In "Falun Dafa: Lectures at the Western United States Conference ", Teacher says,"Buddhas are benevolent; this is indisputable. That benevolence, however, is a manifestation of the great Buddha Fa's power. In the face of the mighty power of the compassion of Buddha Fa, every bad substance--however bad it is--will be melted down. The demons thus are very scared; they are truly intimidated by this. They will be melted, evaporated, which is nothing like what is imagined by everyday people." (ad hoc translation prepared by the translator of this article)
Throughout the process of exposing and suffocating the evil, being rational, peaceful and compassionate has always been the distinctive characteristic of every action taken by Dafa practitioners. This is because true nonviolence can only be adopted by those whose cause is justice and truth. The principles that guide all our actions are none other than Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance -- the ultimate truth of this universe. Indeed, when the evil side uses violence, it will temporarily take a heavy toll on just and nonviolent people, even take their lives. However, this does not prevent those of the just side from displaying an indomitable spiritual strength and rock-solid moral standard throughout their struggle. In order to give Dafa its deserved position in the human world, and for sentient beings to have a truly blissful future, numerous Dafa practitioners have been working tirelessly for the past 18 months despite many difficulties and perils. This peaceful and persistent effort has enabled the entire world to see Jiang Zemin's cowardice and contemptible character. Meanwhile, it has also brought Falun Gong increasing sympathy and support.
Every day at Tiananmen Square, hundreds of practitioners appeal for Dafa in the most peaceful manner under the spotlight of the world media. Their upright peacefulness is a striking contrast to the wicked, unrestrained violence that meets them there. In enduring the beatings and curses of police and hired thugs (hired off of the streets by Jiang Zemin using taxpayers' money), Dafa practitioners are safeguarding the Fa with their own flesh and blood -- this awakens the righteous thoughts in many people's hearts. During the 18 months of relentless persecution, over 100 practitioners have been persecuted to death. Yet in these brutal 18 months, the practitioners have remained absolutely peaceful, and have never retaliated in any way. This is truly a great miracle, and it deeply touches many people. Recently, many righteous-minded governments and individuals have expressed their support for Falun Gong on the basis of human rights. Many important people in academic and political circles have even nominated Mr. Li Hongzhi and his students for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. All of these indicate that Falun Gong's peacefulness in the face of such unjustified persecution recalls the movements led by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, and has become one of the most brilliant peaceful movements in human history.
A dark page of history has been indelibly inked in with the unspeakable cruelty of Jiang Zemin and his accomplices. Motivated by a hatred and fear of Dafa, they are using all means at their disposal, however fraudulent, to denigrate this perfect example of benevolence and peacefulness. Many times they have disguised agents as practitioners and attempted to trigger violence, but each of their ploys has been easily exposed by righteous practitioners. Most recently, they have used the Xinhua News Agency, the government's official voice, well known for its fabricated "news" items, to charge Falun Gong practitioners with engaging in violence at Tiananmen. Their shameless disinformation can easily be exposed for what it is by looking at the more objective reports done by the Western media. Practitioners have kept each appeal completely peaceful through their most admirable endurance of hardships. The reports manufactured by Xinhua can do nothing to change the facts.
Teacher's new-year's day article "Beyond the Limits of Forbearance" cemented our resolve to continually reveal the evil and clarify the truth through various peaceful means. It has also given us increased spiritual strength to continue to practice the principles of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance as we always do.
Peace, in summary, is the manifestation of our noble moral strength, and the great power of a cultivator's compassion will eventually deprive the evil of the conditions necessary for its existence. With the progression of the Fa-rectification in the human world, the human race now has a more correct understanding of Dafa and is looking forward to a new world where "The Buddha light shines everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities."
