On the Relationship of the Clearwisdom Website and Overseas Dafa Practitioners

By a group of overseas Dafa practitioners

(Clearwisdom.net) On July 7, Minghui.net (the Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net) published an article exposing the prison police officers of the Longshan Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, who used electric batons to shock 36-year-old female Falun Gong practitioner Gao Rongrong for almost seven hours. The photograph showing her severely disfigured face was included in the report. The day after the report, Dafa practitioners in China sent an appeal regarding this case, which was announced in an article entitled, "Shocking Photos of a Practitioner's Disfigured Face; Dafa Practitioners Should Clarify the Truth More Widely" on Clearwisdom.net (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/7/27/50712.html). Reporters and a multitude of overseas Dafa practitioners quickly centered on this case and many published comments with comprehensive reports. They condemned the persecutors. The widespread exposition of the facts had, in a very short time, enabled the world to know about the case. Many people worldwide were awakened, and came forward to support Gao Rongrong in her time of need and to attempt to stop the persecution. Indications are that Gao Rongrong's family and relatives will appeal to a higher court to demand justice for Gao Rongrong and to seek compensation.

From this incident, it can be clearly seen that overseas fellow practitioners had promptly read the persecution article on Clearwisdom.net and took immediate action. They acted in a unified and concerted effort. The force of their actions helped fellow practitioners to lessen the persecution, to save the world's people and eliminate the evil. This development was of vital importance and was executed with awesome power. We believe that if more overseas fellow practitioners read these kinds of persecution articles on Clearwisdom.net and react more swiftly, it would encourage fellow practitioners in China to expose more about the persecution. Thus, the persecution would become known more widely. Practitioners would also understand the facts more thoroughly, and would therefore be able to clarify the facts more comprehensively to other people.

But many overseas practitioners just read Clearwisdom.net because Teacher has mentioned that they should do so. Many practitioners only read the main articles and the articles about practitioners' insights and experience sharing, to find anything that would benefit their personal cultivation. Some were not really interested in reading the persecution articles, as they felt that they were more or less identical, or they even felt that the articles contained too much brutality, which made them uncomfortable. They even criticized that the articles were not written with more "sentiment and splendor."

Certainly, our fellow practitioners in China should be more conscious of the way the reports are written. They need to ensure that the reports are accurate, detailed and complete. It would be best if the articles included photos clarifying the issues. With the assistance of everyone, the editors of Clearwisdom.net could also continue to upgrade the standard of the articles by correcting any errors in the articles. But everyone should calmly and objectively assess the situation. We need to examine ourselves and understand which attitudes of ours have become habits, which ones are in accordance with the Fa (1), and which ones have been developed due to attachments, such as to personal gain.

For example, let us look at the cruel torture cases. Every practitioner has a human body of flesh and blood, is alive and active. The persecution suffered by every practitioner is felt within the heart and bones of the Dafa practitioners and their family members. It is extremely painful to bear. Consider it from the angle of an ordinary person that has a compassionate heart. The suffering of a woman from the neighborhood being subjected to torture through force-feeding, and the same torture being suffered by an elderly grandmother would not be considered as being identical occurrences. They are both very similar, yet also different situations. Similarly, if we were reading a legal document or other written material compiled by a human rights organization, we would not be critical if a thousand documented cases of abuse against individuals were grouped together and were almost identical. We would understand the need to document and list each instance of abuse in order to build the strongest case in support of human rights.

But, why is it that when we read first-hand accounts of persecution in articles published on Clearwisdom.net, do some practitioners have such negative, critical thoughts? If Dafa practitioners themselves do not have sufficient compassion to read and understand the vast amount of articles discussing the persecution that is occurring daily, how can we hope that the world's people will read the truth-clarifying materials carefully and with interest? From the angle of cultivation, if our hearts are unmoved when we read such persecution cases, then we are prevented from elevating our compassion, as well as our xinxing (2). Avoidance is not a righteous thought nor a righteous action! Moreover, if it were only necessary to read the main articles and the experience sharing articles written by practitioners, then why did Teacher mention that "Minghui saves predestined persons" (draft translation, Hong Yin -- volume 2)?

There is also a more deep-seated problem, that is, for a long period of time, many overseas practitioners were content with just a superficial understanding of the scope of the persecution. They believed that just roughly knowing some of the typical cases was sufficient to speak about the facts. They thought that it was not necessary to read so many cases. Some even concluded that Clearwisdon.net was not actually clarifying the facts to ordinary people; it was not regarded as a regular media outlet, but only for providing materials for the practitioners. There are even those practitioners who stubbornly hold on to the notion that Clearwisdon.net was "definitely a website that no ordinary person could accept." Clinging to such rigid concepts and understanding, they only use the articles on Clearwisdom.net in a mechanical manner, and neglect to consider the effect on the readers. They still do not understand that Clearwisdom is facing "three types of readers" while clarifying the facts -- Dafa practitioners, ordinary people, and the evil. There are those who are not willing to openly cite the Clearwisdom website in a direct and forthright manner when they indicate their sources of truth clarification information.

Such phenomena might indicate that some overseas practitioners are very hesitant to let the name of Clearwisdom be known. Is this a case of the practitioners being interfered with, thus increasing pressure on the body of practitioners internally without realizing it? What is mentioned here has not even touched on whether it is necessary to respect being objective, or the question of the effort put in by others. Actually, different media have different functions, and there are many kindhearted people in the world who really want to read articles from Clearwisdom.net in order to quench their thirst for the facts.

According to feedback we have received, beside the various government agencies and VIPs, other ordinary people have become clearer about the meaning of life and humanity's existence. Thus, their wish to access Dafa websites becomes more acute. It is known that more and more ordinary folks are accessing the Clearwisdom website. Some practitioners have mentioned that as they were having problems with Clearwisdom.net, they hesitated to introduce the website to their friends in ordinary society. They believed that these people would think that there is too much information published on Clearwisdom, and that they would not understand many of the issues written about. However, isn't it true that when they might not understand, and wish to learn more, they have actually opened the door for practitioners to clarify the facts? With the Fa-rectification having arrived at the point it is today, it is difficult to understand why some overseas practitioners still persist in allowing Clearwisdom.net to "fade away" overseas.

These very fundamental questions of understanding and manipulation have been around for many years. It is perhaps time to solve the problems now. Thus we can better extend the strength of the entire body of overseas practitioners. There is also a fairly large section of practitioners overseas that has spent much time and effort to further arrange and sort out the articles from Clearwisdom.net. That reduces the workload of the overseas practitioners who compile the articles. Some articles have been modified into different forms. Some were reworked into commentaries and comprehensive reports, and reposted on Clearwisdom.net to be more effective in expanding the range of truth clarification materials to be read by non-practitioners. Some practitioners work painstakingly and diligently, proofing and correcting grammar and typographical errors, to enable the editorial staff to work more efficiently. There are also many telephone and network groups who research and verify telephone numbers and other contact information, for the use of many readers. The more support and understanding Clearwisdom.net receives from practitioners, the more efficient and effective our overall efforts will be in building a unified body in the Fa-rectification.

In addition, in some past situations, after the units and persons involved in the persecution have been exposed, not only did they not admit their guilt and mend their ways, they have instead been humiliated by being exposed, and tried to find the opportunity to seek revenge against the Dafa practitioners who exposed their crimes. Those with inside information and even their families were also targeted. Under such circumstances, the Dafa practitioners in China and the overseas practitioners who have connections with those in China, are advised to maintain tranquility and reason, and give due consideration to those practitioners in China. Always maintain righteous thoughts and actions, but never lower your guard!

(1) Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa.

(2) Xinxing: Mind-heart nature; moral character.

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