(Clearwisdom.net)

Greetings revered Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!

I decided to attend today's Fa conference in Los Angeles at the last minute. Practitioners in Edmonton suggested that I share our truth clarifying experiences and exposure of the persecution to mayors and city council members in nearby cities and towns on behalf of Edmonton practitioners.

I experienced interference before I started to write this article. The next day when I woke up, my head, neck, shoulders and back ached severely. I couldn't move. I knew that it was severe interference. So I began to look within myself and see whether I had any attachments that were being taken advantage of. I found many loopholes: I did not want to write, thinking, "I am not well educated," and was afraid that I would be unable write my experience sharing article well. I feared not having done well, and other practitioners might look down on me, and other, similar emotions. After I realized this, I immediately started to send forth righteous thoughts, studied the Fa and tried to correct my thinking. Things improved, and the pain lessened. By then, practitioners had sent me an email and reminded me about writing the article, saying that it was part of a process of our development as a whole body and that I should write it as soon as possible.

Yes, this is a process of saving sentient beings, getting rid of attachments, improving our xinxing, building on our mighty virtue, and showing Master our gratitude. Master, do I merely want to benefit from the Fa and am unwilling to give [of myself]? What excuse would I have for not writing the article? Furthermore, I can take this opportunity and constantly eliminate the evil elements while writing and purifying myself, in addition to the support from fellow practitioners. In fact, my article is the result of our practitioners' cooperative efforts.

Practitioners in Edmonton had planned to clarify the truth to mayors and town councilors around the Edmonton area since last November. We wanted to focus on the Chinese Communist regime's harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners and selling them for profit, tying this in with the CCPs local, ongoing hate propaganda incidents. We formed a united body, from collecting relevant data on all the cities and towns in the Edmonton area, sending emails, making follow-up phone calls, driving to each city and town to do presentations at city and town councilors' meetings, sending forth righteous thoughts, and distributing flyers.

As of today, we have been to more than ten cities to give presentations to mayors and councilors. We are scheduled in more cities to give presentations at their city councilors' meetings. Some of those cities are only over half an hour's drive from Edmonton, but others are up to five or six hours' drive away. Three of the cities have passed resolutions to urge the federal and provincial government to condemn the CCP-regime sanctioned crimes and urge Canadian citizens not to travel to China for illegal organ transplant surgeries. More cities and towns have decided to discuss the resolution at their next councilors' meeting. We are constantly raising our levels during this process of truth-clarification as a whole body. I would further like to share our experiences in this respect.

I came to Edmonton from Ottawa last June. Edmonton, in the northwest part of Canada, is very cold in the winter. Due to a shortage of manpower, and because my English is passable, I was asked to make phone calls and follow up with each city and town. Practitioners think that Master has made arrangements for me to help with this project. It is very true. When I decided to sell my house in Ottawa and move to Edmonton, it sold in three days, even before it was posted on the MLS system. Since everything for a Dafa practitioner has been arranged, I should walk well the path Master has arranged for me. Thus, I started the process of making phone calls and clarifying the truth to persons in nearby cities.

Before each phone call I would first study the Fa and send forth righteous thoughts. I wouldn't dial the numbers until I felt that my mind was peaceful and stable. I would usually greet people on the other end very politely and briefly introduce myself. Then I would ask for the mayor or mayor's assistant in person, asking them whether they had received our emails, and whether they were aware of what is happening in China. It is always helpful to know the date the message was sent and the content, since they can look for that right away. If they haven't received it, we would resend them a copy and follow up again. Sometimes it took me several days to get in touch with somebody in a city or town. If the mayor is a person with a sense of justice, he would easily issue us permission to give a presentation but that was sometimes not so. In addition, since there are always many topics to be covered at a city councilors' meeting, it is usually difficult to be allotted enough time for us to give a good presentation. We were usually allotted five to fifteen minutes.

My first impression when initially making phone calls made me think people in the West are more conservative and harder to talk to, not like clarifying the truth to government officials in Ottawa. People answering the phone were sometimes rude, saying they did not like such a "solicitation call." Some said that they were not interested in such issues because those belonged to international issues, and we should go to the federal or provincial government. Some mayor's assistants would answer rudely and hang up before I finished explaining. This troubled my mind. I would stare at the phone for a long time without knowing what to do. It is really difficult to insist. This is what happened during my first week of making phone calls.

In the past, when I heard other practitioners sharing their experiences of making phone calls to China, I did not really understand that much. If it is so difficult to place successful truth-clarifying phone calls in Canada, then it is not hard to imagine how tough it is to make phone calls to people in China. Why is this the case?

I started to look carefully within myself, kept studying the Fa, and sent forth righteous thoughts. I realized I had put my "self" in a more important position--I cared about MY feelings. I feared insults and disappointments; to walk the right cultivation path, I have to overcome my ego first. How could I not walk the path that Master has arranged for me? I am a practitioner and should explain the truth with compassion, patience, and persistence. How can I give up so easily? Had my compassionate mindset emerged? How much patience did I have? And how much endurance? Without compassion, how can I inspire everyday people's conscience and kindness? How can I rescue sentient beings?

When I had calmed down, I picked up the phone again and developed a strong thought: no matter how the person on the other end treats me, as long as he answers the phone, he or she will be rescued.

Again, I came across a mayor who immediately refused to listen. I patiently asked him to let me finish. And, with compassion, I explained the brutal persecution that practitioners in China are suffering and pointed out that such evils against human conscience, human rights, and heavenly principles should not be tolerated in the civilized world in the 21^th century. I also hoped he would sincerely step forward and make his voice of justice and kindness heard. He said that I should go to members of Parliament at the federal and provincial levels for such issues, since people in a small town where he lives cannot do much. I told him firmly that every voice makes a difference, particularly since his is the voice on behalf of all the citizens in his town. I also told him that many people of justice, such as Mr. David Kilgour and Mr. David Matas, are traveling all over the world to raise awareness with people from all walks of life. Because of their efforts, more and more people are aware of the evildoings and stupidity of the Chinese communist regime, more and more people are reflecting on what is happening today, and more and more people are stepping forward to stop the crimes.

I asked him, "When the truth manifests, when everyone sees the truth that innocent Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted, if your family members, friends and your people then ask you what you have done while in power to help end the persecution, what would you answer? Don't ignore your conscience and regret it for the rest of you life."

In the end he promised to discuss it with other town councilors before they made a decision. Thus, it easier and easier for me to make phone calls, and I became more and more confident. More and more cities are listening to our voices and making the right choice. I feel happy for them from the bottom of my heart. It is as

Master said in "My Thanks to Sentient Beings Who Have Sent Greetings:"

"I would like to tell you: Dafa disciples are the sole hope of salvation for the beings in each region and each nation. Cherishing what they are doing amounts to cherishing yourselves!"

Seven practitioners went together to give the first presentation in a nearby town. The city's library is on the main floor of that city hall. Municipal government offices are on the second floor. Some practitioners put up picture posters, distributed flyers, and collected signatures for a petition in the lobby. Some went to the second floor, sending forth righteous thoughts and helping the practitioners who were going to give the presentation. At each place we went to for a presentation, we encountered some interference, such as difficulty connecting the computer with the projector or other interruptions, so we would arrive at the destination at least half an hour early.

For this first time we were given only five minutes for our presentation, but the presentation we had prepared was about ten minutes long. We thought it would be all right to run a little over time. We did not finish, though, and were cut off since the time was up. None of us felt well on our way home. We calmed down and looked within ourselves and realized we had not attached importance to the presentation from deep within. We had not sat down together beforehand and studied the speech. We had not rehearsed anything to allow for time adjustment. All we did was delegate tasks to different people and expected the person in charge would be responsible for everything.

We had done poorly with overall coordination and had not looked at others' responsibilities as ours. Our negligence amounted to losing a good opportunity to let the people in that city know the truth and be rescued. Having learned from this first lesson, we carefully analyzed our speech and made adjustments, having presentations ready to fit into a five-minute, a ten-minute, or a fifteen-minute time slot. Meanwhile we formed a backup team, in case the practitioner responsible for doing the presentation was unable to do so; other practitioners could step in.

After having made adjustments, our second and third experiences were successful and achieved very good effects. After each speech, councilors from each city asked questions. The time given us was extended from several minutes to more than ten minutes, or even longer, until everyone had a clear understanding about the true situation in China. In addition, local media were present at almost every councilors' meeting. A well-done presentation always attracts reporters willing interview us. The energy field we carried became more and more positive and righteous. We became more and more comfortable about the whole process of truth clarification.

I would also like to share our experiences during our trip to Grande Prairie, a city about six hours' drive north of Edmonton. The presentation was scheduled for a Monday, and only a few practitioners were able to go. In order to make full use of the trip, we decided to leave early in the morning so that we could distribute some materials in the city. Interference was still strong. One practitioner got lost when picking up another practitioner in Edmonton. We sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the interference. The weather on the way to Grande Prairie was bright and beautiful. Although it was more than ten degrees below 0, we did not feel the cold in the bitter Alberta winter. We all felt happy and joyful, exchanging our cultivation experiences. A specific practitioner who does not often step out joined happily in the discussion. We all felt the joy in our hearts after having begun Fa practice and hoped we could cultivate more diligently and catch up with the progress of Fa-rectification.

We remember what Master said in "The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be,"

"Actually, if you think about it, the cultivators of the past didn't dare to slack off for even a second, and that was when it took an entire lifetime to complete the journey. So how can Dafa disciples-who are to achieve the Attainment Status of a being who is saved by Dafa and who have the most convenient cultivation way-not be even more diligent when they are given this most glorious honor of Fa-validating cultivation in a brief cultivation period that passes in the blink of an eye?"

When we were passing the town of Whitecourt, a practitioner suggested we drop in and visit the mayor there. Since they had not yet replied to our request, we though it would be a good opportunity to try to approach them again.

We pulled up in front of the city government building. Two practitioners entered the city hall with a large amount of materials. They handed the receptionist a set of the materials, explaining that we were from Edmonton and on our way to Grande Prairie, to give a presentation regarding the inhumane persecution happening in China. Listening to our story, she tried to contact the mayor immediately and see whether he could meet us for a short time. The mayor met us in person. We had a good conversation and explained the situation and answered his questions. We left him the "Bloody Harvest" investigation report on the organ harvesting and a copy of the "Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party" and asked him to consider our request. The mayor promised to raise this request at the next city councilors' meeting. We left a set of the materials for every councilor as well and also dropped by the local library and explained the truth to the manager on duty. He allowed us to put some materials on their shelves. During this process we sincerely felt that people in the world are waiting for us to bring them the truth, waiting for us to rescue them. We realized the responsibility that every Dafa disciple is shouldering.

The next town we passed was Valleyview. We dropped by the town government building and left materials for every councilor and went to the local library. We also had an opportunity to call the mayor's cellphone and clarify the truth to him on the phone. He said that he would read the materials we left him and discuss the issue at the next meeting.

We arrived at Grande Prairie in the afternoon. We went to the major commercial centers and to the local library to distribute materials. We thought we should cherish this rare opportunity and let more people know the truth. The previously shy practitioner did an excellent job that day. He approached almost every person passing him and told them the truth and handed them a copy of the Nine Commentaries and a flyer. He was completely into it. After that day he said to us that he felt like reading the Fa loudly, promoting the Fa, and clarifying the truth from the bottom of his heart. He also felt like opening his heart and sharing his experience with other practitioners. He said that there were lots of shells that had encased him before, but now he did not feel anything.

Our presentation at the Grande Prairie city councilors' meeting was successful. The pictures on our PowerPoint presentation shocked everyone. The councilors asked lots of questions, including why the Chinese communist regime interferes with the NTDTV Spectacular and about other obstructions. The practitioner who did the presentation shared her understanding from the perspective of an educator. After that, three local media reporters interviewed us on site and expressed their willingness to raise awareness of what is happening in China. After each presentation we would add previously raised questions into a category of our preparation. When we eventually left Grande Prairie it was dark. We practitioners felt neither tired nor sleepy. We were joyful and kept sharing our cultivation experiences. We arrived home at 2:00 a.m.

At present, our project to clarify the truth to persons in nearby cities and towns is still underway. We plan to go to every city and town in our area and bring the truth to their hearts and minds. We understand that we don't clarify the truth to the mayors and councilors in these cities because of their special position as government officials, but because people in the area have elected them, and they represent the people in the area. Their attitudes decides the area's future.

When every city and town speaks up with its voice of justice, the federal and provincial governments will make the right decision and determine their positions. If every country and nation makes the right choice, people around the world will position themselves against the persecution. Because of this, the old forces will definitely interfere when we clarify the truth, since the purpose of the old forces is to destroy all sentient beings. Therefore, as the sole hope for all sentient beings, we should always have righteous thoughts and not acknowledge any arrangements by the old forces. We should persist to ceaselessly clarify the truth. If we give up, simply because the effect is not as expected, or if we only send out emails as though we have to finish a specific task, we then haven't fulfilled our responsibilities. Before us are sentient beings that have waited for thousands and thousands of years. If we do not offer them salvation, they might become hopeless and have no other opportunity. What's more, Master has arranged everything for us as long as we walk ahead, firmly, along this path.

Fellow practitioners: Let us act together and form an indestructible, whole body. Let us disintegrate the evil beings and rescue sentient beings. Let us not leave any regrets in our minds when the Fa-rectification arrives in the human world.

Posting date: 4/12/2007
Original article date: 4/12/2007
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Translated on 3/18/2007
Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/3/8/150355.html

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