(Minghui.org) Every time I participated in making phone calls to people in China to expose the persecution of a practitioner there, I experienced various tests, some related to xinxing, some related to my mental state when I was calling, others related to the content I was calling about. I saw my flaws through these experiences and where I needed to improve. I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on my experiences and report them to Master Li (Dafa's founder) and share them with fellow practitioners.
I participated in a few targeted calling projects. Several times in a row, I was able to get through to only a couple of telephone numbers or none at all. I did not know what the problem was. Then other practitioners shared about their Fa-memorizing experiences and I was very inspired. Although I realized that I had to study the Fa and study more often, it was no accident that I heard about memorizing the Fa back then. Perhaps I needed to improve in the areas of Fa-study and Fa-memorizing. However, due to my attachment to comfort, I didn’t put it into action right away.
Recently in a group sharing about making phone calls to a specific locale, others shared about the importance of memorizing the Fa again. I told myself that I can’t delay this anymore. Maybe Master was hinting at me again through other practitioners. So I decided to set aside some time daily to memorize the Fa.
Through memorizing the Fa, I felt my heart become more peaceful. Slowly people spent more time listening to what I had to say and I was able to get through to more people. During my most recent calls to Shandong Province, the number of people who picked up the phone wasn’t bad.
It was the mid-autumn festival when I called about a particular case. On the first day, the recipients hung up in about a minute. I examined my mind. I realized that I did not feel the urgency to save people, and I felt like I was on vacation. On the second day when I studied the Fa, I reminded myself not to be absent-minded. When I read one of the paragraphs in Zhuan Falun, I felt that I was immersed in the Fa, and I felt wonderful. The feeling was indescribable.
When I picked up the phone again, the situation changed. One of the recipients interacted with me. I started by telling him that the U.S. was planning to sanction the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members, citing an example of a Party member who was sent back to China at a port of entry. Also, I gave him instructions on how to withdraw from the CCP and download the certificate online. He seemed interested and told me, “I am busy now. Please send the information to me. I will read it carefully.” Although it was only a five-minute call, it was precious and helped me break through the rut I had been experiencing. It was Master’s teachings that had opened the doors for truth-clarification.
On the third day of calling the city of Qingdao, although the calls were picked up, they were short, with the longest being just over a minute. I felt that I was not in an optimal state with regard to my cultivation. So I paused and sent righteous thoughts to clear out the bad elements in my field. Then when I called again, it went through. I could hear voices on the other end, but they did not hang up. So I continued to speak for 20 minutes. There was no response. I hung up and called again. It was picked up. I asked if they had heard me in my last call. They said yes. Then I told them a story about a son of a 610 Office officer who was diagnosed with a terminal disease, but got better after he withdrew from the CCP and the story of the South Asian Tsunami. I ended the phone call with wishes for their safety and good fortune.
I believed that my sending righteous thoughts to rectify myself helped me reach this particular person and tell them the truth.
Two days before we were supposed to call Qingdao, I did not get up early and arrived at the exercise site twenty minutes late. I then found that my calls were not very effective. They hung up fast and only one person was willing to listen to me. I wondered if it was because I hadn’t done my exercises. I was determined to get up to do the exercises on the third day. Perhaps Master was encouraging me. The calls went better. I believe that whether we do the exercises or not affects the effectiveness of our truth-clarification. This made me realize that all elements of cultivation are interconnected; none of the parts are dispensable.
In the past when people were not picking up or hung up after a few seconds, I became anxious as soon as the calls were connected, for fear that they would hang up. I tried to think about how I could make a breakthrough. Then I enlightened to the fact that it was the knowing side of the sentient beings who were listening. No matter their social status, occupation or negative reactions, I should just focus on speaking the truth to the sentient beings’ knowing sides. When I realized this, I stabilized and the recipients seemed to be affected as well. They would listen quietly. If they did respond, they were not agitated.
Master taught us,
“If a Dafa disciple's heart is unsteady, it will cause changes in his or her surroundings. When you have fear, for instance, you will find that the sentient beings around you are not quite right. When you change such that your presence is refreshing and uplifting to people, and your mind becomes broad and full of optimism, you will find the things around you to be correspondingly different.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX)
Master also taught us, “You have qi, and the other person has qi as well. How can you treat him with your qi? Perhaps his qi will overpower yours!” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)
Based on these principles, we enlightened that if we talk to people with the state of a non-practitioner, it does not have any effect.
I remember when we were calling Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. On the first day, the pickup rate was very low. Only a couple of numbers went through and the recipients hung up shortly afterward. When we had a debriefing, I found that other practitioners had had much better experiences: they had gotten through to at least 7-8 numbers. They had also had interactions with the recipients. When I first heard about it, I didn’t have any reaction. But when it happened again on the second day, it made me start reflecting. I put down the phone and looked inward with a calm mind. I realized that my heart was affected. I was envious. When I found this, I rectified myself right away. When I called the next number, the person who picked up the phone not only listened to what I had to say, but also withdrew from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
I enlightened to the fact that I had had negative experiences two days in a row. Was Master testing me to see if I would be attached to the results? The first day I was unaffected, but would I be able to keep that state of mind when it happened again? This tested whether I let go of the fundamental attachment or just the superficial attachment.
Master taught us,
“And as you go about doing it, it will be your heart and mind, rather than your success, that count. And as you work on it, you are saving people! The process of doing those things is also a process of improving yourself in cultivation, and at the same time you are helping to save a multitude of beings! It’s not as if only when you’ve accomplished your task or initiative will you have helped to save beings.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2016 New York Fa Conference,” Team Yellow Translation)
I enlightened to the idea from Master’s teaching that what matters is the elevation of our xinxing when we are trying to save people. We know that it is all done by Master. As long as we look inward, find our attachments, notions and human emotions, and reject them or suppress them, Master will bring the predestined people to us.
When I first experienced setbacks, such as stalemates, software being blocked, or conflicts with others, I would look outwardly and treat them as interference. But when I actually sat down and looked inward, I realized that they are Master’s arrangements; they are meant for me to improve and it is a good thing. We spend so much time clarifying the truth, but if we don’t use the opportunity to improve ourselves, it is really a missed opportunity as there is not a lot of time left to do so. Perhaps Master is doubling down on us as we don’t have as much time to eliminate our attachments as we normally do.
The above is some of my experiences in truth-clarification. Kindly point out anything inappropriate.