PureInsight | October 28, 2002
I Was the Root Cause of All the Problems
I spent five weeks trying to clarify the facts of Falun Gong during the Wagner Opera Festival. While doing the truth-clarifying work, from time to time, I stopped to study the Fa for a while. I always managed to find excuses from the Fa on why my truth-clarifying efforts had not gone so well with certain people that I talked to. I thought maybe they were incurably evil, maybe they were completely fooled by poisonous lies, or maybe they were being controlled by the evil old forces or evil low spirits. I decided that it was because of these reasons that I couldn't deliver a compassionate message that touched deep into their hearts. One day I came across the following passage, and suddenly realized that I was the root cause of the problems of my truth-clarification efforts. I found myself speechless and could not defend myself with any excuse. "When any being in this cosmos has enlightened to his Fa, his Fa-principles, or his Attainment Status --- no matter at what level --- he has to go through a truly serious test. This determines whether what he has enlightened to can hold ground in this cosmos …" (From "Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference" on October 21, 2000 in San Francisco in Guiding the Voyage.)
In the past five weeks of my truth-clarification efforts at the Wagner Opera Festival, I realized that it was a testimony of the Fa-principles that I have come to enlighten to when my truth-clarification speeches were able to "hold ground" in an ordinary person's heart. I arrived at this understanding because I realized that I had been the root cause of the problems in my truth-clarification work. It has become my daily routine to read the first paragraph of "Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference" in Guiding the Voyage. I believe that if a person can't build up righteous thoughts towards Dafa when I clarify the facts to him, it must be caused by my lack of seriousness, determination, rationality or maturity. Our Teacher's words at the beginning of "Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference" give me new strength every day for fact-clarification work. "When any being in this cosmos has enlightened to his Fa, his Fa-principles, or his Attainment Status --- no matter at what level --- he has to go through a truly serious test. This determines whether what he has enlightened to can hold ground in this cosmos …" I don't think that Teacher would name this book Guiding the Voyage without a valid reason. I think that "guiding" could refer to "guiding our truth-clarification work" and "voyage" could refer to the boat of Fa that provides salvation to sentient beings. Although all of Master's instructions are to guide our voyage, for a Dafa disciple in this Fa-rectification period there must be a reason why this book was specifically named Guiding the Voyage. This is definitely not a coincidence. Whenever I think I don't have time, I remind myself of this paragraph and begin to examine if I have truly been validating the Fa.
It Is No More than Skin
One night in the parking lot of the opera house, I suddenly noticed that the opera performers would hang their tuxedos, evening gowns, and cocktail dresses in the back seats of their cars. Then it hit me suddenly: for the longest time the human skin, similar to these glamorous outfits, has prevented my eyes from seeing the essence of people. Since then, I only look right into the eyes of my audience when I clarify the facts about Falun Gong and collect signatures. I am no longer affected by any visual or auditory illusions, and, naturally, those illusions have stopped having any effect on me.
The Demeanor of Lords and Kings
"Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Boston Fa Conference" let us understand that the demeanor of Lords and Kings is to always think about others first when encountering any problems. And such a mentality should come naturally. Later, "To Fellow Practitioners" updated on September 7, 2002, by the editors of Clearwisdom.net said, "when taking care of any matter, if we can keep in mind to place Dafa first and place our being Dafa disciples during the Fa-rectification period as second, then we will be able to deal with it well." It also said, "If we can think about whether it is possible to reach the result that we want to achieve using the other party's suggestion, consider their ideas before ours and carry out the task together as one, then this thought is displaying our realm. The Buddhas, Daos and Gods in the heavens see this as very important, yet as for how this specific task is carried out, it actually becomes secondary." These recommended demeanors in the articles are, to me, the demeanors of Lords and Kings. But how do we display these demeanors when we clarify the facts to everyday people? This is the dilemma I have encountered: Although we all know that the German people's attitude towards Dafa will determine their future, we cannot reveal this to them. On the other hand, we came to the Opera Festival to clarify the facts so that they will have an opportunity to correctly position themselves. It is difficult to decide what to tell them. When we talked too much, the everyday people would say to us, "After enjoying seven hours of the most beautiful opera, you had to ruin the feeling by telling me the murders in China?" I thought about the feedback for several days without coming to a solution. One day after the Fa study, a picture came to my mind where a mother was feeding her baby with a small spoon of mashed food. Later this picture appeared in my mind many times, but I did not pay much attention to it. I thought that it was just a hint from Teacher that I should have the patience of a mother when I clarify the facts to everyday people. It wasn't until one day when several fellow practitioners were discussing my flyer that I finally realized Teacher's hint. The flyer was titled "To Everyone", and subtitled "For the Future of Germany." One practitioner who is a journalist commented, "It is like giving a person half a bun (meaning not telling people the complete story)." Another practitioner said, "Correction. Not half a bun. You are giving them two buns at a time (meaning forcing too much information down their throat)." Then I suddenly realized the deep and profound meaning of the picture, which came up many times in my mind during my Fa study, of a mother feeding her baby only digestible mashed food. That the mother patiently mashes the food, puts it onto the spoon, and feeds it to her baby illustrates the demeanor of Lords and Kings. This is the very demeanor that Lords and Kings would have! Even a mother is not totally unselfish. She still has high hopes for her baby and constantly compares her baby with other babies. But when she is feeding the baby, I think that she is truly selfless because at that moment she truly thinks it is the best for the baby.
What is the moral of the story? We know very well that it is not practical to tell everyday people the Fa principles in the 24 Dafa books because it is impossible for them to comprehend or accept them immediately. In order to save the Germans from the crimes they committed againstt Dafa during Jiang Zemin's visit in April, we have to let them understand in a way they can understand and accept. To attain that goal, we will have to care for them as babies who are ignorant of Dafa. In fact, they really are babies in front of the heavenly laws. The process of thinking the best for these babies and their future, is the process of spreading the Fa principles throughout the secular world. The level of our compassion and consideration is the manifestation of our cultivation level. Everyday people's responses toward Dafa correspond to our cultivation levels. Their responses are the reflections of our heart.
Teacher's Compassion for the Old Forces
One day things had gone quite well with my truth-clarifying efforts. I was able to speak eloquently, and after studying the Fa could even feel the assistance from Buddhas, Daos, and Gods in breaking through one barrier after another, the kind of barriers that I was unable to break through myself. I was quite happy. I went out the next day with a great deal of confidence and optimism. Then it suddenly started to hail! I was stunned by the sudden hail that prevented me from going out. I thought, "The old forces dare not to oppose our clarifying the facts or saving sentient beings, right?" Then I remembered that in the past year there were always tornados or thunderstorms whenever our practitioners came for interviews with the media. Once a 40-inch TV set was blown 5 meters away. I suddenly understood a new meaning of "The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the facts or saving sentient beings." (From "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston.") I could not understand a different intention of Teacher's words because they were a display of Teacher's compassion for the old forces. Similar to when Teacher provided the Chinese government sufficient opportunities for correction on various occasions in the human realm, Teacher gives the old forces a compassionate hint in these words, that they must not oppose truth-clarification or salvation of sentient beings anymore. Teacher has shown in all media interviews his infinite, omnipresent compassion for everyday people, as well as living beings everywhere. Teacher has provided enough chances for repentance and correction to those beings at all levels that are damaging the righteous Fa and persecuting Dafa. But those beings repeatedly push away opportunities for their own salvation, and stubbornly try to run their own course of Fa-rectification. They will eventually lead themselves to the evil, annihilation, and self-destruction.
Clarifying the Facts Becomes More Challenging Once We Fall to the Level of Everyday People
One day three Chinese came to the Opera Festival. We ignored them and were busy using our old methods to clarify the facts to the westerners only. We totally did not see that it was Master who arranged the Chinese to come to the festival and it was his hope that we would raise our efforts to a higher level. At the end of the day we were surprised to find many westerners refusing to listen to the facts. The next day we studied the Fa together and discussed this issue. Because we did not take the Fa as Teacher, the Buddhas, Daos, and Gods could not help in our truth-clarification. We had been told to offer salvation to Chinese, but we still hesitated when we actually met Chinese people, thinking the Chinese were difficult to save. We avoided talking about Falun Gong in front of Chinese, or we talked about something else if they were not interested in the topic. We had allowed the unrighteous thought of "better not to explain if we cannot explain well" to influence us. In fact, our pursuit of comfort, and the lack of righteous thoughts, turned us into everyday people doing everyday people's work. After we recognized our flaws, several other practitioners later on all ran into the same three Chinese people and all clarified the facts to them.
The Righteous Fa Waits for No One on the Road of Cultivation; Every Day We Must Improve Ourselves
When we began our truth-clarification efforts at the Opera Festival, it was clear that we should clarify the facts, and not just distribute the truth-clarification flyers. Therefore, each day, we clarified the facts to a few people to prevent the everyday people in Germany from committing more wrongdoing against Dafa, and for them to develop a righteous thought toward Dafa. After a while, even I felt there was too little progress. While studying the Fa, I remembered that music could save many people at once, hence, we started to practice Falun Gong exercises during intermissions of the opera performances near the main walkways for the theater audience.
The audience at the Opera Festival showed strong interest in our Falun Gong practices in the big garden. Some waited until we finished the exercises to talk to us. They all said that they would check Dafa websites, and read the books by the founder of Falun Gong. Some people said, "You were in a different world when you were doing the sitting meditation. We decided to come back from the opera and talk to you about the meditation." Some even offered to deliver Dafa-related papers for us in their own cities. Some offered to contact the local media, and friends working for the media, to help spread Falun Gong. I realized that Master's instruction of having practitioners perform the exercises outdoors and thus enabling his Fashen to bring those who have a predestined relationship with the Fa is still just as valid today as it was yesterday.
When it began to pour, I cried in my heart with righteous thoughts, "Only Teacher's words count. Your [the old forces'] words don't count." But the pouring rain continued. It was then that I realized that I must not continue to hold fast to a principle, even if it is a right principle. Teacher will use all kinds of things to remind you so that you will continue to make progress in cultivation. In the pouring rain during intermissions, I collected signatures and told people the facts about Falun Gong. On that day, I ended up telling the facts to more people than I did on any other day. In the following few days, I realized that with half an hour I could only tell a few people. But I have also observed that many in the audience took a stroll near the theater two hours before the opera performance. The two hours would give me enough time to tell the facts more thoroughly and completely. Therefore, I again discovered a new venue for truth-clarification. Sometimes, the audience would encourage us to go up to the theater to collect signatures. Even the security guards told us, "Go up there. There are more people up there." In the fourth week of the Opera Festival, Teacher published "Hurry Up and Tell Them" on Clearwisdom.net. We truly felt that Teacher knew every single development of our fact- clarification efforts. He was talking to us.
The Evil Dares Not Bully a Righteous Mind
In the first four weeks of the Opera Festival, no one opposed our efforts during the theater recesses, after the performance, during truth-clarification, or during the distribution of Dafa-related newspapers. However, in the fifth week, we encountered problems. Two people from the audience called our efforts a political campaign. They yelled and screamed at us. We told them kindly that we were not involved in politics. After studying the Fa that night, we really wanted them to come back so we could clarify the facts to them again. But they never showed up. At that moment, we felt that all beings that oppose truth-clarification and the saving of sentient beings are rectified when our minds are righteous. Each time someone expressed a negative opinion of Dafa, some righteous audience member would read our poster that said, "The world needs Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance," and then tell us, "This is not politics," "These are universal virtues," "Please tell me what I can do to help stop the persecution," and the like. We were surprised to see these ordinary people so clear-minded.
To Clarify the Truth about Falun Gong Is not Politics
Tribulations grew each day. During the final week of the Opera Festival we prevailed over the most difficult tribulations. The force of Fa-rectification kept raising the standards for Dafa practitioners who clarified the facts during the Opera Festival. We had to keep on improving so that in the end all the contents of the truth-clarification flyers were changed. We would be unable to get this far if not for the Fa study, as well as our genuine wish to save sentient beings. The following message is on the flyer that we give to the audience of the Opera Festival:
"Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance are the laws of the cosmos. They are also the standard by which gods evaluate humans. If it complies with the gods' laws, the human race will continue to survive. If it confronts the gods' laws, the human race will face natural disasters [as a sign of heavenly rage]. Today China is persecuting the universal laws of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance, and extending its crime worldwide, endangering the safety and future of the entire world.The glamorous operas composed by Wagner are the displays of respect towards the gods, and odes to the noble moral character of man. With sponsorship from Ludwig II, opera was enhanced, and became known to the world as spiritual treasure.
Today, more than 1,700 Chinese people have been tortured to death by the Chinese dictator only because they believe in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance. The persecution is still going on. The persecution is a challenge by the evil Chinese dictator to the civilized world. It is without doubt one of the critical tasks among the global anti-terrorist efforts, for the persecution against Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance is the most dangerous form of terrorism. To be against Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance is literally to be against all of humanity.The value of the Opera Festival is to preserve the precious culture of mankind. We hope that you can help safeguard Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance as the treasure of humanity."
The Opera Festival was over, but I could not stop going to the Wagner Park near the opera house to practice Falun Gong an hour a day. During my daily practice, I had the large banner that says, "The world needs Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance", spread out with a signature book next to it. I had intended to take the opportunity to search for my flaws of the past five weeks. However, after the practice I would always find new signatures of people from Paris and other cities. I also know that there were still some actors who had not left the area. Many staff members working on disassembling the advertising frames for the Opera Festival came to me asking for Dafa-related newspapers. These responses came as a total surprise. Later I found that this was a tourist spot. Therefore, we put the passages of "Falun Gong is not politics" into a letter to all residents of the city, and distributed them in this area. We also gave them to all party fractions in our election district. From then on we began to base the message in the truth-clarification flyer on this new idea --- Prevent all sentient beings from committing more crime by attacking Dafa. We held this mission to our hearts, and "lose no time and save them, hurry up and tell them."
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2002/9/15/18526.html
