(Clearwisdom.net) For a long time, our local practitioners would argue with people when clarifying the facts about Falun Gong. This situation was especially pronounced among our male practitioners. This type of behavior usually ended up badly for all concerned, and brought a negative impact to Dafa. My fellow practitioners and I were very concerned about this situation. After several discussions, we realized that we still held a competitive attachment, which we needed to remove. However, when we encounter people who don't want to listen or who argue back with their CCP (Chinese Communist Party) propaganda, our unbalanced hearts resurface again. Some practitioners wondered how they could let such evil arrogance go unrestrained, and they would argue with them. Sometimes the practitioners' words sounded stiff or intense. One can imagine the outcome. Our practitioners made a decision after such a discussion: For those who didn't want to accept the informational materials, we would pay no attention to them for the time being, and instead focus on those who were willing to listen. Later we began to doubt our actions; indeed, we thought our concepts were incorrect. Didn't Teacher tell us,

"Yet when you deal with this issue that has long confounded you, upon seeing the challenges ahead, fully aware of them, you retreat instead of pushing forward, and don't want to do it." ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference")

Some practitioners suggested that our lack of compassion, our insufficient benevolence and our being unable to tolerate others, might be the real issues.

A long time passed and we still could not achieve what Teacher had said, "Compassion can harmonize Heaven and Earth, ushering in spring." ("The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos" from Hong Yin)

That kind of extremely tolerant mindset is in fact being able to accept others and to truly think from the perspective of those other beings.

After Teacher's lecture, "Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference," was published, we studied it seriously. We looked inward and found that when we were clarifying the truth about Falun Gong to people, we were not truly looking for the benefits offered to them--not with selfless mercy. Instead, we had our own selfish thoughts, such as, "I only want to change others and not myself." We constantly told others, "What I am telling you are the true principles and it's for your own good. If you truly listen to me, you will receive benefits." These were all selfish notions that we were forcing onto others. Once we ran into people who didn't want to accept our ideas, we would use human thinking and human principles to try to overcome them. If a person seemed unwilling to change his mind, we would think this person was not worthy of being saved. For this reason, our strongest strength, compassionate energy, would not be displayed from our hearts.

From studying Teacher's Fa lectures, we realized many of our inadequacies, including the issues just mentioned. We didn't realize that arguments cannot save a sentient being; instead, arguments arouse the other person's negative elements. When we clarify the facts about Falun Gong, we want to have the person change; therefore, we should do it with empathy and rationality. Only then can our compassion arise and help that person listen to and consider the facts. With those facts, people can then distinguish evil from good and decide to withdraw from the CCP. Only this way will we be able to save people. Our truth clarification is not just a formality, but a means to complete our tasks. Teacher lets us upgrade our Xinxing while we are saving sentient beings. So, we need to maintain a compassionate heart when we are doing truth clarification.

When we don't explain things harmoniously to people, but instead start arguments, aren't we trying to resolve issues through fighting and conquest, instead of solving the problem with our compassionate hearts? Now that Teacher has pointed it out, practitioners are finally enlightening to this fundamental problem. When validating the Fa for saving sentient beings, our attitude and state of mind along with our manner of doing things are all critical and should be maintained with genuine unconditional "shan," without any thoughts of reward. Try not to touch the negative side of the sentient beings; instead, use "shan" to arouse their compassionate nature. The actions and conduct of people will quickly improve, affected by the practitioners' mind. Only then will the arguments cease and the energy field for truth clarification be harmonized. If we can maintain our compassion, common people's bad elements will be decreased, and it will be easier for us to save them.

Here is an example of the power and success of compassion: Recently a local practitioner went outside a nearby forced labor camp to send righteous thoughts and he encountered a person. The practitioner began a conversation and asked him to withdraw from the CCP. The person didn't want to accept the truth and instead, he chased the practitioner away. The practitioner would possibly have abandoned the idea of saving this person before he had studied Teacher's lecture " Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference," but now he didn't let this person's viewpoint affect him. He understood the rejection by the person may not be coming from his true self, but just his negative factors plus the CCP's poisoning. So the practitioner felt empathy and concern; he also added his determination to save this person because all sentient beings came down to Earth for only one purpose: to obtain the Fa. But when Dafa wanted to save him, the CCP's poisoning actually stopped him from seeing the truth and thus blocked him from being saved. Then all of the lives in the cosmic system which he represents would also lose their chance to be saved. It means that immeasurable numbers of sentient beings and immense systems--so many--would be pitifully lost! We should not let the evil factors prevent the opportunity for all living beings to choose their future. When the practitioner realized this, his heart filled with compassion. The person sensed the compassion and his manner was suddenly completely transformed. He told the practitioner his name and that he wanted to withdraw from the CCP Youth League. With tears in his eyes, the practitioner had truly witnessed a phenomenon--the power of the Fa being manifested. He felt himself surrounded by the enormous energy derived from the compassion within his heart.

We must turn away from our human thinking and treat sentient beings with a heart of compassion. When encountering problems, we should not use human notions to resolve them, but rather, a cultivator's mercy. Since understanding this Fa principle, practitioners seem to have reached a breakthrough in clarifying the truth. Those people who had refused before, now gladly accepted the informational materials. Before when telling people about the persecution of Falun Gong, practitioners used only their unsteady hearts and couldn't control the situation, but now they are very steady and confident. The practitioners maintain control and their divine powers are manifesting through Dafa's power.

8/17/2009