A Swiss Practitioners Experience at an NGO Meeting

We learnt at the last minute that a big Peace conference entitled “Initiative for Peace of women, spiritual and religious leaders” was going to take place in Geneva, at the United Nations and at the Hotel Beau Rivage. This conference followed on from the “Millennium” conference of religious leaders held in New York in 2000. Having been unable to attend the opening of this conference to which other practitioners were able to go, I decided to participate on the following day. A question nevertheless remained in the air: was it necessary to register in order to enter? I decided to go there to see what was happening.

When I arrived at the hotel where the various meetings were taking place, I saw that a lot of people were there, including representatives of many religious communities. They were eating and talking together informally and I thus decided to sit down among them and await the opening of the meetings. But I still had in my mind the fact that I did not have a name tag. Then suddenly I realized that the important thing was to be there and to trust. I repeated the words that are very close to my heart in difficult moments: “Master, your disciple is here and will remain here no matter what happens.” No sooner had I finished than a person opposite me began a conversation. She had her name tag and was a member of a Swiss association. Like myself she lives in Geneva, so we began talking about this and that. She was extremely interested in Falun Gong and asked me a lot of questions. She was horrified by what I told her of the situation in China and informed me that she herself had undertaken a long spiritual search. It seemed to her this method was very good, and the Master who offered this teaching without any charge must be remarkable. The more we talked the happier I was for her. I began to think that even if I did not succeed in entering the meetings, I had not come for nothing. I had come for her.
And even for one person it was worth it.

We entered into the conference room while continuing our discussion and I was able to attend some of the meetings. On leaving, I met an acquaintance - a member of an NGO - who asked me how I had been able to attend without a name tag. I smiled within myself for I knew it was the Master who had really helped me.

I returned the next afternoon and was immediately able to join a meeting or seminar in which “religion and government” was being discussed. I found myself sitting next to an Asian lady, with a Mr. McDonald leading the debate. He asked us to form a circle around him but I remained in the background, thinking it would be better to listen rather than to speak. He turned towards me, however, and invited me to join them. My heart missed a beat and I thought that, should I take part, I should admit to not having a name tag. I tried to calm down and said to myself that this was all part of my cultivation. Were all these rules of ordinary people going to prevent me from speaking and clarifying the facts? Certainly not! After having these thoughts, I felt as though a weight had been lifted from me and I decided to await the opportunity to speak. I know that nothing happens by chance and that my presence here was for a reason. As a disciple in the rectification of the Law I have a sacred mission that is to “hurry up and speak”. But I did not know how I was going to introduce the subject. I said to myself “Trust”, and my heart became calmer. Suddenly, as though in answer to my waiting, the lady beside me, Mrs Laetitia Shahani, United States senator for 12 years and presidential adviser, began to speak about the situation of religions in the world and also in China, giving as an example the persecution of Falun Gong. Thus the opportunity was offered to me on a plate. However, the perversity, endeavouring to prevent me from speaking, manifested itself in the guise of a Malaysian Sikh lady who assured us she knew very well the situation of religions in China where, according to her, the greatest respect was shown for the various religious communities. The lady beside me, Mrs Shahani, replied that this was normal since these religions represented the official religions of the State. Following the dialogue between the two women, therefore, I was able to enter the conversation by saying that I was a practitioner of Falun Gong (an “Ah!” of surprise could be heard) and that I knew very well the situation of Falun Gong in China because I was among those who had denounced the persecution from the beginning. I was astonished to see the reaction of those present (some 30 people). Everyone appeared not only interested but also touched by the question, for I reminded them that this was about a brutal persecution that had been raging for three years and that 70 per cent of those in detention were women. I asked them not to forget this matter as what was happening in China, with the creation of the 610 office, was veritable nazism, and that they should all keep this in mind.

Therefore, I had the opportunity to clarify the facts to the people around me and from the bottom of my heart. I thank the Master who truly arranges everything. We have only to go out and to be there, for everything to happen naturally. Thanks to this, I learnt once again to put aside my concepts of ordinary people and my feelings of apprehension. These concepts are obstacles that prevent us from speaking or acting and it is the last moment for us to rid ourselves of them definitively. I understood that we should do everything with a pure heart, without preconceived ideas and without sentimentality, always putting the Law first. I understood also, once again, that whenever and wherever we step forward, it is not only for others but also to rid ourselves of everything that is no longer Us.

On leaving, I thanked Mrs Shahani who threw me a line and who wanted to know more about Falun Gong. I went home with the feeling that there is still a lot to accomplish and that there are still many people who are waiting to be saved.

This, simply, is my cultivation experience. Please correct me if anything I have said is not in conformity with the principles of the Fa.