Clarifying the truth to Chinese Visitors and Delegates

Practitioners from Los Angeles

Dear respectable Teacher, dear fellow practitioners,

I'm a Dafa practitioner from Los Angeles. Today, on behalf of practitioners in Los Angeles, I would like to share with you some cultivation experiences during the Fa-Rectification.

Los Angeles has the biggest Chinese population among the cities in the US, and it's the closest city to Mainland China as well. Every day, there are many delegates from China who travel to this city to shop and stay over.

After Teacher Li's article "Toward Consummation" was published on June 17 last year, practitioners in Los Angeles all felt that time is running short in Fa Rectification. We started going to the places that are often visited by delegates from China, such as airports, hotels, shopping centers, scenic places, bookstores, supermarkets and restaurants, etc. We clarify the truth and expose the evil of the Jiang Zemin's regime to the visiting Chinese face to face.

Everyday, practitioners take turns going to the airport to distribute truth-clarifying flyers to the passengers flying back to China. Some practitioners also go to other places to distribute flyers after work. Since we started this process more than one year ago, it is estimated that we have distributed over 36,000 pieces of truth-clarifying materials to the delegates from China. Los Angeles has become an important window through which people from Mainland China can hear the voice of Falun Gong directly. It is also a crucial battlefield for us to clarify the truth and expose the evil.

Practitioners in Los Angeles have been doing their work according to Teacher's words, "Validate the Fa with reason, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and offer people salvation with benevolence" ("Rationality"). The following are some of our experiences.

Validate the Fa with reason

The enormous slander spread by Jiang Zemin's evil regime influenced a lot of innocent people in Mainland China. At the beginning, they were very surprised to receive Falun Gong literature from us. Some of them were frightened and ran away immediately. We felt so sorry for them. The Fa created everything in the universe. If a being has prejudice or hostility towards Fa, he will face the miserable fate of being permanently destroyed. How vital for them to know the truth of Falun Gong! The more people know the truth, the more people have hope. We felt we were given an important task in offering people salvation.

Practitioners think having a good personal appearance is very important to eliminate the negative impression in people's minds, so we paid great attention to the way we talked, behaved and dressed. Every time, practitioners dressed up as if they were going to work. Deeply affected by the evil propaganda in China, people do not have a correct impression of Falun Gong practitioners. We are real Falun Gong practitioners whom they see face-to-face. The way we behave directly affects Dafa's image. This is the most direct way to validate the Fa.

There are also different mindsets among those delegates. At the beginning, practitioners would argue with those who spoke sharply against us. But later we recalled Teacher's words, "Other people may treat us badly, but we do not treat others badly" ("A Brief Statement of Mine"). As Dafa practitioners, we should think for the good of others. We should treat them with more peace because they may not know Dafa or have other reasons to object practitioners. So later in such cases, practitioners would always return a smile and tell them reasonably that Dafa is good and Teacher is good. Once a tour guide did not allow us to distribute material to his group. A practitioner could not help arguing with him. Later, this practitioner looked inside herself and recalled Teacher's words "if one person points out a mistake to another person, or tells him what is right, without any of his own notions, not from his own interests and truthfully for the other's good, the other person will be moved to tears"(Lecture in Singapore). The next day, this practitioner met that tour guide again. The tour guide ignored her but the practitioner went up and apologized to him. The tour guide was deeply moved and said he actually did not like the [party's name omitted]regime in China at all. Since then, this practitioner greets all the tour guides she meets like friends.

Often, a few words from tour guides or bus drivers about Falun Gong will greatly affect the delegates from China. A bus driver told us that once there was someone in his group from Mainland China who proudly talked about how he cursed Falun Gong practitioners who distributed flyers. The bus driver immediately stopped him and told him not to do this any more. He told them that everyone has freedom of belief and speech in the United States. Falun Gong practitioners have the freedom to distribute flyers and everyone has the choice to accept it or not, and the delegates should not curse others.

Once, a practitioner ran into a busload of delegates from China and he gave the tour guide a flyer with a smile. The tour guide announced loudly to the people on the bus, "Falun Dafa is good! Everyone please get a copy and read it carefully!"

Sometimes when we are distributing flyers in shops and restaurants, we also buy food or groceries there to show them our support and goodwill. We also talk with them if we have time. They have been nice and very cooperative to us and have allowed us to leave our newspapers in their shops. At the airport, practitioners will collect the newspapers left over by the readers after a flight leaves. This will reduce the workload of the workers who clean at the airport, and also help us to count how many newspapers passengers have taken away. Sometimes the workers will put all the clean Dafa newspapers they collected in a bag and return it to us.

Our actions are validating the Fa. Though some people did not take the newspapers, practitioners found they were watching us carefully. Maybe they could not match the Falun Gong practitioners' conduct with what Jiang Zemin's regime has portrayed about Falun Gong practitioners in China.

With a compassionate heart, we also treat fellow citizens from China as our friends and share the stories of ourselves and our families and what we have gained from cultivation in Dafa. We want to let them know that Dafa is good, that Dafa practitioners are good people and that Teacher is virtuous. Many people like to hear our stories and accept what we say.

Clarify the truth with wisdom

"Chinese people have been the biggest victims" ("Teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference"). Among the visitors from China, some are very suspicious about Falun Gong. The most frequent misunderstandings and questions are about "not allowed to use medical treatment," "owns a luxury house," "collecting money," "practitioners do not care about their families," "involved in politics," "self-immolation," etc. Someone also asked, "How much do you earn by distributing flyers?" and "Who sent you here?" According to people's mindsets, practitioners answered their questions in various ways to clear up the negative thoughts in their minds. For example, practitioners only said a word of "thanks" to those who took our newspapers; and for those who did not accept them, we would say a few more words and suggest they read it. They often changed their minds and took the newspapers. Once, a young man said he did not believe in the contents of Dafa newspapers. A practitioner suggested that he does not know Falun Gong. How can you not believe something that you do not know at all? The young man agreed and took the newspaper. Another practitioner learned that sometimes too many words do not necessarily have good effect. Once, a gentlemen asked her a lot of questions and she kept answering them one after another. Later she realized it would not end like that the next time, and then she simply suggested that he read the newspaper by himself. The second day they met, that gentleman told her that he knew the truth, and Falun Gong is good. Some people were deeply affected by the slander and were hard to change with a few words. Practitioners would not give up on them easily though. At least, we always told them that Falun Dafa is the righteous cultivation way and that Teacher Li is virtuous. We also asked them to remember that both the evil and righteous will be repaid in kind. We hope that this would cleanse the notions in their minds.

Teacher Li said, "We have to eliminate the evil things, period, because they damage the cosmos and damage all beings." (Teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference). Some people are very vicious. Not only did they not take our newspaper, but they also did not allow others to take it. We are very determined to stop them. Innocent people won't know the truth until the evil is eliminated. Once, a young couple was about to take our newspaper, when suddenly, someone stopped them. The practitioner asked him seriously, "What are you trying to do?" He said loudly, "I'm being responsible for my friends." The practitioner stopped him, and said "Whether they take the newspaper or not is their right and you can not interfere. Everyone has to be responsible for himself." He was shocked by the practitioner's righteousness and had nothing to say. That couple gladly took the newspaper.

We also printed out some color pictures to carry with us at all times; such as the photos of persecution, overseas Hong Fa activities, truth of the self-immolation incident and the SOS! Urgent Rescue activities. These photos worked very well, and many people read them carefully. When they saw those persecution photos and the self-immolation photos, which are very striking, many of them were stunned. Those who were initially against us appeared upset and said nothing after they looked at the photos. Someone even shouted loudly out of surprise, "I can't imagine Jiang Zemin is so vicious!"

After Teacher Li's article "Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful" was published, practitioners would send forth righteous thoughts to clear out the field before they distributed flyers, and the results were obvious. Sometimes, practitioners forgot to send forth righteous thoughts, and found that some people refused to take our newspapers and spoke against us. After sending forth righteous thoughts, everything became very smooth, and no one said negative things to us anymore.

Sometimes practitioners also stopped the bad people by using supernormal abilities. One day, a man stopped a practitioner from distributing flyers at the airport. After some clarification, that man still shouted in a loud and sharp manner. The practitioner sent forth righteous thoughts. That man was frightened. He walked away and sat down right away and has never said any words since then. The practitioner realized that in the special current Fa rectification period, we should actively use our supernormal powers to eliminate the evil. "Rectify all that is not righteous" ("Dafa is Indestructible").

Through practitioners' clarifying the truth, many people who previously did not know and did not care about Falun Gong have come to know the truth and the evildoings of Jiang Zemin's crackdown. A young man did not understand why Jiang Zemin cracked down Falun Gong and labeled Falun Gong as [xx term omitted]. After a practitioner explained that Falun Dafa is the righteous cultivation way and teaches people "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance," he said, "Falun Gong is actually very good. I cannot trust the regime and Jiang Zemin anymore."

Among the visitors from Mainland China, there are also kindhearted people who are suspicious about Jiang Zemin's persecution of Falun Gong. They wanted to know the truth from the second opinions of overseas practitioners. Once a young man about 16 or 17 years old was very excited about receiving Falun Gong newspapers. He even called a few of his partners to each get a copy. They said, "We are not afraid of the newspaper being confiscated. We have our ways to hide them."

Another time, two people passed by and took the newspaper. One of them told us, "I doubt the propaganda from them [the regime in China]. I have been to many places in the US but did not find Falun Gong. This is my last stop and I finally found it." When he walked away to make phone a call, his partner told us his colleague is the Chair of the Party Committee of his unit.

A high official from the delegates' group read our truth material and talked with us for a long time. A group leader with a group of over 100 people read the material and discussed with practitioners. Finally he sighed, "We were deceived." There are many such cases.

We tried our best and did what we could to "clarify the truth with wisdom."

As the Fa rectification progresses, more people know the crimes of the evil force, and less and less people are against us. The number of copies of newspapers we distributed can validate this. For example, at the airport, 80% to 90% of the people will take the newspaper. Also in other places, the majority of the people will accept it. Sometimes a dozen practitioners distributed more than a hundred copies of newspapers. Many read them carefully. Through our exposing the evil and clarifying the truth, people are awakening. They are more and more friendly to us. If someone did not take the newspaper, he would explain to us, "I have already read it."

Spread the Fa and Offer People Salvation with Benevolence

Teacher says: "Because the cultivation of Shan can generate great, benevolent compassion, and when compassion develops one will find all beings suffering, the Buddha School thus develops an aspiration to offer salvation to all beings." (Zhuan Falun, Chapter1)

LAX is an extremely busy airport. The highways and roads [leading] to the airport are also very crowded. It takes a while each time to drive there, park the car and enter the airport lounge. To spread the materials, it takes three or four hours each time. It is not a big issue if one goes occasionally to the airport. But it is not easy if you keep going every day. One practitioner who is responsible for the flights at noon needs to go to the airport to spread the materials every Monday through Friday. To her, going to the airport at noon to spread the materials is the most important work, and she "goes to work" on time regardless of the weather. One flight is at 12:00am midnight. It is really late for those who need to get up early for work. And practitioners who spread Dafa materials at other places all go after work. Sometimes they have to hurry without finishing dinner, but practitioners would take suffering and hardship as joy. Compared with the pains and difficulties the practitioners in China are experiencing, it is really nothing. To tell the universal truth to people is the most sacred thing, and it is our fortune to be able to do it. For those people from China who could come to America and passed through here, it is their predestined relationship, and we cannot let them miss the opportunity to hear about the Buddha Law and the truth about Falun Gong due to our sluggishness.

When some people do not accept the materials, practitioners feel sorry for them. When people do accept them, practitioners feel happy for them. We feel stronger and stronger a sense of responsibility that motivates us. Sometimes when we missed a flight [of passengers] due to other activities, we felt uneasy. Because we did not go, some people missed the opportunity to know the truth. What a pity. On the surface, people received some paper from us. In fact, to a life, this might be the opportunity and the predestined relationship awaited for millions of years. Therefore we try our best to deliver the Dafa materials to them personally.

One day, a practitioner saw an elderly person sitting in a wheel chair with both legs amputated. She delivered the materials to her. The elderly woman extended her hands, which trembled with great effort. She took the materials close to her face to read them carefully. Seeing this, tears ran down her face. She felt the holy compassion from her heart. How much did she wish to tell everyone about the universal truth, and help everyone to leave the bitterness? She said: "When I am standing in the lounge with Dafa materials in my hands and looking at the continuous flow of people with luggage rushing around, how much I want to raise my voice and say: "People, please wake up! Do you know what you have come across today? It is the Great Law that you might never encounter in all of history! Only if you get it, can you have true happiness!"

Teacher says, "It looks like we're giving a flyer to an everyday person, and it appears that we're telling everyday people the truth. Let me tell you, when this Fa-rectification matter is over, humankind will enter the next stage, and those people and beings who have in their minds 'the Dafa of the cosmos isn't good' will be the first eliminated. It's because no matter how bad some beings in the cosmos are, they're even worse, for what they're against is the Fa of the cosmos. So when we're clarifying the truth, we're eliminating some people's evil thoughts toward Dafa. Haven't we saved them at least when it comes to this? Since in the process of your clarifying the facts there are people who obtained the Fa, not only is that sin of theirs eliminated, but at the same time you will have also saved them. Doesn't this show that you've done something that's more benevolent, something even better?" (Master Li Hongzhi's Lecture at the Great Lakes Conference in North America)

Practitioners feel deeply that more than a year's spreading Dafa materials and clarifying the truth about Dafa is a very good process to cultivate compassion. Our state of mind is very important. If we can keep a compassionate and harmonious state of mind, it is easier for the people to accept the materials, and we are not as likely to have arguments or extreme comments.

The lives that have lost their way are waiting for our salvation. Only compassion can motivate us in the salvation. Clarifying the truth is not an easy matter; it encompasses deep principles and great significance. During the process of spreading Dafa materials, we kept getting rid of the bad things from ourselves, such as the fear that others will laugh at us, give us bad attitudes, misunderstand us and interfere with our activity.

We have upgraded in the process of clarifying the truth. Currently the struggle of evil forces is very outrageous. The attack in New York on Sept 11^th is the interference from the vicious forces. In LA, some issues on the surface seem to have increased the difficulty of clarifying the truth. But Teacher says: "Because it's hard, your cultivation can meet with success." (Lecture on Fa at the Washington D.C. International Conference) "It's hard, so your mighty virtue is displayed; it's hard, and so it's a good opportunity to establish your mighty virtue." (Teaching the Fa at the 2001 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference) "A Dafa disciple completely opposes everything arranged by the evil old forces."("Dafa is Indestructible") Our work of clarifying the truth to the people, especially to the Chinese people and exposing the viciousness did not stop due to this. "The difficulty" just gave us a good opportunity to upgrade and we will only do better. We will make the fullest use of the capability of Dafa particle and follow Teacher's teaching: "Don't wait, don't rely on others" and continue to "Validate the Fa with reason, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and offer people salvation with benevolence" ("Rationality") ; further "Clarify the truth thoroughly, eliminate the evil with righteous thoughts, save all beings, and safeguard the Fa with determination" ("Dafa is Indestructible") and use our actions to welcome the magnificent moment of Fa rectification in the human world!

Thank you, Teacher!

Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Chinese version available at http://search.minghui.org/mh/articles/2001/10/27/18677.html

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