Treating People with Compassion

By a practitioner in Taiwan

(Clearwisdom.net) We set up a truth-clarification site just across from a historical site. One of the administrators at the site imposed a lot of restrictions on us. Recently we handed out information about the persecution of Falun Gong while on a footpath, which is legally permitted. However, the administrator admonished us with a lot of dos and don'ts. We clarified the truth to him a few times but didn't see any change in his attitude towards us. I have to admit that we did not do well when we first started going there, which had left him with a bad impression. For example, we would stuff the informational flyers into people's hands, which often resulted in people throwing the items on the ground. Also, our standing on the path obstructed the flow of visitors. I tried to clarify the truth to him and sent forth the righteous thoughts to try to help him. However, deep in my heart I still had a competitive mentality. I saw him as a form of interference. That is, I didn't like him. How could I save him if I had this attitude?

Since what we were doing was legal, I tried to reason with him in accordance with everyday people's laws. However, I questioned whether I was able to remain unmoved when reasoning with him. Since I saw him as interference, if he did not listen to me, wouldn't my competitive mentality arise? It seems I could not reason with him without arguing.

One day I thought of something Teacher said in the video of "Teaching the Fa to Australian Falun Dafa Practitioners." When talking about special agents Teacher said that as long as our field is righteous, when such people are in our field, the bad elements behind them will be eliminated. After this, are they still special agents? No, they are not. Their minds will be full of righteous thoughts. This made me realize that if even special agents can be rectified, is there anything that can't be rectified? As long as we are righteous, the minds of others will also be full of righteous thoughts.

Today I have enlightened to some principles of the Fa. When I went to the tourist site, I reminded myself that every person I met would be one who needed to be saved. I must be compassionate to each of them, as well as to my fellow practitioners. Today, a lot of tourists came to the historical site. However, when fellow practitioners arrived, they began chatting with each other instead of setting up the site. I reminded myself to keep my heart unmoved and to treat them compassionately. I asked the practitioners to put up the banners and then went to a pathway on the other side of the road. As I handed the flyers out, my heart was full of compassion. The result was really good. Not long afterwards, I heard that administrator say, "Here you are again, handing out flyers!" He was on his motorbike and did not stop. He did not even look back. At the time I was answering a question for a tourist, so I didn't have a chance to reply to the administrator's comment. Some time later he passed by again on his motorbike and repeated what he had said before. I quickly answered, "Hello, how are you? Thank you very much!" After that, he did not show up any more. Today he reacted differently. He did not try to drive us away, and he spoke very kindly.

I realized more deeply the power of looking inward. Whenever something happens, it is time for us to look inward. As for the administrator, I had always thought that he had evil forces behind him and treated our relationship as "persecutor and victim," not as "practitioner and someone who needs to be saved." Therefore, even though I thought I had helped him get rid of the evil factors controlling him and was saving him, his attitude remained the same. After looking inward, I found that I did not have enough compassion and still had a competitive mentality. I also could not set my mind at ease upon seeing fellow practitioners doing things that are not in accordance with the Fa. When I enlighten to something and I am able to do things well, my energy field is benevolent and compassionate. Therefore, everything is harmonious.

These are only some of my personal experiences. Please feel free to comment and correct anything that I did not do well.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/11/28/167264.html

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