By a Western practitioner in Canada

When I read about all the news and activities around the world on Clearwisdom Website I am deeply touched. I think many of us still need to look inside and solemnly understand our responsibilities to Dafa and to ourselves, and how to make the most of the time that is left.

Right now there is an incredible movement to charge those head criminals responsible for persecuting Falun Gong in the courts of law. There are also numerous lawsuits against lesser criminals for injustice perpetrated in countries around the world, like the Sing Tao lawsuit in Canada. This is indeed a symbolic and great phenomenon. It would not have been possible before either. Furthermore, it is Falun Gong practitioners who are doing all of this. We are not relying on others, nor placing our expectations on everyday people or phenomena.

It is interesting that in Canada we were initially told that it was not possible to sue Jiang in Canada, so we concentrated our efforts on telling different sectors of the society that Jiang was being sued in the U.S., that a case was prepared in Switzerland, and a case submitted to the International Criminal Court.

Today there are cases filed in Australia, Belgium, Spain, in addition to the U.S. There is also a determination on the part of France, Ireland, and other countries, and now also in Canada to file suit. We realized we could do it!

It is all happening very quickly. There is also much cultivation contained in this process, and the cultivation part is important, because bringing Jiang to justice and all the truth clarification that this involves can truly save people on a large scale while frightening and eliminating the evil.

I would like to share some experiences and insights with all practitioners about the cultivation part of bringing Jiang to justice. Please point anything out that is not right.

During the process of the legal team's work there has been a strong sense of urgency regarding this project. We have been reminded by others to remember to do things as Dafa disciples would do them, not like everyday people. First and foremost, we wish to get the momentum going that can serve the purpose of clarifying the truth in a broader and more in depth fashion.

Master taught, "When it comes to doing things, I consider the process most important, because during the process you can have people see the truth, during the process you can save the world's people, and during the process you can reveal the truth. Even if you eventually get them sentenced and stuff them into jails, you still need to see whether you've achieved the best effect in saving the world's people and exposing the evil, and whether you've allowed people to see the consequences of doing evil and have thereby shocked and frightened the evil beings." (Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference)

There really is a lot to do related to bringing Jiang to justice. Someone expressed that it was overwhelming to listen to all the things we could think of to do, but another practitioner pointed out that in the past it was always the same: If we could think of it, we could do it; a worse case would be that we did not think of it. That thought is very encouraging. This is a great form that we can use to let the world know about "what Falun Dafa is," "the persecution," "how severe the persecution is," "it cannot be tolerated so we are bringing Jiang to justice," and "bringing Jiang to justice is a global initiative," using many different methods. We also need to do better coordinating as a whole.

Master taught, "Bringing out good ideas and cooperating with each other is the right thing to do. And especially when it comes to doing certain things as a whole you should cooperate with each other even better. It's just like bringing that evil, head scoundrel to court this time, it requires everyone's cooperation, and you have voices echoing from all around the world. So looking at it that way, your cooperation has been quite powerful. I think it's been pretty good recently, but there are still areas to improve on." (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Midwest-U.S. Fa Conference)

Regarding cooperation: Recently some veteran practitioners who have usually been coordinating on a national scale realized that a phenomenon had arisen of practitioners following them, and not the Fa. So they wanted to step back and allow others to step forward. When others didn't step forward they wondered why? The veteran practitioners know it is quite easy for them to do things, and they want to encourage others. At the same time, practitioners who are still waiting to take more responsibility feel like they are inadequate or cannot do a good job, even comparing themselves to others, or have other obstacles. How do we break through the obstacles on both sides to become a more powerful body?

First and foremost, we need to follow our hearts. We should not let anything in the human world stop us from clarifying the truth and doing the things that are in our hearts to do. This is the way it should be I think. As long as we are following our hearts we can be assured we are on the right path, and constantly improving.

Stepping forward to work on bigger projects is not easy. It requires us to take more responsibility. It requires more time and different schedules then we may be used to. Most importantly, it requires us to give up our own way of doing things. Many practitioners are really good at doing Dafa work, but do not work well with others for whatever reason. I suggest that the reasons are due to attachments. Every step of the way in working with others will reveal the difficult attachments we do not want to get rid of, but while overcoming them we are making great strides to strengthen the overall body of practitioners. This is also being responsible to Dafa.

Working with others can also greatly improve our Dafa work. Other practitioners can spot the omissions we could not see, and by letting go, we improve the final result of our work. This is good for Dafa.

We can also inspire each other. For example, a global coalition team in one city proposes a rally, then local teams in other cities might also join in the rally to make it a nation-wide rally. The teams can work together in creating the truth-clarifying materials for the event, and share contact information or methods of collection with each other. Communications by e-mail or teleconference become a valuable forum for sharing collectively and reaching decisions together. With more practitioners contributing to the planning stage, more hearts are clear about the project and the purpose. They can share their understanding with more practitioners and encourage others to get involved. This paints a picture of a dynamic collection of particles working together.

We should speak out if we do not understand something clearly. Dafa practitioners all have the same things in their hearts, but sometimes we feel limited by our human mentalities. If we have the courage to face our shortcoming and speak about it openly, the righteous thoughts and understanding of our fellow practitioners can help us to overcome anything.

We do not rely on others or follow others. Any single practitioner's "True Thought" can make things happen, and change the environment. We are breaking the old force's constraints with our righteous thoughts. Stepping out and making our "heart's wish" a reality brings a compassionate feeling. What does our true self always want? We all have a responsibility to sentient beings, to the Fa, and to ourselves to not miss any chances to do well. Let's not make any excuses.

Let's listen to each other and see what we want to do collectively. If the body does not have a heart to do a certain thing, then if it is not crucial, we can just let it go. The form is not important; it is the process of clarifying the truth that is important.

One of the greatest thoughts we can have is to harmonize what Master wants. We need to harmonize with each other, and not emphasize any particular thing. We need to consider our actions from more perspectives. How will my effort affect the whole? Have I considered others enough while doing things? When we are attached to our own ideas, (even a group can be attached) we are not harmonizing very well at all. If we are not able to let anything go, we are certain to cause problems, if only subtly.

Doing Dafa work is not about achieving something, as we are all doing what we should do, and nothing else. A calm state of mind is a good indication of being in harmony with the Fa. True cultivation is not something that can be expressed with a lot of words.

Actively working on bringing Jiang to justice must be taken as a cultivation process. We need to cultivate ourselves while working on it. Master taught, "But during the process of cultivating successfully, it takes so much wisdom and so much thinking and care to reconcile every single being that's in the groups of beings in the countless microcosms and macrocosms!" (Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference)

Lets cultivate ourselves with this kind of care and compassion by studying the Fa well and doing everything we are supposed to do while actively participating in group efforts.

Posting date: 9/22/2003
Original article date: 9/21/2003
Category: Practitioners' Insights

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