(Clearwisdom.net) We were illegally sentenced to forced labor, but the labor camp refused to take us. We were then illegally sent to a detention center. The three of us exchanged our experiences and opinions. I said, "What are we not doing well? Why have we not been released?" They said, "They are waiting for us to write the guarantee statement; we should hurry up and write the guarantee statement." I said, "I won't write it. Master is teaching us to be good people, what will we 'reform' into? If we reform, we will be obeying the perpetrators instead of Master! What does this mean, 'Steadfastly cultivate Dafa, the will unflinching' ("True Nature Revealed" in Essentials for Further Advancement II) I firmly believe that Master and Dafa are right, I firmly believe I have chosen the right path, the path of cultivation in this life, and staying steadfast and not being reformed is the right way." No matter what they said, they could not change my mind about cultivating Dafa until the end.
For a long time, fellow practitioners have been suggesting that I write my experiences of validating Dafa with righteous thoughts and righteous actions and my improvement in the Fa. I thought it was a difficult task because I felt I wasn't good at writing, so I put it off for a long time. Later I realized that there was interference from my own karma, as well as dark minions and rotten demons of the old forces, but the process of writing the article is also the process of eliminating them. Dafa gives us boundless wisdom during Fa rectification. After I decided to write the article, I eventually wrote a concise summary of my Fa rectification cultivation to be shared with fellow practitioners. It is inevitable that I have omissions and attachments because of my remaining human notions, and I urge fellow practitioners to point them out to me.
Obtaining Dafa amidst tribulations
I am a 58-year-old female practitioner. I had polio when I was young and my left leg was completely disabled. I fell on an average of five to six times daily. I had a car accident 13 years ago. My disabled leg suffered a comminuted fracture and I had to undergo two major surgeries. The disabled leg could not bend and I was forced to walk with crutches for more than two years. The pain was unbearable. I also had heart disease, my brain was not receiving enough blood, and half of my body was numb. The doctor said it was a pre-cursor to cerebral thrombus.
Fortunately, I obtained Dafa in 1998 and all of my illnesses disappeared. I was able to sit in the double-crossed leg position for two hours even with my disabled leg. The tremendous changes that took place in me prove that Dafa can help a person to improve his moral standard and make him healthy. Dafa can bring a person true happiness. I was deeply attracted to Master's profound Dafa, and I eagerly read the book Zhuan Falun, although at first there were many characters in the book I didn't recognize. Dafa enabled me to understand why I had to suffer so much in the first half of my life. I understood why there are tribulations and conflicts in life. In order to free myself from all the suffering, I understood that I must practice cultivation to return to my original, true self. What Master has given me cannot be obtained with any amount of worldly wealth and no value can be put on it. I cried and decided to tell everyone about the wonders of Dafa, so they could all have a beautiful heart and a healthy body. My mother who was in her 80s, now almost 90 years of age, relied on me to care for her because she had chronic illnesses. She also obtained the Fa and she can also sit with her legs in the double-cross position. I told all my relatives and friends about my experience and the mighty power of Dafa.
Going to Beijing to validate Dafa
On July 20, 1999, Jiang's regime started a frenzied persecution of Dafa. The radio, TV and newspapers were filled with propaganda that attacked Dafa and Master. My heart ached. Freedom of belief is the basic right of every citizen. Why would they persecute such a wonderful practice? I was confused, and I didn't realize that I should step forward to validate Dafa. I studied the Fa and did the exercises at home on a daily basis. I was anxious because I didn't know how to speak up for Dafa and validate Dafa. Because my mother was chronically ill, I had to stay home to take care of her and could not go to the practice site to do the exercises. I didn't recognize any of the practitioners at the practice site, so I couldn't exchange my understanding with them. I had to think about every step all by myself. When I read Master's new scriptures, "The Knowing Heart" and "Towards Consummation" (Essentials for Further Advancement II), I cried out loud. I thought, "I benefited from Dafa. I must use my firsthand experience to tell the government officials that Falun Dafa is good!" I decided to go to Beijing but I couldn't leave my mother by herself.
In November 2000, my sister came to visit my mother and she planned to stay for a month. I took an overnight train to Beijing on November 12 and I arrived at Tiananmen Square on November 13. I had no fear but I didn't know who to talk to. Soon, a police officer came to me and asked, "What are you doing? Do you practice Falun Gong?" I said, "Yes I do." He said, "Is Falun Gong good or not?" I said, "Falun Gong is good." He said, "Follow me." I was happy because I thought, "Now I've found a place to speak up for Dafa." A police car took me and other practitioners to the Tiananmen Police Department. I told the police officers that Falun Gong teaches people to be good and Falun Gong practitioners are all good people. They refused to listen to me and locked me in a metal cage. By noon, nearly 200 Dafa practitioners were held in the cage. We recited Dafa scriptures including Lunyu, Hong Yin, and "The Knowing Heart." We also clarified the truth to the police. Around 10:00 p.m., they sent us to different detention centers. I was sent to the Xicheng Detention Center in Beijing. Upon arrival, the perpetrators forced me to take off my clothes, including my underwear, and they searched me. When they illegally interrogated me, they asked, "Why did you come to Beijing?" I said, "I came to validate Dafa and to tell the truth. But I didn't achieve that, so I let Master and Dafa down. Today I will say to you, 'Falun Dafa is good, Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa.'" They said, "You are detained." I asked why. They said, "You are going against the government." "I came to Beijing to tell the truth to the central government precisely because I trusted the government. I didn't know you would be so unreasonable. You will lose the people's trust."
Many Dafa practitioners were held at the detention center in Beijing. We did the exercises, recited the Fa, and had discussions. We didn't know how to send forth righteous thoughts at the time. I had always practiced at home and it was the first time I was with so many fellow practitioners. I was very happy that we could recite the Fa and do the exercises together. I didn't feel like I was in a detention center but in a large environment. Now I know that thinking this way was wrong. We didn't respond to roll call and didn't call out numbers; we didn't work and refused to recite the policies. We didn't listen to anything they said. The inmates learned the truth because they saw so many Dafa practitioners, and they secretly learned the exercises and Hong Yin from us. The guards pretended not to see us because they too had learned the truth. One day, the superior came to the detention center but we still recited the Fa and did the exercises as if nothing happened. The guards were furious and told us, "You are so ungrateful." They took three of us out and put handcuffs and shackles on us. Then they connected the cuffs and the shackles so we could not stand up. We had to walk with our back and knees bent. I was only able to sit there because my leg was disabled and someone had to carry me to the restroom. We started a hunger strike and still did the fifth exercise. Many inmates said, "You are so brave! You are better than the heroine!" We said it was the mighty power of Dafa. Master teaches us to be good people and walk a righteous path. Only by being righteous were we able to not fear the evil, because one righteous thought and action suppresses one hundred evils. On the third day of our hunger strike, they transferred me to another cell and took off the handcuffs and shackles.
Getting rid of attachment to familial love
I was illegally held in Beijing for 18 days and people from the local police department took me back to the local detention center. I was illegally detained for more than one month and they extorted 3,000 Yuan from me before I was released. I stayed home for 12 days. In the afternoon of January 24 [Chinese lunar calendar], when I was cooking at home, perpetrators from the Security Division called me and tricked me into going to a custody center. My son said, "Let my mother spend the New Year at home." The perpetrators said, "We'll let her go if you give us 5,000 Yuan." My son didn't have the money, so the perpetrator put me in long-term detention, accusing me of disrupting social order. They based their decision on whether to detain me on whether I could pay them. During my detention, they told all of my family members to pressure me to give up Dafa practice, so my family threatened, ridiculed and begged me. I remained very calm, because I knew Master's Dafa was more precious than our lives. I could never give up Dafa and I could not allow the evil to persecute Dafa.
I said to my family, "What's wrong with practicing Falun Gong? I got healthy and am a good person; all of these only benefit and never harm society. If I am sick and bedridden, I wouldn't be able to take care of you and you would have to take care of me. They are keeping me away from home, and Jiang's regime is persecuting me. If he didn't start the persecution against Falun Gong, we would still be together and happy. What did I do wrong? What law did I violate? Is it wrong to be healthy and to be a good person?" My family agreed and they never interfered with my Fa study and exercises again.
Firmly resisting brainwashing
In the custody center I recited the Fa and practiced the exercises every day. In the beginning, when police tried to stop me, I took the chance to clarify the truth to them. Later they left me alone. After I had been illegally detained there for 45 days, I was transferred to a detention center. Because I practiced the exercises, the police beat and kicked me. I was tied with ropes and was cuffed. I asked them why they arrested me again after releasing me for just a few days. They couldn't answer me. A police person slapped me forcefully in my face. I said, "I am just an over-fifty-year-old woman with a deformity. I do not fight back when beaten and do not talk back when sworn at. How can you viciously and brutally torture and insult an old woman like me? Please answer me, who is righteous and who is evil? Are there any laws of the People's Republic of China allowing you to do this?" They cuffed another fellow practitioner and me together with our hands crossing for 30 days. While having our hands cuffed together, I wrote a letter to expose the persecution we suffered. I wrote three copies. When I just finished the letter, the police from the political and law section interrogated me. I gave a copy to them and a copy to the guard Zhang Tao of the detention center. Because of it, I was sentenced to three years of forced labor. It is really an extreme injustice.
Due to Master's protection, the labor camp refused to accept us. I was returned to the detention center again. Three of us shared our understanding. I said that somewhere we hadn't done well and therefore they hadn't released us. The other two said, "They are waiting for us to be 'transformed.' Hurry, let us write the statement of 'transformation.'" I said, "Master asks us to be a good person. What kind of person do they want us to be when transformed?" I refused to write even a single word to the evil and I didn't want to leave any stain on my cultivation. At that time, Master's words blurted out from my mouth,
"Whether it is a Buddha, a Tao, an immortal, or a demon, they should not move your heart. In conducting oneself this way, success is bound to be in sight." (From Zhuan Falun)
I thought being "transformed" would mean that I would follow bad people and not Master. What was called "Steadfastly cultivate Dafa, the will unflinching," ("True Nature Revealed" in Essential for Further Advancement II) I believed Master and Dafa were right; believed my choice to cultivate Dafa was right; and refusing "transformation" was right. Therefore, no matter how they tried to persuade me, my heart to persist Dafa did not yield. Then, we received Master's new articles, "A Suggestion" and "Coercion Cannot Change People's Hearts."
On May 21, 2002, the evil scoundrels extorted 500 Yuan from my family and released me. When I came home and found out that the police took all my Dafa books and Master's picture away, I cried bitterly. When thinking how Master and Dafa were slandered and how practitioners were persecuted, I realized, as a practitioner, I should stand up to safeguard Dafa. I wanted to discuss this with other fellow practitioners. However, I only knew one practitioner who lived in a suburb far away from the city. I didn't even know the exact address.
My home was like a detention center. My family members followed me everywhere I went. They would lock me in the room when they went out. I felt anxiety and pain. Then I received Master's new article about sending forth righteous thoughts and the book of Zhuan Falun. I kept studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts. It lasted more than two months. On August 12, 2002, the local community informed my son that they wanted to send me to a brainwashing center. I didn't cooperate with them and went to my daughter's home to help her with selling food at the night market.
At night of August 12, several police, led by Yang Yumei, the head of Chengguanzhen Police Station drove up with a car and arrested me. Yang Yumei ordered the police to lock me in a room on the second floor where there were three sleeping men in their underwear. After I protested, they put me in a room with two men in it.
Every day at the brainwashing center, I recited Dafa, practiced the exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts. In the morning, they would play the TV programs that slandered Dafa; in the afternoon, they used several collaborators to try to brainwash me. However, in the evening, I would write down the suspect points from the TV programs that slandered Dafa. During the discussion, I clarified the truth to those who tried to brainwash me. On the 18th day at the brainwashing center, a mass meeting was held with twenty or thirty people attending, including people from the city's political and law committee, the police department, the party leader of the county's political and law committee, the county 610 Office, and from practitioners' work units. The director Cao from the city's political and law committee asked every practitioner to give a speech. I volunteered to be the first one to give a speech. I read from the materials I wrote down every day and described the suffering I endured and the crimes they committed as well as the article named "The speech from my heart." Most of the people there including people from work units and from the police department shed tears. At that time, I didn't have any fear in my mind. I just wanted more people to know the truth. When I finished my speech, there was a silence for half a minute and no one said anything. Finally, the leader from the county's political and law committee said in tears, "I am derelict of my duty. I'm derelict of my duty." The director Cao from the city's political and law committee said, "Your trick caused all our effort in these days to be in vain." The brainwashing session ended without any results. Under the protection of Master, I went back home with dignity. It is the manifestation of the mighty power of the Fa, just like Master said,
"Indestructible righteous faith in the cosmos's Truth forms benevolent Dafa disciples' rock-solid, Diamond-Like Bodies, it frightens all evil, and the light of Truth that emanates makes the unrighteous elements in all beings' thoughts disintegrate. However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is." ("Also in a Few Words" in Essential for Further Advancement II)
After returning home [from unlawful detention], I studied the Fa diligently, practiced the exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts. I melted into the "Fa" at all times. I felt very relaxed and yet determined to follow my cultivation path. I was relaxed because I felt the mercy of our Teacher and I was determined because I am the hope for sentient beings salvation. As I did not know other practitioners, I had to do everything by myself. I would go and buy cloth to make banners, which could be hung along iron railings or over roads. Once the banners were ready, I had to plan ahead. What time would be the best to hang them? I thought that if I would hang them at night the street cleaners would take them down early in the morning. I decided that the best time to hang them would be in broad daylight.
The first time I left shortly after 6 a.m. The sun rose at 6 a.m. during the summer. I had ten banners to hang. I went to the street that lead to the County Party Committee and sent forth righteous thoughts. I was wondering how I could hang them with all the pedestrians there. I was a bit scared. In spite of this, I thought, "Why should I be scared? My mission is to save the sentient beings and what I am doing is the most righteous. I hung banners for people to see! If no one saw them, what would be the point of hanging them?" Therefore, I concentrated solely on hanging banners, sending forth righteous thoughts, and asking Teacher to protect me. I asked Teacher that no one else but good people could see me. It took me only a few minutes to hang all ten banners to the iron railings and over the road. They looked magnificent! When I looked back I saw a man straighten a banner that was not properly hung. After a while I looked back and saw that all the banners were still there. Under the compassionate care of Teacher I returned home safe and sound.
Many times I again hung ten or twenty banners at a time. Generally, I hung them on the iron railings around 7 a.m. or 1 p.m. When I was detained at a detention center, the practitioners there told me that they used sticky poster gum. From then on I used sticky poster gum, mailed truth-clarification materials and sprayed the words "Falun Dafa is Wonderful" on walls.
After I received Teacher's New Article "Hurry Up And Tell Them," I felt that the "Fa"-rectification process had accelerated and that it was of greater urgency to save sentient beings. I thought that there might be kindhearted police department, government agency, people's court and County Party Committee staff members who were waiting to be saved. At 8:00 a.m., I went to the police department to deliver truth clarification materials. I left one copy in each office. Then I went to the police station and handed out truth clarification material. I had visited these places before and handed out truth-clarification materials. They accepted the materials and smiled while reading them. I felt no malicious intent in any of those people. Then I went up the stairs to the "610 Office" and gave them truth clarification materials too. This was not the first time I had delivered truth-clarification materials to the "610 Office."
There was one place where I had not handed out truth clarification material. It was the headquarters of the County Party Committee. I found a guard at the gate of the courtyard. I knew that I had to get into the building. Thus, I sent forth righteous thoughts and asked Teacher to help me. I asked Teacher to send the guard away. Immediately after I held this thought, the guard left. I quickly walked through the courtyard and entered the office building. I held no fear and thought that what I was doing was the most righteous thing. I was saving sentient beings.
There were many different departments in the building, such as the Party Committee, the Commission for Inspecting Discipline and the Political and Legal Commission. I gave one truth clarification copy to people in each office. I was about to leave after distributing the material, when someone in one of the offices stopped me and said, "How come you distribute Falun Gong pamphlets? Are you Falun Gong?" I replied, "Yes, I am. What's wrong with Falun Gong?" When saying that I held no fear or strong emotions. "Don't just blindly listen to what is said on TV. You must listen to both sides before judging. What we have to say is in the pamphlets. Therefore, please read them carefully." Then I was asked, "Aren't you afraid to be arrested?" I responded, "Why do you want to arrest me? I did not do anything wrong? I only clarify the truth to you. I want to assure that you will not do anything wrong, once you know the truth. It is true that doing good deeds is met with good rewards, and being evil is met with evil returns." I answered all of the questions that they asked me.
After leaving this office, a staff member from another office asked me to come in. This gave me the opportunity to answer all of their questions. They seemed to stall. I understood clearly that they wanted to stop me from leaving so they could have me arrested. It was about 11:00 a.m. and time for me to cook lunch. I left and began to walk towards the gate. They ran after me and shouted, "Don't leave! I still have questions to ask you." Before I walked out of the building I noticed five to six men from the Political and Judicial Commission and the "610 Office" blocking the gate. I smiled at them and then turned my head around and said to the people who were after me, "I will answer your questions some other day." I kept on walking toward the gate. Five or six people followed me closely. They said, "Stop! Let's go to the "610 Office." I said, "What did you say? Didn't I give you the truth-clarification materials? Didn't you claim that you knew everything? What else should I say?" They said, "What is the purpose for your coming here? You brought trouble to us." I answered, "There are kind-hearted people in the County Party Committee as well and they also want to know the truth." After these words I continued to walk towards the gate. I returned home nobly and righteously.
I knew that my leaving that building was because of the power of Dafa and the merciful protection of Teacher. Dafa gave me wisdom and courage. Fellow practitioners said that I had a good enlightenment quality. Teacher says in his "Fa" lecture,
Before, when I discussed enlightening, I expounded on a heavenly secret nobody had disclosed: "Cultivation depends on oneself, while gong depends on one's master." For thousands of years people have thought that they themselves were cultivating and elevating. Actually, you can't achieve anything cultivating [on your own]. Nothing can be resolved if you don't have a master taking care of you. That is, the real issues are resolved by your master--they're resolved by the factors behind the Fa. Your own enlightening is only about your continuing to cultivate after you overcome difficulties in your practice. That's what we mean by "your own enlightening." As for truly enlightening to something from the principles, if this 'Fa' doesn't let you know it, you can't enlighten to it no matter how you try. So you have to meet one condition: You must genuinely practice cultivation. ("Teaching the 'Fa' at the Conference in Europe.")
There is a question mark in my head. Why do my fellow practitioner say that it is my good enlightenment that made it happen? Teacher gives everything and Teacher controls all of this. As long as a practitioner has righteous thoughts Teacher can do anything. I understand that Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioners have a grave responsibility and that the time is very pressing.
On December 21, 2002, when I was reading the truth-clarification materials that were stuck to the wall to a group of elderly people, the evil perpetrators tore down all of the banners. Then, they arrested and took me to the Daxing Police Station in Kaifeng City. I was held for a full day and night. They did not give me any water or food, deprived me of sleep and slapped my face more than 30 times.
They worried about being accused of depriving me of my human rights, so they secretly took me to the fourth floor of the Huangheshuiyuan Guest House. There, they set up a kangaroo court, used torture methods and handcuffed me with two cuffs and one big chain to the pipe of a central heating system. I could not sit down or squat. I could only stand on one side and talk to them. There were several dozen people who were divided into groups, with seven or eight people in each group. They took turns torturing me. They interrogated me with questions such as "Who gave you the materials? What are the names of the practitioners you associate with? Who are your contacts? How do you contact each other? Where is your download site? How many times did you put up banners? Where did you put up these banners?" I told them that I would not tell them. I said that I was there to save them and what I had done was benefiting them and saving their lives. I was trying to stop them from persecuting so many innocent people and prevent them from doing evil deeds. I told them that no matter what they asked, I would not answer the questions they had asked. Then they said, "If you write a guarantee statement, stating that you renounce Falun Gong and will no longer put up banners, we will release you." I said, "I will not renounce Falun Gong. I will practice the exercise to the end of my life. This is because Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa."
When they could not achieve their goal they decided to take turns monitoring me. They did not let me close my eyes. They deprived me of sleep and did not feed me. They did not allow me to sit down. They tried to brainwash me by bombarding me with all sorts of evil things including watching TV programs that slandered Falun Dafa. They tortured me, a handicapped elderly lady of over 50 years old, for five days and nights. I lost consciousness. They sent me to a hospital and asked my son to take me home. I knew that it was merciful Teacher who saved me. Teacher says,
"It is not that Master is not merciful: in the several years of your cultivation, I have not only borne an incredibly great deal for you, but also, along with this, constantly given you hints for your improvement, looked after you for your safety, and settled the debts that you owed at different levels so that you can reach Consummation--these aren't things that just anyone can do, and neither can they be done for everyday people." ("Drive Out Interference," Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Teacher has already borne so much for us. What can we offer to Teacher? As a matter of fact, Teacher does not want anything from us. Teacher only wants our heart to change. He wants us to have compassion and to cultivate firmly in Dafa. We are only worthy of the title of Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples when we walk on the cultivation path arranged by Teacher, and do well the three things Teacher asked us to do.
I decided to expose the evil and clarify the truth at the same time. I wrote an article about the persecution I had suffered and sent it to the detention center, the police department, the government agencies and the people's court. I also delivered a copy in person to the Daxing Police Station. This frightened the evil. Teacher says, "The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
I understood that the arrest was a clear indication that I did not study the Fa well, did not send forth righteous thoughts and neglected safety when I handed out truth clarification material. Therefore, there were gaps which the evil took advantage of.
On July 19, 2002, the Qixian County Court held a hearing. The Falun Dafa practitioners tried during this hearing were Ms. Li Junxia, Ms. Geng Hongli and Yang Hongren. I went to the court as an observer. I sat quietly and send forth righteous thoughts. About one hour into the hearing they began to arrest practitioners. Ms. Zhao Cemin, who was sitting quietly in the courtroom, was the first to be arrested. Then Liu Ziquan and I were arrested. The perpetrators pulled us out by our clothes. I had no idea why they arrested us, so I shouted, "Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is the righteous 'Fa'." Later, when I asked them why they arrested innocent people, they said, "Putting the hand in front of the chest is not allowed" (he referred to holding one palm erect). I said, "Did you set the rules before the court hearing as to where the observers should place their hands? They answered, "No!" If they really do not allow people to put up their hand in that position they should said so. However, they did not, but began to arrest people in public and in broad daylight. They also handcuffed Liu Ziquan and Zhao Min. These executors of the law knowingly violated the law, deprived people of their freedom and abused their power. They bullied people. The three of us were arrested and detained for 15 days. We sent forth righteous thoughts and with the merciful protection of Teacher, we were released on the eleventh day. The verdict was, "not guilty."
Teacher said, "If a cultivator can let go of the thought of life and death under any circumstance, evil is sure to be afraid of him." ("Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)" Essentials for Further Advancement II)
We failed to meet the requirements set by Teacher. However, when we met the basic requirements, the evil had already become very scared. On September 26, 2002, the evening of the 16th Communist Party Conference, I heard knocking. It was late at night and we already had gone to bed. My husband opened the door. Six to seven big plainclothes policeman stormed past him, ransacked our house and then carried me out of our house. They sent me to the detention center. Ma Shaozhong from the Political and Security Section beat me. The perpetrator also confiscated my book that teaches me to be a good person. During the detention I was summoned for interrogation twice within two days, and Ma Shaozhong and Xu Canjun beat me.
Two weeks later, we were transferred to another detention center. Since we are honest and upright citizens and righteous people and were arrested without due cause, we refused to follow the evil's arrangements. Thus, the evil handcuffed all five practitioners together and also forced all detainees to stand still until midnight. On the third day we were transferred to a confinement cell. There was no water in this cell. If we needed any water we had to fetch it with a bucket or basin. Sometimes we were allowed to fetch water once a day, and generally once very two or three days. Our meal containers could only be washed once a day.
Even under such hash living conditions the Head of the women's cell Zhu Yu bitterly criticized us one day after the lunch break and threw out our quilts. The quilts were returned to us five days later when someone from the province came to inspect the detention center. A few days later, our quilts were thrown out again because we were accused of practicing Falun Gong at night. The evil had also shackled the four of us together with three shackles, which weighed dozens of kilograms. When we slept, the four of us could only use one small quilt. We were in that position for ten days and nights. Our feet were swollen because of the shackles and freezing cold weather. We tried to tie our feet with towels. However when Zhu Yu found out, she made us untie the towels and she threw them out. She said, "If you tie your feet with towels then the shackles would not serve their purpose." Every day we would listen to Zhu Yu and the vicious policemen's verbal abuses and reprimands. Out of compassion, we continued to clarify the truth. We were released from the detention center after 66 days.
On October 17, 2003, at around 5:00 p.m., I was cooking meals at my aunt's home because my aunt and uncle were ill. Their children were too busy to take care of them so I was there to help out. The Head of the local police station, Yang Yumei, and a dozen or so policemen came to my aunt's home. After entering the house they started to ransack the house without due cause and without saying a word. They carried me out of the house and threw me into the car. They accused me of disturbing the social order and detained me for 50 days. Then they sentenced me to do forced labor and sent me to the forced labor camp. However, with Teacher's merciful arrangement, the forced labor camp refused to take me. Therefore, I was released soon after.
To expose the evil, clarify the truth and save sentient beings, I wrote about the persecution I had suffered during all these years and used it to clarify the truth to people in the police departments, government agencies and the judiciary. I also clarified the truth to lawyers and decided to file a lawsuit. I went to a number law firms and a few district courts. I also went to the City People's Congress, the City Justice Bureau, the City Procuratorate and the city government. They all read the document I had prepared. Although a few people did not accept what I had written, they were not too mean. The majority of these people accepted my document, because they all knew that Falun Dafa is good, but dared not admit it loudly. When I talked to them they listened attentively and raised some questions. I answered them all. As for the document I had prepared they read it very carefully. I could see they longed for us to save them. Some of them did not know that the persecution had developed to that extent.
On September 13, 2004, we went to the City Political and Legal Commission to clarify the truth. When we went upstairs to the offices, the practitioner who had come with me said, "I am scared. Let's go back." I said since we were here, we better do what we came for. Then I joked, "You need to upgrade your level." I did not know that the City Political and Legal Commission and the "610 Office" were from one system. Since the perpetrators at the "610 Office" held deep grudges against from the time I was held in the brainwashing center, they were very angry with me. One of them said, "It's you again! I know you very well." I said, "I come here to file a report and proceeded to show them the materials I had prepared. They only glanced at it and then tore it to pieces. I said, "How come you are so unreasonable? Why did you tear my document into pieces?" They said, "This is our attitude toward people like you."
I remained calm and clarified the truth. I talked about the beauty of Dafa, the benefit I had gained, my good health after practicing Falun Dafa, how Dafa teaches me to be a good person, how Dafa helps people to become more compassionate, and how it upgrades moral standards. I also said that those who practice Falun Dafa are all good people. I told them, "You arrested so many Falun Gong practitioners. Was there anyone who had done anything bad or was there anyone who had taken bribes or become corrupt? Have any of the Falun Gong practitioners been dinning, drinking, whoring, gambling, swearing or beating other people? Not a single Falun Dafa practitioner would do anything like that.
There were a dozen or more people in the office and the majority of them were very kind. Only these two people who knew me were still vicious. The one surnamed Cao swore all the time. I told them, "You all represent the government. How can you be so unreasonable and not even listen to honest advice?" Then I talked about how I was arrested and thrown into a room to sleep with three men who were barebellied and in their underpants, and of the torture I had suffered. They said a lot of things that they should not have said. At that moment, the practitioner who had come with me said, "Let's go." They said, "You can not leave. You are here now. Do not even think about leaving." then one said, "You are a God and the God is controlled by a human being." I was anxious to respond, but I could not think of anything. At that time I did not realize that it was a hint from Teacher. Teacher told me to use my divine power to restrain the evil! How could a God be controlled by a human being?
This was another clear indication that I had not studied the Fa diligently. I let the evil take advantage of a loophole. In the detention center I looked within to find the cause for my mistake. It was not wrong for me to clarify the truth. I was thinking very calmly, but I could not tell the path arranged by the old forces from the path arranged by Teacher. This was the result of not studying the Fa diligently. Teacher said, "Your righteous thoughts and everything you accomplish come from the Fa, so no matter how busy you are, don't neglect Fa-study." ("Teaching the 'Fa' at the 2002 'Fa' Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
I did not study the "Fa" well nor did I have powerful righteous thoughts. Teacher said,
"Actually, when you can truly be tranquil, one thought is more than enough to shake Heaven and Earth, there's nothing that it can't do, and it's as if it immediately immobilizes and restrains everything covered by your domain; you're like a mountain, and you instantly restrain them." ("Teaching and Explaining the 'Fa' at the Metropolitan New York 'Fa' Conference.")
If my righteous thoughts are strong, I can freeze the evil and display the divine power of Falun Dafa. There would be no loophole to be taken advantage of by the evil forces. Teacher also said,
"The old forces don't dare to oppose our clarifying the truth or saving sentient beings. What's key is to not let them take advantage of the gaps in your state of mind when you do things." ("Teaching the 'Fa' at the 2002 'Fa' Conference in Boston.")
"As I've said, everything that happens today in the ordinary society is the result of Dafa disciples' thoughts. Even though the old forces do exist, if you don't have those thoughts they can't do anything. When your righteous thoughts are strong enough the old forces can't do a thing. ("Teaching the 'Fa' at the 2002 'Fa' Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")
Then what was wrong with my righteous thoughts? At the time, I only thought about validating the Fa and was ready to risk everything to save sentient beings. I remembered! I did not send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors, and thus failed to suffocate the evil. I also failed to continue to send forth righteous thoughts before the dark minions were completely eliminated. Before the incident fellow practitioners told me many times, "We should not go to the Political and Legal Commission. However, it did not sink in. I only thought that validating the Fa, clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings were the things we must do, but failed to think about the safety of fellow practitioners. Sometimes I would complain that fellow practitioners had the mentality of fear. Worse still, I also forced my opinion on fellow practitioners by telling them things like to upgrade their level. I could only see the shortcomings of others, but failed to see my own shortcomings. Other people might think that I was doing very well, but actually I was far away from the Fa when comparing myself to the Fa.
Sometimes I admitted that I was suffering from "unfailingly being imprisoned." Didn't I recognize the arrangements of the old forces? The arrangements made by the old forces were to change others, but not to change themselves. Were my thoughts not in line with those of the old forces? I finally understood that when I talked, my tone was not very compassionate and the pitch was very high, which sounded as if I was having a big argument. Why couldn't I get rid of it? Why couldn't I show the compassion of a Falun Dafa practitioner? Didn't the old forces arrange this?
Teacher said,
"Amidst tribulations, it is very difficult for a student to see the cause of a matter; but it's not that it is impossible. When he calms his mind and evaluates things with Dafa, he will be able to see the nature of the matter. Some students suggest that the best practice of cultivation is to get placed into a detention center or a labor camp, or get sentenced to jail in order to validate the Fa. Students, it is not so. Stepping forward to validate the Fa using many different approaches is a magnificent act, but this absolutely does not mean that you have to be arrested by the evil. If that were the case, why would those students who step forward to make appeals demand the release of all those innocent students who have been arrested, detained, sent to labor camps, or sentenced to jail? Getting arrested is not the purpose. Validating Dafa is what's truly magnificent, and it is to validate Dafa that you step forward. Since you step forward, you should try to succeed in validating the Fa--this is the real purpose of stepping forward." ("Rationality" Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Didn't Teacher refer to me? Every sentence Teacher had said sounded as if he was warning just me. What about looking within during any incident? What about being selfless and altruistic? What about upgrading ones xinxing, purifying every thought and doing well the three things Teacher asked us to do? Teacher said that we had reached the criteria and become qualified practitioners. What's more we had already come through the process of self-consummation. We are a great God who is validating the Fa in the human world. Then could the arrangements made by the old forces and the contracts signed with the old forces still exist? Could a God who has met the standards of the new cosmos still recognize the arrangements of the old cosmos? The old cosmos' rule includes that one cannot enforce something that is not accepted. We all know from the point of Fa that any persecution in the name of a test is actually interfering and hindering the Fa-rectification of the cosmos. This is a serious crime and the offender will be targeted for elimination. We must completely negate the evil arrangements. Our mission is to save sentient beings, so the evil is in no position to persecute us. If we had any attachment or shortcomings our Teacher would take care of them. We do not allow for the persecution to exist. After I enlightened to all this, my righteous thoughts completely negated all the arrangements by the old forces. When my xinxing was positioned correctly Teacher arranged for me to return home nobly and righteously.
Although the evil still exists, it is under Teacher's control. Teacher bestowed our abilities on us all and we are actually able to dictate everything. We were not doing well because we still had a human heart and failed to treat ourselves as Gods. This required us to pay more attention to the study of the Fa and to set a stricter standard for ourselves on our journey back home. On recalling the five years of cultivation I, a person full of karma, have been tempered in Dafa and have become a steadfast Dafa disciple of the Fa-rectification period. In this process Teacher has put in a lot of energy and effort. Without Teacher's protection it would be impossible to achieve the standard. I have achieved this point in time. The merciful salvation provided by Teacher is beyond my ability to describe. Therefore, I can only cultivate diligently, use the boundless wisdom bestowed on me by Teacher and Dafa to save sentient beings, continuously let go of self and melt into the Fa. Let's be more diligent on our cultivation path; constantly purify ourselves, assimilate into the fundamental Fa of the cosmos and save more sentient beings. Only like this are we worthy of the title Dafa disciple of the Fa-rectification period, and only like this are we worthy of the highest honor Teacher has bestowed on us. Only like this is the great and everlasting virtue of the cosmos's Kings and Lords of different levels bestowed on us.
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