Reflections on the "Seeds of Compassion" Event

(Clearwisdom.net) I was involved in organizing Zhang Cuiying's art exhibition in Melbourne recently. In order to clarify the facts as widely as possible, we also invited some local artists to participate and named the event "Seeds of Compassion." This title reminded us of what Master had said in Zhuan Falun, "In practicing Zhen-Shan-Ren, the Tao School emphasizes the cultivation of Zhen... The Buddha School emphasizes cultivating Shan of Zhen-Shan-Ren." When we show people the facts, we are in fact cultivating compassion in the process. We hoped that through this event, our sincerity would help sow the seeds of compassion so that many more people will understand the truth about the Dafa.

Due to the hard work and cooperation among those involved, the exhibition was a success. Being involved in the entire planning and implementation of this event gave me a deeper understanding that only when Dafa disciples act as one body can we become stronger and more effective. We had no everyday people's organizational structure and relied on the telephone and e-mail for communication, and the progress exceeded our expectations. With everyone dedicated to Dafa, we gave our utmost to our individual tasks, such as publicity, advertising and the media, contacting government and non-government organizations, state politicians and local city councillors, schools, hall decorations, mounting and dismounting the art exhibition and even those elderly female practitioners braving the cold and windy weather on the opening day for hours on end handing out flyers at the entrance to passers-by. A person that came to view the exhibition was deeply moved and told me that the Communist Party propaganda could not have done such a good job. I told him that it was because they used money whereas we used our hearts. He showed surprise and admiration when he found out that we have no external funding, but rely upon ourselves for our activities. Others remarked, "We really admire your Master for having such dedicated disciples who come from all kinds of backgrounds, yet work together so harmoniously." It is indeed not easy for everyday people to understand Dafa disciples' dedication. They think that we are only promoting ourselves. They are not aware that everything in this universe, including each of us, is here for Dafa. We are like a large family, all disciples of Dafa, all working wholeheartedly to tell people the facts, and because we are cultivating selflessness, we willingly sacrifice for others.

At times, we still have our own opinions and differences. For example, we had different views on how to invite VIP guests. Finally, we set aside our own strongly held views and agreed on the best option. A practitioner once said, "The Fa is enormous" and this had a deep impression on me. The Fa is different at different levels. Wisdom comes from the Fa and Dafa is all encompassing. As long as the mind is righteous, the method employed is not important. Master in the "Touring North America to Teach the Fa" said,

"When you are doing things with other Dafa disciples, it's inevitable that you have arguments, and it's inevitable that you have differences of opinion. Why? Your attachments have to somehow be displayed so that you can get rid of them. But if you refuse to give ground after arguing for a long time, then it's a problem, and it's because you didn't look within and you didn't look at your own problem. You all want to be responsible to Dafa, and your intentions are good. But often you don't mind yourselves, and it's very possible you have some ordinary human attachments. Make sure you pay attention to these things."

When Dafa disciples act as one body, the energy is the strongest and most feared by the evil forces. The old forces employ all kinds of means to exploit loopholes to disrupt the Fa-rectification. That is why during this period, discord appeared among some disciples. I realized that when the mind is not righteous, any human notion and attachments would be taken advantage of by the demonic forces. When this occurs, anything done by the practitioner appears inadequate and magnifies the wrong impression, so prejudice is formed. In fact, this is not what it appears to be. I read a Clearwisdom article that said when opinions differ among fellow practitioners, we may unintentionally use bad thoughts to assess the person, thus intensifying the difference. In fact we are already in the state of "transformation following mind-intent" and "demonic interference from one's own mind." Through Fa study and sharing experiences with fellow practitioners, I recognize that any external factors will be used to interfere with the truth clarification whenever there are gaps and attachments within us.

In the recent Fa lectures, Master mentioned on many occasions arguments among Dafa disciples. I realized that this is the most pressing problem and we should pay particular attention to it. In this important historical period, Dafa disciples must truly cultivate themselves. We must do everything according to the Fa since the Fa is above everything. We shall look inwardly when encountering problems. This great Fa can help us unlock every knot in our minds, overcome the old force's arrangements, and enable us to form one body.

While organizing the event, I was moved not only by the cooperation among those involved in the project, but also by the unseen hand of the Master helping us in numerous ways. In many Fa lectures, Master mentioned the importance of telling the facts to the precious Chinese people. To let as many Chinese people know about this exhibition, we contacted the local Chinese radio stations but didn't receive any reply. The day before the exhibit, seeing that the anchor of a Chinese radio station was dropping her child off at the Chinese school, we gave her a flyer about the "Seeds of Compassion." She expressed her interest in the exhibition, and left us her business card to arrange for a free promotion and interview on her radio program. The evening before the exhibition date, we were busy decorating and mounting the art exhibits. A well-known local Chinese orchestra was performing in the same building and we were able to hand out many flyers to the Chinese audience. It then dawned on us why our exhibition was arranged on the following day. On the day of the exhibition, some practitioners distributed flyers so that more Chinese would have the chance to learn about the facts. At the main entrance to the building, they met a group of tourists from China. Upon learning that the artist is a Falun Gong practitioner, some even came to view the exhibition. On a lighter note, the driver of this tourist bus was the same person that had always been unfriendly towards us at another tourist site, forbidding us to approach his Chinese tourist passengers. I was personally verbally abused by him many times. On that day, he did not recognize us and even smiled at us when we talked to his Chinese passengers.

These things that happened so easily when we didn't pursue them made us realize the meaning of when Master said, "Cultivation depends on oneself while gong depends on the Master." (Zhuan Falun) Master also said, "When you conduct yourselves righteously Master can do anything for you...Master has countless Law Bodies, and on top of this, there are countless righteous Gods helping me do things, and they will directly eliminate the evil, too." (Touring North America to Teach the Fa) We rack our brains, spending hours planning the strategy and often running into obstacles. Instead of discovering the best methods, many human notions on the issue of pursuit may surface. Dafa disciples' states of mind and righteous thoughts are directly related to the effectiveness of our truth clarification. This is similar to how Master explained the tooth extraction by the Chinese traditional doctor and the western trained dentist. No matter how many good ideas or how good the methods are, if mind-intent and attachments are added in, it will not have Master's blessing and demons may occupy the gaps. The result will only be everyday people doing Dafa work, and it will be ineffective. Dafa's power won't be manifested, problems may arise, and losses will occur. When the invitation cards to members of parliament were being printed, unexpected problems arose. Day 1: The color prints were not satisfactory. Day 2: The copier broke down. Day 3: The worker had an argument with his wife and decided to take the day off. Realizing that nothing happens accidentally, I searched within and found shortcomings such as my attitude towards the work, the issue of pursuit and show-off mentality -- all of them had to be discarded. On the fourth day, the printings were completed beautifully.

It has been more than 3 years since the persecution started on July 20, 1999. In order to let people know about "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance," we have stood in front of the railway stations and street corners handing out flyers, organized art exhibitions, performed at cultural events, wore Dafa T-shirts in busy shopping centers and festivals, distributed newspapers and newsletters, wrote articles for the internet, created radio and television programs, etc. Fa-rectification is progressing at a rapidly increasing pace and Dafa disciples are continuously maturing in the process. The "Seeds of Compassion" project has come to an end, but at the same time, telling the facts to every country and every level of government and media should not be overlooked because the attitude of the government is very important to the future well being of the people.

"Study the Fa well, clarify the truth, sending forth righteous thoughts are three things that must be done well."

I feel that our responsibilities are still very heavy, and now is the time to let go of all attachments, ignore all unrighteous thoughts, and cherish this rare opportunity that only happens in tens of thousands of years. Master told us, "Lose no time and save them, hurry up and tell them." But our task is not yet over. Since the publication of Master's article "Hurry up and tell them," I became aware that time is very pressing, and that when we clarify the truth to one person, we may not be just saving one living being but also living beings in a huge heavenly body! The Clearwisdom editorial posted on September 7 said: "The urgent, foremost priority is to clarify the truth to the many Chinese people who have been shackled and deceived by lies."