(Minghui.org) Greetings, esteemed Master, and fellow practitioners!
I started cultivating in Falun Dafa in February 1999, when I was a college student. Twenty-one years have passed, and I'm now in my middle age.
I spent the best years of my life in prison as a result of the unlawful and ruthless persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Despite inhuman torture, I did not give up my faith. I have held firm in my belief in Master Li (the founder), my belief in Dafa, and have made it through to this day. The subject I am sharing with fellow practitioners is: Treating sentient beings with a kind heart, and clarifying the truth with compassion.
Persuading Perpetrators to be Good
Recently, the CCP launched the “zero-out campaign,” a concerted drive to force each practitioner on the government's blacklist across the country to renounce his or her belief. Most fellow practitioners have been harassed or threatened by the police and other officials. I was no exception.
Master said,
“But that compassion is a manifestation of the great power of Buddha Fa. No matter how bad a person may be or how wicked something may be, things as strong as iron and steel will melt before the mighty power and compassion of Buddha Fa. That’s why demons are scared when they see it—they are really afraid. They will melt away and vanish. This is absolutely different from what man imagines.” (Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference)
Master's Fa has been carved into my heart. Whenever I became unsure amid the persecution, I would follow Master's teachings and treat police officers who abused me with compassion.
One winter night I was arrested at a Falun Gong materials production site. The young police officer who arrested me was most fierce. I was trying to run away. He caught up with me and knocked me to the ground. He tried to choke me. I told him to let me go. He called other officers for help while threatening me that he would shoot me.
I was taken to the police station. Sensing that fear was rising in my heart, I recited Master's Fa:
“Gods are merciful and have the greatest capacity to forgive, and they are truly responsible to beings, instead of focusing on a person's actions at a given time. That's because gods awaken a being at a fundamental level, and enliven a being's Buddha-nature at a fundamental level.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IV)
As I was reciting the Fa, I was enveloped in a sense of honor. Fear suddenly dissipated. I had only a single thought in my mind: Take this opportunity to awaken the conscience of people.
This young officer was to interrogate me the next morning. Before he started threatening, I said with kindness, “You were busy last night arresting me. And you have not had a good rest?” He looked at me with surprise, and did not expect that I was caring about him. His hostility disappeared. He answered, “No, not at all.” I replied, “It's not easy to be a policeman. You have to do the interrogation now. Take a seat, and have some rest.”
A positive energy field engulfed the two of us. He seemed to forget that his role was that of the interrogator. I naturally took a seat as well, and started telling him facts as if we were having a casual chat. He said, “Falun Gong books were transcribed from what was in Buddhism.” “You don't know about Buddhism, nor have you read Falun Gong books,” I replied. “You bought into the lies the CCP imbued in you. Buddhism teaches Precept-Tranquility-Wisdom, while Falun Gong cultivates Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance. And you can see Buddhism and Falun Gong are fundamentally different.”
He then argued, “Your Master collects money.” I smiled, “Everyone learns Falun Gong free of charge. Falun Gong books are free for download from the Internet. Many Falun Gong practitioners died or became handicapped because of the persecution. We put our lives on the line to cultivate and to awaken the conscience of people. If my Master wanted to collect money, there are 100 million Dafa practitioners. With each practitioner pitching in 1 yuan, Master would have become a billionaire. We are more than willing to give hundreds or thousands of yuan to Master. Yet Master does not want a penny from us. All Master asks for is kindness in our hearts.”
When he saw across the window his superior was coming over, he became agitated, and said, “Stand up quickly. My superior is coming. Don't give me a hard time.” I hesitated on whether I should refuse to cooperate with the evil and remain seated, or I should be considerate of the young officer and stand up. I figured he was a life with a kind heart, and I stood up out of being considerate.
The superior came in to take a look. He learned that I did not give out any information during the interrogation. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts for the superior to leave. And soon he did. Naturally, I sat down again and continued to talk to the young officer. He was attentive, and we did not notice until the superior walked into the room again. The superior saw that I was seated. He did not say anything. After a while, he left again. It took the entire morning for the young officer to dispel all his doubts over Dafa, and to see through all the lies spread by the CCP. He was shocked. In the end, he said with tears in his eyes, “Practitioners are indeed kindhearted people!”
I refused to give my name or address. In the end, they released me.
On another occasion, I was taken to the district police department. I was on the wanted list issued by the State Security Ministry. After I was arrested, police officers involved in arresting me felt it was a significant achievement. They took me as an important person in the area.
I was of a small build, and looked as if I was not quite 20 years old. I presented the truth to a vicious policeman in charge of interrogation. He was known to have ruthlessly abused several local practitioners. He did not listen to what I was saying. In the evening, he would handcuff me, and lifted me off the ground. During the day he would press my head onto my knees, restrain me underneath a chair, and he would sit on it to prevent me from moving or stretching. He kept torturing me for five days and four nights. Still they did not get a tiny bit of information out of me.
Since I refused to answer any questions, the city police department sent someone to monitor and supervise him, who was in charge of interrogating me. He had been beating me brutally. In front of the higher official from the city, he hit me even harder. He pulled my hair, and smashed me against the wall, and then stepped up to kick and punch me. He was exhausted. I was thinking that by beating practitioners so hard, he would have accumulated too much karma.
So I talked to him with compassion, “We bear no grudge against each other. Why beat me like this? It is not because of you I refused to answer any question. If it were someone else, I would do exactly the same. It's impossible I will sell out anyone. Good acts are rewarded. Evil doing is met with retribution. This is just your job. It's really not worth it. Don't engage in persecution anymore. For your family, take care of your health. Take a seat, and have some water.”
That moment I truly felt that a field of immense benevolence engulfed us. My words pierced through his heart, and registered in his mind instantly. He had to turn around and did not dare to look into my eyes.
Upon seeing what happened, the superior who was sent to monitor him was moved. He stuttered, “This Falun Gong! Such is Falun Gong! No one can suppress them! No one can suppress them!” They did not expect that I could persuade an officer to cherish kindness with such compassion despite how ruthlessly he beat me. And I did it without any trace of hatred. After that, this officer in charge of interrogation could never lift his hand to beat me.
After staying on a hunger strike for several days, I was in critical condition and rushed to the hospital. Officers from various police stations took turns monitoring me at night. I was handcuffed and shackled. The officer in charge of interrogation came to the hospital during the day. He unlocked the shackles.
A few times, he forgot to unshackle me. Tubes were inserted into my stomach, and I was in excruciating pain, yet could not talk. I would point to my feet, and he understood what I meant and immediately removed the shackles. Some officers locked the shackles so tight, that my ankles were bruised. He would say, “Who was on duty? How come it was locked so tight!”
I saw his change, and he was doing what he could to alleviate my pain. One day, another officer asked him, “Did she say anything when you interrogated her?” He replied with respect, “No, this girl is so strong. She doesn't say anything. Even if she is beaten to death, she wouldn't say anything.”
Saving People by Clarifying Truth With a Kind Heart
Whether clarifying the facts about Dafa face to face or over the phone, and regardless of the attitude of the other party, I would always treat them with compassion.
Master said,
“I've told you before that Shan isn't something pretended, nor is it a state that's just maintained on the surface. Shan truly comes from within and can only be attained and embodied through cultivation. When you're before sentient beings, as soon as words come out of your mouth and as soon as your thoughts emerge, they are able to disintegrate bad elements and the bad things that poison the world's people and that exist in people's minds. And then people will come to understand, and you'll be able to save them. Without the mighty power of true Shan at work, you won't be able to disintegrate those things, and you won't achieve anything in clarifying the truth.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. V)
One day I went to a small supermarket with a fellow practitioner. It was quiet. Only the woman who was the owner was at the counter, and another young man, who was dressed like a transient worker from the countryside. When I told them that we practiced Falun Gong, the young man replied immediately, “Falun Gong is not good.” Looking at him, kindness emerged from within me. I said to him, “I really understand you. You have been fooled by propaganda on television.” I barely finished completing the sentence, tears were in his eyes. The saying of my understanding of him reached the depth of his soul.
I told him about the lies spread by the CCP on television. One could tell that he was anxious to learn more. When I went to the supermarket the following day, the woman owner told me, “After you left yesterday, the young man kept praising you. He said what you told him was so great.”
I have a lot of experience reaching out to people over the phone. Regardless of their attitude, we should not be perturbed. We focus on just one thing, that is persuading others to cherish kindness with compassion. When I reached a young man to tell him to quit the CCP and its youth organizations he yelled, “How dare you call me. My dad works in the police department. I am going to turn you in!” I replied, “We have never met. I am buying calling cards to call you by putting my life on the line, even if you don't want to listen, you should have sensed my kindness. I have no ill will, and I'm doing it for your benefit. You're not going to turn me in.” His arrogance and anger dissipated instantly. He replied in a low voice, “Yes, I know it all,” before hanging up.
One day several practitioners were making calls when riding in a car. Someone on the other end hung up after the practitioner had said a few sentences. We had a strong field of righteous thoughts. I asked the practitioner to call him again. She was reluctant and figured he did not want to listen to her. I volunteered to take over and made the call.
I said, “Good afternoon, sir. I'm glad to reach you. Chinese people are quitting the CCP and its organizations. I'd like to help you to stay safe as well. Why do we want you to quit the CCP, the Youth League, and the Young Pioneers? Since its coming to power, the CCP ruled with violence, through campaigns like the movements against the Three Evils, against the Five Evils, to eliminate counterrevolutionaries, the Cultural Revolution, the June 4 killing of patriot college students in 1989, and suppression of Falun Gong in 1999. Yet Falun Gong has spread to over 100 countries worldwide. In Taiwan alone, there are 600 to 700 thousand practitioners. Taiwan shares the same culture with us, same origin. The contrast across the Taiwan Strait is most telling. The so-called “Tiananmen Immolation” was staged by the CCP to frame Falun Gong.”
Then I heard the sound of opening the door of a cabinet. I asked, “Sir, are you listening.” He promptly answered, “Yes, I am. Please continue.” I said, “I heard a door open. You must be busy.” I went on to tell him more facts. He was happy to quit the CCP. In the end, he complimented me, “You talked so well. I would like to have you come to work at my company.”
Some people felt grateful when they received my truth-clarification phone calls. Some would hold onto the conversation, unwilling to hang up. Some asked me for WeChat or QQ social media accounts to learn more about Dafa. For those who ended up knowing the truth, I would ask them to reach out to more people, to spread the facts, and ti would bring them boundless blessings.
Awakening the Conscience of Students
After I was released from prison, I set up an extra-curricular training class with the help of a practitioner. We started tutoring students one on one. We helped each other and tried to tell the truth to each student, and asked them to do quit the CCP. After my partner went back to her hometown to run training classes, I rented a room on my own and continued to offer extra-curricula training.
To tutor students one on one was conducive to clarifying the truth. I felt it was more difficult when I was giving a class to a group of students. Still harboring attachments to fear, plus my righteous thoughts were not strong enough, I was hesitant to clarify the truth directly. I opted to approach topics indirectly. I was on good terms with students. Some had attended my training classes for three years straight and were to take college enrollment exams this summer.
Because of the pandemic of the CCP virus (also known as Wuhan pneumonia) since the beginning of this year, we had only had online classes. I did not have an opportunity to help them quit the CCP. I felt if I did not clarify the truth to these kids, it would be my greatest regret that I could not make up for it. Several days before the college enrollment exams, the pandemic abated. I invited students to the classroom for one on one coaching. When the class was over, I would open the Minghui website, and let the student see the abuses I endured. Some of them were so shocked and started trembling. Some had tears in their eyes, and could not help but say, “These police officers are not human beings!”
Except for one really stubborn student, all have quit the Youth League and the Young Pioneers. Even this stubborn student asked for software that circumvented internet censorship and said he would look for information at home.
For better results, I would invite students to the classroom for one on one coaching. I would call them, “It has been nearly half a year we didn't meet face to face. I really miss you. I will give you an in-class lesson. You're about to graduate, and it will be free of charge.” They were glad. Some came despite heavy rain. They knew each one on one class would cost their parents 400 yuan each session. They felt my kindness in giving up so much income.
Several students left a deep impression on me. One female student took a dozen online classes when the pandemic was at its height. She said, “Teacher, I believe in supernatural things.” She agreed to quit the CCP the moment I brought it up. I was excited, and figured her coming to my class was exactly for listening to the truth!
I told a male student about a few supernatural incidents that happened to me. He still did not want to quit the CCP. Master taught in a Fa-lecture,
“In clarifying the truth, when you hit upon a person's fundamental issues, and at the same time he feels that Dafa disciples are truly saving him, then I think the side of him that's clear about things will show itself.” (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Lantern Festival)
I went ahead and told him about my experiences, “In prison, I did not renounce my belief. I was viciously beaten and lost my consciousness. I stayed on a hunger strike, was fed dense saltwater mixed with smashed onions. The deputy head of the forced labor department came to the prison to talk to me, asking me to cooperate with them to smear Falun Gong on television or in the newspaper. In exchange, he would set me free immediately, and assign me a good job that suits my professional skill set.” I replied to the deputy head, “If I opted for a compromise, despite the comfort and ease that was within immediate reach, I would spend the rest of my life in remorse. As someone in your position, you know full well that there is nothing wrong with Falun Gong at all.”
I told the student, “I'm giving you the facts that I acquired, and we had the predestined relationship of meeting each other. If I did not tell you these, I would regret it immensely. When one day you saw all that I told you happening, you would know nothing is more true than what I told you.”
The student was eventually moved by my words. He said, “Teacher, I agree to withdraw.” As soon as he finished saying that, he stood up, and pressed his heart with his right palm, and cried, “Uh-oh, Uh-oh.” He was a kid with a sensitive body. When the imprint of the beast was removed from his heart, he sensed it.
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