Experiences of a UK practitioner

My name is Terence, living in England with my wife Elsa. I am 68 years of age and have been a Falun Dafa practitioner for 15 months. Zhuan Falun arrived on my doorstep on the 23^rd April 1999. Approximately 2 weeks later, I attended a class. The people were thoroughly friendly. The practice was tranquil and meditative. The following evening I went to the reading. Experiences were shared. If you will forgive me, even then I sensed the practitioners were somewhat withdrawn. A certain edge was missing.

The following week when leaving class it was mentioned that Master Li Honghzi was threatened with extradition by the Chinese government's request to the United States for His return to China. A slight pang of doubt crossed my mind but even at that early stage I was able to dispel it. And so it began.

At the next reading night the Chinese assistant told of the sinister happenings that were taking place in China. For about 3 hours we focused on these events and their implications.

The question was asked: How is it possible to help fellow practitioners in China? Now the atmosphere of the reading sessions took hold. Some thought that little could be done: who on Earth could alter the stance of a Chinese government? Some thought that it was a tribulation to be faced by the Chinese practitioners and was all arranged anyway. What could a few letters to a MP (member of parliament) achieve? The lone Chinese assistant seemed to be having difficulty gaining support. Then it came to mind. When I was a young man of 35 years, I had taken a considerable risk to march with others in protest about an event the week previous when 14 people were shot dead in my homeland. I was non-political and I was not a member of an organisation, but I could not, for the life of me, sit comfortably at home and leave it to others. As an everyday person I had to point out the injustice and be seen to do so. I realised that what the young assistant must feel for the practitioners in his homeland and their cause was something infinitely greater than mine had been in the human world. I was with him all the way and gave him my full support. I had no idea that 'all the way' meant far away and many places in the unforeseen future. So from small beginnings the drive was on to inform the world about the Chinese authorities?actions. As each day passed, the news from China became increasingly alarming. Reading nights were filled with ongoing reports and articles from the Teacher. Some practitioners genuinely thought it was too intense, too distracting to their own cultivation. The assistant pressed the issue to encourage others to become active. His efforts were not entirely wasted.

I had reasoned that my being the most recent arrival to be introduced to Falun Dafa meant that it surely was acceptable for me to stand back, study the Fa and practice. Also, my body was in poor shape resulting from a long-term illness. I wanted to be more active in helping the assistant, but my knowledge was so limited -- after all, only a few short weeks had elapsed since my arrival. I was not equipped to deal with such complex matters. Leave it to the veterans, my knowledge of Zhuan Falun was so limited. But it was not to be. Little did I know that this was the beginning of an extraordinary period of time in which the Fa would be tested in an unprecedented way. Then so was I tested; the thought karma?test assailed me within days.

Then I would be awakened from sleep; wide-awake usually at 1:30am precisely and start to read Zhuan Falun. On various days I would read on occasion up to 6 or 7 chapters. My average was about 4 chapters per day. I had been gifted to be able to wade through interference when reading Zhuan Falun, particularly in the afternoons. The eyes never tired. One night, when reading Zhuan Falun, the Master's image appeared on the page. I looked away briefly then to see the image slowly fade. On another occasion I awoke one morning to sense the whole body reading. It was a movement that cannot be put into words. I was being given the opportunity to rapidly assimilate the Fa. A surge of energy came and I was holding the wheel for an hour but had to stop the practice for two days because of swollen ankles. Tribulations were arising in the most unusual way and from unexpected sources to the point that I was almost waiting for something to occur. Now my energies were being restored and the physical ailments started to heal.

One morning when getting into bed I lay on my left side. The back of my body from head to heel was covered in a flash by an unseen force. The room was electric with what sounded like water falling. The presence was immense. Then pressure was applied to the lower back and buttocks, so forcefully that I had to tense the body to avoid sliding to the bed edge. The lower body became intensely hot and the heat rose into the chest and to a lesser degree to the head. In an unexplained way I could see the content of the applied pressure entering the body, blue being the predominant colour. The pressure continued for at least 12 seconds as best I know. I then grew a little concerned and let out a slight call. It stopped immediately. Now, on occasion, the heat coming up from the hips and causing colours to swirl in the mind awakens me from my sleep.

Now my involvement in helping to tell the world about the plight of fellow Chinese practitioners began. On a late afternoon the assistant telephoned to ask me to go to London to meet people from the Foreign Office in order to brief them on the China situation. The practitioner who would normally go with him was unable to attend and others also were not available. I agreed to go, although I felt I would be of little use. Two veteran practitioners met us. Just as we were to enter the Foreign Office, I was informed that as a part of the foursome, when they had said their piece, I would be expected to make a plea on behalf of the Chinese practitioners. That was news to me. I had not expected to do this and had misunderstood the assistant in the first place. I had just expected to attend and maybe contribute if able to do so, in an informal way. Of course I made a hash of it and felt quite deflated, especially since in the past I had been a Managing Director of a sizeable company and had experience in meeting and dealing with people in high office. One of the veterans, in a terse, good-natured way, revealed his disappointment by asking how long I had been a practitioner. I told him 5 months. I don't remember thanking him from the bottom of my heart. As I said earlier, xinxing tests were frequent and most pointed.

We were also in London to obtain permission from the authorities to peacefully demonstrate in anticipation of the Chinese Presidents state visit to London beginning on the 20th of October. Downing Street, the GuildHall and the Chinese Embassy were the places targeted. I don't intend to give a chronological account of all our movements but rather refer to what I considered meaningful events. I arrived in London with a party of six practitioners from Manchester to join with others from all over the U.K. and Ireland. Now a Falun Dafa practitioner for six months, Hongfa was to begin in earnest. To find oneself on the Downing Street pavement in a swirl of Londons traffic, as buses crammed with commuters watched as we practised the movements. Close by, the Tibetan peoples supporters filled the ears with loud chanting and all sorts of noise-making gadgets. Any trace of embarrassment I may have felt at going public was soon erased. The cameras flashed amid the din. Reporters came and went ,and the evenings TV news showed shots of our steadfast practitioners calm repetition of the practice, in contrast to other protesters?frantic actions. Then followed an evening candle lit vigil in Trafalgar Square. The late October chill nipped the fingers. Suddenly the darkness was penetrated by glaring spotlights from a television crew sweeping their cameras across the silent rows of practitioners. Later, it is mentioned that they were from a Hong Kong station.

The next morning, in Trafalgar Square, as we lined up to commence the practice, I looked up to see the sun emerge from the clouds in the shape of a crescent covered by a dazzling blue light. Then in my mind the words Falun Buddha Law were repeated 3 or more times with intense power. About an hour later, having tea with other practitioners in a nearby restaurant, one of them told me he had seen a Falun cover the Sun and another two practitioners had also witnessed it.

That same evening we went to the GuildHall where the Chinese President was guest of honour at a state banquet. Unfortunately, the space allocated by the police was limited and our peaceful protest was soon swamped by the Tibetan supporters numbers and loud racket.

The next day when the Chinese President went to Downing Street, I was a member of a party of four practitioners who presented a petition on the steps of No.10 for the Prime Minister Tony Blair's attention amid intense media coverage.

How come someone like me, who a few short months ago would have found it impossible to spend long hours on ones feet, was now doing the practice? This was only the beginning. In mid November the idea of what was originally called a peace tour?was given life. This called for practitioners to visit cities where classes were already established and do Hongfa and obtain signatures on behalf of our fellow Chinese practitioners. My task was to make up two display boards, which would fold and fit into a car boot. With the help of the assistant, a few days saw this accomplished. Our travels during the cold winter months took us to London, Bristol, Reading, Edinburgh, Leeds, Sheffield, Glasgow, Stockport and others.

I had now become well acquainted with most of the Chinese practitioners. I know this will raise a smile as I found some a bit pushy but sincere. I had a communication problem. I took no exception to the exclusion of the language and they sensed this. I made it my business to get to know them better. I also wanted to gain from their experience and knowledge and the richness of the environment they created. I did pick up on the 'them and us' syndrome but refused to get involved, in keeping with cultivation of speech (Xiu Kou). This Falun Dafa was too precious to tamper with. As far as I was concerned, Master Li Hongzhi would also be well disposed to an Irishman.

How come my practice was early involved in Hongfa with no let up? In the eighth month of my cultivation practice, namely early December, I was told of a conference in Hong Kong. So what? Then I began to learn of its importance. Having recently come under Chinese jurisdiction, a conference there must surely attract worldwide attention. It would also be a test for a two-system state and embarrass the Chinese authorities if a large number of practitioners attended. And so my journeying continued. I followed the assistant to Hong Kong a few days after he had departed from Manchester.

Upon arrival, the atmosphere was alive with expectancy. Hundreds of practitioners from many countries stood quietly practising in the immediate vicinity of the Chinese news agency building. The media were milling about in large numbers and I was interviewed like many others several times. The whole place was ablaze with Falun Dafa banners, and the Taiwanese, dressed mostly in yellow gold tops, added to the effect amidst the bright sunlight.

The whole gathering was heavily policed and the immediacy of the Chinese Mainland added a certain tension to the proceedings. Many practitioners were planning to go to the Mainland after the conference. One knew that the slightest act of incitement would bring an end to the protest. A penetrating calm came with the purity of the practice music. The assistant and I, with other representatives from other countries, presented a letter of appeal on behalf of UK and Irish practitioners to the Chinese authorities amid tremendous media attention. Of course, the Chinese officials refused to receive us and we simply left the letters at the base of the door.

It all drew to a close with a sparkling parade through Hong Kong centre. Banners aloft and placards showing the names of each country represented. Reporters were still interviewing as we went along. The finale came in the magnificent surroundings of the harbour. A large banner, depicting Zhuan Falun in the familiar blue, led the parade to its close. Hong Kong would remember Falun Xiulian Dafa.

On arrival home, I continued to Hongfa with the peace tour. My next journey saw me in Geneva for the Geneva conference. This coincided with a United Nations human rights meeting at which the United States was forwarding a motion censoring the Chinese human rights record. Now in the eleventh month of cultivation practice, I had wrote a testimonial for the conference and was privileged to be one of those chosen.

A few months later in June, another big human rights event was to take place once again in Geneva. I was rightly or wrongly informed that very few U.K. practitioners were planning to attend. That was certainly true for practitioners in Manchester. However, the arrival of the article "Towards Consummation" saw an upsurge of interest and some 20 or more practitioners went to Geneva. We in Manchester did not attend. This of course caused concern to other practitioners who arrived in Geneva.

In Geneva some veterans got together and expressed concern about the overall situation in the U.K. As a result, meetings were arranged in the U.K. with various assistants who eventually led to resolving all contentious issues regarding promotion of the Fa. Now there were absolutely no variances. The way forward was explicitly clear cut. Master Li's articles later confirmed that clarifying the truth of Falun Gong is the most important task in "assisting Teacher in the human world" inside or outside of China.

Now I realised that my own cultivation practice had been chiefly steeped in the purpose of stepping forward to validate Dafa from the very beginning. How unbelievably fortunate for me, the new boy on the block, to have helped point the way. I wish to thank the friend who introduced me to Zhuan Falun, my dear wife of 43 years for her forbearance and understanding. I wish to thank all those who welcomed me with kind hearts and those that didn't. With particular thanks to the trusty assistant whose example and steadfastness and untiring work for Dafa set me an example for which I will always be entirely grateful.

Thank you.