Today I saw some Falun Dafa practitioners wearing yellow T-shirts off in the distance by the Chinese Embassy. I approached them and was surprised to see that it was all elderly, gray-haired women, albeit glowing with vigor and good health, who were distributing materials explaining the truth of Falun Dafa to pedestrians and people passing by in their cars. I was filled with respect.
One of these elderly women lives alone. She has practiced and promoted Falun Dafa for more than 10 months in front of the Chinese Embassy now, rain or shine. Her English isn't very good, yet her sincerity towards Falun Dafa and her will to explain the truth of the situation to people have touched the police and even the employees from the Chinese Embassy. Her actions have inspired more practitioners to step forward, especially those old Chinese ladies who had always wanted to do something for Falun Dafa but were worried about their broken English.
Not only do these elderly women distribute materials about the reality of the situation in front of the Chinese Embassy, they also now go to tourist spots where more people pass by. Many of them barely speak a word of English, but they know that once they say "Falun Gong" or "Falun Dafa," people will enthusiastically accept the materials. Benevolence can move people and is better than language skills. Also, all people with benevolence will be moved once they hear the three words "truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance," since these three words go beyond all languages and nations and belong to all beings in the universe.
One old lady said: "I heard that some young practitioners still spare no effort in promoting Falun Dafa despite their busy work schedules, and they are working hard to follow the greater cosmic changes." She was moved by their efforts and thought that she should also wholeheartedly throw herself into this powerful tide of rectification. And so a group of elderly women decided to go to the Chinese Embassy together.
They have already discussed who should come early and who should come later in order to extend the amount of time they have to distribute materials in front of the Chinese Embassy. One of them had just left the Chinese Embassy and was waiting for people to get off work when they would all be using the Metro. Then she could explain the truth to more people near the Metro. Other old women distributed materials along the road on the way home. On October 3rd, they distributed about 900 copies of flyers exposing a new scheme to crack down on Falun Gong by the Chinese government.
Their behavior has earned people's sincere respect. Even the policemen have become their friends and they often came to chat with them for a while.
One time, a policeman earnestly asked: "It's been so long. Is what you're doing useful? Can the Chinese government change?"
One old woman answered emphatically: "I don't know whether they will change or not in the future, but I do know that they have not changed yet. So, you will see me here tomorrow."
When only one woman is left, kindhearted policemen often park their cars along the street and guard her. They leave only after she has safely left.
One elderly woman said with deep feeling that not all the Chinese Embassy employees are unaware of the truth and blindly follow those few people in the Chinese government who have their own agendas. She said that she thought many of them can make a clear distinction between right and wrong, and they respect Falun Dafa.
One day when it was raining lightly, one woman went to a place not far from the Chinese Embassy and saw a person stepping forward toward her. That person smiled at her from afar and said: "You are here again? How are you?" She wondered for a while and then realized that that person worked at the Chinese Embassy. Another old woman had a similar experience.
These elderly women have also promoted Falun Dafa to the neighboring embassies. Once, an employee in a nearby embassy sincerely said that he would like to get a yellow T-shirt. Although the Chinese Embassy had exerted its utmost effort to spread slanderous rumors to its neighbors, they could not dispel the truth. Benevolence always safeguards justice.
On October 1, one old lady went to a government institute where there were a lot of tourists and different kinds of materials that they could pick up. According to the rules, it was not permitted to distribute materials in the waiting line. However, maybe because of her pure and kind heart, a policeman came over and said nothing. Instead, he nudged her lightly into the queue. Thus, she was able to distribute materials all the way from the beginning to the end of the line.
One elderly woman said: "Distributing materials yesterday (October 2) was really different from what I felt before. A lot of people found out from the newspapers and TV news that Falun Gong practitioners in China were encountering violence and abuse in Tiananmen Square, so they showed deep sympathy and support." She added: "An elderly American woman liked listening to the exercise music very much and felt that the exercise music had miraculous power. When she had finished listening to the music each time, she felt compelled to come over to thank me. This American woman also really had a sense of righteousness. She would read the newspapers everyday and would clip out the news about Falun Gong. She was also upset about the unfairness of the crackdown on Falun Dafa practitioners."
These busy, active old ladies are also sincerely waiting for more practitioners to bring every particle of Falun Dafa into full play to strengthen the rectification of the Fa.
Practitioners in Washington DC provided this article
October 3, 2000
