November 23, 2002
(Clearwisdom.net)
My guidepost for validating Dafa
On July 22, 1999, I saw slander, framing and libel against Falun Gong on TV. I thought I must go talk to the people who created these lies, so I went to a fellow practitioner's home, and we decided to appeal at the provincial government.
That afternoon, many fellow practitioners as well as armed police gathered in front of the provincial government. Many buses parked on the side of the street and the police were driving the practitioners into the buses. We were taken to a stadium. Countless people were there and voices reciting Master's articles could be heard constantly. Dafa practitioners united and a righteous field covered the whole stadium. Almost all police stood quietly and watched the practitioners doing Falun Gong exercises. The great feeling I had at that time was that no power in the world could change Dafa practitioners' rock-solid faith in Dafa.
From then on, all media exhausted every means to slander Falun Gong. I quit watching TV, reading newspapers, listening to the radio and to others' talk. I simply studied the Fa, did the exercises and eliminated attachments. Master pointed out, "A person is like a container, and he is whatever he contains," ("Melt Into the Fa" from Essentials for Further Advancement) not to mention these were Dafa-slandering materials, so I absolutely could not accept them.
I didn't exchange experience with fellow practitioners until the Chinese New Year of 2000. I was very touched by their experiences. Before, I also admired practitioners who went to Beijing to validate the Fa, yet I always thought that if I was arrested, I wouldn't be able to study the Fa, since the Fa has become the stanchion support of life. I proposed this question. One fellow practitioner said in a serious tone but without any intention to blame, "You think you won't be able to read Dafa books and you feel terrible about that; but have you ever realized this is selfishness? The Fa gave you life, but why can you not come to the aid of the Fa when it is suffering attack and slander?" His words immediately pointed out my deeply hidden selfishness, and I suddenly felt so ashamed I burst into tears. I said repeatedly in my heart, "Teacher, I am sorry."
The next morning, I booked a train ticket to Beijing and resigned from my workplace. I didn't want to implicate my company. I reported the remaining amount of my work. I also told them that I was willing to stay in jail forever, just in order to speak some truth.
So I went to Tiananmen Square all by myself and told the police and surrounding people, "I am a Dafa practitioner, Falun Dafa is good." After I was arrested I explained to the recording police officer how good Dafa is, and she said she could understand. She only said, "You should understand what kind of government you are facing."
On my return trip I became friends with the police officer who came to pick me up. I told him about my cultivation experience and how Dafa saved my life. I also gave him Dafa books. He asked me to teach his child, to help him become an honest and kind person. In the following days, he secretly helped me greatly.
Although I was detained for 15 days after my return, when I look back on it, it seems like yesterday.
Of course I also encountered some strict xinxing tests during this period, including misunderstandings from relatives and friends, my parents' crying and my superior's accusations, all of which failed to move my determination in the Fa. I enlightened to a principle through the Fa study, that everything I see is illusory, and it is caused by my attachment in that aspect, since all of the cosmos is made of Truth, Compassion, Tolerance.
If you go along with the principle of the cosmos, everything will be fine, but if you have attachments in this respect and go against the principles, you will have troubles. A series of incidents can reveal your attachments so you can realize them and eliminate them, and you can pass the test. From another perspective, if you can look at the problem from the perspective of the Fa, all problems will be solved, because that single thought of yours is based on the Fa, so you are on a high level and can solve all problems on levels below you. Because you are on a high level, the disturbing influences can't reach you and therefore cannot interfere with you. In other words, if your mind is set upon the Fa, they can't hurt you, no matter what they do, so they will stop interfering with you. On the contrary, if your single thought is based on human notions, then you will instantly fall to the level of human beings, which is the lowest level, and all beings above the human level can restrict you. How can you not be restricted by high-level beings with human determination? No matter how tenacious you are, you are still a human being, just as iron cannot turn into diamond, no matter how you smelt it, and iron could never be harder than diamond.
When Dafa enabled me to see all this, I gave up all attachments and thought only of others. My mind was harmonious and calm, with no hard feelings, no fighting and no hatred. When I clarified the truth with kindness, the people around me calmed down and understood somewhat, and my parents stopped crying. My husband's attitude also changed and everything was restored to its usual peace.
I also wrote some articles and gave them to my colleagues and superiors, so they could learn about Falun Dafa and the reason why I appealed for Dafa. A Party secretary in my company said, "What you said is not wrong, but you should know that you can't reason in China; you can only reason in foreign countries. There is only autocracy in China."
I reflected back on this experience of validating the Fa, and I reached the conclusion that I should not have been arrested for safeguarding Dafa. Although I was not mistreated--even the police officer nicknamed "villain" in Beijing treated me politely--although he maliciously treated other practitioners and even beat elder practitioners. When I returned to my local police station, the officers there were also polite. They only said, "Because of you, no one in the police station slept last night." They also offered to let me stay me in an office for one night, although usually detainees were put in confinement rooms. They allowed me to go home to take a shower and they loaned me a heater so I would not be cold in the night.
I understand all of this was brought about by the power and benevolence of Dafa. I never bore enmity toward these people. I only treated them as people who have been deceived and I only wanted to tell them the truth so they would awaken. I understood one principle: if you have "hatred," you will strengthen their "hatred" and their "hatred" will develop and become powerful, so they will act more viciously. If you have only benevolence and no hatred, then their hatred will automatically disintegrate. Since "hatred" is a low-level substance and is against the Fa's principles of Truth, Compassion, Tolerance, it is therefore not powerful, whereas benevolence is a high-level substance and conforms to Truth, Compassion, Tolerance, so it is extremely powerful. Master said, "But that compassion is a manifestation of the great power of Buddha Fa." ("Lecture at the Western United States Fa Conference") Of course, benevolence doesn't mean we should tolerate the evil. In fact, we should firmly stop the evil.
Because I was illegally detained, I must have some problems. I did not have a clear concept of the old forces, so I couldn't find the root of my problem. Nevertheless, I was clear on one point, which is: Dafa practitioners absolutely should not be arrested for Fa-rectification. After listening to Master's lecture at a later time, I understood my arrest was caused by the fact that I went along with the old forces and acknowledged my arrest for rectifying the Fa.
In early June 2000, I went to Beijing to appeal for the second time. Before I left I said to Master's picture, "Master, I shall not be detained this time. If I'm arrested, I'll never give my name and address, even if they beat me to death. I will return within one week." I wrote three appeals letters and went to Beijing.
Early in the morning I went to the Appeals Bureau. Many people gathered at the intersection in front of the Appeals Bureau, most of whom were police from other cities who came to arrest people. Police cars filled both sides of the street. I walked forward without minding anything else, and some people shouted, "Are you a Falun Gong practitioner? Where is your I.D.?" I ignored them and continued to walk. An old man, the doorman of the Appeals Bureau, walked toward me and said, "We don't receive Falun Gong practitioners; there is no use to go in."
They blocked every other channel and forced us to go to Tiananmen. I mailed out the letters first and went to Tiananmen. I saw Dafa practitioners continuously validating Dafa and they were holding up Dafa banners. The police rushed forward to arrest them. The practitioners' actions were a magnificent scene. A water-seller sitting beside me said, "These people are so brave. The more the police arrest, the more that come." "Look, those people on the square with tanned skin are plainclothes police, and some are hired street thugs. Their hearts are very malicious."
After witnessing many magnificent Fa-rectification feats, my determination in Fa-rectification was strengthened. I walked to the police officer on duty and told him I was a Dafa practitioner and I came to appeal for Dafa. The police looked at me up and down and asked, "You also practice Falun Gong?" I told him I have been practicing for three years. I also told him how good Dafa has been to me, and I truly couldn't understand why the ruler was making up slander and libel, so I came to appeal. He said to me in a friendly way, "Did you bring any material?" I said, "I'll write something over there." He told me to follow him and took me to a police car somewhere on the square, and he said to a police official, "She is appealing for Falun Gong." I repeated my words, and the official nodded as he listened. In the end, I asked, "You won't arrest me?" The police official smiled and said, "No. Just leave, quick."
Seven days later I returned home. Through this experience, I truly realized that when your mind is based on the Fa, no one can move you, just as Master has said, "If anyone can harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe." (Zhuan Falun)
(To be continued)
Please see http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/12/30/30319.html for Part 1.
