(Clearwisdom.net)
Excerpt:
In the beginning, I thought that well-educated people should have fewer obstacles to understanding the injustice of the persecution; moreover, given my close relationships with the individuals I intended to talk to, they should agree with me easily. However, it did not go as smoothly as I had imagined. They either rejected my suggestion to quit the CCP or responded rudely, despite our long-term relationships. From then on, I have never used everyday people's sentiments and relationships to clarify the truth of Falun Dafa. I viewed everyone, including those with very close relationships with me, as a sentient being who are waiting to learn the truth. As my start point was changed, the people I have talked to would usually say, “I agree with you” or “You are right.”
- By the author
Greetings, Master!
Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I'd like to share my experience of clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa to highly educated people.
I have been working and living in a circle of well-educated people who are my colleagues, friends, and family members. They have been my major audience in clarifying the truth.
In the beginning, I thought that well-educated people would have fewer obstacles in understanding the injustice of the persecution; moreover, given my close relationships with the individuals I intended to talk to, they would agree with me easily. However, it did not go as smoothly as I had imagined. They either rejected my suggestion to quit the CCP or responded rudely, despite our long-term relationship. I sometimes felt deeply disappointed and unhappy, but quickly realized that that was the very context in which I should cultivate diligently and save sentient beings. Therefore, I studied the Fa wholeheartedly, learned from fellow practitioners' experience sharing articles on the Minghui website (Chinese version of Clearwisdom), and encouraged myself to catch up with them. Through self-examination, I found that my intention in talking to people was not pure and compassionate; rather, it was only for the sake of doing a job. Having learned the lesson, I was determined to do better.
A Pure Heart For Others' Wellbeing
I first tried to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to two of my students who had developed a quasi mother-son relationship with me. They treated each other like brothers, and we all felt like a family. I invited them to my home and told them what Falun Gong was and about the staged self-immolation. Then I suggested that they quit the CCP and its associated organizations. To my surprise, they refused without hesitation, even though they had not known about my intention and had not discussed it beforehand. Our trusting relationship seemed very weak in that conversation. After they had left, I started examining my state of mind during the conversation. I had tried to use everyday people's sentiments to persuade them to accept the truth about Falun Gong, forgetting that Dafa work always requires a righteous mind.
After that, I recalled Master's teaching:
“I often say that if all a person wants is the well-being of others and if this is without the slightest personal motivation or personal understanding, what he says will move the listener to tears”(“Clearheadedness” in Essentials for Further Advancement)
I realized that only being sincere about others' wellbeing would move them. I soon invited them over to my home again and talked with them about Falun Dafa in detail. I went over why I started practicing Falun Dafa, why Dafa was being persecuted, how the 36 Western practitioners went to validate Dafa at Tiananmen Square, and the magnificence of Master. When I finally told them why I wanted to talk to them about this, I had tears in my eyes. They listened to my heart-felt words and agreed to quite the CCP and its youth organizations. Not only that, they convinced their wives to withdraw as well. I believe it was my pure heart that moved them to accept the opportunity to be saved.
From then on, I never relied on everyday people's sentiments and relationships to clarify the truth of Dafa. I viewed everyone, including those with very close relationships with me, as a sentient being who was waiting to learn the truth. As my starting point was changed, the people I talked to would usually say, “I agree with you” or “you are right.”
A colleague started working at my workplace after I had retired. He did not have a good reputation at the workplace, though. With the thought that everyone deserves a chance to learn the truth, I started to chat with him after a meeting we both had attended. I asked him, “What do you think of Falun Gong?” He said, “Falun Gong practitioners are all good people.” I said, “Yes, Falun Gong practitioners believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance because 'Zhen-Shan-Ren is the sole criterion to discern good and bad people' (Zhuan Falun).” He agreed, and that was the beginning of our friendship. I later invited him and his wife for dinner at my place. When I talked about the persecution of Falun Gong, they had no problem understanding and agreed to withdraw from the CCP organizations.
As I got to know him better, I discovered that he was not as others saw him. Since he, his wife, and I became friends, he trusted me. Because he is a musician, I introduced the Shen Yun performance to him. My interactions with this colleague brought me a new understanding of what Master says in Zhuan Falun,
“In the workplace or in society, some people may say that you are bad, yet you may not necessarily be bad. Some people may say that you are good, but you may not really be good.”
Waiting with Patience
When people refused my advice to quit the CCP, I first felt humiliated and, in turn, developed a heart of fear to continue to try to persuade them. I even wished not to see them again. Master's verses “Compassion can harmonize Heaven and Earth, ushering in spring, righteous thoughts can save the people in this world” (“The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos,” Hong Yin II) and “I just don't believe their consciences are irretrievably lost” (“For the Good of the World”) taught me to be compassionate and patient. I should not give up, but I did need to change my strategy.
Upon close analysis, I saw that the people who had refused to quit the CCP could be categorized into three groups.
The first group had enjoyed a successful career and considered that withdrawing from the CCP and, in turn, receiving divine protection would not add to their benefits.
The second group had been brainwashed by the CCP's atheist ideology and regarded the ideas connected to withdrawing from the CCP as too far-fetched.
The third group of people were worried that others might learn about their withdrawal, which might affect their lives and work.
Master said in “Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference,” “Usually wherever there is a problem, that is where Dafa disciples should go to clarify the facts, and do so tenaciously.” Therefore, I came up with different strategies targeting different groups.
For the first group, I introduced them to the arguments in the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, then reminded them of the old sayings: “human planning can never match the divine planning” and “one cannot be always lucky throughout one's lifetime,” supported with plausible examples.
For the second group, who were atheists, I told them about the descriptions of pre-historical cultures in Zhuan Falun, let them know about ancient prophecies and the the words zhong-guo gong-chan-dang wang (“the Chinese Communist Party is dead”) carved on a huge rock in Guizhou Province, and the consequences for those who persecute righteous believers. They all listened attentively as I talked.
For those who were afraid others would find out, I told them that they could use an alias (intellectuals in my circle rarely use their real names to quit the CCP) and assured them of confidentiality.
To those who were over cautious, I let them know that I had withdrawn as well. Based on the stronger mutual trust, many of them have quit the CCP and its organizations.
However, a few of these people refused my advice several times. I did not give up, but did not push them, either. At the end, just like “Compassion can harmonize Heaven and Earth, ushering in spring, righteous thoughts can save the people in this world” (“The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos,” Hong Yin II), they agreed to quit the CCP after I waited several years.
For those who have not quit the CCP, I hope that they will soon. Once I invited a mother and her daughter, who also brought a friend, to my place. The mother was a daycare director, and the daughter just newly became a freshman. Before going to the university, the daughter had been the student union president and a pre-CCP member at high school. As she had absorbed a lot of the communist ideology, she raised many questions, such as “Why have you showed us the }}Nine Commentaries of the Communist Party}} instead of Falun Gong books?” “Why can't we try to save China with our economic knowledge learned at the university?” and “Why can't more of us young people become Party members to purify the Party?”
I told her my opinions, particularly pointing out the importance of distinguishing the Party from the government and the country. When the daughter said she agreed with me on that, her friend said that my intention was for their own good. However, neither girl withdrew from the CCP's organizations that day, but they did agree to consider it. Later she contacted me to get the names of the books I had recommended to her (i.e., Water Knows the Answer about the Power of Compassionate Information, and The Secret of the Crystal Skulls about Mayan prophecies). I hope she is serious about her future and will abandon the Party that has caused such tremendous disasters for the Chinese people.
A Righteous Heart
When I am clarifying the truth about Falun Gong, I do not focus on how my audience is reacting anymore, which usually results in my being hesitant and diffident. Rather, with righteous thoughts, I focus on letting them know about the truth. I strongly believe in the Fa, and that “The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts” (“Drive out Interference,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Understanding the usual characteristics of well-educated Chinese people such as timidness, stubbornness, obsessive reasoning, and curiosity for new information, I started searching for useful evidence for my talks. I realized that I should not be pushy and eager to get them to agree to quit the CCP. Rather, I needed to provide convincing and rational arguments on this topic.
I went through a large number of fellow practitioners' experience-sharing articles on the Minghui website, read and memorized data about Falun Gong (e.g., the number of practitioners around the world, information regarding the staged self-immolation), and collected many vivid examples in Zhuan Falun.
Eventually, I developed a practical syllabus to keep in mind when talking with everyday people: 1) What is Falun Gong; 2) Falun Gong is being persecuted; and 3) Why Falun Gong practitioners have been promoting public awareness of the persecution. When I follow such a framework, it takes more time than before—usually two or three hours—but the results have been significantly better.
One day I invited a Party secretary to my home, intending to talk to him about Falun Gong. Based on what I knew about him, I decided to go straight to the core issues. “I invited you here today to let you know about the persecution of Falun Gong.” Looking a little awkward and surprised, he said, “No, you wouldn't ...” Keeping strong righteous thoughts, I looked into his eyes and said, “Please just listen...” I went through the topics I considered important to him, especially the consequences of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. His attitude switched from paying little attention to concentration. Finally, he said, “I understand Falun Gong practitioners have high moral standards. I won't persecute any of them because it is a religious belief.” At the end, I suggested that he quit the CCP. When he did not respond, I said, “You may need time to think about it since this is a serious issue.” I pointed to a piece of paper and said, “If you like, you can write down an alias that you choose for yourself to be used for the withdrawal statement.” After a quiet moment, he pulled out his pen and wrote down an alias for himself on the paper.
My syllabus is flexible, and I will tailor it to target individuals' varied attachments. For example, a friend of mine and all his family members have been Buddhists for years. I used to avoid clarifying the truth to Buddhists because I am aware of the eroding side of Buddhism due to my long time involvement in Buddhism. Besides, Buddhists usually believe that they have the privilege of salvation. However, Master said in “What is a Dafa Disciple,” “When someone is placed before you, there isn’t a choice—you’re wrong if you become selective in terms of saving people.” Therefore, I invited him to a park to talk with him. My thought was to save a sentient being by inform him of what he did not know, and I did not want to have argument with him on religious concepts, which had happened before. I started with theism and Newton's strong belief in God, continued with Mayan culture, evidence of cosmic change, the crucifixion of Jesus, the collapse of ancient Rome, and prophecies in Chinese and other cultures. These naturally led to the topic of Falun Gong. When describing the persecution that steadfast practitioners are enduring, tears came to my eyes. I then told him about the rock carved with words regarding the CCP and why Falun Gong practitioners have been clarifying the truth to everyday people. He listened with an attentive and serious look, without interruption. At the end, as he had to leave for a meeting, time ran out. He said, “I didn't know much about Falun Gong, until today” and agreed to have another appointment with me.
It takes more time and energy to clarify the truth to well-educated people. However, saving people is unconditional, and I must do better. Master said,
“But the path will be very narrow—narrow to the extent that only if you are extremely righteous will things work out and will you manage to save people” (What is a Dafa Disciple).
How to become righteous? Only through studying the Fa, diligently cultivating xinxing, viewing the process of clarifying the truth as a cultivation process, and devoting every moment to doing the three things well can we be righteous.
Please point out anything not in line with the Fa.