(Minghui.org)
Buddhist monks of the past had to leave their temples and roam around, so as to temper themselves while enduring hardship. We Falun Dafa practitioners are very fortunate because Master has paved a simple and great way to offer salvation to sentient beings.
The number of Chinese visiting the U.S. as tourists has increased, and this allows practitioners to reach out to even more Chinese people, and tell them what Falun Dafa is about.
We should make the best use of the precious time Master has provided, to fulfill our missions while eliminating our attachments. I can feel Master's profound compassion and wisdom. As a Falun Dafa practitioner, the best way for me to repay Master's grace is to quickly offer salvation to more people with compassion and righteous thoughts.
I started clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa at a particular tourist spot nine months ago. Based on my experience, I've learned that as long as I'm willing to look inward, eliminating attachments doesn't take long. I would like to share a few of my experiences with other practitioners.
I met an older man at the tourist spot one day and told him about the Chinese characters that are marked into a cliff face in Guizhou Province. He said, “I have been there and seen the rock. It's true.” I asked happily, “Have you quit the communist organizations then?” “No.” “Would you like to quit using the nickname 'Changshou'?” He said repeatedly, “Sure! Sure!” I was so happy with this quick-and-easy withdrawal that I immediately mentioned the cliff face to the next tourist. However, the next tourist said in disdain, “It's fake. It's scientifically impossible.” He wouldn't listen to me any longer, no matter what I said.
I realized that my attachment of zealotry had become justification for interference by the old forces. It had caused a loss. I thought, “Master, I don't want to be over-zealous. Please help me eliminate it.” I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the interference in the meantime. The rest of my truth-clarification went well that day.
Every time someone easily agrees to quit the communist organizations, I stay alert, “Don't be zealous!” I am very mindful of my thoughts and carefully cultivate myself in this regard. As such, my mental state has become calmer and calmer. I intended to reach a state like still water, whereby I don't get moved by anything.
I once told a middle-aged man about the goodness of Falun Dafa. He wouldn't listen to me, and called me unpatriotic. I said that loving the motherland and loving the communist party are two different things. He took out his camera and tried to take photos of me, claiming he would send the photos to the Chinese Consulate. I had lived under the terror of communism for most of my life.
I thought I had stopped being afraid of this type of thing now that I was living in a free country. But I was disturbed by his words. I asked myself, “Is he a Chinese spy? Is he going to bring me trouble with the photos?” My truth-clarification for the rest of the day was affected, and I felt afraid inside. It had been covered up by my current safe environment, but fear still existed in my heart.
I recited Master's poems in my mind,
“If you have fear, they will grab you Once your thought is righteous, evil will collapse People practicing cultivation, filled with Fa Sending righteous thoughts, exploding rotten ghosts Gods are in the world, validating Fa” (“What’s There to Fear,” from Hong Yin II)
“Dafa does not leave the body, The heart harbors Zhen-Shan-Ren; In the world is a great Arhat, Spirits and ghosts fear greatly.” (“Mighty Virtue,” from Hong Yin)
I became less and less afraid, gradually overcoming it. The same incident happened again later, but I remained calm and smiled at the person who threatened me.
I approached a young tourist one day, and as soon as I started talking to him, he began waving his arms and crying out ferociously, “You disgrace us Chinese! Go away!” My competitive mentality was stirred up by his words. I'm his grandfather's age. How could he treat me like this? I replied, “Those who were educated by the communist regime can be very overbearing!” Upon hearing this, he lifted his fist and tried to punch me. The tour guide stopped him and took him away. I had a hard time calming down afterward.
I know that we practitioners should look inward to examine ourselves when we are faced with conflicts, and I realized that this incident exposed my competitive mentality. Anyone who grows up in a communist-ruled society has a stronger competitive mentality, and such people are more prone to getting into conflicts.
However, I recognized that I had to improve my character in this regard, otherwise I would tarnish Dafa's reputation. I was determined to disintegrate this mentality and clarify the truth to people with compassion.
Two more tests happened later. A couple of tourists were rude to me, and even pushed me around. I was able to remain calm with a smile. One's tolerance strengthens as one resists the urge to compete and fight with others.
One day, I saw a young intellectual-looking Chinese man pass by. I wanted to clarify the facts to him about Falun Dafa and the persecution, but he was walking in a hurry. So I picked up my pace and walked quickly with him for two blocks while talking to him. I was able to cover many facts. But when I asked him whether he would like to quit the communist organizations, he answered, “No, I don't care about those things.” I replied, “I'm sincerely asking you for your own good. Otherwise, I wouldn't have run myself out of breath trying to talk to you. When the communist regime faces heavenly judgement, the only way to avoid being buried with it is to withdraw from it.” He stubbornly said “no” and left in a hurry. I with disappointment and frustration as he left. Saving people is so difficult!
My mind became more clear after a while. As a practitioner, I needed to look inward and find the reason for his refusal in my own heart. How can I blame an everyday person? My compassion wasn't enough to untie the “knot” in his heart. I kept talking but forgot to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the interference. My disappointment and frustration exposed my attachment to pursuit. He has now heard the facts, and perhaps he will withdraw from the communist organizations the next time someone mentions it to him.
Master said,
“Some people don’t even believe the person when he heals them. When he treats them, he drives out a lot of bad things, but maybe at the time it’s not obvious how much he’s healed them. So they’re not happy, they don’t even thank him, and they might even call him names and say he cheated them! It’s exactly in grappling with these problems, it’s in this environment, that the mind is tempered.” ( Zhuan Falun )
I have since treated those who refuse to withdraw from the regime with compassion. I advised them to remember Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good. I wished they would withdraw from the communist organizations and have a bright future.
Many tourist spots are frequented by busses loaded with well-dressed Chinese tourists. They look like Chinese regime officials who are on business trips. Every time I see them, I imagine that they have benefitted from the regime, and had complicated minds. In addition, the regime officials take precautions against each other. Even if one wanted to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), he wouldn't dare let his colleagues find out.
Having this mentality, I didn't do a good job clarifying the truth to these types of tourists. I sometimes summoned up the courage to talk to them, but they stalled me off quickly. I realized that I had a mentality of treating them differently from other people.
I then thought of what Master told us,
“They are sentient beings, so save them just like the other ordinary sentient beings. Save them if you can, and treat them just like anyone else. The more you regard them as a special group, the less you will be able to save them. Just save them as you would any other persons. Save them if you can. If you can't, then you can't.” (“Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles”)
I realized that in order to save sentient beings, we can't make distinctions between people and pick and choose who we want to talk to. The evil would take advantage of this loophole to turn those sentient beings away from us. Through Fa study I developed a compassion, a compassion that allows me to talk with openness and dignity to any person of any social strata with equal compassion.
Practitioners know not to hold any resentment towards everyday people, but we may have conflicts with other practitioners and develop grievances. One day, another practitioner at this tourist spot said to me, “You can't follow tourists and keep talking to them. It'll tarnish Dafa's image.”
I explained to him that I didn't want them to lose their chance simply because they didn't want to stop walking. I know that we don't want people to misunderstand us. He didn't agreed with me.
A couple of days later, he said to me, “We have to focus on clarifying the truth well to each and every person rather than just focusing on merely talking to as many people as possible.” I thought, “I did a better job than you in clarifying the truth. I always tell people about Falun Dafa's health benefits, the irrational persecution, the evil of atheism, the staged self-immolation, organ harvesting, the cliff face with the Chinese characters, and the necessity of quitting the CCP. But you haven't talked as much as I. How can you criticize my truth clarification?” I felt upset, and forgot to look inward for my own problem.
On another day, I was trying to come up with nicknames to help a couple of tourists quit the regime after clarifying the facts to them. This practitioner suddenly stepped in and anxiously asked, “Have you clarified the facts to them? Why are you looking for nicknames for them at this point?” The tourists left on hearing the argument, and I was mad at him for interfering. I gave him an unpleasant answer.
Resentment arose in my mind as soon as I thought of this practitioner. However, there must be a reason why it happened to me again and again. I must have a loophole somewhere. Upon looking inward, I found resentment, and reluctance to take criticism. Resentment can't be easily exposed when other people's words seem to be correct. It's only when others are rude and treat you poorly that it counts as a real test.
When I saw this practitioner again, I tried not to have any negative thoughts in my mind. Whenever I had the opportunity, I sincerely shared with him about different matters. Even if I felt I wasn't doing so well, I held firm to being compassionate while clarifying the facts of Falun Dafa and wouldn't allow the evil to interfere. In the meantime, I carefully examined myself based on his comments, and corrected myself when I found anything not right.
Clarifying the facts at tourist spots is something I believe Master hopes we do well. It's one of the most effective ways of offering salvation to sentient beings. When we do it well, many people quit the communist organizations. Additionally, clarifying the facts at these tourist spots is great for one's cultivation.
In addition to the attachments mentioned above, I have found many other attachments that are hard to notice. For example, anxiety, the attachment to getting things done, attachment to comfort, pursuit of a higher number of party withdrawals, etc. As long as I'm determined to get rid of them, Master will help me eliminate the degenerate matter associated with the attachments. It's solid cultivation and true advancement when we cultivate ourselves through truth-clarification.
The above is my understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.