Shared at Salt Lake City 2002 Conference
Greetings, Master! Greetings, my fellow practitioners!
My name is Tan Liang Shaoxia, and I'm fifty-six years old. In August 1998, I attained the Fa in Chinatown, New York. For the previous twenty-eight years out of my thirty-two years in the United States, I suffered from painful diseases. In order to find cures, I went everywhere, and tried both Western and Chinese medicines, massage therapy and every other method that I could think of, but none of them was effective. No one could give me a diagnosis of the sickness. My whole body swelled up for no reason, I felt dizzy, my lower back was in pain, and I felt very weak when walking. I couldn't sleep well either in those days. Every year, I had to spend a lot of money for healthcare. I felt miserable inside. In order to make myself feel better, I often played Mahjiang (a Chinese game) and frequently visited Atlantic City to gamble for stimulation. At that time, my three children were still young. If not for them, I would have ended my life right then. I would have rather died than live. It's hard to describe what I was going through with words.
I was fortunate to have attained Dafa. I witnessed miraculous effects. Within three days my chronic diseases were gone without any treatment. It was truly miraculous. Falun Dafa saved me, and it was Master who pulled me back from the edge of death. I turned my gratitude into determination of practicing Dafa solidly. From that point on, my life has been closely connected to Dafa and nothing could get in the middle. I live in Brooklyn. Everyday I take the 6 o'clock bus to go to the Chinatown practice site to do the exercises. I've been doing that for more than three years now.
In July 1999, the Chinese Government began to persecute Dafa and slander Master without any justification. I was very sad. I often wept when I was alone. Tears often came out when I was meditating or studying the Fa. When there were fewer people coming to the practice site, I felt even more upset. When I was reading Master's poem, "True Nature Revealed": "Firmly cultivate Dafa with an unaffected heart and mind, Raising one's level is fundamental, In the face of trials, one's true nature is revealed, Achieve Consummation, becoming a Buddha, Dao or God," I realized that only by studying the Fa more could we get through all these [difficulties] steadfastly. Master said at the Chicago Conference, "By staying unaffected, you'll be able to handle all situations." I am not very educated, neither do I understand English, plus I haven't worked in years and have no money, so I had no idea what I could do to step forward to clarify the truth and where I should start. Through Fa study, sharing experiences with fellow practitioners and reading articles on the Clearwisdom website, I realized that when Dafa and Master are being persecuted, how could I stay home and ignore all these? Would that be the behavior of a Dafa disciple? I should do however much I can to the best of my ability. So, like other practitioners, over the last two years, I have been doing my best to clarify the truth to people.
In Chinatown, with other practitioners, I displayed pictures and distributed materials that exposed the truth, sometimes at tourist spots, sometimes in subway stations and sometimes on buses. I recall one time when I was on a bus I gave a flyer to the person sitting next to me. He refused, but a young man sitting across from me extended his hand and asked for a copy. I was touched, and I started to tell him what Falun Gong was about and why we were persecuted by the Chinese Government. He said that he had read about the true stories of Dafa on the Internet, and that he knew Falun Dafa is good. We talked for a long time like friends. From that day, I always carry Dafa flyers with me because I don't want people who have a predestined relationship to miss their opportunity.
There was another time when I displayed pictures and spread the Fa in Chinatown, many people from Fujian Province came to interfere. I tried to clarify the truth to them. At the beginning, they didn't want to listen, but I was patient and continued to talk to them. Slowly they changed their attitude and became very courteous to me as if they were entirely different people. At the same time, I told them that I had been sick for twenty-eight years out of the thirty-two years living in the United States. Since I started to practice Dafa more than three years ago, all of my diseases were gone. One of them said to me, "You are lying." I wondered why he accused me of lying. Later, I found out it was because he didn't believe I was over fifty years old already. He thought I was in my forties. That incident inspired me to be more compassionate and kind when clarifying the truth to people, and then the result would be very effective.
After the September 11 tragedy, I had the thought of practicing in front of the Chinese Consulate everyday, but then I began to wonder how other people would think of me being here all by myself. When I was having a hard time deciding what to do, a group of practitioners started to practice in front of the Consulate. I was very happy and also deeply moved, because the oldest among them is over seventy and has to commute from New Jersey. Another practitioner lives in Flushing and always brings her two-year-old son in the stroller, rain or shine. One day, the wind was blowing particularly hard, and I felt chilly. A practitioner said, "We must persevere. We're not afraid of anything."
Clarifying the truth in front of the Chinese Consulate gives us the opportunity to meet more diversified people. We play truth clarification videos and distribute flyers; many people have changed their opinions as a result. Because we have been tirelessly clarifying the truth to the staff of the Consulate, those who initially disliked us also have changed. We made friends with them and say hello to each other. The one who used to be most unfriendly also became quiet. Seeing the changes in them, we feel very happy. We're happy for the prospect of their future.
Finally, I'd like to end my speech with Master's poem, "Settling the Mind":
Predestined relationship already formed,
The Fa being cultivated,
Read the Book more,
Consummation is near.
January 18, 2002
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