(Clearwisdom.net) I am a new practitioner and I have cultivated for almost a year now. During this period of cultivation, I have found many shortcomings in myself and I need to be more diligent. We all know that during this special historic period, Dafa disciples should do well in the three things of studying the Fa (1), sending righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth. I'd like to share my understanding about truth clarification with fellow practitioners who have not stepped forward.
Previously when I was about to speak out to clarify the truth, my human notions would come up. I had a lot of fear. I was afraid that my introverted character would make it difficult to talk with people that I did not know. I was afraid that as a new practitioner who had cultivated for a very short time, I could not clarify the truth well. I was afraid that I hadn't studied the Fa well enough and I might not know how to clarify the truth. I was afraid that because of my strong human attachments, I wouldn't know how to use righteous thoughts to deal with issues, etc. These human notions have been preventing me from stepping forward.
Master said in "Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World's People," published on September 1, 2004,
"For this reason, all Dafa disciples, students both new and veteran, should get to work and begin comprehensively clarifying the truth. This is especially so for the Dafa disciples in Mainland China: each must come out and clarify the truth, bringing it to every field and valley, mountain and hill, not omitting a single area where there are people."
After reading this new article, I profoundly understood the urgency of saving sentient beings and that I should not keep holding the notion of fear. From studying the Fa, I came to realize that the world's people today all come from a very high level. In the confusing maze and the endless suffering during such a long historical process, they have all been waiting and hoping for these several years! If one person is saved, how many huge numbers of sentient beings would be saved! On the other hand, if we don't offer salvation to them, it is like seeing family members hanging at the edge of a cliff clutching a tree branch that is about to break, waiting for us to put out a hand to pull them up, while below the cliff lies a billowing turbid wave and an extremely dangerous situation, yet I say to him, "Currently, I am not yet mature. Wait until I learn how to swim before I come to rescue you." Is there still enough time to do it that way?! More importantly, Master only looks at Dafa disciples' hearts. Once we have righteous thoughts, Master will arrange the best opportunity for us.
The other day I learned that since the persecution began on July 20, 1999, people in a certain village have been misled by lies from Jiang's regime and have not heard any positive information about Dafa. Thus, a practitioner and I prepared 200 truth-clarification booklets and went to clarify the facts to everyone we could talk to. Here I would like to summarize our experience of face-to-face truth clarification.
Awakening the good side of people with our pure hearts
We saw a group of people chatting at the village entrance, so we went over to clarify the facts. However, they were so deeply deceived by the lies on TV that at first they did not accept anything we said and were even afraid to listen. At that time, the practitioner and I had just one thought, "I just want to let you know the truth, truly and clearly." We did not feel discouraged and talked persistently. We read a practitioner's poem "Don't Refuse," which said, "We don't want a penny from you, we only want you to have compassionate thoughts; we don't need you to cry out to help, we only hope you can truly understand that Dafa is really wonderful."
At this time, an elderly woman said, "I understand now. You have come a long way and you don't want anything from us. You just want to tell us how beneficial Falun Gong is. We assure you that we will remember!"
Waiting for the truth
Many villagers gathered outside a house chatting. There was a van parked there. I went over and started talking to all of them about Falun Gong. Then several more people stepped out of the house and sat near me. They listened carefully to what I said and asked questions. They were actually from Southern China. They all took the truth-clarification booklets and VCDs and said that they would bring them back to their hometown to tell their families. After they understood the facts, they happily boarded the van and waved good-bye. I thought to myself, "They must have waited for such a long time to hear the truth. Master arranged the opportunity for them to let them know the truth today."
Face-to-face truth clarification is very effective
A man in his forties was paving brick in his courtyard. I approached him to clarify the facts. After listening to what I said, he replied with much respect, "Your teacher is really great! Just from the three words 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance,' I know that Falun Gong must be good! Otherwise, how could Falun Gong have spread throughout the world despite the suppression, and even this remote small mountain village gets to hear about the true situation? Thank you very much!"
On our way back, we talked with the driver the whole way. Since we had enough time, we clarified the facts thoroughly. The driver told us, "It is only now that I know that Falun Gong is very good! If I have the opportunity, I will learn the exercises."
Of course, truth clarification is not always a smooth process, and that's when we need to study the Fa more and put forth more effort. Master told us to clarify the truth, and I understand that face-to-face truth clarifying is very important. Only by talking to people directly can we know the different states of different people and how best to help them, and thus clarify the truth accordingly and offer materials that will be most effective.
The main purpose of my sharing is to help those practitioners who have worries about truth clarification let go of their attachments, and "come out and clarify the truth, bringing it to every field and valley, mountain and hill," as Master requires of us. Master is expecting us to save more sentient beings. As long as we take the first step, Master will arrange the best opportunity for us according to our specific situations. There are still lots of people who do not know the truth - let us be diligent!
October 19, 2004
Note:
(1) Fa: Law and principles; "Dafa" means "The Great Law."
