(Clearwisdom.net) Since I obtained the Fa [law and principles] I have taken part in English related projects because of my good grasp of the English language, so I rarely had a chance to clarify the truth directly to my fellow Chinese countrymen.
Once when I helped to write a few Emails to the people in China I suddenly realized that what I had in my mind and what I wanted to say fell far short of clarifying the misunderstandings of my Chinese compatriots who are living amidst lies and deception.
I might not truly understand the doubts they have in their minds. Under those circumstances, the articles I wrote might look very good to myself but might not be accepted by everyday people. It would be the same for the activities we held, which we might feel are very important but might not be accepted by everyday people. If everyday people cannot relate to what we say and do then how can we clarify the truth in a more detailed way?
I thought that if I wanted to change the situation I had to take part in more activities that directly involve clarifying the truth to the fellow Chinese countrymen. Therefore I took part in some activities such as sending faxes and Email, as well as making phone calls.
Though it was a short time and I did not do much, it seemed that it opened up a window that was helpful in my thinking in other projects. At the same time I discovered some attachments, which were normally very hard to notice.
I still remember that the first time I went to the airport to hand out truth clarification materials I felt very proud. I had heard a practitioner say that some of the visitors were very evil. However, I thought that I was an eloquent speaker and would be able to suppress their arrogance no matter what. Not long after, I met a tourist group from China. I went up to talk to them but the result was not good. Though I tried to keep my voice down and talk clearly and logically, other tourists still found an atmosphere of debate that prevented them from taking our truth clarification materials.
On seeing the situation, I calmed down and asked myself why I was there. The visitors clearly misunderstood Falun Gong, otherwise there would be no reason for us to go there to hand out truth clarification materials. In this case, I should not deepen their misunderstanding and push them further away in the first place. Therefore, I kept a close look at myself not to argue with the visitors.
At the very beginning I felt uneasy, particularly when meeting people whose attitude was very vicious. However, what our Teacher said in Zhuan Falun instantly appeared in my mind,
"Wandering around in the society is rather torturing. He will beg for food and run into different kinds of people who will scold him, insult him, or take advantage of him. He will encounter all kinds of things."
[Zhuan Falun, Second Edition, English Version]
This left a glow in my heart. Teacher knows everything and has told us everything before hand.
On the surface, it looked like I spoke gently and was not attached to my speaking ability any more. However, in my heart I still could not keep completely calm, partly because I anticipated saving sentient beings and partly because I still had some impure factors such as impatience. On hearing fellow practitioners being pushed away when handing out truth clarification materials I would turn around and mumble, "Humph, I will give you the opportunity any way. If you take it or not is your choice but this is the last chance."
This sentiment was impure and easily affected each of us practitioners so that the negative side was reinforced. However, when I calmed down and listened to what the visitors said, I found that they are different from two years ago. The reason most of the visitors did not take our truth clarification material was, "If I take it then I can not return home."
As a matter of fact they did not really misunderstand us, on the contrary they were just afraid of the evil political clique. What's more, we did not know whether it was his or her last chance or not and we could not jump to the conclusion that it would be. Maybe he had seen our pure, compassionate behavior this time, reducing his misunderstanding, so that next time he might take the truth clarification materials somewhere else.
I realized that I could not look at things, especially the enormous task of saving sentient beings, with such a narrow mind. Teacher said,
"Whether they're receptive or not, you should always treat them with compassion, and you can't get competitive with ordinary people or look at sentient beings with human thoughts. Just do whatever you should with compassion, regardless of whether they're receptive or not."
("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Washington DC Fa Conference")
In the past, I felt it was very easy to understand the Fa from the surface. However, I had gradually realized that in the practice of actual Fa rectification it's very hard to assimilate to these Fa principles if I do not check myself in the practice and look within in the process of this practice.
After I set the requirements for myself, I became more and more gentle and peaceful. However it was still an external calm. One day when some practitioners and I finished handing out truth clarification materials we began to talk about our experiences before we gained the Fa. We all said surprisingly, "We are lucky to have obtained the Fa, otherwise no one knows what kind of circumstances we would have. Maybe we would be doomed." Only then did we realize that we were really very lucky. Because we know the truth, we stepped forward to clarify the truth. If I put myself into the visitors' position, how would I react if a Dafa practitioner came to me and handed me the truth clarification material? Probably I would reject it.
In thinking of that I felt calm and completely at ease. When I talked to others I tried my best to talk to them as if I was talking to myself and had not yet obtained the Fa. At that time, I found that it was not necessary to talk at too high a level. Actually, because the Dharma-ending period has come to this stage, if you tell people who do not practice Dafa that certain events will happen in this human world and tell them that this truth clarification material is really for the good of their life, it will result in their aversion because they do not believe in it and are afraid of these things.
When you can really put yourself in the position of the other party in clarifying the truth, then the calm and gentleness is from your inner heart, and they can see the gentleness and compassion that comes from your inner heart. This itself is a strong contrast to the propaganda. Teacher said,
"You are cultivators, whose conduct is [supposed to be] pure and righteous. There are so many people who think you're great just by having seen how you act. If we don't pay attention to our own behavior in our daily lives, everyday people will see our actions and, since they can't get to know you at a deep level such as by studying the Fa, they will just look at how you act. And it's possible that one sentence or one action of yours will make them unsavable or create a bad impression of Dafa. We need to think about these things."
("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
Actually everyday people pay close attention to us. More often than not, when we turned around after giving out the truth clarification material we saw several people watching us and turn their eyes away in no time. Whatever we say or do will result in their questioning the Chinese regime's propaganda or change their mind instantly causing them to accept our material.
On many occasions if I helped visitors to carry their luggage or answered tourism-related questions for them. It helped to change their mind from rejecting the material to accepting it. Going to the airport frequently makes me knowledgeable about the airport. To find a transfer, a luggage check-in or boarding gate is like doing a familiar job with ease. Because of the cordial feeling I showed to my countrymen, it has greatly shortened the distance between us. It was quite unexpected that my speaking ability did not work but silent compassion and peacefulness has helped to hand out more truth clarification materials.
Of course, this does not mean that I do not talk. The key is that I will not start an argument, will not lead him to say anything bad and will not let him feel coerced. After a brief kind-hearted talk, if the other side still refuses to accept the material I usually say, "Maybe your lucky chance hasn't come yet. Wait until next time." This usually makes the other person give up their hostile attitude. At the time I found that I had not hoped that it would be his last chance, but on the contrary I sincerely hoped he might have the affinity to come across my fellow practitioners at the next stop of his journey and get the truth clarification material.
Doing Dafa projects, it is very easy to have a mentality of accomplishing things. For example, I always counted the copies of materials to check how many I had handed out and I even mumbled, "Another life is saved." Therefore, I would have a feeling of achievement when I handed out more materials, however my feelings would be affected if I was unable to hand out more materials.
As a matter of fact, I was only thinking about myself. Handing out truth clarification materials is very important, but my feelings should not fluctuate because of it. Some people took the material but threw it away after a glimpse, but others who did not take our material would stretch their neck to read the material from the person beside him.
Is this to say that another life is saved? Maybe there are other unknown factors but this is the power of Dafa. Therefore, I should only hand out the materials calmly. Like people would pick up the newspaper left by others, if I left enough truth clarification materials in the airport's waiting room other people would pick them up and read.
One day I gave a few copies of material to several high school students. When I saw them take the materials willingly, I gave each of them a VCD. However, when I turned around they threw all the materials to the ground. I went there straight away and picked them up. I had no intention of blaming them, but my heart ached. I was surprised to see that these kids were embarrassed. They came over and explained that they did that because they were afraid. I explained that I had not had anything in mind, but only felt that these materials were printed with the money from many people who saved from their food and clothing. Their purpose was to let people know the truth. They said they had read similar material in Singapore and their parents took it away.
Several times I would bump into classmates or colleagues that I had not met for quite a long time. They felt uncomfortable and asked me if I spent all my time there. Once I even spent half an hour to help a handicapped person with her luggage and at last the lady took the material.
There are many stories like that and it's impossible to tell them all, but one thing is very clear to me. I had gradually let go of the method I had used at the very beginning, trying to persuade others with reason, and changed to only wanting others to see the fine quality of our Dafa practitioners without paying attention to what method I was using.
This means that I will not seek anything from the other person and have no attachment to reach a certain goal. One day I suddenly understood:
"...The Buddha's School does not attach any condition or seek returns..." [Zhuan Falun, Second Edition, English Version]
That kind of enlightenment which comes deep inside a life cannot be expressed with language, however, it was very clear and unforgettable.
Because I was involved in other projects I did very little in directly clarifying the truth with my fellow Chinese. Other practitioners might have similar situations. Those practitioners who are mainly involved in direct truth clarification to Chinese asked me, "You are so busy, leave this kind of simple thing for us to do." Many times we divide the things we are doing into simple and complex. It seems that I am the one who should do the complex tasks and therefore should naturally be the leader.
In recalling this I feel very much embarrassed. Compared to many fellow practitioners who directly clarify the truth to the Chinese compatriots my enlightenment in this aspect is very shallow. The reason I said it is that I want to share with you all that clarifying the truth with Chinese compatriots is something every one of us can do and it suits every one of us to do. It doesn't matter how long you can spend on it. The most important thing is persistence.
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