PureInsight | August 15, 2005
After looking back, I realize that the process of my cultivation is a gradual process of putting down my attachment to myself. Through the six years cultivation practice, I gradually understand how to cultivate myself though I still have many attachments.
During my first 3-4 years of cultivation, I did not know how to cultivate and I could not understand and benefit from other practitioners' comments. I could hardly connect their comments with my attachments and my cultivation. During our Washington, DC, local group meetings for the exchange of ideas and discussion, I was only interested in what I was going to say, not at all carefully listening to and thinking about other practitioners' ideas. I often complained that those meetings were not well organized since I could not always get a chance to express myself.
In the end of the year 2000, the then Chinese ambassador to America came to my university to give a speech. However, during his speech, he slandered Falun Gong. I was in the audience, but did not clarify the truth to the audience immediately. I was very upset after I came back. I faulted myself again and again. I also told some fellow practitioners about the incident and rebuked myself for not doing well. The next year, I attended a reception in the National Press Club to welcome the new Chinese ambassador. When I heard the new ambassador say malicious remarks about Falun Gong during his speech, I immediately stood up, but the event's host did not allow me to interrupt the Chinese ambassador's speech, so I intently stood by the dinning table until he finished his speech.
Then media rushed over to me to interview and take pictures of me and the president of the National Press Club also came over and shook my hand. Later, when I calmed down, I realized what I did this time was mainly wanting to correct the mistake I made before, not purely to clarify the truth.
During the first several years, I had been always very busy since I wanted to do as many Dafa projects as possible. At that time, my attitude towards cultivation and validating the Fa was just like the way of a student in his studies: I wanted to do everything well, better than all the others, but I was not clear about the purposes of doing those projects. Now, when I look back, I realize that I wasted a lot of time and effort. I should have done much more Dafa work for which I am suited.
Now I have become more clear minded, perhaps because that I have actively gotten rid of the self- center attachment, and try to take myself as an ordinary living being and take more responsibility for myself.
I am not sure what has changed me --- maybe the long time Fa study has changed me. I remembered that in the year 2000's Chinese Ambassador incident, when I rebuked myself in front of some fellow practitioners, one practitioner pointed to me: "It seems that you are too concentrated on your attachments." Since that time I started to look at myself with a broader view.
When Master displays the realm and view of the enormous universe and unfolds the remote considerations to us, my mind becomes more and more tranquil, and deals with Dafa work more steadily. Thereupon, I gradually discovered my showing off mentality. Most of time, when I say something, I am showing off. I also discovered that, in many cases, I don't need to make my comments, but just do things according to other practitioners' ideas. The results are the same or even better
I remembered that when I started to coordinate the efforts of clarifying the truth to the government officials, I was often criticized on many aspects. I was often moved since my capacity was not big. But, I had never thought about giving up.
Once, I was criticized by anther practitioner and it felt very painful. I suddenly realized that this practitioner was doing a very important Dafa project and he must feel a great deal of pressure. If it could alleviate some of his pressure through criticizing me, then my suffering is helping him and thus the suffering becomes meaningful. I changed my way of thinking: thinking about things from the view of the other party, not just from my view. Then I wished that this practitioner would criticize me more in order to alleviate his pressures. In this way, I got help from many practitioners in the past a few years. The help in this way is very necessary for me. Since previously, I often think about things from my own point of view.
Since I joined this Dafa project relatively late, I don't have any experience in many aspects and don't have enough wisdom. But clarifying the truth to government officials is very important, arduous and urgent, which requires me to become mature as soon as possible. I must thank all the practitioners who have helped me in many ways. They have helped me obtain experience very fast. I have learned to pay attention to my style of clothing and speaking, to consider from their point of view when dealing with government officials, to communicate promptly with other fellow practitioners on related projects, and to try to understand the requirements of the Fa in certain matters. I am learning how to consider every factor in a given matter, how to view the projects I've involved in from the view of the overall Fa rectification situation, and how to create the best opportunity for living beings to position themselves well on a concrete matter.
When I began to think more about: "What needs to be done according to the requirements of the Fa" instead of, "I want to do this and that for Dafa," I found myself more confident and well organized. I did not rush, nor become indecisive when I encountered difficulties in the Dafa work. The latent idea of: "I want to do meritorious service for Dafa" disappeared gradually.
Recently, in order to rescue persecuted Falun Gong Children in China, some DC practitioners have contacted some NGOs related to refugees. When I contacted an NGO official regarding this issue, that official asked me a lot of questions on the phone. I told him why we were contacting him with regard to the severe persecution of Falun Gong in China, especially the miserable situation of Falun Gong practitioners' children. He was very sympathetic and promised to convey the information to other related officials in his organization and said he would also like to help contact some other related organizations. When I asked for a meeting with him to talk about details, he said: "yes." In the following several weeks, I contacted him a few times through phone calls and e-mails, but, it seemed that he had forgotten about the meeting. Later, he did not even respond to my messages. I could not figure out what was going on, and I was not sure what to do next. This situation lasted until recently. I needed to talk with him on another important issue and decided to meet with him, and so I called him. To my surprise, he immediately scheduled a meeting time. He brought several related officials from other organizations to the meeting. We talked about two hours and they gave us many valuable pieces of advice and instructions on rescuing persecuted Falun Gong Children.
I understand a truth through this experience. On the surface we are doing many things but, actually, everything was arranged. When the time has come for all the arranged factors to get together, what we need to do is to find the person and tell him about it. The outcome will be good when we do things without bringing in our own human notions. The good outcomes are not from those few people's merit; they are the choices of Dafa. Just like what master teaches in "A Heavy Blow," "No matter how much work a person in charge has done among everyday people, he is working for Dafa out of his own will. The success of his work is only a manifestation among ordinary humans. It is the mighty power of Dafa itself and the specific arrangements made by my Law Bodies that enable people to obtain the Fa and spread the Fa widely. Without my Law Bodies doing these things, even protecting the people in charge could hardly be ensured, let alone spreading the Fa widely. So don't always think of yourselves too highly. There is no fame, self-interest, or official titles in Dafa, but only cultivation practice. "
Finally, I'd like to take the opportunity to share with everyone my understanding about rescuing persecuted Falun Gong children in China.
1) To save sentient beings in a larger scope
The ultimate goal for doing this project here in America is to have the American government to ask the Chinese authorities for those children in an open and dignified way – that is what we mean by rescuing them here to America. The responsibility we shoulder here is to help this government, especially the executive branch to position itself well in the last leg of Fa-rectification. In the past few years, many governments showed their support for Dafa, but we also saw that, in most of the democratic countries, it is usually only the congress or parliament members who showed their support. The executive branch has not been as supportive yet. On this project of rescuing Falun Gong children, the executive branch is the one who carries out the foreign and immigration policy – their attitude has a direct impact on the attitude towards Dafa of a whole nation.
Meanwhile, the government policy is, to a large extent, shaped by the public opinion. In other words, it is very important to have a strong righteous field in the society. For example, take the tsunami in South Asia. Everyone knew it was a terrible disaster and people ought to help. This is the public opinion and common sense. The details of the tsunami relief funds, how much each government would give, how to give, how to provide aid etc, were all questions to be solved against the back-drop that they had to help. The congress and the executive branch may have different opinions on the technical details, but they would find the solution soon because they shared the same understanding of the situation of the tsunami. Similarly, on the issue of rescuing children, what we need to do is to clarify the truth, and thus let the government and the whole society understand the persecution so they themselves would want to help from the bottom of their own hearts. Many practitioners who did research found that, in the past, the ways America rescued children from other countries were all different and with no precedent. That is to say, once the whole society and the government wants to help, if there is no law, they can create a law; if there is no similar example, they can create an example.
From the requirements of Fa rectification, it means we need to clarify the truth to all aspects of the society, including government, media, non-governmental organization, businesses and schools. We need to establish a righteous field in the society.
2) Process and result
I had some lessons on this issue. Last year when resolution 304 passed, it was already October, there were only a few weeks left before the Congress went out of session. Some of us thought it was just impossible to introduce and pass this resolution in the Senate, therefore we gave up. But the requirement for us by the Fa was not to be attached to the result, but put emphasis on the process; so we still needed to do it. We suddenly saw the gap between us and the requirement of the Fa rectification. I remember last year, practitioners from each state visited their own Senators' offices. For some difficult offices, practitioners even visited again and again. Looking back, we just did what we could and should.
For this project of rescuing children, we often organize some events to invite ordinary people or government officials to attend. Telling from the result of the events, for example, we get so and so as a VIP speaker, or we get so and so to come and see our benefit concert. The most important part in it, however, is to use this event as a venue to clarify truth on a larger scale.
In the past years of truth-clarification, even though we did pay not attention, many people had quietly positioned themselves well after hearing our truth-clarification. Many things they did for Dafa were even unknown by us. During this process, we realize that what is the most important is that people heard about the truth from us and their notions were rectified after hearing our truth-clarification.
