(Minghui.org) The practitioners in our area have been going door to door to clarify the truth for more than six months. Many who didn't used to talk to people about Falun Dafa in person are participating, and more people have learned the facts about the practice and the persecution.
Although this method can be challenging, it's a great way to talk to people in person and in depth. We have found it very effective and a great opportunity for us to cultivate compassion.
Cultivating Compassion
Master said,
“I want you to have the utmost magnanimity and compassion toward sentient beings.” (“On the Responses to the Piece About Assistant Souls”)
When I read this part of the Fa recently, I suddenly realized that Master wants us to cultivate compassion in the process of clarifying the truth. Doing that will enable us meet the standard of the Fa and eventually reach consummation.
Our responsibility as practitioners is to save people. How could we do that without compassion? We need to be diligent, take our responsibility seriously, and put careful thought and effort into it. If we run into people who refuse to listen, still have doubts about Dafa, or haven't quit the Party yet, we should look within and find what's lacking in our hearts.
Master said,
“I often say that if all a person wants is the well-being of others and if this is without the slightest personal motivation or personal understanding, what he says will move the listener to tears.” (“Clearheadedness” from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I realized that a person's own goals and opinions are oftentimes reflections of his pursuits, attachments, and human notions. I used to dwell on the number of people that I had helped quit the Party. I felt really bad when not many quit, and sometimes even blamed those who I was talking to for making it so difficult.
Why was I so focused on quantity? It was because I was afraid that I couldn't keep up with Fa rectification, and worried that I wouldn't reach consummation. What a selfish motive. I had not completely assimilated to the Fa, and lacked compassion for the people I was speaking to.
Only when we have compassion can we effectively clarify the truth, because it will be clear to the listeners that our only goal is helping them. I have found that clarifying the truth from door to door is a great way to cultivate compassion.
One runs into all kinds of situations while going door to door. But when we have compassion in our hearts, dangerous situations are quickly resolved and things become positive. People’s knowing sides will be awakened.
A practitioner said that when we clarify the truth, we smile at everyone. It’s true; it's the deep compassion from the bottom of our hearts surfacing.
Clarifying the Truth Door to Door
We respect private property. If people come out after we knock on the gate, we then go up and meet them halfway. We tell them why we are there and clarify the truth.
Sometimes they don't want to listen and try to push us out. We just keep our righteous thoughts and continue to speak calmly, even as we walk toward the gate. Sometimes, they stop and start to listen, take fliers and booklets after a little while, and eventually quit the Party.
We shouldn't let what ordinary people say and do affect us, because they have been brainwashed and deceived by the Party's lies. Even when they are hostile toward us, we don't give up on them. We don't give up even when we see no hope, because if we give up, that life will truly be gone.
We use different approaches with different people, but we always cover a few basics, including talking about what Falun Dafa is, the principles and effectiveness of the practice, how the Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident was staged to defame Falun Dafa, and the CCP's crime of organ harvesting from imprisoned practitioners.
When people don't want to listen, we try to figure out what is stopping them from accepting the truth, so that we can use the most effective approach to clarify the truth to that individual. When they are talking, we make eye contact and listen carefully. It is important to always show respect and have good manners.
Master told us to target people's attachments while clarifying the truth. My understanding is to truly put ourselves in their shoes and speak from their perspective. Then they'll know that we're trying to help, and therefore trust us and what we say.
Sometimes I tell people, “We come here on this cold day to tell you this and we are not asking for anything in return. We just want you to understand the truth and have peace and blessings in your life.” Such simple words seem to work wonders.
After clarifying the truth and helping them quit the Party, we give them fliers and booklets, and tell them, “Let your family and friends read these carefully and you will accumulate great virtue.” We have fliers that target different kinds of people, and they always come in handy.
Delivering desk calendars, posters, the Chinese character “Fu (Blessings)” during Chinese New Year helps even more with truth clarification. Being able to just open up the materials and show them the pictures makes it much easier to make a connection.
For example, they can see pictures of big Falun Dafa parades in Western countries, of large scale group exercises in China taken before the persecution began, and images of appreciation letters to Dafa from the Ministry of Public Security before the persecution.
Clarifying the truth door to door enables us to talk to people in person and in depth. Our goal is to help them truly understand the facts. I feel that this is more effective than just leaving fliers without doing any talking, because it engages the people more and can help bring the message home for them.
Master has asked us many times in his lectures to clarify the truth to sentient beings thoroughly. Only when they truly understand the facts can they fulfill their vows to spread the truth. When a person truly understands that Falun Dafa is good and the Communist Party is evil, he will naturally want to quit the Party.
The process of clarifying the truth is also a process of cultivating oneself and one’s own virtue. We are Master's disciples and particles of the Fa, so what we think, say, and do need to be based on the Fa, so that we can save people. We also need to remember that Master is always with us, and that it is Master and the mighty power of Dafa that are truly saving people.
This is what I have come to understand. I ask that my fellow practitioners kindly point out anything that's not based on the Fa.
