(Minghui.org) Master said, “Some people must do their work by talking.” (Lecture Eight, Zhuan Falun)
After the persecution of Falun Dafa started in 1999, I have to talk at work and in Dafa projects, including clarifying the truth at tourist attractions, asking Chinese people to withdraw from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) and its affiliated organizations, collecting signatures on petitions, doing advertising sales for Chinese language Epoch Times, selling Shen Yun tickets and Shen Yun products, and helping with the German Epoch Times customer service.
When Clarifying the Truth We Cannot Pursue Results
Master asks us to clarify the truth well, which means that we need to make sure that the people we talk to really understand. We cannot be satisfied by merely talking to people or distributing materials. So, how can we clarify the truth well? I think it’s most important to eliminate elements of the CCP culture in ourselves.
I came from communist China, where I was subtly indoctrinated with the CCP culture since childhood. Some of my ways of thinking and behavior that are influenced by CCP culture have become unconscious habits. They also block me from getting a better understanding of the Fa. Only by clearing these factors out of my mind, can I truly understand the deeper meanings of the Fa.
Over the years, while I cook, eat, or do housework I listen to audio books including theNine Commentaries on the Communist Party, Disintegrating Party Culture, The Ultimate Goal of Communism, and How the Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World. I’ve read or listened to each of these books more than twelve times. It also helped me see and understand the manifestations of communism in the West, which in turn helps me to clarify the truth to Westerners.
No matter which project I’m involved in, I place high requirements on myself. I must continue to elevate my cultivation to meet the requirements of the Fa at different levels. When I talk to people at scenic attractions, I strive to have every person I talk to sign our petition. We should not pursue results, but we also can’t be without results.
Over the years I’ve come up with simple yet effective answers to all the common questions I get from German people. If I encounter a question that I cannot answer well, I think about how I can improve in answering it.
I treasure each and every person I talk with, because I feel they all have predestined relationships with me. When I clarified the truth to one person, he agreed with me. But when I asked him to sign the petition, he began to digress and talked about his various perspectives about China. I pulled back on the topic and asked him to sign, because I felt he had a clear understanding of the CCP. He then got off the topic three or four more times. But I was determined not to give up on him. After talking to him for more than half an hour, he finally signed the petition to disintegrate the CCP.
Another time, after I gave some information to a man who looked like an intellectual, he handed the flyer back to me and said that he didn’t have time to read it. Then he looked at a display board about live organ harvesting and smiled, with a strange expression on his face. I immediately understood what he was thinking. I politely asked, “Do you think this is a conspiracy theory?” Before he could answer, I continued, “I understand your doubts. Live organ harvesting is evil. It is beyond human imagination. But this is truly happening and there is a lot of evidence. For example, after the persecution of Falun Dafa began in 1999, more than 100 organ transplant centers were established in China. The mainstream media and Western governments do not report on this persecution which involves hundreds of millions of people, so it is impossible for you to learn this information from the media you are familiar with. The people here are all Falun Dafa practitioners. We all have families and jobs, but we are here in our spare time to tell people what is happening in China. We print these newspapers with our own money, in order to expose the CCP’s crimes against humanity.”
After listening to me, he seemed to understand. He held out both hands and said, “Please give me the materials, and I will read them carefully.” I then also told him about the German Epoch Times website and the book How the Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World. I said I hoped he would read them and learn more.
To those who give a slanderous label to Falun Dafa, I simply say: “That is what the CCP says.” Almost 100% of the people stop saying it. The CCP is notorious, and who wants to say the same thing as the CCP?
Some people say they do not dare to sign the petition; others say that it is pointless to sign; some are afraid that they will not be able to go to China in the future. I tell them, “The CCP is very happy when you say this and think this way. Please do not assume that what’s happening in China has nothing to do with us here. You have seen how the global COVID pandemic has disrupted our lives and economy. The existence of the CCP is a disaster for the world.” Most people agree and sign.
Master said,
“The gods set forth something in the early period of my Fa-rectification, namely, that whatever the wicked Party does, regardless of its aim, will end up assisting me and Dafa disciples. So, whenever the wicked CCP wants to do some bad thing, it will turn into a failure and scandal as soon as it’s begun.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2008 New York Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume VIII)
I found that it is easy to clarify the truth by exposing the true nature of the CCP no matter what the topic is, because Master and the gods have already paved the way and the CCP’s demise has already been determined. This is a powerful tool for practitioners to clarify the truth and save people.
A Heart of Respect for Dafa Disciples
In 2021, a Western practitioner asked me if I could help with the German Epoch Times subscription customer service. At first I refused, because I was already working for a social media channel’s audio for the Chinese Epoch Times headquarters, and doing recordings for several other projects. I felt that my voice was my Fa tool and I wanted to continue what I was doing. But then I thought, when a Dafa project needs help, I shouldn’t decide what to do based on my preferences. I shouldn’t arrange a cultivation path for myself, so I agreed to help.
I mainly have two tasks. One is to help customers who have unsubscribed to continue to subscribe, and the other is to get those subscribers who have withdrawn their payment to pay again. My main difficulty is that German is not my native language. Because I have to call the customers, the atmosphere is very different from when the customers call us to subscribe. Sometimes as soon as the call is connected, they ask where I got their number. Some say they are determined to cancel and that there is nothing more to talk about. Others say that I am disturbing them and even threaten to call the police. Some hang up and do not answer when I phone again.
My other biggest headache is writing emails. We need to have these as records for possible future legal proceedings. It’s not easy for me to write such a complicated email clearly in German, and have the subscribers understand the seriousness of the consequences if they don’t pay. But now there is a German practitioner who can help me revise my emails in a timely manner.
Obviously, it’s not a pleasant topic when I ask customers who have canceled their subscription to re-subscribe, or when I ask the subscribers who have withdrawn their payments to pay. Sometimes when there is a misunderstanding or when the client isn’t happy, I try to talk in a lighthearted and pleasant way, or make a joke to change the unpleasant atmosphere, until we were all able to end the conversation on a happy note. I want the customers to not have any negative thoughts about our media, regardless of whether they continue to subscribe or not.
I think that the opportunity to talk with each person is precious and it may be the only chance for them to talk to a practitioner. I treasure every subscriber and I cherish the opportunity to clarify the truth to them.
Although I only talk to Western subscribers, I often listen to the recordings of Chinese practitioners on the telephone team who help Chinese people withdraw from the CCP. Their righteous thoughts and wisdom and their ways of clarifying the truth from different perspectives are very helpful.
For those customers who cancel the subscription, I try to find out the real reason. Most people unsubscribe because they don’t have time to read. I tell them that as an independent media, our aim is to report the truth and let more people know. Some customers decide to continue to support us.
Practitioners validating the Fa in the human world is one of Dafa’s manifestations in the world. All people should have a heart of respect for practitioners. The language I use in the conversation is very simple. My approach is casual, as though I were chatting with my family. I try to think about what to say in advance when I encounter different situations. For example, one thing that I almost talk about every time is how one social media unreasonably shut down the Epoch Times channel. I want the customers to understand that content censorship also occurs in Germany, and their subscription is a way to pay money directly to the media they trust, without going through the big tech companies. Some customers then understand and say that they will continue to support us. For example, one subscriber runs an ice cream shop, which is closed in the winter. He doesn’t read newspapers himself, and he just orders it for the customers in the shop. He wanted to cancel it for the winter season. After listening to me, he immediately said he would renew it even though it was winter.
Most of the Epoch Times subscribers value traditional culture and ideas, and many believe in God or the divine. When I talk to them, I am sometimes able to speak a little higher according to the situation. It was amazing to hear one customer say, “I believe during this difficult period, human beings are eliminating karma, and God is watching people’s reactions. Although the pandemic has brought a lot of pain, it will all pass.” After that, whenever I needed to express this to the customers, I would say, “One of my customers has said this and I think it really makes sense, don’t you agree?”
I sometimes tell subscribers about Shen Yun and Falun Dafa. At first, I was a little worried that the effect would not be good, but in reality, everyone I talked to asked me how to spell Falun Dafa or Shen Yun, and asked me to send them the online links. Their knowing sides know that they have finally met Dafa disciples to tell them about the Dafa they had been waiting for a very long time.
Before the end of the call, the customers often say things like, “Thank you for this interesting conversation!” Or, “This conversation with you has been very helpful to me.” “What you told me was really inspiring.” Whenever I hear this, I truly feel happy for them.
Truly Believing in Master and the Fa
When I was selling Shen Yun products during the shows, I found that I still had the problem of not fully believing in Master and the Fa. The first day at the theater, few people came to the booth and I was very depressed. I thought that it might be because my cultivation was not good enough, and my energy field was not strong. I thought, “Is it because I do not believe in Master? As a veteran practitioner who has been cultivating for 26 years, why would the audience run away when they see me?” On the surface, it seemed like I was looking inside, but actually, it exposed my issue of having doubts of practitioners’ abilities during the Fa-rectification period, and doubting the power of Dafa. Whenever I encountered even a little difficulty, I had negative thoughts, or I avoided challenges that I thought were beyond my human abilities. I thought, “There are 11 more shows in Berlin, and I have to change this state quickly.”
Master said,
“For a practitioner, one’s mind-intent dictates supernormal abilities to do things. For an everyday person, one’s mind-intent directs the four limbs and the sensory organs to work.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
I know that a cultivator’s single thought can determine the outcome. Although it is my human side that is talking to people, aren’t my supernatural powers also doing the work? The next day, after the audience entered, I imagined I was opening my energy field. Just such a small change became a turning point. From that day on, I was able to easily sell both Zhuan Falun and Shen Yun products.
Over the years, whether it’s clarifying the truth at scenic attractions, making phone calls to Chinese people, selling Shen Yun tickets, or making phone calls to Epoch Times customers, the situation is always ever-changing, and the other person’s thought is also ever-changing. I am often surprised that at the right place and the right time, I am able to say a powerful line that moves the other person and changes the situation. What I say might be something I never thought of, but it would come out of my mouth at the critical moment. There is a Chinese saying “as if there is help from the divine.” It is absolutely true in my case. I know it is Master who is always helping me.
After Shen Yun’s final performance in Germany, a lady came to the Shen Yun products booth and said she practiced a qigong. She flipped through the book Zhuan Falun in German and asked, “Is the founder of this practice still alive? This word here makes me think of an organization that wants to control people. I don’t want to be controlled.”
I said, “This is a translation. The original word in Chinese doesn’t mean that. Also, this German word doesn’t have that meaning, either. You are making this kind of association only because someone had done it in the past.” She added, “I don’t want someone to tell me that I have to do this and that.” I said, “If you go to Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts, doesn’t the teacher tell you what to do? Besides, if someone really wants to control people, it must happen in a closed environment where you can’t have contact with outsiders. Do you think there will be someone who can control you here?”
She asked again, “Why do they all wear the same clothes?” After asking a few more questions, she said apologetically, “I was just curious and have so many questions.” I said, “Think about how lucky you are to be able to directly read the works of the founder of Falun Dafa. Unlike other qigong exercises, where you would be reading and learning from the books written by the disciples of the disciples. Do we really know what Shakyamuni and Jesus said?” Just then, her mother next to her looked at me with a big smile, as if she was very grateful to me. In the end, the lady bought the book Zhuan Falun.
She was the last audience member that I talked with in the final show at the last city where I helped out with Shen Yun in Germany this year. I basically answered all her questions smoothly and peacefully. I felt that it was Master who was helping me by opening up my wisdom.
Thank you, Master! Thank you all!
(Submitted to the 2022 European Fa Conference)
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