PureInsight | March 15, 2004
[PureInsight.org] Ms. Hong Xiuying and I met on the way to the airport, as we traveled in the same car. She told me her story. While listening to her story, I had to turn my head away many times because I couldn't stop tears from flowing from my eyes but I didn't want to interrupt her story. I spent more than three hours with her. I not only listened to her story, I also watched how she clarified the truth, distributed materials, ate her meals, and demonstrated the peaceful Falun Gong exercises to the public at the airport. Below is a condensed form of our conversation.
We will use "Wang" for me, Wang Qingfeng, and "Hong" for Ms. Hong Xiuying.
Wang: You were distributing truth-clarification flyers on the morning of the Falun Dafa experience sharing conference. Did you ever think that Teacher might attend the conference in the morning and that you might miss the Fa lecture?
Hong: I didn't think about that. The only thought I held in my mind was that there were two flights returning to China on Saturday morning and I could not miss this precious opportunity to clarify the truth to those returning to China. I saw in my mind that they were not just individual lives as it might appear on the surface. Each of them is associated with and represents countless beings. Teacher said, "Beings that have come to understand the facts become mobile media, and they too clarify the facts." (From "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Midwest-U.S. Fa Conference") On that Saturday morning, I met an elderly woman whose son didn't want her to accept the flyer, but she took it anyway. She secretly told me that she had been practicing Falun Gong for eight years. Judging by the way she carried herself, I knew immediately that she hadn't stepped forward to safeguard Dafa. I seized this precious opportunity to encourage her to step forward and become a genuine Dafa disciple of the Fa-rectification period while Teacher is still waiting for everyone who had not done so to take that step forward. In the afternoon, I went to the Fa conference and Teacher came. Everything had been perfectly pre-arranged. As long as we keep righteous thoughts, Teacher will harmonize everything for us.
Wang: When did you first start to distribute flyers at the airport?
Hong: I went to the Washington D.C. International Fa conference on July 21, 2001 soon after I obtained the Fa. I saw Teacher for the first time and I couldn't hold back my tears. After I came back from the conference, I asked myself, "What can I do? I don't know anything. I've been a housewife for more than ten years, taking care of my parents-in-law, my husband and my children." I felt very anxious and didn't know what to do. A fellow practitioner suggested that I distribute flyers at the local airport. I thought: "That's a great idea. The airport is only an hour's drive from my house." After I first began to go to the airport, my parent's-in-law thought that I thought only of doing Dafa work and spent every day on Dafa work. They were not very happy with this situation. They finally gave me an ultimatum: Get a paying job or leave home. I was shocked at first but then I thought, "That's fine. Once I become financially independent, no one will have any excuse to stop me." Within just several days, I got an interview opportunity. At the interview, I found out the job was to distribute advertising flyers at the airport for one day a week. What a great opportunity! You see, wasn't everything arranged perfectly, to step forward and clarify the truth?
Wang: Do your parents-in-law complain that you work only one day a week?
Hong: No, they don't. They were no longer upset with me after I got this job, and they didn't ask for the money I earned. Besides, now that I have a personal income, I can afford going to Fa conferences and printing Dafa truth-clarification flyers with my own money. My husband doesn't support or oppose my action. But he knows that I work only one day a week. So now I can go to the airport working and clarify the truth for Dafa with my family's blessing. When I distribute the ads, I add a truth clarification VCD to each ad, and they are distributed quickly. The rest of the time, I wait for flights from and to China. I check for the arrival and departure times of those flights and seize all available opportunities to offer the truth-clarification materials to the Chinese people.
Wang: I know. One day, practitioners in my city were distributing flyers locally, and we met a Chinese person who told us he got a truth-clarification flyer right after he got off the plane. How wonderful that is.
Hong: The return flights to China are especially important. If our fellow Chinese on those flights don't get a chance to read any truth-clarification materials during their trips abroad, they might not get any chance after they return to China. So I will do anything to deliver a flyer to them before they return to China.
Wang: Since 9-11, the security at the airports has become very tight. Have you run into any problem?
Hong: All problems we encounter provide opportunities to clarify the truth. Airport security officers and airline crews now know that we give out Falun Gong flyers at the airport every day. I even got to know some of the supervisory staff quite well. One time a few travelers were late for their flight check-in. I brought them directly to the staff of their airline, and they were able to check in quickly. They were immensely thankful to me and said they had met a Good Samaritan today. I think that, when they boarded the plane and started reading the truth-clarification flyers, they would learn that Falun Gong practitioners were genuinely good people.
Wang: How do you schedule your time every day?
Hong: I prepare all the truth-clarification materials the night before, including newspapers, VCD's and booklets. I ride my bicycle for about 10 minutes to the bus station and listen to Teacher's lectures on the one-hour bus ride to the airport. When I arrive at the airport, I would first send forth righteous thoughts. Then I change my outfit and apply some makeup. I want to make myself look neat and pleasant. While I wait for the arrival of the airplanes I use the time to practice the Falun Gong standing and sitting meditation exercises. Falun Gong practitioners in our area distribute truth-clarification materials to the Chinese people flying to and from China, so sometimes I run into other practitioners at the airport. Sometimes we might set up a time to have our lunch or dinner together. I usually study the Fa after I get back home. If I know that I will return home late, I get up earlier that morning to study the Fa.
Wang: Could you share with me some stories from your experiences at the airport?
Hong: There are so many stories! After I moved to the US, I never left the house on my own. I am a very quiet and shy person. At first, when I distributed truth-clarification flyers and newspapers, I would get nervous and my hands would tremble. Therefore, on the way home, I would always exchange experiences with fellow practitioners. When I first started clarifying the truth at the airport, many fellow practitioners' support and encouragement helped me overcome obstacles. They truly have helped me become who I am one step at a time. We share our experiences on our way home almost every day.
Clarifying the truth is the master key that unlocks everything. You can use this key to unlock all doors! (She was miming an action of turning a key.) The Vice Consulate from the Chinese Consulate came to the airport a few times to see people off. Whenever I see him, I always go over to clarify the truth to him. He was very rude to me at the beginning. He even told me to get lost. But his attitude did not bother me at all. I would persevere in clarifying the truth to him every time I saw him at the airport. Finally one time when he saw me again, he began to chuckle and said, "Here you are again!" Then I clarified the truth to him again, and his demeanor improved significantly.
On the days when I felt that I didn't answer questions to my satisfaction when clarifying the truth, I would exchange notes and experiences with fellow practitioners. This helped me to improve and do better the next time the same question comes up. After months of experiences and gaining wisdom, I don't have to think twice before I clarify the truth to others. The messages that I need to convey seems to have a voice of its own. Sometimes I encounter Chinese people that intentionally taunt me with their doubts about Falun Gong in English with a raised voice so others could hear us, and I respond in English, too. My English isn't very fluent, but whenever I need to clarify the truth about Falun Gong in English, I can converse in English fluently. Sometimes I even speak English with westerners traveling to China.
Once I met a person who turned down my offer of truth-clarification materials. When he bent over to organize his luggage, I seized the opportunity and kept clarifying the truth to him. He stood up after he had finished packing, and said, "Thank you!" When I meet flight attendants from Mainland China who dare not accept the truth-clarification materials, I tell them, "Have a safe trip. Falun Dafa is good!" For those who refuse the materials, I tell them Falun Dafa is good and wish them a nice trip. They all respond positively to my blessing and kind reminder that Falun Dafa is good. You know something? When your compassion comes forward, you can feel it yourself.
One day I met a Chinese lady around 10 A.M. wandering around in the lobby of the airport. I approached her and found out her flight wouldn't take off until 10 P.M. I offered her a copy of the Chinese truth-clarification newspaper, "How about a free newspaper?" She said she had already read it and that she was shocked by the cruelty of the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. This made me want to give her other truth-clarification materials but I had run out everything but the Chinese newspapers by 10 A.M. that day. I especially wanted to give her a small card that listed the addresses of truth-clarification web sites, but I ran out of them too. I imagined she must have an access to the Internet. If she understands the truth, she might be able to help a large crowd learn the truth too! I asked Teacher in my heart: "Teacher, I must not have any attachment to comfort. I must go back home to get more materials and come back to offer more truth-clarification materials!" Then I had a second thought. What if she has gone through the security check and entered the boarding area by the time I come back? Then I told myself, "No. No. Don't worry too much about it. I will try my best." That evening, I hurried back to the airport after I finished other things. As soon as I got on the bus to the airport, someone called out to me. I turned and found out it was the Chinese lady I had met that morning.
She was returning to the airport from a tourist attraction I had recommended to her earlier that day. See? Teacher arranges everything perfectly. Another time, I wanted to finish handing out truth-clarification materials quickly so that I could go home earlier. But I had a lot of trouble catching the bus that day, and I almost missed the last bus of the day. From this I understood that I had an omission in my cultivation practice. How benevolent Teacher is to give me hints! I am still a new practitioner and am not that well educated. When I studied the Fa at the beginning, I often couldn't understand it. But the key is to actually start doing Dafa work. While doing Dafa work, the Fa that Master teaches becomes clear to me. This is especially true when I first studied "Touring North America to Teach the Fa." There were many things in the book that I didn't understand. All I knew from reading the book is that clarifying the truth is very important. Gradually I have come to understand my mission is to clarify the truth at the airport, and this task was arranged for me many years ago. It was no coincidence that my family bought the house near the airport and we have been living there for over ten years.
Each time I come to the airport to hand out the truth-clarification materials, I also bring a pocket-size book of Zhuan Falun with me so that I can open the book at any time, find the passages that prove China's slanderous lies to be false, and read it out to those who have been deceived by the lies but denied the access to Zhuan Falun or any other Falun Dafa book in China. Many people will believe the truth when they see with their own eyes. As soon as they see that Teacher's words do not at all match the Chinese propaganda designed to instigate people's hatred toward Falun Dafa, they immediately open up their mind to the truth about Falun Dafa and the persecution.
Wang: What a great idea to clarify the truth by reading out loud from Zhuan Falun! When you first started, you must have encountered difficulties. Have you ever thought of giving up?
Hong: No. Never. Seeing so many people poisoned by the Chinese Communist government's lies, I am so worried about them that I sometimes break into tears. You know how it is. The more diligent you are in the cultivation practice, the better your [body and mind] state is, and the more powerful you words become when clarifying the truth. One day as I left home for the airport, I suddenly felt that my body and the airport became one. It was a most powerful moment! As a Dafa practitioner, we should remember to bring the magnificence of Falun Dafa to the human world at every moment of our lives. One day when I was demonstrating the peaceful Falun Gong exercises at the airport, a person watched me for two whole hours. He said to me afterwards, "It was breathtaking! It was beautiful that you practiced the exercises against the blue sky, filled with white clouds and airplanes. I've taken many pictures of you."
As Ms. Hong was telling me her story, we soon arrived at the airport. She showed me the places where she has been clarifying the truth, where she has been having her meals, and where she has been demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises. There were a lot of people at the airport. She first started clarifying the truth at the arrival lobby for international flights. She is very petite, and she moved between the crowds like a little bumble bee. She clarified the truth with her feminine and gentle voice that's typical of Taiwanese women. A man saw her and said, "You're here again. How have you been?" Xiuying talked with him and asked him to relay the truth about Falun Gong to his friends. He respectfully said, "Yes," to everything she said. Later I approached the gentleman and we had the following conversation.
Wang: I just met her. It seems that you've known her longer than I have.
Man: I run into her at the airport every time I go back to China or come to pick someone up at the airport.
Wang: Do you know that she volunteers to distribute truth-clarification flyers and clarify the truth to the Chinese people at the airport?
Man: Of course! All the Falun Gong practitioners who volunteer to do this are remarkable. They are much more admirable than those who stay at home, idly watching TV and drinking tea. Xiuying also volunteers to translate for the Chinese travelers at the airport and provides information to assist the Chinese travelers. Her warm smile seems to come from the bottom of her heart, and she easily wins the trust of others. She uses all opportunities to clarify the facts about Falun Gong to the Chinese people, regardless of their attitude towards her or what type of questions they have. She told me that she tried to eliminate all unrighteous thoughts in people's minds.
[Continuing the conversation with Hong Xiuying:]
Wang: You've been clarifying the facts about Falun Gong at the airport for more than three years. It is so remarkable that you can persevere for so long.
Hong: It is the Teacher's Fa at work. I really wanted to attend the Fa conference in Atlanta in 2003, but I couldn't find time, due to my busy schedule, to leave town. So I decided to stay and clarified the truth at the airport as usual. On the day of the Atlanta conference, I got home really late, and missed the local group Fa study. I felt a little sad, wondering if I was falling behind other practitioners. While I was questioning myself, a fellow practitioner called me from the conference. She said that the Teacher had given a Fa lecture and had said that we needed to clarify the truth. She also said I had done the right thing to clarify the truth to the Chinese people at the airport. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I thought, "Teacher, you're taking care of us all the time. You know what we're thinking." That particular practitioner never called me when she was away for a Fa conference, but on that day, she just called me out of blue, which was a great encouragement to me.
Today I called Xiuying again. Xiuying immediately told me she had run into a group of people from Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China.
Hong: The leader of the group told the group not to take the truth-clarification materials from me. I told him out loud that he had no right to interfere with others' decisions. Then I started to clarify the truth to him. Some people from his group gathered around me and listened to me clarifying the truth as well. Another practitioner was nearby and helped by sending forth righteous thoughts. I opened the book Zhuan Falun and started reading out loud one paragraph after another. After all, Teacher said, "...the Fa can shatter all lies..." (From "Drive Out Interference" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
For each slanderous question the leader presented, I first refused to acknowledge it and then explained what is righteous and the truth to him. The leader of the group tried to taunt me, "Why don't you go distribute the truth-clarification materials in China? I bet you are afraid of doing this in China and that's why you are doing this here." I told him, "Practitioners in China are distributing the truth-clarification materials and clarifying the truth to the people in China as well. I am doing the same thing here because I came for you." As I went on clarifying the truth to the group leader, another girl from the group came to understand things and said, "You really did come for us." When the group left for their flight, the group leader suddenly gave me a formal military salute from the escalator. I was so surprised at his action. But this also shows that it is now the time to clarify the truth to the Chinese people.
Wang: What about your family? Have they improved their attitude toward Falun Dafa?
Hong: One day my mother-in-law suggested that I give my daughter a copy of Zhuan Falun so that she would learn to be more considerate of others, too.
Wang: That's really good news. Thank you for sharing your story!
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2004/3/5/26066.html
