(Minghui.org) Greetings, esteemed Master and fellow practitioners！
Cultivation is the First Priority
I am a Falun Dafa practitioner from Seoul and began to practice Dafa in 1998. After immigrating to Seoul in 2004, I was determined to put cultivation as my first priority. When I have time, I clarify the truth about Dafa to Chinese at tourist spots or send righteous thoughts outside the Chinese Embassy in South Korea.
After the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published, I wondered how I could tell Chinese people about Dafa and help them withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations.
A practitioner and I distributed brochures with information about Dafa in the Chinese residential district Daerim-dong on Lunar New Year’s Day 2006. Daerim-dong is one of Korea's largest Chinatowns, and we were astounded not to see any Dafa practitioners there. That told me that we needed to establish a truth-clarification site to talk to people face-to-face.
Fellow practitioners and I planned to rent an apartment in Daerim-dong to make these activities more convenient. With the cooperation of local practitioners, we established a booth for quitting the CCP in Daerim-dong. We displayed information boards and bought video equipment.
Righteous Thoughts Break Through Interference
After we were ready to man the booth, I came down with sickness karma. I felt my eyelids were very heavy, and soon after, I couldn’t open my eyes. I even couldn’t tell if it was day or night.
When I began to practice Dafa. I developed symptoms of a herniated disc, which disappeared without medical treatment. This was the only time I experienced an illness state–until now.
After I increased my Fa-study, doing the Dafa exercises, and sending righteous thoughts, I recovered and could open the Dafa booth.
Chinese Police Officer Quits the CCP and Youth Organizations
To maintain our booth’s operations, I did not work in the first two months. We set up our booth at the Daerim subway entrance No.10. We played videos, put up information boards, and distributed brochures about Dafa.
It was difficult to bring all the materials to the booth, including the 50-pound video player, lights, display boards, and brochures. We began the day by playing the Nine Commentaries and a Dafa introduction video.
When we were setting up the display boards one day, a person of Korean descent approached us. After seeing the display boards, he flew into a rage and informed us that he was a CCP police officer. He not only threatened us but also used disrespectful words against Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa.
He came almost every day. Despite his anger, he watched the Nine Commentaries videos. He told us one day, “Today, you do the withdrawal from the CCP, Communist Youth League, and the Young Pioneers for me.”
Effectiveness of Truth-Clarification
Daerim-dong is the biggest Chinatown in Seoul, and our Dafa booth is at the entrance of the Chinese market. Most people who work there part time are of Korean descent. While clarifying the truth, we often encounter all kinds of interference.
A man in his 50s, who looked like an official, came to our booth one morning. He told people not to believe what we were telling them about Dafa. He told many lies and thus seemed to be beholden to the CCP. People carefully listened to him. He said that he was in the same army unit as Master Li and that they worked in a granary afterward.
I first thought to stop him from telling lies about Dafa, so I took him aside and said, “You are Chinese, and I am also Chinese. Let me tell you something about myself. When I was in China, I owned two hotels and was rich. But I had a herniated disc, and it cost me more than 1,000 yuan a day for Chinese medicine treatments. After trying Chinese and Western medicine, I did not get any better, and my condition only worsened. I was worried about my future.”
I continued, “After more than a year, I had lost hope. Then, my older brother brought the book Zhuan Falun. He said that many people were practicing Falun Dafa. I heard that it benefits practitioners and is effective for getting rid of illnesses. He took me to the closest practice site to learn more about Dafa. The winter is really cold in northeastern China, especially at four in the morning, and the sky is still dark. But, there were many people practicing Falun Dafa.”
“Then, a week later, I no longer needed help moving around. Less than a month later, I had recovered and felt very light. I threw away all my medicine. My family told everyone that someone who was bedridden became healthy.
“My friends were all surprised and asked what medicine I took and how I recovered so quickly. I told them about Falun Dafa. Many friends saw my physical change and started practicing cultivation in Dafa.”
He kept listening, and his attitude changed. He seemed embarrassed and no longer badmouthed Dafa. However, as he was leaving, another practitioner tried to clarify the truth to him. He became angry and said not to talk to him about Dafa.
This person’s attitude had not changed. I thought that he would continue to malign Dafa, which would harm people.
I invited him for lunch, as my home was just around the corner. We could talk more while eating. He agreed and came with a friend, and I invited another practitioner. In my home, he kept looking at Master’s photo while we talked about Dafa. Before leaving, he quit the CCP and asked for a copy of Zhuan Falun. He no longer interfered with us and called me twice. Unfortunately, we missed each other, and I have not seen him since.
Keeping the Facts Simple
When clarifying the truth, one will encounter all kinds of people and face many questions. During the New Year’s holidays, not only did many practitioners come to help at our booth, but we were also surrounded by many people.
Someone challenged the effectiveness of Falun Dafa when it came to the question of physical health. Encountering this kind of question, one should not adopt their challenging tone. We should never forget that people come because of Falun Dafa and that that person is also one of them.
Seeing that he was leaving, I stopped him and said, “Please bear with me for a few minutes. Among practitioners in Korea are many examples that show the power of Falun Dafa. There were those with liver cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer, and other incurable diseases, with some who were in the terminal stage. They recovered after they practiced Falun Dafa. They were diagnosed in Korean hospitals and can be researched. What happened to them cannot be explained by medical science. If you don’t believe it, I can ask someone to meet with you.”
Then, I spoke of what I had experienced personally. After listening to me, his attitude changed. When leaving, he held my hands and bowed deeply to me. He promised to come back.
When clarifying the truth, one will encounter all kinds of people. I try my best to let people follow my logic. I neither directly answer questions nor argue with anyone. I realized that no matter whether I answer questions directly or not, as long as I speak and the person listens, every word I speak has the power to destroy the evil factors behind him or her.
Master said,
“Of course, what Dafa disciples do is good for people, and our speech stems from righteous thoughts, so what comes forth from our mouths when we speak are lotus flowers.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2010 New York Fa Conference” from Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)
I found a problem in that some practitioners, to make people believe, will tell people about miraculous phenomena practitioners have experienced. They sometimes talk at too high a level when they don’t pay attention. However, since many Chinese are brainwashed by the CCP, if we tell it too profoundly, people cannot accept what we say, and it will have a negative effect.
Impressed by Practitioners' Demeanor
We moved the booth closer to the market, where more people passed by. However, the entrance to the market had poor sanitary conditions. To have a clean site, practitioners and I gave it a thorough cleaning and then do a follow-up cleaning every day.
Our coming changed the dirty surroundings, and our actions moved the neighbors. When they see people continually making the place dirty, they say, “I am also Chinese, but I look down on Chinese because they are not disciplined. You work so hard to clean it. Thank you!”
One time, a Korean man stopped by. After listening to us, he said, “There are still people who understand justice! You are doing a great job.” He asked about our lives and financial resources. We told him that we were volunteers. He was deeply touched and asked how he could transfer some money to our bank accounts. We thanked him and refused his kindness. We explained that we all had jobs and talk to people about Dafa after work or on the weekends.
Encountering Interference
Of course, we often encounter interference. For instance, someone would ask, “Falun Dafa practitioners do not engage in politics, but aren’t they doing that by asking people to quit the CCP? Why eliminate the CCP?” Sometimes, people surround us with angry faces and even shout obscenities.
Encountering this situation, we usually will not argue. I said, “I can understand your patriotism, but there are too many things you don’t know. People all over the world practice Dafa. The self-immolation incident at Tiananmen Square was staged. There are so many incidents that are kept secret, but even the United Nation knows the truth, including the June 4 massacre and the forced organ harvesting atrocities.”
Master said, “...just by having your heart unaffected you will be able to handle all situations.” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)” from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I realized that it does not matter what kind of interference we encounter; as long as we hold no fear, our heart is not interfered with, and we stay calm, people will listen to us. It does not matter how many people surround us–the more the better, as it is more convenient to clarify the facts to a larger crowd. They keep listening, and afterward they leave quietly.
Some people came to listen again and again. They didn’t understand in the beginning, but in the end they realized that we spoke the truth. Some said, “I first thought that Dafa practitioners were engaged in politics and felt very upset. But after reading the Nine Commentaries, I understood that what you said was the truth. Only you Falun Dafa practitioners dare to talk about this. Thank you!”
Some people help us encourage others to quit the CCP. One man often came to our booth, silently listened to us, watched the Nine Commentaries videos, and read the display boards. One day, he quit the CCP with his real name. On another day, he returned from China with a list with names of his relatives and friends who had agreed to quit the CCP.
Cooperation and Coordination Among Practitioners
When dealing with practitioners, there are sometimes problems. To let people in this neighborhood know more about Falun Dafa, we do the exercises in a small park near a subway station. As the practice site was next to a parking lot, there were dozens of vehicles parked there every morning, and people who went to work saw us. We also distributed Dafa brochures.
However, the cars passing by made a lot of noise, affecting the tranquility of meditation. Some practitioners thus wanted to practice in a regular park, which was a more tranquil environment. Others thought that during the Fa-rectification period we need to prioritize saving people over personal cultivation; as long as the first thought is to spread Dafa and save people, as long as we can let people know the truth of Dafa, our devotion is worthwhile. They suggested that even though it was not tranquil at the present location, Master knows that our hearts are on saving people.
Master said,
“...your energy will only be as strong as your character.”
“'One only needs to worry about putting in the effort of practice, and the rest is in the hands of one’s teacher.'” (Zhuan Falun)
We insisted on practicing in the small park near the subway station. We feel that we have done well with our promoting Falun Dafa, as people who use the bus were able to see our practicing the exercises and the Falun Dafa banner.
Our site needed a license from the local police station, but small vendor stalls often occupied the space, affecting our display boards and other items. When we encounter this, we patiently clarify the truth to these vendors. After they understand, they will move on. However, some practitioners suggested that we should maximally conform to ordinary society and be considerate of people who have to make a living, so we should not argue with them.
When we played videos in the beginning, we also encountered some interference. Fellow practitioners with different opinions even said in front of the vendors, “It’s enough just to give a Dafa brochure. Why make a big issue out of it?”
Difference Between Personal and Fa-Rectification Cultivation
We realized that as Falun Dafa practitioners during the Fa-rectification period, we need to know the relationship between personal cultivation and Fa-rectification period cultivation.
During the personal cultivation period, we cultivate selflessness and consider others first. But in Fa-rectification cultivation, we have the mission to help Master rectify the Fa and save people. Falun Dafa disciples’ clarifying the truth and saving people is a selfless act, as one does not think of one's personal cultivation and improvement. Instead, one only tries to save more people.
If the vendors can cooperate with us and not interfere with our saving people, they will have a good future. Therefore, encouraging them not to occupy our truth-clarification site is truly beneficial for them and their future. If they don’t realize the truth and interfere with us, they are sinning and accumulating karma unconsciously.
At our other site at the market entrance, we have to face all kinds of people and interference from CCP spies. I realized that if practitioners can hold stronger righteous thoughts and improve their coordination, this site can be more powerful and save more people. Fortunately, several practitioners are able to truly maintain a clear understanding based on the Fa. Despite its ups and downs over the years, the site has established a solid foundation.
What we need the most is coordination and cooperation among practitioners. With righteous thoughts and righteous actions, we can do it righteously and help Master rectify the Fa and save people well.
(Presented at the 2018 Asia Fa Conference)
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