(Clearwisdom.net) After listening to "Teaching the Fa to Australian Falun Dafa Practitioners," I remembered something that happened a long time ago. Perhaps fellow practitioners might find it inspirational.
There is a Falun Gong practitioner in Heilongjiang Province whom I will call Adam. Before China began to suppress Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Adam was an assistant. When the persecution of Falun Gong began, Adam went to the local government to explain the truth about Falun Gong. Like Adam, many Falun Gong practitioners were kind and trusting when they clarified the truth about Falun Gong to the Chinese government. Never did it occur to them that the wicked government officials would exploit their kindness. After Adam approached the local government, certain local government officials asked to meet with him. They did not tell him that they videotaped these meetings. Afterwards, these wicked government officials edited Adam's speeches to create hate propaganda against Falun Gong. When the edited video was broadcast in a program that transmitted lies about Falun Gong, local practitioners were shocked. The wicked officials resorted to many different approaches and channels to spread rumors that Adam endorsed the persecution of Falun Gong. They even arrested practitioners and purposely hinted that Adam was one of them and was working on collecting personal information about Falun Gong practitioners.
Adam approached these wicked officials and told them that what they were doing was wrong. Adam innocently asked them to present the unedited speeches to reflect his original meanings. But the wicked officials were very pleased with their work. They told Adam, "We have achieved our goal of causing all your fellow practitioners to hate you, suspect you and be alienated from you." Except for one or two practitioners, every one else was convinced that Adam was a special agent who had betrayed Falun Gong. Adam tried to explain that he was innocent, but no one believed him. In fact, nearly every fellow practitioner avoided him and stayed aloof. Adam was very hurt. He could only tell Teacher, while looking at Teacher's photo, about the hurtful feeling of being misunderstood. It was difficult to validate the Fa in that area, as practitioners no longer trusted each other.
In late 2000, a fellow practitioner from Changchun went to that city to exchange cultivation experiences with fellow practitioners in the area, hoping to create an environment where they could clarify the truth about Falun Gong together. Because Adam was previously one of the Falun Gong assistants in that city, the practitioner from Changchun approached him. Adam found a local practitioner willing to arrange a meeting. That practitioner, in turn, approached other practitioners in the area while Adam did a lot of work quietly behind the scenes. Adam even found a place for the Fa conference. Local practitioners were shocked and uneasy when they saw Adam at the conference. Some practitioners pointed at Adam and demanded that he leave. They threatened to leave if Adam stayed there. Although Adam yearned to exchange cultivation experiences with his fellow practitioners, he left in tears so that the conference could take place smoothly.
Because of Adam's hard work behind the scenes, such Fa conferences took place successfully and local practitioners began to trust each other again. Their hearts were joined as one again and they began to clarify the truth as a team. The practitioner from Changchun told local practitioners at the final Fa conference before he left the city, "Without Adam's selfless hard work and coordination, these Fa conferences would not have taken place so successfully." He explained the wicked officials' malicious agenda of alienating Adam from fellow practitioners and creating distrust among them. Because practitioners in the city had built up righteous thoughts on account of these Fa conferences, they quickly realized that they had misjudged Adam. Fellow practitioners called on Adam and they hugged with tears running down their faces. But these were not tears of remorse or tears of joy. Rather, they were sparks of fire when their hearts joined as one. Soon they created an environment where they could clarify the truth about Falun Gong together.
Despite the disgrace and insults, Adam relied on his steadfast faith in Teacher and the Fa and finally prevailed upon the wicked persecution of practitioners in the area. Adam has steadfast faith in Teacher and the Fa and he was selfless and altruistic. If we would have such righteous faith and righteous thoughts at all times and at pivotal moments, any attempt of persecution will not come to fruit, especially when the old forces and the wicked persecution of Falun Gong should not have existed in the first place!