(Minghui.org) Early this year, a fellow practitioner in our area was arrested. The police confiscated her Falun Dafa books, a large amount of Falun Dafa informational materials, and personal items from her home. Even the homes of her relatives were searched.
The news of the arrest quickly spread among local practitioners. Those who heard the news sent forth righteous thoughts to negate the old forces' arrangement. The arrest was reported on the Minghui website shortly thereafter.
Initial Rescue Efforts
Our local coordinator suggested that the husband of the arrested practitioner (also a practitioner) hire a lawyer as soon as possible. She provided a lawyer’s contact information.
After the husband consulted the lawyer over the phone, he told the coordinator that he did not want to hire the lawyer. He believed that spending money (around 30,000 yuan) on the lawyer was a type of economic persecution. The coordinator was disappointed.
The coordinator decided that since most family members of the arrested practitioner were also practitioners, they could manage the rescue effort on their own and that everyone else just needed to help by sending forth righteous thoughts.
The family of the arrested practitioner went to the police and asked for the confiscated items to be returned, but they were verbally abused by officers. When the coordinator asked about the situation on several occasions, the family did not seem to have made any headway.
Coming Together as One Body
The coordinator then realized that she had a loophole in her cultivation. Instead of forming a whole body, she was annoyed by the family members of the arrested practitioner for not being more active and forthcoming. That had diminished the power of the whole body. She realized that she should not have become passive just because the family decided not to hire a lawyer.
The coordinator met with the husband and discussed a plan to clarify the truth to the police. The husband had also had the same thought. He went to the police station the next day.
Many fellow practitioners were notified and sent forth righteous thoughts for him. However, the husband was not allowed to enter the police department, and he was told that his wife's case had been submitted to the Procuratorate.
The appearance of the bad news did not discourage practitioners. Many continued to send forth righteous thoughts to save those who work in the police department, the courts and the 610 Office, hoping to stop them from participating in the persecution further.
Soon after, the husband also changed his mind and decided to hire a lawyer. The lawyer was from out of town and was to arrive in three days.
Understandings from the Fa on Hiring Lawyers
The coordinator immediately organized a smaller group of practitioners to share understandings. Some practitioners realized that our human notions, such as our feelings toward family members and fellow practitioners, could all hinder our path.
Master said in “Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting,”
“Your journey is one where if you can take correct, right steps, the doors before you that were once shut will open and the road will become wide.”
We all agreed that the purpose of hiring a lawyer was not just to rescue the arrested practitioner but also to save those people in the police and legal systems. It is also an opportunity for local practitioners to cooperate with one another and improve as a whole. We further understood that for those people who have participated in the persecution, if they do not stop, they will be eliminated, and their elimination may have been caused by us because we did not do well.
Because this was the first time a practitioner in our area had hired a defense lawyer, we did not have any experience and lacked an understanding of legal procedures. The coordinator printed out many articles from the Minghui website regarding hiring lawyers to defend Dafa disciples. She asked all practitioners to read them carefully. It was very helpful, and we felt inspired by the sharing articles.
We reached a common understanding that we should not be attached to the result. We, the practitioners, ought to take the lead roles, and the lawyer is here to support us in clarifying the truth to the world's people. We also realized that we must be compassionate and get rid of our resentment toward the police because they are truly the ones being persecuted. The more selfless we can be, the better the result.
We divided up the work. Some practitioners called the Procuratorate, some sent forth righteous thoughts, and some prepared to help the family host the lawyer. Our hearts came together with strong righteous thoughts.
Understanding on Sharing Legal Expenses
The coordinator arranged another meeting the next day to have more practitioners participate in this effort. Some practitioners donated money to help pay for the legal costs. Other practitioners prepared to use donated money to make materials to help with the legal costs but were stopped by others.
A practitioner expressed his concern, “Fellow practitioners' wish to help financially is good. The arrested practitioner's family members are also practitioners. We could certainly help if there is financial difficulty, but we should not cover all of the lawyer's costs. The family should pay a portion of it. Before the lawyer even got here, so much money had already been collected. If this resulted in the family depending on others, wouldn't that be the opposite of our intention?”
Upon hearing this, the coordinator decided to share this concern with others who prepared to help out financially. We must walk our path righteously and not leave any loopholes in the matter of money.
Conclusion
As we were all getting ready for the arrival of the lawyer, we heard very encouraging news: the police had sent the arrested practitioner home. She also brought home a long list of names of people who had agreed to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party and its youth organizations. It was just as Master said:
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughtsMaster has the power to turn back the tide” (“The Master-Disciple Bond” from Hong Yin Vol. II)
We all felt that this was Master's way of encouraging us. When we, as one body, met the requirement of the Fa, when our xinxing reached the required level, Master indeed turned back the tide.
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