How My Commuting To Work Changed

About a year ago I almost exclusively used my car to get to work, a drive of approximately 15 minutes. Using public transport would take one hour. Every time my wife had need of the car, I used the train.

Since my working schedules varied, I discovered that at certain times, ever more Chinese students were travelling by train. A good opportunity, I thought, for me to tell them about Falun Dafa and explain the truth about the persecution to them.

In the beginning I hesitated to approach Chinese students, but as time went on I got better at it. I would ask politely, “Are you from China? May I present you with this brochure for you to read at your leisure?” 99% of those I approached would accept the handout and would immediately begin to leaf through it. When they sat in a private compartment with me, I would observe them for a while and then wait until they asked me a question. Their facial expressions barely changed and I couldn’t discern from their countenance what was on their minds. That is a minor detail, though – the main thing is they began to read.

Only rarely did they ask, "Is Falun Gong for real?" Unfortunately, this is a difficult question to answer comprehensively, because often we only have a few minutes for exchange of ideas. That is when I recalled Master’s words, “Hurry Up And Tell Them”

As Dafa disciple tell people the facts,
It’s like sharp swords shooting out together from their mouths,
Shredding apart the rotten demons’ lies.
Lose no time and save them, hurry up and tell them.

It did frequently; I was unable to differentiate between Mainland Chinese and other Asians. As it happens, it is precisely with the other Asians that speedy and uncomplicated communication seems to come about, which of course provides me the opportunity to discuss the topic of Falun Gong.

Sometimes it would happen that I didn’t remember whether or not I had already approached a certain individual, but I think it is better to approach someone twice instead of not approaching them at all.

While I am taking the train, I usually study the Fa [The books of Falun Gong]. The more I concentrate on the Fa, the faster the pages seem to pass by my eyes and I sometimes accomplish reading a whole lecture on the roundtrip.

During my working day at the airport I have additional opportunities to contact Asians and offer them brochures or CDs. Once a group of three Chinese women passed by my table. I gave them three brochures. An hour later they passed my table again. One of the women separated from the group, turned around and merrily waved at me. She continued to walk on, but kept her head turned. I saw from her expression that she was trying to convey a message to me.

At the Fa-conference in Boston in 2002, Master Li, said, among other things, “It's not that everyone has to do the same things; every person is doing in his own environment what a Dafa disciple is supposed to do at this time. You're doing it from your heart, and each disciple is safeguarding the Fa and saving sentient beings really just like a particle of Dafa. From this perspective, the world's people can't compare.”

Three things are of utmost importance for Dafa disciples – 1. Study the Fa; 2. Explain the truth of the persecution to people; and 3. Send out forth righteous thoughts [using pure thoughts to purify oneself and one's surroundings. This can be understood as a type of meditation]. Points one and two seem to be covered by my simple decision to trade my car for the train seven days a week. I feel fulfilled and my heart has become more serene in the process. I absolve my workload with more joy, something that becomes obvious in conversations with customers and my fellow man.

The atmosphere in my family has improved dramatically. My younger daughter approaches me frequently, to do the exercises with me. My wife and my daughter have so far not yet read Zhuan Falun [The main book of Falun Gong], but I do not exert pressure on them. I am trying through my example of living the principles of “Truth, Compassion and Tolerance to gradually, step by step, bring them closer to Zhuan Falun. When they relate their own experiences of encounters with people in their lives, I am pleased to hear that they, in those conflicts, have acted compassionately.

Again and again we are confronted with conflicts among the practitioners in the exercise group. Formerly I had always searched for reasons outside myself. For some time now I have searched my own mind. When I discovered a notion, it was easy to let go of it. Because I have worked independently for so many years, I was used to making decisions by myself and quickly put them into action. That was one reason why several times in the past I went over the heads of other practitioners and made decisions, rationalising that I was doing it for Dafa. In the meantime I came to realise that I was actually seeking the approval of others. I had not recognised this loophole for a long time. This was taken advantage of and used to interfere with me. At the same time, new conflicts were arranged so that I could advance faster. Master Li has said that he does not care for formalities, but only looks at people’s hearts.

We are all cultivators in the same school and all of us ought to do our best for Fa-rectification in this cosmos. That is why we should cooperate with one another and not evaluate and judge things with the mentality of a common person.

Master said during the Washington, D.C. conference, “You are cultivators, and your realms are higher. So in your many projects your actions should reflect an understanding of others, an ability to listen to people's opinions, and an ability to gauge what's right and what's wrong by using Dafa.”

In the next days and weeks it is especially crucial to inform people about the persecution – governments, the media – and to impart to them the true nature of the anti-subversion law in Hong Kong [Article 23]. I hope that the media all over the world will recognise clearly what is at stake and therefore make it possible for as many people as possible to be saved.

Along these lines, I wish you all a good New Year.

(Original text in German)