My Experience Joining the Activities in Manhattan

I have been taking part in various Falun Gong activities in Manhattan for a month now. At the beginning I could feel indifference from many New Yorkers, but now they are coming to realise the truth about the persecution and Falun Gong has become a hot topic here. Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world have come together in Manhattan, forming a righteous field that eliminates large quantities of evil factors in other dimensions. The manifestation in this dimension of what we are doing is that many people are waking up and being saved.

Along the way, however, we still have had room for improvement. I'd like to talk about how to clarify the truth about Falun Gong "everywhere at any time," because in averting more losses we can do better in all areas.

Based on the principles of Falun Dafa, all of us understand that everyone in the world comes for the Fa (law or principles, the teachings taught in Falun Gong). Following that logic, we don't meet anyone simply by chance, even though it may appear that way. In fact, the people we encounter have predestined relationships with us and need our salvation. Manhattan is a major battlefield in the war between good and evil. So in Manhattan in particular, if a life realises the truth about Falun Gong, many evil factors in other corresponding dimensions will be eliminated, so the force of righteousness will be increasingly strengthened.

Teacher says in "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference,"

"Everything that Dafa disciples are doing today and everything in society you encounter, I can tell you, you are saving all beings."

"Also, with those people that you run into by chance, who you run into in daily life, and the people you run into at work, you should all clarify the truth to them. Even when in your daily life you pass by people so quickly that you don't have a chance to talk to them, you should still leave them with your compassion and kindness. Don't lose those who should be saved, especially those with predestined connections. Actually, a lot of Dafa disciples say when they're clarifying the truth, 'I'm going to go clarify the truth now,' as if at that moment they're going to clarify the truth, but they don't clarify the truth normally. Saving beings should permeate every single aspect of your daily lives at this time. If you can all understand and really see its importance, I think you'll probably save more beings."

Teacher has already told us how to do it, so we need to do our best to put this into practice. Even mundane daily tasks give us opportunities to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to people. While shopping, waiting for public transit, asking for directions or getting gas, we can meet many people who have predestined relationships.

As I understand it, when Teacher tells us to clarify the truth, "It's like sharp swords shooting out together from their mouths." ("Hurry Up And Tell Them")

We should therefore speak to people face-to-face and not just hand out materials. We should talk to people about the facts when we pass out the materials, otherwise many people will assume they are ads and just throw them away. For those who pass by the locations where we do the anti-torture exhibitions, we also need to tell them, even in just a few words, "Stop the persecution of Falun Gong. Falun Gong is a meditation that's good for people's minds and bodies." or "Help US citizen Charles Li. He is jailed in China for practicing Falun Gong." On the surface, they just pass us by in a hurry, but they can nonetheless be impressed by what we say.

Teacher explains the Fa in "Teaching the Fa the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference,"

"As you clarify the truth, the words you speak and the energy you emit have the effect of intimidating and eliminating the evil. You are crucial in determining whether the beings in this world stay or get eliminated."

"Don't overlook any of the things that Dafa disciples do. Your every word, every leaflet, every keystroke, every telephone call, and every letter is having a huge impact." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Midwest-U.S. Fa Conference")

In my effort to inform people about Falun Gong and the persecution "everywhere at any time," if I have one or two minutes, I will talk to the other party in some detail. I say, "I'm from Canada and I came to New York to tell people that the persecution of Falun Gong has involved America. US citizen Charles Li has been illegally imprisoned for about two years. Please help him." Usually the person will be touched and take the materials, because they know we came from far away to help a US citizen.

In Manhattan, wherever I go, I always take Chinese and English materials with me. I continue to hand out the materials and tell people the facts, because those who have predestined relationships are waiting to find out the truth at any time. Every morning after sending forth righteous thoughts, I join the people on their way to the subway stations to hand out the truth-clarification newspaper. From the moment I leave home to the minute I come back, at any time I may meet those who have predestined relationships. I often feel tired when I get up in the morning, but I will be full of energy once I walk out the door. With a greeting and my saying, "Free newspaper about Falun Gong," seeing the people who take the newspaper from my hands, I feel so happy for them, because they will be saved. At the subway stations, everyone there is someone to tell the facts to. Even if a few of them don't take my newspaper, I still tell them that Falun Gong is good for peoples' minds and bodies but that it is being persecuted in China. This gives them an impression of Falun Gong, so that they will be interested and realise the truth when they later read other practitioners' materials or see our anti-torture exhibitions. At the very least these people can hear the truth about Falun Dafa, even if it's just a few words.

In subway cars, along with a fellow practitioner, I hand out our introductory newspaper person to person, car by car, leaving no one out. Many of them are willing to accept the newspaper, including more and more Chinese people. Of course, some Chinese folks still have an aversion to us. In that case, we clarify the truth to them in order to give everyone a chance. Probably we are helping to gradually clear up their misunderstandings.

Many people tell us they have already read our newspaper and encourage us to keep up our hard work, and some of them want to learn the practice and read Zhuan Falun so as to learn about the teachings taught in Falun Gong, while some ask us how to help. Some even help us in our activities to let more people know about the persecution against those who practise Falun Gong! People have told us, "I already asked my family to read your newspaper" and "I already wrote letters to my congressman and to the media and have read the websites." Many people ask why the persecution happened. Peoples' hearts are changing day by day. I feel consoled when I see so many people reading our newspaper in the subways. Of course, sometimes I meet some tough customers, but I keep my mind calm and do what I need to do. If he/she refuses to take the material today, maybe he/she will take it tomorrow. Many of them say, "I've seen you guys on the street many times, but I've had no time to check it out, so I'll take your newspaper today."

A few of my experiences:

One day, when I went to pass out leaflets in the subway, a jeweller from Hong Kong called me over and asked me why no one answered the phone when she dialled the number on the leaflet. She had already run out of our materials and needed more, so I gave her some, but she didn't think that would be enough. Later on I gave her quite a few, and she was satisfied and let us go. In addition, she wrote down my number in order to make sure to have a good supply of our materials. I saw her giving leaflets to each of her customers.

When I hand out leaflets, some Westerners asked for Chinese materials for their Chinese friends who had misunderstandings about Falun Gong.

Some Westerners told me that their Chinese friends claimed Falun Gong practitioners killed each other and committed suicide, so I explained to them why many overseas Chinese people were deceived by the propaganda. Falun Gong practitioners neither kill nor commit suicide. At present some Chinese people are still spreading lies to foreigners. If we don't clear up their misunderstandings, they will be in grave danger.

One day when some employees at a certain company took a break downstairs, I told them we were there to tell about the genocide against Falun Gong in China. All of them asked for the newspaper to read. In fact, they said that one of their co-workers had posted our leaflets and newspaper on the wall so that everyone there could read them.

One day on the way to hand out materials, a Westerner told me, "The materials you guys gave me at the subway station are excellent! I was immediately attracted to the practice. When I read that one hundred million people in China are being tortured for doing the meditation, I was shocked. So I gave it to my wife. She works for the High Court and will spread the story through email to her colleagues."

If someone says that he/she has already read the newspaper or the leaflets, I will tell them that ideas for how they can help are printed on the bottom page of the materials.

"Beings that have come to understand the facts become mobile media, and they too clarify the facts. It's had a big impact on society." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Midwest-U.S. Fa Conference")

"Right now every minute and every second is crucial. If you miss out during this period of time, you miss out on everything." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference")

Let's not overlook any chance passing by us, let's cherish every minute and every second in Manhattan, and let's not miss the lives that we should save. With a clear conscience, let's realise our great wishes made before history.