(Clearwisdom.net)
Excerpt:
He would not calm down regardless. I thought about it as we walked, “I do not hate him nor blame him. Everything I did for him was for his own good. But he was still upset even after I told him not to pay me back, and insisted on divorcing me. Why is that?” Finally, it dawned on me that everything a cultivator encounters is related to our cultivation. “Why did he insist that I went to the court with him to sign the divorce papers? What good would divorce do?” I realized that Master wanted me to clarify the truth about Falun Gong at the court. There were lots of people when we arrived the court. Some of them were from the Bureau of Justice and the People's Procuratorates. They did not come here to solve my marriage problem, they came to find out facts about Falun Gong. I asked Master to help me and bestow wisdom upon me so that I could do well.
When I pondered about the process of elevating my xinxing, I understood a principle from the Fa, “When we do things based on our emotions, interests, or personal gains, even if it's something we give up, it is still based on the attachment to sentimentally. Only when we let go of the self and do things for others without any personal purpose and notions, then the attachment to emotional attachments completely disappears.”
-- From the author
Greetings Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!
My name is Lianhua. I'm 73-years-old and I began practicing Falun Gong on July 23, 1996. During the past fifteen years of cultivating Falun Dafa, I have experienced twelve years of persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). If it were not for Master's benevolent protection, I would not have made it till today. Though I have not been diligent, I have many things I'd like to share. In order to not waste time, I'll briefly share about my experience in saving sentient beings in mainstream society. Please kindly point out any inappropriateness.
Seizing the Opportunity to Clarify the Truth When My Husband Took Me to Court to File for Divorce
My husband is several years older than I. He is a retired mid-level party official. It had never occurred to me that he would drift along the corrupt moral values of today's society in China, where the young and the old are engaged in improper activities.
Once he went to a brothel and was caught by the police as soon as he entered the place. He was fined 5,000 yuan. The police told him to go home and get the money to pay the fine, or they were going to detain him. He had already spent his monthly retirement check and had no savings. Where was he going to find the money? His blood pressure went up as he left the brothel, and he fainted in an alley. Someone found a list of contact numbers in his pocket and called me. I called a taxi cab and went to pick him up. He looked pathetic lying on the floor. What was he doing far away from home in a quiet alley? I did not know what he was doing until then.
Since I'm a practitioner, I was not angry when I found out what he did. I thought it was my fault that an old person like him would do such things. It was my responsibility to save him, and I did not do well. I withdrew the money from my bank account and accompanied him to pay the fine. Our children were grown and did not live with us. Thus, my savings was used to pay for our monthly bills. Since I took out 5,000 yuan, there was no money to pay for the monthly expense. I discussed with him and he agreed to pay back 1,000 yuan every month. However, when he received his retirement check he refused to pay me back. Not only did he refused to pay me back, he was furious and wanted me to go to court with him to file for a divorce.
He would not calm down regardless of what I said. So I let him walk in front of me and I followed him. I thought about it as we walked, “I have explained many things to him. I do not hate him nor blame him. Everything I did for him was for his own good. But he was still upset even after I told him not to pay me back, and insisted on divorcing me. Why was that?” Finally, it dawned on me that everything a cultivator encounters is related to our cultivation. “Why did he insist that I went to court with him to sign the divorce papers? He is almost 80-years-old. What good would divorce do?” I realized that Master wanted me to clarify the truth about Falun Gong at the court, and I wanted to seize the opportunity. “The old man wants a divorce, and I want to save sentient beings.” Once I realized that, I felt taller and bigger, and my heart was opened and my mind was clear. I had no other thought but to save people. I caught up with my husband and we arrived at the court.
Many people showed up as soon as we arrived, as if they were waiting for something. Some of them were from the Bureau of Justice and the People's Procuratorates. They did not come here to solve my marriage problem, they came to find out facts about Falun Gong. I asked Master to help me and bestow wisdom upon me so that I could do well.
Someone asked, “So what are the two of you doing here?” My husband replied, “We are here to seek divorce.” The person asked, “Why do you want to divorce each other?” My husband said, “Because my wife practices Falun Gong.” I was dumbfounded. Why would he say that? He always knew what to say and what not to say. All of a sudden I understood, “Now I'm forced to talk about Falun Gong, even though we are at the court. I don't get to choose whom I save because I'm here to save sentient beings.”
Once people heard that a Falun Gong practitioner was seeking divorce, they all became interested and began to criticize me, “Why are you practicing Falun Gong? The old man wants to divorce you and he is right! You have ruined a nice family. How pathetic!”
I did not panic and was not afraid. I stood up and said seriously, “You are all wrong. The reason why we want a divorce is because my husband visited the brothel.” People were shocked and turned to look at my husband, waiting for him to respond. He did not expect my answer and was speechless. After I described what had happened, the judges still made excuses for my husband that, “He has a personal issue, and yours is a political issue. The two are different.”
I began to clarify the truth to them, “So who ruined the family? Prior to the practice, I had many kinds of illnesses. I also had severe bronchial asthma that prevented me from taking care of myself. I sought medical treatments, but the doctors said the illness was incurable. My colleagues and neighbors knew about my poor health condition. After practicing Falun Gong for less than six months, the illnesses were gone and I became healthy. I started to do house chores and my family was happy. My family became harmonious because I practiced Falun Gong. How am I being political?”
“My husband, on the other hand, had improper conducts and disregarded our family life. I held no grudges nor hatred, and was kind to him. When he was caught visiting the brothel and fined 5,000 yuan, I took the money from my account to help him pay the fine. He is old and sick and sometimes stays at the hospital for treatments. I paid for the treatments with my savings and took good care of him. Don't you think I'm a good person? What kind of political issues am I involved with?”
“Many of you here hold important positions and have children too. Would you be able to do what I have done in similar situations? You are in the field of law enforcement, but you can't tell who is right and who is wrong, and cannot even be fair. Isn't this a sad state of affairs for our country? And how can you enforce the law accordingly? No wonder so many public officials have mistresses and government employees hire prostitutes. It's been a repeated failure to prohibit those behaviors. The government is only getting more corrupted.”
I noticed these people had no mind of their own and just followed the crowd. When one person spoke ill of Falun Gong, the others followed suit and did not even know they were slandering the Buddha Fa. I pitied them and felt for them. I added, “Please do no slander, defame, or persecute practitioners. I won't be hurt if you try to hurt me, but you will suffer grave consequences. We conduct ourselves according to the principles of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance' to be a good person, and practice the exercises to become healthy. We do not hit back when hit, and do no talk back when scorned. What you've heard about Falun Gong are lies and rumors fabricated by the propaganda machine employed by Jiang Zemin. The CCP orchestrated the self-immolation incident and the CCTV fabricated news about Falun Gong.” I also told them about how the CCP brutally persecuted practitioners, asked them to not believe the lies, harbor hatred and persecute practitioners. I explained that once they persecuted good people, they would be committing a serious crime and receive retribution. I added that it was not too late to change their fate, and the only way was to sincerely recite “Falun Dafa is good, and 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance' is good,” and treat practitioners with kindness.
I talked to them for two hours and they listened quietly. Finally, a policewoman stood up and said, “You are indeed a good person. Please go home and continue to practice.” She turned around and said to my husband, “Why are you seeking divorce? You have a wonderful wife! Go home and pay her back 1,000 yuan a month.”
We left the court with a smile and went shopping. My husband bought 100 yuan worth of goods. It was as if nothing had happened.
Clarifying the Truth to Government Agencies
I'm determined to do the three things well. I study the Fa in the mornings and talk to people on the streets about Falun Gong. It is practitioners' mission to save sentient beings. Thus, I seize every opportunity to do well in that regard.
Not too long ago, the CCP was establishing brainwashing sessions to persecute practitioners. The head of my work unit notified me that a government agency wanted to talk to me. My children told me that many government officials were looking for me, and that I should not go because they were only using that as an excuse.
It was often very hard to visit the government agencies. It has been especially so the few years with the many conflicts between the citizens and the CCP. The government agencies have shut the doors on the citizens. Wasn't this a great opportunity to clarify the truth? Regardless of their job titles, they were waiting to be saved by Dafa. Master said that the earth is a speckle of dust. Sentient beings are waiting for us. Where can I find opportunities like this? I must save them.
I arrived at the agency on time during the date of the appointment. Many people showed up and introduced themselves. They all seemed to hold important positions. They were from the board of education, brainwashing center, and “experts” who were trained in Beijing and Chongqing to “transform” practitioners. Many of them looked menacing, like little devils from hell. I did not care about their acts and knew that it was the old forces taking part in this. Although they said they were here to inspect, they were using sentient beings to eliminate practitioners. I pitied those who came here to talk to me. They did not even know they were committing sinful crimes that their grandchildren could not pay back. Their lives were in my hands. If I went with their arrangement, everyone who participated in it including their relatives and friends would have committed the crime. My only choice was to negate the old forces arrangement so that they could be saved. I said to Master that I wanted to save them.
I made this clear to them, “You must have a lot to tell me if you asked me to come here. So please talk one at a time and I won't interrupt. After you are done speaking, I will begin to talk. Please do not interrupt me, and do not heckle. If you all agree, then we shall begin. Who is the leader of the group? Please go ahead and talk.” One of them said, “The reason why we asked you to come is to invite you to the transformation class.” I asked him why, and he replied, “Because you practice Falun Gong.” I asked if anyone else wanted to say anything and no one replied. So I began to speak, “I'm an elderly woman and I won't go to any transformation class. I came here to visit you all because you have been deceived by Jiang's propaganda. You don't even know what practitioners are like. So many of you came here today to tell me that an old woman like me needs to attend a transformation class. Don't you find that funny and ridiculous? This is very comical!”
I added, “Those who practice Falun Gong are good people. Our thoughts and actions are based on the principles of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance,' and we do not hit back when hit and do not talk back when scorned. We are a group of selfless people. You have jailed hundreds of thousands of good people, and killed more than three thousand of them. There are 100 million practitioners in China and they do not harbor grudges nor hatred. Have you heard of any practitioner seeking revenge the last ten years? Do you really want to transform good people into liars and criminals? You should not do such a foolish thing.”
“You said we are being political. Isn't there a book called Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party? There is a principle in the cosmos, and that is “good and evil have their consequences.” When a person, group, or organization commits bad deeds, they will be met with retribution. Thus, there is birth, old age, sickness, and death in a human being's life, and changes in dynasties throughout history. This principle applies to the CCP as well. The CCP has killed 80 million lives and created a lot of karma for itself. This is a debt that must be repaid. The tremendous amount of karma does not pertain to an individual, but the entire organization collectively. All CCP members bear a share of the karma. The karma is so huge that their kins cannot even repay it. The only way out is to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and remember that 'Falun Dafa is good, and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.' Who would know the seriousness of this issue? The Nine Commentaries was published to allow the CCP members understand the truth and choose for themselves.”
“We only want to explain this principle to you. That is, the crime for persecuting good people is unforgivable by heavens. I would also like to make a statement – I did not come here to argue with you, and see who wins the argument. According to China's law, we are innocent, and it is illegal to persecute us.”
“Who has the authority to make laws and interpret them? Is it Jiang Zemin, the court, the procuratorate, or the Ministry of Public Security? According to China's 'Constitution' and 'Legislation Law,' National People's Congress enacts the laws and interprets them. Jiang's words, each ministries' documents, circulars, and notices are not the law. Until now, no law in the country stipulates that Falun Gong is illegal. Practitioners' activities are within the law of our Constitution. Thus, we are not breaking the law.”
“The April 25th Appeal in Zhongnanhai was not illegal. According to Article 41 of the Constitution, the citizens have the right to criticize, suggest, complain, charge, and prosecute government agencies and their employees. Falun Gong practitioners' appeal to the central government authority was a form of complaint, which indicated Falun Gong practitioners were exercising their constitutional rights as citizens to tell facts about the practice. The “Self-Immolation” incident was directed by the Political Committee to frame Falun Gong and to deceive the world. It was pure fabrication. According to Article 35 of the Constitution, citizens of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has the right to freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, procession, and demonstration. All of the activities practitioners took part were legal. Religious freedom is a 'constitutional' right given to us. We are not wrong in believing in 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.' Who is wrong then? You and those personnel from the police, the procuratorate and the court are the real criminals. You should go back and study the 'Constitution Articles 35, 36 to 41, and the 'Criminal Law' Articles 13 and 14. By persecuting practitioners, you are guilty of assault and slander, intentional assault, intentional homicide, abuse of power, unlawful deprivation of the citizens' right to believe in religions, false accusation, torturous interrogation, forcibly gathering evidence, perjury, and so on. Our nation has already established the law to put the persecutors on trial. All those who persecute Falun Gong practitioners have been documented by practitioners. They will file complaints against them in the court. In the near future, you will witness the consequences of persecuting good people.”
“Although I've said a lot, I just want to emphasize that merely acknowledging that we are good people is not sufficient. You should study our nation's laws and use that to check your behavior toward practitioners, see if you have truly committed any crime and the degree of the crime, and stop persecuting us. This is all I want to say, please take my words as advice!”
I got up and left after I finished talking. No matter how high a position they held, none of them was able to do anything to me under the heavenly laws. They all watched me leave the place.
Dissolving the Attachment to Emotional Attachments
I gained a lot of experience clarifying the truth twice to government agencies. Master gave me wisdom so that I could speak with fluency and ease. Those who were present were surprised at my speaking ability and no one spoked back to me.
Despite that, I knew I did not do well. The bad elements continued to create hardships to persecute me, and I used the opportunity to clarify the truth to save sentient beings. Although I negated the persecution while clarifying the truth, I was also in the process of passing xinxing tests. I knew that I had not done well cultivating my xinxing, and had not been able to eliminate strong attachments. The bad elements took advantage of the loophole and created many tribulations for me.
When I heard that the Department of Politics and Law Committee and the others wanted to talk to me, I shared with fellow practitioners. A practitioner pointed out that I needed to eliminate the attachment to emotional attachments. I flatly denied it thinking, “How could I have these emotional attachments? My children are not living with me and I have not taken care of them for a long time. So I don't worry about them. I don't have much feelings toward my husband since I found out that he had visited the brothel behind my back. Who are your sons and daughters, and who is your husband? Each person has his own life, so how could I have such attachments?”
The day I went to the government agency, my heart was pounding hard. When I saw the leader of the unit, I complained about him persecuting his own subordinate. When I saw practitioners, I kept telling them what to do, and to send righteous thoughts to eliminate the bad elements. While clarifying the truth, I began to cry when I thought about how I took care of my husband, and how much hardship I had to endure. I could not stop crying. I was surprised and wondered why I was crying?
I kept thinking about it on my way home. I finally realized that it was because of my attachment. Master said,
“Since human beings have sentimentality, being upset is sentimentality, so are happiness, love, hatred, enjoying doing one thing, resenting doing another thing, preferring one person to another, hobbies, and dislikes. Everything belongs to sentimentality, and everyday people just live for it.” (Zhuan Falun)
I handled the issue with human notions which I did not let go. Instead, I repackaged my attachment, and transformed love to hatred, and push it away from me. My attachment was very deep. Master saw my attachment and set up tests to help me rid of it. The first test was going to the court to seek divorce. Although I clarified the truth to people, I did not cultivate myself to get rid of the attachment. Thus, I was immediately tested for the second time.
Initially, Master used practitioners' words to point things out to me, and I still did not get it. It was not until my heart was pounding hard that I realized my attachment had grown quite big.
Would the attachment cease to exist the moment I wanted to rid of and discard it? No, because it was not a simple matter. I thought about the transformation of my attachment and realized a principle of the Fa, “When we do things based on our emotions, interests, or personal gains, even if it's something we give up, it is still based on the attachment to sentimentally. Only when we let go of the self and do things for others without any personal purpose and notions, then the attachment completely disappears. However, I was the one who allowed the attachment grow. So to get rid of it meant that I had to forbear it. That would not work either. A tribulation might last a long time and it uses one's karma to help elevate one's xinxing. Looking inward is the key to elevate one's xinging level.”
Looking back at my cultivation path. My husband's poor behavior was to help me rid of my attachment. The pain he inflicted on me was to help me eliminate my karma. I realize now that Master arranged them to be my family to help me cultivate. I should think of them and their future! Now my heart is not moved when my husband creates trouble for me. When my children are being stubborn, I don't push them. Instead, I look inward and find my shortcomings, then I can pass the test with ease. I'm now truly living without any grudges, regrets, worries, and hang-ups. I feel blissful and carefree, as if living the life of a Daoist immortal. Later, people from the government agency came to look for me twice to persuade me to attend the brainwashing session. But since I had let go of the self, I felt no pressure at all. I felt opened and detached, and my mind was at ease. I truly sensed this state of mind, “when a person is at ease, he feels he has become one with heaven and earth.” It is a wonderful feeling to be in that state of mind. A feeling that is indescribable!