Shared at 2002 Eastern U.S. Falun Dafa Conference
(Clearwisdom.net) After returning from the Experience-Sharing Conference in Canada last May, Chicago practitioners were impressed by the good situation of Fa-rectification in Canada! Why do the government and people of Canada understand and support Dafa to such an extent? Canadian practitioners hold several regular large-scale group Fa-study activities every week. Through constant Fa-studying and experience-sharing, they could improve as a whole constantly and everyone could reach consensus from the Fa in time. As a result, their Fa-rectification efforts have been conducted very well. In Chicago there were only a handful of Fa-study groups organized in geographic areas, and large-scale group Fa-study for all Chicago practitioners only occurred when we had some big events. Since last spring, all practitioners from Chicago, including some practitioners from surrounding areas would get together and study Fa and share experience on a weekly basis. The effect of group Fa-study and improvement as a whole was fully manifested during the Fa-rectification events of this October.
A. The Resolution to support Falun Gong by the city of Chicago is the result of group improvement
After the Chicago Fa conference this June, a female practitioner went to clarify the truth to the assistant of her city alderman. She urged the alderman to introduce a resolution to call upon the end of the persecution of Falun Gong by the Jiang regime. The assistant quickly drafted a resolution and told this practitioner that it would be proposed at the Chicago City Council Meeting on July 31st. However, this alderman did not propose the resolution during the meeting and managed to evade practitioners. Master Li said, "Clarifying the truth isn't a simple matter--it's not only a matter of exposing the evil. When we clarify the truth we are saving sentient beings, and at the same time it involves the matter of your own improvement and your elimination of attachments during your cultivation, and the matter of Dafa disciples being responsible to the Fa in their cultivation, as well as issues like how you fill and enrich that paradise of yours in your final Consummation." ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference" July 21, 2001). Through Fa-study and looking within herself, this practitioner realized that this took place because her state of mind was not pure enough and she did not fully explain the truth. Accordingly, she adjusted her state of mind and went to clarify the truth to the offices of every Alderman. Once, she had a dream in which she saw herself sweeping a big auditorium with a small broom. She only cleaned a corner after a long time. As soon as a practitioner offered to help her sweep, she woke up from the dream. The next day, a practitioner told her that clarifying the truth to the government of Chicago should be the task of everyone and they should motivate everyone to clarify the truth. It was close to the end of September, and there were many rumors regarding the visit of the evil head to Chicago. After group Fa-study and discussion, we all realized that regardless of the evil head's visit to Chicago, this was the best chance for us to clarify the truth to the government of Chicago.
Master Li taught us, "What used to restrain people is no longer there, and the factors that manipulated people to do bad things have been cleaned out. The people outside of Mainland China are now more clearheaded, and they're becoming even more clearheaded and are more and more able to see this evil persecution in China for what it is. So for our Dafa disciples outside of Mainland China, this is a chance for us to clarify the truth further, and to help people all over the world and the governments of each nation better understand this display of evil. So I hope you'll do your work along these lines more solidly, and help people to truly recognize all of this." ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference" July 22, 2002)
How could we do the work more solidly? Previously, when we clarified the truth, we always did it from top to bottom. We would first tell the truth to the President, Congressmen, and Senators, then move to State Governors, State representatives and senators. Practitioners again and again went to Washington DC and the state capital of Illinois to clarify the truth. So far, both the senate and the house of Illinois have passed resolutions against the persecution of Falun Gong. However, we had not solidly and thoroughly clarified the truth to all the administrative districts of Chicago, which are closest to us.
Wherever there is an omission, the evil force will take advantage of that. Our omission gave the Chinese Consulate chances to spread lots of lies to the city government of Chicago. When practitioners went to clarify the truth to one office of the city government, the officials told us that the Chinese Consulate would constantly send them stacks of slanderous materials against Falun Gong. Moreover, as the Chinese Consulate always sent people to their offices to slander Falun Gong, they were all sick of it. As a result, the Chinese Consulate would send new people to continue smearing Falun Gong. The official said, "In comparison, your truth materials are too little and too thin." As we did not do what we should do, the evil took advantage of this and poisoned the sentient beings. That is why the resolution of the city council ran into difficulties.
If we could persistently clarify the truth in a solid and thorough way, ask each administrative district of Chicago to support Dafa and condemn this evil persecution, not only would this lay a very solid foundation for the magnificent future of all Chicago citizens, it would also create a massive field to suffocate and eliminate the evil. As early as June 1999, Mayor Daley of Chicago issued a proclamation to Master Li: that's the hope of people in Chicago as well as all beings related to them. However, we have not systematically clarified the truth in the city of Chicago since then. That was our omission. Although the news that the evil head would come to Chicago had not been verified, the field of evil had crushed down. If, because we did not persist in clarifying the truth thoroughly, and therefore were taken advantage of by the evil force, which caused damage to Dafa and people in Chicago, then we would be unworthy of the sacred mission of Fa-rectification Dafa disciples as well as the trust and expectation of all beings in the cosmos, and we would feel guilty in the face of Master's compassion. We knew we should cherish this great opportunity of Fa-rectification, lose no time to save sentient beings, and clarify the truth to each Alderman while eradicating evil with righteous thoughts.
Once we reached consensus in the principles of the Fa as a whole body, we started to coordinate our actions: some practitioners went to the Chinese Consulate to send forth righteous thoughts and eradicate the evil force every day; some practitioners went to clarify the truth to each alderman, as well as police stations and other government departments; some took care of writing letters while some were in charge of printing materials. We truly worked as one body. During the truth-clarification with aldermen, we went to the office of each alderman again and again, sometimes even five or six times. Although some secretaries became impatient with us, our persistence deeply moved these aldermen.
On Sep. 26th, some practitioners attended the regular monthly meeting of the Human Relations Committee of the Chicago City Council. The alderman who was supposed to propose the resolution was absent; however, we were not discouraged. Instead, we continued to send forth righteous thoughts during the meeting, and clarified the truth after the meeting.
Two practitioners went straight to the office of alderman Toni Preckwinkle fromf from the fourth district to clarify the truth. After presenting a letter to the assistant and explaining the purpose, they sat down and waited. While waiting, they kept sending forth righteous thoughts. The alderman was busy meeting visitors and answering phone calls. Forty minutes quickly passed. The alderman went straight to these two practitioners when they were sending forth righteous thoughts, and said, "I have heard about Falun Gong." Before our practitioners answered, she continued to say, "I will introduce the resolution to the City Council." At that moment, the practitioners strongly felt that this was the destiny of this alderman. Thus the goal of a city resolution had a breakthrough without a single word from the two practitioners. Our practitioners witnessed the power of sending forth righteous thoughts, and truly realized the importance of clarifying the truth to society. Once people know the truth, their benevolent nature will let them do their best for Dafa, and thereby determine their magnificent future.
Once, a practitioner who was 7-months pregnant visited an alderman. While waiting for the visit, she kept sending forth righteous thoughts. After that, she started to read "Witness to History"(a booklet of true stories of the persecution in China). She was moved to tears by the magnificent feats of those practitioners from China, and decided to thoroughly clarify the truth to this alderman. When the alderman met her, his first word was, "I read the materials you brought to me. I support you. You are pregnant, and must be hungry. Let me bring something for you to eat." This practitioner truly felt the power of Fa when in a pure state of mind.
The work of truth clarification did not stop even on Oct. 21st, the day before the evil head was to arrive in Chicago. Around 4 pm, when one practitioner from Chicago and one from Michigan went to the office of an alderman, there were lots of people waiting to meet him. Though some who arrived later than practitioners had been received, our practitioners still calmly sat there and sent forth righteous thoughts. After sending forth righteous thoughts for over one hour, they finally met the alderman. She said she had been watching the human rights situation of China, and knew about the persecution to Falun Gong. In front of our practitioners, she called Alderman Toni Preckwinkle and proposed to cosponsor the city's resolution.
Master Li told us, "Wherever there's a problem, that is where you need to clarify the truth and save people. Don't take a detour when you run into difficulties. When you see something that does us harm, or when you see something blocking our validating the Fa, don't take a detour-you should face it, and clarify the truth and save those beings. This is the compassion (cibei) of a Dafa disciple, and it's our saving lives." ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference" (July 22, 2002))
The Alderman who did not propose the resolution though promised to at the end of July kept evading our practitioners. Once a practitioner bumped into her, but her attitude was not quite friendly; obviously she had a deep bias towards Dafa. We understood that's because we should clarify the truth more thoroughly. On another occasion, one practitioner went directly into her office and asked to talk for 5 minutes. She asked a couple of very tricky question. With strong righteous thoughts, our practitioners fought back the interference of evil and eliminated the evil factors in the field. Later on, this Alderman stood out to support us. Moreover, the night before the evil head came to Chicago, she told our practitioner that she would attend the welcome banquet and asked what she could do for us.
On Oct. 2nd, Alderman Toni Preckwinkle proposed the resolution to support Falun Gong at the Chicago City council meeting. Nevertheless, our practitioners did not slacken their efforts, and continued to clarify the truth and send forth righteous thoughts at each Alderman's office. On Oct. 31st. the Human Relations Committee of the City of Chicago held a hearing into this resolution at their regular monthly meeting. Six Chinese and Western practitioners told of their own experience about how Falun Dafa had benefited them both physically and mentally, and how the Jiang's regime brutally persecuted Falun Gong in China and harassed Falun Gong practitioners overseas. After practitioners' speeches, Alderman Mary Ann Smith commented that the harassment and attacks against Falun Gong are hate crimes. The American people should never tolerate such crimes. Falun Gong practitioners should take legal actions against these criminals. Billy Ocasio, the committee chairman also said, "It's really a pity that we are not the first to publicly condemn the persecution of Falun Gong. But we do appreciate that Alderman Preckwinkle first proposed this resolution, which helped us to know about this suppression of human rights." Finally, the Human Relations Committee passed this resolution unanimously and forwarded it to the City council, and the resolution soon gained the co-sponsorship of six Aldermen, including the Chair of the Human Relations Committee, Billy Ocasio. On November 6th, Chaired by Mayor Daley, the Chicago City Council unanimously passed the resolution to support Falun Gong. This greatly cleared and shocked the evil.
When we reviewed the project of the City Resolution during the time of the evil head's visit to the US, many practitioners thought they did not do much. If all practitioners in a group feel it's very difficult to do something, then it's likely that the group needs to advance as a whole. Everyone is a tiny particle of the whole body. It's the power of group Fa-study and group improvement that drives the advance of each particle, and it's the immense force of Fa-rectification that gives us the opportunity and pushes us to find our own problems from the Fa, upgrade ourselves during Fa-rectification, and form an indestructible body like diamond. If all Dafa practitioners around the world could form such a body with no-omission, that's the time for the Fa's Rectification of the human world.
B. Clarifying the truth to police is one of the keys that guarantee the Fa-rectification activities
The effects of clarifying the truth to police during the evil head's visit to Chicago also let us realize the power of truth-clarification and sending forth righteous thoughts. By learning the truth of Dafa, the attitude of these police officers gradually changed from simply performing their duties to assisting us willingly. Before the evil head's visit, Dafa practitioners in Chicago organized a group to clarify the truth to the police. They went to every police department in the City of Chicago to explain the true situation. Usually, the practitioners went in groups of two. One clarified the truth while the other sent forth righteous thoughts. Some practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts first before they went into the police office. The outcome was very good.
Once, in a police office, a practitioner introduced Falun Dafa and explained to the officer about the persecution in China, telling him, "The Chinese leader who started this persecution is about to visit Chicago." The police officer immediately suggested, "If he really comes, you should protest." The practitioner told the officer, "Yes, we are planning a peaceful protest." He also told the officer about things that happened in Germany during Jiang's visit. Hearing this, the officer said, "This is America. There is no way a large group of us police officers would go to protect a dictator. Don't worry, we will protect your rights."
One police commander firmly said after learning the truth, "If this guy came to my district, you will be guaranteed a satisfactory position. This is America, we definitely protect your rights bestowed by the constitution, and will surely let him see and hear you!"
Some even said, "If Jiang asks to keep you away from his sight, then he should go back."
Some practitioners went to clarify the truth to the FBI, and expressed our consistent stand of resisting persecution peacefully. Also, we described some cases that happened lately in which some people related to the Chinese government followed and taped our activities. When we mentioned that the Chinese Consulate paid people to welcome Jiang, and in Houston people who would join the welcoming group had to sign a waiver to give up their rights to protest, otherwise they would be fined $ 5,000, the FBI officer laughed, "How could this happen? How could people give up their rights?" Our practitioners told him how the governments of Germany and Iceland were misled by the lies of Jiang's regime and violated the basic principle of their countries. This officer kept saying, "The US government would never do anything like that!"
Among all the police officers, the undercover police were the most alert. Moreover, as they were bombarded by various rumors and lies, it was very hard for us to find opportunities to clarify the truth to them. However, in the course of Fa-rectification, Master brought the opportunity in front of us.
When the truth-clarification work to city police proceeded smoothly, one practitioner also realized the necessity of clarifying the truth to State police, so he went to the Chicago Headquarters of the State police. As no one knew who should be in charge of this issue, they reported up to the top. Finally, two senior officers asked this practitioner for a talk, and notified undercover agents in the meantime. From the very beginning, these officers showed their obvious bias against Falun Gong. They wanted to figure out what Falun Gong planned to do this time, and if there would be any attempts of violent attack. To answer their questions, the practitioner told them the true situation of Falun Gong and showed them all the materials he brought for the officers. Gradually, their attitudes changed, but they kept asking some personal questions about many practitioners. This practitioner immediately pointed out that he came to clarify the truth, but the officers were touching on too many personal issues. He insisted to see the Commander of the State police. The Commander told this practitioner that this was the responsibility of the undercover police, so they wanted to know some details. That's really a rare opportunity. While waiting, he also told the commander the truth of Falun Dafa and the persecution.
After one and a half hours, two undercover agents entered and stared at our practitioner suspiciously. As they were deeply deceived by the vicious slander and lies, they had high vigilance toward Falun Gong. On one hand, they tried to collect personal information of practitioners; on the other hand, they were eager to figure out if Falun Gong would have any violent intentions like assassination. The practitioner continued to calmly explain to them the truth about the persecution. He also stated clearly that Falun Gong always pursues basic human rights peacefully, and expresses the aspirations of practitioners with exercise demos and banners. These officers also learned about the incidents in Germany and Iceland. The undercover officer said, "This is the US. You have rights bestowed by the Constitution. We are also clear what we should do, and will protect your rights. We will not allow the same incidents happen here." Our practitioner asked them to check with Chicago police regarding our peaceful protests during the last three years, since they have been protecting the practitioners' rights and been cooperating with the practitioners very well. Above all, they are very clear about the peaceful nature of Falun Gong.
This practitioner also asked for permission to wave banners along the route to and from the airport. Later, based on the information he learned from these officers, he organized a team to check the possible sites along the route. With the support of practitioners from other states, many banners were set up along the highway and subway stations where the evil head might pass. This effectively suffocated the evil and forced it to flee in panic under the voice of justice. Also, these practitioners disclosed the truth the "Self-immolation" and told these officers, "It does not matter what you have heard about Falun Gong. You will soon understand Falun Gong though our peaceful actions."
Truth-clarification allowed the Chicago police to have a positive understanding of Falun Dafa and the persecution against it. Also, this eliminated the evils that interfered with all kind-hearted human beings. In the past, Falun Gong parades in downtown Chicago were only restricted to sidewalks. Moreover, according to the city regulation, any parade in downtown during weekdays can only use sidewalks. Our parade was scheduled on Monday. Surprisingly, the Chicago police voluntarily arranged for us to parade in the middle of the street.
We held a press conference at the Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago on Oct. 21, the day before the evil head's visit. Probably by seeing such a large procession of over 1000 practitioners, and experiencing the benevolent and peaceful field of Dafa as well as the tremendous power of Fa-rectification, the Chief Commander who was in charge of this parade voluntarily deployed many police patrol cars and motorcycles to escort us. In addition, he also sent a team of mounted police to lead the way. Just as we requested, starting from the Federal Plaza, the parade first circled City Hall, then marched along Michigan Ave, one of the busiest street in Chicago, up to the hotel that supposedly would host the evil head. After a quick break, we concluded our parade in front of the Chinese Consulate to send forth righteous thoughts. The police blocked half of the street right across from the Consulate. On those road-blocks, practitioners hung neatly assorted Dafa banners. The magnificent and solemn scene was thus soul-stirring, even in this dimension. This also greatly eliminated the evils across layers of other dimensions.
A photographer from the Chicago Tribute told practitioners that he highly admired the persistence of Dafa practitioners, as he had reported various Falun Gong activities during the last three years. He also commended sincerely in the course of the parade, "That's really amazing! Nonviolent resistance is surely the most powerful."
This event also let us realize that our demeanor was the critical part of truth-clarification. Though Jiang's regime kept spreading lies, all these slanders would be nothing in front of the righteous behavior of Dafa practitioners. During our truth-clarification to the Chicago police, all those who had worked with us in the past would say, "We would never believe any slanders from the Chinese Consulate. You were very peaceful in every event, and we trust Falun Gong 100 percent." One commanding officer who was in direct charge of the evil head's visit said, "I went to observe your protests in front of the Consulate. Just very peaceful exercise! I do not worry about you at all. If somebody tries to make any trouble, please inform us immediately." For those who had little knowledge of us, this event provided them with a wonderful opportunity to know the truth.
After all the lies from the Jiang regime were thoroughly exposed, the Chicago city government, local police, FBI as well as undercover agents involved in assigning the site of the peaceful protest of Falun Gong unanimously agreed to let us occupy the park right across from the main entrance of the hotel. Later, the FBI also called us and asked if we were satisfied with the site.
As the Chinese consulate spread rumors everywhere and put pressure on the city police, we originally were only allowed to display banners and do exercises at the assigned areas, and we were asked to leave when the park closed at 10PM. On October 22nd, lots of police were deployed around the hotel where the evil head would stay, and formed a tight security zone. Quietly and peacefully, Falun Gong practitioners kept sending forth righteous thoughts and practicing exercises during the whole day, which created a distinct contrast with other protesting groups--in particular, the noisy "welcoming" groups bribed by the Chinese Consulate. Later, even these "welcoming" groups started to show their respect. This also moved the officers on site.
In the evening, when other groups left, the Chief officer there sent away most of the policemen. He told us before departing, "It is a pleasure to cooperate with you. No matter how much noise other people were making, you were always quiet. The residents in the neighborhood kept complaining about the noise made by those groups this morning; however, you guys did not get a single complaint!" As a result, we were allowed to stay overnight with only once police officer patrolling.
The next morning, around the time when the evil head was leaving, the police also allowed us to display banners at several additional sites where the evil head might pass. When asked if we could shout, " Falun Dafa is good," the officer responded, "Sure, why not. Go ahead, go ahead!" Finally, the evil head fled through the back door by the dumpster.
That evening, all major channels covered the news at the prime time about the peaceful protest of Falun Gong. The city officials commented, "So many positive reports are the proof that we all understand you!"
When practitioners were protesting Jiang's persecution, every half an hour to one hour, a university-owned bus passed through the park where the practitioners quietly sat. The many Chinese students and scholars were shocked by such a large-scale yet peaceful protests. Many people left their seats and shouted, "Quick, look, its Falun Dafa!" Although there was a "welcoming" group for Jiang, they did not join it. Some even walked into the practitioners' group to look for their friends, and some made telephone calls to show support.
After seeing the practitioners' peaceful protest, the physicians' human rights organization at Northwestern University contacted Falun Gong practitioners and invited them to hold an information session. After the first session, another one was requested and held, with more people attending. After the second session, some people wrote letters to their Congressmen and asked them to support Falun Gong; some immediately said they wanted to learn Falun Dafa and asked the practitioners to return and teach them.
C. Group efforts of practitioners from mid-west region
Many practitioners from other parts of Illinois as well as the greater mid-west region all actively participated in this Fa-rectification event. The practitioners of Champaign, Illinois, were in charge of coordinating the truth-clarification to State government and general assembly. Their efforts allowed practitioners from Chicago to focus on the truth-clarification to the whole city of Chicago. Some practitioners from Michigan joined our daily sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Consulate a couple of weeks before evil head's visit. Practitioners from Minnesota, Missouri and Indiana prepared large amounts of Chinese/English banners to cover all the places where the evil head would pass. These are just some examples. During this event, we all further understood the importance of improving as a whole.
D. The enormous compassion of Master Li
The evil head's visit to Chicago provided us with a great opportunity to thoroughly clarify the truth and eliminate the evil, which helped us improve as a whole. During the course of Fa-rectification, practitioners of Chicago further understood that our Master is watching us all the time, not only for our own safety, but also for our improvement. Whenever our state of mind was pure and set Dafa as priority, the opportunity of truth-clarification would emerge. Time, location and people were all in great harmony. With his great compassion, Master Li is laying up the steps to heaven for us, and leading us forward in the course of Fa-rectification.
Just as Mast Li taught us, "Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master. It is good enough if you have this wish. It is the master who actually does this, as you are simply unable to do it. With an ordinary person's body like yours, how can you transform it into a higher life's body made of high-energy matter? It is absolutely impossible and sounds like a joke. A human body's transformation process in other dimensions is quite intricate and complex. You cannot do such things at all..." (Zhuan Falun, Lecture 1).
In the course of Fa-rectification, it seems like that we, Dafa disciples, are rectifying the Dafa in this human dimension. In reality, all the progress is achieved by Master's enormous compassion and forbearance. Every precious opportunity was offered by Master Li in order to help us improve as a whole.
Master Li said, "For a lot of different reasons I don't want to make too many appearances. The main reason is that Dafa disciples are validating the Fa and saving sentient beings; each Dafa disciple is taking his own path, and each Dafa disciple needs to have the opportunity to take his own path. So as your Master, I can't take away your opportunity to validate the Fa yourself. I have to let you do this yourselves..." ("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference" July 22, 2002)
We are deeply grateful to our magnificent Master, who with his immense compassion and immense tolerance, has created opportunities for all Dafa disciples to validate the Fa, and the opportunity for all sentient beings of the entire cosmos to choose their future.
