(Minghui.org) The number of people who now know the facts about Falun Dafa have increased; many were not so shocked when I told them that the self-immolations at Tiananmen Square were staged.
Some even said, “That's right. It's staged. I have heard about it.” Some also told me that they had software to circumvent the Internet censorship in China.
While I am glad to know that more and more people now know the truth about Falun Dafa and the persecution, I've also discovered that there are still many issues with understanding the truth.
Upon chatting with these people further, I discovered that many were not respectful towards Master Li. They separate Falun Dafa and Master Li, saying that Falun Dafa was good, but it was used and turned into a political movement.
Some knew about the staged self-immolation, but didn't understand the truth about the April 25 protest.
“Falun Dafa is good,” they said, “but it shouldn't act against the government.”
I was shocked after uncovering the above – though these people know some of the facts, they still haven't obtained salvation! We haven't informed them of the facts thoroughly, as they still don't have a fundamental change in their views.
I then looked inward and would like to share my findings.
Rectifying Our Own Disrespectful Thoughts Towards Master
No practitioners would think that they disrespect Master. How could we? However, I've come to realize that our respect is different per our cultivation levels. I think we would all agree on one point: no matter how much respect we have for Master, it is far from enough.
In our daily lives, some of us respect the senior managers in our companies more than we respect Master. We address such “VIPs” very cautiously with much courtesy, but have we treated Master the same or even better? Have we completely respected Master in our words and thoughts? Have we placed emphasis on respecting Master when we do any Dafa projects? Have we respected Master during Fa studies or when handling Dafa books and Master's pictures?
Those who enlightened to the evil path did the same a few years ago: separating Master and Dafa. They acknowledged Dafa, but not Master. Master has talked about this issue in his lectures. Have we really addressed this issue in our own cultivation? Our unrighteous fields will affect people in the world. They may display the same problems that are rooted within us.
We Cannot Simplify the Process of Saving People
I realized that I oversimplified saving sentient beings for the sake of accumulating mighty virtue. I often thought, “I have clarified the truth to so and so. I have made truth-clarification phone calls. Therefore....”
In reality, getting a person to salvation is no simple matter. In my view, there are quite a few thresholds to achieve; the old forces have set obstacles at each.
First, can this person have access to the facts? Dafa practitioners are clarifying the truth. But we are also cultivating personally at the same time. Due to practitioners' own karma or shortcomings, whether a person can hear the truth is in itself a threshold.
Suppose the person has achieved the first step and learned the facts. Such facts may contain elements of the practitioner. Whether the content is comprehensive enough or acceptable enough for this individual constitute the second threshold.
Didn't some sharing articles on Minghui also talk about this? Materials made by some practitioners are popular and widely read by the public. However, these people would toss aside some other materials right away.
Incomplete truths may cause the aforementioned issues: people know about the staged self-immolation, but don't know the truth of the April 25 protest. They know that Falun Dafa is good, but don't know to respect Master Li Hongzhi as the founder of such a good practice.
Of course, we can have different emphasized topics in our truth-clarification. For example, we can focus on the topic of self-immolation during the first conversation. However, we should also pay attention to tailor our content to the listener.
Through my discussions, I have found that people are more receptive if they learn that something is falsified, simply because there are so many counterfeit products in China. However, due to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) propaganda, many cannot handle labels such as “anti-Party,” “anti-government,” or “anti-country.” They are afraid after many rounds of the CCP's political struggles.
It is indeed a challenge to illustrate clearly the relationship between the Party, Jiang Zemin (former head of the CCP who started the persecution) and company, the Chinese government, and the nation, especially within our limited time. Thus, such issues may become a blind spot for many non-practitioners.
The same goes with the relationship between Dafa and Master. Many are receptive when I tell them that the belief is very good. After all, the five thousand years of traditional culture is connected to Falun Dafa, and Chinese people have the cultural roots to understand that much.
However, once I mention how great Master – a person who's just an ordinary person in their eyes – is, I meet with a lot of resistance. Chinese people have a long tradition of jealousy and cannot deal with compliments given to specific individuals. But we must find ways to address this. I believe that Dafa will give us wisdom to help people overcome this issue.
The third threshold is whether or not the person could render righteous thoughts upon knowing the facts. Don't we know such people?
“I know Dafa is good and Jiang Zemin is bad,” they say, “However, I would have done the same if I were Jiang.”
I have met a medical professional who said, “What's the big deal? It is very normal,” after I told him about the CCP's state-sanctioned organ harvesting from Falun Dafa practitioners.
For such people, we will have to help them recover their humanity first if we are to save them. In my view, if a person can acknowledge Dafa, be sympathetic to Dafa practitioners, know the evilness of the CCP, then he can be considered as having righteous thoughts.
The fourth threshold is that the person must take action after he has righteous thoughts: in most cases, he must voluntarily renounce his membership in CCP organizations. Of course, he may choose to do even more by helping Dafa practitioners. But I know some who are not able to overcome this threshold.
Some people have known all the facts, but they simply don't want to leave the CCP organizations. Such people are usually those who cannot let go of the petty gains associated with their membership.
I once told a man to quit the CCP. I told him that this would offer him safety so that he wouldn't have to bear the CCP's cross when it meets with its retribution for persecuting Dafa practitioners and killing so many Chinese. He didn't choose to quit the Party. Moreover, he said, “It's alright. Everyone has to die.”
The fifth threshold is that people who have overcome the first four may repeat their mistakes. In the community of cultivators, we talk about “when an average person hears it, this person will practice it on and off.” The same holds for non-practitioners who have understood the truth.
Under the influence of repeated CCP brainwashing and financial temptations, some may go back to where they were. While we're helping people quit the CCP, the CCP is making efforts to develop new members and send them to hell.
Therefore, saving sentient beings is very urgent. There's no relaxation about it.
Truth-clarification is only a step in salvation. In addition to improving our delivery, we should also pay attention to the mix of basic facts and special topics so as not to leave any blind spots for non-practitioners.
Sometimes we may also need to help them break through Party culture, restore their value system, even awaken their lost humanity. In summary, we need to help their righteous thoughts emerge.
Several Suggestions
I have a few suggestions for truth-clarification based on the aforementioned issues:
1. Show the proper reverence for Master. I think some practitioners have been doing it well. Whenever people show gratitude to Dafa practitioners, these practitioners add, “I did this based on teachings of our Master Li Hongzhi.” It's good to point out the many international proclamations issued to Master, and the fact that Zhuan Falun has been translated in over 40 languages.2. Let's make sure we separate the concepts of government and nation from that of the Party. We should single out the CCP so people can better see through its evil nature.3. Let's try to help people gain freedom from the Party culture. We can call upon their conscience by putting ourselves in their shoes and help them render righteous thoughts.
The above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out any shortcomings.
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Category: Clarifying the Truth
