(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I’m from Jeju Island. I wrote a sharing article in 2014 and now eleven years have passed. I feel that I have not improved in my cultivation and am ashamed. But despite my shortcomings, I would like to share some recent experiences and hope that this will also encourage myself to be more diligent.
While growing up most of my family practiced Buddhism. I believe that Buddha exists and I’m full of respect for the Buddha. After I graduated from a normal school, I began working and my seemingly ordinary life began to undergo fundamental changes.
I worked in Anyang-si as a tutor. On busy weekdays, time passed by quickly. But on weekends, I was hit by feelings of emptiness. I was unaware of what was behind these feelings. Sometimes I enjoyed moments of satisfaction after receiving paychecks, buying cars, or having parties. But the joy did not last long. Deep inside, I felt empty.
One Saturday afternoon, I was having a beer with several other teachers when suddenly, they seemed strange to me, as if I didn’t know them at all. That was a very unique experience. After that, I lost interest in pursuing a career. I spent more time thinking about the meaning of life. Who am I? What’s the true reason for being human? What does “enlightenment” mean in Buddhism?
After thinking about it for two months, in the fall of 2001, I became a monk, with the wish to obtain the Way and gain enlightenment. I was 28.
In the beginning, I suffered a lot due to the change in life style. But because of my strong pursuit for the Way, I devoted myself in spiritual cultivation. Two years passed quickly. But I had new doubts about whether this was the “Buddhism” I was looking for and whether such modernized life in a temple that merely follows formality can save people in our time.
To look for a true teacher, I visited many “famous” people. Some of them were extraordinary, but no one convinced me that he was the one that I would follow for the rest of my life.
Then in 2006, at the Tonghwa Temple in Daegu, I saw a booklet titled “The Path to True Health: Falun Gong.” My predestined relationship with Dafa thus began.
I obtained the book Zhuan Falun. While reading the first paragraph of “On Dafa,” my body felt shocked. My eyes lit up. “This isn’t an ordinary qigong book. It’s the Buddha Fa!”
I read page after page and was very excited. The teaching was written in plain and easy language. I felt a strong power pulling me to keep reading. I felt I was listening to a lecture given by someone who has enlightened to everything. After reading all of Master’s books, I became very clear about what kind of enlightened being He is and why Master has come during the end time to teach Dafa. I no longer needed to look further.
At the beginning of my cultivation, I felt ritual anointment (guan-ding) many times. By the third year, I had already experienced many things mentioned in Zhuan Falun. But because of my poor enlightenment quality, I was still curious about what Buddhism has to teach and had an attachment to a secluded life. I also feared what kind of life would I live if I return to the mundane society. I stayed in the temple for a few more years.
Starting from 2010, I met a few practitioners in Ulsan. Suggested by one of them, I went to the Jeju Island the first time in 2012 and took part in activities to clarify the facts to the Chinese tourists. With fellow practitioners’ help, I went to the airport to talk to the Chinese people. I had a dream that night: I was at a train station, a train full of passengers were traveling. I began to understand the importance of clarifying the facts to the Chinese.
Seeing hundreds of thousands of tourists coming from China, I had a strong wish to help them understand that Falun Dafa is good. I rented a house in Jeju Island and moved here permanently in 2013. As many tourists approached me on their own when we had activities, I took the initiative to learn Chinese to better communicate with them.
In the fall of 2015, I needed to go to the US for something. The direct flight to New York was 1.4 million yuan ($954 USD). It was a significant cost for me, so I kept searching and found another flight for 0.98 million yuan ($668 USD), but with a transfer in Beijing. I thought that it was no problem to spend the night at the airport in Beijing and I could save 400,000 yuan. So I booked that ticket.
When I was boarding the flight to New York after spending the night at the Beijing airport, security guards asked to check my personal bag at the gate. They found two copies of Zhuan Falun, one in Chinese and the other in Korean, which I had prepared to read on the plane.
“What’s this? Falun Gong?” one officer asked.
I became nervous and said, “I’m from South Korea. I’m going to the US.”
The two officers didn’t know what to do. Then six others came over and asked what happened. They surrounded me, talked among themselves for a while and then made a call.
I asked Master for help and kept sending forth righteous thoughts. I had trouble calming down. After a while, a man wearing a high-end suit came over and talked in a walkie-talkie. Then the flight took off. I panicked. I couldn’t believe that the plane left without me.
The man said to me, “You can’t leave. Come with me.” He brought me to an office. I saw my suitcase was also brought there. Two officers from customs were there too. They took everything out of my luggage, and took photos of my face, passport, Zhuan Falun and other personal belongings. They also asked about my profession and the reason I was going to the US.
I told them that I was working in a local specialties shop in South Korea and I was going to the US to visit some friends and have a tour. I also said to them in Chinese, “Falun Gong is good. I’m a Korean. I’m going to the US, you shouldn’t be interrogating me.” They ignored me.
I became fearful and worried whether they would take me to the detention center. I wanted to send righteous thoughts, but I was too anxious. After one hour, they confiscated my Zhuan Falun and took me to the airline counter. I explained the situation to the staffer and demanded they re-issue me a ticket. But she responded, “This is a government affair and it’s not the airline’s fault. We can’t put you on another flight.”
I felt the whole thing was so absurd and I didn’t know what to do. I called the practitioner couple in the US that I had contact with. They said to me, “You can leave! They need to put you on another flight. You can come here. Master is protecting you. You have the right to leave!”
Fellow practitioners’ words encouraged me and strengthened my righteous thoughts. I went back to the airline counter and asked to talk to the manager. Now it was the staffer who became nervous. She called someone. After talking for one minute, she hung up and said to me, “Alright, I will find a flight for you.” So I boarded another flight and arrived in New York.
I gained two new understandings from this incident. The first is, without solid foundation in cultivation, I won’t be able to make breakthroughs when passing a test.
Master said,
“In cultivation, the difference between humanness and godhood is just the difference of one thought. This difference of one thought sounds easy, but it can be achieved only with a deep and solid foundation in cultivation. If you can really devote a lot of effort to studying the Fa, you will be able to achieve that.” (Teachings at the 2004 International Conference in New York)
My cultivation wasn’t solid and I didn’t study the Fa enough, so I couldn’t pass the test on my own. My two Zhuan Falun books were confiscated and I didn’t board the original flight.
Secondly, practitioners’ righteous sharing can help those in difficulty and strengthen them. When I was feeling upset for failing to catch the flight, it was a fellow practitioner who strengthened my righteous thoughts and enabled me to break through the tribulation arranged by the old forces.
In clarifying the facts to the Chinese, there were many stories and I’d like to share a few that left me with a deep impression.
Earlier this year, when a cruise made a stop at Jeju Island, I held a poster board that said “Falun Dafa is good” in front of a tax-free store. A middle-aged man came over and asked, “Why do you oppose the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)?”
I answered, “We are not opposing the CCP. We oppose the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Falun Dafa is good, but the CCP is persecuting it.”
Another Chinese man nearby chimed in and said, “The CCP pays our salary, and Falun Gong doesn’t give us money. There is no new China without the CCP.”
I panicked a little bit, but quickly calmed down and pondered how to clarify the facts to them given the specific situation.
I took out another poster, which said, “The Chinese Communist Party isn’t China. Loving the country doesn’t equal loving the Party. Don’t be confused about country and Party. The Chinese people are the divine’s children, not Carl Marx’s children.”
I maintained my righteous thoughts while holding the poster. The Chinese tourists read it for a while and then left.
In the end, only the man who initiated the conversation with me was still there. He came closer and asked me, “Is it true that I can be saved in a catastrophe if I recite ‘Falun Dafa is good’?”
I was shocked by his question. I understood immediately that he wanted to confirm what he heard; that’s why he talked to me.
I replied, “As long as you sincerely recite ‘Falun Dafa is good,’ you are sure to be saved.”
He thought seriously for a while and then left. His facial expression is still vivid in my mind.
In the spring of 2023, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese tourists returned, especially in the summer. Then starting in late October, there were many incidents when our truth-clarification booths were interfered with or even damaged.
I was facing huge pressure because of the interference at the truth-clarification sites. Sometimes the thugs damaged the posters in front of the Chinese tourists, leaving them with a very bad impression. It was evident that the vandalization was instructed by the CCP.
As the local coordinator, it was painful. If we could catch the thugs, it would be easier. But if they ran away, it only made the situation worse. But even if we caught them and took them to the police station, the whole process of trying to establish the case with the police still left me very exhausted, both physically and mentally. It always made me anxious as soon as practitioners who were working at the information booths called me and I worried whether more damage occurred.
I discussed this with the coordinator of the Dafa Association. They decided to have a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in Jeju Island on November 28, 2023, to condemn the CCP for damaging Falun Gong truth-clarification sites. Over 170 practitioners from all parts of South Korea joined the event. They also distributed flyers in different areas, exposing the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong and infiltration in South Korea. The local energy field was cleared.
Considering that the number of Chinese tourists significantly outnumbered the practitioners in Jeju Island, the Dafa Association provided dorms for practitioners from other parts of the country to stay at Jeju Island and help clarify the truth to the Chinese people. They also sought help from the Dafa Association in Taiwan. Many practitioners came from Taiwan on their own cost. As more and more practitioners came, we expanded the dorms a year later.
As time passes, in addition to practitioners from Taiwan, we also welcomed those from southeast Asia, Europe, and North America. We need much better coordination and arrangement of the dorms and I had a lot more to worry about. I felt the limitation in my capacity. But I understand that this is mandatory in my cultivation and I need to improve myself. Whenever a problem occurred again, we shared with each other, looked within, increased our group Fa study and sent righteous thoughts together. When our hearts are working toward the same direction, the interference gradually stopped.
Master said,
“We are at a significant historical moment in the end times, when the Way is renewing creation and redemption is being offered to humankind. So no matter what issues arise, all the more so should you approach things with a spiritual frame of mind; put Dafa before other things; and keep at the forefront of your mind, and make a singular focus of, safeguarding Dafa practitioners’ initiatives and ensuring that they achieve the success that they should in saving lives.” (“Critical Times Reveal One’s Spiritual State”)
During the period when the information booths were frequently vandalized, a police officer I know called me to have coffee together. I thought that this was a good opportunity to clarify the facts to him. I prepared some materials and thought about how to best present the issue to gain his support.
I specifically prepared information about how the CCP’s influence operations in our country is sabotaging the national security. I gave examples of how the “Northeast Project” distorted history, the spread of the CCP virus, how they stole cutting-edge technologies from western companies, the spy agency Confucius Institute, and their operating secret police stations across the globe.
After greeting each other, the officer said that they had been receiving vandalization reports non-stop; the police station was paying close attention to the matter, as well as personal safety of Falun Gong practitioners. He asked whether we should do something to prevent it, such as reducing the number of poster boards or the time we stay there.
Unlike how he talked to me in the past, I could feel the pressure and tension in his words. I said to him, “Dear officer, Falun Gong activities aren’t about just about us. The CCP is infiltrating South Korea in every way possible and our national security is in jeopardy. You should also know that we have the Chinese Consulate, Confucius Institute, and the secret police station on Jeju Island. Here is some information for you.”
I handed him the materials and kept talking, “Under the current circumstances, we are exposing the CCP’s tyranny and human rights persecution to the Chinese people. They had always been told that the CCP is great and correct. When they see the true history on how the CCP have been killing people, persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, and even harvesting their organs, they will realize that the CCP is neither great nor correct. In fact, it’s a dictatorship that has been deceiving and suppressing its people. If the Chinese people can see what the CCP really is and quit it, the CCP will eventually collapse. When that happens, the threat we are facing will disappear. So the activities we are having isn’t only about Falun Gong, but also protecting our own country’s security. Shouldn’t you help us?”
The officer thought about it for a while and then said, “Alright, I will arrange more cars to patrol near the tax-free shops.”
I was amazed by how well I explained the whole situation. But I soon realized that Master was strengthening me and I thanked Master in my heart.
Not long after, the police did increase the number of cars patrolling near the tax-free shops, where there was high traffic of the Chinese tourists. If any information booth was vandalized again, the police would come faster than before. Once about 11 officers came to check the situation. If the person who attacked us resisted law enforcement or caused great damage, the police would handcuff them. Such scenes surprised many tourists. Because in China, the police were arresting Falun Gong practitioners; but in South Korea, the police are protecting Falun Gong practitioners and arresting the Chinese who vandalized Falun Gong booths. This clearly shows the Chinese tourists the difference between a democratic country and communist dictatorship.
A young officer used to have a cold attitude towards us when he took office two years ago, even colder than his predecessor. When I talked to him, I was always friendly and warm. I also shared with him some informational materials and clarified the facts to him when the situation allowed. I could feel that his attitude was slowly changing.
After a performance by the Tianguo Marching Band last March, his attitude completely changed. He was very helpful when we prepared for more events this year. After a parade this year, I thanked him for working over the weekend to support us. He said it was fine and the music performed by the Tianguo Marching Band was still ringing in his ears and one day he may start practicing Falun Gong. We looked at each other and laughed.
I also shared the organization charts of pro-CCP and United Fronts groups with police officers in the departments for intelligence, foreign affairs, and security. They were all surprised to see it and asked me where I got such “high-level intelligence.” I then took the opportunity to introduce the newspaper The Epoch Times to them. When Shen Yun came to perform, I also shared the information with them and played the promotional videos for them. One officer said, “I thought Falun Gong is only a spiritual cultivation group. I didn’t realize that you had such a huge influence.”
The Dafa Association decided to have performances by the Tianguo Marching Band on September 20 this year and then a parade celebrating 450 million Chinese quitting the CCP and its affiliated organizations the next day. Over 500 practitioners joined the events, including 135 people from the Tianguo Marching Band.
On September 20, the Tianguo Marching Band performed for Chinese tourists at the port and tax-free shops. The tourists were impressed and enjoyed the music. They waved their hands, took photos and gave thumbs-up.
It was another magnificent scene when hundreds of practitioners did the exercises together on September 21 in the park. The grand parade led by the Tianguo Marching Band further cleaned the energy field on Jeju Island.
The two-day event let me see how much effort from so many practitioners is needed to have successful events. I also witnessed the enormous power when Dafa practitioners put our hearts together and work with each other for the same goal.
We’ve established many truth-clarification sites in Jeju Island with high traffic of Chinese tourists, including the airport, port, tax-free shops, and other popular viewpoints. Each site took a lot of effort to establish. We overcame many difficulties and interference to create the opportunities. Now it’s not only practitioners from South Korea, but practitioners from many other countries are also helping to support and protect the sites. Conflicts among ourselves due to different understandings and external interference are inevitable, but because we can all look within and try our best to validate Dafa, everything becomes possible.
I like to watch YouTube in my spare time. The attachment became very serious by the end of last year. One night I had a dream: I was driving a bus full of passengers, but the road became very narrow and the situation was very dangerous; when I was about to make a left turn, the road was even narrower than the bus; I couldn’t go any further and stopped the bus. Then I woke up in panic.
I realized that Master was giving me a hint. Given my current cultivation status, I couldn’t go any further or save sentient beings. The dream was so clear and shocking to me that I often use it to urge myself to do better.
Master said:
“Your path is, and I think you’ve all seen this now, actually very narrow. If you deviate just a little bit you won’t measure up to the standard of a Dafa disciple. There is only one very righteous path we can walk on, and we can’t deviate even just a little bit, because this is required by history, and required by the lives of sentient beings in the future cosmos. The cosmos in the future can’t have any deviation or errors due to your having omissions during the Fa-rectification, so it’s important for you to walk each and every step well during your own validating the Fa.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume III)
Writing this sharing article helped me find many problems that I didn’t pay attention to in the past. To fulfill my historic responsibility as a Dafa disciple, I will keep looking within for my attachments and become more diligent.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2025 South Korea Fa Conference)