(Clearwisdom.net) Originally I was not planning on going to Manhattan. When my family, who are also practitioners, asked me if we would go, I thought we wouldn't be able to afford the trip. However, we eventually were able to work it out.
  Practitioner clarifying the truth to police |   Practitioner clarifying the truth to a passerby |
  Practitioners starting the activities at 6:30 a.m. |   Practitioner holding banner in the chilly wind |
Looking in My Heart and Studying the Falun Dafa Books Carefully
I started distributing flyers on the first day I got to New York. In order to distribute more flyers, I kept thinking of showing the compassion of a practitioner, continuously sending forth righteous thought and telling people, "Please read our story."
When I got cold looks from New Yorkers, I blamed myself for not having a righteous field. If I cultivate myself very well, I should have a very peaceful field around me and more people will want to take the flyers.
Ever since I got to New York, I started studying the Falun Dafa books more carefully and became more diligent in doing the exercises. I heard some fellow practitioners say that cultivation is quicker in Manhattan. I didn't agree because I thought there shouldn't be anything like intensive cultivation. I finally understood what they meant.
Sometimes my attachment to this material world would lead me to pay attention to New Yorkers' attire, but I immediately reminded myself that I came to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. Sometimes when I got out of bed, I felt unwilling to go out to distribute flyers and being questioned by police. But as soon as I got on the street, my reluctance would completely disappear and I would be surprised that I even had such a thought.
Rationality
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Standing on the street, I thought, "What do New Yorkers think of us? Why are we here in the subway? Will they be tired of us if they see us everyday? Will they think our exposure of the persecution makes China lose face?"
I finally straightened out my thinking. We are thinking of everybody's future. Our smiles and compassion are a righteous force. In chilly mornings when people hurry on their way to work with things on their minds, our smiles will bring them warmth like meeting old friends. The persecution of Falun Gong has hurt a countless number of families.
Sincerity
I greeted everyone with my most sincere smile and righteous look, no matter if they took flyers or not. When there was nobody around, I read "Falun Gong Today" to myself, just to practice my English. Later, I started reading it to the crowd, thinking some people may hear some of the truth even though they were passing by in a hurry. Some people gave us a thumbs-up. Some smiled at us. Some copied our exercise movements. Some took pictures of us.
My Regret
One day, a few fellow practitioners and I were distributing flyers in the subway when a police officer told us that we were not allowed to distribute any commercial materials there. I told him it was about human rights. The officer still wouldn't allow us to distribute anything without permission from the subway office.
At another place, a woman wouldn't let us distribute flyers because some people threw away the flyers, which increased her workload. We told her about the persecution of Falun Gong in China and gave her a bookmark. She accepted it and let us continue with the distribution.
On the next day, some other practitioners also had some obstructions. I didn't quite understand what the problem was. We had communicated with the related departments and sent forth righteous thoughts. Why did problems keep coming up?
I eventually found the answer:
"Everything that Dafa disciples are doing today is for the sake of saving people. Otherwise what are you doing it for? Clarifying the truth in an upright and open manner are the very things Dafa disciples should do. I'm also telling you that all beings in today's world came for the sake of the Fa. If you want a being to clearly understand this point, you should go and clarify the truth to him. It is a master key, the key that can unlock that thing all beings have had sealed off for a long time and been awaiting for ages." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference")
Even though we told the police that we were distributing materials about human rights and we had permission from the responsible state office, we didn't tell them the facts about Falun Gong. I hope they will have a chance to hear it from other practitioners.
