Clarifying the Truth is Part of Cultivation in the Fa-Rectification Period

(Clearwisdom.net)

Greetings revered Teacher! Greetings fellow practitioners!

With the progression of the Fa-rectification, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: During the suppression of Falun Gong launched and sustained by Jiang Zemin and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the victims include non-practitioners who fell prey to the CCP propaganda intended to turn public opinion against Falun Gong. By launching the persecution of Falun Gong, the CCP has created its own ultimate doom and has brought the worst disaster and tribulations upon the world's people, especially people from China. It is part of cultivation in the Fa-rectification period for Falun Gong practitioners to explain the truth to the world's people about this. It is also a process where we upgrade our understandings on the Fa about the persecution. After all, clarifying the truth about Falun Gong is not about an ordinary person doing ordinary things.

Looking back at my cultivation, I have developed a better understanding about the following passage of the Fa. Teacher said,

"When it comes to doing things, I consider the process most important, because during the process you can have people see the truth, during the process you can save the world's people, and during the process you can reveal the truth." "But you often emphasize the results instead of fully explaining to them the facts that you should explain during that process. Only when all people know the truth that they should know are you really validating the Fa and clarifying the facts." ("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")

1. The Process of Clarifying the Truth Is a Process of Searching Inward

After the CCP started its suppression of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, my family started to pressure me to give up my belief in Falun Gong because they were afraid of being persecuted by association with me. They told me, "If you continue to practice Falun Gong, my children might not get into a good school or into the army." I also got a tremendous amount of pressure from management at work. They inverted the truth and accused Falun Gong practitioners of being selfish, heartless and unthoughtful of others because we refused to give in to the CCP's suppression and thus, created a lot of trouble for them. Some of my family members even cooperated with the local 610 Office, my work unit and the local police to suppress my belief in Falun Gong. When the persecution reached its peak in China, I wanted to leave home temporarily to avoid further persecution, so I asked to move in with a relative. But all the relatives I approached turned me down.

When I first started explaining to them that Falun Gong is not at all what the propaganda had portrayed, they refused to listen. "What persecution are you talking about? We are concerned about you and helping you because we are your relatives!" Later on they would snap, "Don't tell me these things to poison us!" Later on they would say, "It is nobody's business that you insist on practicing Falun Gong. On the other hand, it is our business how we perceive Falun Gong. You shouldn't try to change our opinion." Later on they would avoid the subject completely, "The persecution of Falun Gong is of no concern to me. I only care about living a good life. I am only interested in making money and getting my son into a good college."

My family members are non-practitioners. Their negative responses may have resulted from the CCP's deceitful hate propaganda against Falun Gong, as well as their degenerated values and fear of guilt by association, but it is true that they were also worried about me. Besides, they really have been miserable because of the tremendous level of pressure from the CCP. Like many ordinary people that have been misinformed about Falun Gong, my family and relatives have been forced to participate in the suppression of Falun Gong. Because of that, they are the real victims. When I look at my family, I feel pity as well as compassion. I hold no grudges against them. Instead, I know it is my duty to have them understand the facts about Falun Gong.

While I was trying to understand where they were coming from, I also identified my own problems reflected in their behavior. First, my energy field was not completely pure. When the persecution started, I didn't have a good understanding of the Fa on many issues. I had attachments to fear and zealotry. When I clarified the truth to my family, sometimes I did it for selfish reasons or just did it to get the "work" done. Second, people in my social circle may have witnessed Falun Gong's miraculous healing power in me when my ailments disappeared. However, I didn't have anything to talk about with other people, except to talk about Falun Gong. I was not interested in anything other than cultivation, so my family and relatives sometimes felt neglected and unloved.

Teacher cautioned us in Zhuan Falun,

"Due to human excitement, one will develop unnecessary zealotry. It causes one to behave abnormally in one's form of doing things, in interacting with others in ordinary human society, or in the environment of ordinary human society. I say that this is unacceptable." ("Attachment of Zealotry" in Lecture Eight of Zhuan Falun)

I realized that I had gone to an extreme, but I had thought of myself as pretty diligent to neglect everything except cultivation. I realized that the tribulations I had faced had to do with loopholes in my cultivation practice. These loopholes became excuses for the old forces to persecute me. (But we must completely deny their persecution because Teacher didn't arrange it and it is not part of our cultivation.)

Teacher said,

"You are cultivators, whose conduct is [supposed to be] pure and righteous. There are so many people who think you're great just by having seen how you act. If we don't pay attention to our own behavior in our daily lives, everyday people will see our actions and, since they can't get to know you at a deep level such as by studying the Fa, they will just look at how you act. And it's possible that one sentence or one action of yours will make them un-savable or create a bad impression of Dafa. We need to think about these things." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")

Teacher said,

"So long as you, a Dafa disciple, do things righteously, you will transform the environment around you, and you will change people." ("Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005")

Once I identified my attachments and problems, I began to rectify myself according to the Fa. I have a strong belief: the more hardship I face in cultivation, the more I must try to conduct myself according to the Fa because I will damage Falun Gong's good name if I don't.

When the child of a relative was about to take a college entrance examination, she and her husband asked me to do their grocery shopping and to cook for him for over a month. I obliged them right away. Every evening I made new dishes for the child. I took opportunities to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to the child and his parents. After a period of time together, the couple completely changed their opinion of Falun Gong. She said, "We have been watching you closely. Actually a colleague of mine also practices Falun Gong. You two are not at all like what TV has portrayed." Once the couple understood the truth about Falun Gong and the CCP, they agreed to withdraw from the CCP, its Youth League and its Young Pioneer League that they once joined. In addition, they began to persuade their family members and friends into withdrawing from the CCP. When they accidentally found Falun Gong truth-clarification VCDs and other materials, they brought them to work to share with their colleagues.

At first the child was very cold to me, but he gradually warmed up and changed his attitude towards Falun Gong. In the end, he was admitted to the college he wanted. When their entire family thanked me for what I had done for them, I told them that it was because they accepted that Falun Gong is good that the child is blessed with the good fortune of getting into a good college. One of them has read Zhuan Falun from cover to cover.

I have another relative who was most adamantly opposed at first and refused to even listen to anything I had to say about Falun Gong. Later on she and her child lived with me for about six months. At first, the child acted like a spoiled brat. He was prone to illness and would get sick frequently. After he moved in with me, he gradually learned the facts about Falun Gong. He even read Zhuan Falun once from cover to cover. After that, he didn't get sick for six months, which was completely unheard of in the past. The ringworm on his scalp and the acne on his face also disappeared. His complexion became fair and he put on some weight. Moreover, he became more mature and reasonable. His parents are so excited about his many improvements that they keep showing him off. His parents tried to give me money for living expenses, but I didn't accept it. Afterwards, they became more receptive when I clarified the truth to them. Now, my family has a completely different, positive view of Falun Gong. Fourteen of them have withdrawn from the CCP or its two affiliated leagues.

Looking back on my experiences, I realized that Teacher has already taught us everything we need to know. It is because I didn't cultivate or conduct myself well that I had met with so many obstacles on my cultivation path.

2. The Process of Clarifying the Truth is Validating the Fa

Before the persecution began, an elderly relative was very affectionate towards me and had a lot of trust in me. After the persecution began, the CCP had the Chinese media broadcast propaganda repeatedly to incite people's hatred against Falun Gong. The staged self-immolation at Tiananmen Square and the homicides committed by Fu Yibin, who was never a Falun Gong practitioner, were particularly harmful. The elder was told to be on guard against me by someone who fell prey to the CCP's hate propaganda. After that, he was opposed to Falun Gong and me. He accused Falun Gong practitioners of lacking feelings for their families. He even gave me a severe warning not to talk to him about Falun Gong. When he learned that I clarified the truth about Falun Gong to his children, he forbade me from calling his home. He once even said, "She is still practicing Falun Gong today! She must be mentally deranged! Send her to a mental institution!"

Under such adverse circumstances, what could I do to help them understand that Falun Gong is good? I am a Falun Gong practitioner, so I must not respond to hostility or false accusations like an ordinary person would. I decided to conduct myself according to the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" that Teacher has imparted. I had a strong wish: I must show them through my behavior that Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners are good. When you treat me badly, I shall treat you with more kindness. I must help them develop a positive understanding about Falun Gong. I must dispel the false accusations and smear campaigns against Teacher, Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners run by the Chinese TV stations, radio stations and newspapers.

Based on traditional Chinese etiquette, I would call on the elder relative with presents during the Chinese New Year and traditional holidays. When he refused to let me in, I would leave my gift downstairs and ask his children to pick it up. I didn't mind their cold neglect; I continued to do what I am supposed to do.

One day I was given a fruit basket containing rare imported fruits. The gift was too precious to be savored, so I decided to give it to the elder relative. There was a gusty wind and a mild sand storm that day. The elder relative was in the hospital because of an illness. I delivered the fruit basket to him despite the adverse weather. I kept visiting him in the hospital and made him dishes he was partial to. Little by little he changed his opinion on Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners because of my actions. He knows that my family is not well off, that I have been a frugal person and that I seek nothing in return. He also knows that I always give the best I can afford. He felt the sincerity and kindness I have acquired because of Falun Gong.

Gradually they have changed their attitude towards Falun Gong. I tried to explain to them what Falun Gong really is in ways they can accept. Gradually they became more and more receptive to what I told them. Nowadays he looks forward to my visits. Every time I call on him, he will use different excuses to keep me there longer to chat with him. As I repeatedly clarified the truth to him and his family, five people in his household have withdrawn from the CCP.

3. The Process of Clarifying the Truth is the Process of the One-Body of Practitioners Eliminating the Evil

I have been clarifying the truth at work. There are two people who are managers and have persecuted Falun Gong practitioners to different extents. When I first clarified the truth to them, they refused to listen. They gave me the same response. "In my position, I have to do this type of work. If I don't, I will lose my job." Since then, they have tried to avoid me. After a while I met the two men again. When I clarified the truth to them this time, their attitude was completely different.

What had happened? It turned out that many other practitioners had been clarifying the truth to them for some time. As a result, the two of them had already read truth-clarification materials, including the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. Once they understood, they wanted to withdraw from the CCP they had once joined, but they didn't tell fellow practitioners due to security concerns. This time, one of them told his wife, and they agreed to withdraw right away. When he ran into me later, he followed up on the matter to make sure that I had published the withdrawal statements on their behalf. He added that he had started reading Zhuan Falun. He also helped ship truth-clarification materials for Falun Gong practitioners. As for the other guy, he asked a few things he had read in the truth-clarification material that he didn't understand and then agreed to withdraw as well.

A friend of mine was willing to listen when I clarified the truth to him in the past, but he was somewhat skeptical. For the past few years, he has traveled to several countries around the world. In every country he visited, he ran into Falun Gong practitioners clarifying the truth to him at local scenic spots and persuading him to withdraw from the CCP and/or its two affiliated leagues. He personally saw that Falun Gong is popular in many countries around the world. When he returned to China, he gladly withdrew from the CCP when I clarified the truth to him again.

I have realized from these experiences that the process of clarifying the truth is the process of the one-body of practitioners eliminating the evil from other dimensions. This is similar to a relay where practitioners take turns eliminating the evil beings. Without the evil beings' manipulation, ordinary people's knowing side will dominate and they will be able to make a wise choice with a clear mind.

4. The Process of Clarifying the Truth is the Process of Purging Notions

There are several stories I would like to share here. One day I clarified the truth to a colleague. Given what I know about him, I was worried that his wife would interfere with or oppose what I had to say. However, what happened was just the opposite of what I had expected. He was willing to listen, but he didn't agree to withdraw from the CCP. His wife, on the other hand, withdrew from the CCP right away and asked to read Zhuan Falun.

There are three senior officials at work commonly perceived as "stubborn old men." I tried to clarify the truth to them and persuade them to withdraw from the CCP. My colleagues thought it would be impossible for them to withdraw from the CCP. They warned me that it could get very ugly if I should try. They refused to listen at first, but they became increasingly receptive. Finally, the three "stubborn old men" agreed to withdraw.

I have met a family where both husband and wife work at a government organization where the CCP's brainwashing propaganda is especially prevalent. In other words, they were more severely poisoned by the CCP. Their child is a college student. At first, I thought young people must be more open-minded because they tend to have fewer notions, so I decided to clarify the truth to their child first and have him pass the truth on to his parents. After a few attempts, the result was just the opposite. The child didn't withdraw from the CCP until six months after his parents did.

I have clarified the truth to a military man a few times, but he repeatedly refused to withdraw from the CCP. I told myself that I must not hold on to any notion and I must not be anxious or hold grudges. Then suddenly I felt compassion towards him because he was deeply poisoned by the CCP's systematic lies and didn't know how to save himself from danger. I must try to save him, I told myself. "Why don't you read the 'Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party' and other materials I have brought you before you jump to any conclusions. I will call on you again after a while," I told him. "If you don't change your understanding about the wicked CCP or withdraw from it, you will face the same doom that shall ultimately befall the CCP. I must not abandon you when I see you in such danger." He suddenly looked very touched and told me, "Okay. I agree to withdraw. You Falun Gong practitioners are too kind. I can feel your kindness. I truly thank you."

During the process, I have learned that I should do what I am supposed to do with the kind of sincerity, kindness and compassion that a cultivator should have and without any notion or judgment. I have also learned that many obstacles I have met resulted from my own notions.

Teacher said,

"As for whether the result is good, don't look at the other party, it comes from your minds. If you want it to be good then it will be good. And if you don't intend to make it good, or if your mind is unsteady, then it won't be easy to rectify things. In other words, you need to have strong righteous thoughts. If you're thinking, "I'm truly saving you. I'm truly telling you the facts," then the result will be good." ("Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference")

5. Conclusion

For the past few years, I have been clarifying the truth mostly face to face while distributing truth-clarification materials on the side. One by one and family by family, I have persuaded nearly 100 people to withdraw from the CCP or its affiliated organizations.

During the eight years of the persecution of Falun Gong, I have only been doing what I am supposed to do as a Falun Gong practitioner. With each step I take on my cultivation path, Teacher has endured a lot of hardship and made a lot of sacrifices. Without Teacher or the Fa, we would be nothing and have nothing. The Fa-rectification has progressed to the final stage, and I hope that all Falun Gong practitioners will take the Fa as Teacher, fulfill our prehistoric grand pledge, assist Teacher in Fa-rectification and save all beings.

Please kindly point out anything inappropriate in my understandings.

Heshi.

From the 4th Internet Experience Sharing Conference for Practitioners in China