"Through Hardship the Body of Gold Is Tempered" -- Canadian Practitioners Embark Upon a Truth-Clarification Journey to Iceland (Part I) (Clearwisdom.net) On the morning of June 12, 2002, we heard the news of the barring of
Falun Gong practitioners from entering Iceland. Nevertheless, several of us Canadian practitioners
from all over Canada determinedly started our Fa-rectification Journey to Iceland. We set off from
Finland's Capital, Helsinki. No matter what might happen, we told ourselves to remember Master's
words, "Whether it is a Buddha, a Tao, an immortal, or a demon, they should not move your
heart. In conducting oneself this way, success is bound to be in sight." (Zhuan Falun)
All of us were not swayed by the bad news from Iceland. At the same time, we knew that there might
be certain difficulties on our way to Iceland. In whatever situation, we planned to handle all the
troubles and hindrances with our powerful righteous thoughts. At 8:30 a.m., our plane landed at the Copenhagen Airport in Denmark, where we planned to transfer
to the plane headed for Iceland. However, something unbelievable happened. Half an hour before,
Iceland Air in Copenhagen was notified by the Icelandic Ministry of Justice that Falun Gong
travelers were banned from entering the country during Jiang's planned visit from June 12 to June
16. So, our connecting flight on SAS Airline could not give us the tickets to go to Iceland.
Immediately we clarified the truth to officials at SAS Airline. Its senior manager, Pierre Brownt,
said, "This is an immoral decision. I agree with your opinion, but I can do nothing about it.
You can contact the Iceland Embassy in Copenhagen." Then the manager gave us the phone number
of the Embassy. All of us were astonished by the sudden obstacle. During the journey we had talked about Master's
new poem, "The Difficult Path to Godhood." Indeed, faced with the unprecedented
persecution and slandering of Falun Gong, on the Fa-rectification journey all practitioners had
overcome numerous difficulties to arrive here step by step. Several practitioners managed to raise
enough money for this journey to Iceland. One practitioner had only $400 on hand and had only just
come up with the difference on the day before the journey. Another practitioner lost more than
$1,000 because of changing his plane ticket several times. Moreover, all the practitioners faced the
difficulty of asking for some days off to go on the journey. After struggling with those efforts, could we now yield to the hindrance of the old forces,
unable to join in the Fa-rectification activities in Iceland? Immediately we came to understand that
the gaps in our cultivation were preventing us from entering Iceland smoothly. We were ashamed that
we fell short in our cultivation and hadn't followed the teachings of our merciful Master well. Our
inner grief was beyond any description. Tears even rolled down the cheeks of one of us. As a result,
we also had difficulty in concentrating on sending forth righteous thoughts so that we were unable
to achieve sending forth pure righteous thoughts. Therefore, we discussed this issue together. We
came to an agreement that first we had to resolve the gaps in our own cultivation based on the Fa.
If we could resolve the questions and close the gaps in our own cultivation, then it followed that
we should have no trouble entering Iceland. We noticed that in Helsinki we put emphasis on reading the Fa and sending forth righteous
thoughts. However, in Copenhagen we also needed to study the Fa well, send forth righteous thoughts
and clarify the truth. We had to meet the highest standard of being a Dafa disciple during the Fa-rectification
period. So, six of us would work together doing different things. Some would clarify the truth of
Falun Dafa to the media, government officials and the airline personnel. Meanwhile, one of us would
look for other access to Iceland, such as flying or driving to a place nearest to Iceland and then
going to Iceland by ship. Or were there any other flights of other airlines headed for Iceland?
Moreover, those who could not speak English could assist by sending forth righteous thoughts in the
meantime. After checking with the travel agency, the plan of taking a ship to Iceland was quickly
determined not to be feasible. However, I still felt that we were distancing ourselves from the difficult situation; we were not
determined enough to cut through any hindrance on our way to Iceland. At that moment, I thought of
Master's words in the article "Rationality," "Amidst tribulations, it is very
difficult for a student to see the cause of a matter; but it's not that it is impossible. When he
calms his mind and evaluates things with Dafa, he will be able to see the nature of the
matter." Right away I shared my new understanding of Master's words with one another, and we also
discussed this and eventually came to the following agreement. Firstly, in whatever situation we should not forget our mission on this journey and the demands
the Fa makes on us. The purpose of our visiting Iceland was to send forth righteous thoughts in a
close proximity to eradicate the evil in other dimensions which manipulates the head scoundrel. In
this way, we offer salvation to all beings. Therefore, our sending forth righteous thoughts should
not be affected by our minor tribulations. Otherwise, we would bring a great loss to the Fa and the
damage could not be undone. Secondly, as far as the geographical location was concerned, the distance between Copenhagen and
Iceland was shorter than that between Helsinki and Iceland. Thus, we would be able to send forth
righteous thoughts in a nearer distance and be more effective in eliminating the evil. What mattered
was our righteous and pure thoughts. If our thoughts were firm and righteous, our power to eliminate
the evil would not be limited by distance. Thirdly, we had to keep Master's words in mind all the time, "Don't wait, don't rely on
others." We should have confidence in our ability obtained from our cultivation and in the
great power of righteous thoughts. We should believe that we would solve all the problems on our
own. Even amidst our tribulations, we should give up our selfishness to the greatest extent. The
Icelandic practitioners had to be in charge of the most important activities of Fa-rectification.
Therefore, their energy and attention should not be distracted by our own tribulations. Otherwise,
the progress of Fa-rectification would be slowed down and great damage and loss would be caused. Fourthly, we were not in an unfavorable situation. On the contrary, we were in a "more
favorable" situation to clarify the truth of Falun Gong to human beings because we were faced
with hardship we could more easily clarify the truth to interested parties. Finally, we made a decision to comprehensively clarify the truth of Falun Dafa in Copenhagen and
to get on board the plane headed for Iceland with our righteous thoughts. In the meantime, we
decided to stay at the airport until we boarded the next plane for Iceland. One practitioner then suggested that wherever there was a problem, we should clarify the truth
and solve the problem in that place. I also shared my deeper understanding of sending forth
righteous thoughts with others. I said, "When I first arrived here, I felt great hardship when
sending forth righteous thoughts. And I could not help but ask for Master's help. But now I have a
new understanding. Since Master has already borne so many tribulations for us, we should no longer
leave our own tribulations to Master. If Master bore all of my tribulations for me, then it would
not be my cultivation. We should have complete confidence in our own ability." After listening
to my words, they gave me an understanding grin. We decided to pass through the boarding entrance with our righteous thoughts. Unfortunately, Mr.
Billnie Staigson from the Iceland Consulate stopped us at the boarding entrance. Mr. Staigson showed
us the ban from the Icelandic Ministry of Justice. During June 12 and June 16, Falun Gong travelers
were banned from entering Reykjavik Airport in Iceland. Also there was a letter from the Ministry of
Justice to Iceland Air with the similar content. After listening to our truth-clarification, Mr.
Staigson said, "I agree with your opinion." He also expressed regret and helplessness for
having to uphold that decision. Photo 1: Mr. Billnie Staigson, Consul of Iceland (middle) carrying out the orders
from Icelandic Ministry of Justice at the Icelandair boarding entrance at Copenhagen. Official from
the Taiwanese Embassy (left) and an official from the Bureau of Public Security (right) were also in
the picture. We proceeded to draft a statement entitled "Falun Gong Called Upon the Icelandic Ministry of
Justice to Reverse Its Wrong Decision--Canadian Practitioners' Sincere Appeal at Copenhagen
Airport." We then sent the statement back to Canada by e-mail and asked a Western practitioner
to revise the draft. Very quickly we received the revised statement. Photo 2 and 3: Practitioners took pictures with a well-known photographer in
Copenhagen, Mr. Morgans Forlint, at the airport. At 5:30 in the evening a B.T. newspaper reporter, Mr. Yakbi Anderson, and a photographer, Mr.
Morgans Forlint, came to interview us at the airport. After hearing of our situation and decision to
stay at the airport, Anderson and Forlint expressed their admiration and sympathy for us. The next
day B. T. newspaper reported on our appeal at the airport using a color picture and an eye-catching
title, "Chinese Activists Stranded at the Airport--Falun Gong Travelers Being Denied Entry to
Iceland." Photo 4: On June 13, The B.T. newspaper in Copenhagen covered our appeal. I called upon Mr. Billnie Staigson from Iceland Embassy. I told him the truth of Falun Gong, the
escalating persecution of Falun Gong in China, the reason why we wanted to visit Iceland, and the
wrong decision of the Icelandic government. I also expressed our firm determination to enter
Iceland. When I talked about our decision to spend tonight at the airport and to stay at the airport
until boarding on the next plane for Iceland, he seemed a little touched. He said, "I respect
your decision." He then repeatedly emphasized, "It is very unfortunate that the Icelandic
government made this decision." But self-contradictorily he added, "I am a public servant,
and I am supposed to follow the order." I replied, "You can tell the Ministry of Justice
what Falun Gong practitioners are in your opinion, and that Ministry of Justice made a wrong
decision." Feeling his inner changes and conflict, I went on saying, "If Hitler ordered to
kill people, would it be better to follow the order or to defy the order? Now, the wrong decision of
Ministry of Justice goes against the public will. The wrong decision is also testing everyone's
morality, and everyone has to take the test without any exception." Having been silent for some
moment, he repeated, "It is very unfortunate that the Icelandic government made this
decision." I went on to say, "Did you see the movie 'Schindler's List?' If you could
perform well this time, you could be greater than Schindler because this is an important choice
related to the eternity of your life as well as the eternity of Icelanders." Mr. Staigson
repeated again, "It is very unfortunate that the Icelandic government made this decision." I saw the divine side of this being; everyone had their consciousness to understand the truth. I
also saw the power of truth-clarification. This was the right timing to invite him to talk to us
face to face at the airport. I said, "It is not very easy for us to travel for such a long
distance to come here. We sincerely invite you to talk to us at the airport. We have many touching
stories to share with you." He kept silent for some time, and then said, "I can not see
you tonight." Knowing that he was moved, I said, "We can also take a taxi to your home to
talk to you; just half an hour will be O.K." He was silent again, and I said, "Or you can
choose one location and we could meet each other there." At that moment, he answered in a very
friendly way, "Let's stop here for tonight. Let me take a good sleep and think about it. I hope
that you will not call me again." At that moment, it was almost time to send forth righteous
thoughts. I said, "I hope that you can think about it again. I am not trying to be impolite. It
is just that this thing is very important for you." (To be continued.) Posting date: 7/10/2002 |