(Minghui.org) My family members introduced Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) to me in 2016. I have had limited contact with other practitioners since moving to Guangdong Province for a new job. Whenever I saw reports on the Fa-rectification activities Falun Gong practitioners outside of China were carrying out, my heart filled with envy. How I wished I could witness one in person!
Early this May, I had an intense desire to see a May 13th Falun Dafa Day parade in person. I was sure there was going to be one in Hong Kong, but I did not know where it would be held or how to find out any details about it.
Master must have known what was in my heart. I came across a special traffic instruction notice put out by the Hong Kong Department of Transportation for May 12, 2019. The announcement also included the traffic route. I was sure this would be the parade route and decided right away that I would go to Hong Kong.
As a lonely new Falun Gong practitioner, meeting so many practitioners was exhilarating! Looking at them gave me momentum to better my own cultivation and made me see areas where I needed to improve. I would like to share some of what I saw and felt that day.
Time Is Precious
The first thing I noticed about practitioners in Hong Kong was how they treasure time.
At the parade preparation area, those who were not involved in the actual preparations sat on the ground to study the Fa or did the exercises. As more practitioners gathered in the meeting area, they joined the Fa study or the exercises quietly. None of them were playing on their cellphones, and very few were chatting. The drummers with the Tian Guo Marching Band did the exercises during the few minutes' break they had between pieces. They looked so serene with the Falun Gong exercise music in the background.
Compared to these practitioners, I have not been using my time wisely. I have wasted precious time on my cellphone and on the internet. That lost time could have been used for Fa study. When I was busy at work, I spent less time on Fa study and doing the exercises.
Those practitioners are no less busy than me. However, they make good use of every spare moment to improve in their cultivation. If I put Dafa first on my priority list, I would not be able to complain that “there is never enough time” to study the teachings.
Following this trip to Hong Kong, I sent forth righteous thoughts and memorized Master's teachings on my commute to work and after dinner in the evening. I noticed my improvement in cultivation in just a few days.
Positive Energy Field
The Chinese Communist government's full-time persecution of Falun Gong is carried out by its organization known as the 610 Office. They have a branch called the “Hong Kong Youth Care Association,” which is referred to as the Qingguan Association.
About 400 Qingguan Association members surrounded the park where the main Falun Dafa Day activities were based that day. As soon as I came up out of the subway station, I could hear Qingguan Association members shouting through loudspeakers. They hung banners and passed out flyers slandering Falun Gong. I immediately sensed a kind of crushing pressure all around me. It made me nervous and sad.
Once I was among practitioners, the uneasy feeling in my heart disappeared. No matter how the Qingguan Association members tried, the practitioners remained undisturbed by their behavior. The practitioners did what they needed to do with smiles on their faces. The area was filled with positive energy and harmony.
Master said:
“Therefore, all of our students can feel it while sitting here in this field, and their minds are free of bad thoughts. In addition, while sitting here many students do not even think of smoking. They feel an atmosphere of serenity and peace, which is very comfortable. This is the energy carried by a cultivator of a righteous way, and that is what it does within the scope of this field.”(Lecture Three, Zhuan Falun)
Looking at the people from the Qingguan Association once again, they were no more than a bunch of clowns. They looked funny and pitiful. The positive energy from practitioners filled the park and dissolved the negative energy that had engulfed me.
I had a stomachache that morning, so I had to rest frequently as I followed the parade. A middle-aged practitioner also followed the parade along the curb. She talked to bystanders about the truth behind the persecution of Falun Gong in China. When she started talk to me, I told her that I was a new practitioner from mainland China. She asked me to help with sending forth righteous thoughts and encouraged me to try to speak up for Falun Gong. I saw her petition sheet was full of signatures.
Her last words to me were: “… helping Master to rectify the Fa and save sentient beings…” (“Be More Diligent", Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. X)
The pain in my stomach disappeared! Her compassion and pure heart radiated positive energy, and the abnormality in my body was corrected when I was in her energy field. I could see why she had such favorable results when she talked to people about Falun Gong.
Compassion Overcomes Malice
The morning parade was a powerful sight. To disturb the parade, members of the Qingguan Association and people recruited by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) set up speakers along the parade route. They continued to shout and curse at Falun Gong practitioners well into the afternoon.
I was sad and felt hopeless until I overheard a mainland tourist's comment. She said, “What year is it!? They are still up to their old tricks. Look at the Falun Gong practitioners—so quiet! Those wearing green (the color Qingguan Association members were wearing), no class...”
It was clear that the best way to overcome and eliminate malice is to show compassion. If we play our instruments better, keep our lines straighter, and have smiles on our faces and compassion in our hearts, people will see the clear contrast between compassion and evil. People passing by frowned on the Qingguan Association members' behavior. In addition to their foul language, they smoked and spit on the ground.
A Qinghuan Association member was giving out fans with their slogans. I glared at her and she looked away. I later realized I was not being compassionate. Luckily I was not wearing a T-shirt with “Falun Gong” printed on it. If I had been, she might forever have a bad opinion of Falun Gong. Many of those who belong to the Qingguan Association are being deceived by the CCP. More compassion is needed to save them.
Most of the Qingguan Association members just stood underneath the speakers, chatting and playing with their cellphones. Perhaps they made the wrong choice because of money, or maybe they were supposed to be there to learn that Falun Gong is good and the persecution of Falun Gong is wrong. Regardless, as practitioners, we should still treat them with compassion.
A Thought on Talking about Falun Gong to Non-Practitioners
After the parade, I walked to the harbor where many tourists were waiting for the ferry. A practitioner was talking to the group about Falun Gong through a loudspeaker. I listened and thought what she was saying required too high of an understanding of the Fa for most people. Not many were interested and none stayed to listen. The police gestured for her to move on, and she did, but she continued speaking.
I respected her perseverance, but perhaps she could have changed what she chose to say a bit. Tourists from mainland China are mostly atheists, and they might not be able to comprehend what she said. I saw some tourists laugh at her. Her speech could also be shortened, as few would stay and listen if it were too long. Of course, I am only speaking from a tourist's point of view. There might have been other factors I was unaware of that day.
Summary of My Experience
That trip to Hong Kong was the most memorable experience of my life! It was the turning point in my cultivation. After spending one day among so many diligent practitioners, I felt purified.
I also now understand why Master always emphasizes group Fa study. The group cultivation environment is extremely important and powerful! People like me who do not have study groups to join must read about practitioners’ experiences on the Minghui website frequently in order to remain diligent.
Category: Improving Oneself
