(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioners from Sydney, Australia, started to clarify the truth to Chinese people by telephone after the persecution began in 1999. Initially, they called the responsible organizations for persecuting Chinese Falun Gong practitioners after they read the persecution facts from Minghui website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net). Several practitioners were involved in coordinating the telephone calling procedures. However, because of the needs of media work, the coordinators gradually left the group and the telephone group remained small. In August 2007, a practitioner raised a question for Master at the “Fa Teaching Given to the Australian Practitioners” about calling China.
After coming back from New York, this practitioner (the main coordinator of the telephone group) started to organize group phone call activities. Most of the members of the telephone group started at this time. Here, I would like to share my experiences about making calls to China to save sentient beings. Please kindly point out if anything is improper.
Solid Fa study is a must to achieve good results
After the new telephone group was formed in 2007, most of the practitioners realized that solid Fa study was imperative to achieve good results. We have maintained the weekly group Fa study since that time. We share our experiences during the Fa study and make group calls to complete our prehistoric missions. Many touching stories are shared at group study.
After attending a Falun Dafa activity, an older practitioner felt very hungry and thirsty. She entered a bakery to buy something to eat. When she saw that everything was priced at more than a dollar, she decided not to have anything. She said, “I was really unwilling to spend any extra money on food that I could be spending on making calls.” I was deeply touched when I heard her words. On another occasion, all the numbers that I provided her with were for cell phones, and it was three times more expensive to call cell phones with telephone cards than a landline. She called me and asked for landline numbers but I told her that all the landline numbers were taken and nothing was available at that moment. After a few days, she mentioned in our Fa study, “I realized that I was still attached to money. I felt that I should expose myself because if I want to save people, I should not be attached to money. I called those cell phone numbers that evening and had 11 people resign from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or it's affiliated organizations. I realized that Master was encouraging me.”
Another practitioner accidentally disclosed a similar sacrifice. She used almost all her money to make phone calls and when she handed out flyers around a theater, she did not have any money to buy food. Another practitioner asked her if she was hungry. She answered, “No.” However, a groaning sound from her stomach revealed otherwise. After hearing this story, our eyes filled with tears. We knew that this particular practitioner had been making calls since the persecution began. She has kept making calls to save sentient beings for almost ten years.
The members of our telephone group were all elevated as a whole body in such an environment. We all live long distances apart and some practitioners drive two to three hours to attend a group Fa study, and it's common for them to arrive home after 1:00 a.m. However, we all understood that this was our cultivation path in the Fa rectification period. Whenever interference to a practitioner's health occurred, a state of slackness surfaced, or a conflict occurred, we would all look inward based on the Fa, strengthen our righteous thoughts, and be determined in saving sentient beings. By doing this, our group Fa study was maintained for three years until we all joined the Global RTC Platform.
Sense of urgency is necessary to save sentient beings
Teacher said in “Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital,” July 22, 2006,
“People with predestined relationships and those who can be saved can be made to--made to by Master's Law Bodies, righteous gods, or the immense field that Dafa has formed in the world--appear right before you in any of a range of settings, providing them with a chance to learn the truth. But you have to carry it out, and it doesn't work if you're not out there doing things.”
We realized the urgency of saving people. We have to use every second efficiently in the limited time left to save more sentient beings.
An older practitioner kept making calls for four to five hours a day. She always brought her notebook computer with her when she was taking care of her grandchild. She let her grandchild play in the bedroom which allowed her to make calls in the living room. Once, her internet service was out of order, which was going to take several days to get fixed. She could not wait and brought her notebook to her daughter's home. Nothing could stop her from saving sentient beings. Her life is really simple. However, she uses three computers to clarify the truth so that if anything goes wrong with one or two computers it does not affect her truth-clarification work. She is more than 70 years old and was not educated. However, her words are clear, convincing, compassionate and easy to accept. All of us learned a lot from her sharing. For example, she often said, “You don't have to pay, lend a hand, or join any organization. I just wish you to be safe. Why not do it? Nowadays, a lot of people try to take advantage of you. Who else would just wish you to be safe? We are both Chinese people. Chinese people should help Chinese people and I am really trying to help you! After you quit the CCP or it's affiliated organizations, you will be safe.” These simple words touched the hearts of many Chinese people.
Another older practitioner clarifies the truth at a tourist attraction during the day and makes phone calls at night. Because her righteous thoughts are strong and her words are to the point, most people just quietly listen to her. Sometimes, some people argue, “You are getting involved in politics!” She would reply immediately, “I don't have time to get involved in politics. Right now, all I want to do is save your life. Therefore, resigning from the CCP is the most important thing for you. Why do I call you at all? I worry about you, so please quit the CCP right away!” I asked her while driving to the location for Fa study, “What do you want to do after the Fa rectification period ends?” She said, “Sleep for two days.” At that moment, I felt her sense of urgency to save sentient beings.
Letting go of ourselves and coordinating as one body
“As you realize, with the many projects that Dafa disciples have initiated in order to counteract the persecution, clarify the truth, and save sentient beings, what is most important is that Dafa disciples cooperate together well, and that only when people work together well will things go well.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa”)
Practitioners in Sydney sometimes complained about the difficulties of coordination work. Such a thing has never happened in the telephone group. All members of the telephone group are able to let go of themselves and coordinate as one body. We always put the work to save sentient beings and validate Dafa as the first priority. A young practitioner was in charge of a radio project and he (or she) has never stopped making truth-clarification calls. Whenever the announcements needed to be updated, he (or she) never complained and always got them ready on time, so that all the members of the telephone group could catch up with the progress of the Global RTC Platform in the Fa rectification period.
The local Falun Dafa Association strongly supports the telephone team and often gives team members the chance to share their experiences during Fa study. Sometimes, our team members, including myself, do not want to say too much in front of many practitioners, since we are afraid of making mistakes, being misunderstood by others, or losing face. Later, we learned from Teacher's article, “To the France Fa Conference,”
“When this is the case, do things according to the centralized planning of the Dafa Association and, regardless of what your personal opinion is, set aside your attachments and cooperate. I hope that every Dafa disciple can recognize that clarifying the truth is what really matters.”
We realized that clarifying the truth should not be limited to everyday people. We should share our experiences in all kinds of situations so that more practitioners can hear it and all of us can move forward as a whole body.
Coordinate as a whole body and balance the many projects
The Sydney telephone team has manned the Global RTC Platform since July 2010 and came on duty in October. At that time, we were also promoting Shen Yun performances in Sydney. For the previous five years, I had been in charge of coordination work for promoting Shen Yun. I asked other coordinators of the telephone team to take care of my responsibilities so that I could have more time to help promote Shen Yun. Shen Yun performances this year had many more shows and the number of tickets that needed to be sold totaled all of the previous years combined. Therefore, my workload increased tremendously. The coordinator of the Global RTC Platform kept encouraging and helping us. When I saw that she kept staying on the platform to save sentient beings with all her heart, I gave up the idea of asking her to find someone to replace me. Right before the Shen Yun performances were to begin, most of the practitioners were working on ticket sales, and older practitioners were continuously sending forth righteous thoughts, such that less and less practitioners could make calls. I was suddenly told to give a demonstration of telephone calls on the platform, as another practitioner could not make it. Normally, I would not be nervous. However, I had stopped doing this work for several months. I felt that my voice was shivering when I spoke. So I asked Master to help me.
When I made the call, all I cared about was to save the person on the other end of the telephone and demonstrate the call well for the practitioners who wanted to learn. As a result, the person resigned right away and hung up the phone even before I finished clarifying the truth about Falun Gong. Fellow practitioners suggested that I call the person back. However, I dialed a wrong number and talked to a different person. I started over and the person also resigned from CCP. At that moment, I felt the mercy of Teacher and tears filled my eyes. Teacher was encouraging me, since he saw my heart to save people. He arranged people with a predestined relationship to listen to my words and be saved. In Teacher's boundless grace, I felt that I was the most fortunate life in the universe. In the past, I would reject the chance to make the calls on the platform. However, Teacher saw my xinxing had gradually improved and arranged this chance for me. As a result, I understood the deeper meaning of “The cultivation is up to you, gong is up to the master.”(Zhuan Falun, 2003 Translation Version)
I really appreciated the chance to improve myself that the absent practitioner had given me. I also thanked the coordinator and the fellow practitioners on the platform for providing such a good sharing environment for me to give up my human notions, to cooperate with other practitioners, and to balance all the projects that I was working on. It's really beneficial to attend the Global RTC Platform. I wish more and more practitioners could join it.
Currently, we are introducing this platform to all practitioners in Sydney. Many practitioners felt that they learned a lot from it. Some started to make calls, some picked up the telephone again. This platform provides practitioners in the telephone team the opportunity to share their experiences. I wish more and more practitioners outside of China could pick up their telephone, form a whole body, and save more sentient beings. In this way, we could fulfill our prehistoric vows and show our appreciation to our merciful Teacher.
Current problems
Because of some technical difficulties, many practitioners have still not joined the telephone team. I sometimes did not provide instant technical support to some older practitioners so that precious time and money to save sentient beings was wasted. Because I have not completely let go of the attachment to self, a limited number of Sydney practitioners are currently in the telephone group.
For example, one of our team members suggested in 2009 that we should closely work with the coordinators of the local group practices or Fa studies, so that they could promote telephone calling during their activities. The group practice and Fa study are the forms that Teacher has provided us to follow and we should utilize these formats. Therefore, we always sent two practitioners from the telephone group to attend each local group activity. They brought notes and telephone numbers and demonstrated how to make the telephone calls. With help from Master, telephone teams were formed in all the areas that we visited. However, we did not keep up with our work, and gradually some practitioners stopped.
After we joined the Global RTC Platform, we saw our shortcomings compared to North American, Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese practitioners. While I was writing this article, the coordinator of the Global RTC Platform gave me a call. We discussed the problem that almost no practitioner from the Sydney telephone group has made phone calls to rescue fellow practitioners in China. From now on, the Sydney telephone group will improve itself by studying the Fa and searching within to catch up with the pace of the Global RTC Platform.