourist season in August, practitioners from other areas have come to Cambridge to help us. Strengthened by Master and with support from Dafa disciples, we cooperated well. Within two weeks we helped almost 3,000 people quit the CCP.
I am clear now that, to save sentient beings, we must study the Fa more. Cultivation is fundamental. Saving people is our responsibility. We can only save more people if we cultivate ourselves well.
We must eliminate the attachment to competitiveness. Keeping a compassionate and peaceful mindset helps to repel people's demon-nature. Letting go of the attachments of zealotry and showing off will be instrumental in keeping our demon-nature at bay. We can then be more steadfast in our cultivation and constantly improve our character. Cultivating away the attachment of validating oneself will allow us to cooperate better with fellow practitioners. Together we can assist Master in the Fa-rectification and accomplish our mission.
I now have a deeper understanding of “... as a practitioner one should not fight back when being punched or insulted, ...” (Zhuan Falun)
Ordinary people’s behavior is actually arranged for our improvement. Only when we can cultivate and truly harmonize with what Master asks of us to do to save more sentient beings can we be worthy of the title of “Dafa disciple.”
When I was at our tourist site on July 6, some tourists showed up. Two students were reading our materials. When I saw them, the attachment of zealotry came up. At the same time, their tour guide went over to tell them the history of the tourist spot.
When he noticed that they were reading our materials, he got angry. He grabbed our leaflets from the students. My heart just thumped and I was thinking “How could this tour guide be so rude?”
He then looked at me and told me not to look at him. I realized that this had to do with Master's Fa truth “... the appearance stems from the mind.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting” from Teaching the Fa at the Conference X) I had annoyed him because I had looked at him in an unkind way, which caused his reaction.
While the tourists were takings pictures, I asked the tour guide to give the materials he took from the students to me, because they were my private property. Instead, he told me to stop annoying people.
I did not want to get into an argument, so I approached the students and talked to them. However, the tour guide came to interfere. He threatened to call the police if I continued to talk.
“This is not China,” I said. “The British police support us. I’m not interfering with your work. It’s my right to clarify the truth here.”
A teacher told me not to get into an argument. This actually reminded me that the tour guide was an ordinary person and I was a cultivator. I should not fight with him. If I did, I would push him aside, so that he could not be saved. If he couldn’t be saved, perhaps I could not save the students either.
Looking inward, I found my attachment of zealotry. He had grabbed my leaflets, which had aroused my attachment of resentment. I could feel a piece of karma in my heart, and it made me feel very uneasy and irritable. I had no strength to continue to clarify the truth at that moment.
When someone did not want to quit the CCP, I just stopped talking to them. I met so many people, but I did not clarify the truth well. When there are no unpleasant encounters, dozens of people agree to quit. But that day, over the same period of time, only about six people quit. I suddenly did not want to talk to people anymore and I felt very upset.
I met up with a practitioner and shared with him what had just happened. I asked him why he thought my attachments of resentment and competitiveness were so strong that day. He suggested that maybe they needed to be eliminated layer by layer.
As we shared, I came to understand that I had only looked at how wrong the tour guide was. I believed that he was wrong. This was looking outward from an ordinary person's point of view rather than looking inward based on the Fa. A tour guide is an ordinary person who does not understand the truth. How could I have argued with him? When we have conflicts with ordinary people, it is my fault as a cultivator. After sharing with the fellow practitioner, I felt much calmer and was ready to talk to people again.
After the fellow practitioner left, I decided to continue. When I turned back, I saw that same tour guide eating with students. I felt that it was Master’s arrangement for me to cultivate. I let go of my attachment to fame and went over to talk to him.
“It was my fault,” I said. “I shouldn’t have treated you like that.” He did not respond and just left. Since he didn’t want to talk to me, I had to let go of my attachment. As soon as I put down that human attachment, I felt so light.
Nothing was hindering me, and during the next hour, I helped dozens of people to quit the CCP.
Through these two incidents, I now understand that, in order to save people, we must maintain a peaceful mindset and look inward at all times. We can only truly save people once we let go of our human attachments.
Master said,
“As a practitioner, you must cultivate and temper yourself in the environment of everyday people and gradually abolish attachments and various desires.” (Zhuan Falun)
“ ...looking within is a magical tool..” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference”)
We need to put looking inward into action. Once we jump out of our human notions, improve our character, and enlighten through the Fa, our surrounding field will change dramatically. The foundation for all of this is the Fa, from our solid cultivation.
In Cambridge, local practitioners cooperate very well at all times. We do not dare to slack off in assisting Master. Cultivation is very serious. Our vows are even more solemn. Let’s be diligent.
Thank you, Esteemed Master and fellow practitioners.
(Presented at the 2016 UK Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)