I had the chance during Jiang's visit in October to participate in the activities of clearing away the evil in other dimensions that influence people to do bad things. Here is my report about the activities of our small group.
We departed from Montreal in individual cars and joined fellow practitioners in Toronto in two full buses. During the first day in Chicago, October 21st, at an open public place in the downtown area, we attended the press conference announcing that Jiang was being sued in the US for genocide, torture and for depriving people of their freedoms of conscience and belief. Then we took part in a long parade to the Chinese Consulate. This and the following days were for me a memorable battle between good and evil.
Facing the evil in Chicago
On Tuesday the 22nd until the morning of the 23rd, many hundreds of practitioners were gathered in a park in front of the hotel where Jiang would stay in Chicago. Only the width of a small street separated us from the head of the evil. Besides us, there were other groups of protestors and Jiang's "welcoming group" who taunted each other with much noise and rancour. Dafa disciples were notable for their large numbers, discipline, determination and peacefulness. The Chicago police showed their support by allowing us to stay "as long as we wished, 24/24 hours" in the park (which usually was closed at 11:00 p.m.). Predictably, the weather during these days was unstable, gloomy and blustery. In the cold and rainy weather, we sent righteous thoughts, did Dafa exercises and studied the Fa all day long.
Late in the evening, we were informed by a volunteer coordinator that we had the choice between staying overnight in the park or going to a nearby hotel for a rest. Many of us decided to remain in the park. The night was dark, cold and wet. In the beginning, I didn't know what to do, so I tried to make myself as comfortable as possible, while sending righteous thoughts, studying the Fa and doing the exercises. After midnight, I took a walk to check out the overall situation. Maybe two hundred practitioners were still there, gathered in three groups. The first group, composed of four or five rows of practitioners, sat on their individual cushions on the pavement . The second group was settled a few steps behind, inside the park. The third group was further behind, with practitioners coming back and forth doing different things. It was impressive and moving to see so many people in their yellow clothes, sitting or standing, acting in harmony, with external peacefulness and internal determination to clear away all of the evil.
The night was already advanced when I happened to take a vacant place in the first group. As soon as I closed my eyes to send forth righteous thoughts with other practitioners, I saw a range of evils standing maliciously in front of us. The pressure was very intense, almost more than I could bear. I understood at this point just how very serious this was. When I joined the second group, the battle between good and evil became absolutely obvious to me. Our fellow practitioners had already been battling for a long time. I decided to take my position there to shoulder some of the responsibility. We sent righteous thoughts continuously for fifteen minutes each time, with time for one short standing exercise in between. The exercise was badly needed, for after each period of sending righteous thoughts I was completely exhausted. I could hardly move my arms, but I did it anyway, and then I felt the necessary energy return to do the next sending forth righteous thoughts.
I would like to describe my feelings in this battle with the evil that night. Previously I didn't know exactly how to send forth righteous thoughts consciously and with full control of myself. But that night, I knew how to do it naturally. The evil pressure on our group was very intense, so intense that we had difficulty maintaining our concentration. Many practitioners in the third group had already fallen asleep. To sustain my awareness while sending righteous thoughts, I used the lotus hand gesture and it seemed effective. Facing true danger, we became naturally alert and we battled with our whole body, mind and spirit altogether. My entire mind and body were focused as never before. The force of my thought while sending the word 'Mie' burst out. All was said internally with all my force of mind and in any language that came to my mind. The tense situation lasted probably many hours. It went on like this until the next morning.
Suddenly at about 5 a.m. a harsh wind came up and blew through our hanging banners. We were chilled to the bone, but none of us left our positions. The sending forth righteous thoughts was more determined and stronger than ever-- we knew this was a decisive moment. After a long while the wind died down as suddenly as it had come, but was soon followed by continuous rain until late in the morning.
Endurance at Houston moves people's hearts
After Jiang had left his hotel about 10AM, our Montreal and Toronto group continued our odyssey. Upon arriving at Houston, we left our luggage in the buses, got off and took up our positions at a highway intersection where it was thought Jiang would pass by on his way to his hotel. We held up colorful banners saying, "Falun Dafa is good," "Truth Compassion Tolerance," "Jiang stop the persecution of Falun Gong." Numerous western fellow practitioners joined wholeheartedly in the peaceful demonstration, giving it a universal look. After a while, a strange rain started to fall, which soon became a downpour. We thought Jiang might be arriving. As one body, everyone stayed at his or her position. Some friends provided us with plastic bags to cover half of our bodies, but no one seemed to mind being wet. Innumerable cars and passers-by could not miss the sight that moved to tears the Gods and Buddhas watching from above. My hot tears mixed with the cold raindrops as I watched this group, who had the courage to stand up for the truth and for the rights of their fellow practitioners in Mainland China. The pouring rain lasted several hours. When we finished, we were directed to our hotel to dry our clothes and continue sending righteous thoughts. The policeman who helped us cross the highway showed an obvious sympathy towards us with his gestures. Then a rainbow appeared above the area.
That night, we piled into two hotel rooms, one for men, and one for women. Two other rooms were rented especially for sending righteous thoughts and studying the Fa. From our hotel, we could see Jiang's hotel nearby and a few Chinese delegation buses. That night, hardly anyone was able to sleep. The vast majority of us were awake and we sent forth righteous thoughts continuously inside the hotel rooms or outside. At dawn the next morning, I looked out of the window and saw a group of practitioners facing Jiang's hotel and sending forth righteous thoughts. They must have been there all night long!
The scene at Ellington Field Airport (Houston)
At about 2:00 p.m., our group of practitioners was taken to an open countryside with our banners and yellow shirts. The coordinator explained to us: "Jiang might take this highway to go to the airport, or he might take another way--in either case his plane will pass over our heads in the sky." In one direction you could see an immense dark cloud. This was Mexico, where Jiang would attend the APEC conference.
We remained calm, continued to send forth righteous thoughts and studied Master's new article "Righteous Thoughts." After a while, another immense dark cloud appeared in a different corner of the sky. The two rapidly joined each other over our heads and rain began to fall in big drops. We were informed that a hurricane might be coming our way and the bus would come to pick us up in an hour. There were only a few cars around, certainly not enough for all the people. Among us, there was one lady in a wheelchair and a baby in his father's arms. The danger was imminent. We were invited to sit in a circle, and we continued sending righteous thoughts and reading Master's new article. I covered my travel bag with a small plastic bag because inside were all of my Dafa books, and then I gently closed my eyes and began to send forth righteous thoughts. For an hour or more, we were tremendously firm in our sending righteous thoughts. At about 6:30, we were told that the bus was coming in a few minutes and we would leave this place. No one showed any fear. Dafa disciples were truly admirable in these circumstances. When we were in the bus, the rain continued but we could feel that the test was over.
Evil interference
During this trip, which lasted nearly one week, no one thought of sleeping or eating well. We were united in one thought: sending righteous thoughts in close proximity to clear away the evil in other dimensions. The strength of Dafa disciples' determination might be tremendous in other dimensions. The only way the evil could find to break this force was to interfere with us, and it tried very hard to do so. First of all, everyone felt sleepy and wanted to doze off during the sending righteous thoughts or the Fa study. But as soon as we stopped, we became clear-headed again. Another form of interference: From small things such as an innocent gesture from someone, a word spoken out inadvertently, or a simple facial expression--anything could easily upset us. False news could also disrupt our focus and generate discussions with human notions. If we could not control ourselves and remain focused, we were easily "moved" by various sentimental notions. As Master said in "Also in A Few Words", "However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is." The strength of our righteous thoughts resides in their purity and our unity. That was exactly where the evil could interfere to weaken our righteous force.
After coming back home, for a few days, I had some difficulty doing my daily exercises, but I did them anyway. My body was a little bit weaker than before, but my mind and determination were clear and strong, even stronger than before. I feel as if I made a step forward in my cultivation and I know that from now on I will cultivate myself more clear-headedly and steadfastly.
Above are my personal experiences and understandings regarding this trip. Please point out anything inappropriate.
November 3rd, 2002
Category: Journeys of Cultivation
