(Minghui.org) Over the past 16 years of suppression against Falun Gong, I spent a lot of time writing articles to expose the persecution. I could feel Master helping me all the time. It felt as if I am a pen from the divine, and with hints from Master I was able to produce articles that eliminate countless evil elements and save people on a large scale.
Starting to Write While in Detention
I was kept in a labor camp in spring 2003. The pus and scabies had healed, but my hands were still swollen. I had difficulty sitting or standing. Lying in bed and thinking things through, I realized we could not remain passive like this anymore—we need to expose the vicious persecution that happens in these labor camps. Since Master had asked us to do it, it will work out.
I shared this plan with other practitioners in the cell and they agreed. Some sent forth righteous thoughts, some watched for the guards, while some worked on the details of how we would move the articles outside of the labor camp walls. I finished a draft in a fairly short time. I gave it to another practitioner who was also good at writing. I expected some compliments. Instead the practitioner said, without even looking at me, “An article like this? It's not even worth the effort.”
My heart sank. After overcoming so many difficulties and finishing this draft under tremendous pressure, I ended up nowhere. For the next few days, I was so disappointed I did not write anything.
The practitioner came over and joked with me, “Hey! Seems you are idle here. Planning to quit?” I was embarrassed. No matter what happened, I should not have given up on something that Master wants us to do. I had to admit that the draft did not include enough details depicting the environment at the labor camp, or the pressure and severity of the torture that took place there. It seemed I was too attached to my own ideas and my own efforts. I felt guilty, as if Master was standing in front of me observing my attachments.
The practitioner apologized to me and provided some constructive suggestions. We each looked within to eliminate human notions and began to work on it again, this time seamlessly.
We finished the article quickly. I transcribed the final version onto a bed sheet, and a practitioner sewed it inside a coat for another practitioner to take out, as he was about to be released. We worked together to finish a few more articles. Because most of us had been well educated, the articles needed minimal revision before submission. They were published on Minghui a short time later.
Exposing the Evil as Long as Persecution Continues
After returning home in late 2003, I learned that a couple in my area had been seriously persecuted one after another for many years. In fact, they had hardly seen each other over the past few years because at least one of them was always detained.
I asked several practitioners for details of their case and interviewed the husband. I also retrieved previous reports on Minghui about this couple and began to write. It was the first time for me to work on such a long article with information from various sources and different angles. It took me about one week, and I could clearly feel interference from the evil. I felt physically exhausted and I fainted. Nonetheless I finished the article, revised it based on input from the husband, and submitted it to Minghui.
The husband was arrested again in 2005 and sentenced to prison. Again both the husband and wife were detained at the same time. I gathered more information about the couple and wrote a follow-up article. I know that we need to continue exposing the evil as long as the persecution continues.
Pure Heart
While working on these articles, I realized it was important to write complete reports on a few major persecution cases in my region. This would help everyday people understand the brutality through the bigger picture, with more depth.
One such case occurred several days after the persecution started in July 1999, when thousands of practitioners went to the city government to appeal. Many local residents heard about this, but they did not know the details on how these innocent practitioners were mistreated. I shared this idea with other practitioners and they all agreed. Some provided more information about the incident and I also interviewed more practitioners who went to appeal at that time. I then began writing it with help from another practitioner.
During the process, I felt an introduction would help readers understand that Falun Dafa is wonderful and practitioners are determined in their peaceful beliefs despite the severe persecution. But I had no idea how to do it. In my heart, I asked Master for help. I then felt my mind opened up and became more pure, the text came out naturally. After this article was published, one practitioner told me he saw an article on Minghui from our area and “the introduction was very well written, very pure.” I was happy and I knew the wisdom came from Master.
A couple of years ago, there was a major persecution case at a labor camp in my region that draw broad attention. During that tragedy, several practitioners lost their lives, many were physically disabled, and hundreds of practitioners were tortured. To provide a more comprehensive report we interviewed some practitioners who were witness to this persecution, and we collected valuable information. Through this case we planned to cover the entire process of how officials had systematically tortured practitioners at this facility since its establishment.
I was arrested while working on this article and sent to labor camp again. It was 2006.
Cookbook Notes
Officials at this labor camp treated practitioners badly. We suffered enormous physical pain and mental stress. Many practitioners were severely tortured and some had developed mental disorders because of the intense brainwashing. I hoped to keep a record of these tragedies, and even better in the format of a personal journal. But how could I do it?
After I had that thought, Master gave me a hint. Because officials gave brainwashing lectures every day hoping practitioners would renounce their belief in Falun Gong, they provided a lot of paper and pens for us to make notes. In addition, there was no restriction on reading books or magazines.
Some detainees began to read medical books, and some read dietary books. Pretending to be interested in cooking, I bought a notebook to write down cooking methods. First I collected the name, title, and police ID number of the officers, and wrote them down in coded words as name of dishes or ingredients. Then I included the details of torture incidents in the cooking methods, such as time, location, and who was involved. I asked other people about previous major cases that occurred in the labor camp, and also recorded them in my cooking notes.
Guards stood next to me several times and watched me take down some cooking notes. But they did not know what I was really doing. I was detained for one year and I collected about two years worth of persecution information. When my detention term was complete, I left the labor camp with this notebook.
Opposing the Persecution
After returning home and settling down, I began to decode my cooking notes and began writing from memory. But I had fear in my mind: suppose I am able to finish this article, do I have the righteous thoughts to submit it? Despite these human notions, I decided to first finish the article before my memory faded. It took me about one month to restore the information. With previous articles on Minghui related to this labor camp, I completed a comprehensive report on how brutally practitioners were mistreated in this facility.
I was grateful to Master for all the help he gave me at that time. But my fear arose again: with so many details, in the format of personal journal, wouldn't officials figure out who wrote it? Would I be in danger again? So I kept this article for a while and did not submit it.
I calmed down to study the Fa and do the exercises. I came to understand that we are not supposed to be persecuted or endure persecution. In fact, we are here to oppose the suppression, stop it, and save people. Master had told us to fully expose the atrocities and this is a process of eliminating the evil as well as ending the suppression. Why didn't I follow Master's teaching and why was I so concerned about my own safety?
I was able to see more clearly the arrangements by the old forces. We Dafa disciples are here today to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. We will expose whoever mistreats practitioners and put a stop to the tragedies. I submitted the article to Minghui and it was published in a timely manner.
Positive Energy and Hope
I continued to work on the article about the labor camp that I had not finished before I was arrested. Because of the massive amount of information collected and continuous interference, it took me about one year to finish it. By then, I felt something was missing in the article and I could not continue.
Through the years while writing articles about the suppression, I always tried to use plain language without emotional wording. At the same time, I also tried to constantly correct and purify myself according to the Fa. What happened this time then?
Walking home one day, I realized that I had hardly thought about what everyday people would think of my articles, or whether they could be saved. I went back to my draft. It did include a large number of brutal cases, but after everyday people read it, they may agree that the persecution is too severe and the communist regime is too cruel, but that it has nothing to do with them. They may prefer to avoid the topic to avoid trouble. In other words, they could not sense the power of righteous belief and they could not see hope.
I reviewed my previous articles and I found that they lacked some critical elements: the wonderfulness of Dafa, practitioners peacefulness and perseverance, the energy of righteous faith, and most of all, why this is related to everyday people. Thinking it over further, I realized my articles had everything but lacked spirit. Only when it has an inherent spirit to guide all the components can an article be alive with the power to eliminate the evil and save sentient beings. I finalized the article and submitted it.
Very often when writing an article, I feel like a sculpture artist creating a being to suppress evil and save people. It starts with a general idea, then an outline, followed by continued carving and molding, until refinement. In the end, my work turns into something with a spirit and capabilities.
Letting Go of Myself
In 2012 we planned to collect a 13-year-long timeline of persecution cases in our area. But we could not come up with a good idea of how to do it, so we stopped. Two years later, practitioner B came to me to discuss a comprehensive report for our region. I shared with him the information that I had collected previously and we began to work together.
In contrast to previous articles where I was responsible for the writing, this time I planned to follow the other practitioner's lead and cooperate with him. It took some time for me to adjust, because I always have my ideas on the theme and structure, and often I think they are good ones. I told practitioner B my thoughts, but when it came to the actual writing, he went his own way and removed some parts that I liked very much.
I became somewhat depressed. But after calming down and reading what he had written without prejudice, I found this article was more pure and it had the ability to bring readers closer.
Since our writing is to let me people know the truth and be saved, why should I be attached to my own idea? The critical thing is to figure out what people need, what they like, and what their confusions are. As long as we can help them accept the truth, things will work out well.
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