Changing Notions - Stepping Out to Validate Dafa
By a Practitioner in Southwest China
(From The Second Mainland China Internet Experience Sharing Conference) (Clearwisdom.net) "In order to eliminate this negative thing, you must first change your
mind." (Zhuan Falun) I started to practice Falun Dafa in May 1998, and I have gradually realized
the profound meaning of this sentence from Teacher, especially during the course
of my validating Dafa in Tiananmen Square. On July 20, 1999, the winds and clouds suddenly changed, and my husband (also
a practitioner) and I did not waver at all. We knew clearly that humans cannot
fight with gods! Although we could not have a Fa study group or practice with other
practitioners, we kept studying and practicing at home. We kept exchanging views
with fellow practitioners, no matter how great the pressure we didn't give up
practicing. How can suppression change a heart enlightened by the universal
truth? In an instant it was 2000. By that time, my husband and I had already set up
a truth-clarification materials production site, and took the initiative and
responsibility of supplying materials to several former practice sites. Because we were printing the materials, I read about the brutal persecution
of Dafa practitioners by the evil forces on Minghui (Chinese version of
Clearwisdom.net) every day, I was unable to sit still seeing fellow
practitioners suffering so much. I wanted to go to Tiananmen, as I thought I
should endure the hardships with fellow practitioners. I would assume many risks
going to Beijing, including being arrested, beaten and detained. Even my family
might be implicated... I thought, no matter what dangers I face, I won't back
down, I felt I "was unafraid of death." I told my husband about my thoughts, and he said, "You are going to the
extreme, it is an attachment. What if you don't come back, what do I do with the
materials production site? (I can use a computer so I sourced, edited, and
printed the materials. He did not know how to use a computer, so he made
photocopies and did the binding. We cooperated very well.) What about all those
practitioners' materials? What about those sentient beings waiting to be saved?
What about this family? (We have to look after the elderly and our child) I was
unable to answer, because I did not know whether I would come back, but I could
not let go of the thought of going to Beijing. I was not sure if it was an
attachment. May 22, 2000 is a day that I remember with eternal gratitude. Teacher
published "The Knowing Heart," the first article after July 20, 1999.
Within the next few months, Teacher published another seven articles including
"Towards Consummation." The merciful Teacher led me forward and
lightened my heart with these eight articles. I suddenly saw the light, and
understood even more that going to Beijing is to validate the Fa, not to endure,
or be arrested, tortured or sentenced. Making Falun Gong truth-clarification material is to tell people the truth.
Isn't this also validating the Fa? I did not know why I wanted to go to Beijing
so much. On July 18, 2000, the Minghui editors wrote an article called "Our
Compassionate and Venerable Master," which opened up to practitioners and
other people the deeper truth of humankinds ability to survive the great
disaster in 2000. It says "Of all the people in the world, who is capable
of knowing why human beings are so fortunate. How many soothsayers have now lost
their appeal? And yet it is our Master, who has enabled humankind to have this
hope for survival, has been bearing the karma that was produced from the
deterioration of humankind throughout the course of history." "Because these evil beings had gathered such an enormous amount of karma
and venomous elements, it took Master nine months to destroy it using his
powerful energy potency. However, because the evil elements and the karma were
so immense, they also caused serious damage to Master's body. Master's hair has
turned gray; this is something we can see. As for the other harm that has been
done to Master's body, Master doesn't mention it out of concern that it would
cause his students to have hatred toward the evil beings and subsequently affect
their cultivation. Such a compassionate and venerable Master -- in the course of
the rectification of the Fa, Master has exhausted everything for sentient
beings." When I read that, I could not stop the tears streaming down my face. I
thought, I must "cherish the repeated opportunities that Master, through
tremendous sacrifice, has created for us to advance towards Consummation."
("Our Compassionate and Venerable Master") In "Serious Teachings" published by Minghui editors on September
27, 2000, Master said, "Some people wanted to wait for Master to spell things out and tell
everyone what to do and how to protect the Fa. They have waited for Master to
spell things out and tell everyone to go to Beijing to validate the Fa, and
for Master to tell them clearly that [they should] clarify the truth to
people. Once I spell things out for them, however, what they do is no longer
self-initiated and out of their own righteous thoughts. Once the answers are
provided the test ends, and those afraid to step forward to validate the Fa
forever lose their chance." Teacher's serious lesson shocked me. I can't remember whether I was having a
dream or saw this while I was meditating, but I was taking an examination, and
after I finished, I handed in my paper at a platform, and Teacher gave me 88
marks on the spot. 88 marks, I needed another 12 marks to achieve 100, I
enlightened that Teacher was telling me that I needed to make 12 marks of
efforts! One of the efforts was to care for a few failed students. To this day
they have not stepped forward, and regard themselves as "steadfastly
practicing at home" and doing all right. Some practitioners feared they
would be arrested if they stepped out, and even imagined that if they could not
endure the torture and were "transformed," it would be the end for
them. We shared together many times, but it did not have much effect. I realized
that I really needed to double my efforts and not just care about myself. Whereupon, we studied "Serious Teachings" together, encouraged each
other to step out, hand out materials, clarify the truth to people, go to
Tiananmen to validate the Fa... With Teacher's guidance, some practitioners
began to come out, although some only handed out one flyer each time, it was the
essential change of being capable of stepping out! I still did not let go of the thought of going to Tiananmen. Although I have
enlightened from the Fa that "validating Dafa is what's truly
magnificent," "getting arrested is not the purpose"
("Rationality"), but I did not completely abandon the human notion of
"possibly being arrested." I reminded myself, I must truly let go of
that attachment. Only then I can go to Tiananmen to validate the Fa. I calmed down to earnestly study the Fa. It is the compassionate Teacher and
great Fa that helped me eliminate that human notion a bit by bit. When I finally enlightened from the Fa why I wanted to go to Tiananmen, it
was autumn of 2001. Going to Tiananmen is to validate the Fa, and coming back is
also to validate the Fa. I guard the Fa in an open and honorable way and must
come back in the same manner. I told my husband about it, he said, "You should arrange matters for the
materials production site." I replied, "There is no need." He
asked, "What if you don't come back?" I calmly answered, "I will
certainly come back, in three or four days maximum." He said, "Are you
so sure? Are you not afraid at all?" I was still calm and said, "There
is no 'what if', if there was a 'what if', I wouldn't be going. I go there to
validate the Fa. I can't bring shame on Dafa or make a negative impact on Dafa.
I go there in an open and honorable way to tell people that 'Falun Dafa is
great', 'Falun Dafa encounters astonishing injustice', to save people, to
complete my prehistoric great wishes. My coming back in an open and honorable
way is also validating Dafa. Let people around us witness the dignity and
mystery of Dafa. Also to validate to practitioners with fear what Teacher
said," "Getting arrested is not the purpose. Validating Dafa is what's truly
magnificent, and it is to validate Dafa that you step forward."
("Rationality" from Essentials for Further Advancement II) "I have been thinking about it for a very long time. All of these things
are arranged by Teacher, I should go now, don't worry." Meanwhile, I told a
few fellow practitioners about my plans to go to Beijing. One of them wanted to
go with me, so we decided to calm down and study the Fa before we left. In order to avoid disturbance, we did not tell our family members who are not
practitioners. In Tiananmen Square, with smiles, our voices were peaceful and loud,
repeatedly telling people on the square, "Falun Dafa is great," "Falun
Dafa is the righteous law," "Return innocence to our Teacher,"
and "Return innocence to Dafa." People looked at us in a friendly way,
and there was no interference. Then, we deliberately hung banners in two
separate places in Tiananmen Square. When I was facing bustling vehicles and
pedestrians on the street and hanging a banner on a fence there in Tiananmen
Square, my fellow practitioner used strong righteous thoughts to stop a police
officer who was walking towards me, and fixed him there. Then he just turned
around and walked away. We went and returned in an open and honorable way. When we are "truly
stepping forward out of ordinary humanness," ("Also in a Few
Words" from Essentials for Further Advancement II) the evil is
actually nothing. When we came home, the members of our family who are not
practitioners also witnessed the miracle of Dafa because of this. Fellow
practitioners and I again experienced that Teacher's graciousness is enormous
and powerful. My trip to Tiananmen Square to validate the Fa was of course not just going
there to endure - but "truly stepping forward out of ordinary
humanness." This course is the process of Teacher leading us to improve on
our path of cultivation by holding our hands. It is also a process of gradually
changing my mind in the Fa. I'll forever remember Teacher's earnest lesson, "In order to eliminate this negative thing, you must first change your
mind." (Zhuan Falun)
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/11/2/113352.html
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