(Clearwisdom.net) Japan's earthquake and tsunami caused grave devastation and seriously affected Shen Yun's performance there. The irreparable losses made us realize that we did not do well in our saving of sentient beings. Those who do not know the facts about Dafa will not have good fortune or an opportunity in the future. A few practitioners decided to go to Japan to spread the Fa and teach people the exercises in order to help save the sentient beings living in a dangerous situation.
A practitioner phoned the number of a refugee shelter and intended to tell them that we wished to help with construction and hoped to help rebuild the affected areas. We would then use our free time to teach the exercises and spread the Fa. If we said that we just wanted to teach them the exercises, we were concerned that they might misunderstand our motive. We were informed that we didn’t need to go there, as there are already so many volunteers helping with the construction. Fellow practitioners then told them that we had been practicing qigong for many years and had experienced huge benefits to our health. We told them that we hoped that those affected could use our expertise in this difficult time to help them adjust their mind and body.
We did not expect their attitude to change immediately and ask us to come, but the person on the phone gave us detailed information of their location, contact details, and reminded us of the difficult conditions there. There were around four hundred people living at this shelter, which was only forty kilometers away from the nuclear plant. There was no open space to provide for rest and food. Yet, we still gladly accepted the invitation.
A fellow practitioner then made contact with a refugee site housing two thousand people. Getting in touch with them was unexpectedly easy. Sentient beings were waiting to be saved, yet we were still wondering how to tactfully reach the goal of saving them. This hesitation is a sign that we have underestimated the longing of all beings for Dafa and the rapid progress of the Fa-rectification.
Eight of us left for the site. As we got closer to the area, there were fewer vehicles on the highway and the weather became worse. The atmosphere felt very melancholic. We saw many cars piled up along the valley, which had been deposited by the force of the tsunami. Although many houses remained intact, there was little sign of human habitation. It was a bleak picture. We started to send forth righteous thoughts to clear the old force factors.
We discussed how we should go about spreading the Fa. A fellow practitioner recommended that we distribute truth-clarification materials first and then teach the exercises. Another practitioner suggested that we teach the exercises first and then see how receptive they were before handing out materials. It seemed everyone was enlightened in different ways and no one could convince the other that their idea should be adopted. We were in a stalemate. A practitioner then recommended that we study the Fa, and look inward. After studying, we came to realize that we should put aside our own ideas and unconditionally cooperate with each other, even if others’ methods did not fit with our own. We must have righteous thoughts so that the results would be good. We finally agreed to let one practitioner make the decision, and no matter what the arrangement was, we would support him. This practitioner then let go of his own idea and proposed a course of action.
The staff at the first shelter we visited, housing four hundred people, were very happy to see us and led us to a command post to complete procedures and give each of us a volunteer badge. He then phoned his superior, who told us to come directly to the city and teach the exercises at the shelter there. The city's shelter was bigger and looked after two thousand people. We were in for a pleasant surprise. It was really Teacher's arrangement. As long as we had righteous thoughts, all would be better than what we would expect.
The shelter was about an hour's drive away from the nuclear plant, and we were somewhat anxious. We sent forth righteous thoughts to eradicate any interference so that we wouldn't be delayed. Our GPS indicated that we were in the vicinity of the refugee shelter. We were very happy and felt that as long as we did things with righteous thoughts, the power of Dafa would prevail. But soon we discovered that we had gone too far and had to turn around and drive back. We realized that we had the mentality of showing off, so we calmed down to sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the old forces' interference.
We soon arrived at the top of a mountain; there was a long line of cars waiting for radiation checks. When it was our turn, they let us pass without asking any questions.
When we entered a stadium, it was full of people. Sleeping pads covered the entire corridor on the second floor. Some people were sleeping with their heads covered up and some just sat there in a daze. There wasn’t any privacy in this environment. That day was the first time they were able to have hot meals. Staff members gave us a very warm reception and arranged to have us teach the exercises. The notice was announced by radio. While we waited in the corridor, we met a Chinese woman, a fifty-some year old volunteer who had lived in Japan for many years. She was surprised to see Chinese people coming here. We told her that we were Falun Dafa practitioners and hoped that we could help the Japanese people. She was very touched, because it took great courage to come here at this time.
There were two sites for us to teach the exercises, and each site gave us twenty minutes. We could only teach the first and second set of exercises. One practitioner briefly explained to the staff that because we have benefited from practicing Dafa, that we hoped to help them to also have good health and overcome this crisis.
As we first demonstrated the first set of exercises, some people stood up and joined in. We were surprised that they were very eager to learn. Then more and more people stood up. A lot of elderly people did the exercises sitting down. After twenty minutes, we told them that we would return the following day. They then gave us a round of applause. Before leaving, we offered them introductory leaflets to Dafa, which many people took.
The second site was in close proximity to the first, and several people came from the first site. We taught the exercises and distributed truth clarification materials. Everything seemed to go better than our original plan. This was because we let go of our human notions and let the power of the Fa play out.
When we had finished here, we drove to another shelter, which was about an hour's drive away. On the way we took the opportunity to share experiences and reminded ourselves not to be overzealous and not to slack off while sending forth righteous thoughts.
There were more than two thousand people at the second shelter, and there were living quarters on three floors. The staff there had arranged a place in the corner of their office for us to teach the exercises. The space could only accommodate about a dozen people, and was really not suitable. But I reminded myself that all was arranged by Teacher, so I did not ask for another space. By the time we had finished teaching the first exercise, there were about a dozen people standing in front of me, and then another sixty plus people that stood outside the office. The staff then began removing office chairs to make more room. Several practitioners helped correct the participants’ exercise movements. The scene was really spectacular. It was the first time I saw so many Japanese doing the Dafa exercises to the soothing music. Only when we let go of our human notions could we witness the solemn, sacred benevolence of Dafa unfolding before our eyes.
When the day had finished, we went to stay at a fellow practitioner’s home at Sendai City. We studied the Fa and then shared the day's experiences. An emergency meeting was arranged in Japan to discuss Shen Yun's performance there. Everyone took the opportunity to share their experiences and the lessons they had learned in sponsoring Shen Yun. I felt that this opportunity was hard to come by at this time in Japan. We all had so much to talk about that we continued the discussion until the early hours of the morning.
We returned to the shelter the following day, where there were two thousand people. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the space would only be available after 2 p.m.. The staff then agreed that we could find a suitable place of our own and also allowed us to distribute truth-clarification materials. We again had differences of opinion as to whether we should first distribute the materials or teach the exercises. Thanks to the experience of the previous day, we all laid down our own feelings and decided to divide into three groups and distribute the leaflets. The results were very good, and almost everyone accepted them. When we were done, we still had sufficient time to speak to people about Falun Gong. Many people thanked us and kept bowing to us, so we bowed back.
We were then told that the shelter closer to the nuclear power plant was to be relocated that evening and that we should go there earlier. Four practitioners immediately left to go there. When they arrived, the staff members were very pleased to see them and arranged an office for them to rest in. They also made two volunteers available to help us. Both of them then joined us to do the exercises. Some people in the corridor greeted us. Some took fellow practitioners’ hands and told us of their experiences when doing the exercises the day before. I was surprised that they recognized us. The staff said it was because of the Dafa clothing we wore.
That day, we taught all five sets of the exercises. When we sat in the full lotus position to teach the meditation, it became very quiet. When we finished the meditation, they showed their respect to us. I believe the applause was to thank Dafa, and that their knowing sides were cheering for their future.
Before leaving, we left a staff member several CD's containing the exercise instructions. He was very grateful and said he would make arrangements to play it for others.
The practitioners who remained in the shelter with two thousand people came across a leader of the Democratic Party, who was accompanied by many staff members and a large number of journalists. When they heard that practitioners were teaching exercises, he went over to shake hands with them. Practitioners then gave him truth clarification materials.
On our way back home, we felt tired and some of us were sleepy. Our car began to lose control. We stopped by a repair shop and found out that our tires needed more pressure. I realized that we could not relax our efforts. What we had done was very limited and that there were many more sentient beings that did not know the facts about Dafa. We only took action when there was a huge loss. In fact, there are more sentient beings waiting for us, far more than the ones where disaster struck.
