Around July 20th, 2000, there were many Hong Kong practitioners distributing Falun Dafa materials and flyers and explaining the true situation of Falun Dafa to the public. Every day, there were practitioners promoting Falun Dafa on street corners, walkways, bus stations, piers, parks, villages, and many other busy locations. Within a week, 50,000 copies of the brochure "A Brief True Story about Falun Gong" as well as thousands of copies of other materials were all disseminated. The materials are still in high demand. This week's experience was quite revealing and the practitioners were enlightened to the fact that the promotion of Falun Dafa cannot be separated from our own cultivation.
At the beginning, things went quite smoothly. There was not much interference. Many people took our flyers and read them carefully. Some practitioners were initially quite shy and afraid of losing face or being disturbed, and worried that someone would insult our Teacher and Falun Dafa. Gradually, these attachments were put down and the practitioners attained courage and confidence. We understand that our Teacher always leads us and arranges every step for our cultivation.
The situation was quite stable until July 20. Our attachments were gradually exposed. Some practitioners became attached to the number of flyers distributed, wishing that more could be distributed every day, and things could go even more smoothly. In order to distribute more materials, more efforts was made. Unconsciously, the attachment to accomplishing things developed and the situation got worse instead.
On July 21, a bunch of scum in Hong Kong who had expired visas and claimed to be Falun Gong practitioners, confronted the law-enforcement officials. They even threatened to do something extreme in the name of Falun Dafa. The Hong Kong media had comprehensive reports on those people's behavior that damaged Falun Dafa, and they called those people "Falun Gong practitioners." We made the statement to clarify that those trouble-makers were not Falun Dafa practitioners; however, little information about it was reported. Many Hong Kong residents saw the media reports about those people threatening suicide by jumping out of buildings, as well as their abnormal actions, and this made a negative impression on the residents. The next day, when some practitioners went to Wangjiao District to distribute materials, only dozens of flyers were disseminated in several hours. Quite often, people came along to scold us. A person insisted that our teacher had foreign political force, and "collected money." One practitioner was already upset for a whole day, he had tried to convince that person but failed, then he became irritated and could not maintain his xinxing (mind nature). That person said to him: "You have practiced (Falun Dafa) for 3 years, how could you get irritated when someone confronts you? How could you claim to adhere to 'peacefulness'? "
This practitioner realized that every practitioner represents the image of Falun Dafa. If our behavior could not make other people feel the power of compassion and peacefulness of Falun Dafa, how could we promote Falun Dafa in the future? If we got irritated, we were driven and swayed by our own and other people's sentiments. He felt sorry about it and realized that he was busy in promoting Falun Dafa but did not study the Fa enough, so the human sentiment surfaced. We were afraid of being insulted and being scolded by other people. Without putting down these attachments, how could we compare with our fellow practitioners who are enduring the sufferings both physically and mentally in the prisons, and are still affronting things calmly and with a noble attitude? How could we live up to the expectation of our Teacher who is forbearing the tribulations for all practitioners?
The next morning, this practitioner went to distribute flyers after studying the Fa, which made his mind righteous again. Many practitioners realized from his experience that if we study the Fa less, the demons would take advantage of the gaps in our minds; then even if we are doing a sacred thing, we could not accomplish it and would fall into the demon's traps instead. On that day, we saw the better effect of promoting Falun Dafa.
Many tourists coming from Mainland China were interested in reading the flyers. Some scolded us once they saw Falun Gong flyers; some were so scared that they ran to the other side of the street. Some were struggling between fear and the desire to read. They were hesitating, with the hands extending out and back, and eventually they accepted it. Some received the flyers with great interest; some walked over to ask for the materials and updated information regarding the situation of Falun Dafa; some expressed the interest to learn. Different people made different choices towards Falun Dafa. Facing all of these, my heart was calm and at ease: this is the power of Falun Dafa!
July 24 was the last day for the annual Hong Kong Book Exhibition. There were continuous waves of people all day long on the sky-paths leading to the exhibition. Our practitioners stood in the midst of crowds, holding the Falun Dafa materials, wearing the signs that read, "the Truth of Falun Gong." We smiled from our hearts, because this chance comes to human beings from the mercy of the Lord Buddha. Many people asked for the materials; some of them actually took a big detour around the thick crowds to approach us; some came back to get it. No matter young or old, man or woman, tourists from Mainland China or native Hong Kong residents, they were attracted to Falun Dafa. Their hearts were shaken as if the locks in their brains were opened up. Our previous method for promoting Falun Dafa was limited to group exercises. Because many people in Hong Kong get up late in the morning, they don't have chance to see what practitioners are like. We just gave them a good impression and showed the gracious manner of Falun Dafa practitioners.
A foreigner came over purposely, raising his thumb, said: "Falun Gong: Excellent!" One old lady smiled and asked a practitioner: "Do you also practice Falun Gong? ... You look so young!" She took the materials and read them carefully. An old man took many pictures for us, and a practitioner asked him: "Sir, have your got the materials?" He said: "I have got four copies. I want to bring them back to our company and let the fellows read them! Excellent!" Later, he stood there watching our practitioners until we left. Some people also walked over and said: "Falun Gong, Good!" Many practitioners noticed that kids are particularly fond of our materials. They watched our practitioners with their eyes wide open and with the hands reaching out high. Some kids read the characters of "Falun Dafa" and "Zhen Shan Ren" while passing by. What a wonderful seed this plants for their future lives!
One man came over with mean glances and condemned us. However, practitioners were not upset at all. Some people hate Falun Dafa just because it has taken a righteous path. Every living being in the Universe is positioning itself. The Law of the Universe is fair.
Hong Kong Practitioners July 26, 2000
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