Being Responsible as Falun Gong Practitioners

Sometimes when I saw or heard about something that some Falun Gong practitioners didn't do very well, I would think: apart from first looking inside to see what I had done wrong, I should also write it down so as to share this with other Falun Gong practitioners. If we have done something that is inappropriate, it is likely that we might leave a negative impression of Falun Gong to not only those who don’t practise but also to those who do.

1. Once in an activity where we were clarifying the truth about Falun Gong to people, I paid for several fellow practitioners’ train tickets. When the activity had finished, one of the practitioners did not mention about paying back the money to me. I thought that I should remind him and thus I went to him to talk about it. Another practitioner knew what I had done and said casually, "Aren’t you silly. You would have received virtue from him if he had not paid you back. Which one is better, virtue or money? You should thank him for that, why did you ask him for the money back?" I replied, "My husband does not practise Falun Gong and he wouldn’t be able to understand this principle. If a practitioner does not pay back the money I have lent out, he wouldn’t permit me to loan money to others again. Moreover, if we know that the practitioner is doing something that causes him to lose virtue, why shouldn’t we stop him from doing the wrong thing?" He seemed to understand and nodded, "Yes, you are right."

2. A Falun Gong practitioner received a phone call very early on a Sunday morning from another practitioner, who wanted to exchange thoughts with her. Her husband didn’t cultivate and is quite a nervous person. He could not go back to sleep once he had been woken up. He was furious about the phone call and insisted on knowing who phoned up; he wanted to call them back so as to speak about the impoliteness of calling someone so early in the morning. His wife did not tell him the number and the name of the practitioner which made him even more furious. For a long time her husband just couldn’t forgive this practitioner’s behaviour.

3. In a Falun Gong promotion activity, several practitioners shared a room. One of them told his room-mates unexpectedly, "I do not have any money, you can just share my hotel rent and pay for me." Seeing one of the practitioners looking surprised, he said naturally, "I really do not have any money, even my travelling fees were paid by others. If no one pays the rent for me, I will have to sleep on the street!" In the end his roommates had to pay the rent for him. Imagine if some of the practitioners’ wives or husbands didn’t practise Falun Gong, would they understand the true situation of what was happening? If they couldn’t then would this not cause trouble for these practitioners when they join another activity the next time around?

4. One practitioner was very poor. He joined one of the Falun Gong activities with holes in his socks. Another practitioner did not want his appearance to damage the image of Falun Gong, therefore he gave him some money to buy some new socks. However, this practitioner spent all the money on just one pair of high-quality socks that even ordinary people would struggle to buy. He explained, ‘I do not like poor quality things, once I buy something I will buy the best.’ This practitioner only thought about how to lead a comfortable life, but he did not think how hard it was for practitioners to earn money.

5. A practitioner joined a Falun Gong activity and stayed in a local practitioner’s house. When he saw the meal was ready, he helped himself and could not be bothered to ask for the host’s permission. After serving himself, he didn’t even clear up and left a mess on the table and floor. The husband of the practitioner's host didn’t practise and was very cross when he saw this, he angrily said, "Don’t let him stay with us next time there is an activity."

6. In order to accomplish an activity for Falun Gong several practitioners had to rush to another area. As it was getting dark, a local practitioner agreed to put them up for the night. The next morning, the enthusiastic hosts got up very early to prepare a big breakfast for them. However, these guests stayed in bed late. The couple couldn’t do anything but wait in the kitchen quietly. These practitioners didn’t get up until nine o’clock and came down after cleaning up themselves at which time it was after ten. The husband who doesn’t practise remarked, "These ladies and gentlemen are not very nice."

As Falun Gong practitioners we are always telling ordinary people about ‘Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance’ to introduce Falun Dafa. Those who don’t practise use this as the criteria to judge of us. They will not understand when we fail to follow this principle. Sometimes there will be another chance to correct our mistakes; but sometimes there won’t be. An ordinary person is unsure, it is hard for him/her to change his/her mind once an idea is formed, including their misunderstanding towards Falun Gong and those who practise it. Therefore, no matter what we ought to keep our compassion and consider other people first at all times. Only by doing so, can we do a good job of validating the greatness of Falun Gong and truly giving people a chance to come to understand Falun Gong.

Above are only my personal understandings, please kindly point it out if you feel there is something inappropriate.