(Minghui.org) I moved from the East Bay to San Francisco’s Chinatown in 2012. I pondered how to better save sentient beings and fulfill my responsibility as a Dafa practitioner in an area populated by many Chinese people.
For a practitioner, when we truly are certain of a given responsibility in our mind, Master will arrange everything for us.
A practitioner asked me at one time: “Can you make the front entrance to San Francisco’s Chinatown a truth-clarification site?” Without hesitating, I replied, “Yes!”
I did not contemplate the matter much, because I felt everything was already prearranged. The local coordinator and I applied for a permit so we could set up an information booth at the entrance of San Francisco’s Chinatown, Ever since then, I have been stationed at that location.
My Spirit of Dripping Water Penetrating a Stone
The entrance that leads into San Francisco’s Chinatown is an important window that leads to the world. There would be tourists from all over the world on important occasions or holidays. Some people who passed by this booth were dismissive or indifferent; some also ridiculed and insulted Dafa. However, there are also some who are very sympathetic and supportive.
It is our duty as Dafa practitioners to assist Master in the Fa-rectification. At times, however, I would think: “I am capable of many things even though I’m young. Do I really want to spend my best time in a small place like this? Can I really persevere in doing this every day?” I kept asking myself this over and over again. In the end, my answer was “Yes! Of course I can! Although I don’t know for how long, and I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but as long I have righteous thoughts, nothing can sway me.”
Appreciation
One conversation with a passerby made me more determined. It was during the second year at the site. A middle-aged Caucasian man walked past me, and I handed him a flier. I said in English, “Please help us stop this persecution.” He said, “I’m a Catholic, and I won’t accept anything that doesn’t have to do with Catholicism.” Suddenly, he changed his tone of voice and said, “You have been persisting here for two years, haven’t you? I will take a flier just for this reason.”
I was very surprised. This middle-aged man must have passed by the site quite often to have seen me persisting for two years. I thought to myself: what is clarifying the truth, and what is the truth? The actions displayed by a Dafa practitioner is the truth. The process of a Dafa practitioner’s persistence is the truth, and we are not limited to only speaking out, clarifying the truth and distributing fliers.
It is just like an article on the Minghui website, “The Spirit of Dripping Water Penetrating a Mountain,” said: “However, Dafa disciples do not give up. A conversation, a letter, a fax, a phone call, … are just like dripping water. As people who understand the truth keep withdrawing from the CCP and its youth organizations, the CCP shrinks and gradually disappears. The attitude of those who hear the truth changes from a sneer in the beginning to eventual respect. The most powerful force possessed by a person is his spirit, a spirit of perseverance that is compelling and convincing, and a righteous spirit that can move others!”
Humility
As a proverb goes, “A mountain can naturally reach the sky without boasting about its height.” The mountain possesses the traditional value of being humble, and it is precisely because of this that the mountains are so vast, big and rising above the clouds while steadfastly standing on the ground. Everything that a Dafa practitioner accomplishes is bestowed by Master and created by Dafa. We should be humble towards Master and Dafa. Then, how should we carry ourselves in clarifying the truth to sentient beings?
I experienced a dramatic change of my notions one time when manning the booth. I was distributing fliers one day when a well-dressed, young Caucasian man walked towards me. I asked him to help end the persecution. He looked at the flier and said, “Falun Gong? No.” He handed back the flier and left. I was taken back and thought, “How can he be so irrational? How can he be like those evil people living under the communist regime in China?”
Then I thought, “Why should I be so petty about whether someone accepts the flier or not?” As soon as this thought appeared, I heard the young man say, “Hey!” I ignored him and thought to myself, “I’d rather clarify the truth to someone who would actually listen.” He called out again, “Hey!” I ignored him again. Upon seeing how I did not pay any attention to him, he walked from afar and approached me. He patted my shoulder and said, “Sorry. I thought wrong of you. I thought you were one of those advertising outlets. Please give me a flier.”
I was quite impacted by this. Although I had persisted at the site every day, was I validating Dafa or validating myself? I would get upset if people did not accept a flier and wanted to be acknowledged. But Master is doing everything, so why should I be negative, feel unjust, or be proud of myself during this process? Where did my humility toward Master and Dafa go? Where did my compassion and tolerance for sentient beings go? At the moment, I felt superior to others and was looking down on sentient beings.
Delving deeper, the root of humility is exactly what Master taught us by being selfless and altruistic. We need to treat everything, including practitioners, sentient beings, and the projects that we take on, with a pure heart.
Conclusion
After all these years, I truly experienced the “special treatment” that Master arranged for us when clarifying the truth to people face to face. The Fa-rectification is nearing its end.
Fa conferences are held less often, and we also have less time to clarify the truth. We need to grasp this opportunity and fulfill our promises to Master. I sincerely hope that practitioners who don’t come out as often realize the importance of this issue. We need to be responsible and follow in Master’s footsteps during the Fa-rectification. We should not lag behind, and we should cultivate diligently.
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