(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings, revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I'm a nearly-70-year-old Dafa practitioner. Here I will share some of my cultivation experiences in the last year or so.
1. Starting from Oneself
In March this year, many local practitioners were arrested. The reason is, as a whole we had some problems regarding our xinxing. The practitioners in the vicinity depended on these practitioners too much, overloading them with work, and consequently they neglected their Fa study. That is why the evil took advantage of their loopholes and illegally arrested them. I thought, the arrests were so damaging and those practitioners could do so much in Fa-rectification if they were not incarcerated. The whole situation in the region was unfavorable. It seemed that all the practitioners were in low spirits. I told myself, "Don't look up to others and do not rely on others. I should just do what I can do. I should not look on and do nothing while my fellow practitioners are suffering persecution." The next day, I visited the offices involved in the practitioners' arrests and requested their release.
I kept sending forth righteous thoughts and brought up my request with dignity. I went to the National Security Division of a district police branch six or seven times, to the municipal 610 Office and the municipal National Security Division six or seven times, to the municipal police department, several forced labor camps, the prison compound and the prison hospital several times. I kept inquiring for the whereabouts of the practitioners.
When I walked into the National Security Division of a district police branch, I immediately encountered police officers who recognized me (as I had been arrested before). They asked, "What do you come here for? Do you still practice Falun Gong?" I answered, "Yes I do. I've come to ask for these practitioners whom you arrested." They pretended to not know anything about it and ordered me to leave in threatening tones. I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil behind them and asked them again, "Who arrested them?" They kept silent. An officer thought that I was just an old lady and tried to fool me, "We didn't do it. There are three or four National Security Divisions in the district." I questioned, "There is only one National Security Division in each district. How can you say there are three or four?" They laughed and kept silent again. I thought, "I won't leave without learning where the practitioners are detained." I kept sending forth righteous thoughts there. The head of the division who looked very mean tried to push me out. I said, "I've come to resolve this issue. You arrested them. I will not leave unless you tell me where they are." At the same time, I thought, "I am a Dafa practitioner. I won't be scared by the rotten demons behind these policemen. Today I will eliminate the evil here." I started to talk about how grand Dafa is and exposed the persecution. I told them that it is a sin to persecute Falun Gong. The head of the division stopped pushing me and turned around to blame the police officer at the gate, "How can you let such a person come in?" Half an hour later, a police officer told me that the municipal National Security Division had taken over the case.
There is always a registration office at the entrance of such offices. I would usually try to walk straight in while sending forth righteous thoughts. Sometimes I was stopped. Then I would clarify the truth to the officer who stopped me. Some would let me in. Once the guard at the entrance of the municipal police department stopped me and ordered me to leave when he learned that I came to inquire about Falun Gong practitioners. I clarified the truth to him. He said it was not his business. I said, "I know your duty is to watch the gate. But you should know that Falun Dafa is good. Do not stand by those bad police officers inside who persecute Falun Gong. You will earn a great reward if you treat practitioners kindly." Then I clarified the truth to him some more. After hearing what I said, he suggested I go to the municipal "610 Office." He told me in detail how to find these organizations and also told me some of the people's names who worked there. The municipal 610 Office and the municipal National Security Department are secret offices and do not display their names at the entrance. Their locations are also quite hidden. I felt really happy for him to have learned the truth of Dafa.
Once, I was stopped at the municipal 610 Office entrance and was told to wait outside. I said I needed to go to the restroom and got into the building this way. Leaving the restroom I went upstairs and asked, "Who is in charge of Falun Gong cases?" No one answered me. So I knocked on one office door after another and asked about it. They all said they didn't know. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts while talking about the persecution of the practitioners. Finally a police officer told me to look for a certain female police officer. She was extremely vicious and asked, "Who let you come here?" I said, "I made myself come here." She said, "I don't know what you are talking about. It's time for me to go home now. You should leave as well. Do not come here again!"
The next day I went there again and asked for the return of a fellow practitioner's driver's license. The female police officer said, "It has been confiscated." I said, "Practicing Falun Gong is not against the law. Torturing practitioners into disability is indeed committing a crime. It is not enough just saying you confiscated something. You should give me a receipt!" Although I said so, I thought, "A mere receipt is not ok. I must get the driver's license back."
The female police officer said to other officers, "This old woman even wants a receipt from me." She ignored me and left. But I didn't leave and continued to clarify the truth. The following day I went to the municipal 610 Office and the municipal National Security Division again. I clarified the truth to anyone I met. Because I went there so often, some police officers who had a kind heart changed their attitudes after hearing the truth. One young male police officer took me to the elevator and personally escorted me to the place I wanted to go. Several police officers told me secretly whom I should talk to. With my unceasing effort, I finally got that other practitioner's driver's license back from the female police officer.
In the process of going to these offices, I realized that the will to eliminate any evil must be strong. When encountering police interference, one should realize that they are all illusions. Just believe in Master and eliminate the interference. Let go of any attachment of fear. Do it without any notions and without any pursuits of results. Just grasp the opportunity to clarify the truth and to eliminate the evil.
Master told us,
"The evil is raucous on the surface, but inside it is afraid. You are Dafa disciples, and you can't have fear inside." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York") [Verified]
2. The Importance of Forming One Body
Gradually I got to know where some of the practitioners were detained. I went to the forced labor camp to ask for their release. The labor camp was far from where we lived - a three-hour round trip by bus. I thought it would be more powerful if all practitioners acted as a whole. So I shared my opinions with others and invited them to join in the rescue of the practitioners. Many young practitioners had by then been arrested or were being pursued, and some had left home to avoid persecution and arrest. I found several older practitioners. Some sent forth righteous thoughts to help and others agreed to go to the forced labor camp with me. An older practitioner bought some clothes and daily necessities to give to the practitioners. We asked to see the fellow practitioners. The labor camp police officers and guards refused us and said they were on a hunger strike. We sent forth righteous thoughts and learned more about the practitioners' situation, and sent the items into the camp. After we came back home, we managed to send the news to the Minghui/Clearwisdom website to expose those involved with this round of persecution. When we failed to see the practitioners we did not lose heart. Rather, we went back again to ask for their release, and kept sending forth righteous thoughts
Once, in order to confirm the circumstances of a fellow practitioner, we went to the prison compound and checked out every prison. On another occasion, a practitioner and I kept inquiring and finally found out the work place and the address of a practitioner. We went there to clarify the truth. I also called the forced labor camp to frighten the evil there, and asked other practitioners to do the same. I never liked to make phone calls before because I thought I was not good at speaking and could not say things well. This time, I gave up this attachment. On the phone I told the police in the labor camp, "These Falun Gong practitioners are all good people. They were good students when they were in school. They were good employees at their places of work. You should not persecute these good people. Other countries all know that Falun Dafa is great. The murderers who persecute Falun Gong practitioners have been sued in many countries!" I feel that Master is helping disciples at all times.
I sent forth righteous thoughts every day to eliminate the evil behind the persecution of practitioners. I also wrote several notes to remind fellow practitioners to pay attention to sending forth righteous thoughts. I would give a note to any practitioner I met. We are one body, and we should not fear anything. We should eliminate the evil that damages the Fa-rectification in our local area.
The good news was that several practitioners managed to break through the old force's arrangements and get out of detention. This particular persecution wave, however, was rampant. One practitioner was killed in the persecution. If more practitioners had let go of their preoccupation with self and formed a whole body, the evil could not have been so unscrupulous.
On the surface we are asking for the release of our fellow practitioners. But the outcome will be different, depending on whether we are doing it with human thinking or based on the Fa. I'm a Fa-rectification disciple. "One righteous mind can subdue a hundred evils." (from Zhuan Falun, Lecture Five) Along the way to rescue fellow practitioners. we can help people know that Dafa is great and that the persecution is targeting good people. I feel that the more I clarify the truth, the less fear I have and I'm not afraid of going anywhere to clarify the truth to anyone. This is what a Dafa disciple should do. Our mission is to rescue sentient beings. We clarify the truth in normal times, and when our fellow practitioners are arrested, we should do more. The evil is most frightened when Dafa practitioners act as one body.
I often went to a forced labor camp and delivered Master's new articles to practitioners during official visiting times. I asked them to tell others that Master is guarding every disciple. I urged them to not become downhearted, to act as one body, to recite the Fa and send forth righteous thoughts more, and to do everything with righteous thoughts and righteous actions. Each time I visited, I would send forth righteous thoughts outside the labor camp first before I went in. If I met practitioners' family members during the visits, I would tell them, "Do not blame your loved ones. They are all good people. You know them better than anyone else. If you feel the need to cast blame, then blame [former Chinese president] Jiang Zemin and the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] who started this persecution out of envy and resentment."
3. Facing Tribulation with Righteous Thoughts; Looking Inward for Attachment
One morning in August, I went to a practitioner's home to pick up some truth-clarifying materials to distribute to several other practitioners. When I got the materials and went down the stairs, I heard a door from an apartment open. Someone came out and seemed to chase me.
I sped up to get down the stairs and went outside. Because the bag was so heavy, I had to carry it in front of me with both hands. When I came out of the residential compound and was about to cross a wide road, someone held the strap of my bag and said, "Let me see what you are carrying. Why do you walk so fast?" I turned around and saw an old woman. I said, "I don't know you. Why do you want to check my bag? I do not want you to check my bag." The old woman didn't give up. She held my bag tight and insisted, "I want to see." She also said, "An old woman can walk so fast while carrying such a big bag. I just want to see what's inside."
At that time, I asked Master in my mind, "Master, these materials are for saving sentient beings. As a disciple, I do not want to lose them." I was determined and said to the old woman, "I'm a Falun Gong practitioner. Those who practice Falun Gong are good people. Inside the bag there are Falun Gong truth-clarifying materials."
She immediately asked, "Did you go to the family upstairs that practice Falun Gong? I didn't answer directly and said, "I distribute materials. If I see someone who has a predestined relationship, I put the materials into their mailbox." At that time, an old man came along who seemed to know the old woman. She said to him, "Go to the police station to get the police here." The local police station was only thirty or forty meters away. While sending forth righteous thoughts, I tried to calm them down. "Let's not talk in the middle of the road. Let's move to the side of the road." We then moved back to the side of the road.
The old man told me, "If she wants to see what's in your bag, just let her take a look." At that time, I thought that every person we meet has a predestinated relationship and I should clarify the truth to them. I said, "Practicing Falun Gong is to keep good health and to be a good person according to the principle of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. But Jiang Zemin was jealous that so many people practiced Falun Gong, so he ordered the persecution. Anyone who practices Falun Gong is subject to being arrested and brutally persecuted." While I was talking, I took out a brochure entitled, "The Darkness Behind the Municipal '610 Office.'" The old woman released her hand on me and began to browse the brochure. When that old man heard I was a Falun Gong practitioner, he just left.
Just then, a young woman came and stood beside me. I started to talk about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, and told them the story about a young practitioner whose face was disfigured by electric shocks. I related the story where a fellow practitioner was sentenced to four years in prison just because she talked in a park about how she had recovered from illness through practicing Falun Gong. After hearing these stories, the old woman changed her attitude and said to me, "You can go now."
I said to her, "Do not listen to the lies on TV. Knowing the truth, you will receive blessings. It is the heavenly principle that goodness is rewarded and evil meets with retribution. Keep this brochure. Please read it carefully." I turned to the young lady beside me and said, "You can have one too." With the protection of Master, I dissolved the tribulation.
While I walked to a fellow practitioner's home, I asked myself: where is the loophole that caused this interference? Master taught us that we should practice cultivation while conforming to ordinary people as much as possible. My behavior today was not normal. As an older woman, I walked so fast while carrying such a big bag. It was easy to arouse attention. When I shared this experience with the practitioner who got the materials from me, the practitioner said, "I should look inward too. I rely on you too much and always depend on you to bring materials to me. I should pick them up by myself in the future."
When I got home and shared with others, a practitioner asked me whether I had an attachment of fear deep down in my heart. I continued to look inside and found that I indeed had some fear. At that time, as I was carrying so much material that I felt a bit uneasy inside. I thought, "I'm carrying so much stuff. I must not let others suspect that it is Falun Gong material." It was this fear inside me that brought the trouble.
Today I write down this experience to tell other fellow practitioners who have the same problem, when encountering tribulation, firmly believe in Master and Dafa and act with righteous thoughts and righteous actions. Evil is not worthy of testing Fa-rectification practitioners. Master can help us do away with all evil. At the same time, we should look inward to find out the root of the problem and get rid of our attachments.
4. Following Master's Teaching and Advancing Diligently
Time is pressing. Everything should be arranged well - studying the Fa, practicing the exercises, sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth. I make sure to study at least one chapter of "Zhuan Falun" every day. For ten years I have never parted with the book. I read it every day. It is the book of heaven. I carefully treasure it.
In addition, I study Master's new articles and the lectures Master has given overseas every day. I try to memorize a new article if it is a short one. I practice the five sets of exercises every day. If I miss one exercise on one day, I make sure to catch up the next day. I go out every day to clarify the truth and to talk about the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and about quitting the CCP and its two subsidiaries. Every day there are people with predestinated relationships waiting to be saved. When at home, I send forth righteous thoughts every hour on the hour. I read every Minghui Weekly. If for some reason I don't study the Fa enough, don't clarify the truth or don't practice all the exercises every day, I feel uneasy and feel that I have failed to follow Master's words - specifically what Master has told us to do on the surface. I feel at ease only when I have made up what I missed.
It is so fortunate that we are able to cultivate the universal Great Law. It is such a sacred mission that Master endowed us with, the mission to save sentient beings. After studying Master's articles, "A Will That Ebbs Not" and "The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be," I felt the urgency to get rid of human notions and human thoughts and to save sentient beings. Master is anxious for the disciples. As disciples we must do well on our Fa-rectification cultivation path, earnestly and conscientiously, and advance diligently.
Heshi to benevolent Master! Master, you have been working so hard!
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