(Minghui.org) Excerpt: When the trainer, an experienced team member who volunteered to help newcomers, asked me to do a phone-call role play with her, I was out of my comfort zone. I suppressed wave after wave of urges to protect my pride, and kept reminding myself that I was there to assist Master in Fa-rectification, not to prove how good or how perfect I was.
I recently joined the efforts to make phone calls to people in China to tell them the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong, and to help them quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. I found and eliminated many of my attachments during the process. I also realized that Master has kindly arranged this as a part of my cultivation path.
Eliminating the Desire for Praise and Recognition
About a month ago, several of my clients at work began to curse at me when I was talking with them on the phone, even before hearing about the company's procedures. They often put words in my mouth when I tried to clarify. I didn't argue with them, however, because I know that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner and that I must be tolerant.
Even so, the hostile phone calls continued. Some even complained to my supervisor with such harsh words that my supervisor had to tell them to calm down and stop cursing me.
My supervisor later told me that I didn't have to tolerate abusive customers and create exceptions for them when they wouldn't follow our normal procedures.
The harsh phone calls continued into the second week. For three consecutive days, one client called, cursed me, and then hung up. I became anxious every time I heard the phone ring.
I finally decided to just follow the normal procedures of the company strictly and give no special treatment to anyone. To my surprise, the clients immediately stopped complaining and started complying with requirements. This was totally unexpected.
During Fa study, I looked inward, and found some attachments related to the incident, such as the desire for perfection, compliments, recognition, and promotions. People often said that I was attractive, so I became attached to pride. I also didn't like to be misunderstood, and made strong efforts to win praise and protect my reputation.
I realized that I had been working very hard to protect my reputation for so long, and that the desire for fame, pride, and perfection would be large obstacles for my success in making truth-clarifying phone calls to China.
Making Phone Calls Immersed in Master's Compassion
The day before I started calling, I decided to memorize what I was going to say. As I was doing so, I felt a warm energy field around me. Later, as I was studying the Fa, I felt my body being repeatedly cleansed by a warm energy flow. When sending forth righteous thoughts, I felt like I was sitting in a comfortable and warm energy field.
On my first day as a new member of the calling project team, I listened to the experiences shared by a veteran caller. Having learned from the xinxing tests I had experienced over the previous two weeks, I reminded myself to keep a pure heart while making phone calls, and not pursue perfection.
When the trainer, an experienced team member who had volunteered to help newcomers, asked me to do a phone-call role play with her, I was out of my comfort zone. I suppressed wave after wave of urges to protect my pride, and kept reminding myself that I was there to assist Master in Fa-rectification, not to prove how good or how perfect I was.
After two rounds of practice, the instructing practitioner asked me to dial a phone number in China. A man picked up the phone. I started to read the script and he listened. When I asked, he said he was not a Party member, but agreed to quit the Youth League, an organization affiliated with the CCP.
After registering his desire to quit the Youth League using an alias, I continued to tell him the facts about Falun Gong and the staged self-immolation on Tiananmen Square. I told him that the CCP used the event to slander Falun Gong in order to justify its brutal persecution.
After I hung up the phone, I realized that my mind was totally focused on the truth-clarification without even a slight distraction.
It's hard to keep a pure and blank mind all the time, however. One day, I was distracted by my work during the daytime, and failed to help anyone to quit the CCP.
The next day, we called numbers related to a special case, and the facts were different than what I had talked about the previous time. I adjusted myself and was successful in eliminating the distractions.
I called, and a man quietly listened as I read through the phone script. I asked him to treat Falun Gong practitioners well and fairly. He remained silent.
After I finished reading the script, I remembered that I had not yet asked him to quit the CCP. So I asked if he was a party member. He said yes.
“I can help you to quit the CCP.” I offered. He immediately agreed. I realized that I had doubts and didn't think that he would agree.
I quickly eliminated this thought, however, because I remembered Master's words from “What is a Dafa Disciple,”
“My Dafa disciples, your righteous thoughts do have an effect. And the combined effect of each of you together is powerful beyond compare. The reason you can’t achieve such an effect is that your faith is lacking, and your righteous thoughts aren’t strong enough.”
Improving Oneself During the Daily Review
The practitioners on the project are from a variety of countries. When the calling sessions are complete each day, we take 30 minutes to review our progress. During that short period of time, participants exchange their wisdom and experiences.
I can often feel their pure hearts for saving more lives. Team members may have different ideas, but they all have good intentions, and each one of us is very willing to let go of our own notions, and accept and implement group decisions.
I really treasured the precious time of the daily review session, and re-experienced the feeling of a new practitioner's quick-advancement.
My attachment to reputation returned for a while, and I was afraid to make phone calls while other practitioners were listening. So I called in private, but the effect was poor.
During the review session that day, one practitioner suggested that we might work as a team. The team members take turns making phone calls, with the others listening and sending forth righteous thoughts to support the one who's calling.
On another occasion, I developed an attachment of pursuing the number of people quitting the CCP, so I was eager to make more phone calls, but neglected my Fa-study. I was affected by interference during the calls. It appeared in the human world that the listeners were distracted by their family members and were indecisive about quitting the CCP.
During the review session that night, some practitioners suggested that I strengthen my Fa-study and sending forth righteous thoughts.
My palms were hot while sending forth righteous thoughts, and I could feel the good and evil battling in other dimensions. I began worrying about how I could eliminate all the evil, but then decided it was a good thing. I had neglected sending forth righteous thoughts for some time, so the evil had accumulated. It was now time to destroy them.
I added one more thought to eliminate all the meddling deities who were enlarging my attachments to interfere in my effort to save lives. I then felt my body warming. The meddling deities were not willingly destroyed, and they kept sending filthy thoughts into my mind.
I recited Master's teaching to encourage myself.
“That is why some people find that the things coming up in their minds are filthy. I would like to tell you, and I often have encouraged practitioners by saying: it’s okay, just repel it, handle yourself well, don’t let it interfere with you, and you will be fine.” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day”)
Project team members also shared their experiences of making the phone calls easier on the listener. For example, the caller should be calm, speak with compassion, use kind—but logically convincing—words, allow the listener to relax, and treat every listener equally regardless of their social status, title, or rank. It's very helpful.
The above sharing is just my personal understandings. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
(Shared at the August 3, 2014 Taiwan experience sharing meeting)
