By Tang Huizhong from Taizhong, Taipei

(Clearwisdom.net)

Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!

The reason I chose to clarify the truth by making phone calls was initially derived purely from my attachment. I wanted to find something easy, inexpensive, and quick to do. I thought, everyone knows how to make phone calls, there are no technical skills required, and it's the most direct and speedy way. Considering the fact that there are so many people in Mainland China, there's no chance of running out of people to talk to.

In the beginning, when I started making phone calls, I spoke with someone who asked me, "You said that Falun Gong has received over one thousand awards. What are they, can you tell me?" I couldn't name even one of them, so I did some research on the Internet, and then I called the person right back, but he said something in his local dialect that I couldn't understand, and I was dumfounded. Later, I thought it over and realized that I wasn't clear about how the "Tiananmen self-immolation incident" was staged, or the facts of the persecution. How could I clarify the truth to others?

After being hung up on a few times, my attachment to fear surfaced. For a while, I didn't want to make any phone calls to clarify the truth. At the time I didn't realize that this fear was an attachment that should be eliminated. I also had a limited understanding of the Fa, but I'm not the type of person to give up easily. I wondered if this was part of the evil's arrangements. And there was another issue. How could I allow the old forces to mock our Master, saying, "Look! Is this your disciple, a living being saved by you? Merely because people hung up on her and swore at her, she can't even pick up the phone again?" As soon as this occurred to me, I thought to myself, no way. I can't avoid it.

In order to clarify the truth, I started reading truth-clarification materials and persecution cases. I prepared my speech. I had to sharpen my sword so I'd be ready to participate in "shredding apart the rotten demons' lies," but I still couldn't start making phone calls. A fellow practitioner said that in order to clarify the truth, we have to pay attention to Fa-study, so I committed to studying the Fa at 7:00 p.m. every night for one hour. I don't remember how many days later, but I finally forced myself to pick up the phone.

Initially I didn't realize the need to "to clarify the truth with wisdom." As long as the person didn't hang up, I dumped everything I had prepared on him or her, as I was afraid that I couldn't make myself understood if I didn't give them enough information. Then there was the time I was talking to a young man who was probably a junior high school student, and he asked me in a trembling voice to stop talking. I thought, how can I? I haven't finished yet. So I resumed, telling him how someone was tortured to death, and he hung up on me. I called again, and his father answered and told me to shut up or he would call the police. I was stunned at first, but then I calmed down and started reflecting on what I'd done. Was it clarifying the truth? Or was it like trying to save someone who was dying of thirst? Without considering whether the person could take it, I kept pouring water down his throat. Instead of saving him, he remained unaware of the truth. Even so, I told him there was no use reporting me to the police, because they couldn't find me.

During another phone call I spoke to a graduate student. She had a misunderstanding about Dafa, and she was completely misled by the propaganda. We talked for over an hour, and she asked many questions. Based on my limited experience making phone calls and my limited understanding of the Fa, it was difficult for me to clarify the truth to her. However, without premeditation I quoted from Zhuan Falun to answer her questions, and she asked me where she could get a copy of Zhuan Falun. I understood that it was the Fa playing a role, a result of my studying the Fa for an hour before making phone calls. Even though I wasn't very clear about how it would help clarify the truth, through this case I truly understood the importance of studying the Fa, and why Teacher often asks us to study the Fa.

I sometimes spoke with people who didn't want to end the conversation after learning the truth. Instead, they asked me to keep talking, or asked me to call them again. I often felt as if I was a floating timber or a lifeline for them in the sea. I was their last hope, and I suddenly realized how great my responsibilities are.

Thinking back, in terms of making phone calls to clarify the truth, I didn't spend much time or effort, but what I gained was tremendous. I've seen many of my attachments and shortcomings, and gained a deeper understanding of the Fa. I've realized my mission and the importance of doing well the three things that Teacher told us to do. I've also come to understand the inner meaning of compassion.

After the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published, I didn't know how to explain it, so I just read from the Nine Commentaries on the phone. As I read, I started feeling insecure. Was it working? The person I was talking to seemed very quiet, and I began to wonder if he was asleep. I asked him, "Are you still listening? Are you bored?"

To my surprise he replied, "No, I like listening to it very much, please read a little bit faster."

Some people asked me specifically to read a certain commentary. After hearing the title of the fifth commentary, "On the Collusion of Jiang Zemin with the CCP to Persecute Falun Gong," some people naturally started asking questions about Falun Gong. Furthermore, as long as they listened to a little bit of the Nine Commentaries, most of them wanted to read it, and some of them even wanted to read Zhuan Falun. I was truly shocked by the power of the Nine Commentaries. It's another sharp tool for saving people, illustrating how "The Buddha Fa is boundless!"

On one call a child picked up the phone. He told me that he was a first grader, and he'd just joined the Communist Young Pioneers. He said he'd never heard of quitting the Party, and he wanted to ask his mother about it. His voice was very innocent, and listening to it, I was pained. Such a young and innocent child who didn't know any better, and the power of the Nine Commentaries had shocked the evil to the extent that they'd lowered their age requirement in order to have these kids join the Party earlier. They even asked a woman who was more than 100 years old to join the Party, driving home to me the importance of saving people.

Another phone call shocked me and helped me realize my shortcomings. I spoke to a woman who quit the Party, and she asked me to mail the Nine Commentaries to her. She asked me when she would receive it, and I told her that because it was international mail, it would probably take 10 days. She said loudly, "Wow, that long?" As soon as I heard that, I felt a shock. Sentient beings want to know the truth so urgently. How come my heart to save them never felt urgent like that? Sometimes, I waste so much time. I felt very ashamed. She told me repeatedly that for mailing such a long distance, you have to wrap it up properly, in order to protect it from damage.

Recently, with the help of technology, the Nine Commentaries has been more widely distributed. Accompanied by phone calls, we've achieved great effect. Some people I talked to on the phone told me they were very isolated because they lived in the mountains, and they'd never heard of the Nine Commentaries or quitting the Party. Though none of them were Party members, their words and ways of thinking were deeply influenced by the Party. Some were farmers who said that they were very isolated and led a difficult life. All they wanted was to be able to live without cold and hunger. They said they had no other concerns, and didn't know anything about quitting the Party.

During my conversations with them, I could tell that they were very kind and had lead difficult lives. Everyone was leading a crude life under the evil Party's control. I sensed the urgency of "spreading the truth widely," and since there is no restriction on making phone calls to Mainland China, no matter the location or to whom the call is made, everyone in China can come to know the truth by means of this tool.

I think that if we can all pick up the phone and tell someone, "Everyone in this world knows that Falun Dafa is good," or tell them that the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party has convinced millions of Chinese people to quit the Party," then it's no waste of effort to make a phone call, and making a hundred phone calls is not extreme. If we all did that, how long could the evil last?

In the past, whenever I heard about persecution cases, though I thought I should do something, I always found an excuse not to. In the end I still couldn't pick up the phone and try to stop those committing evil deeds, like those in Liu Chengjun's case and Gao Rongrong's case. After missing so many opportunities, I couldn't help wondering if I'd really cultivated compassion. Was it because I'd seen so many cases that I'd become numb? And there's an issue of xinxing.

Last year, because of the Nine Commentaries, the perpetrators of the persecution carried out another mass arrest. We spoke about persecution cases at an experience sharing conference for an entire evening, and some practitioners mentioned that only two years ago there were just over 5,000 cases, and now the number has increased to more than 30,000. Yet the number of practitioners who make phone calls to the persecutors has decreased. Is that because we have an omission as one body or we fall short somewhere?

The other morning, while I was doing the exercises, I couldn't calm down, and I even performed the movements incorrectly. I thought about our sharings and Teacher's great care for me since I obtained the Fa. I haven't suffered great hardships or great tribulations, yet I've failed to cherish what I've been given. I have a strong attachment to the pursuit of comfort, and I've never been strict with myself. As a result I always fail to do the three things well, and failed to cultivate myself well. When it comes to making phone calls, I couldn't touch other practitioners' hearts so that they'd also want to participate in it. When I thought about the tribulations that practitioners from Mainland China suffer and realized my own lack of diligence, tears ran down my face, and I finally understood that making phone calls in persecution cases is my responsibility.

Making phone calls is also a process of discovering my own attachments and shortcomings. Due to the cruel methods of torture being utilized in the persecution, every situation I come across is different. Sometimes people don't want to listen, or even curse me, and sometimes the line is busy or no one answers the phone. My heart is moved as the situations change, and I had doubts. If no one answered the phone, was sending forth righteous thoughts alone effective? I completely forgot what Teacher told us in "Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts Are Powerful" (from Essentials for Further Advancement). I didn't follow what Teacher said. Moreover, I had a heart of competitiveness, and I only wanted to convince those I spoke to on the phone. Sometimes I became very upset, and I couldn't wait to wake the person up.

After a while, I realized that the actual situations I found myself in were different than those I had expected. Some of the people carrying out the persecution weren't as evil as I thought they were. As a matter of fact, they were those who were the most deceived, and they even thought that they were doing the right thing. Some of them would yell, "Stop saying such nonsense! I don't believe you!" I knew that it wasn't merely that they didn't believe me, but that they just couldn't accept the facts right away. I could truly feel their deep sadness. Teacher said,

"I can tell you, without a predestined relationship, you can't be a human being in this world today--not a single person without a predestined relationship could be in this world. (Applause) It's just that in the course of history they arranged different roles for themselves." ("Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U. S. West Fa Conference")

Teacher also said,

"If the vast majority of the people in this world today have really come from high levels to obtain the Fa, think about it--they aren't just some simple beings, then."

"...they represent gigantic cosmic bodies. But after coming to the ordinary human society, they became deluded and have even participated in this persecution of Dafa." ("Touring North America to Teach the Fa")

Gradually I became very calm. If this is the case, shouldn't I be more tolerant and compassionate towards the sentient beings behind each persecution case?

One time I called a brainwashing center, and at first the person I spoke to had an absolutely negative attitude towards me. I told myself I should be unmoved and treat him with kindness. At last I quietly told him, "Sir, do you know why I've called you today? It might seem like I'm doing this for my fellow practitioners, but I'm actually concerned about you. There's nothing wrong with my fellow practitioners practicing "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance," but you've been denied access to a lot of information. Jiang Zemin fabricated videotapes full of lies and fake news to deceive you and other kind people. Actually, you are the ones who suffer the most from this persecution, because you think you're doing the right thing."

Suddenly he sighed, and said, "Right. Thanks for calling me." I felt that it was my compassion for him that woke him up.

Since the "Falun Dafa Association Announcement" was published, we've added another tool to use while making phone calls, specifically for the persecution cases. As a matter of fact, some people really didn't want to listen to the truth because they were scared. I decided to cherish every opportunity, and even though some of them hung up on me, I continued. If they picked up the phone again, isn't it because they chose to give themselves another chance? I found that even though they kept hanging up the phone, they usually listened to most of the announcement. Some heard the last paragraph, which says, "Even for those who have committed wrongdoings, there is still an opportunity for them to abandon the evil path and choose to be good." I could feel them calm down. They could find hope for their lives. Through this I was again reminded of Teacher's great benevolence. He doesn't want to give up on any being.

Every case of persecution involves practitioners' blood and tears, and there are so many practitioners risking their lives to pass on information and quietly making contributions. Moreover, Teacher is deeply concerned for the practitioners, so is there any reason for me to not pay enough attention to the persecution?

"You have to rescue your fellow cultivators and Dafa disciples--we can't let the evil persecute them wildly and without restraint." ("Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")

The other day, a practitioner told me she's been clarifying the truth through the Internet, and now she wants to join the telephone project to clarify the truth. After I heard what she said, I saw that our fellow practitioners are truly great. Everyone is quietly doing things to clarify the truth. They also keep expanding their inner capacity.

What I have written above is only my limited understanding. Please kindly point out where I fall short. Thanks Teacher! Thanks everyone!

(From the 2005 Taiwan Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference)

Posting date: 1/19/2006
Original article date: 1/18/2006
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Translated on 1/9/2006
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/12/30/117574.html

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