Reflections on My Trip to Houston

By a Falun Dafa practitioner from Australia

Before my trip I was unable to find my copy of Zhuan Falun

Exactly one month has passed since my trip to Houston. As I reflected on the events and insights I gained from the trip, I realised that if not for Teacher's infinite compassion in helping me to see the situation, I would have missed this great opportunity to carry out my responsibility as a Falun Dafa practitioner. I knew about the Houston event very early on from US practitioners. And I knew the importance of this trip but due to my attachment to complacency, I held off in making a focused decision to go. And on the night before the deadline to book a discount airplane ticket I lapsed, telling myself that it was too hard trying to get leave from work, make travel and accommodation arrangements, and having to travel alone. I had driven for two and a half hours from my home in the bush to the city. While I was making origami lotus flowers for the Body, Mind & Spirit Expo that weekend, I told a Falun Dafa practitioner that I decided not to go to Houston.

That night when I settled in at another practitioner's home, I decided to read Zhuan Falun [The main text of Falun Gong]. But my book was nowhere in sight. I searched everywhere carefully, including my car and my bags several times and still I couldn't find my Zhuan Falun. Such a situation had never happened to me before. "Why has it happened? This is not right," I told myself. I immediately examined myself and what I had done for this to happen. The only extra thing I had done that night was to make the decision not to go to Houston. I went to sleep without reading Zhuan Falun. The next morning I woke up with a heavy heart but I realised that I had to "re-open" my mind, rectify my thinking about the hassle of making travel arrangements, travelling alone and make up my mind that I should go to Houston. Then I got into my car and could not believe my eyes: My Zhuan Falun was sitting on the dashboard just above the steering wheel. That morning I went to book my air ticket. As though to prevent any change of mind, this "special" airfare had all kinds of conditions. I had to pay immediately, return on a fixed date and no changes would be allowed without expensive penalties. After purchasing the ticket, I realised that I had not even applied for leave from work, but I knew in my heart that nothing was going to stop me from going.

From this incident, I realised how crucial it is not to lapse into complacency, attachments and unfocused decision making. We must walk our cultivation path righteously, solidify our righteous thoughts and listen to Teacher Li's words solemnly. "The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What's key is not to let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things." [Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston].

Houston: Oct 23, 2002, At the Military Airport

Early Wednesday morning two buses took us to the airport where Jiang was scheduled to arrive. We assembled in a single line a few meters from the roadside with our big Falun Dafa banners and our little banners. For nearly four hours we stood silently in the wet and soggy field, sending righteous thoughts [using upright righteous thoughts to purify oneself and one's surrounding's. This can be understood as a type of meditation] continuously. The air was still. The sky looked grey and dismal. In the physical dimension our assembly might look like another Falun Dafa activity but I knew otherwise. I saw the parallel between the good and the evil. Houston was our Teacher's first stop when he introduced Falun Dafa to the US. Jiang chose Houston for his last stop before he stepped down. I realised that it was our responsibility to do this. I felt honoured to be there. The moment had arrived. Suddenly, without warning the peaceful atmosphere changed. I looked up. Huge formations of grey angry clouds were gathering and billowing across skies. I knew that the plane was arriving.

On the ground, we steadied ourselves to send righteous thoughts. Big gusty winds blew and billowed, causing a lot of interference. The metal frame of my umbrella broke. The rain came, but I had no raincoat. A passing Falun Dafa practitioner handed me a poncho without a word. Words then were unnecessary. I could feel his compassion and he my gratitude. Our banners whipped about in the raging wind. To my left, four practitioners were holding up one of the two poles to prevent the big Falun Dafa banner from being blown over. So strong was the wind that the 3-metre tall PVC poles (about 2" in diameter) arched backward into a bow shape. One Australian practitioner looked across the fields and noted that the flagpole of the welcoming group was standing upright and seemed totally unaffected by the wind, which was blowing viciously and madly around us. Many times we staggered as the strong wind almost toppled us. But we stood our ground and dug our shoes into the mud, standing with bent knees, one leg in front of the other to brace against the strong wind. As I stood there bracing the intensity of the commotion created by the elements, I remembered Teacher's advice in his latest article: "Righteous Thoughts"; "When you send righteous thoughts, no matter how intense things get, the surface should be serene."

Silently, more determined than ever, we stood as one. We connected our little banners together; each person was using their left hand to grip the banners so that we could hold our right hand upright in front of us. The vicious wind scrunched up the character "hao" [translation - Good] on our little banners. For over an hour we braced ourselves against the rain and strong wind. Then the atmosphere changed. The sky cleared. The wind abated. I knew the plane must have landed and he must have gone. Then we were told that Jiang had used another route. On the surface we looked like worn-out soldiers after a battle with our battered and wind-damaged banners, wet clothes, messy hair and muddied trousers and shoes. Inside we felt strong, as we had put up with steadfastness and an adamantine will. I looked down at myself and saw my red trousers had turned my white socks and sneakers pink. After cleaning the mud off our trousers and shoes with the rainwater in the fields, we hopped on our buses, ready to go to Jiang's next destination at the Space Centre. That day we did not have lunch, yet I was not hungry.

October 24, 2002: Opposite the InterContinental Hotel:

On Thursday morning, two bus loads of Australians went to the Bush Library at Texas A&M University while the rest of us went to Route 610 opposite the Intercontinental Hotel. I found a spot directly opposite the hotel. As soon as I settled down to send righteous thoughts, the peace and serenity of the environment were bombarded by loud, ear-splitting Chinese music. I looked behind me and saw two monstrous one-meter high loud speakers on the back of a utility van parked in the parking lot about 3-4 meters from us. The noise from the two speakers was deafening. A few practitioners around me got up and moved away, leaving a gap. Should I also move away to a more peaceful spot? I immediately caught my thoughts and chastised myself, remembering Teacher's words from "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston", "What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things." I realised this was a physical manifestation of the gaps in our state of mind, a gap that was been used to interfere with us and to link itself to the hotel. I opened my eyes. Except for one western practitioner standing in front on my right looking calm and serene, there was no one around me. That instant I enlightened to the sole purpose of my presence in Houston. How could I think of walking away? Walking away would mean accepting and giving in to the evil forces' interference and allowing them to take advantage of the gaps in my state of mind. I closed my eyes and focused on sending righteous thoughts. Someone tapped my shoulder and said, "Can you stand over there?" I opened my eyes, glanced behind and saw the spot was directly in front of the speakers. Without hesitation I moved forward to stand on the spot. The impact of the deafening music was so strong that my entire body throbbed uncontrollably. I felt I had no ears. Then I said to myself, "I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. This noise has no effect on my ears or my body."

In the background, I could hear practitioners joining me to fill up the gap. None of us made a scene or tried to confront the Chinese people. The deafening noise from the speakers went on for over an hour. We continued sending righteous thoughts unmoved and unperturbed. Once again I drew strength from Teacher's words, "no matter how intense things get, the surface should be serene." ("Righteous Thoughts") Meanwhile the police who were locked in a stalemate with the Chinese group finally managed to stop the noise and got rid of them, even though the driver of the van insisted that they had papers to prove that they could do what they were doing.

Later a few Boston practitioners sat down and helped to fill up the space. The rest of the day passed uneventfully till late afternoon, when we heard that Jiang was on his way back to the hotel. The weather changed. It started to rain. Soon all of us were completely soaked but we continued to send righteous thoughts unperturbed and serene on the surface. That day Houston police and many thousands of Houston residents witnessed the peacefulness of our appeal on Route 610, learned about the inhumane persecution of Falun Dafa and the bad deeds of a country's leader towards its own innocent citizens.

Oct 25, 2002: The Night before Crawford: To go or not to go?

To go to Crawford or to stay and send righteous thoughts in close proximity? This was a dilemma that confronted the Australians on the night before Crawford when we were told that there were only two buses for about 180 of us. This would mean that more than a third of Australians would not be able to go to Crawford. In the beginning, not many volunteered to stay behind because most of us wanted to go. Then through a twist of events and the understanding of certain practitioners, so many Australians wanted to stay behind to send righteous thoughts in close proximity that we did not have sufficient numbers to fill the two buses.

Initially I wanted to go to Crawford and felt bad that I did not volunteer to stay behind. My dilemma intensified when I found that my money belt was missing and perhaps it might be left in the hotel room. A thought flashed through my mind, "Now you'll want to stay behind to make sure you find your money belt." Immediately I realised it was a temptation. I resisted and told myself that I still wanted to go to Crawford even if it meant losing all my money. I decided to find a public phone and to leave a message for my roommate to look out for my money belt. I hardly walked a few meters away from the group when I came across a young man. We said hello. Something made me asked him if he's a US practitioner. He said, "Yes, from Houston." When I explained my situation, he let me use his mobile phone to leave a message for my roommate. Then he told me not to worry. "It's safe. The hotel staff won't take your money." This meeting was unusual because throughout my 7-days visit, I only met two Houston practitioners; the first was at the airport, the second was this man in the parking lot.

I later realised that going to Crawford or staying back should not be the issue. The issue is to let go of our attachments and go with the flow. That instant the heaviness in my heart lifted. I then asked a Melbourne practitioner if there were still too many people wanting to go and let him know that I was willing to stay behind if necessary. He told me that the situation had reversed. There were not enough Australians to fill the two buses and the bus drivers demanded that we pay for the second bus first before we were allowed to board the first. Different practitioners had a different understanding of the matter. Practitioner A asked if we minded paying $40 instead of $20 to cover the hiring cost of the empty bus because someone had said that the Australians who decided to stay behind did not want to come and we should not force them. B said a certain practitioner should be responsible for the payment. C remarked that money was not an issue. D said, "Yes, money is an issue." She could not afford to pay $40. I checked my wallet and found my last $25 as the rest of the money was in the missing money belt. In that case I could not afford to pay for my fare either. There was a moment of confusion as we were been interfered with due to our attachments and human thinking. Then a few of us realised that this was not right. We decided to appoint a western practitioner to go with a Chinese translator to explain the situation to the Australians again and to ask practitioners from other countries to join us. Everything was quickly resolved. I ended up sitting with a practitioner from Chicago.

For me this was a helpful experience because it helped to expose my attachments to wanting to do this or that based on human thinking instead of looking at everything from the perspective of Dafa. It also exposed my constant slipping into human mentality and lapsing into unfocused decision-making. By this I mean stalling, waiting for others to make up their minds first or making decisions not based on the perspective of the Fa [Law and principles in the Buddha school. Here it refers to the writers understanding of the principles of Falun Dafa].

The above are my reflections on the Houston trip. Please feel free to point out anything improper.