(Minghui.org) My Falun Dafa truth-clarification efforts are centered around Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, New York.
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 high-rise commercial buildings in the center of Manhattan that employ 65,000 people. Tourists from around the world, especially from China, can be seen daily in the stores, which sell duty-free brand-name products.
Improving the Effectiveness
After the 2016 New York Fahui, the coordinators from the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is also called the Tuidang Center in New York, looked at Rockefeller Center twice as a possible truth-clarification site.
Given the great potential, they began to select participants for this undertaking. More than 10 practitioners, aged 20 to 70, were chosen. Their cultivation states and truth-clarification efficiency were important factors taken into account.
The next step was to set a high standard for our clothing, appearance, and etiquette. The dress code was the same as if we were attending a Falun Dafa conference. Finally, we were given a makeover that included nice purses, dresses, light make up. More importantly we memorized key talking points.
Master said:
“I think that at the tourist sites, you should not take quitting the Party or the Young Pioneers, or the “three withdrawals” itself, as your goal. Remember, everyone, you are to have clarifying the truth and saving people as your goal!” (“Fa Teaching at the 2016 New York Fa Conference”)
Sharing Experiences and the Lessons Learned
The Rockefeller Center truth-clarification site opened on June 6, 2016. The day started with studying the Fa, reciting Lunyu, and sending righteous thoughts.
Practitioners shared experiences as well as lessons learned. Everyone agreed that truth-clarification at Rockefeller Center serves to temper practitioners as well as to help them advance and improve in their cultivation.
An intensive group study and experience sharing session is held Wednesday mornings. Everyone shares and looks within, which helps us improve our understandings of the Fa as well as gives us confidence and motivation.
Stories and Thoughts Shared by Practitioners
One practitioner hangs her little boombox every day around the spot where the Chinese tourists get off the bus. As soon as the bus door is open, she turns the boombox on and it plays the song “Coming for You.” More often than not, there is a friendly smile from people getting off the bus.
Dressing neatly makes it easier for the Chinese tourists to feel comfortable, and it is especially effective when talking to certain individuals about Dafa.
The tourists think on first glance that we are tourists, too. They will usually ask us about our backgrounds, suggest that we sit and talk or ask us to take their photos.
We often team up in groups of two. We first chat about a number of ordinary subjects and then talk about Dafa after they seem relaxed and comfortable. The effect is normally very good.
We wait quietly until the guide finishes talking about the tourist site and giving logistical instructions. Then we often play Dafa songs, including “Coming for You” and “Falun Dafa Hao.” The songs penetrate and clean the dimensional fields and create an atmosphere of kindness.
A group of Chinese elementary students once arrived at the site. I asked them some basic questions about their trip and what cool stuff they’d bought.
One girl could not believe that I was over 70 years old. She said that her grandmother was only 60 but not nearly as young looking as me.
I told the students that I was impressed with them and asked if they could memorize “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” They did and we recited the phrases together.
When it was time for the kids to leave, the guide had his hands full but finally got the last girl on the bus. She told him that she just wanted to spend a little bit more time with “Granny.”
Another time, an older practitioner was chatting with a middle-aged man. This man commented to the practitioner about how lively he thought she looked. When he heard that she was 74, he asked for her secret and if he would allow her to take her picture. Then he asked his wife to come over and meet her.
The wife and others ladies who had tagged along asked her what facial product she used. She told them that she, like many other practitioners, look young because they follow Dafa.
She then told them that if people sincerely recite, “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” they may also look younger.
A practitioner once was trying to talk to a man who seemed quite knowledgeable about Dafa. However, he was annoyed and kept ignoring her. He ended up being rather rude. She responded that it was fine if he did not want to listen but that his rudeness was objectionable.
He was intrigued by her good manners and had quite a lot of general questions about her status in the United States and in China.
He was rather excited when he found out that she had studied at Beijing Teacher's University, as he was retired from there. Soon after, he and his wife agreed to quit the CCP.
Laying a Foundation
In trying to help a group of well-dressed tourists who seemed quite knowledgeable, one practitioner had a difficult time. This group accused her of humiliating China by airing its dirty laundry. She tried to use all of her wisdom to help them understand.
“My fellow countrymen,” she said, “I have only love for you, no resentment. The CCP has occupied China for decades and claimed 80 million Chinese lives in all its political campaigns. The CCP carried out the Tiananmen Massacre and Jiang Zemin, the former CCP leader, launched the persecution of Falun Dafa and staged the self-immolation hoax to incite the Chinese people against Falun Dafa. And on top of it all, the CCP has been harvesting organs from living practitioners for profit, while executing thousands.”
She added, “You are facing a life and death choice—only by understanding the truth and quitting the Party and its affiliated organizations can you be safe.”
The outcome of the conversation—a possible change of heart—is not known. Maybe the effort, however, will help these Chinese people listen with a more open heart to another practitioner later on. Maybe they will then end up doing what is right and best for themselves. In short, this practitioner has laid a foundation for future action.
