(Clearwisdom.net)
Since July 20, 1999, practitioners in our region have never ceased their effort to comprehensively clarify the truth, to save sentient beings and to validate Dafa. They coordinate and cooperate with each other well as a group. As a group and as individuals, they have been responsible for Dafa and the sentient beings, and have been able to let go of the attachment to self, so their surrounding environment has become better and better. They often meet with each other to study the Fa, send forth righteous thoughts, discuss and exchange cultivation experiences together and raise their level as a group. They have come to understand the magnificent meaning of a Dafa practitioner during the Fa rectification period. Below we'd like to share some of their stories.
1. There is an ordinary farming village to the south of the township government center. In order to help villagers understand the facts, practitioners often deliver fliers, VCDs, pamphlets and other truth clarifying materials directly into the villagers' hands or to their homes. They talk face to face with villagers about the spread of Dafa all over the world, telling them that the self-immolation farce in Tiananmen Square was fabricated, and they tell them not to believe the deceitful lies on state-run newspapers and TV programs. They let them know that their one good thought about Dafa could bring blessings. One day a young man came to ask the practitioners, "Our house only has couplets on the two sides of the front door, please help me write a streamer with the words "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance."
2. There is a small village with about 100 families in our region. Dafa practitioners in that village have strictly followed the teachings of the Fa and Teacher's requirements to clarify the facts to people and to validate the Fa since July 20, 1999. Every family has received our fliers, and most people have viewed the VCDs, and seen banners and signs about the goodness of Dafa and calling people's attention to the lawsuits against Jiang Zemin around the world. It has had a considerable impact on nearby areas and villages, and has greatly encouraged fellow practitioners. Some practitioners who had fallen behind because of fear have joined the Fa rectification effort again. There are even new practitioners joining in. More and more villagers who have learned the facts are supporting practitioners to carry out Fa rectification activities. Once practitioners found out that the villages across the river had very few Dafa practitioners. Some villages had no practitioners at all, and in others, the Dafa practitioners there had yet to step forward. Few people had seen the truth clarifying material, and most people did not dare to read them and were deceived by lies and propaganda. Practitioners were very concerned, so they contacted the practitioners nearby. They got together to discuss their understandings and genuinely followed Master's teachings -- not waiting or relying on others to validate the Fa. Exposing the evil, validating the Fa, clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings are the duty of each practitioner. They agreed that they must go to the other side of the river to help people, regardless of how difficult it might be.
One evening in the middle of summer, several Dafa practitioners came to the riverbank, and each one carried large quantities of truth clarifying material. Out of consideration for safety, one practitioner took a fishing boat and transported fellow practitioners to the other side of the river in two batches. They walked many miles in the dark of the night, carrying the truth clarifying materials to the nearby villages. They delivered fliers and VCDs to every home. After they visited each village, there would be fliers, banners and spray-painted signs in front of every home, inside or outside the villages, on top of the bridges or hanging from the trees. Practitioners exchanged their understandings and sent forth righteous thoughts while carrying out the tasks. They truly let go of themselves and fear, as well as all other human attachment and notions. They did this a few times during the past several years. During the cold of winter, some practitioners drove their farm tractors. Each time it would be almost dawn when they returned.
3. There is another village where two counties meet; it had Dafa banners all over the place, on walls and next to doorways. One day, the local township government sent several people to this village by car to get rid of the banners and whitewash the signs. After they got out of the car, they walked towards the peasants resting and chatting on the side of the road. Pointing to the signs and banners on the wall and next to doorways, they asked the farmers why they did not wash off the "reactionary" signs and banners. The villagers stood up and asked them, "You tell us, how and which of these signs, 'The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities,' and 'Truth, Compassion, Forbearance is Good' is reactionary? They look pretty good to us, so why not let them post them. Nobody is allowed to wash them off. Now leave us alone." The stern statement from the villagers stunned the officials. They got in the car and left without causing any trouble.
4. There is another small village near the canal. Each summer during the flood season, the farm produce is often flooded, causing a great deal of economic loss to the local farmers. One time when the river upstream was flooding, the local village secretary tried to organize the farmers to go and work on the urgent flood prevention measures in a hurry, but the villagers were not overly enthusiastic about doing so. The secretary became anxious and called out on the loudspeaker, "The flooding affects each and every one of you personally, yet you are dragging your feet. Look at the Falun Gong practitioners; they do everything with enthusiasm, and they are so together. We should all learn from them."
5. In the spring of 2004, the local government officials initiated another citywide effort to arrest practitioners. Many practitioners were also arrested in the surrounding townships and villages. Many information distribution points were destroyed. Some practitioners were abducted to the brainwashing classes, and some were abducted to the labor camps. The situation was critical at that time, but the practitioners in our region recognized clearly that this was another test. They frequently got together to study the Fa, sent forth righteous thoughts, exchanged understandings and experiences and carefully followed Master's teachings. By continuously studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts while clarifying the truth to people, significant changes in the surrounding environment took place. The practitioners' minds were calm and unperturbed. Many village security officials went to inform the practitioners after they received orders to arrest practitioners. Some even said, "These few days will be bad, you must be careful; why not try and elude them by leaving home for a few days, put away the Dafa books, and don't post any banners and fliers until after things calm down. Pay attention to safety." So there was not a single practitioner abducted in this township. A person from an adjacent village invited the local township Party Secretary, police chief and the village secretary to his home. He complained to them about the Dafa banners and signs. The village secretary informed him that banners were all over the region. The township government and the police chief did not react or say anything after they listened to them, and did not take any action against the practitioners or try to remove the banners and signs.
6. Just before the Chinese New Year in 2004, practitioners decided to make use of the various forms of traditional Chinese New Year celebration such as putting up antithetical couplets, posting the fortune character, etc. to clarify the truth. Practitioners delivered couplets and fortune characters, New Year greetings and truth clarifying materials to every household one by one. Some of the villagers happily accepted their couplets and said, "The poems on your couplets were very good. Next year please come around earlier so we will just post yours and we do not have to buy them."
Finally let us conclude our experience sharing with Master's words, "On Reading Weathering the Storm"
"Born into a sphere of suffering
Man struggles just to survive
One day, behold, the Great Law gained
Cease not your steps on the path of return"