(Clearwisdom.net) At noon on an October day last year, I was distributing truth-clarifying materials on the streets of a small town. Right after I placed one flyer in the basket of a motorcycle, a store owner spotted me from inside the building. He stormed out, flipped the flyer open with one hand, waved it above his head and shouted "Falun Gong flyer." At the same time, he tried to call the police with his cell phone in the other hand. People started to gather around us. I was startled, but not afraid, and immediately sent forth a righteous thought to disintegrate the evil element that was controlling him. I took a few steps forward, snatched the flyer back and spoke to him sternly: "What are you yelling at? Get inside if you have anything to say." My righteous thoughts were strong and actions so swift that he was shocked and his boisterousness and arrogance were subdued. He went back inside the store as told. I said to the crowd, "There is really nothing wrong. Please get back to your own business."
After the crowd dispersed, I went inside the store and asked him, "Do you know anything about Falun Gong? What did Falun Gong do to you to make you report innocent people?" He tried to find excuses for himself, "I heard about it on TV a few years ago. I received a flyer before but did not want to read it. The police have told every store to watch out and report on you guys. There are bonuses for doing that."
"That propaganda is made of lies, don't you know?" I tried to reason with him, "Even if a noble man loves money, he obtains it through proper ways. If you report on us, you will receive retribution. Can money bring you health? Can it bring you happiness?" I held his gaze while I talked. In the beginning, his eyes glared evilly, but later he dared not look at me squarely. I told him about the truth behind the "self-immolation," the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, the fact that heaven will extinguish the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) and about the massive wave of withdrawals from the CCP. I kept talking until he lowered his head in remorse and embarrassment. In the end, I asked if he had joined the Communist Party. He answered yes and said he had once been selected as an "exceptional party member." I convinced him to quit the CCP immediately to avoid being buried together with it. He said he would think about it. I knew that by this point he had learned the truth and changed his mind. So I reemphasized a few more words, then stepped out to continue my truth clarifying work in a noble and open way.
I thought this incident over again in the evening after I returned home. I realized that, as a Dafa disciple, when an unexpected incident happens, the first thing to do is to maintain a calm heart, get rid of all fears, use strong righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil and face the situation. We need to take control. Remember, we are Fa disciples who assist Master to save people. We do not condone any persecution. Secondly, when a problem arises, we need to use righteous thought to resolve it in order to effectively stop the persecution. Master has told us:
"Wherever there's a problem, that is where you need to clarify the truth and save people. Don't take a detour when you run into difficulties."("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference in 2002")
Every tribulation has to be passed in cultivation. When we break through one tribulation, improve our level and meet the Fa's requirement, the persecution is diminished immediately. What's more, we are doing the most righteous things. The old forces manipulate ordinary people to commit sins against Dafa. They are actually weeding out these human beings. When we stop someone from committing a sin, we are taking him away from the old forces and saving him from danger. This is the most benevolent thing for him. Thirdly, we have to search within ourselves when negating the old forces. We must locate where we fall short and search deeper to find the insufficiencies within the group and correct them during cultivation. That will leave no chance for evil. We can also build a better environment for salvation and cultivation.
A few days later, I shared my experience with other practitioners at group Fa study. We all felt this incident reflected the following insufficiencies within our group regarding truth clarification and convincing people to quit the CCP organizations:
1. Attachment to fear. Practitioners paid more attention to distributing truth clarifying materials behind the scenes and dared not meet people face to face. We realized that it is important to spread the materials on a large scale, because people with a pure heart and kind nature will enlighten to the truth if they read the flier. However, those who have obtained advantages and have been lost while pursuing fame and profit will need practitioners to clarify the truth to them in depth and repeatedly. Only then can they wake up.
2. Some practitioners did not want to go through hardships. Throughout the whole year, they only distributed a few truth-clarifying materials close to where they lived and never went to a different town or village, especially where there were no Dafa practitioners. Few people in those areas had heard about the truth.
3. There is a lack of group cooperation. There are not many Dafa disciples in our area. Those who can step out are even fewer, leaving only a few active practitioners who are doing things on their own. A senior practitioner couple was persecuted year before last. They never went out again once they returned home. Illness came back after they fell behind in cultivation for a long time. We did not offer enough caring and did not take them along to clarify the truth. As a result, they remained in a despondent state for a long time.
After searching within ourselves, many attachments and insufficiencies were found. We came to realize that one should cultivate oneself well during this precious period of Fa-rectification. At the same time, we should seize any chance to save sentient beings, leaving no cause for regret for ourselves.
Fellow practitioners, please kindly point out anything you see inappropriate.
Heshi!
January 13, 2008