(Clearwisdom.net) On the week beginning August 9, 2004, a second group of Falun Dafa practitioners from Canada arrived in New York. We toured and staged the torture exhibit. In the first four days the exhibit went smoothly, but because of a lack of practitioners, we had no change of participants for the exhibit. Practitioners who demonstrated the tortures had to keep in one position for five to six hours at a time, but they persisted. We found that when we are really focused in the Fa, we don't feel tired. The outcome was great, and many touching stories took place. People who learned the truth said, "You should let more people know. I'll call the TV stations and ask them to come." Someone provided us with information about the media and said he would ask people from the radio station to come so more people would know.
Some vendors were selling things across from us. Our exhibit attracted many passersby and therefore affected their business. We also clarified the truth to them, and all of them said they understood and none were unhappy about it. On the contrary, some of them helped us distribute truth clarification materials. When we left, one vendor shook hands with all of us and said, "You are awakening the world's people. This world is too indifferent, and you have done a great job. This world needs to be awakened!" We said to him, "We are sorry that we affected your business these past few days." He said, "It doesn't matter, I understand you."
The forth day in the afternoon, many practitioners from out of town came and police also came. The police said, "This is private property and the owner has a problem with you [doing an exhibit] here." At first six or seven police officers came and they surrounded us as if they were facing a great enemy. Some practitioners clarified the truth to them while other practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts. Soon the police softened and said, "We know you are a very peaceful group. You can stay until you are finished. We'll stay with you." Two officers stayed and the rest left.
On the fifth day we went to a place that we thought we had a permit for and started with the exhibit right after we began. The property owners came up to us and said, "This is private property and you don't have a permit." After we clarified the truth to him, although they showed sympathy for the practitioners in China, they still used arguments to refuse us, one being that construction was about to begin, and out of consideration for our safety they could not let us stay there. When we moved to another place that we thought we had a permit for, the same problem occurred. When we clarified the truth to them, we realized the importance of clarifying the truth to large corporations and companies. We felt if we only clarified the truth generally, they would sympathize with us but when our Dafa work conflicted with their interest, they still could not position themselves correctly in relation to Dafa.
Eventually we found a place by the side of the street where we could do a torture exhibit. It's close to Wall Street and lots of people walked by. Many people asked us about the exhibit and even practitioners who don't speak English very well constantly clarified the truth.
In the afternoon, dark clouds moved among the skyscrapers and huge drops of rain gathered, accompanied by thunder. People dispersed and many hid inside buildings. Only Dafa practitioners stood in the rain and sent forth righteous thoughts. A teenage Dafa practitioner put his raincoat on the Dafa materials. Some practitioners stood in the rain and held umbrellas for the practitioners who were demonstrating the torture methods. It was very solemn. It was quiet on the surface but constituted a great battle between the righteous and the evil in other dimensions. The thunder became louder but Dafa practitioners stood in rows and sent forth righteous thoughts in the rain. A few teenage practitioners stood with a solemn look on their faces without moving. It was as if the entire universe was watching us. The great battle in other dimensions was a sharp contrast to our peacefulness in the human dimension. Finally the rain stopped and it was the time for many people to get off work. More and more people approached us and looked at the exhibition boards. Dafa practitioners wearing yellow T-shirts walked among people and continued talking to the people. English-speakers and non-English speakers alike spoke with pedestrians. People listened, read and signed their names.
Through the experiences of those few days we realized the urgency for different groups to clarify the truth from many aspects at the same time during Fa validation. Right now, the majority of practitioners who came to New York City are only distributing materials and making brief introductions about Dafa. We need to improve our communication and coordination. For example, we need to build fixed practice sites, because many people, after learning the truth asked, "Where can I learn Falun Gong?" Several people said they could not reach us using the contact information provided online and on the flyers. Moreover, we need to coordinate the application of permits.
Practitioners in New York are under great pressure and have already made great sacrifices. They need help from practitioners around the world. Also, we should not stay with words when it comes to sending forth righteous thoughts, but also understand the significance of this battle between the righteous and the evil from a deeper perspective.
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