(Clearwisdom.net)
Why do we send lotus flowers to the neighbors of the Chinese Consulate? Some people from the Chinese Consulate are very active in smearing Falun Dafa. As a result, the people in the neighborhood of the consulate are more seriously poisoned by the lies and are therefore more urgently waiting for our salvation. In addition, we have frequently been in front of the consulate over the past four years, which has more or less brought some inconvenience to the neighborhood. Therefore, we decided to do something for the neighbors of the consulate. Many elderly practitioners were personally involved in making the paper lotus flowers. Through making and unfolding the flowers for an extended time, however, some practitioners' fingers hurt so much that they could not even button their clothes. Never before have I realized that the lotus flowers are so beautiful. In fact, they shine like gold. In addition to the flowers, a western practitioner wrote a beautiful letter to thank these neighbors for their support and to apologize for any inconvenience that we might have brought to them.
We wanted to bring the goodness of Dafa to these neighbors. As a fellow practitioner's poem reads, "Hundreds of lotus flowers drop into thousands of homes, bringing them goodness and blessings. Cheerfully welcome the future villages and communities, that are illuminated with Buddha light." During the flower delivery, we found that the neighbors were all very supportive of us. They were all very happy to see the lotus flowers. Some were even surprised because nowadays very few people would do anything like this. While we were apologizing to them for any inconvenience we might have brought to them, they all indicated that our activities did not bother them. The doorman of an apartment building suggested putting the flowers and letters at the doorway of each unit. The manager of a small private nursery home invited us to go in to introduce Dafa to the senior citizens there. Six senior citizens happened to be there and listened to our introduction. One of them asked a lot of questions and expressed his strong interest in reading the Falun Dafa books.
Nevertheless, the Chinese Consulate is a source of wicked thoughts and in other dimensions it is where the evil is. At this very special place, we did encounter some interference. In the nursery home right across from the Chinese Consulate, the Chinese custodian on duty refused to accept the flowers, despite the fact that everyone else accepted them. Another westerner asked many questions that apparently came from the false propaganda of the Chinese Consulate and their media; such as why don't Dafa practitioners take any medicines and why do they kill people. My personal understanding is that these negative reactions are caused by the evil beings in other dimensions that feared that we would bring good fortune and the message of Dafa to everyone. One practitioner commented, "It seems that the further away from the Chinese Consulate, the smaller the evil elements."
During my cultivation practice, I have rarely had any experience of fear. I was not afraid when clarifying the truth to police officers and congresspersons. However, when I was delivering flowers and knocking at the doors in one apartment building that was closest to the consulate, the sense of fear frequently occupied my mind. In fact, I was extremely nervous and felt like I was distributing Dafa truth-clarification literature in China. I started to send forth righteous thoughts. When I went downstairs, I felt more relaxed. Later, I shared my experience with another fellow practitioner. Her comments were very enlightening. She said, "Master taught us, 'When disciples' righteous thoughts are strong, Teacher's mighty power can help them do everything' (Provisional translation of 'The Kindness of Master and Disciples' from Hongyin II, a collection of Teacher's poems). We just need to do it. We cannot be relaxed when delivering our messages." We sent righteous thoughts together, then returned to the building and put a thank-you letter and a lotus flower at the door of each apartment whose tenants were not at home.
I believe that distributing lotus flowers in the neighborhood of the Chinese consulate exhibits truly righteous thoughts and righteous actions. We cannot deal with it with human attachments. Although it seems simple, delivering the flowers is a good test for the practitioners because of the presence of the evil elements. It is very significant to deliver flowers in that area. The lotus flowers that are the outcome of practitioners' righteous thoughts can clear away the evil beings in other dimensions. On the way home, another practitioner shared her experience with me. She said, "The lotus flowers were the result of many hands and many sacrifices. The purer our hearts are, the more powerful the strength of saving sentient beings." She explained to me that her legs had been very painful the week before, but on this day she didn't have any problem even when climbing the stairs of a ten-story building.
I described to her how my heart was jumping because of my fear. She said that delivering lotus flowers is also a process of enlightening to the Fa. "Our flowers are so pretty and our letters so sincere. What we brought to them are the best wishes from Dafa disciples. Who would refuse that?" I strongly believe that anybody who reads that letter will feel the sincere hearts of Dafa practitioners, which will in turn inspire one's compassionate heart.
When doing any Dafa work, we should first ask ourselves, "Am I using my heart to do it? Is my heart pure enough?"