(Minghui.org) More and more elderly Falun Gong practitioners from Miaoli County, Taiwan, are taking computer classes to help them better clarify the truth online.
The day I was scheduled to take the class, I experienced a very severe bout of sickness karma. When I told my mother, who is also a practitioner, that I felt too ill to attend the class, she said, “You must go. The more the evil interferes, the more important our online truth-clarification projects become!”
I was grateful to Master for arranging this test for me and for my mother's encouragement. If I had not gone to the class, I would not have been able to offer technical support to my fellow practitioners when they needed it.
Through my involvement in various online Dafa projects, I've discovered many deeply hidden attachments.
My initial approach to helping people quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was to first make friends with the person I was talking to online, then explain the facts to them. I did it that way because I was afraid that if I spoke too soon about quitting the Party, I might scare them off.
That meant I spent an inordinate amount of time chatting with people without getting to the point about Falun Gong, the persecution, and why they should quit the CCP. When I finally broached the subject of quitting the CCP, they would often abruptly end the call. When that happened, I felt helpless and hurt, with negative emotions flooding my mind.
However, the more I looked inward, the more I became aware of my fundamental attachment: the fear of being misunderstood. This is exactly why I clarified the facts with so much human sentimentality; I was trying to compensate for that ever-present fear inside.
Through studying the Fa, I came to realize that sentimentality is extremely unreliable and that I should seize the moment to clarify the facts with wisdom and righteous thoughts. It's the evil that is scared of being exposed, not Dafa disciples! Thus, I began to lead the conversations that I had with people instead of being led by them.
Due to my attachments to ease and comfort, I had often called people on my phone list, saying, “Hello. I have something very important to tell you, but let's wait until my next call to discuss it.” A few weeks later, my calling-card account got blocked.
However, natural disasters abound in China, and perhaps the people that I spoke to only had that one opportunity to be saved; but due to my attachments, they missed the chance. Looking back, I realized that I should have regarded each person on my phone list as my sole responsibility to save. If I had viewed things that way, I would not have treated these calls to China so flippantly.
I once helped a practitioner with a stubborn computer problem. Instead of thanking me, he told a practitioner standing nearby, “I don't trust her diagnosis of the problem.” At that moment, I felt wronged, helpless, and bitter.
I immediately looked inward and realized that I had always been attached to being seen as diligent and capable, which, of course, is a strong attachment to reputation and personal gain.
I also realized that doing Dafa work with a pure heart is the only way that I can help Master save sentient beings. It was my deeply-rooted attachments that prevented me from having the heart of validating the Fa instead of myself.
When I initially began clarifying the facts, I noticed that the more people I spoke to, the angrier and more combative I became. Before obtaining the Fa, I used to be very hot tempered and impatient. It was only after practicing Dafa that I realized that these negative emotions were acquired postnatally, and as such, had nothing to do with my true self.
Even though I knew that I had to eliminate these emotions, I still couldn't tolerate people being rude to me online. I repeatedly failed to see these incidents as opportunities to remove my demon nature. Only after a long while was I able to use reason and logic to rein in my unruly temper.
I once clarified the facts to a young man who said, “I am willing to quit the CCP, but what will you give me in return?” I thought to myself, “I am saving you, yet you dare to strike a deal with me!” I quickly removed that unrighteous thought from my mind and asked him, “Why would a drowning man place conditions on the person who is saving him?” The young man had no reply and instead quit the Party.
After the call, I realized that clarifying the truth has nothing to do with being a good debater, nor does it have anything to do with winning or losing. Rather, it is about having a heart of kindness and compassion at all times.
I used to selectively clarify the truth, that is, I chose only kind, well-spoken people to talk to. Of course, this viewpoint is wrong, because it is based on human sentimentality, which is a very unreliable gauge of character. For example, I spoke to some rough-looking people who eventually quit the CCP, yet some gentle, unobtrusive people scoffed at my attempts to save them.
Master said:
“As for saving sentient beings and clarifying the truth, a lot of people haven’t done it in depth. They’ll say just a few words to people, thinking 'Listen or don’t listen, just do whatever you like. You don’t want to listen, fine!' and they’ll go on to find the next person. In whatever you do you should carry it through to the end, do it well, and if you intend to save someone, then go ahead and save him. When someone is placed before you, there isn’t a choice—you’re wrong if you become selective in terms of saving people. As long as he is someone you run into, you should save him, regardless of his position or social status, or whether he be the president or a beggar. In the eyes of gods, beings are equal. Social status is just a distinction made in human society.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 New York Fa Conference”)
I now see it as my responsibility to save everyone who I come into contact with, including whoever I meet online.
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