(2001 New York Conference)
Greetings, Teacher! Hello, fellow practitioners!
My name is Amy Cheng. I'm a practitioner from Rhode Island and have been cultivating in Dafa for three years. Today, I'd like to share with you how I obtained the Fa, as well as some of my recent cultivation experiences.
Since childhood, I have been very curious about life and the universe and, and I often sighed at how people's fates are all very different. I believed that being good will be rewarded and being evil will be punished and felt that somewhere up there, higher lives were controlling everything. I believed that a person's life is not just a process where one goes from birth to death and where one is bustling about all his life. I felt distressed about not knowing the real meaning of life and often felt a sense of loss.
I pursued science, hoping thatit would give me some answers. I discovered that what science could teach me was merely some superficial phenomena. The more I learned, the more things I discovered that science couldn't explain. What is the true meaning of human existence? What kind of person do we want to become? What kind of behavior is death, after all? What kind of attitude should we really have toward birth, aging, illness, and death? These were the questions I had always been seeking answers to.
In the beginning of 1998, I read "Falun Buddha Fa" - the transcript of Teacher's Sydney lecture - in a Chinese newspaper in St. Louis. I was very excited and was deeply drawn to the principles explained in the writings. The purpose of a person's life is to eliminate all of the bad things in him and return to his true self, return to the original place where his life belongs. After I read this, I felt as if I were awakening from a dream and realized that this was something I'd always been searching for. What I had learned before were only a few thin slivers, while this Fa has encompassed all of those pieces. The explanation of life, science, religion, the universe, as well as prehistoric civilization, solved the questions I had had for many years and answered many "why's" for me. I was shaken by the three words of "Zhen, Shan, Ren" (Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance) and felt how wonderful a life that has assimilated to "Zhen-Shan-Ren" would be! At that moment, I decided to cultivate in this Fa and called the contact person in the newspaper immediately. And thus, I obtained Zhuan Falun.
Next, I'd like to share with you some of my recent experiences in cultivation. At the end of last August, because of my husband's change in jobs, we moved from St. Louis to a town called Hope Valley in Rhode Island. At the time, everything seemed to be happening very abruptly. But Teacher has said that there isn't anything coincidental along the path of our cultivation. Six months later, as we look back at each step we made along the way, we now have a deeper understanding of those words from Teacher.
Although we had obtained Fa for quite some time and also knew how precious Dafa was, for a long time we merely relied on other practitioners to promote the Fa. We only participated but weren't actively involved. After we moved to Rhode Island, we found that there were very few people who knew about Falun Dafa. Yet when we talked to our neighbors, a lot of them were very interested. Since our predestined relationships led us here, how to introduce such a wonderful Dafa to more people became a pressing matter.
After we got a Rhode Island information booklet from the tourist center, we selected a few activities and applied to participate in them. We first participated in the annual Rhode Island Heritage Festival in September. Practitioners from Boston were a great help. Many of them came to help and brought plenty of printed materials. Although rain was previously forecasted for the day, not only did we not get any rain but the weather was also exceptionally good. Practitioners cooperated with each other very well. Some practiced the exercises, some distributed newspapers, and some talked to people about what's going on in China. The field was very peaceful and it attracted many people. Some of them learned the practice right on the spot. Nearly two thousand newspapers were distributed very quickly. The feeling we all had was that people in Rhode Island are very kind, and that many of them are interested in Dafa and are willing to take our materials. The success of this event reinforced our confidence in spreading the Fa. Some of the students at our practice site learned about Dafa from this event.
After the Heritage Festival, we organized a workshop at the public library in a nearby city. Although over 20 people initially showed interest in attending, only six came. We realized that in order to truly enable people to obtain the Fa, there were indeed many arduous tasks required of us. We want to simultaneously expand both the depth and the breadth of our Fa-spreading activities. Not only should we create the environment necessary for those who are predestined with the Fa to obtain the Fa, but we should also create the opportunities for even more people to know about Dafa and thus form their predestined relationships.
In the beginning of October, together with practitioners from Massachusetts, we participated in the Columbus Weekend Festival in Providence. The three-day event again enabled a lot of people to hear about Dafa. When we applied for this event, we ran into some difficulties, and I also had thoughts about wanting to take a break and spend some time reading the book, so it didn't matter if our application couldn't get approved. I even used "following the natural course of things" as an excuse. However, looking at it from the perspective of the Fa, and thinking for those lives who are waiting to hear about Fa, how precious each opportunity is for every living being! If it was something meant for us to do and yet we didn't do it or didn't do it well because we didn't try our best, what a shame that would be! Moreover, it would be very difficult to make up for it.
Actually, the course of every Fa-promotion activity is a process for us to cultivate and correct ourselves. For example, when I was at the Columbus Day event, though lots of newspapers were distributed, some of them were thrown away in the streets. Seeing all the newspapers on the ground, I didn't feel well at all, and the hand distributing the papers was hesitating. I was thinking, "Will he read it? Will he throw it away casually?" And some people passed me by without taking the paper, but they took the paper from the practitioner standing behind me. Teacher said, "Learn from each other in cultivation." Through some very insignificant things, we can see where we've fallen behind others. Although some people didn't read the entire newspaper, after seeing Falun Dafa and "Zhen, Shan, Ren," perhaps he was given a chance. After all, there were thousands of people who got Dafa material; what a precious meaning that had for their lives. When I was chatting with a lady who was selling flowers and told her we were there to introduce Dafa, she said very happily, "You are doing something great. Many people who came here to buy flowers mentioned your group and said that you looked like very good people."
At last year's conference on the West Coast, Teacher said, "I'd also like to take this opportunity to really thank the various levels of government in the United States and Canada for the honors they've bestowed upon us and upon me. Under this special circumstance, I can't thank them individually, but I will bring them a wonderful future. On the surface, we're seeking public support for Dafa. This is the thinking of the worldly human side, manifest in this human place. Yet it's reversed on the other side. Whoever supports Dafa or advocates for Dafa is establishing for himself his being's existence in the future and is laying a foundation for obtaining the Fa in the future." This made us realize the importance of promoting Dafa to all levels of the government in the U.S. It has been proven through actual practice that the process of applying for recognition of Dafa is indeed a very good way to spread Fa.
Last November, we decided to start with the application in the town we live in. After we became familiar with the process, we would apply to other cities and towns. Hopkinton, the town we live in, requires that all requests for proclamations be submitted at town council meetings. I was nervous about attending this type of meeting, so I delegated it to my husband. However, on that evening of the meeting, my husband unexpectedly had to go to Boston for something. So I had to take the application paperwork and two kids and rush to the meeting. I thought that the meeting was for only five or six people. I had no idea that the room would be full of people, and moreover, there wasn't one child there. I hesitated about whether I should bring the kids in and was even about to retreat to my car. But soon I realized that if we didn't submit the application this time, we would have to wait two more weeks for the next council meeting, which would delay applying to other cities and towns. "Wouldn't that delay things for Dafa?" After telling my kids over and over that they had to keep quiet once inside the conference room, I plucked up my courage and walked in.
When the council chairman asked if I had any requests, I proposed that they proclaim a Falun Dafa Day. Being a member in Dafa, to be able to introduce Dafa to so many people and give the residents of this town a chance to know it, I was filled with a sacred and honorable feeling deep inside. When the words Falun Dafa came out of my mouth, tears welled up in my eyes. I explained to them the benefits people had received both physically and spiritually from Dafa and expressed my hope that through this proclamation local residents would have an opportunity to learn about Dafa. After I finished my introduction, I gave every council member a package of information. Council members read the material carefully and granted our request two weeks later.
Having had the experience of a success, we sent out material about the first Falun Dafa Day in Rhode Island to other cities and towns, to apply for similar proclamations. Before sending out the material, we called each city and town to inquire about the name of the person in charge of this affair. We tried to give an initial introduction to this person before sending the material. Very quickly, some cities and towns mailed us the proclamations. We then sent out updated information on Falun Dafa proclamations in Rhode Island to other cities and towns. At present, about one-third of the cities and towns in Rhode Island, over a dozen of them, have issued proclamations for Falun Dafa Week or Falun Dafa Day. We know that the result of broad spreading of Dafa is due to Dafa's own power, but trying to do our best in every step we take is the responsibility of each one of us disciples.
The proclamations have provided very good foundations for more people to know about Dafa and for people with predestined relationship to truly obtain the Fa. We contacted local libraries and activity centers in all the towns where proclamations have been issued, in order to hold workshops. We also contacted local newspapers to invite them to attend our events and report on us. Several newspapers in Rhode Island, including the Providence Journal, the newspaper with the largest distribution in Rhode Island, have given very positive coverage to Falun Dafa. The number of people attending our workshops has also increased significantly. Some people who didn't come now think, after reading the articles, that Dafa is very good. Sometimes when I go grocery shopping with my kids, I run into people who point at my daughter and say, "Isn't she the kid in the newspaper who was doing the practice? I read the article. It was excellent!"
Some state senators, mayors, and other government officials also came and joined us in our celebration activities for Falun Dafa Days. Of course, the participation of government officials is only a formality. But their participation attracts the attention of media, and will invite subsequent coverage. And this will let more people hear about Dafa.
The involvement of staff members of libraries is also very helpful with regard to the success of our workshops. The head of one library was very supportive of our activities. She actively sent out news about our workshop and invited the mayor and local newspapers to attend. Her effort made the event very successful. Afterward, she also called to invite us to offer more workshops.
Providence and Warwick are two relatively big cities in Rhode Island. After our Fa-spreading events, many people expressed their interest in continuing to learn. We now have practice sites set up in both cities. The practice site in Warwick was set up last month. After we learned that there would be an experience sharing conference in Boston in March, we decided to create for these people, who have predestined relationship with the Fa, a better environment so they can learn more about Dafa and have more first-hand experiences with Dafa. What a rare opportunity it would be for them to be able to attend the Boston Fa conference. Sometimes, traveling back and forth between these places with two kids is not very easy. There are also times when the schedule for workshops conflicts with group practices. So we have to divide our family into two units and go to different places. However, as soon as we think of the difficulties, the enormous suffering, as well as the compassion Teacher has in saving us, and the selfless devotion by disciples in China, everything we do seems so insignificant.
Almost all Western practitioners in Rhode Island are new students who obtained the Fa at the end of last year or the beginning of this year. However, their love of Dafa and the changes they've experienced both physically and spiritually in this short period have let us feel very deeply the power of Dafa. Teacher's compassion in not leaving any one behind, and we feel the responsibility we have on our shoulders. One practitioner said that after reading Zhuan Falun once, he experienced many physical changes. Many of his illnesses disappeared, he gave up smoking the three or four packs of cigarettes that he used to smoke a day, and he stopped swearing at people. He said that he can no longer leave Zhuan Falun behind and carries the book with him wherever he goes and reads it whenever he has time. He also said that he can feel that he is being looked after and helped by Teacher's Fashen all the time. Seeing his change, I remember the first time when we talked on the phone. He had told me that he wasn't supposed to belong to this filthy world and that he wanted to be a good person but always ran into snags and was foiled. He had always been looking for a way that would let him break away from this place. Recalling his words, I feel a great sadness for the type of loneliness and helplessness that a predestined person feels as the result of not being able to obtain the Fa. I'm really happy for him for finally having obtained Dafa.
There is another practitioner who obtained the Fa at the beginning of the year. Teacher started to cleanse her body as soon as she learned the exercises. After reading the book, the changes in her mind and body were also quite significant, and her Third Eye was also open. I exchanged email with her every day and was often shocked by her tremendous progress in terms of xinxing and breakthroughs in enlightenment. She works at a cable TV station and is working on a health program about Dafa so that Dafa can be introduced to more people. She has just obtained the Fa, yet she already wants to spread the Fa -- we are moved by her compassionate heart. We couldn't help but exclaim at Dafa's power and how wonderfully things have been arranged. After seeing these predestined people obtained the Fa with such happiness, we now genuinely understand why we have come here.
The work to spread the Fa in Rhode Island has just begun. The disciples in China are sacrificing all that they have, the evil forces still haven't been completely eliminated, and there are many, many things that still need us to work hard on. I myself still have a lot of things that I haven't cultivated well and that don't meet the standard. In my future efforts in spreading and safeguarding the Fa, I will continuously cultivate, correct, and purify myself, and play the role of a Dafa particle.
Thank you, Teacher, and thank you, everyone.
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Category: Clarifying the Truth
