(Minghui.org) From early June to July 20, 2016, I was involved in five large-scale activities. On my journey from the European Parliament in Strasbourg and Brussels, to the world financial center in London, my xinxing improved dramatically.
Fellow practitioners encouraged me to join these activities. I realized that I needed to eliminate the concept that I was an old woman. For several years, I have worked on the telephone platform to tell Chinese people about Falun Dafa and the persecution. Apart from participating in local activities every Saturday, I sit in front of a computer every day.
When I thought about travelling away from home, I started to worry. I might not be able to walk fast enough to keep up with other practitioners, as I was getting older. However, I was fully aware of the importance of these activities, so I promised to help.
The first stop was the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Members of the European Parliament from multiple Parties put out a joint written statement, demanding that the European Parliament immediately carry out an independent investigation into the live organ harvesting in China.
This written statement would be open for signatures for three months. If more than half the members of the European Parliament signed it, the statement would automatically become a European Parliament resolution. Time was pressing.
On June 5, fellow practitioners gave us a lift to the airport. After waiting all night at the airport, we flew to Switzerland at 7 a.m. We had to use public transportation and change cars six times, but as soon as we arrived at the the European Parliament in Strasbourg, our feelings of exhaustion disappeared immediately.
Practitioners from different countries in Europe gathered in front of the European Parliament building on the first day. They unfolded huge banners, and almost 100 practitioners did the exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts together.
It was summer and the weather was boiling hot. We kept doing the exercises and talking to people from 7 a.m. to just before 6 p.m. At 6 p.m., a fierce storm suddenly appeared, breaking a flagpole and blowing our pamphlets everywhere. The temperature suddenly dropped, and several of us hurried to take shelter under a nearby bridge.
The storm broke just before it was time for the European lawmakers to go home. It was also time for the global sending forth of righteous thoughts. Because of the rain and the sudden drop in temperature, I began shivering and ran to take shelter under the bridge. Other practitioners also began to leave. After we tidied things up, we had to wait for our van for nearly two hours. Despite the extremes in weather and temperature, we did not complain.
Later, we reviewed what happened that day. We were aware that, in cultivation, nothing happens accidentally. Any challenges we experience are opportunities and tests to improve in our cultivation. If most of the other practitioners and I had not walked away, if we had stood fast, what would had been the result?
I then remembered something that happened in China prior to the persecution: Once when we were doing the exercises as a group, a sudden storm came, and most of the 30 practitioners left. Three or four did not move and kept meditating. After they finished doing the exercises, the places where they sat were dry; so were their clothes. I understood what happened and said to Master, “Master, I was wrong. I will know how to handle the situation in the future.”
We experienced a similar situation and test of our resolve in Belgium. On July 13, even though it began to rain, we kept doing the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts. That time we did very well, and we all felt that Master and gods were blessing us.
Around lunch time, we heard some good news. More than half of the European Parliament Members had signed to support the written statement. That meant that the statement opposing the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) live organ harvesting automatically became a European Parliament resolution.
Every practitioner applauded but without unbridled excitement. We were very calm and solemn. We all made it clear in our pre-event sharing that our goal was not to achieve the resolution, but for all the Members of Parliament to state their position and be saved. Some practitioners saw Master’s huge law body in the sky.
After the event, other practitioners told us what happened during some of their discussions with the parliament members. When they talked to the MEPs, many of them said that they noticed us doing the exercises and meditating outside, despite the rain. During the time when it rained the hardest, the number of MEPs signing the statement immediately rose.
I then felt more significantly the importance of Teacher’s Fa:
“Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Zhuan Falun)
Many other practitioners contributed behind the scenes: all the coordinators worked hard to keep everything running smoothly and even brought bottled water to every practitioner; the practitioners who drove refused to be reimbursed for the fuel; two young practitioners acted as guides and interpreters for us. It was really Master who arranged everything for us perfectly.
On our way back we recited On Dafa, sang songs composed by Dafa practitioners, and talked about our cultivation experiences. Laughing with joy, we relished the opportunity to be together. We had come there from many different European countries to help Master in Fa-rectification and to fulfil our vows.
Putting Compassion into Practice
On October 20, 2015, the current Chinese leader arrived in Britain for a four-day visit. Along his motorcade route, practitioners held large banners with messages like “Falun Dafa Is Good” and “Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice.”
On the evening of October 22, dozens of practitioners held large banners and waited for him to walk out of a meeting. We wished to remind him why he should bring Jiang Zemin to justice and stop the persecution of Falun Dafa. Practitioner Zhang and I were telling people about Falun Dafa and the persecution while several other practitioners were holding the banners.
Suddenly, a group of young people holding Chinese Communist Party flags came running toward us. They shouted and hurried back and forth. One of them ran into me and nearly knocked me over. He then put the Chinese flag on the fence we were standing by. His behavior was really appalling. As he kept shoving me, he tried to cover our banners with his flag.
We were conscious of remaining kind, however. “Boys, we are all Chinese,” one practitioner said. “We know that you are actually good people. Please don’t do this. Jiang Zemin is a traitor to China. He came to power by slaughtering students during the June 4 massacre. Now he is persecuting Falun Dafa.”
The young men calmed down. They stopped shouting, but still tried to cover our banners.
I adjusted my attitude and said to one of the boys next to me, “Young man, today is very special because we have a chance to talk to each other. Please listen to me—we are all Chinese. The communist party is not Chinese. It is from the West. We are Chinese, so why are we fighting with each other? There is no hatred between us. This hatred you feel comes from communism.”
He listened carefully while I spoke to him about the persecution and the universal principles of Falun Dafa. The Chinese flag in his hand began to droop. The wind was helping us and began to blow their flags down. He no longer shoved me, nor did he wave the flag.
I then told him about quitting the CCP and he agreed to withdraw from it. I gave him an alias to use to quit.
Later, on the first day of the current Chinese leader’s visit to Britain, we followed his schedule to Manchester, where the embassy organized a few hundred Chinese students to assault us. We practitioners were not affected by their aggression and verbal abuse; instead, we quietly did the exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts.
Our dignity and kindness moved many of the local police officers. They kept order for us and dispersed the Chinese students. Sometimes, the police even helped us. “That man over there doesn’t have a pamphlet yet,” one officer commented. “Please offer him a copy.”
For more than five hours, a small handful of us persuaded 24 students to quit the CCP, and we handed out more than a hundred truth clarification brochures. It really felt like a miracle.
Abiding by the Fa at All Times
Master uses all circumstances to temper practitioners, to help us improve, and to offer us opportunities to help Him in Fa-rectification. My understanding is that participating in group activities to validate the Fa can help us quickly improve, as long as we are determined.
I also understand that what constitutes compassion can melt steel.
Through years of practice and cultivation, my mind and thoughts have become calmer and calmer, and I know that I've matured. My gratitude to Master is beyond words. The best way I can thank Master is to do the three things well during the remaining precious days.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
Category: Improving Oneself
