(Minghui.org) The Chinese character “righteousness” (義) contains a wide range of meaning in regards to morality. It is also one of the core elements of traditional Chinese culture. When mentioning the character “righteousness,” people might first think of “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature. Although the novel chronicles the lives of feudal lords during the Three Kingdoms era, the interpretation of “righteousness” is expounded throughout the book. The stories of Zhuge Liang, who exemplified loyalty to the nation and trustworthiness, and the anecdotes of Guan Yu's sense of justice have exerted tremendous influence for generations.
There is a story called “A Righteous Woman Preventing An Army From Advancement.” During the Spring and Autumn Period, the state of Qi attacked the state of Lu. In order to escape from the Qi army, a woman from the state of Lu was found running in the outskirts of the city. She carried a child in one arm, and dragged another child with her other hand. When a Qi soldier ran after her, she let go of the child in her arm, and kept the child she was holding in her hand. A soldier caught up to her and asked her, “Why did you let go of the child in your arm, and kept the child you held in your other hand?” She replied, “The child I held in my hand is my brother's son, the child in my arm is my son. I was not able to take both of them, so I let go of my son.” When the general from the Qi army heard her response, he asked, “Which one do you love more, your brother's son or your own son?” The woman replied, “The love I have for my own child is a selfish kind of love. But I have a sense of righteousness toward my brother's son. Although it hurts to let go of my own child, keeping my brother's son is the right thing to do.” The Qi general stopped the attack on Lu. He said, “Even a woman from the state of Lu understands the meaning of righteousness. How can I attack a righteous state like Lu?” He retreated his army and went back to Qi. The woman and her son returned home safely. When the Duke of Lu heard the story, he sent many gifts to the woman and bequested her the name of “Righteous Lady.”
There is an ancient saying, “I want to be both alive and righteous. When I'm unable to keep both, I shall give up my life and be righteous.” “Righteousness” enables one to tell right from wrong, be fair, rational, and moral. It is what keeps the society stable, and what keeps relations amongst people harmonious. However, since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took over China, it has destroyed the 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture, and treated the Chinese people with “treachery” and “infidelity.” It has taught people to fight and strike against each other, and to eliminate spiritual beliefs.
For example, although Peng Dehuai saved Mao Zedong's life several times, Mao wanted to kill Peng because he criticized Mao at the Lushan Meeting. Pro-democracy activists, Zhang Baijun, Luo Longji, and Chu Anping, and hundreds of thousands of intellectuals who were encouraged by Mao to advise the CCP, were later labeled as “right wing,” and consequently tortured, insulted, and killed. During the Cultural Revolution, people lied, cheated, and betrayed their friends, family, and colleagues to protect themselves in order to survive. “Righteousness” no longer existed and morality declined rapidly.
After the “reform and opening-up policy,” the CCP promoted “money worship.” Without moral constraints, people pursued materialism, which created endless social problems. People came up with ruthless money making schemes and tricks to obtain personal gain.
Mankind has always yearned for goodness. In May 1992, Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) was spread to the secular world. People recognized that the teachings were good. It brought health and wellness to practitioners, and taught people to be good and moral. It spread very quickly in China. In just a few years, practitioners were seen in parks, public plazas, and school playgrounds across the nation. Practitioners talked about being virtuous in life, at work, and in the society. They put others before themselves, and let go of selfishness and the pursuit for personal gain. They were not attached to fame and conducted themselves according to the principles of Dafa.
Millions of people believed in “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” and conducted themselves righteously. This became a force that raised people's morality and conscience, stabilized society, and was a positive thing for any government or nation. Jiang Zemin, the previous head of the CCP, became jealous of Falun Gong's influence. In 1999, he initiated the brutal persecution of Falun Gong and its practitioners.
The first thing the CCP did was to “expose and criticize.” They forced practitioners to betray their beliefs and to write a guarantee statement promising to quit the practice. If they refused, the CCP would do anything to “ruin their reputation, torture them physically, and bankrupt them financially.” As of today, more than 3,000 practitioners have died as a result of the persecution, hundreds of thousands have been illegally sentenced and sent to forced labor camps, thousands have been taken to mental hospitals and injected with unknown substances, and many practitioners' organs have been harvested for profit, and their bodies cremated to destroy the evidence.
The CCP also fabricated lies to deceive the world, such as the Tiananmen Square “self-immolation” hoax, the alleged “1,400 deaths from not taking medicine,” “Psychotic Killer Fu Yibin,” etc.
Under the suppressive and life-threatening harsh environment, millions of practitioners chose to do the right thing, to let go of self and uphold righteousness. They are not afraid of the totalitarian regime, and have continued to inform people the truth about Falun Gong for the past thirteen years. They have conducted themselves with compassion and have warned the Chinese people that one day “heaven will eliminate the CCP.” They have encouraged people to quit the CCP and be good people. They have revived the ancient Chinese tradition of being righteous.
“Good always prevails over evil.” Millions of practitioners have persevered and continue to clarify the truth and people are gradually seeing the evil nature of the CCP. More than 115 million Chinese have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and more and more people are supporting Falun Gong.
A Village Official Protects Citizens from Persecution
There is a party secretary who has a high reputation in the local government as well as in his village. When I talked with him about the corruption of the CCP and the dilemma many village officials face, he also felt very pained. Regarding how to handle the issue from upper leadership, he said, “To be a good village official, you have to think carefully and you cannot follow the CCP on the dark road to hell.”
I asked him what he thought about those in the village who practice Falun Gong. He said, “Living in the same village, people are all very close to each other. Why bother them? When the upper leadership inquires, it's easy to just protect the people who practice Falun Gong and not report them. A party secretary of the neighboring village had a Falun Gong practitioner sentenced to several years in prison. Can you imagine what the villagers think of this party secretary? Besides, the people who practice Falun Gong all have good reputations in our village. Isn't hurting them the same as doing a bad deed?”
Village Official Protects a Falun Gong Practitioner
In a village, people are very close to each other. Everyone knows about what has happened in each family, what kind of people they are, and who has done bad things, etc. When it comes to protecting Falun Gong practitioners, some village officials indeed show their sense of justice.
The following is a story of a party secretary:
One day, an officer from the local police station asked a village official to take him to a Falun Gong practitioner's home. At the beginning, the village official didn't think much about it and got on the road with the police. When they were near the practitioner’s house, the official asked, “What do want to see him for?” The police said, “Just to have a look.” The official said, “Just to have a look? What's so good to look at? Is it so simple?” The police faltered, “I have to get him to make a statement and provide a signature.” The village official stopped walking and stood there saying, “What statement? What signature? I tell you that he is the best person in our village, and he is a very kind person. I will make the statement on behalf of him. You are not allowed to even enter his door. You can decide what to do about the signature. If you dare to come to my village again to do this kind of deed, don't blame me for not being polite.” After saying this, the official turned around and left. The police stood there in awkwardness for a long time and finally had to leave too. Ever since then, no one else has come to bother this Falun Gong practitioner.
There is a saying about the state of Qin, “To please the state of Qin with your land is as if trying to extinguish fire with wood. The fire won't be extinguished until the wood is burned.” It means that as long as you own a square inch of land, the greedy state of Qin will continue to attack your land. The CCP is like the state of Qin. After it took the land from the landlords, and property from the capitalists, it continues to take, little by little, a person's life and destroy his morality. The CCP will never become good. The only choice for the Chinese people is to quit the CCP, and that is the righteous choice.
Related article:
Conscientious Village Officials Protect Citizens from Persecution http://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2012/4/18/132770.html
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Category: Traditional Culture
