Handing Out Bookmarks

Recently my family and I spent several days at a city which is a popular vacation spot. Before I went, I packed plenty of bookmarks and truth clarification materials to give away while I was there. In the morning I would put a new supply of bookmarks in my purse before I left our rooms, making sure they were easy to get to when I had to grab one in a hurry. There were more and different opportunities to distribute bookmarks and talk to people than I would find at home. I gave bookmarks to the people who were handing out advertising flyers to people passing by on the sidewalks, and because they were paid to talk to people, it was easy to take a couple of minutes to explain about Dafa and the persecution. They were invariably enthusiastic about Dafa and said they would visit the website for sure. Salespeople were often quite willing to spend time in conversation if there were few customers, and they were always interested in hearing about Dafa and were always amazed and disgusted with the persecution in China. Whenever we ate in a restaurant, I included a bookmark when paying for the meal. Entertainers greeting audience members after performances, rental car employees, snack bar employees, luggage handlers, building maintenance and service employees all smiled widely and thanked me for their bookmarks. A couple of times I carried a different purse and forgot to take bookmarks, and each time I deeply regretted the opportunities missed.

Sometimes I was able to briefly tell a person about Dafa, that kind and innocent practitioners were cruelly persecuted in China, and write 'falundafa.org' on a slip of paper. But I know from peoples' remarks that they treasure the bookmarks, and that little slips of paper are easily lost. So I became very diligent about making sure that I was carrying bookmarks and some small business cards printed with Dafa information in case I ran out of bookmarks. Family members were surprised at the enthusiasm displayed by the people who took bookmarks, and at the profuse expressions of gratitude, because they do not understand that I was not giving bookmarks alone.

From the looks of recognition and expectation in the eyes of so many of those people, I knew that they had come to our predestined meeting to receive their "ticket" to the new universe, to receive their understanding that Dafa is good, to learn about the wickedness of the CCP, and to receive the information on how to begin the practice in some cases. Some of those people came from foreign countries - Argentina, Italy, Philippines, Thailand, Mexico, and others - to get that bookmark! "Gather up and rescue the beings that you are to save! Have righteous thoughts and righteous actions, dissolve all hindrances, and spread the facts widely." "To the European Fa Conference in Stockholm" This is what I understand "saving sentient beings" is about: rescuing them so that they can enter the new universe and offering them salvation. I just let them know that Dafa is good and that the persecution is evil and cruel. It takes so little effort with those who have not been exposed to the relentless CCP propaganda.

I think that so often we make truth clarification difficult and complicated and time consuming, and it does not always need to be so. Sometimes something as simple as a bookmark is most effective, and leaves people with something attractive and useful that they will keep. Such a small thing can prevent a person from being weeded out and allow them to go into the new future.

Throughout the days when I was away from home, I gained a deeper and more urgent understanding of how important it is to view the nameless people on the streets and in the stores as the beings that Teacher came to save, and how important it is for me to do my small part. It has taken a long time for me to begin to genuinely understand that they all came here because of Dafa and that Dafa disciples have an essential role. I have not always done well in this respect.

I think that wherever we are, in whatever situation, we can somehow let the people around us know what they do not already know. If you do not have Dafa bookmarks, it is easy to print up a pretty business card with a short message about Dafa and the web address of falundafa.org to carry with you. You can buy blank business cards at office supply stores. People are so delighted to get something about Dafa, their knowing side has been waiting for this long-awaited moment, and I think Teacher is happy about it too.

These are my understandings and experiences. I hope that my experiences are of benefit, and that my understandings are correctly based on the Fa.