Journey to China

Greetings Master. Greetings everyone.

My name is Gerald O’Connor and I am a practitioner from Ireland. Recently I traveled to China to help assist practitioners there to clarify the truth and to assist Zhao Ming in his safe return to Ireland.

My preparation in regards to my journey to China was simple. Every day I studied and practiced the exercises as usual but at the same time I was looking inwards every day to make sure my motives were pure in going to China. I read other practitioners’ articles and examined myself to see if I had the attachments they had uncovered on their journey. Over the two months before I left, my mind became clearer and more focused on why I was going. I was going to clarify the truth and raise my xinxing in the process.

Before I left, I wrote a letter explaining why I was going. I sent it to my friends, other practitioners, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister of my country. The support I got from the Irish Embassy in Beijing was very good. They told me they thought it was good to stand up for what you believe, but to be careful. They said they would call me every evening to check whether I was safe and if they could not reach me they would start to ask questions. Although I was in Beijing alone, I didn’t feel alone.

Before I left for China, Master had pointed out to me on different occasions and in different ways that one meaning of Ren is to be calm. In “Expounding on the Fa,” Master says, “When a tribulation arrives, if you, a disciple, can truly maintain an unshakable calm or be determined to meet different requirements at different levels, this should be sufficient for you to pass the test.” Three hours into my stay in China my calmness or Ren was tested. I had just settled down into a hotel and was leaving to go and visit the famous square that is the heart of China. As I was approaching the underground tunnel to enter the square, a police officer stopped me. He asked who I was and what I was doing, in English. I told him I was a tourist. He asked for my passport. I gave it to him. Then he asked in an interrogating manner “Do you know Falun Gong?” My understanding at this stage was to deflect the question. I said I don’t speak Chinese and could he please translate. He then said forget about it. I asked him where a good restaurant was, patted him on the back and walked off. That day I was asked similar questions another three times and also on the following day. After studying the Fa I realized I was missing an opportunity to validate the Fa. If someone asked me whether I know Falun Gong, I would answer truthfully. “Yes, in my country the media and government say truthfulness-compassion-forbearance are good.” Then I would ask, “Why is the Chinese government afraid of these principles?” For the next six days no policemen stopped me.

In total, I planned on staying in Beijing for eight days. For the first six days I clarified the truth to the friendly Chinese students, since they spoke English well and seemed to enjoy speaking to foreigners. The most noticeable thing at first was that these people liked to talk about Falun Gong and they had no fear. Often I would clarify the truth about Falun Gong in busy public places and people would talk freely and not worry about people overhearing them. After clarifying the truth to two people, they went over to their friends and I heard them talk about Falun Gong to them, the truth was being spread. During clarifying the truth, my own understanding and determination was being tested. Ordinary peoples' deviated notions about Dafa had become complicated and simply handing them a leaflet or a CD most likely wouldn’t dispel these notions.

While I was talking to these people I got a new understanding of Master’s new poems. Often people would say that their family members used to practice or their friends used to practice but they stopped. I would ask,”Why?” And they would reply, “Because they didn’t want to go to jail.” When thinking about the many people who had stopped practicing I thought of Master’s new poem, 'The Cleansing' “Heaven and Earth turned upside down, raining sand and dust” and in 'The Catastrophe,' “Half of China Proper covered by sand and dust,” I got the sad impression that maybe half of Beijing was covered in sand and dust.

After the sixth day I realized it wasn’t arranged for me to help Ming at this time to come back to Ireland. I decided instead to appeal to the Chinese people at Tiananmen Square with a banner that read “Falun Dafa is good.” Throughout the week I had visited the square many times to make sure I was comfortable there. The weather for the week I was there was very good and the square was always crowded with people. When I held up the banner I shouted, 'Falun Dafa Hao' and every person as far as I could see was facing me. After I was first brought to the police station I understood more clearly why people in the past said China is a land where there are people of great enlightenment quality. The contrast between the good people I had met and the people who were facing me now was enormous.

When I went to appeal my mind was calm and relatively free of thought. Three or four times during my trip, wrong thoughts entered my mind and each time the attachment was taken advantage of by the evil. First, when I was in the square I was thinking I had a Vajra’s indestructible body and no one could move me. They couldn’t. Even though the police tried, I still held my banner and continued to say “Falun Dafa Hao.” When I was sure everyone on the square had heard me, the thought entered my mind, “Everyone has heard your message, let them take you to the police station.” I agreed with this thought and was thus taken to the police station. When they forcefully tried to take my picture by twisting my fingers back, I had the thought, “They will break your fingers. Let them take their picture” I agreed with this thought and let them take my picture. When I was in the back of the police car and they were beating me I had the thought, “I am sure to be bruised all over. Stop calling out.” I agreed with this thought and when I returned there were no bruises to validate my claim of being beaten. When I was brought to the underground police station garage and they started to beat me I had the thought, “A practitioner has been killed here before. They will kill me just for my hotel address.” I agreed with this thought and told them the address. Agreeing with deviated notions led to more severe tests.

At the lowest point things began to change with a hint from our benevolent Master. I was in a prison cell and was being guarded by three policemen. One policeman asked me to come out of my cell, I did. He said he wanted to take my picture. This time I physically complied, but mentally I thought, “Your camera will not work.” It did not work. I heard him say in Chinese his camera was “may dien” (without power.) He ordered me back into my cell. Then he came back a few minutes later and asked me to stand against the wall again. I did, but again, in my mind I thought, “Your camera will not work.” It didn’t work. He asked me to stand in different places but it still would not work. He told me to return to my cell. I did. Through the bars he came over to me and said in a very serious voice “You have Kung Fu powers.” I said 'Pardon me,' then he repeated “Master Li has taught you Kung Fu powers.” I told him he should not treat good people this way and if he continues even stranger things would happen. I got the impression it was not the first time he had seen supernormal abilities. With this hint, I knew I was in complete control of the situation. I put my legs up and started to send forth righteous thoughts for as long as I could. Then I practiced exercise five with no intentional interference from anyone. Now I was thinking, Master is giving me an opportunity to clarify the truth to these guards and when there is no one else here who will accept the truth I will walk away. The guards who could speak English talked with me through the night and their ideas towards Dafa seemed to change. Fear started to enter their minds and they tried to convince me that they, too, were good people. When their shift ended, one officer made a point of saying good-bye.

The following morning as soon as the sun went up, I sent forth righteous thoughts again for as long as I could. During this time a guard came in and said I had to go with him. It turned out he was taking me to the airport. When we were walking through the airport he gave me the chance to clarify the truth to everyone who asked why I was arrested by letting me directly answer his or her questions about Dafa. When I entered the plane to Paris everyone aboard was saying, “This man is Falun Gong.”

When the police officers were asking me questions it was obvious that they knew Dafa and had read the book before. Once they asked me “What level are you at?” I replied, “There are no levels in Dafa,” meaning I don’t know my own level, the same as I don’t know other practitioners’ levels. Then he opened the page that read in the English Zhuan Falun, 'Different Levels Have Different Fa' and claimed I am not a good practitioner. I clarified my statement and they said nothing. It was disturbing to think that people who have read such a good book could still be involved in persecuting good people.

When I was on the plane home I was thinking of ways that I could go back so that I could clarify the truth again and not make the same mistakes. I came to understand later this was a very deviated notion because it was like I was competing with the evil and trying to beat it. Master will use every environment for our improvement, so, from my understanding, there is no need to intentionally seek a wicked environment. If it was arranged for me to again help clarify the truth in China, that would be good; if not, that is also the arrangement and would also be good.