(Clearwisdom.net) When clarifying the truth to Chinese people about Falun Gong, it has been my experience that they raise many questions. Whether or not I can present them with a good answer is directly related to my comprehension of the Fa. To express it from another perspective, providing an illuminating answer is like a test to see if Fa-study has put us on a firm foundation in Fa-comprehension.
When clarifying the truth face to face, I have met Chinese people who are from all walks of life and have complicated mindsets. Sometimes I've even met people who have previously practiced Dafa but have gone astray. My heart was previously disturbed when clarifying the truth to these people. Sometimes the situation even forced me to question myself as to the fundamental issue of cultivation, and whether I can remain firm in my belief; questions arose such as, "What indeed is cultivation all about?" "Is all of this (my cultivation and my belief) true or not?" "Why do I want to cultivate in the first place?"
The answers to all these questions came from thorough Fa-study and from sharing experiences among practitioners. Together we deepened our understanding of Dafa and we progressed rapidly in our cultivation. In the process of studying and sharing experiences, we realized more the importance of studying the Fa with a calm mind. If we could not study the Fa with calm minds, then questions like the above-mentioned ones might pile up, and they might shake our determination to cultivate. Some questions the Chinese people raised might target our misunderstandings about the Fa and hit on our cultivation shortcomings.
Not answering questions well left a deep impression on my mind. When I studied the Fa, I suddenly understood the concern, "The answers are all here in the book! How come I did not think of that at the time?" A good pattern was thus formed: through truth-clarification, we improved our understandings of the Fa, which helped us to clarify the truth better. After some time I even had a craving to clarify the truth to Chinese people, knowing that as long as we study the Fa well, we can clarify everything to them.
When I first began to clarify the truth about Falun Gong, I used to be quite persistent, ignoring whether or not a person wanted to listen. The outcome was that I scared people away. Now my approach is different - I usually say, "How are you? I am a Falun Gong practitioner. Do you have any opinion about us? If we have done things that need improvement, please give us your valuable viewpoint." Unless they attack Teacher or Dafa, no matter how irritating their opinion might be, I usually say, "You are right. We will seriously consider your opinion. Because we are cultivators of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, and each of us is striving to be a good person, we must change if there are things we did that are not right." This helps to get rid of any hostility and defensive mindsets. The person feels we are very friendly and will willingly talk to us. If we encounter an evil person, cursing and attacking Dafa, we must not respond by shutting him out. If our righteous thoughts are strong, and we answer with wisdom and humor, the effect will be tremendous. Of course it is not easy to do that all the time. But if we often encounter this circumstance and at the same time diligently study the Fa, Dafa will give us insights and we will naturally know how to handle the situation.
In Boston in 2001, a Chinese newspaper published a defamatory article, alleging that Dafa was a cult that caused practitioners to go insane. Many practitioners called the newspaper then, but I felt it was not enough. I felt it must be dealt with by a deeper method, revealing more thoroughly the evil nature involved. I understand that the Chinese ruling Party uses lies continuously to fool the whole population. Jiang's group in particular uses fabrications to put Dafa in a bad light. Jiang and his followers are truly the greatest evil cult in the world. Considering this, it would be most fitting to stand the allegation of cult on its head. I wrote an article clarifying the facts to the newspaper, and they published it with a note of apology for the incident. The editor also asked us to continue writing articles for the newspaper.
I noticed during Fa-study that Teacher occasionally uses analogies to answer questions. Sometimes Master says it is a joke, but we know for sure it is the Fa, not a joke. This realization really opened my mind. If we answer ordinary peoples' questions directly, sometimes such responses tend to be too difficult for them to understand, but if we use humor or an analogy it is easier to explain.
For instance, when I was once distributing Dafa material, a person approached me and asked, "You look like a student. Your teacher is only a high school graduate. Why do you people with doctor's or master's degrees still believe in his theories?" This type of question is difficult to answer outright, because what Teacher talks of is the Dafa of the cosmos. It does not come from human knowledge and was not learned in school. People will not understand if we answer them so directly.
Many great persons in history did not derive their excellent achievements from school learning. I therefore use an example to answer, such as "Do you know if Confucius is a high school graduate or a college graduate? Yet his ideas have been the center of learning for over 2,000 years. The 6th patriarch of Zen, Hui-neng, could not read. Why did learned people like Zhuang-Yuan Wang Wei worship him? People will follow him if he is right. Who cares if he is a high school graduate or a college graduate? The great American inventor, Thomas Edison, only had an elementary school education. Without Edison's invention of the electric light bulb, we might be still using oil lamps for lighting. There is more. Do you know of the musical genius Mozart? He learned to play the piano on his own, starting to play when he was only three years old. He composed music at age six, wrote a symphony at age nine, and wrote an opera at age twelve. At the age of seven he started a 3-year concert tour." There are many such examples, but it is difficult to tell them all.
Many Chinese tourists come to visit the Yan-Ling Dream House Forum. It is a very good location for clarifying the truth about Falun Gong and to get their reaction. One day a person asked, "A good person... What is a good person? Did you learn the Theory of Relativity? There is no such thing as really good or really bad. For some people, it is worse if you don't let them enjoy power and wealth.... Since there were so many people being persecuted, some to death, because each wanted to be good person, Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, should come forward and ask everyone to stop practicing. Then he should sacrifice himself and return to China. One person can save so many people in misery." For a knowledgeable Dafa practitioner, this involves factors arranged by the old forces to persecute Dafa, but we cannot tell ordinary people of a practitioner's knowledge. One can see from this comment how distorted peoples' minds have become. There is not a single trace of righteousness in this ignorant comment he made.
I would start at the outset by correcting his distorted thinking, opening up his righteous mind. The best example to quote is General Yue Fei (a Chinese hero during the Song Dynasty) who was not concerned about his own life, but was always trying to do the right thing for his country. "What is a good person or bad person? There is a standard. You cannot say Lei Feng (a model citizen in China in the 1970's) is a bad person and Qin Hui (the traitor who persecuted Yue Fei to his death) is a good person, right? Would you say Yue Fei is stupid? Why worry about the country being defeated? Isn't it good enough to be promoted and rich? Why be some kind of hero? If everybody thinks this way, we surely will become a people without a country. Jiang Zemin said that people who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance are an evil cult, are mad and are murderers. Doesn't this turn everything upside down by fabricating such countless lies? These liars put good people in jail and let criminals escape prosecution from the law and allow them do as they wish. In what direction are they pushing the country? A country is in danger when it is full of lies and nobody dares to speak the truth. During the era of the Great Leap Forward, Mao's government officials claimed tens of thousands of pounds of grain per Chinese acre were produced, and yet millions of people died of starvation. During the Cultural Revolution they persecuted Liu Shaoqi (vice president of the country at the time) and almost ruined the country's economy. Zhao Gao (a high-ranking and powerful official during the Qin Dynasty) called a deer a horse and all the officials agreed without objecting. The Qin Dynasty fell quickly thereafter. For the good of the country and the nation, Falun Gong practitioners tell people the truth, and point out these lies, even at the risk of their own lives. Isn't this marvelous? Are there any better people in the world? Doesn't this mean that they sacrifice their own lives for a righteous cause? Moreover, as soon as General Yue Fei returned, he was put to a cruel death." Someone else asked, "Why doesn't your teacher tell people to stop practicing? Not because Falun Gong is not good, but for the safety of the people practicing. If nobody were practicing, who could the Communists persecute?" On the surface, this question does not say Dafa is not good, but it suggests, "If the government won't let you practice, don't practice. If you insist on practicing you are suffering because of yourself." This is a form of deviated thinking! It does represent something, though. Let me give you an example: "If Falun Gong is good, why can't we practice? Are we afraid of any persecution? There is a problem in your logic! For example, when the Japanese invaded China, the Chinese army and the population were defending the country under very difficult circumstances, fighting to the last person. They would rather die than surrender. But according to your logic you would say, "You should surrender quickly. For the sake of protecting people's lives, no one is allowed to defend the country. To be a people without a country is better than being dead." Some people may even say, "Let us all follow the example of Traitor Wang Jingwei, we can all get promoted and be rich!" Is this right? No, it is not! Insist on the truth; insist on righteousness! To do so is the very principle of being a human being.
On the question of why Falun Gong is suffering from persecution, someone asked, "There are so many Falun Gong practitioners. If I were the leader of the country I would also want to kill the potential threat in its infant stage." This is also typical, deviated thinking and it should be corrected. Traitor Qin Kui worked with the inept king Zhao Guo to kill Yue Fei's whole family. This provides a very good example for responding to this comment. "The leader of a country must first of all consider the interests of the nation, making it a good country so that people can enjoy life and work, and so that the country becomes prosperous, rich and strong. He should not just think about his own power and position. He cannot torture and kill at will. That is the way inept kings act. Doing such will only ruin the country. This is just like Zhao Gou, the emperor during Yue Fei's time, who feared Yue Fei because of his accomplishments, and worked with Qin Hui to kill Yue Fei's whole family, thus having become the worst person for thousands of years to come. Isn't Jiang Zemin doing the same thing now?"
Another person asked: "I don't understand. If Falun Gong is really good why is it being persecuted?" This time I thought of the tale of Snow White. I explained: "Actually, the persecution of Falun Gong is the decision of Jiang Zemin himself. Many in the Chinese government objected to the persecution, but were afraid to say so for fear of being suppressed. Just because Jiang says it is not good does not mean it is not good. I think it is because Jiang wanted to be the center of everything. He wanted the people of China to listen only to him. But then he found there were hundreds of millions of people who practiced Falun Gong, and who followed what Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, said. Since there were only about 70 million communist party members, and not all of them listened to him, he became jealous and angry. He decided to start this bloody persecution that has been so detrimental to the country and its people. Have you heard the tale of Snow White? Even though Snow White was hiding in a house in the woods with the seven dwarfs, the ugly and evil queen did everything she could to try to kill Snow White. Was Snow White bad? No. It is the evil queen, who was so jealous of Snow White's beauty and goodness that made queen's ugliness and meanness stand out more. She could not stand it. Isn't it the same with Jiang?
My thoughts on clarifying the truth about Falun Gong are that it is usually very effective to use parallels or examples. It only takes a few words of clarifying the truth to people for them to understand.
Making telephone calls to rescue fellow practitioners is a very good way to validate Dafa and to offer salvation to living beings. When a Dafa practitioner clarifies the truth about Falun Dafa, his righteousness and compassion will lead sentient beings out of danger and scare the evil away. On the one hand we call the public security bureaus and labor camps to suppress the evil, and to reduce the level of their persecution. On the other hand we call the families of Dafa practitioners who were arrested to tell them the truth, to reinforce their upright thoughts and to help them support their loved ones. While visiting incarcerated Dafa practitioners, the family members then tell them about the phone calls from around the world, and tell them that everyone is concerned for their welfare. This encourages them to be strong, as these evil events and deeds will not last much longer.
When we call the judicial and public security departments in China, the people there usually say, "Falun Gong is illegal. Falun Gong practitioners are disobeying the law by distributing materials or telling the truth. Thus, they should be arrested and sentenced to jail;" or, "We have to carry out our duty according to the law." These are things that were not previously experienced while clarifying the truth to the overseas Chinese community. People in democratic countries overseas believe in freedom of religion and freedom of speech. To practice any qigong, and to be able to distribute any truth-clarifying materials are matters of course in these communities. But in China it is a very common problem to be restricted in such activities. Many people, including Dafa practitioners' family members, cannot understand why the Dafa practitioners clarify the truth.
In order to clarify the truth to everyday people, we must have a clear understanding of the Fa, and that practicing Falun Gong and clarifying the truth are not against any laws. It is against the law to lie, to persecute, to hurt and to kill people. Jiang Zemin is really the greatest criminal. He is the one that should be arrested and sentenced to jail. By telling the truth we are really exposing his criminal acts. Should it be against the law to expose these criminal elements? We use this opportunity to tell people stories about the persecution, like those documented in the truth information handouts we are distributing. What follows are two telephone call experiences.
1) Call to government officials
Them: "You always call to disturb people, pasting up slogans, distributing leaflets and damaging the security and cooperation of people."
Us: "Did these things happen before the persecution? If they stop the persecution right now, you will see if there are still people making the phone calls and pasting up the truth. Do you think we have nothing better to do? Actually, the one who damages the people's security and cooperation is Jiang Zemin. He establishes brainwashing classes across the country, monitors telephone calls, uses countless manpower and resources, and wastes millions of Chinese yuan. This is the money earned by the blood and sweat of people. Why not use it for economic development and to improve people's livelihood? Instead, it is used for persecuting good people who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. There are so many workers without jobs right now who are forced to retire prematurely. Many farmers cannot even find enough food to eat.
2) Policeman
Us: "She is a fellow citizen in Hong Kong. It makes a very bad impression on the international community for the police to arrest people without proper cause. Please think about it."
Them: "She was arrested because she was acting against the law. Anyone acting against the law should be prosecuted."
Us: "She has done nothing against the law by practicing Falun Gong and telling the truth about Falun Gong. The Constitution guarantees freedom of belief and freedom of speech. The Falun Gong practitioners are all good people. They just want to practice to improve their health. They do not hinder any one, but they were arrested and jailed. You are the people's policemen. You are supposed to protect people. You should arrest bad people, not good people! I think you are a person of good conscience. I hope you will not arrest good people. Please, treat Falun Gong practitioners well. Falun Gong is very well respected all over the world."
Them: "In China, Falun Gong is illegal. It is against the law to practice. We must do as the law requires."
Us: "Actually, Jiang and his cronies are the ones that are really against the law. He gave the order, 'Beating to death is counted as suicide" and 'No need to investigate.' He has been sued in several countries around the world for his genocidal offenses. Jiang Zemin is really the greatest criminal. If you really want to do as the law requires, you should go and get Jiang Zemin and prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law! In China today, you are innocent if you lie and persecute people, but you are guilty if you tell the truth. Murderers are free from prosecution, but the one trying to be a good person is persecuted! How could we have such a law in the world, past or present?"
While making telephone calls we might also have the occasion to talk to someone who has embraced an evil way or is converted in detention. They might ask, "Why cultivate? Isn't it for Consummation? And what is Consummation for?" This is a question I asked myself countless times. It was also frequently and hotly discussed in our Fa-study group. It could take thousands of words to explain, but I can only answer briefly: "Human beings originally came from higher realms, from very good worlds. They dropped down to the dirtiest level, earth, because of not being good enough. Then we must try our best to return to our original realm. The purpose for living as a human being is not to be human, but to return to one's original self so one can return to where he or she came from, as Mr. Li has told us. It is just like if one fell into a ditch of human waste; the only priority would be how to get out of it. Would you even bother to ask why you would want to get out? Could it be very comfortable staying in the ditch of human waste?"
In the process of clarifying the truth I cgenuinely feel the power of Dafa. Many ordinary people's questions look difficult at first glance, but during Fa-study, practice and sending forth righteous thoughts, good ideas constantly evolve. Sometimes it is just like what it says in Zhuan Falun, that one might have a headache thinking about a problem, walking around the house and yet not doing anything. Then, if one stops thinking about it and sits down to rest a while, an answer comes to mind. One other thing - frequently many good ideas, which are the result of the Dafa practitioner's collective wisdom, come out in experience sharing sessions.
Actually, when I clarify the truth by talking to people I don't have to think much. Often I feel that my mind is quite clear and my brain works great when I am talking to people; before they finish asking a question, I already have the answer in my mind. I don't mean to say I am smarter; Dafa is the source of all our wisdom. Let us cherish everything we have now. If we lose it, we will never recover it. Work harder still. Be sure not to waste what Mr. Li has done for us with many sacrifices.
Thank you, Teacher. Thank you, everyone!
