(Minghui.org) I participated in the peaceful petition at the National Public Complaints and Proposals Office on April 25, 1999. I wore a suit and tie that day because I believe that practitioners should make a good impression on people. Moreover, I believe that one should be very serious when dealing with state-level government offices. I wanted to try my best to do my best in all aspects.

I thought that we should keep the site clean because we practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I noticed some practitioners walking along the street carrying large plastic bags, asking practitioners who were waiting on the sidewalk, “Do you have any rubbish to throw away?” Some practitioners walked into the center of Fuyou Street, picked up the empty bottles dropped by pedestrians and threw them into trash cans. I felt that practitioners did a really good job.

I wanted to see if there was anything else that needed to be done, so I walked along the street and looked around. I picked up some of the garbage that passersby discarded and thew it into trash cans. I also found several cigarette butts the police had discarded. I felt that the area wasn’t clean if I didn’t pick them up, so I walked along the street and started picking them up.

I walked tens of meters while picking up cigarette butts, and threw handfuls of them into trash cans. I continued to pick up cigarette butts along the street, then I came to a place where there was a pile of them. It turned out that this was the police station outside the west gate of Zhongnanhai [the central government compound]. Several policemen were inside and outside the station. They must have been discarding their cigarette butts while they were standing here. I hesitated for a moment. These policemen dropped so many cigarette butts that the ground was covered with them; should I pick them up? 

I thought that our petition near Zhongnanhai was a very significant event. Wasn’t this a historic moment? What should I do? I told myself that I should try to do my best. So I squatted down and started picking up that pile of cigarette butts.

Even though I picked up countless cigarette butts, the ground was still littered with them. A policeman noticed what I was doing and said, “You don’t need to pick them up!” I said calmly, “It’s okay.” I continued picking up all the remaining cigarette butts. Carrying them in my hands, I threw them into a trash can.

Master later said,

“Students [gathered at Zhongnanhai] picked up the cigarette butts left by police, leaving the ground spotless, without a scrap of paper, after they left.” (Teachings at the Midwestern U.S. Conference)

Seeing Master’s words, I felt inexpressible joy. Of course I know that I was not the only one who picked up cigarette butts that day.