March 16, 2002

(Clearwisdom.net) Around the Spring Festival this year, police rampantly searched and arrested Dafa practitioners everywhere. I thought that at a time like this we should be more proactive in deterring the evil, so that we could be more effective in breaking the arrangements of the old forces. So my son and I went out to put up some Falun Dafa signs at about 3:30 AM, on the second day of the Spring Festival.

We sent forth righteous thoughts as we paint the signs. Everything went along smoothly. After an hour, it was time to go home as originally planned, but I wanted to do more, so we went to a residential garden, which was guarded by security personnel. Having relaxed my vigilance, I entered the garden without sending forth righteous thoughts. As a consequence the security personnel caught me, but my son managed to get away unscathed.

The police took me to a police station. Upon arrival, the sergeant on duty stuck his head out of his blanket and blasted me for making trouble on such an early hour of the morning. I told him, "We Dafa practitioners went out to do this during the New Year holiday neither for money nor personal interests, but only for saving people by letting them know the truth about Dafa. We are the good guys not the trouble makers, yet you police have made it a priority to apprehend innocent people like us and ignore the criminals." The sergeant was speechless and sent me off to another room. A policeman came over to take an interrogation record, but I was determined not to tell him anything nor cooperate in anyway with the evil force. Meanwhile, I calmed myself down to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil within him, denying the evil side of him the opportunity to rear its ugly head.

Seeing that I refused to answer any questions, the policeman told me to stand up, with the intent to deal me some punishment. I stood up but sat down again immediately. He asked, "Why are you sitting down again?" I said, "I am not standing up, because I have to be responsible to you. If you mistreat me and persecute Dafa practitioners, you will be unable to pay for the enormous karmic debt incurred. I cannot let you do that." I also told him, "You policemen must respect Dafa practitioners, because we are among the most admirable people in the world." "How can you claim to be the greatest people in the world?" he was puzzled. I explained to him, "Because all you care about are your personal interests, only Dafa practitioners would rather lose their jobs and even lives in order to defend the truth in the universe and save the sentient beings in the world. Is there anyone else in society that is as selfless? Isn't this admirable and great? If you can do what we do, I'll say you are great too. But you are willing to be used by Jiang's regime to apprehend the good people that cultivate 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance' instead of real criminals, is this conscionable?" The policeman was speechless.

After a while, he said, "You talk about 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance' but have not yet told me your name and address." I said, "Have not yet and will not are two different things. Please do not exploit our principles to persecute us. If I told you my personal information, you would be ransacking my home as before and implicating my family and work place to cause havoc. That is not what I would like to see." The policeman recorded everything and asked me to sign on the record. I looked at the record, it was full of "No answer," "I don't want to tell you," etc. I just signed "A Dafa practitioner." So over an hour of interrogation became in effect my questioning of his conscience and his gradual enlightenment under my lead.

Under the control of my righteous thoughts, he couldn't even get angry, so he reluctantly took me into the small cell. I pushed at the door and clanked the lock, protesting, "This place is for criminals not for innocent Dafa practitioners. Let me out! I don't want to stay here!" I was determined to get out of that place, rejoin the current of Fa-rectification, and continue my work to tell the truth of Dafa to people and save people. I sent forth righteous thoughts. But how could I get out? The window could hardly admit a head, and the lock wouldn't come off when I pulled on it. I had no misgivings about Dafa nor my own ability, I figured ether that I was not up to the standard or that there was some unfinished business here.

I settled down to meditate for a while and intensified my righteous thought further, to eliminate all the evil that persecuted Dafa in the police station. I must not allow the evil to persecute me, and I must leave the place, because that was the path arranged by Teacher. Then, I looked inward to see if there were any loopholes and asked myself why I was caught while doing the Fa-rectification work. Teacher's words came to my mind, "Over the past year, practitioners' own karma, inadequate understanding of the Fa, inability to discard attachments amidst tribulations, inability to deal with things using righteous thoughts amidst painful trials, and so on, are the main reasons behind evil's escalation of the persecution, and are the true fundamental excuses that the evil has used to attack the Fa." ("Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s))

I want to spread Dafa and deter the evil. Clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings are the historical missions entrusted upon Dafa practitioners. What I did was right. However, why was I caught? Was it due to fear? But I did not have fear before I was caught, only when I didn't stop because of the attachment of zealotry that my loophole was made use of by the evil. I knew the evil in that place was rather rampant, but I neglected to seriously send forth righteous thought. Moreover, at the moment I was captured, I didn't think of freezing the evil. This was due to the lack of an understanding established through long term solid cultivation. When the mind was not steady, there was a noticeable lack of authority in clarifying the truth and producing an impact, so I was ineffective in controlling the security guards. In any case, I didn't eliminate the attachment of zealotry in my daily cultivation, and after I was caught, fear also emerged, so I was persecuted by the evil.

"What should I do here?" I asked myself. "Being trapped here means I will lose the opportunity to work for Dafa. It is not a matter of my being persecuted here but the loss of a member to perform Dafa work, and it is Dafa's loss."

I continued to ask myself, "Am I afraid of labor camp?"

"No."

"Am I afraid of all kinds of brutal torture?"

"No."

"Am I afraid of brainwashing by the evil?"

"No, they will never shake my rock-solid belief."

"Then, am I afraid to die?"

"Those who are afraid to die are not Dafa disciples!"

On this thought, I realized that the prison could only imprison everyday people, not Dafa disciples who have a mission to save sentient beings. Why should I allow myself to be imprisoned here? Teacher has told us, "If a cultivator can let go of the thought of life and death under any circumstances, evil is bound to be afraid of him. If every practitioner is able to do this, evil will of itself no longer exist." (Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s))

All of a sudden I felt like a different person. I clanked on the iron door loudly, forcing the police to come over and take me to their room. I calmed myself down and thought to myself that I must cherish the opportunity to promote Dafa. I stood up to face them, and with eyes full of tears and a heart of benevolence, I was determined to awaken their conscience with truthfulness and to open their minds with benevolence. I spoke calmly, solemnly, loudly, and with benevolence. Unlike my usual soft-spoken voice, my voice filled the room and reverberated through the hallway all way to the duty room, which brought in their sergeant. I began from how Jesus and Sakyamuni once came down to the world as an ordinary person but actually were Gods who came to this world to save the ordinary people. I then told them that now the Lord of Buddhas had personally come to rectify the universe and to save people, to leave them a ladder to heaven, "Zhuan Falun." Such an opportunity would come only once in history. The people present in the world in fact all came for the Fa, but some of them became lost in the sea of materialism and desires, and became deceived by Jiang's government. They not only did not obtain the Fa, they even helped the tyrant do evil and committed major wrong deeds. They faced complete destruction. Dafa practitioners risked their lives, under enormous pressure telling people the truth about Dafa to expose the evil of Jiang's clique and save the people, including you. "We are all living beings within Dafa." I continued. "Moreover, we are fortunate enough to be born in China, which affords us the opportunity to obtain the Fa. However, you brushed past Dafa without realizing it. Although we come across each other under such circumstance, I believe it is not accidental. You will understand when you hear me out that my being caught here is for good reason."

At that moment, I was completely melted within Dafa and only had concern for others. My words were logical and eloquent. They flowed like poetry, deeply moving their hearts. I felt the solemnity of Dafa, the mighty power of benevolence, and the infinite strength and tolerance of altruism. All the policemen present either looked away or had their heads down, and were stone silent. I also thought about imparting the words to their main spirits, so I said, "Dafa is the true principle of the universe. It created all the lives at different levels. Of course, all of you are beings in Dafa. Do you believe it?" Suddenly, I heard a loud voice, "I believe it." I turned my head and saw a kind, young face. I was filled with joy that another being had enlightened. Tears rolled down my cheeks.

Then he let the others go out for a break and talked with me alone for a long time. He asked me a lot of questions, and I answered them all. I talked about the situation of Dafa in and outside the country, and talked from everyday people's way of thinking to supernormal principles, opening his mind with various viewpoints. I used what I personally saw and experienced during my cultivation to validate Dafa's extraordinary and unique characteristics. I had his undivided attention. Finally, he was anxious to learn the practice. We parted after we talked for a very long time.

The policeman on duty tried to take me to the cell again. I protested, and he did not insist. Presently, three policemen came to watch over me in the room. I felt that I had already said everything I wanted to say, and what remained was for me to get out of there. It so happened that a quarrel started outside, and the three policemen all went out to take a look. I realized it was the opportunity arranged by Teacher for me to go, so I followed them out and passed the main entrance of the police station with the guards watching.

Since I left home this morning to the time I left the police station, it was exactly nine hours. These nine hours represent the most anxious moments so far in my Fa rectification cultivation. Through these moments I realize my shortcomings. At the same time, it is a life-and-death trial. In the mist of the tribulation, because of my staunch faith in Dafa, I was able to strengthen my righteous thoughts. The lessons and experience I gained during truth clarification and evil elimination in this Fa rectification process have made me more mature.

I hope that other practitioners can draw lessons from and be inspired by my experience, so that we can make steady progress together in cultivation. Please kindly point out anything improper in my understanding.