(Minghui.org) I am now nearly 80 years old. I would like to share my experience of firmly rejecting the persecution since I was sent to a brainwashing center for my faith in Falun Dafa in April 2014.
Getting My Mind Clear
The situation in the brainwashing center was very vicious and my mind was not clear. I tried to recite the Falun Dafa teachings I had memorized, but could not remember any. Then, I recalled the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. “All right then, at least I can recite 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good',” I thought. So I sat in meditation and began to repeat these words.
It was easier said than done, as all kinds of interfering thoughts entered my mind, and I was easily distracted. Then I recalled Master Li's words in Zhuan Falun, “Whether it is a Buddha, a Tao, an immortal, or a demon, they should not move your heart.” So I made up my mind to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and nothing else.
Gradually, my physical body became warm and comfortable, as if I were the only person in this world. I was no longer uncomfortable with where I was, since I still had with me the principles that I cherish.
As my mind became clear, I decided to recite the Fa. In Essentials for Further Advancement II, Master said, “The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.” So I began to repeat any sentences of teachings I could remember. From Hong Yin, Essentials for Further Advancement, to Zhuan Falun. I spent the majority of the time reciting the Fa at that time.
Looking Within
After recalling the Fa principles, I began to think about attachments and loopholes I had that led to my being detained.
The first was lack of solid cultivation. Somehow I had applied my human understanding of responsibility, warmheartedness, loyalty, etc. to cultivation practice. “Falun Dafa is so righteous and Master is so great. How can I not remain loyal to it?” I had thought. Thus, I spent most of my time on Dafa-related projects. However, I spent little time considering how to conduct myself according to the Fa principles to improve my heart and mind.
The second was ego. Whenever someone, including practitioners, praised me, I would be happy. Attachment to zealotry had also inflated my ego. I tended to make decisions myself and could not accept criticism.
The third was attachment to comfort and sentimentality. One practitioner about 50 years old contacted me in 2013, and I helped her find a job and a place to stay. After that my wife had symptoms of illness. This practitioner often came after work, sent forth righteous thoughts, and returned to her place. Both my wife and I thought it was too much trouble for her, so we invited her to stay in our place.
This practitioner had good understanding of the Fa and a good temper. She cooked very well and kept the house clean both inside and outside. Because she was well educated, she was also very good at producing Dafa materials. Both my wife and I liked having her around, and we found ourselves unable to live without her. Since we did not have a daughter, we treated her as our daughter. Later, she quit her job and moved to our place to work for us full time taking care of the house and meals.
This was where things went wrong. As time continued, the issue of sentimentality and lust began to arise. Both my wife and I noticed this, so we intensified Fa-study and read Minghui articles, to help me purify my thoughts. On the surface, our life, cultivation, and doing the three things continued as normal. But, with that practitioner still living with us, the demon of lust remained in my mind. Eventually it led to my arrest.
When looking back, I realized what I did was like indulging myself in a cesspool and hoping to get rid of bad odor. How can this be possible?
Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts
After identifying these three loopholes, I decided to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate them. Since then, I began to send forth righteous in addition to reciting the Fa.
In Hong Yin, Master said,
“Success at Consummation
Fame, gain, emotion—cultivate each away,And ascend to the Firmament at Consummation,See the human world with eyes of compassion,Then are you freed from the spell of delusion.”
One day after reciting this poem, I suddenly found my dimension very wonderful. I also had compassion and pity towards officials in the brainwashing center, because they were hurting themselves for doing that. I treated everyone with compassion including guards, inmates, and cleaning staff members. They also liked to talk with me. Sometimes, flies came to harass me and I killed them with a fly swatter. I felt bad and said to the flies in my mind: there is enough room in this cell. You can play around, but please do not harass me. Interestingly, no flies bothered me since then.
Approaching the Procurator for My Case
Two months later, I had symptoms of illness and was released on medical parole. With two months of reciting the Fa principles and sending forth righteous thoughts, my mind was clean. I know it was Master's compassion that dissolved my negative thoughts, ego, and attachment to lust.
My case was forwarded to the city procuratorate, and both my wife and I decided to go there and tell them the truth about Falun Dafa. The prosecutor was a young woman. After we greeted each other, I told her the practice gave me good physical health and improved my moral character. “We are here today to help you understand what Falun Dafa is and answer any questions you may have,” I said.
We began to chat and she told me she had processed many cases including gangsters, theft, deception, prostitution, and bribery. I thanked her for helping maintaining order in society and asked, “Have you handled any cases related to Falun Dafa practitioners?”
She shook her head saying this was the first time. I then asked why she would try to prosecute me if I did not cause any harm to the society. “It is based on the Article 300 of Criminal Law,” she said confidently. “You will be charged for sending those text messages to people.”
I thus explained to her how the former communist leader Jiang Zemin abused the legal system to suppress Falun Dafa. I said, “Many practitioners and I have personally benefited from Falun Dafa. The message I sent--'Falun Dafa is good' is truthful and does not harm the society in any way. Plus, supporting the innocent brings blessings—this is something cherished in traditional Chinese culture. So there is nothing wrong with it.” She was listening quietly, without saying anything.
I told her that helping the Communist Party to harm innocent practitioners would not do anyone any good. “Plus, Article 300 of Criminal Law is very vague and it does not specify details. If we meet each other in the court, I would ask you exactly how I violated the law and how that damaged the society,” I continued. Plus, the new system requires government officials to be responsible for cases they process in their own life. “Many people who participated in the persecution have received consequences. Do you really want to be one of them?” I asked. She was thinking about my words, silently.
From recent cases reported on Minghui, I told her how officials could help practitioners under their authority. Seeing hope and relief in her eyes, I then told her how practitioners were harmed by the hate propaganda and severely tortured and abused. “Did you know that prison guards removed women practitioners' clothes and shocked them all over their bodies? Plus, officials at Masanjia Labor Camp put women practitioners in the same cells with criminal male inmates. Can you imagine how terrible it was for those women?!” I was in tears as I said this.
The officer offered me tissue. She did not say anything for a long time. When I left, she helped me stand up and said, “Please take care of yourself. I understand now.”
Soon afterward, this case was reassigned to a different person.
Rejecting the Verdict
When looking inside as to why the problem was not fully resolved, I realized I needed to fundamentally oppose this persecution. In addition, this is also an opportunity for me to improve myself and save sentient beings. So my wife and I visited police department, justice bureau, court, and Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC). We also wrote lots of letters and sent materials to these agencies.
There were four trials of my case. The 610 Office dispatched a large number of police forces and blocked the local traffic during the trials. Instead of being intimidated, I considered these trials as opportunities to tell people facts of Falun Dafa. I explained to the judges and other officers that I did not violate any law and the Article 300 of the Criminal Law does not apply. “It is Jiang Zemin and his followers who have committed unlawful actions and persecute innocent people,” I said.
In the initial verdict, I was sentenced to five years in prison. When an officer asked me to sign it, I wrote “Verdict is invalid” and signed the document. In my mind, I know my path is arranged by Master, no one else.
I continued to contact various government agencies to tell them that Falun Dafa is good and the persecution in wrong. Six months later, the second verdict arrived and the initial sentence was sustained. I called the presiding judge saying the verdict was groundless and I would not agree to it.
After staying in another practitioner's place for a few days, I went out again to tell people the benefits Falun Dafa has brought to me and the society. I have been doing so since then.
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