France: Diligence and Perseverance

Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!

I obtained the Fa in late 1997. In 1998, I came to France. I haven’t been back to China ever since. I joined the French Dafa cultivation community after the CCP began to persecute Dafa practitioners. The persecution had just begun, and after discussion, our Fa Study group decided to set up an information stall in Paris’ 13th district, where we can show display boards and give out leaflets. I registered when they asked who could participate regularly. However, after I went to the stall, I found that I was there on my own most of the day.

A practitioner would put up the display boards before going to work in the morning, and took them away after finishing work in the afternoon. In the beginning, I couldn’t quite understand: why was I always the only one there?

One day, I arrived late, and apologised to the practitioner who put up the boards. He said that it was okay. When he didn’t see me there, he thought that it was a test to see if he dared to set up on his own. His words made me think that perhaps it was a test for me too: if it was just myself, would I be able to persevere from start to finish?

Master said: “As you know, a Buddha or a God can give up his life for living beings and for the interest of the universe; they can give up anything, and even remain unmoved by it. So if you were taken up to their position, could you be like that? You couldn’t. Of course, I would say that Buddhas and Daos won’t really encounter things like that, but that is their realm of mind. A person must truly change himself before that realm can be reached.” (Teachings at the Conference in the Western U.S.)

Since then, I have been going to the stall, to this day. 

In 2021, a project co-coordinator asked me if I would accept the role of one of the three coordinators of the French Tuidang centre (Quitting CCP centre). I accepted it, because the Tuidang centre was promoting “End CCP” petition globally. I believed that this was a door Master opened to save sentient beings. Sentient beings are taking their stance, as the Lord of Buddhas gives every life a choice.

In the summer of 2022, I suddenly began to experience illness karma. In the past, the illness karma would be gone within a day or two. Although at the start of the pandemic, I experienced symptoms of coughing and having a fever, but I recovered within a week. This time, when the illness karma first manifested, I didn’t pay attention to it. However, for more than three weeks, my condition kept getting worse. It was affecting my ability to collect signatures in truth clarification. A practitioner who I often study the Fa with suggested that I pause for a few days, and study the Fa and exercise at home. However, I knew that going to the information stall wasn’t the cause of my physical condition. The cause had to be a loophole in my cultivation, which I hadn’t found, or more accurately - I hadn’t taken seriously.  

The next day, I practised alone in a park. While doing the second exercise, I suddenly felt very unwell. The tribulation lasted for weeks, with no end in sight. This kind of pressure resulted in my grievance. I knew Master was right in front of me, so I cried out loud, asking Him: “Have I cultivated so terribly that you have given up on me?”

Suddenly, the phrase “Falun Dafa is good, Zhen Shan Ren is good” sounded in my head, and I was reminded that, in the past, when I experienced physical discomfort, I would recite those words with a pure mind. At that moment, I felt as if my consciousness was sandwiched between two selves, the one at the front felt aggrieved, and always wanted to cry; while the one at the back was reciting “Falun Dafa is good, Zhen Shan Ren is good” unwaveringly.

After much deliberation, I chose the self at the back, and recited those words non-stop. When the music had finished, the self at the front, the one felt aggrieved and sad, became smaller, thinner, and shorter, and eventually vanished. I went back to the information stall full of confidence. 

I studied the Fa with a calm mind, and looked inward sincerely. Master’s Fa enlightened me. 

I remembered doing something that was disrespectful to Master and Dafa. A few years ago, a practitioner asked me to print out scriptures, which were bound into a book. As the printout was for two copies, I made two books. I gave one book to the partitioner, and kept one for myself.

Master said: “nobody can do things on his own when it comes to Dafa’s things. Of course, with the special circumstances in Mainland China right now it’s OK for students there to do things in order to solve the problem of getting the books, but you have to ensure that not a single word of the original books is changed. Outside of Mainland China it’s not allowed.” (Fa Teaching Given at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference, Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume III)

Some practitioners did remind me that what I did was not allowed. However, my ego interfered with me: I didn’t print it on purpose; it was done before Master said those words; if I burnt the book in my home, smoke would be produced, making it a complicated procedure. So I kept putting it off. There were multiple copies of the old Lunyu, which had not been burnt, a photo of Master that was old, and practice sheets which taught children how to write “Falun Dafa is good, Zhen Shan Ren is good.” I found many things which were disrespectful to Master and Dafa. After I sorted out all of them, my health was all but restored. Nevertheless, I still could feel a little discomfort. Despite it being small, I felt exhausted by it, because I couldn’t figure out what attachments I still had.

One day, a practitioner said, “You look very tired,” so I told him about my situation. In passing, I mentioned that some practitioners and I had disagreements over issues relating to the End CCP petition. Some practitioners didn’t like our methods, so I tried talking to them, but to no avail. But my action attracted more criticism. They complained that a coordinator of End CCP project was resolving conflicts with party culture. I disagreed with their view. Upon hearing this, the practitioner tried to help me, saying: “look inward, you must have elements of party culture.” Her assertiveness led me recalling what had happened during the conflict: after a practitioner criticised me, on the surface, I tolerated it politely, but in my mind, I angrily swore back. Wasn’t this party culture?

Master said: “As I have mentioned before, when you speak to others with your own goals in mind, wanting to change or persuade them, no matter how reasonable your words are, other people will have a hard time completely accepting them. Nor can the words move people. Why? Let me tell you: It’s actually because the words you say contain all of your thoughts. Your sentences have complicated thoughts included in them, such as your human emotions and desires, and even those many attachments of yours. That makes your words not so powerful and rather diluted.” (Teachings at the Conference in Switzerland)

After I discovered my problem, the last little bit of uneasiness disappeared the next morning. During this tribulation, which lasted longer than a month, no matter how uncomfortable I felt both mentally and physically, the tribulation had not kept me from going to the information stall to collect signatures. I felt this was achieved with Master’s great strengthening.

After the European Fahui held in the autumn of 2022, practitioners in Paris organised Hongfa activities that lasted for a week. The locations they applied for have many tourists, such as the areas around the Palais Garnier and the Printemps, so the result was very good. A practitioner in my team suggested that we should collect signatures at these places too. I was hesitant, but the practitioner said to me candidly that one cannot fear hardships when saving sentient beings. Although I didn’t say anything, I was not happy. Everyday, I collected signatures, set up the stall, and sometimes, despite the bad weather, I kept going and was the only one there. How could someone say I was afraid of hardships? After returning home, I studied the Fa, and thought about the practitioner’s words. Then I realised that no matter how many reasons I had, it was wrong of me to be offended.

We had previously tried to apply for the locations where those practitioners did Hongfa, but because the time period we applied for was unsuitable, the police didn’t grant us permission. When we changed the time, permission was granted.

A practitioner offered to lend us a gazebo, and was able to transport the materials by car. Later, I also bought an electric tricycle. This practitioner and I rented a garage together. At the start, I found riding the tricycle challenging. In particular, when getting out of the garage we rented, there were two steep paths, and I had to ask Master for strengthening before I could ride up them. I wanted to rent another garage, which had no steep path, but the deal fell through at the last minute.

I realised that I had been inconsiderate about this practitioner and the landlord. Suppose I did rent another garage, then this practitioner would have to either shoulder all the costs, or cancel the rental agreement. If this practitioner cancelled the contract within days of renting, the landlord may think that Falun Gong practitioners are unreliable. Prior to renting, this practitioner managed to negotiate a lower rent with the landlord through truth clarification.

Master said: “I also want to tell you that your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others—or even future generations—along with Dafa’s eternal stability.” (Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature, Essentials for Further Advancement)

Under Master’s strengthening and help from practitioners, I managed to deliver materials by bike during last year’s Shen Yun promotion period. At the start, the results were not promising at the new petition site. In a sharing, a practitioner who couldn’t speak French said that, every time she held out a petition board, she would ask Master for strengthening non-stop, to let people sign the petition, and the passersby would indeed stop and sign. French practitioners and I began to do this too, and a breakthrough was made in collecting signatures.

During this period, we encountered various forms of interference. For example, young CCP supporters damaged the display boards. In one instance, a few people made a scene to provide cover for their accomplices, as they burnt a large hole in an “End CCP” flag with cigarettes. Through doing the three things and looking inward, the practitioners who clarified the truth at the stall prevented similar incidents from happening again. 

After the publication of Master’s new articles “Why Save Sentient Beings” and “How Humankind Came To Be”, I talked to practitioners in my team about whether we should play Master’s new articles at the stall. We knew that it is Master who is rectifying the Fa and saving sentient beings; all we do is simply move our mouths and limbs. After predestined sentient beings listened to the recordings, they were more willing to sign the petition, even asking for the web addresses of the articles. People’s reactions were encouraging. 

As my level is limited, I may have shortcomings. If there are any, please kindly point them out. 

Thank you, Master!
Thank you, fellow practitioners.

 

(Selected article for the European Fa-conference 2023 in Paris)