(Clearwisdom.net May 11, 2003) In the past, when fellow practitioners and I talked about how to better clarify the truth to our family members, we all felt that a lot of obstacles existed. So, what were the causes?
During this brutal and evil persecution of Dafa practitioners, the family members of Dafa practitioners, especially those in China, have been living under mental pressures that are inconceivable to ordinary people. In the meantime, this evil persecution has also infused the minds of some family members of Dafa practitioners with some bad thoughts about Dafa. On one hand, the family members feel worried about the personal safety of the Dafa practitioners, and on the other hand, they are under the influence of the bad propaganda that slanders Dafa. Being deceived by the vicious lies, they have caused interference and even damage to Dafa practitioners' work for Fa-rectification and for their efforts to clarify the truth and save people. Under this circumstance, I had rarely talked with my parents about the concerned issues and would not reveal to them any specific Dafa work that I have done. I did this to avoid conflicts that might arise due to their misunderstanding, and to avoid any interference for the overall situation of Fa-rectification.
The problems mentioned above do exist during our Fa-rectification process; however, it does not constitute our excuse of not clarifying the truth to our family members. Don't we have other attachments intermingled with this problem? For example, in front of our family members, our own attachments to human sentiments make us feel hesitant to talk to them about the truth of Dafa and the persecution. Since we can clarify the truth to our friends, classmates, teachers, and even strangers when we are away from home, why can't we do the same with our family members? Are our words and actions really in accord with what Dafa requires of us? I have tried to break though this barrier during my cultivation. In the process of relinquishing my own attachments, I compassionately clarified the truth to my parents.
One evening I called my parents to my room and brought up the issue of SARS for their reference. After they had some understanding of the issue, I took out a truth-clarification VCD and asked them to view it. This greatly upset my parents and they felt very shocked and scared. They were afraid that I would contact other Dafa practitioners, and that I would eventually get into trouble [with the police who persecute Falun Gong]. In the meantime, because of the influence of the negative propaganda that had been infused into their minds, they showed some reluctance to accept what the truth-clarification VCD revealed. They even reacted in a very irrational manner. Under this circumstance, I told them the facts about Dafa again and again, in a peaceful and rational manner, hoping to awaken their apathetic hearts and to enable them to think independently, so that they would be aware of the deception these lies cause people. During our initial conversation, no matter how I explained, it appeared that my father would not believe any of my words. He even left without viewing the VCD all the way through.
I felt really awful at that point. I thought: "How come my dad has become like this? He does not believe my words, even after watching the truth-clarification VCD. He behaved so irrationally. What should I do?" During my subsequent conversation with my mother, I finally managed to make my dad understand a little. Then they went back to their own room and prepared for sleep.
I was very disappointed, feeling that I had done nothing successful that day, and the result was not encouraging at all. Ten minutes after I calmed myself down, my father pushed open the door to my room and appeared rather calm. He said to me, "Son, actually what you said did make sense. Do you realize that the way you talked to us this time was different from the previous times? You have become mature and you seem more rational and calm." His words surprised and moved me. I chatted with my father for over 30 minutes in a peaceful and rational atmosphere. I told him all of what I wanted to say. I tried to raise his awareness even more, with even greater compassion, to enable him not to believe the lies on television, and to make him come to his own independent judgment on those paramount issues. My father also sincerely pointed out some incorrect behavior on my part. He agreed to what I told him and expressed that he did not want to be deceived.
From this incident I have understood that as long as we have wisdom and compassion in our effort to clarify the truth to our family members, they will certainly be able to agree with us and sense the sincerity and compassion we have toward them. Furthermore, from this incident I also came to understand that the people around us, in fact, do not judge us based on what we say but judge us on whether or not we have truly become better, since what they see and remember is how we have conducted ourselves. When we can truly live up to the requirements of Dafa, and when we are able to clarify the truth with wisdom, none of our efforts will be fruitless.
May 10, 2003
