Shared at 2003 UK Falun Dafa Conference
(Clearwisdom.net)
My name is Christina and I am from Edinburgh, Scotland.
In 2003 the Dafa practitioners of Scotland greatly improved as a whole body. By studying the Fa and cooperating in Dafa activities as one body, the situation in Scotland dramatically improved.
(1) Demonstrating outside the consulate--the beginning stage of forming one body.
From June 2001 I started to peacefully demonstrate outside the Chinese Consulate in Edinburgh for two hours every morning. The reason is that I was denied the right to renew my passport. They proposed that they would think about renewing my passport if I stopped practicing Falun Gong. I rejected the insulting request at once.
At the beginning, I didn't know the importance of holding a peaceful demonstration outside the Chinese Consulate. I just felt that I ought to do something to help stop the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners that is occurring in Mainland China in addition to the issue of my passport. I remember one day when I just finished the practicing the exercises, a policeman took me in his car to the police station to go over the details of the activity outside the consulate. When I was in the car on the way to the station, he said that the Chinese communities were very quiet here, and that it was unusual to see a brave Chinese girl like me. He then told me privately that "It wasn't so easy for you to get a certificate to allow you to demonstrate outside the consulate, as the Consul General complained to us about your activities. We told him that you have the right to do this kind of thing. Then he complained to the headquarters of police in Edinburgh, but still received the same answer. He was unwilling to give up and went on to complain to the headquarters of police in London. But still he was unable to achieve what he wanted."
After hearing his words, I was shocked. I didn't realize that they had done so many things to stop my efforts just because I practice the exercises everyday. After Master's Touring North America to Teach the Fa came out, I gained a deeper understanding of the importance of the appeals outside the Consulate. Master said: "When you go to the Chinese consulates to make appeals, the consulates seem really scared. It's not actually the human beings who are afraid, but those evil ones that manipulate human beings. When it manifests over here in this human dimension, they appear to be really scared, when in fact it's the evil factors that are afraid."
The clerks in the consulate often cause a lot of trouble towards me. From time to time, they call the police to come. One time they said that my Dafa music was too loud and prevented them from doing their work. Another time they said I stole their National Flag. They have also had their fair share of trouble with the National Flag. It was stolen by a drunken man once and was also hung upside-down by a clerk on another occasion. A similar occurrence also happened in London where the National Flag was hung upside down and both stories were published in a local newspaper. Even the policemen feel repulsed by the Consulate staff's conduct. In the end, the policemen told me "you should call us if they bother you again."
There are not a lot of practitioners in Edinburgh. One practitioner joined me for the first two months during their summer vacation. Then I managed to pass through an abnormally cold winter. I remembered the winter days coming up to Christmas. I sat outside the Consulate and shivered no matter how many layers of clothes I had put on. One couple passed by me and saw me sitting there alone, so they came across to me and told me that they wanted to join me for a while. I accepted their kindness with great joy. When we had finished talking, they arranged with me to see me again tomorrow. So with their company, I was able to pass through the coldest week in that year.
In the spring of the second year, another practitioner had one or two month's vacation. So she also came. Then I passed through another very cold winter alone. I remember one day towards the end of that winter, I went into a caf near the Consulate after finishing the practice. As I was just sitting down, a Chinese man knocked on the outside of the window in order to talk to me. I thought that he had just seen me practice outside the Consulate and wanted to know something about it and so I went out immediately. I found that he wore a trim suit and I thought that he might be a clerk from the Consulate. I was vigilant at once and asked "Are you from the Consulate?" He nodded honestly. He found that I was very serious at that moment and so he said, "We can chat with each other on another day." Not even two days after that, we met each other by chance on the street and so we started to chat with each other. He listened in silence as I told him many things about Falun Gong. At last he said that it wasn't convenient for him to say something at this time, however he said that he knew that I was a good person. I asked him not to participate in the persecution of Falun Gong. He nodded and agreed. Once on the eve of the Chinese New Year, he called me and passed on his best wishes.
I didn't complain about anything although for the most of the time I was the only person participating in the peaceful demonstration outside the Consulate. I took it for granted because other practitioners have their jobs or have their studies, so only I have the time. Then at the beginning of the year my husband suddenly said to me, "I feel you are very selfish. This consulate isn't your own business. Why don't any other practitioners go." At that time, I thought that he wanted to maintain his interests as an ordinary person. So I explained to him carefully, saying, "I cannot force other practitioners to do something. They all know I am participating in the peaceful demonstration outside the consulate. They will support me if they are willing to do so. In addition, they are not in Edinburgh. How can they come here?" He brought up the issue several times but I did not pay much attention to him.
Shortly after that, a journalist planned to go to London to gather news regarding the practitioners participating in the 24-hour peaceful appeal outside the Chinese Embassy. She wanted to include my story in her article and called me. At last, she asked me a question, "Don't you want other people to join you?" I answered, "Of course I want them to. However the conditions are not right at the moment." Then I experienced a big tribulation and broke through the attachment to wanting to do things by myself. I began to learn the importance of acting as one body. At the same time, a veteran practitioner called me and opened her heart to me. The wall that had separated us had now collapsed. Out of her own initiative, she mentioned traveling to the Consulate to participate in a peaceful demonstration outside the consulate from her city in Scotland.
After that, we have been able to have a Fa study together, combining practitioners from Scotland, York and Newcastle, where we were able to discuss this issue. Finally, we came to an agreement that we should take part in the activity outside the consulate in Edinburgh, furthermore, we should also participate in the activities outside the Embassy in London as often as we could. I shared my experiences in collecting signatures outside of the University of Edinburgh to everybody during the Fa study. A female student was very happy and signed her name immediately when she saw the petition. I knew that she must have seen Falun Gong somewhere before. She explained to me that once she and her friends went on a trip to London. When their sight-seeing bus passed by the Chinese Embassy, the scene there moved her. Unfortunately, she couldn't get off the bus at that time. Today she was very lucky to once again come across Falun Gong and I knew that she was very happy deep down but wasn't fully showing it. Through these experiences, I have become aware that the activities all over the world are not isolated. We are one body. When we understand a Fa principle and improve our character as a whole, we will experience a great change. Now seven practitioners from Scotland have come to participate in the appeal one by one. If a practitioner cannot attend then he or she will contact me. After these events, I have come to notice that practitioners from both York and Newcastle often support us outside the consulate when there is a big activity in Edinburgh.
Eva
My name is Eva. I am from Dundee, Scotland. This is not my first time to write an experience sharing article but it is the first time that I have deeply felt the sacred holy and grand dignity it is to write an article for a Falun Dafa experience sharing conference. This is not just experience sharing among practitioners, but to have our cultivation path displayed in front of our respected Master and all of the gods in the cosmos.
Since I started my cultivation, I have hardly left Scotland, yet there are not many Dafa practitioners where I live. We live far away from each other and do not have much inter-communication. For a long period of time, I felt that we had been left behind in the process of Fa-Rectification. During that period I would often join in with the Falun Dafa activities in England, and I tried to find a way for the Scottish group to improve as a whole. However, I didn't realize that I was the one who needed to improve myself.
I remember that during a local Fa study in Scotland two years ago, one of the practitioners told me that she had started to practice the exercises and peacefully appeal outside the Chinese Consulate of Edinburgh. My first reaction was that it was impossible for me to travel to another city to practice the exercises and appeal every morning. So after the Fa study had passed I never asked about this. I heard that it was very cold in the winter and that the practitioner who was already appealing at the embassy had suffered badly from the weather. I was very sympathetic, but never called her. One of the reasons was that we had some conflicts so I tried my best to avoid talking to her unless it was necessary. Another reason was that I felt that it was too far away and that I could not help.
Things went on like this for about 2 years. During those 2 years I still actively joined in with the activities in England. When we ran into some trouble on our trip to Iceland, I joined the 24-hour appeal activity outside the Chinese Embassy in London. The practitioners there carried on sending righteous thoughts every hour regardless of whether it was raining, windy, hot or cold. I was deeply moved by their great actions. I even took some days off to go to London and spent a few days in front of the Embassy. I carried on like this and did not know how many days had passed until one day I suddenly thought about why I paid so much attention to the Embassy in London but neglected the Chinese Consulate in Edinburgh which is much nearer? What has blocked me?
During those days the image of that practitioner outside the Consulate kept showing in front of me. I knew that there was something for me to enlighten to but I did not know what it was. One day when I was studying the Fa where it says in the book "Once this person falls asleep, someone will seek him out for a fight, and this makes his night restless, actually this is his time to remove his attachment to competitiveness. If this competitive mentality is not relinquished you will always be this way." (Zhuan Falun). I then suddenly remembered these other words: "...mutual disrespect and not eliminating the attachment to competition can both easily lead to jealousy."(Zhuan Falun).
Immediately I enlightened to an issue that had puzzled me for a few years in my cultivation. During different periods of my cultivation, I was able to see different practitioners' images appear for a certain period of time. When images of other practitioners' bad behaviors showed up I thought I needed to cultivate tolerance; when other practitioners with righteous thoughts and righteous actions were showed I thought I needed to take them as examples. I came to realize that, until now, what I had cultivated was only something superficial while my attachments of having a strong competitive mentality and jealousy are the real sources of my problems. Because of my competitive mentality I could not see the other practitioner's 2 years devotion and contribution towards this task.
In addition, I realized that I did not really understand the importance of appealing in front of the Embassy. For 2 years I had never thought about appealing in front of the Consulate due to the fact that I lived far away from it. When I came to understand from the Fa the importance of supporting the appeal in front of the Consulate I felt that my action itself was not so important but the key thing was my supportive mind. I then came to realize that I had not contacted that practitioner for a few months. Since more and more Dafa activities are been held, the cooperation of practitioners has definitely become better. I knew that I must change myself. One day, I gathered enough courage to pick up the phone and call that practitioner. I felt that my body was shaking but I heard myself say clearly, "I want to tell you that I was jealous of you." I then found that the conversation between us was very harmonious. It seemed that we understood each other in every matter. At that moment, the thick gap between us that was enforced by the old forces was shattered.
Since then, during the Fa study of the Scottish group we exchanged our understanding, from the Fa, of appealing in front of the Chinese Consulate in Edinburgh. For the first time the practitioner appealing outside the Consulate talked in front of us about the trials and tribulations that she had endured over the last 2 years bringing both sadness and happiness. Tears ran down my face and a few other practitioners were also in tears. Everyone talked about their own understandings and openly analyzed their own attachments. It seemed that the Fa study we had on that day and experience sharing purified many dimensions. We all felt a sense of harmony that we had never experienced before. Since that day, we decided to change the frequency of the Scottish group's Fa study from monthly to every two weeks. The Scottish group as a whole started to wake up....
The first time I sat in front of the Chinese Consulate in Edinburgh on my own, I suddenly entered a very beautiful and subtle realm. My 2 hands holding the gestures of strengthening supernatural power were like a pair of wings moving up and down. I felt as though my whole body was about to fly away. I knew that Master was encouraging me, a practitioner with low enlightenment ability. When I finished my sitting exercise, I opened my eyes to watch people passing by saying to me loudly with smiles on their faces: "Good morning!" Listening to supporting horns from vehicles passing by, I was moved and felt my responsibility towards Dafa. This environment was rectified by the practitioner's 2 years of hardship and suffering in front of the Consulate. The path of the future needs all practitioners' effort to maintain it.
More practitioners have started to show support for the appealing activities held in front of the Consulates. Although this heavy task still rests on the shoulders of a few practitioners, everyone supports it in their hearts. Every time I make a successful trip to the Consulate it contains other practitioners' effort. Every time I send forth righteous thoughts in front of the Consulate I feel as though I am not on my own. Instead, I am with those who cannot come but show their support for me by sending righteous thoughts from their hearts.
The appeal activity outside the Consulate has joined everyone's hearts together. The Fa study that we hold every two weeks is the key to making improvements as a whole. The Fa is changing people and is certainly changing the cultivation environment of the Scottish practitioners.
Christina:
(2) Zhang Cuiying's painting exhibition--heading towards maturity via cooperation
During the May of 2003, Glasgow practitioners successfully planned an activity to allow Zhang Cuiying to hold a painting exhibition sponsored by the Amnesty International group in Glasgow. This activity further reduced the distance between the Chinese and western practitioners in Scotland.
Originally, we had only one western practitioner in Scotland. It seems that there is an old grudge between him and me and we have always had our conflicts. This situation continued for nearly one year, obstructing the improvement of our area. Other practitioners felt upset when they saw the situation between us. They tried to mediate between us many times, however the problem didn't resolve. During the peak of our tribulation and under my severe competitiveness, I didn't even give him so much as a glance for several months.
I remember once he told me that he dreamed about one of his previous life's predestined relationships. I also felt muddled and thought that we had karmic relationship in many lives. Initially, he was offended by my arrogant attitude. However, I didn't realize it, for I felt that I had started cultivation earlier than him and that I was helping him. Then one day, we had a quarrel. He said angrily, "It is Fa that helped me not you." Hearing that, my mind was mixed with both anger and happiness. I was happy because he had come to understand to take the Fa as teacher. Yet I was also angry because it was very painful when he touched upon my attachments. I knew he was right, it is the Fa that saves people.
Master scooped us out of hell. Who is better than the others? Later on, when the intensive Scotland group Fa study grew stronger and communications between practitioners became more and more transparent, our conflict was diluted slowly. Although all the conflict was gone, this thing still cast a shadow on my heart. I began to contact western practitioners less to avoid any trouble. It seems that I went on the other extreme.
However, for the painting exhibition of Zhang Cuiying I was arranged to be in charge of contacting the media with another western practitioner who had just moved to Edinburgh. I thought that it hadn't happen by chance. We agreed to tell the journalists the truth face to face in addition to sending emails and faxes to the media. When we were walking along the streets of Glasgow, she told me of her many opinions towards Chinese practitioners and compared the difference between Chinese and western practitioners. I felt like I wanted to argue with her a little. I clearly realized my competitiveness. So I rectified myself immediately, "We have come here for contacting the media not for arguing with one another." Any personal attachment could not affect this cooperation.
Soon, this small gulf was resolved in the field of that righteous thought. At the same time, I could deeply feel the reinforcement that Master gave to us.
Edinburgh practitioners have been to Glasgow to distribute leaflets on several occasions before, and it rained heavily every time. We awakened that just when we arrived in Glasgow, we broke the gap of these two cities and cleaned up many bad things. It was not out of routine this time. As we were going in and out of media buildings, the weather changed dramatically. It was raining before we entered the media buildings yet the weather was clear after we had told the truth and left. We had a very pure and righteous mind at that time. She told the truth and I sent forth righteous thoughts. Finally we were able to contact all the media that we had planned to. On the way to Edinburgh, it hailed. The second day we continued to contact the media in Edinburgh. Because of our sincerity and the arrangement by Master, the newspaper Scotsman gave a positive write up for Falun Gong just several days before the painting exhibition. Both the Chinese and western practitioners in Scotland built up greater communication through this activity, which would reinforce a good base for further cooperation. After this activity, the western practitioner joins us to do the peaceful demonstration outside the Consulate.
Eva:
In order to make sure that Zhang Chui Ying's painting exhibition ran smoothly, we divided the work to individuals after a group Fa study and experience sharing. Everyone prepared for the exhibition together. It was arranged for me to pick up Zhang Chui Ying. Although I didn't say anything about it I wasn't very happy to take the task. One reason was that I had many things to do. I had already got enough troubles and did not want to get involved in any other matters. Another reason was that I had other commitments and could not attend the opening ceremony and activities related to the exhibition. I felt that there was not much I could do to help. However, I knew that there were not many practitioners in Scotland and that all the activities required cooperation from everyone. Therefore, although I wasn't very happy I still agreed to take the task. In the end, I also repeatedly said, if there was really no one who could go then I would. Anyway, I didn't receive any notices saying that someone would replace me. So a few days later, I went to receive Zhang Chui Ying at Glasgow Airport according to the original plan with a conflicting mode in my mind that I did not want to, but that I had to go.
During the afternoon of the 2nd day, I was asked to go to see a Scottish MP with Zhang Chui Ying. It happened that Zhang had another engagement and so I had to go on my own. I felt that this was very difficult to deal with. It seemed we were following some formality. However, I thought that I must be cooperative. I first visited a Scottish MP's office. There were 4 SMPs, which I had talked to before and they were very supportive. The staff member that received me was the secretary to the SMP who had been the most supportive one. However, this time he didn't behave as usual. He said in a formal tone that all SMPs were out of the office and that he would pass the invitation to them but could not guarantee that they would attend. Then he said a few words to see me off.
After leaving, I felt very bad. I then came to realize that my mind was not righteous. What did I come here for? Was it to complete the task assigned to me? We all know clarifying the truth to SMPs play a very important role in our Government work. Today, I had the opportunity of being there so I must make my righteous contribution to the dimensions related to there. Everything we are doing is not for someone or being responsible for some matters but for harmonizing this Fa and being responsible for the Fa.
According to the plan, there was another SMP whom I needed to see. I thought that this time my mind must be righteous. However, I couldn't find where the place was even though I tried very hard. It was very strange because I had walked back and forth on the same street a few times but the number wasn't there! Neither the newspaper man nor the shop assistants knew that address. It was already 5 p.m.--time to go home. I was really frustrated. Why was it so difficult? A thought came up: "Forget it, go home. He must have gone home." After I had this thought I became calm. Master said, "This is what I'd think: í You're cold, and you try to make me cold--are you trying to make me freeze? I'll be even colder than you, I'll make you cold." (Audience laughs. Applause) Or, "You're trying to make me hot. I'll turn it around and make you hot--so hot that you can't stand it.'" I said quietly: "You don't need to threaten me and try to block me by using all means. It won't work. I must find this address!" As I was thinking, 2 women passed me and pressed some codes to enter a door. I rushed to ask them the address. They smiled and opened the door saying, "Please come in. It is here." The SMP was not in but the two secretaries were working overtime and our conversation went very smoothly.
These twp different experiences made me see clearly that what we cultivate is our mind. It is not important how much involvement is put in. Instead, it is more important whether the contribution is really from one's heart. When I left Glasgow, other practitioners arrived one after another to the opening ceremony. Later, they told me that everyone devoted their full attention to it and the activities were very successful. I was happy for another successful cooperation among practitioners in Scotland and the whole body's improvement. In the meantime, I realized that I had not really merged into the group. False cooperation is focusing on the action only and is based on sentimentality (qing) and is contrived while the cooperation based on Fa principles--cooperation based on our mind, the righteous cooperation is what we should try to achieve through cultivation.
Christina:
(3) Revelation of Edinburgh parade
The success of this year's Edinburgh parade is a result of the integrated cooperation of all the UK practitioners. On top of the success of the parade, both of us had a remarkable experience as anterior and posterior security persons respectively.
As one of the two security persons, my task was to walk at the front of our procession and to keep at least 50 paces behind the previous procession. The parade had only just started yet I found the gap between the three anterior banner group and the drum group was gradually getting bigger and bigger. I immediately told the two western practitioners, which held the first banner to slow down, otherwise, the posterior part could not keep up. At the same time, the security persons in charge of the whole parade ran up to us and said we were too slow and we were affecting the whole parade. He conducted the two western practitioners to speed up. The gap was getting bigger and bigger, I was a little upset by the current situation. I didn't know how to deal with it and forgot that we were in front of such a large audience. I began to be impatient and shouted at the two western practitioners: "Slow down, slow down. Don't worry about them, please take care of our procession." They were all tall men and strode forward with their long legs. I heard someone ask me, "What is Falun Dafa?" I had no leaflet at hand, as I had given out several leaflets at the beginning of the parade. I didn't see the practitioners in charge of distributing leaflets. It was too quiet. A Chinese person said to me "I remember you from school." I murmured a reply but had no time to see or talk to him. At that time I was suffering from a pain but couldn't tell what it was and I didn't know what was happening in the posterior part of the procession. I thought this activity, that had been prepared so well was ruined by this. One western practitioner was calm. He reminded me to widen the distance between the following two banners and the first banner, so it would shorten the gap between the banner group and the drum group. After the parade, fellow practitioners were light-hearted, while I only wanted to return to the hostel. When checking the amount of the leaflets that we had, I was astonished to find that we had distributed 12,000 leaflets and over 1,000 small gifts. The situation is far more better than what I had expected. Until that moment, I felt slightly uneasy in my heart.
On the second day, our picture again was published on the front page of the Scotsman newspaper. We won the first prize again. A friend who isn't a practitioner said to me that our procession had very big gaps compared to the processions that went before and after it and that it occupied the whole of princes street looking very spectacular. When the organizer of the parade told the journalist that Falun Gong took the first prize with absolute predominance, it seemed that the scene that happened during the parade hadn't really affected anything. When I look back over my cultivation during these years, I find that I am I like a free small particle, drifting away from the whole body from time to time, dashing forward by myself. I only feel loneliness, which I cannot bear. The experiences I had during the parade made me feel the grand force of rectifying the Fa cannot be slowed down. Dafa will penetrate the delusion. I seemed to receive the instruction to return back to the whole body.
Eva:
During the Edinburgh Festival parade, I was the other security person walking at the back of our group. After not very long, the security person responsible for the whole parade ran towards me and shouted, "You must go to the front and look after your group. Catch up quickly." I ran to the front and saw the other security person was in the front with a few practitioners holding banners but it was clear that they had left the main body of our group far behind. I immediately shouted to the people whom were left behind "Catch up quickly!" However, the situation didn't change at all. The security person for the parade repeatedly ordered me and I again shouted to the group, "Hurry up, hurry up." But we still couldn't make it. The security person was panicking and asked me to make the group run. I refused his request firmly. At that moment, I held a thought that we were performing and could not do it improperly. Dafa has its mighty seriousness. I carried on running back and forth and urged people to move faster. I was panicking and sweating. It didn't work. I followed the group and didn't know what to do. Then the security person for the parade walked towards me with a smile on his face, he had completely changed from that of his previously impatient attitude. He gently said to me, "Don't panic," pointing towards the front, "You will soon reach the termination point."
After the parade, I felt frustrated and felt that I hadn't done well. However, to my surprise, on the 2nd day the result showed that we were awarded the 1st prize and our picture was on the first page of the newspaper. I can never forget what happened during the parade C I knew there must be some factors for me to enlighten to. Until now, I have been thinking:
I feel that the path of cultivation is like the path of the parade. On this side I was panicking for the superficial imperfection of our march, on the other side I am panicking for myself for not being diligent enough, for the attachments held by fellow practitioners and for the setting back of the whole body. On this side, the march of the parade moved forward firmly and gradually, on the other side the force of Fa-Rectification moves forward without being affected by anything. On this side, we obtained the highest award, on the other side Fa-Rectification is creating something significant of the cosmos. The security person of the parade told me that the termination point wasn't far away. I know that our cultivation has been pushed, without us realizing it, by the magnificent force of Fa-Rectification to the final stage.
My mind gradually became clear. Master made me realize: however dangerous and evil the superficial tribulations are, don't be scared and don't worry. Everything will come as it should, everything is under the control of our Master. I came to understand a word: confidence.
This short parade lasted for only an hour yet it enabled me to walk through an unusual milestone of my cultivation.
Christina:
When we decided to write the article for this Fa conference, both of us realized that this is another cultivation process. The process of our writing is the sublimation from sensation cognition to non-cognition, and it was especially extremely difficult to write due to our differences and conflicts in the past. We realize that we are lives from totally different worlds, have different personalities and methods of doing things, and also have kindness and enmity tangled over many lives and competitiveness and jealousy derived from large differences. All of these go through the cultivation of both of us. We went from total opposition at the beginning to accepting each other little by little, from avoiding each other to cooperating smoothly in today's work. This article sounds like a brand new life recording many small aspects in our cultivations.
Eva:
The article is now finished. The persecution, which the old forces forced on us, was denied. Two extremely different lives melted to form a whole body. We were like a horizontal beam and a vertical beam respectively, which were created by Dafa. By eliminating the competitiveness, jealousy and sense of self, we became the two Dafa particles that cannot be divided. We support each other, cooperate with each other and carry out different functions. Today we are sitting here to tell our stories regarding cultivation, to share the integrated unselfish level that can only be attained through Dafa and to let everyone know the miracle created by Dafa.
