An Elderly Western Dafa Practitioner's Experience of Appealing at the Chinese Consulate

A Western practitioner from the U.K.

Shared at 2003 Falun Dafa Conference in Germany

Hello everybody.

During this Fa-Rectification period, I have regularly appealed at the Chinese Consulate in my home city of Manchester. However, in late November 2002, I realized that I had not fully played my role in appealing at the Consulate. I wanted to be there more than just once a week. Even though I had commitments to my family, I found that I could be there during the Consulate business hours of 9 a.m. until midday, Monday through Friday.

The appeal began by following what other practitioners have done at other consulate and embassy appeals: Send forth righteous thoughts, practice the exercises, display banners and hand out leaflets to those who showed interest. But I soon encountered considerable interference, which was shared with other practitioners, and I became increasingly aware that the appeal of one individual practitioner at the Manchester Consulate had very different circumstances from other appeals, such as the one at the London Embassy. The Falun Gong display was situated just 16 paces across the road from the entrance to the Consulate and it was generally close to the display area that any interaction took place. I had reservations about approaching people on the Consulate side of the road in case the Consulate members took exception and reported it to the police as a form of harassment.

I became increasingly aware that while I was sending forth righteous thoughts and practicing the exercises, many people were entering and leaving the Consulate without being given the chance to position themselves, particularly the precious Chinese people. This was only fleetingly observed at first, as the traditional way of appealing that takes place at other embassies was assumed correct and I followed it.

Earlier, it was thought proper to be able to sit in double lotus in front of the Consulate, due to a sense of responsibility to be seen doing things correctly. Through some effort, I sat in double lotus position for a short 15 minutes for several days. Then something rather unusual happened: my left leg became so tender that to sit in single lotus was very painful and after repeated efforts it became impossible to sit at all. My leg had to be rested for at least 6 weeks to recover and there was pain only when I tried to sit. I had to send forth righteous thoughts in a car outside the Consulate.

Examining and observing the ongoing situation and taking into account my sudden inability to sit at all, the hints were most clear. I became increasingly aware of the people exiting the Consulate. It felt wrong to let them vanish from sight without approaching them, just so that I could send forth righteous thoughts or practice the exercises. After due consideration, I decided to stop practicing the exercises at the consulate.

"Why such slow and leisurely steps?" ("The Difficult Path to Godhood") Master's words had been coming to mind. It was now a matter of waiting for people to emerge from the Consulate entrance. In order to allow them to clear the Consulate entrance by a couple of yards so as not to be too conspicuous to the Consulate cameras, I had to do mini-sprints to catch up with them on the Consulate side of the road. "Hurry up and tell them" took on a real meaning for me and leisurely steps became a thing of the past. The traffic can be quite busy at times and timing when to leave the starting blocks in order to arrive at the side of an unsuspecting and often slightly startled Chinese person takes a certain measure of politeness and confidence in our mission. The hatchback of the car would be left open so that I could sit and rest in between my mini-sprints. Also, sending forth righteous thoughts would be completed in jieyin with my eyes open.

The exchanges I have had with people have been many and varied. One time I had to deal with an irate Chinese gentleman who shouted at the top of his voice "You are committing a crime against China" as a lady apologetically pulled him away. He kept ranting all the way down the road.

There has never been any argument or bad manners on my part, yet it would be quite easy to be drawn into an argument if one were not acutely aware of the damaging effect it can have in explaining the facts. Recently when sitting on the back of the car on a very hot day, a car was driven so close to me that I waved my hand to suggest that the heat of the radiator could be felt on my face. This caused the lady driver to refuse accepting a leaflet. Later, I asked the lady why she didn't want the leaflet. She replied, "You were rude to me." This caused me to appreciate more fully that even a wave of the hand, which seemed at the time an inoffensive gesture, can exclude others. Looking at this wave of the hand more closely, I realized that the car radiator was not the real cause; it was because the lady had parked her car interfering with part of the poster display. I found that I had been thinking subtly that those people who do not park in front of the poster display are good, considerate people, and I classified those who did park there as not so good. This is hardly a cultivator's state. It's an example of good and evil contained in one thought. It has also been pointed out that a bad thought correlates with other bad factors or particles in order to take control. I was taken aback to discover this lapse in my thinking; I further realized how high and pure the standard must be when offering the world's people an opportunity to position themselves.

On one occasion, one of the Consulate staff members that I am on speaking terms with came rushing across the road, just as I was telling the truth to another Chinese gentleman. Wide-eyed, he offered me a book saying, "This is the truth." It was a book slandering Falun Gong. I had already been given this book by someone who had visited the Consulate. The staff member somehow innocently thought that it may have some effect on me and was surprised to discover that I already knew about the book; he was taken aback when I politely told him that the book contained only lies. Turning away sharply, he stepped off the footpath in haste and would have been hit by a passing car, had he not heard our warning call. Overall, the response by the Chinese people has been reasonably good and the exchanges have been mixed. Several have taken photographs of me and the display and some students have said they will show them to their classmates when they return home to China. Others have shouted across the road: "Keep it up, well done!" Some have told me they don't believe the Chinese government one bit. Most are surprised to see the display and on occasion get quite excited about it.

Many "good mornings" are said and I often give directions to various Consulate visitors on how to find the easiest way to local highways, as people travel long distances to visit the consulate and many get lost in the process of finding it. The Consulate has no toilet facility for visitors and again this gives me the opportunity to validate the truth while directing them to relieve their anxiety. Telephone numbers are provided for taxis along with directions to bus services and the local photo booth, as many need photographs for their visa applications. Directions to the local post office and local supermarket are supplied. I am relieved to mention that on all of these occasions, no sprinting is required. Some local passersby stop to talk and some are very intimate in their exchanges. Being an elderly cultivator who mistakenly appears to be all alone, I pose no threat, except to the evil.

One morning outside the Consulate, I suddenly became aware of the enormous magnitude of this persecution, at the same time I completely refused to acknowledge this persecution. All is well by order of the Great Fa which holds dominion over all and is subject to a wave of Master's hand. I further realized that I needed to have a more thorough knowledge of the latest events in the persecution of Dafa that are taking place. Chinese people often look upon a lone westerner as being far removed from the events in China and as being somehow deluded. To mix my own personal experiences with knowledge of past and current events, and to appreciate the manner and innocence of my approach is most vital as we can see from the exchanges I have talked about here.

Because my appeal opposite the Consulate has lasted a long time, the Chinese community all recognize me now. When delivering materials in Chinatown, the overall response is that Falun Gong is good. This may not be conveyed verbally, but no unhealthy comments have been voiced for several years now. In fact, warm and humorous welcomes are generally the case as I'm sure other practitioners who help me will verify.

My perception at present is that I should be blending with the immediate community at all possible levels even more than I have done before, as well as with my family members. I should be among people and demonstrate a Dafa disciple's Shan (kindness) and good humor. I need to be well-grounded and rational so that I am not seen as a strange or odd person. Then I can assist in laying the path for future beings.

I do hope my contribution here today has carried some depth and meaning. As a young man I noticed how simplicity would often be mistaken for stupidity and it saddened me. The simple things done well to my mind are a prerequisite for the more profound to be revealed. What great immense good fortune has befallen all of us.

Thank you.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/12/3/61690.html

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