(Minghui.org) Since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to suppress Falun Dafa, practitioners continue to distribute materials to inform the public about the practice and the persecution. However, as the presence of surveillance camera becomes more widespread, more practitioners are being arrested and detained. So how do we handle this issue?
Master Li, founder of Falun Dafa, said,
“...everything that happens today in the ordinary society is the result of Dafa disciples’ thoughts. Even though the old forces do exist, if you don’t have those thoughts they can’t do anything.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2002 Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.”, Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume II)
Below are my thoughts on this topic.
Falun Dafa materials are invaluable, as they help save people. However, if we are too casual when distributing them, divine beings may object and cause interference. To avoid this, we must study the Dafa teachings well and maintain righteous thoughts to reduce interference.
For example, I usually recite the Dafa teachings before going out to distribute materials, and try to maintain righteous thoughts throughout. The result has been generally good. However, on one occasion, I skipped reciting the Dafa teachings and went straight to an alley to distribute materials there. The process went smoothly, and I returned home happy, just as if I had simply completed a task.
During our group Fa study the following day, one practitioner said that someone had distributed materials in a certain alley. However, people had then strewn them everywhere. Realizing this was the place I had visited the day before, I felt deeply ashamed. I understood this was a reminder from Master. Without righteous thoughts, the materials I distributed might not have the intended effect; rather, people could have accumulated karma when they discarded the materials. So I made a conscious decision to do better going forward.
After Master published “How Humankind Came To Be,” I learned that some practitioners were distributing copies of the article in residential buildings. I also did that occasionally, but I always studied the Dafa teachings well before going out. Plus, I often affixed the article to the door or the door handle so that it would not fall on the floor. There were times that when my righteous thoughts were strong, I directly handed the materials to the residents. Some of them read the information attentively. This reminded me of the words from Master,“However strong the righteous thoughts are, that’s how great the power is.” (“Also in a Few Words,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress II)
In contrast, I also saw situations where practitioners failed to realize that distributing materials was not merely finishing a task; it must be accompanied by strong energy from our cultivation. Without this, people may simply discard the materials.
Another possibility might be that some practitioners have committed wrongdoing without realizing it, or haven’t corrected their mistakes. In the past, before the era of massive surveillance and big data, such practitioners might have been forced to stay away from home. However, if a practitioner stays away from home for a long period of time, it suggests a lack of improvement in cultivation.
In these cases, the old forces might go after such practitioners.
Master said,“In order to have the students meet the standards—to meet their requirements—they used those evil beings to brutally beat students. When they exhausted the most vicious means and still couldn’t achieve their goal, they became flustered and exasperated, and went against our students even more viciously.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America,” Guiding the Voyage)
When this occurs, we need to pay attention to studying the Dafa teachings and increase our study time. If we put our hearts into it wholeheartedly, as both the time and depth of our study improve, Dafa will help enlighten us.
As Dafa practitioners, we know Master that has asked us to do the three things, and one of them is truth-clarification. Some practitioners may be fearful of clarifying the truth face-to-face, so they chose to distribute materials without working on this attachment. In the days before massive surveillance, placing a copy of materials with no one around could be simpler than talking with someone about Dafa. Seeing this tendency, the old forces could stir up trouble accordingly.
In the early days, I also did not dare to clarify the facts face-to-face. At that time many practitioners were doing automated dialing using phones. I joined them because I was afraid of talking with others about Dafa in person. One night, I dreamed I was sitting in a classroom. Master wrote on the blackboard: “Clarifying the truth is the main focus; distributing truth-clarification materials is supplementary.” I immediately understood that we should not just rely on materials, as the main approach should be speaking directly with others about Dafa. From then on, I stepped forward and gradually improved my ability to tell people the facts face-to-face.
In recent years, the CCP has found ways to block our SIM cards used for auto dialing. This may also be related to our attachment of relying too much on this tool. Some practitioners understand that they need to clarify the truth, but dare not to do so face-to-face, choosing this method instead. As Dafa disciples, we cannot solely rely on everyday methods.
Master once gave us an example,
“If all of you think that way, the old forces will see it and think: “How can they all have those thoughts? Those thoughts have to be removed, so let’s make that premier turn bad.” They would rather make him turn bad in order to get rid of your ordinary human thoughts. Isn’t that right? The old forces have no regard for human life—if they want to kill, they’ll just kill. Amidst the Fa-rectification they’re only attached to their own arrangements.” (“Teachings From a Tour of North America”)
Another aspect is that some practitioners approach auto dialing casually, and their hearts are not pure. For example, a practitioner admitted that he forgot to turn the phone off at night—which could result in unintentional harassment to others. I, too, once forgot to turn it off until midnight, and felt quite guilty about it. I believe the same situation arises when distributing materials—there is always the question of how much we put our hearts into it.
Cultivation is a serious matter. Some aspects may seem trivial, but if we neglect them, the old forces could easily exploit our gaps and cause trouble. For example, some practitioners have been arrested when visiting others, often due to underlying reasons.
Here is a personal example. The police once harassed me over the phone. Although I was certain that I had loopholes, I could not identify them. One day when sending forth righteous thoughts, I heard a hint from Master about “changing the way of cultivation practice.” I understood it immediately. The reason for the police harassment over the phone was due to my tendency to visit other practitioners for socializing and dining together. After I improved in this regard, the harassment stopped.
At one point, a CCP government officer harassed me by visiting me at home, partly because I helped another practitioner apply for social security. The practitioner had asked me for a favor, so I tried to help her by cutting corners. The process was time-consuming and I was nervous during the process. Not surprisingly, things did not work out in the end.
This experience taught me a valuable lesson. When practitioners interact with one another, we should focus on studying the Dafa teachings and discuss how to improve in our cultivation. We should avoid personal matters, let alone doing anything inconsistent with the Dafa teachings. Otherwise, the old forces may take note of them and stir up trouble at a later time. This may manifest as harassment or arrest within China, or as illness karma outside of China.
There are other situations similar to this that the old forces may exploit. For example, some practitioners like to travel with other practitioners on vacation, spending time on personal matters that are not meaningful. Influenced by human notions, these practitioners may not realize this is improper. However the old forces might consider it as interference, leading to problems over time.
The persecution has continued for 27 years and the bad elements are now limited. However, society has become increasingly corrupt, making it more difficult for people to be saved due to their heavy burden of karma. As a result, the old forces have installed more surveillance cameras, further complicating efforts to save more people. This situation requires practitioners to maintain an even higher standard. Only with a pure mind can we do things well and truly help Master save people.
Above is my personal understanding. Please point out anything not consistent with Dafa teachings.