(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I will read a sharing from our group.
We are a very small group in Cairns. For the last three and a half years, only three of us have been actively cultivating and participating in assisting Master in the Fa-rectification, although sometimes new people come along and learn the exercises or come to study the Fa.
As a group we cooperate well and on occasions when conflicts do arise, they are resolved reasonably quickly, usually at our weekly group Fa Study
Cairns is a big tourist destination, and the two main ways we clarify the truth are by holding banners where the tourists pass after they have been out on a reef or on an island day trip and also at the regular markets around the district. An integral part of our truth clarification is also talking to people we come across every day about Falun Gong and the persecution, trying not to miss any opportunities. This includes people from all backgrounds and places in society--locals and national and international tourists.
Our Fa study and sharing are often about the need for constant awareness in maintaining our righteous state of mind, not affecting others negatively or being affected by others, being motivated to let people know the truth, and being considerate of others. We share what we have encountered during the week and how we understood it to be within the Fa or not, and how to improve.
First Sharing
Many times it would be easy to not go and hold the banner or go to a market, but it is something I want to do and I must do to let people know the truth. Sometimes I feel that I'm not doing well or can't see the effect. I know I must remain steadfast to do my best. Sometimes things have not gone well because I wasn't calm and didn't consider the other person first, and therefore it didn't go well. I only hope for the best for that person and that they will be able to meet other practitioners again.
It is easy to focus on the things that have gone wrong and not remember the good things as much. This could be because of a lack of respect for oneself and others. Still, there are good things that happen.
We hold a banner at a bus pickup point for tourists who get off the boats when they return from the Great Barrier Reef. The banner was made and given to us by someone from Sydney and it reads: "SOS. Stop All Immoral and Illegal Organ Transplants in China" in both Chinese and English. We also have a small sign for our petition that says, "Stop the Persecution in China." Falun Dafa is not mentioned on the banner or the petition sign, but people still come over and sign the petition. I am sure they know it is a place to register and be saved and Master is sending them over to be saved. Sometimes one person in a group will sign and their friends standing beside them do not. Other times people will get halfway down the street, turn around, and come back to sign the petition. We do explain the persecution and hand out flyers. We also have a poster board explaining the ten years of persecution.
Some days there are lots of Chinese tourists, and I offer a greeting and receive various responses. Sometimes I get frustrated because some don't believe us or do not accept the truth-clarification materials. Things are slowly getting better with a more peaceful attitude from me. I find it better when I treat them like everyone else and realize good things are happening in other dimensions.
I think I can still do better overall, though, and I know the process is arduous and requires a great deal of patience, but what is important is the process itself. I still need to move forward.
A Sharing from Danni
At the beginning, when our group was bigger and we held the banner, we would rotate our positions, so that each of us had a chance to hand out flyers and talk to people about Falun Gong and the persecution. Later there were only two of us holding the banner, and for a long time I didn't have that opportunity to hand out flyers.
In my mind, I judged another fellow practitioner as a selfish person and waited for him to recognize or enlighten to it. Then I realized that judging others was my attachment and selfishness to gain a better place for my truth clarification, and I was not able to let it go for a long time. In losing "a better place," I gained at last some enlightenment about how every place is a good place to use righteous thoughts and righteous actions.
I started practicing just over six years ago, and for a long time, when sending righteous thoughts, I had trouble understanding what righteous thoughts are and how to truly use my righteous thoughts. When I eventually enlightened to righteous thoughts, I accepted my position at the other side of the banner. Our cooperation on both sides of the banner allows more people to be saved. My thoughts turned into a positive way of thinking.
Through Dafa, we have our power from Master, and I should use it for those people passing by - Western and Chinese people. Even though my thoughts are very simple, they are sincere and from my heart. I am telling them in my mind that they are all here for Dafa. I think things like: "Awaken the good part of yourself. It is a rare opportunity to be saved. Don't be indifferent. Don't miss this chance. Falun Dafa is good. Eliminate the evil preventing you from knowing."
After memorizing some poems in Hong Yin, my righteous thoughts include some verses from it. My mind is starting to be filled with the Fa. I believe that maintaining righteous thoughts and a clear mind is needed first, and afterwards my attachments will be recognized and eliminated. When I am in an uncomfortable situation, I remember to let go of my human notions and treat it from the basis of the Fa and my righteous thoughts.
Gayle's Sharing
I started cultivation in October 2004. After a few months, I was filled with joy, like a duck in the water. I would occasionally go to the banner site and the markets for a short time and always felt like I was interfering, as the others had been doing both for quite some time. Then, after I had been practicing for about 10 months, a practitioner told me about the Clearwisdom website and how to access it and also put me on the Queensland forum email list. Each day I would read the sharings on both sites and read Master's earlier lectures. As a result, I understood and enlightened to being part of the One Body.
For the first couple of months I was immersed in the joy of obtaining the Fa. When I was able to better understand righteous thoughts and looking within, I realized how deeply hidden or disguised some of our attachments can be.
Then, due to some things that had happened with practitioners in the past, I found myself in a situation with the law officer from the local government. During the process of resolving the situation (which lasted for several months) I included him in my righteous thoughts, as I was determined that I would not give up. The situation had to be rectified and the reputation of Dafa had to be restored. In order to properly clarify the truth to him so that he could position himself to be saved, I had to keep at it. At times it was difficult. When I was speaking to him in his office or on the phone I would remain calm and rational. Then afterwards I would start laying blame and feeling sorry for myself because this situation was not my doing. I was not even practicing when some of these things happened. I understood these to be selfish and self-centered thoughts, but I still could not stop myself. Eventually things turned out well, and I was able to properly explain the facts to him and the Council CEO. He is now quite supportive of us. Just recently, he asked me why, in the past, we didn't behave like we do now, and I told him it was a lack of understanding as to how things should be done. At the time I was annoyed and even angry about the situation, but now I appreciate the process. It has helped me understand the importance of considering others and not blaming anyone, but instead looking within and finding a peaceful way to resolve conflicts and to actively and from the heart clarify the truth to as many people as possible.
I have come to understand through experience (sometimes not pleasant) that our thoughts, either positive or negative, have a real effect in this dimension, whether they are directed at an object or a person, even if the person is not in my company at the time. Now when I have negative thoughts, I stop myself and ask, "Why am I thinking this way?" Usually it is a result of selfishness - something is not to my liking.
When clarifying the truth one time in Brisbane, the lady I was talking to knew about Falun Gong and the persecution and had signed the petition. She then proceeded to talk about some of the benefits of Communism and some good things the CCP had done for the Chinese people and others around the world. Because I was actively listening to her, she was able to continue, until suddenly I thought, "What am I doing to this poor lady? Stop listening. I am here only to assist with saving her, not helping her bring bad things to herself." The lady immediately stopped talking and apologized for talking like that, saying it was wrong and that she should know better as she was a Buddhist. She then apologized again and said she knows what Falun Gong is and what the CCP is doing to them is evil.
This incident made it even more clear to me how important righteous thoughts are and that we need to keep the Fa in our minds and hearts at all times and that interference is more often from our own thoughts or laziness or lack of responsibility to Master and the Fa and ourselves.
Person to person is a good and rewarding way to clarify the truth at markets, to door to door sales people, tradesmen, charities, and religious people.
Some of the comments have been: "Thank you for awakening me." "I didn't expect to get rewarded like this." And from a tradesperson whom I hadn't seen for about three years: "We still have the lotus flower with the bookmark you gave me hanging in our kitchen. My wife and I say 'Good morning' and 'Thank you' to it each morning. We think it brings us good luck." At the markets, people whom we have previously clarified the truth to come up to us to say hello and ask how things are going. It makes me feel happy for them that they have positioned themselves well, and that we are privileged to be able to help Master save sentient beings.
I can't imagine my life without Dafa. I am always finding things about myself that I am not aware of and having to get rid of the bad things. I am always learning how to be a better person and how my understanding changes from time to time. It is truly wonderful.
Thank you.
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