It's been almost 2 years since we started clarifying the truth to tourists from around the world at the Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne. Normally, mainly our elderly practitioners do these activities. Whether in rain or shine, not a day has been missed because we all know telling people the truth is the responsibility of each Dafa disciple. Clarifying the truth to Mainland Chinese whose minds have been deceived by slander and lies is especially urgent. Fitzroy Garden, the city's main tourist attraction, is the ideal location for such a purpose. It also provides an environment to test practitioners' cultivation. The following are some of our experiences over the last 2 years.
At Fitzroy Garden, besides handing out printed materials, the display boards play a very useful role in telling people the truth. Many mainland Chinese tourists are afraid to take our handouts but are willing to look at the displays. We often observe the changes in their expressions as they study the displays. Realising the importance these display boards played, we tried ways to improve the contents of the exhibits to achieve maximum effect.
Whilst the display boards are fairly effective in conveying our message, they are still silent pictures. If the truth can be shown on TV to the Chinese people, the result should be even better. A practitioner without hesitation donated his own TV set and video player. This however, created new challenges of transportation. But as practitioners, nothing can deter us. Everyday people do things with money, but we use our hearts. Where there is a will, a solution can be found. Master only looks at our hearts and we solved this challenge by taking turns delivering the equipment.
In clarifying the truth, we came across some very nasty people. Some Mainland Chinese tourists verbally abuse us using very foul language. All of us were able to remain calm and composed, maintaining a quiet dignity. The following are samples of some of our experiences.
Once a busload of mainland Chinese tourists on their way into the Garden walked passed our display boards. One of them yelled aloud to the others not to look, saying that these are fakes, and hurried them along. A practitioner thought, "How could this person be so evil, trying to prevent others from seeing the display," and concluded that this person would not accept any handouts from us. When she saw this person coming out of the Garden, she began to send forth righteous thoughts. As this person walked passed, she nodded to him, smiled and said "How are you, would you like some reading materials." He asked, "Did this really happen?" she answered, "Of course! That's why we show it. We have the victims' names, addresses and their work units and have evidence to back it up. You will not be able to see these in China." He took all the materials that were handed to him. This practitioner on reflection said, "In that particular instant, my only thought was trying to save him, just to eliminate the evil forces controlling him so he would take our materials and read them." As the thoughts were pure and righteous, the result turned out to be good.
Had my thoughts been as they were at the very beginning, when I first saw him, they would be incorrect. There was no compassion in them. Even though I did not say it out loud, my mind was thinking differently. Such thinking would reflect the thoughts of everyday people rather than those of a practitioner. The state of mind determines the outcome. My personal understanding is that we must at all times regard ourselves as Dafa disciples and treat everyone with compassion. Out of a righteous mind comes compassion. Cultivating compassion is to always consider the needs of others before one's self. If we are only concerned about how we think of the other person, the result will be just the opposite.
At times, Mainland Chinese tourists would avoid walking past our display boards and instead take a by-pass into the Garden. Some of us would wait for their return at the bus, but most still refused our materials. One practitioner thought how wonderful it would be if they would only come and look at the exhibits. She then began to send forth righteous thoughts. Not long after, a few of them did come our way, stopped to look and even took photos. From this point, she enlightened that sending righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth are arranged by Master as an opportunity to upgrade.
At the beginning, the tour bus drivers, tour guides and the ice-cream vendor did not understand what we were doing and some of them were rather unfriendly. With cultivators' compassion, patience, forbearance and explanations, most changed their attitudes and some even became supportive. Only one driver remained hostile and on a number of occasions, collected our materials that were left in his bus and dumped them into the rubbish bin. He even tore them in pieces in front of us and threw them onto the ground. One practitioner, with tears in her eyes, tried to reason with him but he would not accept it. We still had much work to do to soften his hostility. The ice-cream vendor was also unhappy about us being close to his van and often used unpleasant language towards us. This location is indeed a good environment for cultivation. Many of us have spoken to him and his attitude is slowly changing. One day, I was talking to a Chinese tourist and had not noticed that we were directly in front of his van. He later complained bitterly that I had affected his business and said, "You are doing this on purpose; if you do this again, I will take action." I did not answer back and walked away. On reflection, I realised that what I did was wrong. I should have apologised rather than just walking away without a word. As Dafa disciples, we should conduct ourselves at all times in the best possible manner.
On anther occasion, a practitioner noticed a mainland Chinese tourist lying on the grass as if feeling unwell. She walked over and inquired about him. He did not reply. So she said, "Stay there and don't move, I will show you something." She brought over the display board with the self-immolation photos and held it up for him to read. She then showed him the exhibit. When he finished reading, he sat up, took our materials and left. When we show concern for others at all times and tell people the truth with sincerity and compassion, the result will be good.
In the course of telling the truth to the Chinese people, we often observe the changes in their facial expressions when they learn about what is actually happening. We also come to realise the importance of this location. In the beginning we only came here on Sundays to distribute materials, after our normal group practices at other sites. At the time we did not fully understand the meaning of Fa rectification. Only with Master's progressive elucidation did we comprehend its full implication. In fact, our every step along the way was with Master's guidance. What are difficulties' when compared to what Dafa has given us?
A fellow practitioner told a group of people around her "My whole family has a history of heart problems. My younger sister has serious heart failure. I had a heart problem until I started to practice Falun Gong. Nowadays, I feel fit and full of energy. Even if you gave me a mountain full of gold, I would not give up Falun Gong or denounce Falun Dafa." Her husband told their friends, "Do you know why she is out the whole day promoting Dafa? She had an incurable sickness and Falun Gong saved her. This is her way of expressing her gratitude. If you say Falun Gong is bad, how can she accept it?" In fact, we are all beneficiaries of Dafa and we are the best advertisement. How can we not tell the whole world about Falun Dafa?
In telling people the truth, we are also practising cultivation. We can encounter different situations and meet all types of people, thus providing us with opportunities to test ourselves. Sometimes we pass and sometimes we fail. How we perform is a reflection on how well we have studied the Fa and how well we cultivate Xinxing. If you treat every situation as a practitioner rather than as an everyday person, you can advance rapidly. How do you react when being scolded? How do you react when faced with great difficulties? Do you place yourself ahead of Dafa or the other person? Master requires us to cultivate to the stage of selflessness and to place others before ourselves. As Dafa disciples in the Fa rectification period, in the process of saving people, we are creating our own path to enlightenment. This is the fastest and the most solid way to achieve success in cultivation.
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Category: Experience Sharing Conferences
