(Minghui.org) The Chinese Communist Party has banned Falun Dafa for nearly 20 years. During that time, it has never stopped defaming Dafa. This January, I found three bulletin boards that had posters slandering Falun Dafa on the street-facing walls of a residential neighborhood near my home.
As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I knew these lies could poison people's minds, so I had to take them down.
It was the first time I'd ever seen such bulletin boards. Several questions surfaced: “How could I remove them? What tools would I need? Is there a surveillance camera? Where would I put the posters once I took them down? If someone sees and reports me, I could be arrested.”
I didn't realize that these questions were prompted by my fear. I asked a few practitioners about what to do. They all suggested that I send forth the righteous thoughts and look for an opportunity to remove them.
An elderly practitioner came with me to look at the bulletin boards that afternoon. She walked right up to them and looked at what they were made of and how they were secured. I stayed away to send forth the righteous thoughts. But I could see the gap between her and me. She had no fear at all.
She told me that it would be hard to remove the posters and suggested I ask a male practitioner to do it. I told a male practitioner where they were.
“Don't worry,” he told me. “It's easy. I'll take care of it.”
He sounded confident, totally unafraid.
I checked the next morning and saw the posters were still there. Maybe that practitioner was busy or maybe he came but didn't see them. People were walking by and some stopped to read the posters.
I said to myself, “We can't let these things stay up. They are my responsibility since they showed up near my home. I should remove them myself and not seek outside help.”
I sent forth the righteous thoughts and started to look inside. Why was I still so fearful? I realized that I gave too much weight to the evil factors and didn't fully recognize the power of righteous thoughts and Master's protection. I also realized I was selfish and attached to comfort, and was plagued with other human sentiments.
Practitioners said to me before, “What are you afraid of? Master's Fashen has been with us all the time. He will give us hints and guide us when there is danger.”
Master told us,
“All of you are already aware of the principle of mutual-generation and mutual-inhibition. If you are not afraid, the factor that would make you afraid will cease to exist. This is not to be self-imposed, but is achieved by truly and calmly letting go of it.”(“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
“Fear can cause one to make mistakes, and fear can cause one to lose a predestined opportunity. Fear is a death trap on a human being’s journey toward divinity.”(“Pass the Deadly Test” from The Essentials of Diligent Progress, Vol II)
That day, I kept reciting Master's poem “What's to Fear” from Hong Yin Volume II:
“Should you have fear,it will seize upon youIf thoughts are righteous,evil will collapseThe cultivator’s mindis loaded with FaSend righteous thoughts,and rotten demons explodeGods walk the earth,validating the Fa”
I also kept sending righteous thoughts at the bulletin boards. I felt my fear getting less and less.
After 10 p.m., the shops nearby closed and there were few people on the street. The street light was dim. I said to myself, “This is the right time to remove the posters.”
I checked the boards. The wire used to secure them was thin and I could just twist it loose. I removed the first poster, broke it into a few pieces, and threw them in a trashcan nearby. It was not hard at all.
Then I took down the other two posters. Tucking them under my coat, I took them to another trashcan.
I sent forth righteous thoughts toward that location after I got home. Without fear, I felt my righteous thoughts were very powerful.
We also destroyed defamatory bulletin boards at other locations in the following days. The police didn't arrest us. We felt Master protected us. It was exactly as he said: “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Zhuan Falun)
Category: Improving Oneself
