(Clearwisdon.net) Four years ago, after studying Teacher's article "Rationality," I realized that during the Fa-rectification period history has bestowed upon Dafa disciples a great responsibility, and that practitioners must
"Validate the Fa with rationality, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and save people with mercy..."
("Rationality," Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I then began to participate in truth-clarification efforts. During these four years, because of my special status and convenient proximity, I contacted many people from various levels of society (including personnel from the areas of government service, judicial and public security, culture, art, publishing, education, science and technology, and with laborers, farmers, small merchants and business owners). I distributed truth-clarification flyers and CDs, mailed information, made phone calls and most importantly made direct or face-to-face contact to clarify the truth. I had both experiences of success and failure. I also came to numerous realizations. I would like to share two of my major realizations (as well as other pertinent realizations) here.
I. The first major realization is that during truth-clarification one must keep in mind the reason for clarifying the truth
Clarifying the truth is done to offer salvation to all people and it is based on a practitioners' compassion; it is sacred, serious and must be done to save sentient beings. Teacher taught us in "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference" that:
"you still need to step up your clarifying the facts some, and still need to do it in greater depth, do it better, and do it more solidly; you absolutely can't just go through the motions. Only when you do it earnestly can you save that many people."
More detailed realizations follow:
A. In clarifying the truth one must always regard the Fa as the teacher
We are Dafa disciples clarifying the truth and we must always regard the Fa as the teacher.
"The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts"
("Drive Out Interference" Essentials for Further Advancement II).
Only when guided by Dafa's principles can we can obtain the intended effect of truth-clarification, in improving our xinxing, learning from our experiences and identifying our shortcomings.
During my truth-clarification efforts I found that only when my revealing the truth or replying to peoples' questions were based on Dafa principles, did the words have persuasive power. For example, when people said, "You exercise your body which is OK, but why have you pulled politics into it?" I would reply using some of the information contained in Teacher's articles such as "Cultivation Practice is Not Political" or "Dafa Will Forever be Pure Like Diamond" [two articles from Essentials for Further Advancement] to explain that Dafa and Dafa disciples do not participate in politics. Some people commented, "Since a large number of people practiced Falun Dafa, the government is afraid of it!" I then exposed that Jiang Zemin and his associates are afraid of Falun Dafa, afraid of good people according to the viewpoints in Teacher's article "Some Thoughts of Mine." [from Essentials for Further Advancement II]
When speaking about specific incidents such as the "Tiananmen Self-immolation" and "Fu Yibin murder case" I said, "The principles of Dafa state explicitly that a practitioner cannot take a life, cannot kill people, and that suicide is prohibited. Regardless of whether these people have ever practiced Falun Gong, or even if they practiced Falun Gong for several days but then intentionally violated its principles, these were their own individual crimes and had nothing to do with Falun Gong. These people were not genuine Falun Gong practitioners. The attempt to use such incidents to defame Falun Gong only demonstrates the Jiang group's absurd logic and vicious plots."
People often expressed their dissatisfaction and concern about the current, growing corruption and social issues. To this I have recited from Teacher's article "Pacify the External by Cultivating the Internal." [from Essentials for Further Advancement] After listening to my reply, some happily said, "Now, at last, this is truly the foresight of managing a nation by virtue!"
As I progressed through the unending process of truth-clarification, I realized more and more the importance of studying the Fa, and came to understand more thoroughly the significance of Fa-study, which Teacher has emphasized at every Fa conference.
B. The one who's going to clarify the truth must first know the truth well
Knowing the facts in detail is the basis for clarifying the truth well. I read the information on 'Clearwisdom.net' and watch the truth-clarifying VCD (made by FGM TV) in order to understand and identify the necessary facts and viewpoints for clarifying the truth.
When I learned that some fellow practitioners felt that insufficient details about the truth had impacted their truth clarifying effectiveness, I compiled a reference booklet for them. In the booklet I included information about the following: the truth about the "April 25th" appeal of ten thousand people in Beijing, "the lies that Master Li lived in a mansion and amassed money," "the so-called 1400 death cases," the analysis of the staged "Tiananmen Self-Immolation" incident, the fact that the persecution of Falun Gong violates the Chinese Constitution and Laws, the facts about Jiang and his associates' brutal persecution of Dafa disciples, the proclamations of support for Dafa from various countries, the examples of the heavenly warnings, and examples of "good is rewarded with good and evil provokes retribution" The booklet provided the assistance needed for more fellow practitioners to clarify the truth.
C. We must pay attention to the differences among people when we clarify the truth
Because people are different, we should present information in a corresponding manner, especially regarding its content and the depth, during truth clarification. For example, when speaking face-to-face to an individual with less education, one should not discus or phrase things at an excessively deep or high level. When speaking with a well-educated person or one who also wants additional information, one can provide a greater level of detail and greater depth. When sending out materials, aside from the key facts and key points, one may also send different levels of materials based on the type of person the material is going to.
D. When clarifying the truth face-to-face with another we must correctly deal with and respond to the questions asked
It is very effective to clarify the truth face-to-face, but it is difficult and requires more effort and diligence. In addition to being clear about the main topic, one must also give answers to and deal well with whatever questions are asked. This is especially true when speaking to people with more education. They often raise questions that involve greater detail. The following are examples of such questions. "Your flyer put Jiang Zemin's name on it to condemn him. You also sued him overseas. He, regardless, is the head of the Party and State! You should at least maintain the national image!" "The practice and consummation you are talking about are unverifiable. If many of the Party members started believing that gods exist, how could the Communist Party not be afraid and persecute you?" "Since your Teacher is Buddha, why does he not quickly eliminate Jiang Zemin and get your imprisoned people out?" We should not evade such questions. Rather we should be calm and discuss them with the person, as this will usually be more productive.
One example of this kind of situation occurred when I had a conversation with a researcher who asked, "Have you ever studied the Party history? Who could win a fight against the person in power? Even Deng Xiaoping had to make self-criticism. Why do you guys resist, which is obviously a hopeless battle?" I said to him, "This is not a fight between two groups of ordinary people. It is the evil fighting or gambling with the Gods. Didn't Jiang Zemin initially say he would eradicate Falun Gong in three months? Several years have passed and not only is Falun Gong not eradicated, but even more people have sympathized with and come to believe in Falun Gong!" He then said, "Regardless, hoping to change what the Communist Party decides is extremely difficult!" After I told him the fact that there is not a single word about Falun Gong in the summary of its previous work at both the 16th and the 10th session of the People's National Congress conference, he was very surprised, "How come I didn't notice it? This is important!" He thought deeply about it for a moment and said "Now I understand it all!"
Many people, after they became aware of the truth, expressed their sympathy for Falun Dafa and indignation for the evil. Some have let me teach them the Falun Gong exercises and some have asked to borrow the Falun Dafa books. One incident that moved me the most occurred in the last year. A couple of my old classmates working outside the area took a day off to go to Sichuan Province to see off their older sister who was going to the U.S. They stopped by Shaanxi Province to see me. After I clarified the truth to them, they became quite excited and wanted to study the Fa and to learn the exercises. When I inquired about whether they would miss seeing-off their sister due to the delay caused by learning the exercise, they said, "That thing is minor, making a phone call to her would be sufficient!" They stayed a week and completely learned all five exercises. I got a copy of Zhuan Falun from fellow practitioners to give them and gave them a Falun Gong exercise CD. They called me after they returned home and said that although they slightly regretted not being able to see their older sister off, they obtained the most precious thing, and for that they sincerely felt lucky!
II. Cultivating myself during the process of clarifying the truth
Master lectured in the "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference,"
"So I think that for Dafa disciples clarifying the facts has become a unique way of cultivation for you cultivators today. This has never, ever happened before. And it can be called Dafa disciples' magnificent feat of validating the Fa and saving sentient beings during the Fa-rectification."
My understanding of what Master said about "a unique way of cultivation" is threefold. First, Dafa disciples' goal in cultivation is not to reach personal consummation but to save sentient beings.
Second, in terms of the cultivation environment, Dafa disciples need not only use our personal working and living environments and our interpersonal relationships as our personal cultivation environments, but also we should create good environments for our truth-clarification and Fa validation.
Third, in terms of our cultivation requirements, Dafa disciples need to do well "the Three Things", while emphasizing that clarifying the truth is the most urgent at the current time. Dafa disciples should cultivate themselves in the process of clarifying the truth. In reviewing my cultivation experience during the past several years, I have come to deeply understand that truth-clarification is not only the process of Dafa disciples' clarifying the truth and saving the sentient beings, but is also the process of cultivating ourselves in a unique cultivation environment. I remembered that four years ago, while I tried to mail out the truth-clarification materials for the first time, I pondered the issue for a long time in order to encourage myself to take the first step toward clarifying the truth. However, when I was dropping the mail into a mailbox, I became very nervous, my heart beat rapidly, and I panted as if there were many eyes watching me, and I had some type of feeling that what I was doing was not very upright. After I went back home, I felt very ashamed of my behavior. I asked myself, "How could I be a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period feeling this way?" After repeatedly thinking about the issue, I realized that I had had a strong attachment to fear and that my righteous thoughts were not strong, which was partly from my failing to study the Fa well and partly from my failing to completely negate all the arrangements of the old cosmic forces in my heart. I could not comply with or passively endure the evil persecution.
Exposing the evil and clarifying the truth is a sacred and magnificent feat of saving people. I should never see Falun Dafa practitioners who are doing the work of clarifying the truth as underground workers in ordinary society who are risking their lives for the selfish interests of one party. We should always clarify the truth in an upright and dignified manner. As my righteous thoughts became stronger, my clarifying the truth has become increasingly smooth.
Just when I felt I could clarify the truth very smoothly, I met with a setback. That day I went to see an old classmate who works in a government office. As soon as I mentioned Falun Gong, my classmate's wife immediately stood up and said, "Do not talk about Falun Gong; I do not want to listen!" She immediately left the room and made me feel very embarrassed. My old classmate felt sorry and apologized to me. My heart was very disturbed by her impolite behavior. So my attempt this time at clarifying the truth failed miserably. After I calmed myself down and thought about the issue, I realized that because my clarifying the truth in the previous period went very smoothly, I had forgotten to search within myself. A complacent mentality arose, and the gap was taken advantage of by the evil. Was this setback meant to wake me up? Although I did not appear to get enraged because of losing face, I failed to let go of it in my mind. Did this also mean that I had failed to live up to the requirements of true forbearance? Was her impoliteness meant to help me to improve my xinxing (mind nature)? I should maintain a good mindset during my cultivation and clarifying the truth!
After I came in contact with several friends from the countryside, I realized that the farmers there had been deeply poisoned by the lies. So I took the opportunity to take holidays and vacations and went back to my hometown to clarify the truth. While I was clarifying the truth to several friends, one of them reminded me, "You should never let so-and-so know that you came back and that you talk about these things!" This so-and-so was also my classmate in my teenage years. He loves to be in the limelight and likes to cause trouble, and furthermore, he had been estranged from me for a long time. Although I no longer cared about the conflicts I had with him a long time ago, I still did not want to see him. Just at that moment, he opened the door and came in and the atmosphere suddenly became intense. I did not panic. A thought suddenly came to my mind, "He turns out to be a person with a predestined relationship!" I exchanged a few pleasant words with him in a very natural way. He asked me, "What are you talking about?" I smiled, "Falun Gong!" He seemed to be moved by my sincerity: "Falun Gong? So, I want to listen too." The atmosphere became better. He and the other friends listened to my clarifying the truth. They also asked me questions while listening. The conversation went very well. After that, he also talked to me alone and told me of his understanding and sympathy for Dafa. This incident made me realize that a cultivator should not be attached to his or her personal good or bad feelings toward others, and should treat all people compassionately. The interference can be eliminated once our righteous thoughts arise, and the truth-clarification effect will be great.
Once, while I was clarifying the truth, a friend suddenly asked me "In your opinion, how many years will it take for Falun Gong to be redressed?" I said without thinking, "It will take as short as one year or as long as three years!" He responded, "That might not be the case. In China, things are difficult to handle!" I said, "As soon as Jiang Zemin dies or steps down, Falun Gong will be redressed." Later, I felt my answer was not very appropriate since I thought that I had said the timeframe was not short. I did not give the issue more thought. When I read Teacher's "Touring North America to Teach the Fa" in 2002, I suddenly woke up. How strong my attachments were to the Fa-rectification coming to the end and to the ordinary people's redressing Falun Dafa!
In the article Teacher said,
"Didn't it cross your mind: this is the Fa of the cosmos, so if humans want to attack it, you think they can just attack it? And if human beings want to restore our name, you think they can just restore our name? Humans aren't worthy of that! How could you pin your hopes on an ordinary person?" ("Touring North America to Teach the Fa")
I have kept thinking about and trying to understand this Fa of Master: Indeed, this is the Fa of the cosmos, and the evils' slandering should not negatively impact the greatness of Dafa, not even a bit. Falun Dafa disciples' glory is in no way affected by the evil persecution. Safeguarding and validating the Fa spontaneously is our responsibility and we have no excuse for not doing so. In terms of restoring the reputation of Falun Dafa and punishing the evil persons in the human world, this is the inevitable outcome of the Fa-rectification! During my truth-clarification efforts, I have been better able to answer the issue. However, before the Sixteenth National Party Congress and the 10th National Conference of the People's Congress, I still became a little excited when people mentioned the issue of redressing Falun Gong. Before the Fourth Plenary Meeting of the Chinese Ruling Party Committee, the rumor that Jiang Zemin was about to step down was spread widely. When I clarified the truth, some at times said to me, "Now Falun Gong is about to be redressed and your sufferings are about to end!" Although I warned myself to not be moved, there was still a trace of wavering in the bottom of heart. After thinking it over, I realized how difficult it is to eliminate my attachment of placing my hope in ordinary people! I felt very bad for having this attachment.
What is mentioned above are several examples I use to illustrate my cultivation experience in the process of clarifying the truth. Additionally, because all my truth-clarification takes place after my office hours, I've had to endure a lot of trouble, time, and effort. I have also experienced conflicts and interference during my truth-clarification efforts. Many of my human notions have been exposed, which I need to understand and eliminate during the truth-clarification process. Therefore, our truth-clarification is a process of constantly studying Dafa, understanding the Fa principles, firming our righteous faith and thoughts, as well as the process of exposing our own attachments, uplifting our xinxing, and eliminating our human mentalities.
At this time when the Fa rectification is drawing to a close, we should strive harder to do well the Three Things, as required by Master. Let use Master's new article, "In Fa-Rectification Your Thoughts Have to be Righteous, Not Human" to encourage each other.
