Understandings of "Maintaining Security" and "Fear"

First, I'd like to take this chance to express how grateful I am to the founder of Falun Dafa, Master Li. It is Master who allowed me, a lost child, to find the way home. I really wish I could say "thank you" to Master in person, but I have never met him. Having such a gracious and selfless teacher, how can I not tell people how wonderful Falun Dafa is?

I began practicing in 1998. After reading the Falun Gong teachings in the book Zhuan Falun, all of my illnesses were healed, and my moral standard also improved. I became a completely different person. I strongly believe that every person who practices and genuinely follows the teachings will benefit both physically and spiritually. Falun Gong benefits the people and the nation and harms no one. However, out of jealousy, Jiang Zemin launched the persecution against Falun Gong, slandered our Teacher, made that which is good seem bad, and bad seem good, and trampled the most wonderful principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." As a Falun Gong practitioner, I have the responsibility to tell people my story of how I benefited and the truth about Falun Dafa. Our revered Master is great. Falun Dafa is righteous and it is not wrong to strive to be a good person by following the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance."

Fear kept me from taking part in activities to let more peoiple know the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong at the beginning, but through studying Zhuan Falun and other works by Master, and under Master's merciful guidance and protection, I began to clarify the truth to more people. In order to have a good result, I usually tell people the facts face to face, and often bring materials about the persecution and Falun Dafa with me when I go out. I deeply realized the mighty power of Dafa and Master's grace during the process of letting people know the truth.

I'd like to share my understanding of the mentalities of "maintaining security" and "fear" while clarifying the truth.

First, we need to understand that the mentalities of "maintaining security" and "fear" each have a different basis. The "security" mentality is based on the Fa (universal law, the teachings in Falun Gong), and the purpose of it is to protect Falun Dafa and practitioners, and avoid losses to Falun Dafa and practitioners. However, "fear" is based on selfishness, and the purpose of it is to protect one's own interest. Once we understand the different bases of "security" and "fear," we won't use "security" as an excuse to cover our attachments--the old forces won't be able to take advantage of our loopholes to interfere with truth clarification. Experience has taught me that the reason I have "fear" is that I haven't studied the Fa deeply enough or read the Fa enough. If my mind is filled with the Fa, then the old forces will not have any loopholes to take advantage of.

I go home to see my family every year by train, and in my heart I know this is an opportunity to clarify the truth. The first time, I brought a lot of materials onto the train, but when I got on the train, I held fear in my heart. The more I thought about it, the more fear I had about clarifying the truth to people and passing out materials, so I missed this opportunity. I regretted it greatly after I got off the train. I looked inward for my attachment when I got home, and found that the reason that I had fear was my mentality of selfishness. I was afraid of getting caught because I was thinking only of my self-interest. This is totally an ordinary person's thought. When I found the reason, and compared it with fellow practitioners who have put down the attachment of life and death, I realized how small I was. Do I still deserve to be a practitioner in the period of Fa-rectification? I recite Master's article "True Cultivation" and "The Knowing Heart" everyday, but have I really done things based on the Fa? "Grand talk counts for naught when it comes to life and death, Actions reveal what is true." ("The Knowing Heart") Reading Master's words, and asking myself these questions, I was ashamed of myself and I felt that I did not deserve Master's merciful salvation. So I spent more time studying the Fa and studied more deeply, breaking through my attachments in the process.

In Zhuan Falun, Master told us,

"I am rooted in the universe. If anyone can harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe."

"In practicing cultivation of our school, you will not have any problems as long as you can conduct your xinxing well, since one righteous mind can subdue one hundred evils."

"If you cannot let the attachment go, you will not be able to discard anything. Therefore, the real purpose of cultivation is to cultivate your heart."

Master already taught us these Fa principles, so, if every thought of ours is on the Fa, and if we truly believe in Master 100%, we will be "safe."

Once I understood this principle of the Fa, my state of mind and results when clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa improved. For example, once I sent forth righteous thoughts before I got on the train, eliminating interference and having a wish that all the people who have predestined relationship would learn the truth. A few minutes after I boarded the train, I started chatting with a young couple sitting next to me. I clarified the truth to them based on their acceptance level and the questions they asked. First I told them my own experiences of how I benefited from practicing, and then I told them how the "self-immolation" incident was fabricated. I gave them materials on practitioners' experiences to prove that the anti-Falun Gong propaganda of the media was not true and I answered their questions. Very soon, they understood the true situation. They said, "Now, we know that all the propaganda on TV about Falun Gong is false. Falun Gong is so good. No wonder there are so many people practicing, and they have such a strong will to keep practicing even while facing persecution." Then I had them read a letter that I had written and several articles by Master. The young man was very excited after reading Master's articles, and he said, "The principles in articles 'To Be a Human' (Hong Yin) and 'What is Forbearance (Ren)' (Essentials for Further Advancement) are the fundamental principles of being a good person. Your master's teaching is really great. Can you give me these materials?" His girlfriend said, "He will help you spread the truth about Falun Gong." I said, "Of course, these material are for you. I hope you will tell more people about the truth of Falun Gong when you get home, and help them not be deceived by the media. You will be rewarded for these kind actions." We were talking loudly, and people around us were listening quietly. One lady saw me giving materials to others and she asked me for some. I said, " I happen to have one more. Please take it." She read it, folded it and put it into her purse. Although police, workers and passengers on the train passed by us several times, it did not affect the peaceful environment of clarifying the truth. I deeply realized that this was the manifestation of the Fa and Master's power. After this experience, I understood better that when your heart and mind is on the Fa, without any impure thought, the mentality of fear cannot get into your heart.

After clarifying truth for a few years, it has become more clear to me that in order to have "security," one must do well in all of the three things: studying the Fa, sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying truth, and help more and more people know that Dafa is good. When everyone's conscience is awakened, no one will do things to help the evil anymore. We create the peaceful and safe environment.

Actually, Master already told us this point in the preface to Zhuan Falun, "Lunyu":

"In order to explore this domain, humankind must fundamentally change its conventional thinking. Otherwise, the truth of the universe will forever remain a mystery to humankind, and everyday people will forever crawl within the boundary delimited by their own ignorance."

For example, once, a leader of our company came to our workplace for a conference. The persecution of Falun Gong was at its peak at that time. This official asked, "Are there any Falun Gong practitioners in this company? If there are, fire them. Don't let them make trouble for us." My supervisor answered him without hesitating, "No, there are none." Then they started the conference. I was thinking at that time about how knowing the truth about Falun Dafa is so important to an everyday person. I realized better why Master asks us to clarify the truth to people, because this was saving people. Although that leader is good to people in society, he was deceived by the slanderous propaganda, and did not know the truth, so he said those irresponsible things, which affected both his and his subordinates' thoughts and behaviors. However, my supervisor knows the truth and respects my belief, since we talked several times. He even told me, "When I go to conferences in other cities, I always say good things about you, helping you spread the Fa when Falun Gong is mentioned. I tell people that my life as a supervisor would be much easier if I had ten people like you working with me." The incident with the leader made me feel a sense of urgency to increase my truth-clarification efforts and clarify the truth on a broader scale. After talking to that leader several times in person, he also understood the truth and he said, "All right, go ahead and practice." He told others, "The newspaper and TV say bad things about Falun Gong, but all the practitioners I've met are very good people."

When people understand the truth, their behavior will be rectified automatically. Once, a fellow practitioner was arrested, and my name was given to the authorities. Consequently, the police told the leaders in my company that they wanted to talk to me. All the leaders in my company know that I became a better employee after I started practicing Falun Gong. I never complained about my assignment and never fought for self interest or fame. My actions are based on "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." The leaders had a discussion and said, "How can we let such a good man be confronted by the police?" Thus, they stopped the police from meeting with me. When one of the leaders talked to me afterwards, I realized that this was another good opportunity to clarify the truth more deeply. I told myself that I am a disciple of Master, and a god must be able to convince an everyday person. When I had this righteous thought, I felt as if I was very tall and grand, and my heart was very broad and peaceful. The leader told me about this incident and I clarified the truth to him again, helping him learn about Falun Dafa more deeply. Our discussion reached a good result. At the end, this leader said, "You must pay attention to your safety. Just talk about Falun Gong to those whom you know. Don't mention it to strangers." I said, "Thank you for your help. When everyone knows the truth and treats Falun Gong practitioners with kindness like you, won't we be safe then?"

After these two incidents, my belief in Master and Fa became more solid. I know that Master is watching over me at every single moment. Cultivation is serious and any human notions should not be mixed into it. As long as one's heart is on the Fa, nobody can harm him. We will have true "safety" when we clarify the truth in society so well that everybody understands the truth.