(Minghui.org) Four other practitioners and I from our area were arrested in 2009 for talking to people about Falun Dafa or having printed information about Dafa in our possession. The five of us were sentenced to from five and a half to eight years in prison.
After my arrest was approved, my case was submitted to the county Procuratorate. As soon as I was released on medical parole, I left home and didn't show up when I was summoned. That landed me on the “most wanted” list at the local police department.
I went through a very difficult time while I was on the run because of fear. But slowly, as I placed more faith in Master and the Fa, I was able to rise above and beyond. I was no longer scared, and instead treated the whole thing as an opportunity to clarify the truth. My righteous thoughts grew stronger and my fear lessened. My name was eventually crossed off the “wanted” list.
Depression
I cannot even begin to describe how difficult it was when I first left home. I wore a face mask and a hat wherever I went, and only used back alleys and small dirt roads to avoid the police. I did not talk to people that I knew when I ran into them, fearing that they'd recognize me. I felt inferior, always hiding like a rat.
Although I kept up with the three things that a Dafa practitioner is supposed to do, my heart was heavy and I was depressed. I was very passive and pessimistic about the future. I was often moved by ordinary people's things and let my attachments and notions get the best of me. My cultivation state was far from the Fa's standards and I did not have an upright attitude.
I wanted to face my fear and make a breakthrough, but it was really hard to pull myself out of that depression. As time went by, I improved hardly at all and could not stay diligent and maintain my faith in Master and the Fa. My human notions and attachments dominated and kept me from moving forward in my cultivation.
The local authorities repeatedly harassed and threatened my family, especially during the annual plenary sessions of the People's Congress and the People's Political Consultative Conference.
I was constantly on the move and stayed with relatives, friends, and fellow practitioners. I want to apologize to them for the trouble I caused and thank them for their help.
Back into Hiding after First Encounter
Every year the local police department made a push to track down the wanted list. In 2014, they caught me at home. Eight police officers showed up, and I could feel the tension in the air. They stood around me, blocking all the exits, and glared at me.
My first thought was, “Master, please help me.” I knew I had to save them. As I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors behind them, I asked them to please sit down and offered them water. I wanted to show them a Dafa practitioner's kindness. Their expressions softened and the atmosphere became peaceful and less tense.
Instead of going with them, I clarified the truth to them. After more than an hour, one of them called their supervisor, and they then all left. Afraid they might come back, I left as soon as their car disappeared around the corner and went into hiding again.
I Escaped, But Remained Fearful
The same thing happened again in 2015. Six officers from the Chengguan Police Station surrounded me at home. I was somewhat calm because I had been in the same situation the year before. I knew that I needed Master to strengthen me and to eliminate the evil factors behind the officers. I started to clarify the truth to them and told them that it was not worth it to be Jiang Zemin's minions.
I used Zhou Yongkang, who was sentenced to life for corruption, as an example and advised them to learn the truth about Dafa and not to side with the evil. I told them that Falun Dafa was not on the list of 14 cults identified by the General Office of the Communist Party of China, the General Office of the State Council, and the Ministry of Public Security in 2014.
One officer asked, “Why didn't we know about that?” I told them to look it up online. I said, “It's for your own good that I don’t go with you.” After I talked about Dafa for more than an hour, they left. I left home again after they did.
Getting Rid of Fear
My fear of running into the same situation became a strong attachment in 2016. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake it off. I studied the Fa and sent righteous thoughts. I decided that I wasn't going to leave home again; I was determined to stay.
A local practitioner sent me a message a few days later and said that another practitioner sentenced in 2009 was recently arrested again. He was also on the wanted list. The local practitioner asked me what I planned to do. Although I told her that I was not afraid or moved, my heart started to pound and my chest felt tight.
It was fear. I'd had enough of it and was determined not to go into hiding again. It was time to face fear head on and eliminate it. Things are bound to turn around when they reach the limit. I sent righteous thoughts until I could feel the fear completely disappear from my field.
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.” (“Drive Out Interference” in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
“Whether it is a Buddha, a Tao, an immortal, or a demon, they should not move your heart.” (“Demonic Interference From One’s Own Mind” in Zhuan Falun)
“...just by staying unmoved you would be able to handle all situations.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference”)
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughtsMaster has the power to turn back the tide” (“The Master-Disciple Bond” in Hong Yin Volume II)
“If your will is not firm,The hurdles are like mountains.How will you transcend this mortal life?” (“Severing(in Yuan verse)” in Hong Yin Volume II)
“... and you shouldn’t attach too much importance to those activities in and of themselves. The bigger you perceive the challenges to be, the harder things will be to carry out, since “the appearance stems from the mind.” And so the task will become increasingly burdensome. When I say “the appearance stems from the mind,” by that I also mean that the difficulty stems from your overstating the importance of the matter itself and seeing yourself in a lesser light. Don’t take any such things to be a big deal, ...and just nobly and confidently do what you are supposed to. If you don’t let the evil’s interference sway you, bad factors won’t arise from you, the evil will become trivial, you will become towering and massive, and your righteous thoughts will be ample. That’s truly the case. ” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting” in Teaching the Fa at the Conference X)
“Should you have fear,it will seize upon youIf thoughts are righteous,evil will collapse” (“What’s to Fear?” in Hong Yin Volume II)
The Police Show Up Again
Just as my husband stepped out the door one afternoon in December 2016, he ran into four plainclothes officers. They said they were from the police department and wanted to come in. My husband tried to keep them from entering. I heard them arguing loudly in the hallway and realized that the test had come.
This time, I had no fear and was very calm. I opened the door, smiled, and said, “Come in. Please come in. It's cold outside.” Everyone calmed down right away, as the evil lost its grip on the situation. Everybody started speaking more quietly and the atmosphere lightened up.
The police showed me their identification cards and said they were from the city police department. I said, “Oh, wow. My case has gone to the city?” One of them took out a piece of paper with a small picture of me and asked, “Is this you? The paper says 'fugitive.'” I said, “That doesn't sound very good. What crime have I committed?”
One of them said, “It’s a case from 2009. The county police department couldn't handle it so here we are. Please come with us.” As I sent forth strong righteous thoughts, I explained to them that I couldn't go with them.
I clarified the truth and told them, “I can't go with you; I'd be ruining you if I did. Since you all are already here, I will explain to you why I can't go. What you're doing is wrong and illegal. You're breaking the law as a law enforcement officer. You're violating my constitutional right to freedom of religion and speech. It will not do you any favors.”
A family member who is also a practitioner helped clarify the truth to them and told them to not commit crimes against Dafa practitioners. I stepped into another room to send righteous thoughts and asked Master for help. I sent righteous thoughts for more than an hour as my relative explained the facts to them in the living room.
Master said,
“Compassion can harmonize Heaven and Earth, ushering in spring” (“The Fa Rectifies the Cosmos” from Hong Yin Volume II)
“If anyone could harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe.” (“Characteristics of Falun Dafa” from Zhuan Falun)
This time I stayed unmoved, like a rock, indestructible. Nobody could have moved me.
The Big Test
The officers came into the room where I was and said, “Ma'am, we're not after Falun Gong practitioners. We're after wanted criminals.” I said, “I'm not a criminal. I didn't break any law.” They all saw the Dafa books and fliers in my room but didn't say anything.
I examined myself as I talked to them and realized that my cultivation was not up to par. My righteous thoughts were not adequate, and my attachments were holding me back. It was not enough to just sit there and send righteous thoughts to make a breakthrough, I needed to up my cultivation and get to the root cause of my fear.
The police got there at around 3 p.m. and stayed for more than two hours. No matter how we explained things to them, they would not leave. They said, “Ma'am, you're a really nice person and that's why we waited so long. If it were someone else, we would have cuffed her and taken her away long ago.”
I thought to myself, “I have faith in Master and the Fa. This is a big test and I will take a risk and see if it works out.” I said to Master, “Master, I am leaving with them. I am not scared of death.” If it was the big test I thought it was, I wanted to prove that I was gold, not sand. I changed my clothes and left with the police at around 5:30 p.m. that day.
Released in Two Days
There was a sandstorm that day and visibility was really bad. We could see no more than 30 meters ahead of us. Nobody talked in the car; everyone paid close attention to the road. I sent forth righteous thoughts the entire way to the city detention center. When we arrived after 8 p.m., I was told that I would be given a physical exam. I remembered Master's words,
“If a Buddha waved his hand once, all of humankind’s diseases could be wiped out...” (“The Supernormal Ability of Precognition and Retrocognition” from Zhuan Falun)
I waved my hand to eliminate all the evil factors behind the police and the guards. I thought, “Master, please strengthen me. This is not the place for me. I have a great deal of unfinished business. I can't waste my time here. I need to go back.” When I heard that my blood pressure readings came out really high, at 210 over 140, I instantly got teary eyed—our compassionate Master had saved me.
The police didn't expect this and looked at each other in silence. They called my husband right away and told him I'd be released the next day. They also told me not to worry since I would not be admitted to that detention center, or any detention centers in the province for that matter.
We stayed at a hotel that night. One of the three police officers was a woman who asked me a lot of questions about Dafa. I told them all what Dafa really was and why the persecution was wrong. In the end, all three learned how to meditate with their legs crossed and learned how to do the hand movements.
We waited all day the next day, but since the paperwork was not done, we had to stay another night. I realized on the third day that not having clarified the truth in depth might have caused the delay, so I went into the hotel lobby and talked to a few young officers. They all listened attentively and nodded from time to time, saying things like, “That sounds very sensible. You [Dafa practitioners] all have to be good people.”
I asked an officer in the afternoon, “What are we still waiting for?” He said, “I’m not sure. The county Procuratorate didn't say much. They asked to take you to the detention center and turn your case in to the city police department.”
I said, “The Party is truly done. All this back and forth between the higher ups, trying to evade responsibility. Why don't you quit the Party?” When he agreed, I added, “I guess we'll have to go with what the city says.” He called my husband and told him to pick me up.
Clarifying the Truth to Those Involved
Three officers from the Chengguan Police Station visited shortly after I returned home. They explained that it was the Procuratorate's decision to have me monitored and wrote down my address. When they asked me to leave my fingerprint, I said no.
“Young man, what you are doing is against the law. If I don't sign the paperwork or give you my fingerprints, we'll all be fine. But if I do, your future is doomed.” The three of them left in less than five minutes. The next day I got a call informing me that I was no longer being monitored.
I was summoned by the court in early January 2017. The young female presiding judge told me that, according to the Procuratorate, I had committed a crime and she asked what I had to say about it.
I said, “Dafa is innocent. We, the practitioners, live our lives according to Dafa's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and try to maintain a sound moral character. It's beneficial in many ways and not harmful in any way.”
I did not comply when asked to sign my name and give my fingerprints, because the paperwork said I’d committed a crime—but I had not. The judge reported this to her supervisor and was told that I didn't have to sign and was free to leave.
I told the young judge, “We met because of a predestined relationship. Please remember that Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” She smiled and said, “Okay. Okay.”
I realized at that if you don't see things as the big deal they may seem to be and look at them from a higher perspective, they become nothing. When I was truly able to achieve that, it was suddenly easy to pass the test. I now feel that my field is clean, clear, and bright. I feel very good and relaxed.
Clarifying the Truth to the Lawyer
My son hired a defense lawyer to represent me in court. A practitioner felt differently about lawyers and suggested that I not use one. I asked my son what his thoughts were. He asked, “Mom, are you attached to having a lawyer?”
His question made me realize that as a Dafa practitioner, I was the lead in this show and it didn't matter whether or not I had a lawyer. How could the lead player be attached to having a lawyer? But after talking it over with another practitioner, I decided to keep the lawyer because he too needed to be saved.
Along with the other practitioner sentenced in 2009, I was tried on January 25. After the judges made their opening statements, they asked what the lawyers had to say. The other practitioner's lawyer said, “The procurator who was originally in charge of this case died in a car accident. The two young officers who took over in 2014 were not even with the Procuratorate until a year after the case was established. They don't know anything about the case and are not qualified. I ask that the court excuse them from being involved further.” The session ended in half an hour.
We were tried again on March 22. My lawyer defended me by citing Articles 35 and 36 of the constitution and pleaded not guilty on my behalf. I defended myself as well and pleaded not guilty.
I said, “By living by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I try to be a good person with good moral character. What Dafa practitioners do is legal and should be protected by law. Arresting innocent practitioners is against the law and is a violation of China's Constitution.”
My lawyer concluded, “The accusations against my client are not constitutional and have no legal basis. Everything that my client has done should be protected by the law.”
My lawyer and I worked well together both in and out of the courtroom, and I was able to clarify the truth to him in depth. I was really happy that he positioned himself well and chose to side with righteousness.
My Name Crossed Off the Wanted List
My sentencing was postponed indefinitely and I was taken off the wanted list. I no longer have to hide from anybody or get scared when I hear someone knocking on the door. I don't have to wear a hat and a face mask everywhere I go and now can walk down the street and go to gatherings with dignity and talk to whomever I want.
Those who have helped me, including friends, family, and fellow practitioners, no longer have to deal with harassment and threats, and they no longer have to be worried about me. By keeping righteous thoughts and placing more faith in Master and the Fa, I pulled myself out of a long-term, tough situation.
Was I able to pass the test? I gave it a try and found that it is really like Master said:
“After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!” (“People with Great Inborn Quality” from Zhuan Falun)
I extend my sincere thanks to our compassionate Master. I will not let you down.
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Category: Improving Oneself
