(Minghui.org) We know we need to believe in Master and Dafa in cultivation. But accomplishing that is not easy, especially when we face tribulations. My experience is that, as long as I know I am a Falun Gong practitioner and believe in Master, I would follow Master's teachings to overcome tribulations. Maintaining and reinforcing righteous thoughts would lead us to success.
I was incarcerated in a women's forced labor camp for a two-year term in 2002 for refusing to renounce Falun Gong.
I resisted the persecution and displayed no fear of life and death. The guards appeared to respect me. Compared to other practitioners, I suffered the least, as no one beat or cursed me. I read Dafa books every day, and the guards did not care.
I helped fellow practitioners assert their rights on many occasions. The guards had no choice but to acquiesce. I had come to accept my incarceration and thought I would have to stay through my entire term, as no one was allowed to get out early without giving up his belief.
Through studying the Fa, I developed a new understanding of the issue. I had a thought: Why do I passively suffer the incarceration? Staying here for another half year? No! I won't stay here anymore!
At the same time, another thought appeared: Early release is impossible! Any practitioner being incarcerated needs to give up his belief for early release. Otherwise, it is impossible.
I asked myself at midnight: Is this Dafa worth learning and practicing sincerely? Do I really believe in what Master said, and to what extent? Am I willing to experience Dafa with my heart or even my life?
My answers to the questions were definitely in the positive. I wished to experience Master's teachings wholeheartedly.
I started a hunger strike the next day. Guards talked to me on the fourth day and asked what they could do to have me start eating. I said I would eat when I went home. The guards brought good food from home and asked the kitchen to cook it for me. I was not moved.
Seeing my resolve, the guards started intimidating me. I knew they would force-feed me. I asked Master in my heart to take care of me. I had a dream that night: An elderly woman in traditional Chinese clothing touched my head and said, “My child, don't be afraid. What you vomit is waste blood.”
I woke up the next morning and thought whether I would vomit blood. I did throw up blood that night. The guards on duty were scared. One brigade head cried. I was not scared but sent righteous thoughts to eliminate persecution by the old forces.
Thus, the guards did not force-feed me. The camp director decided to have me sent to a hospital for diagnosis. I sent righteous thoughts to eliminate all microscopic to macroscopic factors arranged by the old forces to persecute me, and I asked Master to take charge of me.
When the doctors told them the diagnosis, the guards did not tell me directly. I heard the doctors chatting in low voices. They said I had a malignant gastric tumor with less than 15 days to live.
I suddenly understood that Master evolved the symptom for me to be released. The guards said they needed to ask the camp director and brought me back to the labor camp. I suffered a lot physically while waiting for their decision.
A guard asked me sarcastically, “Have you seen anyone get out of here early without being “transformed”? Are you special?” She said the next day, “You'll be released in half a year. Why do you want to go home early? If it doesn't work, your term might even be extended.”
Her words caught my attention. I thought to get out early but did not think about a term extension. I thought about gain and loss: “I've gained so much from Dafa. It has brought me back from death. To safeguard Dafa and keep my steadfast belief in Dafa, I would not regret even giving my life for it!” With this thought, I truly understood what giving up life and death is. My heart was extremely calm.
I wrote a letter to my elderly parents. It seemed to be my last letter to home at that moment. In the letter, I appreciated my parents for bringing me into this world and teaching me to be a good person. I wrote, “I liked the story of General Yue Fei in the Song Dynasty when I was young. He died for his country. Today, I face the choice of life and death in safeguarding the truth. I believe you will respect my choice. I hope to get released through my hunger strike. I won't commit suicide, as it would be a sin. If I die, it is because of this persecution. The labor camp also has responsibility.”
I gave my letter to a brigade leader who usually treated me well and asked her to mail it half a month later. She called me into her office the next morning and said with tears in eyes, “This is not a letter to home. This is an end-of-life statement!” She said she would help me to get released early.
I was calm and did what I could. I sent righteous thoughts intensively to eliminate all factors in other dimensions that manipulated the camp. I did that for several days. I heard a few guards saying, “I wish the camp would release her early.” I felt the power of righteous thoughts and became more steadfast in believing in Master and Dafa.
The labor camp released me unconditionally on the eighth day after I was brought back from the hospital. The brigade leader took a leave just to come say goodbye to me. When the head guard handed over the letter from the provincial labor camp bureau to my family, I asked her, “Are you convinced?” She said in a low voice, “Falun Dafa is good.” I joyfully returned home with my family.
I was fine after going home and started eating. I was released five and half months earlier than the specified term. The seemingly impossible thing was accomplished in half a month.
My early release caused a stir in the labor camp. Many people thought it was inconceivable, since the labor camp bureau stipulated that incarceration terms can be shortened only for those who renounce their belief; those who did not give in would face term extensions. Some practitioners developed serious illnesses or died in labor camps. My release was an exception and encouraged fellow practitioners to strengthen their faith in Master and Dafa.
I understand that the severity of persecution in an area is determined by the awareness of the persecution by the police, prosecutors and judges there.
I started to reach out to the local police, prosecutors, and judges in 2008. Among them, I thought police officers were the most important. If they do not participate in the persecution or arrest practitioners, prosecutors and judges would not be in a position to commit wrongdoing.
I mailed a total of 15 letters to each police officer one after another. The letters were from Minghui commentaries with actual cases and good logical reasoning. I then sent text messages and postings from Minghui and made phone calls. This would clean out the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) propaganda that had misled them.
I did this by myself initially for over two years. Later, other practitioners joined me. We kept doing this for over three years and mailed over 10,000 letters to local police, prosecutors and judges, including 6,000 letters to 400 police officers. We tested the effect of the letters and found many officers had become aware of the goodness of Falun Gong and the facts of the persecution.
Thus, our local police have not made any intentional arrests of Falun Gong practitioners since 2009. There were only two incidents in eight years. When citizens unaware of the persecution reported practitioners to police, officers would bring the practitioners to the station, release them on the same day, and advise them to be careful when raising awareness.
I saw a big change in Director Gao of the local 610 Office, as well. The labor camp had him pick me up on the day of release, as I did not give up my belief. He was stunned to learn that I was released in advance as a result of a hunger strike. I explained Falun Gong to him and the wrongdoings officials have committed in the persecution. He listened calmly and did not say a word. I thought he was touched.
I often wrote to him after going home and advised him to quit his membership in the CCP. He later quit the Party and resigned from the 610 Office. He also asked his replacement to deal with Falun Gong practitioners kindly. The new director did not participate in the persecution much.
As our persistent efforts had a good effect, I cooperated with fellow practitioners in other areas to deny the persecution.
Two practitioners distributing cards with information for getting around the CCP's online censorship were arrested in another city. During trial, the presiding judge Liu was very aggressive and yelled at the practitioners in court. He also interrupted their defense lawyer and had him forcibly removed from the courtroom. The two practitioners were sentenced to three years in prison.
I thought that we should not endure the persecution passively. I started to raise awareness from many angles. I thought to have the intermediate court return the case to the local court for a retrial after the practitioners appealed. The lawyer would have a chance to explain the case in court from a legal perspective.
At that moment, a voice in my mind said, “How is this possible? The CCP never applies the law when it's in conflict with its own interests. It's impossible for this case to be returned to the local court for retrial.”
I knew my wish was in line with Dafa but difficult to accomplish. Facing the challenge, I decided to keep my steadfast belief in Dafa and move forward. I encouraged myself not to mind the result but to do it with righteous thoughts.
There were many things to do. I started writing short letters to advise the head judge Liu not participate in the persecution but instead to consider the effect on his family and his future.
I heard after a while that he did not listen to my advice but even moved in the opposite direction. He instigated another judge to intimidate the practitioner in detention center to not appeal, threatening to extend her term otherwise. The judge forced her to sign a statement to dismiss her lawyer.
I wrote a report about this trial and sent it to Minghui.org. I downloaded the article on the same day of its posting and prepared a message with photos of the head judge. I sent the message to all court staffers that night, including the head judge, and to his parents-in-law and his wife's workplace to expose his conduct in the unlawful trial.
I then sent a message to Judge Liu and advised him to be kind to practitioners. Meanwhile, I sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors that manipulated him.
Unexpectedly, he had the police harass the lawyer staying in a local hotel. Officers even brought the lawyer to the police substation and intimidated him. Judge Liu even colluded with the intermediate court to dismiss the lawyer and not allow him to defend the practitioner. The intermediate court judge responsible for this case agreed with Liu, dismissed the lawyer, and told the latter, “It is impossible to return the case for retrial in the local court. The initial verdict for Falun Gong cases is never changed, with or without lawyers.”
I then wrote a report about Liu and others' intimidation of the practitioner and the lawyer. I prepared a message after the report was published on Minghui.org and sent the message to staffers in the intermediate and local courts. The lawyer who was dismissed also exposed this issue via a social media. This caused a stir in the courts and among the public, as Liu's actions were against the rules.
I then wrote to the local court director and discussed this issue and its implications for his reputation and that of the court. I stated that the judge yelled in court and did not allow the lawyer to mention the constitution and the law. If this issue were not resolved, the consequences would be beyond imagination. I also described the principles of Falun Gong, its benefit to society and individuals, its popularity across the world, and the current situation in China.
I put forward a suggestion to the director in the letter: Ask the intermediate court to return the case to the local court for retrial. I advised her to urge the judges not to intervene in the lawyer's defense to show the fairness of the trial and minimize the negative impact in the local community. Doing that would benefit her. I also advised her to release the detained practitioner.
I wrote the letter without pausing, as if chatting with an old friend. I finished the letter in a few hours. I felt happy and relaxed after it was done.
Before long, the court notified the practitioner in the detention center that the case would be retried half a month later, on June 8, 2016. One day before the trial, the court suddenly dismissed Judge Liu. In court, the lawyer defended the practitioner without interruption from the judge. The verdict of the new trial has not been announced.
We have put in similar efforts to overturn the verdicts of practitioners in other cases. The difficulties and feeling of hopelessness during the journey were beyond words. However, we overcame them with steadfast faith in Master and Dafa.
I have experienced many tribulations and difficulties in cultivation over the past ten years. But however difficult they were, I believed in Master and followed Master's teachings. I held on to this steadfast thought, eliminated incorrect thoughts, and overcame the tribulations.
Master taught us,
“I’ll tell you, for years I have been continually saying that Dafa disciples’ abilities are tremendous, yet many people don’t believe this since those abilities were not allowed to be seen. Under the effect of righteous thoughts, everything around you, as well as you yourself, will undergo changes. Yet you have never thought to give it a try. The old forces as well as the interference from the evil elements are precisely exploiting the gaps in your thinking. That’s what they have been doing all these years. All along the old forces have been directing rotten spirits and the factors of the evil Party to do this, causing you to fail in your efforts to save people. They do this because they don’t have the ability to defeat you in a direct fight.” (“20th Anniversary Fa Teaching” in Teaching the Fa at the Conference XI)
I am now setting a goal of targeting a 610 Office in a city and eliminating its evil factors in other dimensions until it is dissolved. It directly persecutes Falun Gong practitioners. I sometimes think that, if more practitioners maintain a steadfast belief in Dafa and eliminate local 610 Offices, the persecution would end sooner.