(Clearwisdom.net) In order to appeal to the Japanese government to act to rescue Mrs. Yoko Kaneko, Dafa practitioners all over Japan recently held appeal activities in 19 counties (there are 47 counties in total in Japan). Here, I will write about my experience during the appeal activities and the 10-month rescue activities, so as to share with fellow practitioners from the Fa perspective.
First of all, we should always keep in mind that it is we Dafa practitioners who play the leading role in assisting our Teacher in rectifying the Fa.
After Mrs. Yoko Kaneko was arrested, Dafa practitioners in Japan immediately began their rescue efforts. One month later, the government team achieved a big breakthrough. Twenty-one members of Parliament established a multi-party coalition and set up the 'Association for Rescuing Yoko Kaneko'. On the same day the director of the Association, MP Mr. Makino Seishu, paid a visit to the deputy Minister of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and expressed that although Mrs. Yoko Kaneko holds a Chinese passport, she is still the wife of a Japanese citizen, and the Japanese government would treat her as a Japanese and rescue her. When this message was publicized, fellow practitioners were all encouraged. Some fellow practitioners, including myself, even thought that because of this decision by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ms. Yoko Kaneko would return to Japan very soon. However, most practitioners including those who regularly deal with the government realized that we should not relax about sending forth righteous thoughts nor should we create loopholes through our attachments. Still, many of us had very high expectations for the Japanese government to rescue Ms. Yoko Kaneko. Teacher told us,
"You're cultivators, and all changes come from your cultivation and the Fa-rectification; everything that you yourselves validate and enlighten to, and everything that you'll receive, all this comes from what you have done on your path. Absolutely don't think about any favors the old forces might do for us, or about how the ordinary society might help us. You are the ones saving the ordinary people's society, and you are the ones saving sentient beings!" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
Since we placed too high expectations upon the Japanese government, and we did not upgrade our understanding of the Fa in the ordinary society, it was soon revealed that although the Japanese government demanded the release of Ms. Yoko Kaneko by the Chinese government, they did not really exert themselves trying to rescue her.
Second we should clarify the truth about Falun Gong thoroughly.
Since July 20, 1999, Japanese Dafa practitioners have used all kinds of channels to spread the truth about Falun Gong to Japanese society. One of the biggest obstacles has been the influence of our own notions - whenever we mention Falun Gong, some people as always think that it is a religion. In addition, before Dafa was introduced to Japan, an incident occurred where poison gas was released into the subway system by a cult, and a series of events related to it unfolded afterwards. The Chinese government's evil propaganda added to the difficulties about clarifying the truth. At that time, an idea came to me: "Does the old evil force have strict control over Japan, especially over the Japanese media? Teacher has told us clearly in the latest article,
"The way I see it, they're only controlling China severely." ("Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")
I was enlightened to the principle that our state of mind when we are assuming that the old forces are strictly controlling us makes us subject to our own illusion.
Since we lacked communication from the Fa perspective, and were attached to the fear that others might misunderstand us as a religion, some fellow practitioners failed to clarify the truth about Falun Gong either intentionally or unintentionally. This became very obvious during rescue efforts for Mrs. Yoko Kaneko. Especially those of us who dealt with the media were constantly emphasizing that she was the wife of a Japanese citizen. Actually, this approach was intended to arouse sympathies for the family of one of their own citizens, instead of for unjustly persecuted Falun Gong. Limiting ourselves from clarifying all aspects was soon reflected in society: when the reporters came to interview us, they asked only about Ms. Yoko Kaneko personally rather than asking about the complete background of her arrest. Even when they did understand the larger background and the situation of Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China, they did not report it very often. Thus, the messages being passed along to Japanese society were just these: Falun Gong is being persecuted in China. Mrs. Yoko Kaneko was arrested for passing out Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials. Falun Gong members are appealing for justice. As for those fundamental questions such as: "What exactly is Falun Gong and why is it persecuted in China? Why did Mrs Kaneko still go to China even when she knew that she might be arrested for clarifying the truth?" and so on, we did not even mention, and much less mention them clearly.
Fellow practitioners including myself think that it is not easy to deal with the Japanese media. We considered it well enough already when the media covered it. So when press conferences were over, we only cared about whether the media would post the news report. If the media did not do so, we felt that the old force had strict control over the media, and we dealt with it by sending forth righteous thoughts more often. When it did get reported, we would have a sense of satisfaction and achievement. Consequently, worrying about the outcomes of the media reports after big events gradually turned out to be an attachment. In this way, we lagged behind the requirements of the Fa in our relations with the media. I think it was just because of this attachment of avoidance (mixed with an attachment of fear), the attachment of satisfaction when reports were published, and the attachment to the belief that the old forces had strict control over Japan that held up our media work at one level allowing no big breakthroughs. Teacher said:
"Those who do well will change the environments around them, and those who do poorly will make the environments around them change according to their states of mind." ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference")
Third, we should get rid of our everyday person's mentality of "doing jobs" in doing Dafa-related works and use our pure compassion and strong righteous thoughts, while showing our responsibilities for the Fa to rescue our fellow practitioners.
It has been over ten months now since Mrs. Yoko Kaneko was arrested on May 24, last year. When the news came to us, Japanese practitioners took it as a good opportunity to clarify the truth to Japanese government and the public. In the following several months, we held press conferences, making appointments with media and government. We also held several parades. Ten months have already passed. Efforts are still being made regarding this issue, and the Chinese regime is still persecuting her. During a recent experience-sharing event, I found loopholes in my own mind: lack of pure compassion for my fellow practitioners, and also a lack of a true sense of responsibility for Dafa and strong righteous thoughts for rescuing fellow practitioners. In the process of organizing the rescue, we formed an attachment towards doing public relations jobs and we were not harmonious and rational in our own behavior.
After sharing my experiences with fellow practitioners, I thought very carefully and asked myself very calmly: "Do you have the genuine thought to rescue her? " I found that although I clarified the truth to all the MPs and media that I met, I just did not have the determined heart and mind, thinking "I will surely rescue Mrs. Yoko Kaneko." On the surface I was clarifying the truth and validating Dafa, but actually I got trapped within another attachment: the attachment for doing public relations jobs to clarify the truth and for clarifying the truth to everybody else. As a result, we did not convey our sincere hope to seriously take care of Mrs. Yoko Kaneko to the media and MPs and did not rescue her. Her persecution targets Dafa and all Dafa disciples. As Dafa practitioners, we should not acknowledge it. We should negate the arrangements made by the old evil forces. When our fellow practitioners are being severely persecuted by the old evil forces, shouldn't we feel the same experience from our compassionate hearts and try our best to rescue them? At the same time isn't it a very good opportunity to clarify the truth of Dafa to the Japanese society? Clarifying the truth includes an explanation about why our fellow practitioner was arrested. It includes an explanation about why she risked her own life to distribute the truth-clarifying flyers. It includes an explanation about the benefits she derived from practicing Dafa and the whole background of Jiang's regime persecuting Dafa etc. During our rescue effort, we can clarify the relevant truth with rationality and wisdom according to the specific situation. At the same time we try to rescue our fellow practitioners from our genuine heart, others will be touched by our genuine thought and come to learn about the truth about the event.
Teacher said:
"As I've said, everything that happens today in the ordinary society is the result of Dafa disciples' thoughts." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A")
Teacher also said:
"How was the cosmos created? It was created just by a Great Fa Enlightened Being's one thought."
When we really negate the evil arrangements made by the old force from our genuine and true heart, this strong and righteous thought will bring all the beings, particles and universe at all levels below Dafa disciples into play and also have it reflected in this human world. The power of the righteous thoughts will break through the arrangements made by the old forces and so achieve our purpose to rescue our fellow practitioners and so fulfill our sacred obligation to clarify the truth, suffocate the evils and save the sentient beings.
The above is only my personal understanding. Please correct it with compassion if there is something improper.
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