Traveling to Countries Where There Are No Falun Dafa Practitioners

(Minghui.org) I wish to share my cultivation experiences of traveling to countries where there are no Falun Dafa practitioners with the goal of spreading the Fa and helping Master in saving sentient beings.

I am a practitioner from Israel. I obtained the Fa in 2000. Thanks to Master’s boundless compassion and mighty power of Dafa, I was able to cast off many attachments and now I am able to help Master in saving sentient beings more effectively. My understanding is that if a practitioner has a wish to save sentient beings, Master will give him wisdom on how to better accomplish this task.

Uzbekistan is my native land. As far as I know, there are no Falun Dafa practitioners there and that is very sad for the whole Uzbek nation. Some years ago, I decided to go to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, to distribute Falun Dafa truth-clarification materials. Israeli practitioners made many folded paper lotus flowers that I took with me, along with flyers and other materials. My fellow practitioners supported me with righteous thoughts.

Three years ago, I traveled back to Uzbekistan and distributed a lot of Falun Dafa truth-clarification materials. At the time I thought that I had done all that I could to clarify the truth there, but later on I realized that it wasn’t enough.

I spent ten days in Tashkent. During the entire trip I felt that Master was leading me and that it is only necessary to believe wholeheartedly in Teacher and follow him. I distributed materials, visited schools and universities, and left flyers in bookstores and kiosks. People were very receptive to the truth, and I had many unforgettable encounters, since, after all, everyone has a knowing side and all people now are not simple; they all came for Dafa.

But physically, I felt terrible. It felt like I had fever and a bad cold; I was coughing and sneezing. I didn't accept this state--nobody can disturb me--and I continued to distribute Dafa materials, study the Fa, and do the exercises every day.

On my way back to Israel, as soon as I entered the plane, all symptoms of "illness" disappeared; the evil had nothing to be afraid of anymore. I clearly understood that it was very important to go to the countries where there are no practitioners, but it is necessary to go as a group; then it will be more effective and the evil won't be able to interfere.

That was how we started going to the countries where there are no Falun Dafa practitioners.

“If you could see things for what they are, you would discover that, in your cultivation, whatever setting you are in, whatever social class you’re a part of, whatever status you have, whatever “coincidental” things you have done, or whatever your “luck” may be—all of this which is part of your path—was brought about by your vow, and nothing is by chance.” ("Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference")

A Second Trip to Uzbekistan

Two years later, I realized that I had to go to Uzbekistan again. I connected with other Falun Dafa practitioners, and two of them from Russia immediately agreed to go. We had participated together in other projects before, and I decided that together we would be able to accomplish this mission.

Shortly before the trip, another practitioner from Israel asked to join me, along with a 12-year-old practitioner whose parents were from Tashkent. He was born in Israel but also spoke Russian. I thought it was good that there would be three of us traveling from Israel to Tashkent to meet up with two fellow Russian practitioners.

We prepared official letters for the government organizations there. The Russian practitioners had also prepared a lot of materials: newspapers, leaflets, and beautiful paper lotus flowers. From my past experience with traveling to Uzbekistan, I knew that it was forbidden to distribute any materials there. The police stood at every street corner. All religions were being persecuted there. Therefore, we had to handle everything with wisdom and compassion.

So there we were, the three of us traveling from Israel to Tashkent on our way to meet our fellow Russian practitioners. They had reserved rooms for us at the hotel. While we were on the plane we already started distributing materials to those we met along the way.

When we landed in Tashkent, there was a long line at customs. I started clarifying the truth to people who stood beside me, while the two other Israeli practitioners started sending righteous thoughts. People were listening attentively. The practitioner who didn’t speak Russian noticed that many people were listening, so she handed me a Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) petition in Russian and said, “Try it!” I asked a young man who stood beside me to sign the petition, and he did right away. People were signing eagerly and started passing the petition down the line to others. We collected a lot of signatures at the airport. It gave us confidence that we were doing the right thing, and that the sentient beings have been waiting for us.

We planned to work on two fronts:1) To visit government departments and to leave folders with materials.2) To clarify the truth in public.

One day we went to Broadway Street, where artwork was sold and street painters drew passersby’s portraits. We were clarifying the truth, and people started signing the petition. As we progressed towards a park, we didn’t notice that to the left of the park there was a building behind a fence, with a guard at the entrance.

While one of the Russian practitioners was clarifying the truth to a pedestrian, a security guard or a police officer from the building approached her, and then another one joined him. They asked her many questions. The other Russian practitioner joined her. Our bags were full of informational materials and signed petitions.

I firmly believed that we had to send in all the petitions and that nobody could prevent us from doing so! Russian practitioners were speaking with the police in a friendly way, telling them about the persecution in China. They already had experience clarifying the truth to police officers in Russia. They were detained, but after talking with the police, they were released.

I didn’t have a clear understanding on how to behave, and I didn’t feel any compassion toward the police officers – something that I realized only afterwards. Meanwhile, the Russian practitioners had already clarified the truth to several police officers, who apparently didn’t know what to do with us and called some senior officers for reinforcement.

We were later asked to go with them to the police station. I had many thoughts running through my head, trying to recall other practitioners’ experiences in similar situations but it did not help. Finally, I called for Master’s help, “Master, please, give me wisdom, I don’t know what to do. There is only one wish in my heart – to follow Master!”

We were doing something good, so who would dare to interfere? With determination, I told the officers that we would not go anywhere, that we were Israeli citizens and hadn’t done anything against the law. I demanded to see a representative from the Israeli Embassy. I could tell that they started to feel less self-assured, and they started saying, “It’s fine, it’s fine.” After a phone call, they told us that we did not need to go anywhere, just speak with another officer responsible for public security.

Another plainclothes high ranking official arrived at the scene. We told him about the persecution and about the forced live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China. He said that if we wanted to collect signatures and distribute materials, we should get a permit from the Health Department. He also suggested that we visit hospitals and inform doctors about this atrocity. We already had plans to visit hospitals, but that only made it clearer to us that they were paving the way for us, because now we could tell people at the hospitals that the police had sent us. They took pictures of our passports, wrote down our phone numbers, and told us we were free to go.

In the following days we visited the Departments of Justice, Internal Affairs, and Foreign Affairs; the Prosecutor General's Office; the Parliament; and the State Duma. We were allowed to enter wherever we went, after we explained the purpose of our visit. We were invited to their offices, talked with government officials, and handed out the letters and materials we had prepared in advance. Sometimes we were given phone numbers of other people we should call. Everywhere, we were treated with respect – they even prompted us on what else we could do.

We also traveled to the city of Samarkand, two hours away by car. We clarified the truth there, too, and asked people to sign a petition. Then we went to the central hospital to meet with the hospital manager. The two Russian practitioners went to meet him. One of them was a retired major from the Red Army. We kept sending righteous thoughts in the hospital yard and collected signatures. The hospital manager listened attentively to the Russian practitioners, thanked them, took materials, and said that it was very important and that he would tell the doctors about it in their daily doctors’ meeting. He gave us his business card so we could send him more materials.

We brought with us to Tashkent a new edition of the book that contained Zhuan Falun and The Great Consummation Way of Falun Dafa in Russian. We intended to give it as a present to the central library in Tashkent. The library manager browsed through the book and said that we were promoting a religion, that it was a religious book, etc. He sounded as if he had read the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official propaganda and didn’t want to listen to the truth. He called the police. We gave out truth clarification materials to everyone we spoke with.

One of the police officers looked through the book and saw that it had illustrations of the exercises. He had practiced martial arts and said that this book was definitely not religious. He said that the laws of Uzbekistan did not forbid giving a book as a present to a library. Later he said that he would like to read the book himself. Meanwhile, more officers arrived, and we gave materials to all of them. The library manager insisted they arrest us, but it was evident that the police didn’t want to.

The library manager then called a senior officer from the Registration and Visa department, who told us that we had better leave the library. We went with him to the police station, where we wrote a statement on how we tried to give the book as a present to the library. The senior officer from the Registration and Visa department expressed his desire to read the book himself, so we gave it to him. To express his gratitude, he gave us a ride to a restaurant and advised us as to which dishes were the best. He said that, if we ever visited Uzbekistan again, we should call him, and he would come to pick us up at the airport and help us find accommodations, etc.

While we were waiting for our flight home to Israel, I was stopped because I had so many truth clarification newspapers in Russian.

Here, too, it was miraculous: every officer called for another officer to handle my case, and, eventually, everyone got a newspaper and listened to the truth. Finally, they took a photo of my passport and let me go.

Our journey to Uzbekistan came to an end. During the whole trip I had a very clear understanding that Master had been leading us and that the sentient beings there had been waiting for salvation. It was as if everything was planned beforehand and we only had to follow through.

A Trip to Georgia

Some months after our return from Tashkent, the Israeli practitioner was planning to go to Georgia to show the documentaries "Red Reign" and "Transcending Fear" about the crimes committed by the Chinese Communist Party, at Tbilisi University.

She invited me to go with her, so I called the two Russian practitioners with whom we had traveled to Tashkent. They immediately agreed to go with us to Georgia.

Falun Dafa Practitioners Are One Body

I asked practitioners from Israel, Russia, and Ukraine for help to prepare for the trip.

We began to collect materials and find out from the practitioners from other countries about the situation in Georgia. We already had experience from our Uzbekistan trip. We found out that in Georgia, there was a practitioner I'll call "Arkady," who had been cultivating alone for ten years. A year ago, he was joined by one more practitioner, "Nikita." Arkady did not have a computer, so he didn't know that he had to do the three things. He only studied Zhuan Falun and did the exercises in a park.

We found out that practitioners in Ukraine had already been working on the translation of a flyer into Georgian. We got in touch with Arkady, and he agreed that his name and phone could be printed on the flyer as a contact person in Georgia.

We also learned that a practitioner from Ukraine would be on a business trip to Georgia when we were there, and she would join us. So, once again, I witnessed how Teacher was directing us and that everything has been already planned for us a long time ago – we only have to follow Master with a pure heart.

We were met at the airport in Georgia by the person who initiated the idea of screening the movies at the university and his friend. These young men were just 17. They met us with two huge bouquets of roses and took us to a hotel.

Many screenings were planned, but only two of them took place. As we learned later, the reason why all the other screenings were cancelled was due to interference from the Chinese Embassy. The fact that they learned about the screenings told us that there is a Chinese influence in Georgia and that the Chinese Communist Party is afraid that people will learn the truth about their dirty affairs.

The organizer of this trip was the son of a rich businessman; his father helped him to arrange screenings with universities. Many students and some of the teachers came to the screenings. A practitioner who got everything ready before the first screening showed the short preview and spoke about the crimes committed by the CCP.

In a hall there were tables with DAFOH petitions, handmade lotus flowers, and truth-clarification materials. On the first day they showed "Red Reign." The next day people watched "Transcending Fear" about the lawyer Gao Zhisheng .

Afterward, the students asked many questions, and many signed the petition.

There was some interference. We sent righteous thoughts constantly. During the first screening, there were problems with a disk, so we couldn't begin on time. During the second screening, there was interference, too. We did break through it with righteous thoughts, and, most important, all who attended learned the truth about the persecution. They were very friendly.

In the hotel, we talked amongst each other and came to the understanding that, before the screening, we hadn't discussed things together, so we couldn't act as a whole body. We also realized that it was necessary to prepare for such screenings more seriously.

There were unforgettable meetings with Arkady and Nikita from Georgia. We did the exercises together in a park, where Arkady has practiced for ten years. Afterward, one practitioner shared the understanding that it was Arkady’s belief in Dafa and Teacher that brought practitioners from other countries there.

We studied the the Fa together and shared our understandings about what we had read. Then we showed Arkady how to send righteous thoughts. He told us afterwards that he felt a very strong stream of energy emanating from his hands. He listened attentively to how practitioners around the world do the three things.

After our departure, the practitioner from Ukraine was scheduled to help him with his computer and the Internet; she also wanted to set up a Sonant connection for him. Nikita, who has not been practicing for very long, found that our communications with her very helpful. She asked many questions and had a smile on her face the whole time.

We managed to find a place where Chinese people live. Nobody was allowed in, but we explained the truth to the security guards and they took lotus flowers and truth-clarification materials, promising to distribute them among the Chinese workers. They started distributing them while we were still there, just as some Chinese women were leaving the hotel.

A Second Trip to Georgia and a Trip to Armenia

We were in Georgia only a couple of days when we realized that it wasn't enough time. Armenia is close to Georgia, but we did not know if there were any practitioners in Armenia. A practitioner from Ukraine, who was ethnic Armenian, had already visited Armenia and introduced Dafa to her sister, who still had many newspapers and flyers. She spoke to us about the importance of going to Armenia.

When I shared the idea of going to Georgia and Armenia with the practitioners I'd gone with on previous trips, all of them said they would go, and other practitioners also wanted to join us too. This time there were 11 of us in our international group. We decided to spend 9 days in Georgia and 9 days in Armenia at the end of March.

In May, I usually go to the Falun Dafa conference in New York. It is a great honor to be present at such a conference. I had a thought that I might not be given more vacation time in May, since I was already going to Georgia and Armenia in March. I asked for additional vacation time but my request was turned down.

I got home and sat down to send righteous thoughts, then studied the Fa. Then I sent righteous thoughts again. I thought that the trip to Georgia and Armenia was very important. I couldn’t believe that, because I was going to Georgia and Armenia, I wouldn't be able to go to the conference. I wanted to see Teacher; I didn't know if it is an attachment or not, but I wanted to see Teacher very much! How can a practitioner not want to see Teacher? My eyes were full of tears.

The next day I talked to my boss again. I had clarified the truth to him a long time ago, and many members of his family signed the petition protesting the harvesting of organs from living people. This time when I asked for a vacation, he agreed.

Dear fellow practitioners! I was again convinced that practitioners do have strong righteous thoughts. When I thought that I won’t get my vacation time, it was not given to me. Once I decided that I would get it, I got it. It is so important to maintain righteous thoughts at all times!

We seriously prepared for this trip. Everyone knew exactly what to do: to collect information from the Internet, to prepare truth-clarifying materials, to prepare folders with materials for government departments. Practitioners who couldn't go made banners in Georgian and Armenian, translated the DAFOH petition into Georgian and Armenian, etc.

This time, we planned to work on three fronts:1) To go to the Chinese Embassy and to places where Chinese people work to distribute materials.2) To visit the government departments and to leave there folders with materials.3) To clarify the truth in public.

Here we were again in Georgia. But now there were more of us and we were better prepared. When we went to the government departments, we introduced ourselves as a multinational delegation from Russia, Ukraine, and Israel, that we were volunteers practicing Falun Dafa. We went downtown on a very busy street to do the exercises, distribute flyers, talk to people, and collect signatures on the petition. Two practitioners danced in beautiful dresses and drew even more attention.

We maintained a very compassionate state of mind and people felt it; many people gathered around us. They listened to us explain the facts about Falun Dafa, watched the dances, and stayed for a long time. We were photographed a lot, then people from a television station "accidentally" showed up. They interviewed a practitioner who was dancing, made a video, and then sent it to us.

We went to the Chinese Embassy and sent righteous thoughts there, while holding posters in Chinese: "Falun Dafa Hao!" (Falun Dafa is Great!) and "Zhen-Shan-Ren" (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance). When the police cars came, we clarified the truth to officers. They didn't disturb us. A Chinese woman came out of the embassy and began taking pictures of us. A practitioner approached her with materials, but she got nervous and started explaining that she was taking pictures of flowers, not us, and she showed us her flower photos. I hope that she will still have a chance to learn the truth.

We went to places where Chinese people work (we didn't wear our yellow T-shirts with the words "Falun Dafa" on them). When we started giving out beautiful paper lotus flowers, the people were saying, "Falun Gong," and most didn't take any. But some of them did. Some also took copies of the Nine Commentaries and immediately hid them in their pockets.

There were many interesting encounters, but I’ll mention just one. A practitioner clarified the truth to a middle-aged man who said he was a human rights activist and made an appointment with us in the office. After hearing us out, he offered to help. We exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

When I got home, I saw he had already written to me.

We worked together well and we worked hard. Every day we did the three things Master wants us to do. People thanked us for coming. We collected 893 signatures on the DAFOH petition.

In Yerevan, the Capital of Armenia

In Yerevan, we held events downtown. Just like in Georgia, people were receptive to what we had to say, signed the petition, and watched the dances. It was cold, and they all wore coats or jackets. A practitioner danced in a thin silk dress. When she was asked, "Aren't you cold?” she answered with a smile, “No, I am not cold."

Once a girl approached us and said that she was a Falun Dafa practitioner. Her mother in Moscow practiced and had shared it with her daughter. We were happy to meet her and exchanged phone numbers.

A small group of us went to the city of Echmiadzin, near Yerevan, to set up a meeting with the patriarch. We could only meet with his assistant, whom we asked to pass along the materials to the patriarch. It was the Day to Remember the Victims of Armenian Genocide in Yerevan, and priests from other countries were gathering, so we were able to give materials to many people.

We visited the ministries and left folders with information at their offices.

We decided to put materials in the Chinese and Syrian Embassies' mailboxes (they were next to each other) and clarify the truth to their security guards. When we left, we realized that a man had been watching us. He got on the bus when we did.

When the bus started to move, a police car barred its way. A police officer got on the bus and told us to go to his car. We were taken to a police station. There we had a chance to clarify the truth to many people, but the police told us that we should stop distributing materials and doing the exercises in public.

When we returned to our apartment, we studied the Fa, sent righteous thoughts, and discussed the situation. We had to leave in two days.

During the time we were in Armenia, 1,562 people signed the DAFOH petition.

Back home, we wrote a letter to a detention center and clarified the truth more deeply. In the future, before each trip, we will need to learn about the laws of the state to which we traveled and to notify the state departments in advance about our arrival. We also will need to ask to schedule appointments beforehand.

Conclusion

During the trips, practitioners treated each other with warmth and care. There were small conflicts but they were quickly resolved. All of us want to continue participating in this project, to continue going to countries where there are no practitioners.

"Question: I want to wholly and completely assimilate to Dafa, solidly and diligently advance with purity, put forth my best effort with the three things, and not let down Master, who has mercifully and laboriously saved us.

Teacher: If all of you have this understanding, we'll manage to do our tasks well. You mentioned how Master has mercifully and laboriously saved you, but if you ask me, I'd say you are the amazing ones, having come to where you are today. (Applause)" (“Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students”)

Thank you, Teacher. I don't have enough words to express my gratitude.

I thank fellow practitioners who travelled together with me. We worked as One Body, carrying out our mission and helping Master to save sentient beings.

Also many thanks to all fellow practitioners, wherever they are.