(Minghui.org) Greetings Master! Greetings Fellow Practitioners!
I would like to share my experiences in clarifying the truth face-to-face to Chinese people. As this is my current personal understanding, please feel free to point out anything improper.
Letting Go of Worry and Comfort
In “Fa Teaching at the 2013 Western U.S. Fa Conference” Master had emphasized the importance of clarifying the truth to tourists from mainland China. So, after coming back from the Fahui I went to the tourist spots several times, but unfortunately did not continue.
When Master reiterated the importance of the tourist spots during the New York Fa conference in May, it had deeply affected me; I wanted to go and clarify the truth a year ago, but I hadn't persisted.
I asked myself: Other practitioners work tourist spots every day, rain or shine. What was stopping me? To the left of my work building is the City Hall Square, while to the right stands the famous Eaton Center; to fellow practitioners, this would be an exceptionally convenient location for truth-clarification.
And to think that I had wasted almost a year here! Looking back, there were many times when I thought of going to speak to people about Falun Dafa during my lunch break, only to be delayed by work or my colleague suddenly asking for help around the office. When I finally managed to look past all this interference within me, I discovered that it was my attachments of worry and comfort that were causing the problem.
If I go to City Hall at my lunch hour, I'm likely to run into colleagues from the same building. Most of them are lawyers or judges that I've got good relations with, and I've also clarified the truth to many of them.
But what if the Chinese tourists react negatively to me when I try to talk to them about Falun Dafa? And what if my colleagues saw me? I was afraid that my colleagues who saw me might misunderstand me, thus destroying the good image that I currently have with them. But when I dug out my attachments of worry, fear, and fame, I was shocked to find that all this time, I had not been treating saving sentient beings as a priority.
I also have the attachment of pursuing comfort. For quite some time, whenever I met Chinese people at work, most of them respect me and are willing to listen to the truth. They are ready to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) once I tell them the facts about Falun Dafa and the persecution.
As a result, I have gotten used to it and have grown comfortable with the relatively developed way that I helped people to understand Dafa at work. But it is in fact the attachment of pursuing comfort.
After I identified all these attachments, I felt light-hearted. When I changed my notions and purified my thoughts, I did not meet any more Chinese tourists with bad attitudes at this tourist spot. And as for the concern that my colleagues might misunderstand me, it was simply just a human notion that held me back.
Persistently going and clarifying the truth at tourist spots was no longer so difficult after I let go of my notions and eliminated my attachments, and I could experience Master’s compassionate arrangements.
One day during lunch, I met a Chinese man sitting on a bench. I found out that he just came to Toronto from China for a conference at a nearby hotel. We started to have a friendly chat.
I told him that my understanding of loving China is to love the Chinese people – for example, when Chinese clients come to court, I do my best to help them. I told him that loving China absolutely does not mean loving the totalitarian CCP.
He agreed with what I said, and he agreed to quit all CCP organizations. I continued to clarify the truth of the staged self-immolation, to which he listened attentively and nodded with understanding. I told him “Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance is good,” which he readily accepted.
Finally, I asked him whether he had read the book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. He said not yet, but he had wanted to get a copy. I told him that I would go to my office and get one for him. He waited until I gave him the book, and said he would make sure to read it carefully.
Once at a shopping center, I saw an elderly Chinese couple who were looking around. I approached them and asked if there was anything I could do for them. They said they came from Tianjin to visit their son, and came to this shopping center in their free time.
When they learned that I worked close by at a courthouse, they asked whether they could go with me to visit the court since they had nothing else to do. We then went together.
They agreed to quit the CCP organizations upon learning the facts of the persecution in China. We then audited a trial together. When we stepped out of the courtroom, the husband asked me: “ Did gods tell you to find us?” I thought they believed in gods, so I asked them: “So do you believe in any gods?”
He answered: “No, we don't believe in gods or go to church, but it feels almost magical how we ran into you today. What are the odds that we'd find someone so kind? We even got a free tour of the courthouse!”
I said: “I believe in predestined relationships, so this might just as well be what was predestined for us.” I asked them to remember the nine words, and so the wife emphatically repeated them with me several times:“Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance is good!”
My workplace is a historic building of over one hundred years old. After realizing the importance of clarifying the truth to the Chinese tourists, I started to pay more attention to people inside and had the opportunity to help people understand Falun Dafa and the persecution to Chinese tourists without stepping out of my building.
Once I met four Chinese people in the hallway. One of them was carrying a big camera. I went and started a conversation with him. He told me that he was a local resident, and that his companions are relatives of his who had just come here for a summer vacation from Inner Mongolia.
When I talked about the importance of quitting the CCP, he told me that when he went to Ottawa, a Falun Dafa practitioner there had already helped him quit the CCP.
I continued by saying: “you've made a very good decision to quit, but how about your relatives? They came from mainland China to visit, so this is a very precious opportunity for them to make their own decision.” As a result, all his three relatives clearly stated that they also wanted to quit the communist organizations.
The local resident told me that he was aware of the truth behind the staged self-immolation, and he would definitely tell more of his family and friends about what really happened.
This kind of experience, I believe, is supposed to remind me of the importance of helping people understand the truth to the local Chinese. After all, they too can play an important role in spreading the word to Chinese tourists.
The Power of Truth
Every weekend, I also go to the airport to reach out to Chinese tourists. Usually within a few seconds after we arrive, we are able to find a starting point to initiate friendly conversations with them. Sometimes we help the tourists find their way, sometimes we help them push their luggage carts, but we help them sincerely in a natural way. As a result, many Chinese agreed to quit the CCP and thanked us from the bottom of their hearts. Some of them, after making the decision, also passed the facts to their family members.
I once saw a mother and daughter followed by the rest of their family. I was just thinking about how to approach them when I got a chance to talk to the daughter alone. She said that her mother was going back to Beijing after her visit, and that she was here to see her off.
The daughter agreed to quit the CCP after I helped her understand the truth. Since her mother was returning to China, I tried several times to talk to her mother, but she was always surrounded by other family members. It was difficult to start a conversation like that, so I waited.
The daughter soon stood up to help her mother go through the security check. I chatted with them and found out that her mother was a CCP member. I asked her to quit the CCP and had prepared an alias for her. Her answer was simple. “Sure,” she said.
Her other family members kept asking her daughter who I was, to which her response was to ask them to keep quiet so as to not interrupt our conversation. I told the mother that reciting the phrases of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance is good” and “Falun Dafa is good” would benefit her later on.
She gave another straightforward answer: “You bet.” All this happened just within one minute before she entered the security gate. After passing the gate, she looked back and waved to me: “Thank you! Bye-bye!”
Upgrading Xinxing
In clarifying the truth to Chinese people, I came across some people who were willing to quit, as well as some who weren't. Those who didn't want to quit often cursed me or gave me dirty looks.
I believe this experience is very similar to “wandering around” in cultivation - no matter what situation I come across, I ask myself to pay attention to upgrading my xinxing and nothing else.
When they agree to quit, I am very clear-minded: “It is achieved because of Master’s compassion and the mighty virtue of Dafa.” When I came across people who did not indicate explicitly the wish to quit, I would always make it clear to them that quitting the CCP is a very important decision; it is not for adding numbers.
The over 170 million Chinese who made their decision to quit did it voluntarily. If people have not made a clear decision to quit, I cannot help them for now. They can wait until they make up their minds. Then, if they want, they can go to the Epoch Times website themselves to quit.
No matter how people respond, I keep an undisturbed heart and a compassionate and peaceful state of mind. Once a fellow practitioner asked me to talk to a Chinese man who looked quite menacing. I did not think much of it and walked up to him. I sat next to him and nodded to him in a friendly manner, and asked whether he had heard about quitting the CCP for a better future.
He remained silent. I continued by saying why quitting the CCP is important. As I was talking, he suddenly raised his fist at me and yelled that if I continued, he would call the police.
Usually when facing this situation, I would respond by saying that this is Canada, where Falun Dafa practitioners are protected by police, and that this isn't mainland China. This was a somewhat confrontational response.
But on that day, my heart was not moved. I understood very clearly that the vicious evil specter elements in other dimensions were afraid of my words, which was why he reacted like that.
Unmoved by his bad attitude, I talked to him with compassion: “If you do not want to talk about this topic, we can just stop. You don’t need to get so mad. It isn't good for you.”
After finishing those words, I did not leave. Instead, I sat there quietly, sending forth righteous thoughts. I was worried about his future and begged for Master to give him another chance. I felt my mind and body fully enveloped with powerful energy.
Although he did not quit in the end, this experience reminded me of how “the Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities”. (Zhuan Falun)
Using Every Chance to Clarify the Truth
The above experience made me cherish every single Chinese person that I meet. I asked myself: “Why do I have to limit myself to tourist destinations? Why don't I do more? Why don’t I cherish the opportunity to clarify the truth? Why don't I cherish every minute and second and talk to people whenever I can?”
When I have the sense of urgency of awakening sentient beings in my mind, our compassionate Master provides me opportunities. No matter if it's at the hairdressers, the bakery, a restaurant, my home, or in the community, I always come across Chinese people.
Once at a Chinese grocery store, a man who just came from China to visit his son came up to me and asked: “Which kind of cucumbers do you think taste better?” Or another time, seeing a little toddler walking towards me, I held out my hand to keep him from falling. Naturally I ended up talking to his grandma behind him, who told me she came from China just a few days ago.
As long as I had a very natural way to start our conversation, I always succeeded in persuading them to quit the CCP. Waiting for the train, walking across the street, answering a car dealer on the phone – all of these may be turned into natural ways to help people understand the truth.
Even an accidental look at a stranger can sometimes become a great opportunity to talk to people in an upright and righteous manner. It is similar to how doing the exercises every morning, sending forth righteous thoughts, and studying the Fa have become an indispensable part of my life, clarifying the truth to Chinese people has become second nature to me.
Saving People During a Family Vacation
My husband suggested a family vacation several times. Although I did not say anything, in my heart I knew I did not want to go. Sometimes I had complaints in my mind: “The time to save sentient beings is getting scarcer every day, and I wish I could divide one minute into two. Where can I possibly find time for a vacation?”
I artificially set up an unnecessary conflict between reaching sentient beings and my family life. My human notions and the poor xinxing of not considering the need of my family affected my truth-clarification at tourist spots during that time, and I encountered more difficulties.
Thanks to Master’s compassionate arrangement, a few weeks ago my whole family went on a two-day vacation, which made both my kids and husband very happy. Until then, I hadn't realized that my family had not actually asked for much. And if I put my heart into it, it was relatively easy to meet their needs.
But why didn't I handle this well before? As practitioners, we are not attached to family harmony, but it does not mean our families must be inharmonious. As practitioners, we are not attached to happy family members, but it does not mean that our children and family have to be unhappy.
Isn't it validating Dafa in itself if our family is harmonious and our children and husband are happy? I felt ashamed of myself, as it took so long for me to understand such a simple principle! When one follows the teachings of the Fa by always putting others first and learning to step back and harmonize during conflicts, one would find that “the seas and the skies become boundless.”
During the vacation, Master brought predestined Chinese to me in such a natural way that it seemed they were there waiting for me. As for quitting the CCP, it came as a clear choice out of their own hearts once they heard the truth.
The vacation also gave me the opportunity to think from a tourist's perspective when a stranger approaches. What kind of approach would work best for them to want to talk?
I believe the ultimate answer is very easy: simply conform to the good, kind and sincere side of society. If we do some good things perfunctorily in order to get a chance to clarify the truth, then this pursuit is also an attachment. If we can let go of this attachment, and think about how an enlightened, higher being that has assimilated to Dafa will put others first in this human world, the Fa's wisdom will help us.
One day it started to rain at a tourist site. I saw an elderly Chinese man standing beside me. He had no umbrella, so I shared mine with him. He thanked me and we started chatting. He had been a CCP member for a long time and came here for a tour in Canada. After I helped him to understand the truth, he naturally agreed to quit the CCP.
If by some stroke of luck this sharing is chosen to be read at the Fa conference, it is by no means because I do anything better than other fellow practitioners. It is Master’s compassion reminding me of my sacred vow and not to slack off in the near future.
Thank you Master! Thank you fellow practitioners!
(Shared at the 2014 Falun Dafa Cultivation Conference of Canada in Toronto on August 23)
