(Clearwisdom.net) When I clarified the truth to politicians at the very beginning, I did just like what Master has said: You usually don't contact them, and only go to see them when you want something from them. Therefore, my work of clarifying the truth to politicians was of course quite superficial. Later, I heard that some U.S. practitioners learned how to play golf in order to make friends with politicians and to better clarify the truth to them. Then I started to think about how to establish a long term relationship with politicians so as to further clarify the truth to them.
In this process, I broke through many human mentalities. Having grown up in mainland China, I very much disliked the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) subject of Politics in schools. I wasn't interested in its political system and never really understood what a political bureau or people's congress really was about and things like that. Now, in order to clarify the truth to the Australian government, I need to know something about its political system, parties and policies and many other things. I was really reluctant to learn about those things in which I wasn't interested. So even though I had been in Australia for so many years, I was still not clear about the structure and functions of the House and Senate. The main reason was that I didn't want to know and even was lazy about finding out, and couldn't remember it, either.
I looked within and found that I was only considering my own likes and dislikes, but did not consider how to make efforts to clarify the truth to parliamentarians. This was a manifestation of my selfishness and lack of compassion. When I realized this, I started to think seriously about how to approach politicians and build up a long-term relationship with them. I thought that I should treat them like friends. Therefore, I send greeting cards and small presents to them around Christmas time to show my appreciation of their help and support. Once, I sent an email to a senator wishing her Happy Birthday, she quickly replied saying that she was surprised that I remembered her birthday. In late 2007, during the ACT election, I thought I should make use of this opportunity to clarify the truth, so I started to make appointments and invited those candidates to our truth-clarification parties. I also thought that I should go and help those supportive MLAs with their election campaigns as a friend. But then there was a problem. Which one should I help? They all belong to different political parties and I didn't want to give them the impression that Falun Gong practitioners were supporting a particular party.
Then I wondered how I should deal with this issue from the point of view of the Fa. I realized that the reason why I had this question was because I had the mentality that this was getting involved in politics. I remembered Master saying in his article "Further Remarks on Politics":
"If "getting political" can expose the persecution, if "getting political" can stop the persecution, if "getting political" can help clarify the facts, if "getting political" can save sentient beings--if "getting political" can do all of this good, then why not do so? The crux of the matter, it would seem, is that a cultivator's motive is to stop the persecution, and not to "get political" for the sake of gaining human political power."
These words opened up my mind and all of a sudden I understood the issue: I don't have politics on my mind in the first place; why do I think I am getting involved in politics?
So I made arrangements with other practitioners and went to help different MLAs and candidates. When asked by others why I supported this particular MLA, I told them he/she was my friend and he/she helped me with the Falun Gong issue, so I supported him/her. I also took the opportunity to clarify the truth to them. I truly felt that without the bondage of those notions, my mind was free so that wisdom would come along naturally.
Some candidates we had helped got elected and they thanked us for helping them. Now, whenever I want to make an appointment to meet with them, all of them make arrangements to give me an appointment within a short time. Once, I went to meet with a parliamentarian and asked for help. When I thanked him, he said, "You are welcome. I thank you for what you did for me." What I did was only stand at his election booth for a few hours, but he remembered this. During Christmas, I received greeting cards from several parliamentarians. This makes me feel that when we treat others with compassion, they are able to feel it.
Several months ago, Canberra practitioners started the project of the "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Arts Exhibition." A practitioner suggested that I apply to the ACT Government for holding the exhibition in the ACT Legislative Assembly building. I wasn't quite sure about that. Canberra and Beijing are sister cities, and besides, I myself, was originally from Beijing, so I have been using this relationship to clarify the truth to MLAs. But because of this sister city relationship, the ACT government has been keeping a distance from Falun Gong practitioners.
Yet I thought, I can't give up simply because of this reason. So I made an appointment with a supportive MLA. He told me that I should contact another MLA who was in charge of this issue. This MLA happened to be the one who came to our truth clarification party. Upon meeting with him, our application got approved smoothly. This made me realize that we should not have any notions in our mind no matter what we do, as the notions will create obstacles for us.
Several MLAs came to the first day of the exhibition. One of them opened the exhibition, giving a very supportive speech. The other MLA, whom I had helped during his election campaign, had gone overseas for a conference and could not make it to the opening ceremony. He emailed me a very supportive letter, and sent three staff members to attend the ceremony. On the last day of the exhibition, he came back from overseas and came to the exhibition room to look for me. When I showed him around and explained to him about the paintings, I saw tears in his eyes. Soon after he left, he came back with an assistant. He asked the assistant to take photos of me with him and said that he would email me the photos and that I could use them for any media reports. I felt so happy for this MLA, who was full of a sense of justice. He had chosen a great future for himself.
Although some MLAs did not come to attend the arts exhibition officially, they and their staff walked past the exhibition room every day and saw the paintings. Some came to tell us that those paintings were very powerful.
Through this art exhibition, I have come to realize that Master actually arranged everything well, and was just waiting for us to go ahead and do it. In the process of doing this, we were given the opportunities to let go of our attachments and notions, and in the meantime, Master arranged for those who had a predestined relationship with us to learn the truth from us. I now understand better what Master said in Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference in 2003:
"From my perspective, as your Master, I don't seek anything from Dafa disciples. Everything that they're doing today--be it validating the Fa, saving sentient beings, or studying the Fa and cultivating themselves--I can tell you that not one of these things is done for me. In the future, Dafa disciples will see that everything Dafa disciples did was for their own sake. What are saved are their own sentient beings, what they're consummating are their own paradises and sentient beings, and they're establishing mighty virtue for themselves--all these things are done for Dafa disciples' own sake. Not a single thing you've done is for Master, and not a single thing you've done is for anybody else."
I know that I will never be able to pay back what Master has given me, however I would still like to say: Thank you Master from the bottom of my heart!
