(Shared at the 2001 Washington DC Conference)
In front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. is a green, grassy area. After the June 4th, 1989 incident in China, and long before Falun Dafa practitioners made their appearance in that place, the Western media called it "Tiananmen Peace Square."
Almost two years have passed since some of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area Falun Dafa practitioners began to go there to protest the atrocious and inhuman persecution against Falun Dafa practitioners in China. They put up with freezing rain and snow in winter, baking summer sun, and all kinds of storms and thunder. No kinds of weather can keep Dafa practitioners away. We are determined to step forward to take a stand, to help our great Teacher to rectify the Fa (Law and principles in the universe) until the Fa-rectification in the whole universe is completed.
Teacher said: "...When this thing takes place, there have to be some persons who do this and some who do that. Since it's a test aimed at the Fa, no matter where you are or what you're doing, you are improving yourself in the midst of the things you're supposed to do. There are reasons behind what everyone does." ("Master Li Hongzhi's Lecture at the Great Lakes Conference in North America")
Because of the uniqueness of Washington D.C., unexpected incidents happen here constantly. The younger Dafa practitioners have been diligently performing their individual work for Dafa day and night. Some of us older ones and retired grandmas took the initial step to position ourselves in front of the Chinese Embassy to rectify the Fa.
Because at this time we are face to face with evil, in order to rectify the Fa, every minute is holy and precious. Since all of us who do this kind of Dafa work live in suburban areas outside Washing D.C. and none of us can drive, it usually takes us between three and four hours daily to commute. We felt we were wasting our precious time, but we had no other solutions to this commuting problem.
When I saw the Taiwanese Dafa practitioners' smiling faces and peaceful countenances, I admired and respected them.
One day I was reading Zhuan Falun, Lecture 8, "Whoever Practices Cultivation Will Attain Gong." I read about those cultivators in the past who were cultivating only their Assistant Spirits. To reach completion, the cultivator had to die and reincarnate again. "Thus, after many years the master will pass the teachings to it." and " After the instruction, the master will again tell it, 'You still have many attachments to remove. You should go out to wander about.' Wandering around in society is rather torturous. It must beg for food and meet different kinds of people who will scold, insult, or take advantage of it. It might encounter all kinds of things. It will treat itself as a practitioner and balance well relations with others, always maintaining and upgrading xinxing. It will not be moved by the temptations of different benefits among everyday people. After many years, it will return from wandering around. The master will say: 'You've already attained the Tao and have completed cultivation. If you do not have any thing to do, you may pack up and get ready to leave. If there's still something to do, you may go ahead to finish that everyday people's business.' After many years, the Assistant Spirit returns. Upon the Assistant Spirit's return, the Main Spirit also comes out of the trance state, and the Main Consciousness wakes up. " (Zhuan Falun , Third Translation Edition, in March, 2000)
Right at that moment, the question whether or not Taiwanese Dafa practitioners are "wandering about" entered my mind. I also thought of my daily trips to the Chinese Embassy also as something arranged by Teacher for my cultivation process. I was suddenly enlightened, and all kinds of frustration and uncertainties disappeared all once.
The next day I shared my understanding of "wandering about" with the rest of the Dafa practitioners in our group and they all agreed. Therefore, we use the big bagsful of Falun Dafa information we carry with us on every trip to reach out to people. Wherever we are, on the bus, the metro, either on the Maryland routes, Virginia routes, routes towards D.C., we always try to share Falun Dafa to whoever seems interested. The rest of the time we read Dafa literature. This way the time goes by quickly.
Teacher said: "Whenever any one first hears of Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance) of Falun Dafa, he or she would instantly form an idea about Falun Dafa. From that one action, it could determine that person's future; that person's future position in the coming new universe." (Translation of Falun Dafa -Lectures at New Zealand Fa Conference)
One day I was wearing my Falun Dafa yellow T-shirt. An older Caucasian gentleman saw the three characters Zhen, Shan, Ren on the back of my shirt. He looked then at the front and saw "Falun Dafa" written on my T-shirt. From that, he obtained the Fa with much excitement.
One day it rained very heavily. We all went inside the little bus shelter to study the Fa. One practitioner said, "We should always come here in the future, no matter how it is storming." I said, "If the weather is bad and commuting is difficult, it does not matter if we skip one day or two." They all opposed me and said, "If the weather is worse, our results get better. Look at today! Many drivers gave us the big thumbs-up sign, honked their horns, wishing us victory!" That person also said, "People stop and open their car window asking for Dafa materials more on rainy days than on sunny days. The more inclement the weather is, the more it shows our determination. We gain more support from kind-hearted people. They sympathize with us, and they respect us." I was "surrounded" by them. But, in my heart, I was very glad. Yes, the mighty virtue of Falun Dafa has to be established among all kinds of difficulties, in all kinds of bad weather, and through all kinds of interference. During the Fa-rectification period, we Dafa practitioners encourage each other and help each other point out our weaknesses. Together we go forth diligently to cultivate Dafa.
Cultivator's "wandering about" during this Fa-rectification period is not the same as individuals' "wandering about" in the past. We have to take each step of our cultivation way carefully and correctly.
We receive not only the test of natural elements, such as harsh cold in the winter and unbearable heat in the summer. We must also endure all kinds of different xinxing tests.
For instance, some people said that people like us, going to the Embassy every day as we do, must have a very low mentality. We don't have analytical minds; we only follow the crowd; we are blind to the facts; we are all just exhibiting hollow formalities with no substance; we are acting emotionally, etc. None of this criticism ever moved us at all. We assess every issue which we encounter in connection with Dafa. In silence we continue the walk, on our way of Dafa cultivation. We do what we should do, as a Falun Dafa cultivator should walk on the path.
One day, when I was reading Zhuan Falun, Teacher said: "Let me tell a story. In the book Investiture of the Gods, (a classic work of Chinese fiction) Shen Gongbaoáfound Jiang Ziyaá to be both old and incompetent. But the Primitive God of Heaven asked Jiang Ziya to confer titles on immortals ."(Zhuan Falun, Lecture Seven) One practitioner exclaimed, "Our Teacher is so compassionate and kind, he gives us the opportunity to cultivate and does not think we are too old or useless."
One 80 year old practitioner was very sick before her cultivation of Dafa. Since starting Falun Dafa cultivation, her face shines with strength and she is getting younger every day. She is determined to come to the Chinese Embassy every day, and never misses any group activities. She always says, "I have to walk the cultivation road by myself!"
Teacher said: "'The great Fa is boundless.' Cultivating it depends entirely on your heart. As to how high your cultivation level can reach, it all depends on your endurance and your ability to bear hardships."(Zhuan Falun, Lecture Two)
After a while, my family started to complain. Last June, my husband said, "After such a long time, people are getting tired of what you are doing. You insist on your way. Other people also have their opinions, too. Our children also have their own opinions about you. Can you consider stopping going to the Chinese Embassy two days each week?" I said, "Our children are not cultivators; therefore they look at issues from the angle of ordinary people. I remember Teacher mentioned in Zhuan Falun (Volume 2) about the topic of being "tired." When I opened the book to that page, it was just exactly the subject I wanted to talk about with my husband.
Teacher said: ".... except Zhen-Shan-Ren, the unique characteristics, every matter in the universe will experience tiring out; when the scheduled periods are due, it will face a very serious condition - dissolving of matter; deterioration. In another words, it is the destruction of matter. From the viewpoint of macrocosm, it means the degeneration of the level of the universe; the Fa is no more useful." (Unofficial translation)
I said, "What we are cultivating is a new life, a new universe. Right now, we have to complete our cultivation. Why should we stop what we are doing and let it all go for nothing? Look at the evil's last struggle - putting all their might against Dafa. Our fellow practitioners in China have been tortured to such atrocious extremes. Our Teacher has been slandered in such unspeakable ways. How great is our Teacher, how holy is our Teacher. What do a few evil clowns matter? They are doomed to be destroyed. Right now, the Chinese government has issued an order to arrest our Teacher..." My tears were flowing all over my face when I reached this point. My husband was also getting tearful and red-eyed. He said, "You go ahead, I support you."
One 60 year old practitioner lives far away from transportation. She has to walk about half an hour to the bus station. Last spring, after a big snowstorm, people and cars all had to use the center of the highway. I called her and told her, "Don't come today; when you go home tonight it will be dark and slippery and also the road repair will be going on in front of your door etc. All that will make it very unsafe for you." She laughed with joy and said, "I am a cultivator, I am not afraid." I was impressed by her determination. I said, " O.K., see you in front of the Chinese Embassy."
Another practitioner, around 50 years old, works for a Chinese restaurant. She usually stops work around 11 o'clock at night; that means she usually gets home about 1 a.m. and is not able to go to bed until around 2-3 a.m. She gets up around 6 a.m. and takes the early bus to the Chinese Embassy. She does this daily, and never misses a day. I told her, "It is going to be very hard for you to continue this way." She said, "No, I don't feel it is hard. I feel very good doing this."
After we had been in front of the Chinese Embassy for some time, the police started to have some deeper understanding of our cause. One day, one of the Chinese Embassy employees was slandering Dafa, using the story of "Self-immolation Incident" ["Self-immolation Incident was fabricated and staged by Jiang Zemin's criminal regime to defame Falun Dafa at Beijing's Tiananmen Square on January 23, 2001(Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve)] in front of a police officer. That officer said, " It does not matter if the persons who committed self-immolation are Falun Dafa practitioners; they are Chinese for sure. The fact is that they had no choice but were forced by the Chinese government to die." Meanwhile a female police officer carrying a banner that read Zhen, Shan, Ren, walked back and forth in front of a group of Chinese Embassy employees.
In March this year, the Chinese Embassy began to display several big sign boards, all of which slandered Falun Dafa. These boards listed all lies and twisted facts, condemning those Falun Dafa practitioners who died under such heinous and inhuman tortures by Jiang's criminal regime while they were in jail. The Chinese Embassy also passed out CD's to passers-by. Those CDs were also full of lies and slandering and twisted facts . The passers-by handed the CDs to Falun Dafa practitioners outside the Chinese Embassy and said, "Communists always tell lies; no one believes them!" "They drove over students' bodies with armored tanks on June 4, 1989, killing unarmed, innocent students and said afterwards that the Chinese government did not kill anyone! Now that they are persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, they use more atrocious ways, more heinous means to torture innocent Falun Dafa practitioners. God will not let them get away with this."
One day, the Chinese Embassy placed their placard boards on the grassy area, which is called "Tiananmen Peaceful Square" where Falun Dafa practitioners already had obtained a use permit for that day. When the police arrived, the Chinese Embassy employees lied about the whole thing. The police told them they were acting illegally. The embassy people still tried to argue their way out. The police said, "Stop talking; hurry up and your placards away!" This was like a comedy, which finished in shame for them.
On April 24 we read Teacher's new article, "Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts Are Powerful." Dafa practitioners simultaneously decided they wanted to get rid of those Embassy slandering boards. Interestingly enough, as of May 9, those boards had disappeared and have never shown up again.
May 19, 2001, was the last day of back counting of the "chief evil being." I was practicing the Dafa exercises in front of the Chinese Embassy. When I was doing the stance of "holding wheel over one's head," I saw a giant Falun between my two hands. It was getting brighter and brighter, even brighter than the sun. I started to have the thought: "I cultivate Zhen Shan Zen, Falun is shining on me, let the Falun get rid of everything which does not agree with Zhen Shan Ren out of here." Instantly, I saw some black clouds starting to go downwards from my calf. My whole body felt clean and transparent. My two feet were standing inside the eyes of the chief evil being. Pretty soon, the eyeballs were gone, leaving only two black holes. I was thinking that the Chief evil is the evil leader who persecutes Falun Dafa practitioners. The Falun is shining on him now; he should dissolve. As soon as I was thinking that thought, he began to dissolve. He started to dissolve from head to toes. There was nothing left but a pool of dirty liquid.
From the remote time of the past towards the future, we made a vow to our Teacher--long before this present civilization, to follow our Teacher to rectify the Fa. We took great risks coming down to this abominable human world.
This is our heavenly duty to help our Teacher to rectify Fa in this human world. New life is formed as Fa is being rectified.
Let us all use our purest and most righteous thoughts to complete the great responsibility, that was given to us through such a long historic passage. Let us constantly bear the message which Teacher gave to us.
"The Fa rectifies the cosmos; the evil is completely eliminated."
Thanks to our honorable Teacher!
Thanks to all of you!
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