(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 1)
Continuously Improving Through Memorizing the Teachings
I knew very well what my son needed the most now. I first wrote down Hong Yin and some of Master Li’s (Dafa’s founder) lectures and articles from memory and gave them to him. He really treasured them. Every day, he sent forth righteous thoughts, clarified the truth, and repeatedly memorized Master’s Fa. He improved rapidly.
I told him about my experiences and understanding at my level. When we were at home, he was always against me no matter what I said. But in the detention center, he was completely different. When I pointed out his shortcomings and fundamental attachments he was not only very grateful but also took the initiative to dig out more attachments and human notions. He expressed his deep regret and apologized for the way he treated me.
He said that while he was meditating he saw a scene in another dimension, and felt it was Master encouraging him to be diligent. He realized that all of his changes and rapid improvements were from repeatedly memorizing the Fa. Afterward in almost every letter, he said, “We must memorize the Fa!” I had the same feeling. Practitioners’ righteous thoughts and actions come from Dafa.
Eliminating the Attachment to Ease
I was also able to continue strengthening my righteous thoughts by repeatedly memorizing the teachings. With a righteous mindset and Master’s protection, I was able to maintain a rational and clear mind while facing the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party) various methods and tricks used by the people from police departments and the procuratorate. When clarifying the truth, I always firmly told them, “My will to practice Falun Dafa is unshakable—even if a knife is set on my neck.”
After I was transferred to cell A03, through clarifying the truth and talking about how miraculous and great Dafa is, I gained the trust and approval from the head of the inmates. This helped open up the situation and I could freely do the exercises. There was a rule that at night, there had to be two people on duty at the same time, and they must stand during their shift. All the shifts were two hours long except the morning shift, which was two and a half to three hours, ranging from 4 a.m. to nearly 7 a.m. Most people were unwilling to do the morning shift. But this is exactly the time practitioners do the morning exercises, so I happily took the longer shift. I usually did exercise two for one hour, and then repeatedly did exercises one, three, and four until the shift was over.
Later, the new cell lead told me, “If you want to do the exercises, you have to do two consecutive shifts. You decide.” I was close to 70 years old and was the oldest person in the cell. Two shifts in a row would be nearly five hours. Even for young people, it would be unbearable to stand for that long while sleeping much less every night. This was clearly persecution against me. At that moment, I couldn’t think it through clearly. I felt a bit resentful, and also felt it would be too challenging for me.
But when I thought about it, I said to myself, “Isn’t enduring some hardship a good thing for cultivators? No matter what their purpose or motivation is, I can take this opportunity to create an environment to do the exercises, increase the time for the exercises, and eliminate my attachment to ease. I can also demonstrate and validate the extraordinary and miraculous nature of Dafa to the inmates. Isn’t this exactly how to break the old forces’ persecution by using their scheme for my benefit?” I agreed to take on two shifts every night.
I started doing the exercises at 2 a.m. every day until nearly 7 a.m. For almost five hours, I kept doing the exercises without moving. I did exercise two twice, one time for 60 minutes and another time for 80 minutes. The rest of the time I did exercises one, three, and four. This amounted to what I normally did in five days when I was at home. After the first day, some people were amazed and said, “Falun Dafa practitioners are really magnificent!” But some said, “This is just the first day. He won’t last a week.” After a week passed, they said, “I will be totally convinced if you can do it for a month.” I did this for about eight months, until I was released, without missing a day.
In this way, I was able to create an environment in which I could freely do the exercises. I did exercise five and sent forth righteous thoughts during the two sessions of sitting working time and the relaxation time in the morning and afternoon. They all really admired me and said, “It’s hard for us young people to stand up for two hours, but you’re 70 years old and can stand for five hours!” They all witnessed the extraordinary nature of Dafa.
Facing the Illegal Trial
When I received the “indictment” from the procuratorate, I finally learned that when my son was arrested, about 20 other practitioners in the city were, too, and six of them were directly related to me. I decided to write an “innocence defense” to ask for justice for them, clarify the truth, and save those people involved who worked in the judicial, law enforcement, and procuratorate branches.
My son was worried about my safety. So I told him my understanding, “There is nothing accidental in cultivation. First, as practitioners, we cannot accept the persecution by the old forces who use the CCP. We must expose the persecution, resist it, and negate it. Second, we should take this opportunity to clarify the truth to those involved from the judicial, law enforcement, and procuratorate branches. I’ll write the defense as a truth-clarification letter. Even if only one person understands the truth after reading it, and decides to say something for us, he would be laying the foundation for his future, and what we did would be worthwhile.
Third, I have written letters for fellow practitioners to sue the former CCP head many times, and I have also written several defenses and petitions for persecuted practitioners. I can still recall the relevant legal knowledge. Since Master gave me this ability, I must use it.”
In my writing, I discussed several topics, that included: What Falun Dafa is and why it is practiced in so many countries in the world; the real stories of Falun Dafa disciples around me and how they greatly benefited from practicing; why former CCP head Jiang Zemin decided to persecute Falun Dafa; how the China’s Constitution and current laws have nothing against Falun Dafa; Falun Dafa publications are legal; China’s policy of “confess to being guilty and accept punishment” is a trap. I explained the disasters caused by the CCP’s previous political campaigns and how the Party shirked blame each time by making someone the scapegoat. Conscience should be the highest standard when handling legal cases. It is a principle of the universe that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished. In total, I wrote 18 pages on A4 paper, about 17,000 to 18,000 characters.
My son read it and gave me his suggestions for revision. He said it was powerful but not compassionate enough. I read it over several times and I agreed with him. However, in the harsh environment, pen, ink, and paper were extremely scarce, and it was almost impossible to get that much paper and ink to write again.
My son and I sent forth righteous thoughts to clear up interference and we asked Master for help. I also had a wish to make a copy of the final version so that I could keep it as material for clarifying the truth. I asked Master to help me and then I brought it up to a supervisor jail guard. To my surprise, he agreed quickly. I was so very grateful to Master!
At the end of last year, the court held a virtual session for my case. At that time, five practitioners were detained in the detention center. After a year and a half, my son and I met face to face for the first time. We held each other’s hands, looked into each other eyes, and strengthened each other’s righteous thoughts. I felt that my son matured in the midst of the tribulation.
When the judge allowed us to make a brief statement, two practitioners talked about how practicing Dafa eliminated their long-term illnesses and improved their morals. A third practitioner said, “China’s Constitution clearly says that citizens have freedom of belief. Nothing in China’s laws prohibits people from practicing Falun Dafa. Thus it is legal to practice Falun Dafa, and all Falun Dafa publications are legal to be published. The use of Article 300 to frame Falun Dafa practitioners is an abuse of the law and purposely committing crimes. We are not guilty.” My son said loudly, “Falun Dafa saved my father, saved me, and saved our whole family. The world needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Falun Dafa is great! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is great! That is why Falun Dafa is practiced around the world!”
When it was my turn to speak, I said, “I have an 18-page innocence defense. Please allow me to read it in court in accordance with the laws.” The judge said, “Because the weather is cold, considering the health of the seniors in the courtroom, you can turn in the defense to the court through the detention center.” So I could only read out the summary and subtitles of the defense, asking the court to clear Falun Dafa, clear Master’s name, and clear Falun Dafa disciples.
Minghui Weekly
Many inmates in my cell had associate degrees from colleges. They all liked to read the letters between my son and I. They asked us to first let them read it before passing it to each other. Some of them had seen Dafa materials in the past, and they jokingly called our letters Minghui Weekly even though I repeatedly asked them not to. Inspired by this, I systematically wrote down the questions that people, in general, were confused about the most when I clarified the truth. After they circulated what I wrote in section A03, I passed it to A01 and A04. The effect was very good.
A note was passed to me from A01, and the bottom was signed “A person who wants to learn Falun Dafa.” He asked a few questions that puzzled him in my son’s truth-clarification letter. I replied to him very carefully and in great detail. He was very moved and had a better impression and understanding of Dafa. The letter was also circulated in all three cells. Many people understood the truth after reading these letters and chose to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. They also sincerely said, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
One inmate was a high provincial-level official before he was imprisoned. He was very talented and published books. He had been reading our letters for a long time and he praised my writing, my thinking, and my point of view. From our interactions, he understood that practitioners are not the so-called “addicts” of the CCP’s media claims. He was very inspired and touched by my son’s actions and he gradually understood the truth of Dafa. He began to practice the second exercise for 40 minutes while on duty. He often paid attention to my shortage of ink and paper. Whenever he saw that I began to use toilet paper or other scratch paper to write, he would ask my son to send me all his remaining paper and pens.
I estimated that I wrote about 200,000 characters of articles and letters in the detention center. Despite always being short of ink and paper, I was never really affected by it. Also, no one stopped us from writing the letters and the persecution did not intensify due to our truth-clarification efforts. I knew that this was because Master was constantly watching over us and protecting us.
When I was in the detention center for exactly one year, I composed a poem titled “Jailed Due to Miscarriage of Justice,”
I have been jailed for a year due to miscarriage of justice,I have put aside life and death.I no longer care about honor, insult, suffering, or joy,I don’t mind fame, gain, emotions, or resentment.Compassionate Master is always protecting me,The Fa principles are nurturing my heart.The miraculous practice is constructing a diamond body,I will assist Master in saving sentient beings until the end and return to my true home.
The assistant cell lead in my cell was a poetry lover. He wanted to test my knowledge in this area and asked me to write a poem about the flood. I wrote a long poem about the origin of the disasters including the flood and the pandemic. I said that the cause of the natural and man-made disasters was the CCP’s atheism, which led to the loss of morality and the punishment from the gods; I concluded that the CCP will be destroyed by heaven because of its persecution against the Buddha Fa. He agreed with me and praised my writing. He also circulated many of my poems in other cells, which also played a role in clarifying the truth.
Getting Out of the Detention Center
When my son was detained for a year and a half, one afternoon during my cell’s outdoor time, I heard an unfamiliar voice calling my name from cell A01, and a letter was thrown to us. The young men in my cell scrambled to read the letter. I was used to always being the last reader. However, this time, after they read it, they wouldn’t let me see it, and they all quietly said, “Your son was transferred because of fighting.” I said without hesitation, “Absolutely no way. He was released.”
When they finally gave it to me, I saw a few short sentences from my son, “Dad, just after lunch, I suddenly received a release notice. Thank you, Master! Dad, please remember your son’s words: memorize the Fa! ... Assimilate to Dafa, and the sunlight will shine through the dark clouds.” With tears in my eyes, I put my hands together, and said repeatedly, “Thank you, Master!” I realized that his mission here was completed, and his tribulation was over. The old forces’ plan completely failed.
Seeing that the Chinese New Year was around the corner, I asked Master to help transfer other practitioners detained here to a cell near me. Within a few days, Mr. Deng was transferred to A02, which shared a wall with my cell. We immediately connected. I organized the things I wrote, and passed them to him along with the letters between me and my son as well as the innocence defense I wrote. I also shared with him the cultivation situation and our experience and understanding of memorizing the Fa. He was overjoyed and immediately began to memorize the Fa. At the same time, he circulated those truth-clarification materials in his cell.
Before that, I had already hand-copied the materials and passed them to Mr. Chen in A04, which was also my neighboring cell. He circulated them in A04. Soon after the spring equinox, Mr. En was transferred to cell A05. We were grateful to Master.
Because Mr. Chen was in the middle, it was very convenient for me to communicate with Mr. En. I organized everything and passed them to him as quickly as I could. I also wrote a long letter to him, pointing out the issues and shortcomings that I saw in his cultivation. He later told me that the innocence defense and the poems I wrote were well received in A05 among the people there and had good effects in clarifying the truth.
I thought that I had finished everything I should do, and I waited for the response from Mr. En. One morning, after I had finished the double shifts, and sat on my bed to send righteous thoughts, I felt a little weak and couldn’t sit in the double lotus position. When the others asked, I told them I felt a little uncomfortable and wanted to lay down. The detention center’s rule was that we couldn’t lay down at will, but the cell lead said it was fine for me to lay down since I felt uncomfortable. I became unconscious as soon as I lay flat.
When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by guards and the detention center doctors, and I heard a voice saying, “Diastolic blood pressure is 35.” I was carried to the ambulance. I understood that as a practitioner, I was not ill. I thought this must be Master trying to get me out of the detention center, and the illness was a false image made by Master. I did not panic and I had no fear. I thanked Master in my heart.
My “condition” was very serious, and I was admitted to the intensive care unit and was given a critical illness notice. The doctor ordered that I must stop eating or drinking anything, stay in bed, and take infusions all day. This went on for five days with no effect. On the afternoon of the sixth day, the doctor gave a second critical illness notice. The director of the detention center was very concerned. After he personally signed the critical illness notice, he did not dare to detain me any longer and he arranged for me to be released on bail.
The evening of the seventh day, my family brought me home from the hospital. That night, I was able to eat normally and I began to study the Fa and do the exercises as usual. My body became normal and stronger day by day. With Dafa in my heart, I firmly believe that Master is by my side, watching over and protecting me. I am a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period, and I do not accept any arrangements or persecution by the old forces.
My cultivation level and understanding of the Fa are limited. Although the end is near, we still have our critical missions to carry out! Practitioners! Let us cultivate diligently, fulfill our vows, and return to our true homes!
(The End)
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Category: Improving Oneself
