(Minghui.org) The article “Repeatedly Overcoming the Test of Life and Death” was published on the Minghui website on June 15, 2012. The author's personal experience was very touching. The article described the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution over the last 13 years. The writer experienced the test of life and death again and again in the CCP's jails for his belief in Falun Dafa. With his firm belief in Teacher and Dafa, he overcame one tribulation after another.
This article really moved me. I had to ask, “Why did this practitioner suffer such brutal persecution for such a long time?” Such experience is almost universal in China. This practitioner's experience is a typical example, and a profound summary of such experiences and lessons will leave a better reference for the future generation. Following are some of my supplementary comments based on the practitioner's summary. Please comment on anything that is not proper.
Completely Deny the Arrangement of the Old Forces
It's very clear that the extra long time of persecution was certainly arranged by the old forces, and the practitioner clearly understood this during the first few years in prison. He opposed the persecution within the arrangement of the old forces. He said, “Over these years, every time I experienced the test of life and death, I dreamed I had graduated from the university and prepared for the test of another university subject. Then, another new test of life and death emerged. I had to let go of life and death to resist and eliminate the persecution. During the ten years of imprisonment, it seemed that there were dozens of similar tests. The tests of a lesser degree were even more numerous...” This practitioner's dream clearly shows that he acknowledged the old forces' arrangement and failed to timely negate it, therefore he was persecuted for a longer period of time. If he had negated this arrangement with righteous belief in Teacher, he would certainly have overcome the tribulation.
It is not easy to negate the old forces' arrangements. First of all you must understand what their arrangements are. To do this, you must have the guidance of Dafa, therefore you must study the Fa and enlighten from the Fa. Since the practitioner did not have an opportunity to study the Fa for a long period time, the evil forces had an advantage. Furthermore, to negate the arrangements of the old forces we must be thorough and effective, and we must be clear in our minds at the micro dimensions. Otherwise we will wonder why the righteous thoughts and actions have failed to have any effect.
Let's look at what the practitioner was thinking: “When the April 25 incident happened in 1999, I told our local assistant, 'If in the future the government forces me to make a choice between my job and Dafa, I would rather beg to remain in Dafa than give it up.' In the days to come I saw the police chase me many times in my dreams. One villain blocked my way with a sword, saying, 'If you want to practice Dafa you must go through the sword!' I went through the sword without any hesitation. The sword cut me in two at the waist, but when I looked back I was all right.”
Whether he actually said this to the assistant or not, in the dream it seemed there was no problem and he was very steadfast in Dafa. However, looking from a higher Fa principle, he failed to thoroughly negate the arrangement of the old forces. His experience also proved it. He not only lost his job and became a beggar but was also imprisoned for ten years. He actually suffered more than just being cut into two at the waist by being endlessly tortured. Of course we only see it clearly afterward. If we were actually there, I think very few people would see clearly. My goal is to summarize the experiences and draw lessons. From this example we can see that if we are just the least bit unrighteous in our thoughts, we might fall into the trap arranged by the old forces. If we can quickly discover and thoroughly negate it, then we can stop the persecution from happening. At critical moments Teacher has often given us hints. In the practitioner's dream the villain said, “If you want to cultivate Dafa you must go through the sword!” This explicitly and vividly displayed the arrangements of the old forces for the practitioner. It all depends on your enlightenment. If you can enlighten, you can thoroughly negate it. Teacher has told us many times that every practitioner's path is different and the path is very narrow. Only by walking righteously can we make it past.
The Attachment of Life and Death Is Only One of Numerous Attachments
The practitioner did let go of life and death, but felt he could not endure the endless persecution and torture. He nearly collapsed. I think this is the reason a lot of practitioners lost their lives or compromised against their will. These were the external causes that made them commit great mistakes. During retribution, since they were not clear about the Fa principles, they either acknowledged the arrangement of the old forces or failed to let go of some of their big attachments. They were then taken advantage of by the old forces. Teacher was very anxious about it but could not do anything. This is why the practitioners wondered why, since they had already let go of the attachment of life and death, Teacher still could not protect them. Since you were against the persecution in the arrangement by the old forces and it was a big loophole, how could Teacher help you? However, since you have never wavered your belief in Teacher and Dafa, Teacher can protect your mortal body. Otherwise, no matter how tough you are, you would not have left that horrible place alive.
Teacher said,
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughts
Master has the power to turn back the tide” (The Master-Disciple Bond from Hong Yin II)
I think being unafraid of death doesn't mean that one's righteous thoughts are strong. It only means you have let go of an attachment. Of course it is an attachment that is hard to let go. Nevertheless, you still have a lot of other attachments to relinquish.
In prison, the guards and the collaborators brutally tortured the practitioners and attempted to force them to give up Falun Dafa. The practitioners said, “From your behavior I can see more clearly the CCP's evil nature. It makes me even more firm in my belief in Dafa and strengthens my gratitude to Dafa for saving me, so that I will never become villains like you.” The practitioners' words were so meaningful and forceful. However, if you look at it from a higher Fa principle, those prison guards and collaborators were deceived by the CCP into doing the bad things and maybe they could be saved. What the practitioners said might have provoked the evildoers to do more bad things, thereby accumulating more karma and resulting in more suffering for the practitioners. It was almost the same as pushing them into hell. If we treat them compassionately and try our best to save them with no resentment or hatred, that is righteous thoughts. According to the Fa principle, “the appearance stems from the mind,” and the practitioners' environment would change dramatically. This was also the reason why some of the practitioners were able to save large numbers of sentient beings and win the respect of the guards while keeping themselves safe and sound. Of course it's easy for us to talk about it, but it's difficult to actually do it, since the path is very narrow.
Maybe there are some other reasons. Teacher said many times that practitioners' karma has accumulated throughout history and that the contracts they signed with the old forces and the levels they had reached, the number of sentient beings that need to be saved and the karma, would all be reasons for practitioners to suffer the great ordeal.
These are just some personal opinions to supplement the original article. Many of the opinions were summarized by the practitioner. I just reorganized it and reemphasized the important points. I hope it will be of some help.