(Clearwisdom.net) Hello Master! Hello Fellow Practitioners!
I've been studying Falun Dafa for a year and a half now. I practiced a long time before I joined group activities. I was cultivating in society, but I felt I was more like those cultivators who stay in remote mountains and forests. I was very alone, having almost no one to talk to about my tribulations.
After nine months of clumsy practice, I had not grasped the importance of Fa-study. I enjoyed reading Teacher's new articles and lectures, but I felt disconnected, and fell short of meeting all the requirements.
After coming back from a trip in the western part of the country, there was a huge hole in my existence. My attachment to traveling for selfish reasons was exposed and my outward search for peace or happiness revealed itself a failure.
Having been away for the summer, when I came back home I perused the Internet so see if Master Li had published other scriptures. I was delighted to find several lectures, and I sat down for long hours in front of the computer, carefully reading them and trying hard to grasp what Teacher said. It was all too clear: I had done nothing to clarify the truth and validate the Fa while this severe persecution continued in China. I felt a heavy hammer hit me to wake me up from my slumber. With these words from the 2003 Washington DC Fa Conference, I knew Teacher was giving me another chance, "...there are a lot of students who've done a disservice to themselves, and who haven't fulfilled what they wanted to do and what history bestowed upon them. The good thing is, this persecution hasn't yet ended completely, so there are still chances. As for how to make amends and what to do, that's up to you." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Washington DC Fa Conference") From that day on, I decided I would live up to Dafa's requirements for disciples in the Fa-rectification period, and start to validate the Fa openly and nobly. My first steps were clumsy, but my heart was there as I wrote to the Chinese embassy in Ottawa, to the Canadian government, and to Amnesty International, about the brutal persecution.
From that point on, a lot of things changed in my life. I was re-evaluating my priorities and making more room for Dafa, cleaning out selfish notions, habits, and activities. I started to come out to practice, read, and share with fellow practitioners, and I felt sad that I had missed out on this environment for so long.
Slowly, it became clear that I had to clarify the truth in my workplace. Other veteran practitioners encouraged me quite a few times to do it, but I was not sure-footed enough. I work in a high school in the Student Services department. Five days a week I'm with teenagers aged 12 to 18. Being a beginner in cultivation when I started to work there, I constantly fumbled, but I was strict on myself, trying to correct every mistake and raising my standards continually. Most of the students noticed that I was a calm person, unlike other adults who would fail to understand them, and they would often ask if I was "Buddhist or something." But instead of saying with dignity that I practiced Falun Dafa, I would just say "yes," ending the conversation as if I was ashamed of myself. Of course, this stemmed from my poor comprehension and lack of Fa-study.
At the beginning of this school year, I decided to step forward to validate the Fa in my workplace. I knew I would meet with some obstacles, but it was obvious that they were all inside me, those deep hidden attachments. Working in a private Catholic high school, I was afraid to face intolerance and rejection. I discarded these wicked and selfish thoughts of self-protection and I went to clarify the truth to the people who were responsible for spiritual matters in the school. One was a teacher of religion and the other was the pastor. It was easy clarifying the truth to them, as the teacher knew all about China's human rights abuses, having lived 10 years in China, and having been under surveillance for her Christian faith, and the pastor often organized activities to promote world peace and spiritual development.
It was then agreed that I would first visit two of the teacher's classes to talk about my personal practice and the persecution, and that if everything went well, she would then invite me to other classes. She only warned me not to try get followers or the like. I explained to her that Falun Dafa was not a religion and that I only wanted to expose the evil persecution. The dates were set for when I would clarify the truth to the first group of students. I sent a great deal of righteous thoughts to clear bad elements and relied on Teacher for the overall well being of the event.
As I entered the first classroom, I had the feeling of déjà vu. After reflecting shortly it was clear; I had dreamed of this before. I knew something special was about to happen. I had with me a CD player and I put Pudu music in the classroom to relax the atmosphere. I then started to talk about Falun Dafa. I said to the students, "A lot of you have asked me or may have wondered why I act differently than other people, being always at peace and serene. This is the reason: I practice Falun Dafa - Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance." I then went on exposing the persecution and I also demonstrated the first exercise. After I finished, the students applauded, appreciating the beauty. I then distributed postcards that they could sign to ask the Canadian government to help rescue the family members of Canadian citizens imprisoned in China. Most of them signed. Through this little action, they may have chosen a bright future for themselves. I was happy for them. After my presentation, about seven students expressed interest in learning the exercises. I thought it might be difficult to teach the exercises in a Catholic school, but the barrier was again more mental than anything else. To get permission to teach the exercises, I had to go clarify the truth to my boss. When I went to him, I was feeling a bit uneasy, as I feared being judged and rejected, so he was not too open. He's a very busy man and has little time to talk, but he has some goodness and understanding. Nevertheless, he approved my teaching the exercises as long as it was nothing religious and I left him a truth-clarifying flyer. I was most grateful. I then knew I had nothing to fear and that my state was most important in clarifying the facts. With the goal of compassion and wanting to save beings, all deviated elements that could obstruct become very small and vanish.
The day after, I again went to see another group of students. Once again, as soon as I entered the classroom, I realized I had dreamed of what was happening the night just before. In my dream I was under tremendous pressure and I felt really uneasy in front of the students, as if something was attacking me. And that is what happened in this dimension. As soon as the religion teacher introduced me to the class and announced my purpose, a young man said, "Falun Dafa is a [slanderous term omitted]." My heart started to pound in my chest and I tried to keep focused. I felt I had to break through a wall of resistance, something I had not experienced the day before in the other class. So I started to clarify the truth the best I could, touching various aspects. Before long came another wave crushing upon me, as two young Chinese ladies who were deceived by the lies started to repeat the slanderous propaganda from the Chinese government. Unfortunately, I didn't have a video showing the truth of the Self-immolation incident, for this event had influenced them the most. I did have the truth clarifying video called Human Rights Violation, and after I showed it to the class, most of the teenagers knew this persecution was most evil. As for the two young Chinese ladies, as soon as they would try to utter deceitful lies, other students would tell them to stop. After things calmed down, I again demonstrated the first exercise and the overall feeling was quite good. I then left the class and I sincerely hoped that the students who were poisoned would reconsider their dangerous positions.
The religion teacher really liked my presentations, so she eventually asked me to visit all her groups, which means 14 classes. I did one after another, always improving my speech and making the presentations more interesting for the students. In every class, the students were really attentive and asked a lot of questions. It seemed that no matter how I explained it, it was unbelievable to them that such a brutal persecution was taking place.
A few beautiful events happened during the truth clarifications in the classrooms. One time, I entered a classroom that looked more like a zoo. The kids were turbulent, moving around and talking loudly. The religion teacher barely had hold of them. As soon as I began talking about Falun Dafa, they all became really quiet and listened attentively. We then altogether practiced the first exercise. Mostly everyone participated, and it was a beautiful sight. After the exercise, all were relaxed and knew the goodness of Falun Dafa. The turbulent group was now as calm as a pond at dusk. The following day, the religion teacher came to me all smiles with her eyes shining brightly and said, "You know, what happened with that group yesterday was a little miracle." From the standpoint of her Christian faith, I knew these were not empty words and had deep significance.
After this phase of truth clarification was over, a new one began; the predestined would come one by one to learn more about this Dafa. And so group practices began in the school where I work. Four days a week after classes, teenagers would come to learn the exercises. Some would come only once, while others would come often. This big movement of beginners revealed an attachment I had; I was attached to results. I wanted people to learn Falun Dafa so that they could cultivate and come to know the magnificence of the Buddha Law. I had misunderstood some points. Teacher says in "Teaching the Fa at the Washington, DC International Fa Conference" in 2001, "...if someone has done the exercises or has learned the Fa - although it's not in depth -- he's already laid the foundation for his obtaining the Fa in the future." So I let go of this attachment to having people cultivate, and focused on clarifying the facts to let people develop good thoughts towards Dafa.
As the teenagers were learning the exercises, I also talked about being a good person and following Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance in everything we do. I told them I could provide any information, books, and materials that they needed. And so a few of them borrowed Zhuan Falun and started to read.
Here are a few stories about new young practitioners (the names have all been changed):
Gerry told me after I had clarified the truth to his class, that he would like to learn the Falun Dafa exercises. A few days later, as he was on his bicycle, he was hit by a car and his ankle was broken. From what Teacher says in Zhuan Falun, I knew this was a case of interference. Nevertheless, with a cast around his foot, Gerry came to learn the standing exercises, bearing a great deal of pain.
Lucy experienced a lot of situations described in Zhuan Falun just before reading the passages. For example, in her first practices, she felt different points of pressure all over her face and asked me what it was all about. I just smiled and looked at another young practitioner who had already read about the Celestial Eye. We didn't explain the matter, and told her to keep reading a bit more, as she would understand by reading Lecture Two. Another time she abruptly stopped practicing the Falun Standing Stance Exercise, and sat down on the floor. She told me afterwards that she had been really scared by seeing a bright light. Once again I smiled and told her to keep reading. I was very moved one time when she told me that while crossing the street she was about to get hit by car and someone pulled her back, thus saving her. When she turned around (you probably know what I'm about to say...) no one was there. I couldn't believe it! Once again she was experiencing the exact situations described in Zhuan Falun before having read about them. It was good for all of us studying Falun Dafa at school, as it strengthened our righteous faith in Teacher's benevolent grace.
Not everything went smoothly during the last few months at school. Young practitioner Steve experienced severe tests at the beginning of his cultivation. He came to talk to me one day, telling me of classmates who were saying very bad things about Dafa. They picked on him, trying to confront and argue as if it had something to do with them. At a certain point it was so intense that I asked fellow practitioners for advice to help handle this situation better. The thoughts these young men were developing towards the Fa could jeopardize their futures, and it was clear they were badly poisoned. The dark haze around them was so dense that it was perceivable. We had to clarify the truth better, that was for sure, but it seemed we had exhausted every means possible. A fellow practitioner told me to be more compassionate and look within. At first, I thought I was doing all right in this regard, but after sincerely observing myself, it was clear that I lacked the grand compassion that saves beings. When I encountered the poisoned young men, I had thoughts of defense and sometimes confrontation. This was definitely not a good state of mind. I had to truly learn to smile at those who despise me. With constant efforts of truth clarification by Steve, and the purifying of my own field, the situation changed quite a bit. One of the poisoned young men decided to come to our World Falun Dafa Day activities and the righteous field cleared the bad elements in his mind, "Fo Guang Pu Zhao, Li Yi Yuan Ming." He ended up asking Steve where he could get one of those yellow t-shirts renouncing the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
There was another religion teacher who I had not yet approached to talk about Dafa. I knew it was very important to do so, but I was occupied with many other projects. One weekday, I woke up late and I felt very bad because I would arrive late at work. But I did not understand the bigger picture. As I was coming out of the subway station close to my workplace, I bumped into the other religion teacher to whom I wanted to clarify the truth. I thought to myself, "Master, please let me clarify the truth to him." The teacher then said, out of the blue, as if compelled by an external force, "So, what else do you do in life?" This was the opening, and I said to him that I spent a good amount of time helping end the persecution of Falun Gong in China and that I practiced it myself. I also told him that I went in several classes to do presentations. As I said that, he was kind of shocked, "Why didn't you come to see my students!?" he said. We then agreed that I would visit his two classes to do presentations on Falun Dafa and the persecution. Master had once again arranged for another group of beings to hear the truth of Dafa.
With much more experience in clarifying the truth, I prepared thoroughly for the next two presentations. I knew I was visiting two completely different groups. One was the scientific type and the other was more inclined toward the arts. I also knew that in one of the class there were many young Chinese who might have been poisoned by Jiang's lies.
The presentations went very well in both classes. To the group in the science option and with many Chinese, I had statistics and surveys from the Chinese government from before the persecution that were favorable to Falun Gong. I also showed the movie of the staged self-immolation on Tiananmen Square. I finished the presentation by demonstrating the first exercise. Once again the students were attentive, including the Chinese students, who were very respectful, unlike in the second class I visited.
The other class presentation also went very well. Since they were the more artistic types and more open to spirituality (two of the students had already learned the exercises) I showed them the first and second exercises. They liked it very much. With having talked about Dafa in this class, I had now presented Falun Dafa to all the students in secondary 3, 4 and 5.
Right now, the situation is pretty good and stable at school. At least four students are cultivating diligently, and most of them have actively clarified the truth in different ways. Their understanding is good, and they make quick breakthroughs. Regarding all the other students who encountered Dafa, I believe that most of them have a positive view of it. Almost every time when I substitute for a teacher in secondary 3, the students say, "Let's practice Falun Dafa! Let's practice Falun Dafa!" Most of the time I tell them it is a bit inappropriate, as they have schoolwork to do and that if they want to practice they can always come to group practice after school. One time, however, I arrived late in the classroom and the kids were quite agitated. Some of them started to yell, "Falun! Falun! Falun!" as they all wanted to practice. I finally agreed and we did the first exercise twice. It was a good experience and it did calm them a little.
This environment has also been great for cultivation, as conflict is ever present. Although I still fall short in many aspects, this workplace has been like the blacksmith's hammer hitting the steel of a sword again and again to make it perfect. With every hit, the mind, like the sword, becomes more straight, sharp, and righteous.
Breaking Through Human and Language Barriers to Spread the Fa in Mexico
During this year's spring break from school, I had the opportunity to travel to Mexico. My grandfather has been living there in retirement for many years, and since his health was declining abruptly, and he felt his days were numbered, he decided to invite his family to visit him in his home in Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city.
When it was decided that my dad and I would go, it was clear that I couldn't miss out on this opportunity to spread the Fa and clarify the truth to the Mexican people. The week before our departure was a busy one; practitioners in Montreal, with the help of other fellow practitioners from Canada and the States, were working hard during the last week of the trial against Les Presses Chinoises. I knew I was going to Mexico the week after, but lacking experience in overall Fa-rectification activities, and especially in the field of overseas truth clarifying, I did not prepare very well. I did manage to print some Spanish versions of Zhuan Falun and Falun Gong and a few hundred flyers. I was mainly thinking about going to parks and demonstrating the exercises. Fortunately, a fellow practitioner who had been to Mexico before strongly suggested that I go to the media to clarify the truth. Because of my fear and my not so good Spanish, I was a bit reluctant about this idea; still I knew I had to do it.
We arrived in Mexico in early March. I was traveling with my dad who started to learn Falun Dafa a short time after I did in 2002. I don't think he ever read through Zhuan Falun, but he practices the exercises mostly everyday. He accompanied me to almost all the Dafa activities I did in Mexico.
In Mexico, we stayed in my grandfather's house. He lives in a quiet neighborhood close to a beautiful park. I first went there to practice the exercises. Sometimes my dad also joined me. We had many beautiful experiences. Passers-by would take flyers and we would give books to people who were interested.
One day we also went near the university in downtown Guadalajara, where a huge number of people were circulating. We distributed many flyers, and a lady to whom we gave Zhuan Falun and Falun Gong said that it was a "Bendicion de Dios," which means "A blessing from God." Before, she had suicidal thoughts, but now she had found this beautiful practice and new hope.
After a few days in town, it was time to step forward and contact the media. My dad was very supportive and pushing me to do it, as he has always had that proactive mentality. We went through the Yellow pages and decided to call the most prominent newspapers. My dad's Spanish is much better than mine, so he was sitting by my side in case I couldn't understand some things. We first called the well-respected independent newspaper El Informador. I first spoke with the newsroom coordinator and I asked her if she knew about Falun Dafa. I told her about the health benefits, its popularity, and the persecution in China. She wasn't too interested and wanted to end the conversation. I sent forth righteous thoughts and continued to speak about Falun Dafa, pointing out that it was interesting and important, and that they could write stories about it using different angles and approaches. In the end I convinced that coordinator, and she gave me the e-mail addresses of different departments so that I could brief them on the issue, using their different interests as the focal points, but without omitting general truth clarification. After that, the coordinator was about to set up an appointment with a journalist, but I lost concentration and I could no longer understand what she was saying. I then passed the phone to my dad so that he could understand and arrange things, but to my surprise he hung up promptly, without the appointment being set. I felt a bit sad that we didn't get that appointment, but I did not ponder over why it happened that way. After calling this first newspaper, we called another one, but this time, I let my dad take the phone. I was a bit nervous to do it myself, because I had not been able to do handle it perfectly the previous time. When he got someone on the line from the other newspaper, it wasn't long before they hung up on him. He told me that the person he talked to insulted him, saying the Mexican people didn't want to hear about Falun Dafa. I was surprised, but then I realized what had just happened. I understood what Teacher said about not relying on ordinary people. Even though my Spanish was not as good as my dad's, I had more righteous thoughts, and from the standpoint of saving sentient beings, I was able to achieve better results.
After getting the journalists' e-mail addresses from the first newspaper, I went to an Internet café to write to them and print some truth clarifying packages for media contacts, in case I would meet with them. That night, one journalist called, but we weren't home and he didn't leave his name with my grandfather. So the next morning, we called back the newspaper to find out who that journalist was. Since they didn't know who contacted us, they referred us to the health section of the newspaper. I managed to get an interview with the health section chief two days later, on Friday afternoon.
I was very happy. Later that day, we got a call from the other journalist who had called us the night before, and he also wanted an interview. It was then also set on Friday afternoon. I had two golden opportunities to clarify the truth in depth and save many sentient beings. With this, I did start to feel immense pressure. I felt alone.
I sent e-mail to fellow practitioners asking for their long distance support. When it was time to meet those reporters, I knew their righteous thoughts were with me, along with Master's benevolent presence. The first interview was focused on the practice of Falun Dafa. The exercises, the principles, the benefits, etc. The second interview focused mostly on the persecution of Falun Dafa in China. I had my laptop, so I presented videos of repression and torture, and I had third party articles denouncing the crackdown. Both interviews lasted about thirty minutes and went very well. We learned that the articles would be published on the weekend. Indeed they were. Two great articles with pictures were published, one promoting the practice, and the other denouncing the persecution. It couldn't have been better. Some little things were not quite right, but only because I could not express myself perfectly in Spanish.
Back in Canada, as I was going through one of the articles for the first time on the Internet issue of the newspaper, I was truly shocked when at the end I saw that the journalist had given my grandfather's phone number as a contact for more information on Falun Dafa. When I came home from work, I called him in Mexico. A man I didn't know picked up the phone. He passed the phone to my grandfather, and I immediately apologized to him for all the trouble I thought I had caused him. He was not disturbed at all, even though his phone had not stopped ringing for the past two days. He told me two dozen people had come to his house to borrow the copies of Zhuan Falun and Falun Gong I had left my grandfather. As they would borrow them, he would ask them to make two extra photocopies, so that he would always have copies of the books to give to people who were interested. I was touched to see his heart. An old dying man from Canada, opening his house to anyone who would come to seek the Fa. He then passed me back to the stranger, as he was one of them, perhaps a future practitioner. I couldn't believe it.
Before I hung up with my grandfather, he told me he was "happy to make the wheel turn." What a wonderful future awaits him! All thanks to Teacher's magnificent benevolence! I will go back to Mexico this summer to fulfill my historic mission. So many people are still waiting for this most righteous Law.
Thank you Teacher. Thank you. I will walk my path ever more righteously.
