PureInsight | November 29, 2004
[PureInsight.org] [Editor's Note: Since August 2004, Dafa practitioners from all over the world congregated in Manhattan, the global center for finance, culture and the arts. Their purpose for being there is to let the people of New York and tourists from various regions of the world know about the ongoing, abominable suppression of Falun Gong in China and to appeal to them to jointly help stop this outrage. One can behold the presence of Dafa practitioners on street corners and alleyways of Manhattan. They carry in their hands factual printed persecution information or hold up placards and posters to introduce Falun Gong to the people of the world, and to let the people of the world know about the persecution of the Falun Gong practitioners in China. This series of articles publishes interviews with Falun Gong practitioners who have come to Manhattan from all over the world to clarify the facts, to record the process of the many aspects of their experiences, their realizations as well as the touching stories only they can tell.]
P: Canadian Dafa practitioner P
Reporter: Could you please talk about your experience clarifying the facts in Manhattan? For example, your more profound impressions of some people, incidents and what you have realized?
P: I had a certain feeling when I first arrived - that the people of Manhattan were very cold and indifferent. When I tried to hand them some materials, they would just look upwards. After being here for three weeks, sending forth righteous thoughts, performing the Dafa exercises, holding up banners, demonstrating the savage tortures, I changed. After that, when I distributed the handbills to people I would approach them with a smile. The people do not seem as cold and indifferent to me right now as they were when I first arrived here, and they are willing to accept our handouts. Last week, I saw many police officers at a location where there were no Dafa practitioners. I walked towards them to distribute the information. The police officers asked me many questions. One asked, "Why are you here? What is Falun Gong?" I told them my personal experience of recovering from illness. He said, "Oh! It's that good!" I replied, "Now you know!" He said that he never knew about it and what to do if he wanted to learn it immediately. I told him, "I will teach you now!" He said, "Not now, I am very busy." I said, "It will help you to be calm." He said that he really needed it. I told him that I used to return to Taiwan three times a year to see my mother who was ill. It had been two years since I last went back since my mother is now well. Although she did not practice Falun Gong, but because she believed in Falun Gong, she became well. After listening to what I said, the policeman said, "Then you had better distribute those handouts quickly! The more the better!"
I feel that what we gain depends on how much we expend. During the three weeks, not a long time, all things considered, I was out very early in the morning and came back late at night. I think that there are too few practitioners around. If there were more, then the desired accomplishment, covering the whole of Manhattan, could be achieved sooner.
Reporter: "You mentioned that your health improved after you practiced Dafa. Would you please elaborate on that?"
P: "Before I practiced Dafa, I was suffering from severe lupus erythematosus [an auto-immune disease that manifests much like arthritis and is potentially fatal]. Wherever the ailment arose in the body, that body spot felt very uncomfortable; be it the joints, the muscles and so on. I needed to see a doctor for a blood test every three months. I had been treated by both Western doctors and Chinese traditional medicine doctors and had also practiced other kinds of qigong, but to no avail. Subsequently, I read about Dafa practitioners going to Zhongnanhai (Chinese leadership compound) in Beijing to appeal. As I am from Taiwan, I knew nothing about Falun Gong before that incident. I did some research into Falun Gong and decided to join the practice, as I could always leave it if I was not satisfied with it. When I went to a park for the first time, practitioners taught me the exercises and even gave me the book Zhuan Falun to read. When I read it, I found many of the things mentioned in the book had happened to me and I knew that the book was from heaven. Later, when I returned to Taiwan, I attended a nine day lecture session. When I returned to the United States a practitioner noted, "You have changed!" I asked, "How have I changed?" She said, "You have many fewer wrinkles and the dark specks have disappeared." In just a few months the change has been that great. The more commendable thing was that I had improved my ethics and character. I used to be very ill tempered. After several incidents I discovered that I no longer lost my temper so quickly. "Oh, why didn't I lose my temper?" Dafa did not just relieve me of my illnesses; it has also tremendously improved my mindset and outlook on life.
(To be continued)
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2004/9/7/29039.html
