(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I joined the truth-clarification project in Chinatown in 2015. Prior to that, my efforts mainly focused on calling, texting, and emailing people in China, as well as talking face-to-face to Chinese people that I met at work.
Chinatown is a window for Dafa disciples to save sentient beings. I had long wished to clarify the truth there, but as a long-time resident in Chicago, I feared running into acquaintances who may taunt me for not doing my ordinary job. On top of that, I was extremely busy taking care of my family, and I had concerns about finding parking in Chinatown. Anyway, my numerous attachments prevented me from clarifying the truth in Chinatown in earlier years.
This knot in my heart didn't go away until I listened to Master teaching the Fa at the New York Fa Conference in 2015:
“Clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings are what you need to accomplish. There is nothing else for you to accomplish. There is nothing else in this world that you need to accomplish. Those are the things that you need to work toward…” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference”)
I realized that my prehistoric vow was to assist Master with Fa-rectification and salvation of sentient beings.
Master also said:
“…it is Dafa disciples that are to play the lead role. All beings are waiting for you to save them.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa - Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference”)
Then did I play the lead role well? Why couldn't I position myself well? Did I give it my all? I believe Chinatown is a place that Master bestowed to Chicago practitioners for us to save people and accumulate mighty virtue. Did I do it well? Did I fully utilize Chinatown to save people? Even though I clarified the truth using my phone and computer, Chinatown was not something to be neglected. I came to see that I harbored attachments such as laziness, the pursuit of comfort, and complacency of my status quo. At the final moment of Fa-rectification, there isn’t much time left, so I must sprint forward and not leave any regrets. Thus, I finally let go of my attachments and went to Chinatown.
My approach to clarifying the truth is to do some small talk first, build up a rapport, and then cut to the main topic. I’ll start with something like, “Hello sir, how are you? It’s really hot today, over 80 degrees. Taking a walk? It’s a good thing to exercise.” If I see a family with kids, I’ll say their kids are so cute. If I see students dressed up nicely, I’ll call them handsome. I make sure to always smile so they’ll feel my warmth and want to talk to me.
When I’m talking to them, I’ll give them handouts and explain the “three withdrawals,” which refers to quitting the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated Communist Youth League and Young Pioneers. I also explain how CCP officials use taxpayers' money to fatten their own pockets and to live a hedonistic life. I remind them that Chinese laws are just rubber stamps used to protect corrupt officials and that there is no justice for average citizens who have no money or power. I tell them about the CCP's state-sanctioned organ harvesting of living Falun Gong practitioners and the numerous lies it fabricated against Falun Gong.
Many people identify with what I say to them about the CCP. Once, I talked to a student from China, and he said he knew about the Great Famine, in which tens of millions of people were starved to death. He quit the CCP without any hesitation.
Another time, I saw two people in Chinatown square, so I walked up to them to clarify the truth. One of them said, “I’m only a secretary in a Party branch, but he is a bureau director. Talk to him.” I said to the bureau director, “The political environment in China is so rotten that government officials at every level are corrupt. Money can buy everything. You're a bureau director and know more about the rampant corruption.”
“Falun Gong is a belief system that teaches its students to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Yet the CCP can't tolerate such a peaceful practice. It staged the Tiananmen self-immolation incident to incite people's hatred against Falun Gong. The footage of the incident was found to be a staged event. In recent years, the CCP has been harvesting organs from Falun Gong practitioners on a large scale. U.S. House Resolution 343 strongly condemned the state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in China. The CCP is so evil that it is worse than the Nazis.”
The bureau director agreed that the CCP has no hope remaining and quit the Party.
At the Asian Festival in 2016, the Consul General of China in Chicago delivered a speech. After he was done talking, several people escorted him to the parking lot. I followed them and spoke loudly, “Sir, have you heard about quitting the CCP to save your life? The Chinese Communist Party commits the crime of live organ harvesting on Falun Gong practitioners. Quitting the CCP is saving your lives. The Chinese society is now so corrupt. Getting rid of CCP is the only way for China to have a future.” One of them nodded, and the others listened silently. The Consul General suddenly turned around to warn his people not to talk to me.
I once met a Chinese spy in Chinatown. I talked to him about the live organ harvesting. He said to me, “My friends in China said they don’t dare to do it anymore.” I replied that the organ harvesting crime still continues and that the CCP hasn't released detained Falun Gong practitioners. I urged him to quit the CCP, and he obliged. Before we parted ways, he revealed he was a spy. I reminded him that regardless of his profession, only by doing good deeds can he have a bright future.
I also encountered people who not only refused to listen to me but also tried to hit me. Once, I clarified the truth to a couple. The woman happily did the three withdrawals, but the man ignored me. I said to him, “Sir, your friend has already quit, and you should do the same. Don’t support the CCP's killing.” The man suddenly turned around to tried to hit me. His face was red, and his hand was up in the air. We were just a few feet apart, but somehow he couldn't get closer to reach me.
Another time, two men I ran into refused to listen to me. One of them came to shove me forcefully. I suddenly felt my body become an iron tower. No matter how hard he shoved, I didn’t move an inch. I knew deeply Master was protecting me.
As time went on, I became better at clarifying the truth and was able to get more and more people to quit the CCP. The daily number of people who did the three withdrawals went from just a few to around fifty every day. I knew it was Master who sent these people to me so I could help them. It is all Master’s work in another dimension. All that I did was a little talking and walking, yet Master gave me the mighty virtue of saving people.
My attachments, though, raised their ugly heads as I got more people to quit the CCP. Fortunately, I was quick to recognize my zealotry, mentality of showing off, seeking comfort, tendency to blame others, thinking highly of myself, and other attachments. Master’s Fa appeared in my head: “the entire cultivation process for a cultivator is one of constantly giving up human attachments.” (Zhuan Falun) I worked to remove these attachments.
There was one thing I remember clearly. It was in July of 2016, and the temperature was over 95 degrees for several straight days. I thought about taking a few days off and waiting for the weather to cool down before going out again to clarify the truth. I lay down to take a nap. Suddenly, a white board appeared in front of my eyes. It was covered with people's headshots. I realized Master was hinting for me to clarify the truth and that those people were the ones to be saved.
I went to Chinatown immediately. All the people who I helped do the three withdrawals were those whose pictures I saw on the board. I knew that Master is with us all the time.
I have been cultivating Dafa for 20 years. There were many things I didn't do well, but I was able to rectify myself thanks to Master's hints. Master sometimes gives me hints in my dreams, while other times Master uses fellow practitioners or my family members to tell me what to improve.
Once, I had a conflict with a fellow practitioner. I failed to realize it was a test for me to improve my xinxing and decided not to talk to him again. For a few days, I felt really depressed. One night I had a dream, in which I saw Master winding a rope around a bunch of chopsticks. When I woke up, I realized Master was asking us to stick together as fellow practitioners. I understood that we should cherish our predestined relationships with fellow practitioners. After all, we all came for the Fa. Whenever there is a conflict, it is time for us to look within to improve ourselves.
It has been a long time since I last wrote an article. I just jotted down my thoughts, so this sharing article of mine may not be well organized. I thank a fellow practitioner for calling to encourage me to write this article. Now I see that the process of writing the article has helped me improve myself.
If there’s anything inappropriate, please kindly point it out.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2018 Mid-US Fa Conference)
