By a Falun Dafa practitioner in the USA

(Clearwisdom.net) Exhibition boards are effective, because they can accurately deliver information within a few seconds. Generally, a few pictures with brief, descriptive words are attractive and allow people to quickly understand the purpose of the board.

Westerners are encouraged to think independently from a young age, and do not like to be indoctrinated. If we keep talking when meeting them and ignore their reactions, they will feel uncomfortable and walk away. If we greet them first and politely ask if we can answer any questions they may have, this will give them an opportunity to think and choose the information they want to learn about. Quite often, they start asking questions very quickly.

For example, we can use an anti-torture picture with the words "Happening in China NOW" instead of "China: stop persecuting Falun Gong," as some Western practitioners often like to say. China is not persecuting Falun Gong! Jiang Zemin and a few perpetrators are; so it is not correct to target the whole of China as the culprit, and it's easy for people to misunderstand us that way. We can also say, "Help Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong in China." We also have a picture of a Western practitioner doing the meditation exercise, so people will know that Westerners are also practicing Falun Gong. Furthermore, we can add some brief English explanations to tell people what Falun Gong is, such as "Falun Gong, Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance."

The two illustrations will form a sharp contrast, as one shows the persecution and the other one introduces Falun Gong. People can see this immediately, and the effect is very good.

Of course some Westerners have never heard of cultivation or Falun Gong. They might think Falun Gong is a person, or he is the person in the picture doing meditation. So, some practitioners write on the board "Falun Gong: Meditation - Relieves Stress." This positive introduction also works well.

We should not crowd the board with information to make sure that our core message gets across.

Some practitioners divide into teams of two and hold up boards. They buy a daylong seven-dollar subway ticket. If they don't leave the subway station, they can buy a two-dollar ticket to travel on subway trains all day long. At the station and inside the train, people approach practitioners on their own to read the boards, and almost all of them accept our flyers and newspapers. The number of people who read our information throughout the day adds up to a lot. If two practitioners work together and one practitioner holds up the sign while the other distributes flyers and answers questions, the results are even better.

Some practitioners did the same thing at intersections. By doing this we reduce the chance of people throwing our flyers away.

Fellow practitioners sometimes take the wrong bus or subway train because they are unfamiliar with the public transportation system in New York. Local practitioners should help them out and provide exhibition boards and materials they need. Practitioners from out of town: please take note! New Yorkers sometimes refuse to take a flyer because they often encounter people giving out flyers promoting a business or asking for donations. If we ask them to read it and learn about the current situation, it's more likely that they will take the flyer.

We should not wait for or depend on others to take the initiative. Before we arrive in New York or come to the demonstration spot, we should have prepared the schedule, directions, the required exhibition boards and a small volume of materials, so that we can give them to people who may have an interest in the topic when we go from place to place. That way, we will not waste time in transit.

Falun Dafa cultivation also requires us to be serious in our work, and to be considerate of others in every respect. If we would really work seriously, and make real efforts in the design of the content and the hardware (e.g., display boards, torture demonstration devices, etc.), we could make ourselves more efficient. Meanwhile, it is great support for those senior practitioners who do not speak English, but who have been actively involved in clarifying the truth in the Manhattan area.

It has been proven in practice through our collaborative efforts, the sharing of helpful experiences and repeated discussion that the pictures and text on the exhibition boards can become our most effective tools.

We should frequently send forth righteous thoughts and maintain focus on our purpose: We are coming here to help people become aware of the truth. We should not be affected by whatever attitudes people may hold toward us, nor by difficulties and unexpected situations. We should stay rational and clearheaded at every moment, maintaining the mindset of a Falun Dafa practitioner.

In addition, practitioners can get very tired due to going around to so many places, so we should pay heed to fatigue and rest appropriately when we get tired, so as to guarantee mental clarity for our Fa study and discussion. Meanwhile, we should pay close attention to our image whenever we take a rest in public areas, because whenever we are out among the public, we may be observed by many others at any moment. To them, the image that we project is part of clarifying the truth to them. If we project a positive impression while actively clarifying the truth, but leave a negative impression while taking a rest, what will people think of us when they see us and hear us speak? If their overall impression is negative, it may result in an unnecessary obstacle.

We should provide direct opportunities to people who wish to help us stop this persecution. The petition signature list is a convenient way for many people to help stop the persecution If we can provide phone numbers and email addresses of government officials and the news media, we will be able to clarify the truth in more ways, to suppress the evil and offer people salvation.

New York is well known as a center for fashion and finance. Many New Yorkers are used to assessing a person according to their outer appearance. Therefore, tidy and appropriate appearance, the overall image of hair, apparel and behavior, are important to ensure leaving good first impressions with people in a short period of time.

In places where there are group activities such as torture exhibitions or parades, some practitioners wear tidy yellow t-shirts, which really attract people's attention. The characters on the yellow T-shirts also pass on some information to people to a certain degree. However, if we all wear yellow T-shirts, the effect may not be so good because those who are well dressed in a suit and tie or professional attire may feel too distant from us.

Actually, the yellow T-shirt is only an identifier, and not a "Falun Dafa suit" or "Falun Dafa uniform" as some practitioners have referred to it. (Dafa has no uniform; no fixed form of any kind. It is the "Great Way without form.") There are many situations in which wearing the yellow T-shirts would not be recommended, where they would seem strange, inappropriate or not serious. However, this does not mean we should not have a way to identify ourselves. For example, some practitioners designed buttons for themselves of varying size, and wear them at appropriate occasions. (Many stores can make them for you. You just need to choose the words to be printed on them.)

The contents of the button is similar to that of the portable exhibition board, the main point is to write clearly "Falun Gong" and in English, "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance," "Beneficial to Body and Mind" or "Stop Persecuting Falun Gong in China," so that people will know at a glance what you are doing here.

Posting date: 9/25/2004
Original article date: 9/25/2004
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/9/19/84518.html