PureInsight | November 15, 2004
[PureInsight.org]
Xingjian: What have you learned through these experiences?
Elaine: The mighty power of the Fa!
Teacher said, "Our school of practice cultivates and requires both forms of the bodies; benti must be transformed as well. It is known to everyone that a Buddha body is not allowed to manifest among everyday people. With much effort, it can show its shape and its light can be seen with an everyday person's eyes. Upon transformation, however, the physical body appears to be the same as an average person's body among everyday people. An everyday person cannot tell the difference, though this body can travel between dimensions." (From "The Placement of the Mysterious Pass" in Lecture Four of Zhuan Falun.) [benti (bun-tee) One's physical body and the bodies in other dimensions.]
Teacher said, "Therefore, upon the transformation of this benti, its molecular combinations do not change even though its cells are replaced by the high-energy matter. Thus, this body will not look much different from that of an everyday person. Yet there is still a difference: Namely, this body can enter other dimensions." (From "The Placement of the Mysterious Pass" in Lecture Four of Zhuan Falun.)
Everything we do appears to be the same as those human rights causes. I see it as another form of "the physical body appears to be the same as an average person's body among everyday people." But our truth-clarification efforts are essentially different. The difference is that we can overcome the human environment's restraints. It is like just what Teacher said, "this body can enter other dimensions." Can everyday people's rules and regulations obstruct us from offering Teacher's salvation to the world's people? Everything in this dimension has become corrupted and degenerate. If we follow the rules and regulations in this dimension, won't we be going down with the degenerate old forces? We must not acknowledge these rules and regulations. I don't mean that we should go to the extremes and start violating rules and regulations on purpose. I mean we should measure everything according to the Fa and overcome constraints with the Fa. Only by following the Fa will we harmonize everything. We are Falun Gong practitioners. We have the capabilities to overcome all interferences to our truth-clarification work. The key is to overcome our own notions.
Xingjian: An excellent point!
Teacher said, "The Fa will bring to humankind everything new and righteous, and it will not be affected by anything that is old, crooked, or warped." (From "Using at Will" in Essentials for Further Advancement II.)
Elaine: Once, while we were sending forth righteous thoughts in the pubic area in front of the Chinese Consulate in New York, the staff members at the consulate called the police to ask us leave. I knew it was the evil elements in other dimensions that were manipulating the police officers to give us trouble, so I kept sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil beings in other dimensions while clarifying the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution against Falun Gong to the police officers in a peaceful manner. At first, one policeman was extremely rude to us, and told us that he wouldn't allow us to stay there at all. We felt we shouldn't argue with the police officers, so we decided to leave. As we were preparing to leave, one of the practitioners saw a large group of staff members from the Chinese Consulate standing nearby watching us leave. That practitioner decided that we shouldn't have them watch us leave like this because it would give them bad impression, which might mar their chance of salvation.
That practitioner then showed a copy of the truth-clarification flyer to one of the police officers, and asked him, "Have you read this flyer?" He answered yes. Then that practitioner showed the flyer to the other police officer, asked him the same question, and added, "Is it your work to uphold justice?" The police officer looked ashamed and embarrassed. He avoided her question and walked towards the wall. Then she showed the flyer to the first police officer again, and asked him, "May I distribute this flyer to each of them (the staff people from the Chinese Consulate)?" The first police officer had a more peaceful manner. He answered, "Sure. It is your right to do that."
Then the practitioner walked towards that group of staff members with truth-clarification flyers in her arms. There were about six to seven of them standing there. She looked directly into their eyes and presented a flyer at their eye level, making sure they had a good, clear view of the flyer. Next she spelled each word out, "Please remember Falun Dafa is good. You must draw a line with Jiang Zemin. Being outside of China gives you a precious opportunity to learn the truth about Falun Dafa. You must cherish this opportunity!" As she was spelling each word out, she looked directly into their eyes one by one. No one else uttered any word. After she finished, a man replied, "I know. I know. Please stop. Please stop." Afterwards, we continued to send forth righteous thoughts on the sidewalk. Later on, some other practitioners heard about this incident and expressed a different opinion.
Xingjian: What kind of opinion?
Elaine: Because the police have never allowed Falun Gong practitioners to send forth righteous thoughts directly in front of the Chinese Consulate on the same side of the street, they felt we should not have made the attempt. They said that Falun Gong practitioners in New York have always been sending forth righteous thoughts across the street from the Chinese Consulate, and never on the same side of the street. We are the first to "break the rule."
Xingjian: The area in front of the Chinese Consulate is a public area, not a private area. More precisely, only one foot in diameter outside its door is a private area. Everyone has a legal access to all other areas outside the consulate.
Elaine: Well, the police told us it's 50/50. It's a public area if you are just crossing it, but you may not stay in the area in front of the consulate if the consulate does not allow it. In other words, we must leave when the consulate objects.
Xingjian: Do you suppose the regulation might be different in every city?
Elaine: Perhaps. Afterwards, we had an exchange of different opinions based on our respective understandings of the Fa. First we explained the entire incident to them because they did not actually witness the incident. They heard it from other practitioners, so there might be some misunderstandings of the situation. They heard that the police came and that we argued with the police, so they thought there had been a serious conflict with the police officers. We explained to them that it was not at all the case. We described the incident very clearly to them before we started to exchange our thoughts from the Fa.
Teacher said, "Human beings are the weakest while that being is quite formidable. It can control your mind and easily manipulate you at will. It can even end your life easily. You claim that you can grab it. How do you grab it? You cannot reach it with your ordinary person's hands. You may grab aimlessly there, and it will ignore you and laugh at you behind your back — grabbing aimlessly is so ridiculous. If you can really touch it, it will harm your hands at once. That will be a real wound!" (From "The Issue of Treating Illness" in Lecture Seven of Zhuan Falun.)
This is how we regard the issue of sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Consulate: When we sent forth righteous thoughts in very close proximity --- right in front of its entrance, our righteous thoughts were really touching and eliminating the evil elements in other dimensions that had been manipulating the staff members inside the Chinese Consulate. In order to save their own lives, the evil elements in other dimension directed the everyday people (the staff of the consulate and the police officers) to interfere with our actions and to move us away from the consulate. Why didn't the evil elements try to interfere with Falun Gong practitioners when we sent forth righteous thoughts from across the street? It is because we did not touch them. That's why the evil beings ignored us.
After experiencing this incident, we truly felt it is a very solemn task to clarify the truth in Manhattan. When we follow everyday people's degenerate rules, we are following the path that the old forces have arranged. On the surface, we may be doing some Fa-rectification work, but it is not working because we cannot touch the evil elements in other dimensions when we follow everyday people's rules. When we surpass everyday people's Fa, we will actually touch the evil elements in other dimension and eliminate them. I feel that those fellow practitioners objected to our actions because they have not overcome their notions in this regard.
Xingjian: Let's review this passage of the Fa.
Teacher said, "You claim that you can grab it. How do you grab it? You cannot reach it with your ordinary person's hands. You may grab aimlessly there, and it will ignore you and laugh at you behind your back—grabbing aimlessly is so ridiculous." (From "The Issue of Treating Illness" in Lecture Seven of Zhuan Falun.)
Notice that Teacher said, "You cannot reach it with your ordinary person's hands." If we do Fa-rectification work with everyday people's notions, we would be doing exactly what Teacher has said - trying to "reach it with your ordinary person's hands." It'd be completely different if we try with cultivators' hands. The Fa is immensely intricate. If we acknowledge everyday people's Fa, we would be subject to everyday people's states, rules and regulations. We wouldn't be able to touch or harm the evil elements in other dimensions with everyday people's hands. If we step over everyday people's borders, the evil elements will be afraid of our touch and the police officers will no longer interfere with our truth-clarification work. The police officers will even be supportive of our cause, right?
Elaine: Many Falun Gong practitioners have not overcome their notions. They are content with just maintaining a peaceful relationship with the police officers on the surface. But that is not truly healthy. It may not be a good thing to just maintain the harmony on the surface. The force of the Fa-rectification is advancing rapidly. We must keep striving forward to adapt ourselves to the need of Fa-rectification. We must keep surpassing our [previous] understandings of the Fa.
Xingjian: Didn't the police understand and accept the truth about Falun Gong after you clarified the truth to them? We should not try to maintain superficial harmony by minimizing the interactions. It is an everyday people's goal to maintain surface harmony by minimizing interactions.
Elaine: Teacher has recently published several articles since September 1, 2004. The first one is titled, "Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World's People." The next one is "In Fa-Rectification Your Thoughts Have to be Righteous, Not Human." In "Greetings," Teacher said, "May all of you strengthen your righteous thoughts this Mid-Autumn Festival!" Then Teacher published "My Version of a 'Stick Wake-Up." It is my humble understanding that Teacher has been asking us to dig out the root of all kinds of human thoughts we have. I think Teacher hopes that we will understand that human thoughts are the biggest obstacles to Fa-rectification and the truth-clarification work in Manhattan. I think, if we can overcome these human thoughts, we will reach Godhood, but if we cannot let go of human thoughts, we will remain everyday people.
Xingjian: Do you feel that you have changed a lot since you first came to Manhattan?
Elaine: Yes, I do feel I have changed a lot. Everyone has changed a lot. Take the story of entering a business building and clarifying the truth to the companies for an example. When I shared the story with fellow practitioners, everyone agreed with our approach. They agreed that we were following what the Fa requires of us when we tried to overcome the degenerate everyday regulations and entered the business building. Later on, several other fellow practitioners joined our efforts. I felt everyone has a very good, pure heart. Everyone feels the urgency of clarifying the truth to the people in New York. But if we don't overcome our human thoughts, we will forever remain on the same level and cannot strive forward. After these cultivation experience-sharing gatherings, everyone quickly overcame their notions and many stepped up to help.
Xingjian: The Fa is omnipotent. It is only through studying the Fa that cultivators can overcome their notions. How long have you been in Manhattan?
Elaine: As of today, I have been in New York for seven full weeks. Next week would be my eighth week. After that, I will have to return to Canada.
Xingjian: Do you plan to come to New York again?
Elaine: Yes, I will be here for the next Falun Dafa practitioners' cultivation experience sharing conference in New York.
Xingjian: What do you think is the greatest reward of this trip?
Elaine: It is an excellent opportunity for us Falun Gong practitioners to assist Teacher with the Fa-rectification by clarifying the truth to people in New York. I feel that, if I hold fast to any secular thought, it will be amplified and cause interferences to our truth-clarification work here. In other words, every impure thought will be exploited. Therefore, it is a great reward in itself that I have been treating each and every one of my thoughts and actions here very solemnly.
Xingjian: And this prompts you to eliminate your attachments quickly.
Elaine: You are right. As soon as I discover an attachment, my righteous thought will come forward and the evil elements in other dimension will collapse in no time. Some police officers came to our torture exhibitions looking fierce, but their fierceness disappeared as soon as we stood in front of them, looking directly into their eyes. It's because the evil elements in other dimensions that might have manipulated the officers to interfere with our truth-clarification work collapsed as soon as our righteous thoughts came forward. Once the evil elements in other dimensions collapsed, all the problems disappeared and everything returned to harmony.
Xingjian: Thank you.
