Our respectful Master mentions in almost every lecture that the cultivation of Dafa disciples is different from the forms of personal cultivation in the past. In "Teaching the Fa in Canada, 2006," Master described this issue in more detail:
"I've said before that if you were all to go off to secluded mountains or monasteries to cultivate, you wouldn't have a lot of contact with society, and you wouldn't be able to effectively save beings as widely, right?….. The greatest responsibility Dafa disciples have, aside from cultivating themselves, is that of saving lives. So could you not do that? And how could you not do it well?"
In my understanding, Master’s repeated emphasis on this issue is to help us understand clearly that Dafa disciples in the Fa-rectification period have special missions and responsibilities in saving sentient beings, and must do all three things well. While clarifying the truth in Chinatown, I came to understand better how to cultivate myself well while saving sentient beings. I will share with fellow practitioners from three perspectives.
1. We Come to Save Sentient Beings, There is Nothing We Can’t Give Up
Our original lives were pure and assimilated to the universal characteristic of Zhen-Shan-Ren. Throughout our different lifetimes, we have formed lots of conventional thinking that enclosed our true selves. "Selfishness" was forced upon us by the principles of the old cosmos and has been deeply engraved in our bones, and often our surfaces. It reflects as a strong self, and not taking criticisms or suggestions from others. As pointed out by Master in "Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles,"
"When they are right, they don't like others bringing up things they could improve on; when they are wrong, they don't want to be criticized. They get upset as soon as others criticize."
This was the first problem I faced when I went to clarify the truth in Chinatown.
I remembered that a week after I started my activity in Chinatown, we had a sharing after Fa study one night. Faced with the criticisms and suggestions, although I knew that I had to search inward and accept them unconditionally, it was not as simple as just saying to look inward. When this "self" was touched, I felt very uncomfortable. While listening to the criticisms from fellow practitioners, the self in my mind constantly tried to defend myself: I already did my best. You only criticized me, why don’t you look at yourselves? When this thought came out, my clear side immediately realized this was not myself: it was that "self" complaining. At night I studied the Fa with a calm mind. Master said:
"I see everything you have done. It's truly extraordinary. But that said, this is something that attests on a fundamental level to whether someone is in essence a cultivator; so that which leads you to not take criticism, that thing has to be removed. Even if you have done well in all other areas and are lousy only in this one regard, you are still not a cultivator." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles")
I looked back at these criticisms and suggestions from fellow practitioners, they were all quite reasonable to me. The "self" blocked me and stopped me from taking them. This would be a big loss to me. From another angle, fellow practitioners pointed things out to me even though they knew that I would feel uncomfortable. It was because we try to save people in Chinatown. Whether I do well or not would directly affect saving these Chinese people. Not only were fellow practitioners being responsible to me, they were also being responsible to sentient beings. Fellow practitioners raised their criticisms and suggestions to me based on being responsible to sentient beings, so where was my base? While sending forth righteous thought at the Chinese Embassy, I often had this thought: "I came for sentient beings and would leave after saving them. It was time for me to let go of myself for the sake of sentient beings. Would I have the courage to face criticisms?" The vow taken by Dafa disciples is sacred. If I indeed come for sentient beings, there should not be anything that I can’t give up. Once my understanding of the Fa principles became clear, I found the source of motivation. Letting go of my self, seriously taking the criticisms from fellow practitioners and correcting my ways of doing things, the effects of my telling truth in Chinatown became better and better.
2. Chinatown Requires a Larger and Stronger Field of Righteous Thoughts
During the first three weeks of my clarifying the truth in Chinatown, I was almost always the only practitioner there. On occasions I was explaining things to people when a Chinese delegation arrived, I had to stop talking and quickly give newspapers and CDs to the members of the delegation. Some of them didn’t want to take the materials. I would follow them and introduce The Epoch Times to them in line with their thinking. I felt at a loss as to what to do in these situations.
One time, I suddenly had an idea. I wanted fellow practitioners to help me put out an advertisement to all practitioners in the UK. I even thought of the content of the ad: "Do you want to save Chinese people? Please come to Chinatown in London. Time: Monday to Friday between 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday: 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m." When this idea came to me, I felt it was not quite right. It is not the right mind a Dafa practitioner should have.
In "Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students," Master said,
"You need to coordinate in a way that allows people to work together, and you need to continually improve based on Fa and form an upright environment, so that Dafa disciples can do well the things of validating Fa, like clarifying the truth, saving sentient beings, and restraining the persecution."
Chinatown is a gathering place for Chinese people and is also a place where evil concentrates. It needs a larger and stronger field of righteous thoughts. Although I am not the coordinator of this activity, I have many opportunities to go there. I have responsibility to share the situation in Chinatown with fellow practitioners, but not in the way of complaining like an ordinary person. During group study and sharing in London, I explained the situation in Chinatown and encouraged more practitioners to come, even if just for half an hour or so. After sharing, we arranged a timetable. Many practitioners participated, both Chinese and Western.
The righteous field became stronger with more people joining in. When Chinese delegations come to Chinatown, they would get The Epoch Times at one place, then not far away there are people giving them leaflets and the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. They would have a few copies of different materials. To date the Chinatown project has created a very righteous field by practitioners. Many practitioners who don't come in person support the activity quietly in other ways.
Clarifying the truth in Chinatown truly reflects that Dafa disciples in the Fa-rectification period are one whole body. I came to a deeper understanding that the cultivation form taken by Dafa disciples is completely different from that in the past.
"...as Dafa cultivators in the Fa-rectification period, the historic mission that you have—this great responsibility—is indeed enormous. What lies before you is not merely personal cultivation or saving a few people. The entire human race is before you, and the Chinese people, in particular." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Chicago")
3. Clarifying the Truth Shows the Greatest Compassion to Sentient Beings
Clarifying the truth in Chinatown puts oneself among the most complicated group of people. I deeply realize that our clarifying the truth to people and clearing their confusion gives them a chance to choose their futures. Thus clarifying the truth is the greatest compassion towards sentient beings. Although some people have reservations about the "three withdrawals" and require us to clear up their minds, the questions they raise are understandable, such as "Is this really effective?" "If CCP collapses, will China be in chaos?" etc. However there are other people who are deeply poisoned by the CCP. The questions they raise are deliberate and awkward. There are even people asking questions in a very provocative manner with a deeply twisted view towards Dafa. No matter what kind of people we meet or whatever questions we encounter, my own experience is that as long as we have a heart of saving people and exposing the evil and violent nature of the CCP, anything can be resolved. Master said,
"...regardless of whether they have correct understandings or not, and regardless of what kinds of thoughts they have, when presented with the facts they will be convinced and they must look at things righteously." ("Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital")
In Chinatown, you will often encounter people asking, "Are you Falun Gong?" I proudly tell them, "I am a Falun Gong cultivator." They might ask back, "Why are cultivators involved in politics?" We should understand that this is an obstacle created in their mind by the CCP’s long-term defamatory propaganda against Falun Gong. To resolve this knot in their mind, we must be even firmer and fully confident. I reply, "We are not involved in politics. We object to the persecution because the Chinese Communist regime has been persecuting Falun Gong for seven years now. It has now reached an unprecedented brutality: Many Falun Gong practitioners’ organs are taken for profits while they are alive. Today Falun Gong practitioners realize that dissolving the Chinese Communist Party is the only way to end the persecution of Falun Gong. I am here today to serve Chinese people to withdraw from the CCP with the sole purpose of ending the persecution of Falun Gong."
Master said,
"When you see sentient beings who need to be saved, what’s crucial is getting the beings saved." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2005 Manhattan International Fa Conference")
Normally I would give out a copy of The Epoch Times rather than Dafa materials and suggest that they read the special edition page about Falun Gong so that they can learn a bit more about Falun Gong to avoid being cheated by the CCP. Many people who withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations come back asking for Dafa materials. Some of them even help their relatives to withdraw from the CCP. I encountered these kinds of situations, so did other practitioners. This made me understand more clearly the significance of Master’s emphasis on promoting the "Nine Commentaries" and persuading people to withdraw from the CCP.
After a long stay in Chinatown, some people would say hello to you with smiles on their faces. But it also happens that you got shouted at. One time, there was a family of Chinese people coming towards me. I immediately gave them the special report about the organ harvesting. They started screaming at me, "You are losing face for the Chinese people." I knew that they were deeply poisoned by the the CCP. But I still wanted to try to awaken their conscience. I followed them and said, "Could you read this special report to see who is losing face to Chinese people? Are the people whose organs were harvested in the wrong and the ones who harvest peoples' organs not disgraceful? What kind of logic is that? As Chinese do you have a little bit of sympathy towards the brutal persecution suffered by Falun Gong practitioners? We are all born from our parents with flesh and blood." When I finished, they walked away with their heads down. Many Chinese people around understood what I said and came to ask for the report.
Of course I am not saying that I was successful every time I clarified the truth. But I feel that when I have strong righteous thoughts I am successful and at least a few sentences break through the obstacles in people’s minds. It is Dafa that opened my wisdom. It is Master who strengthens my mind.
I remembered that the first person who came to me to withdraw from the CCP was a man from Fujian Province. He joined the party in 1989 when he was in the Chinese army. He was twenty-one then. After leaving the army, the local Communist government flattened his house with explosives because he had a second child. He was so angry that he ran away and came to Britain. He was very clear about the CCP brutality. But he worried that if the CCP collapses China would be in chaos. I told him, "The real source of chaos is the CCP itself. The western countries are countering terrorists. But the largest terrorist is the CCP. Terrorists in western countries only kill people from behind while the CCP openly murders people under the protection of its power and law. During the fifty-seven years of its control, it created many political movements in order to maintain its power. The CCP not only killed countless people by itself, it also created hatred among Chinese people and they killed each other. From killing the landlords in the "land reform movement" to the massacre of students on June 4, 1989, today the CCP harvests organs from live Falun Gong practitioners. All these facts show that the CCP is the real source of problems in China. When the CCP is gone, this cancerous source of chaos will be eliminated. When that time comes, people will return to the righteous path and the moral standard will rise. Chinese people will truly carry out their right to manage the nation. China will become a truly free, democratic, peaceful and harmonious nation."
Some changes occurred in Chinatown during the last four months. I also personally improved in the process. The Fa-rectification process is advancing very quickly. Soon after the independent Canadian report into organ harvesting came out, Yuan Sheng applied for asylum in the US. Thirteen million people have withdrawn from CCP membership. The CCP is in panic. To shift the world’s focus, the CCP secretly arrested human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. We must strictly follow Master’s teaching and do what Dafa disciples should do. We can turn all these things the CCP is doing into opportunities to promote the Nine Commentaries and persuade people to withdraw from the CCP.
We will continue our efforts in Chinatown and do things even better. In "Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005," Master said,
"As long as the persecution continues, Dafa disciples will keep distributing the Nine Commentaries, until finally the evil CCP disintegrates and the persecution stops. Doesn’t that give you just cause and full confidence [to do this]?"
Thank you.
