Written on 24 April, 02
(Clearwisdom.net)
On April 11, Jiang was going to visit a painting gallery and a fine china production plant in the ancient city of Dresden. Practitioners, again, also went. We had a permit to gather in a square downtown, only a five minute walk from the hotel where Jiang was staying. Here together, all of us sent forth righteous thoughts many times. When one practitioner informed everybody that Jiang was about to come out of the hotel, those of us who were not wearing yellow clothes started to walk in the direction of the hotel. I found an elevated spot on top of a few steps to the left of the hotel and climbed up there. Standing high, I had my Dafa banner ready in the pocket of my coat. I thought to myself, there will definitely be an opportunity to display my banner today.
About half an hour before Jiang came out, a group of Chinese special agents came out from the hotel. When they found us standing on the high spot, surrounded by lots of Chinese everywhere, they asked the police to drive us down the spot. The police formed a human wall to push people outward. Many German citizens were present and were voicing their strong disapproval of what was happening. When we were being pushed away to a spot around 100 meters away from the front of the hotel, Jiang came out. A tall practitioner next to me exclaimed: "Falun Dafa is Good!" I quickly held up my little banner. We were so univocal that our voices had a special rhythm to it. The voices came from the deepest parts of our hearts and our souls. Although there were only over twenty of us, our voices sounded like they came from hundreds. I, like many others, shed tears. We repeated the message continuously. I felt that Jiang and those accompanying him would surely be able to feel the earth-shaking power of this righteous voice for justice.
In about an hour we reached MaiBen. We saw many policemen stopping vehicles at a three- way junction, not allowing any cars to enter an area at the front. Sitting in our car, we got prepared: our banners, yellow tops and scarves, and a long white banner with "Jiang Cannot Shirk the Responsibility of Persecuting Falun Gong" on it. A few minutes later, Jiang's procession of vehicles appeared on the road in front of us. The six of us stepped out onto the street. The practitioners besides me were exclaiming "Falun Dafa is Good!" At that moment I was silent, the kind of silence of a soul that was pure and unperturbed. I held the banner tightly in my hands, sending forth powerful righteous thoughts. The fleet of vehicles passed by us at a distance of only half a meter. I could see some German people giving us a thumbs up in the car. Jiang's car and a few big buses that followed him all went past us slowly. At that moment, time seemed frozen. I could feel that Master was watching over us and Gods were protecting us.
When the entire fleet of vehicles passed, two policemen rushed over from the junction, demanding to see our passports. All of us were very calm. A female Swiss practitioner told the policemen that there are thousands of people who practice "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" in China who have lost their jobs and family, and who are subjected to inhumane torture in jails or detention centers, just for going to Tiananmen to say "Falun Dafa is Good." Today, here in a free country, we have to tell Jiang that Falun Dafa is good and practicing Truth-Compassion-Forbearance is not a crime. Her voice was so calm and gentle. Because all of our thoughts were very righteous at that moment, the police just left in their cars. When we returned to our car we shared our experiences over the past few days, and we all realized the importance of maintaining righteous thoughts at every moment, all the time.
We returned to the square at the center of the city. Hearing that Jiang would be going out to a dinner reception soon, we spread out close to the hotel. Fifteen minutes before Jiang came out of the hotel, the police formed a human wall again, pushing us to a road junction even further away from the hotel than in the afternoon. This time we distributed ourselves across the three road entrances at the junction. The moment when Jiang came out of the hotel, we again all started exclaiming "Falun Dafa is Good!" while displaying our banners and holding up yellow flags at the same time. I had been sending forth righteous thoughts silently all this time. One practitioner took out a copy of Eye Witness and turned to the page that had pictures showing the brutal torture Dafa practitioners in China had endured to show the policemen standing in the line. One policeman shed tears on the spot; the majority of them lowered their heads. Disciples were singing the song "Falun Dafa is Good" for a very long time; the eyes of many German people observing nearby were also wet.
After dinner, when we worked out the approximate time Jiang was due to return, the practitioners quickly covered the streets around the hotel. Somehow, I had the feeling that Jiang's convoy would be returning by a certain road. So I selected a spot under a bright street lamp and started sending forth righteous thoughts, while other Dafa practitioners spaced themselves out in teams of twos and threes along the road. No sooner had we settled down, than we heard a roaring sound of motorcycles, followed by a motorcade coming slowly in our direction. Raising my banner up high, I kept sending forth righteous thoughts. That was the fourth time today my banner caught Jiang in the convoy, face to face. Jiang would never have guessed, even in his wildest dreams, that he would run into so many yellow banners, surrounded by the sound of "Falun Dafa is Good" everywhere he went.
That night, all the practitioners retired to a Judo studio nearby. The evening Fa-study session started with a joint reading of "Lunyu" by all practitioners, then followed by readings of the following articles: "The Effects of Righteous Thoughts," "Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples," "Path," etc.. We also read through twice Teacher's recent lecture in North America. When we came to the paragraph that mentioned about the effects of sending forth righteous-thoughts to the intended target at close distance, some of us excitedly entered into a serious discussion. A few practitioners said, with some signs of regret, that when they met Jiang the last few days, they could only remember to say "Falun Dafa is Good" but forgot to send forth righteous-thoughts at the same time. Of course, even the echoing voice of "Falun Dafa is Good" would frighten away the evil. However, I will never forget what a western practitioner said to us that evening. "Since our lives were created by the Fa," he said, "today, I will offer everything I have to assimilate with Dafa. It is a rare opportunity for us, to have come to Germany and to participate in the Fa-Rectification. We should continue to send forth our righteous thoughts to eliminate the head of the evil every day, every hour and every minute while we are here." Affected by his righteousness, we went back to the hotel where Jiang stayed that night and continued sending forth righteous thoughts until 5 a.m. in the morning. After splitting up into a few groups, we then headed straight for the two towns, Goslar and Wolfsburg, where Jiang was scheduled to visit that day.
Jiang's original plan was to travel to the next town by train. But, on hearing that we were also at the train station, he quickly changed his plan. From Dresden to Goslar, we had to change trains three times. Because of the long hours the practitioners put in the last few days, almost everybody fell asleep on the train. By about 2.00 p.m. in the afternoon, we arrived at the Goslar train station. We started off with a short parade to the city center, then followed with group practice. Reporters from newspapers and local TV were already there, waiting to interview us. That morning, our peaceful appeal the day before was on the headline of every paper, which also gave a report of Jiang's persecution of Dafa practitioners in China. A curfew was imposed that day and all the shops were forced to close early at 4.00 p.m., which made the town folks extremely unhappy. The news of Jiang's fear of the color yellow had become the talk of the town by the police force and the local folks.
That evening we drove down to Wolfsburg, the famous German city where cars are manufactured, where Jiang was visiting next. As soon as we arrived, practitioners gathered around the hotel Jiang was staying, practicing the exercises, sending forth righteous thoughts, and promoting Dafa. By about 10 p.m., my mind was only thinking about an early night. When I inquired from a few local practitioners where we would be staying that night, I immediately discovered my selfish thoughts: Why couldn't I sit down quietly like the rest, reading and sending forth righteous thoughts? I was ashamed of myself for having this craving for comfort. Having found my attachment, I sat down quietly and started reading again. That night, all other practitioners were happy to stay back and began sending forth righteous thoughts in the direction of the Hotel where Jiang was staying. As the night wore on, the wind was getting colder and it was drizzling as well, but that did not deter the practitioners, who kept sending their righteous thoughts. Later, a few practitioners and I drove into the hotel garage and continued sending forth righteous thoughts at a closer range. At about 8 a.m. in the morning, after watching Jiang's team leave, and the police guards finally gone, we went back to the train station and said goodbye to each other.
During this time in Germany, almost every day we experienced some heart-felt events. Thanks to the compassion of Teacher, for giving us the chance to witness all this, to display the banner in front of Jiang, and to sing out "Falun Dafa is Good" many times from my heart. Also, I felt thankful to Teacher for giving me the honor to write down what I saw, heard and experienced the whole week, so that more fellow practitioners would read about this exciting battle. We were really impressed by the efforts and the preparations the German practitioners put in, organizing interviews with the media and planning travel routes and accommodations. One practitioner said afterwards that the experience he had that week was far more memorable than the last ten years of his practice.
Please refer to http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/4/21/21206.html and http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/4/22/21244.html for the first two parts of the story.