Shared at 2004 Washington DC Falun Dafa Conference
(Clearwisdom.net) I learned to practice Falun Gong in 1996 outside of China. Every time I reflect upon my daily words and actions with the Falun Gong principles, I realize that I am doing far from adequate. Under the encouragement and support of fellow practitioners, I would like to share a few cultivation experiences obtained in the process of rescuing my mother. Everyone please feel free to point out any inadequacies in my understanding.
Motivating overseas rescuing efforts when my mother was arrested for the first time
In mid-May 2002, my mother was arrested by the local police station while clarifying the truth. I only got to know this half a month later. My younger brother told me that he had tried a variety of ways to try to rescue my mother, but because my mother refused to sign any statement to renounce Falun Gong, she remained detained in the detention center.
When I was told that my mother was arrested, I discussed with practitioners in Toronto immediately. Initially I felt that there were only 2 or 3 practitioners who have family members being persecuted in China. In the process of our discussion, I was surprised to find out that in Toronto alone, there are 8 Toronto residents whose relatives in China have been sentenced or imprisoned due to practicing Dafa. There were a few practitioners who have never divulged that their family members are undergoing persecution.
With the combined efforts of Canadian practitioners, the support of the Canadian government and public, Professor Zhang Kunlun was successfully rescued, but faced with so many practitioners whose relatives are facing persecution in mainland China, practitioners who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents, I wondered what we could do. In a short period of time we were able to form a temporary rescue team, where practitioners came together to share, discuss, and improve ourselves. Through our discussion, I noticed two problems: The first being that some practitioners felt that with so many practitioners in China facing persecution, if we only stress the importance of the persecution on our own family members, would that be a form of selfishness? The second problem was that some practitioners were worried that by publicizing information of their relatives facing persecution, it might aggravate the extent of the persecution against them in China. After we shared our experiences openly, we were able to realize immediately, then, the real meaning to our rescue operation. We are to use our own personal experiences of having relatives undergoing persecution to expose and clarify the truth of the persecution led by the Jiang Zemin regime. Our relatives are also among the many practitioners facing persecution. By rescuing them, we are also rescuing practitioners in Mainland China. As to the actual result, we were able to realize that as long as we are doing something that is righteous, we would not be hindered by any temporary superficial results. At this time, the media team, TV team, government team and many other practitioners stood up together to join in our efforts. On the eve of 20th of July 2002, press conferences were conducted in Ottawa, Toronto and other cities, bringing the rescue campaign to the public's awareness.
While we were in the midst of discussing the rescue operation, my mother was released. Following that, good news of relatives and friends being released early came to us. The fact that our own relatives are facing persecution became a useful and effective point to clarify the truth to government officials, the media and the public. Later we knew from practitioners in Mainland China who have been imprisoned, that practitioners in prison were quite inspired by our rescue operations. A handful of newly arrived practitioners from mainland China, who had not been able to effectively participate in overseas activities, were also effectively merged into our overseas Fa-rectification effort through our rescue operations.
Sixteen other countries and areas began rescue efforts after that. During that time, practitioners in Canada had already done some activities in the rescue operation, and had a few experiences to share. Practitioners in other countries invited us to discuss our experiences in the rescue operation. Then we would tell them that we did not really do anything in particular, except that practitioners who participated in this had a common understanding and goal, while practitioners who did not participate supported us with righteous thoughts. The result came naturally as a consequence. Master had clearly told us in his lecture in Philadelphia, that Dafa disciples are one body, and that we should cooperate together. I was enlightened by Master's words. When we are able to do things from the perspective of the Fa [Great law, universal principle], everything becomes much simpler. Many other practitioners who helped coordinate the rescue efforts have also mentioned the same feeling. For myself, when I compare the rescue operation with other activities that I have been involved in, I felt that I had done many things before with a lot of attachments, consciously or unconsciously. After going through a process of falling down and going through detours, and finally accomplishing them, I would even feel that it was only accomplished because of my efforts, and that these are my "accomplishments."
Clarifying the truth to people in China in rescuing my mother when she was arrested for the second time
In the middle of March this year, my mother was arrested for the second time by the local public security bureau when she was clarifying the truth. I did not know about her arrest until I phoned my family on the next day after she was arrested. I found the phone numbers of the responsible persons in the public security bureau and the "6-10 office" from the Minghui website. I also wrote down the situation of my Mom being arrested and gave it to the Global Rescue Team and the fellow practitioners in New York and Toronto. I felt very sad in learning that my Mom was arrested for the second time. I remember when I phoned my father, I could not help shedding tears. When I stopped shedding tears, I heard my father crying on the other side of the phone. As a result of a car accident, my father was half paralyzed on the lower part of his body, and he relied completely on my Mom to take care of him. My younger brother and his family also felt great pressure. The local public security bureau made use of this opportunity to blackmail my family, asking us to hand in over ten thousand yuan (1), otherwise they would either send my Mom to the labor camp or sentence her to three or five years. I thought my Mom was arrested for clarifying the truth. I should let more people know about the fact of my Mom being persecuted so as to arouse their conscience and sympathy. Since I work in New York, I visited the members of the Congress and asked for their help to appeal for my Mom. After that I went back to Toronto, and held a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in Toronto. The news of my Mom being arrested quickly spread to different places all over the world through the media and the Internet.
I have a friend who does not practice Falun Gong. After he learned that my Mom was arrested, he phoned the main government leaders in my home county. He said even though he never got himself involved in any political events, he really admired my Mom, who dared to clarify the truth and was not afraid of being sentenced. He told me what I was doing was really great since I was not only helping my Mom, but also helping those Falun Gong practitioners who are being persecuted in China.
I have another friend who chose to negotiate with the public security bureau and was willing to pay money to get my Mom home. The public security bureau was also interested in releasing her after they got the money. I told my friend that the suggestion put forward by my family to rescue my Mom with money was turned down by me at the very beginning. My friend told me, you have been away from China for quite some time and you do not know the situation in China. In China, it is a trade between money and power in doing everything and there is no law at all. You can even use money to buy a government position. I hesitated after hearing what he said, and I was thinking whether it was good to have Mom home first. After a second thought, I understood that if we gave them money, isn't it the same as helping the evil to persecute our fellow practitioners? I phoned him and thanked him for his kindness. Since my Mom was arrested for being a good person, we should not give them a single penny. I asked him to clearly tell that to the public security bureau.
My schoolmates at Texas A&M jointly wrote a letter to the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, asking him to show concern for my Mom's situation. My friends in China helped either to phone the government officers, "6-10 Office" and the public security bureau at the provincial, municipal and the county levels, or went in person to these department and asked them to release my Mom as soon as possible. My friends overseas were very surprised and angry after learning that my Mom was arrested because of Falun Gong. They were extremely disappointed with the Chinese government for still using the system from the Cultural Revolution to persecute people.
I phoned the local public security bureau. The person in charge of the National Security Team said that they had received phone-calls from all over the world, demanding the release of my Mom. They felt great pressure and complained that they could hardly do their normal work. I answered that no one would have bothered to phone you if you had not arrested innocent people. They said they would try to release my Mom as soon as possible.
A few people from the Hubei Provincial "6-10 Office" still refused to come to their senses in following Jiang's regime to persecute Falun Gong. My Mom is nearly 70 years old. It is within her constitutional rights to clarify the truth for Falun Gong. However they put my Mom's case on file as a big case in Hubei province. They forcibly sent my Mom to the most notorious brainwashing class in Hubei Province¡ªHubei Law Education Center, and tortured her mentally.
In the procedure of clarifying the truth, I realized that many people in the "6-10 Office" and the police bureau know the truth to a certain extent. They understand very well that Falun Gong practitioners are not against the government, nor are they involved in any form of politics, that Falun Gong practitioners are good people. Yet under the menace of Jiang's threatening state terrorism, a dictatorship-like rule to uproot all opposition, many of them were pushed into participating in the persecution. A few friends of mine who are mayors of counties and cities have shown great compassion for the fact that my mother was arrested. They would tell me in private, that if they publicly supported Falun Gong or did things on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners, they would be removed from their positions. From this, we could see that the persecution of Falun Gong led by Jiang's regime is in fact very unpopular and against the people's will.
I am very sad to find that, when facing the legal system and violence, many people yielded to violence when their interests were threatened. I wrote several times to those departments who are participating in the persecution, telling them not to follow Jiang's lies and violence. I once called a legal consultation center in my hometown, hoping that they could help to defend my mother. However, one of the lawyers told me that their superiors have ordered that they are not permitted to help defend Falun Gong Practitioners. Hence I had to refer to Chinese law by myself. In June, I handed in my appeal letter to eight units, including the Hubei High Court and requested an investigation into the "6-10 office," the police bureau, the brainwashing class, and all other departments and individuals who have participated in the persecution of my mother. In addition, I requested to dismiss all levels of "6-10 Offices" who have participated in the persecution.
During the detention of my mother, phone calls made by overseas Dafa disciples to all levels of Hubei government officials had a great effect in clarifying the truth, restraining the evil and helping to alleviate the pressure on the local practitioners. Since I am a Canadian citizen, the Canadian consulate in China contacted the Hubei foreign affairs office several times to show their concern towards my mother's arrest. The Global Rescue team and WOIPFG have also written letters to the relevant people. Many practitioners outside of China and from my hometown made lots of truth-clarifying materials on the arrest of my mother and distributed them to the government and people in the province. One of my relatives told me that 80% of the people at her workplace have received recorded phone calls from overseas. They thought that the entire world knew that my mother was arrested, and it touched them deeply.
There was one practitioner who made phone calls to my hometown almost every single day, clarifying the truth to all kinds of people in society. I felt that she had done more than myself, and it inspired me greatly. Many practitioners also used their own money and time to prepare and send truth-clarifying materials to Hubei province. I don't know many of those that worked quietly in the background, even now. What touched me most was that when my mother was imprisoned in the brainwashing class, practitioners in Wuhan city risked their lives to go to the brainwashing class and send forth righteous thoughts at a close distance.
With the help of Dafa disciples and righteous people from all over the world, my mother was finally released after four months of detention. Here, on behalf of my mother, I would like to say thanks to all the practitioners who have helped to rescue her, to all practitioners who stood up to help my mother under pressure, until she was finally released.
My mother has also told me some of her experiences after being released. She was very healthy before been arrested. But when she was forced to be sent to Wuhan brainwashing class, the doctor found that her blood pressure was as high as 200 in the examination and had noticeable symptoms of illnesses. The brainwashing class did not tell this to any of our family members; instead they claimed that her health was very good. Nonetheless they were worried that there might be some problems. They let my mother have bed rest for more than one week and she was able not to join the activities in the brainwashing class during that period. My mother knew very well what happened. Afterwards she refused to write anything. She also told me that she was watched by four people everyday and forced to watch defamatory programs against Falun Gong during the daytime. Altogether there are 26 illegally kidnapped Falun Gong practitioners who were forced to attend the brainwashing class with her, and they came from everywhere in Hubei Province. In a short period of just over a month, the money spent on persecuting each Falun Gong practitioners reached nearly 10,000 Yuan. From this brainwashing class, we could see the large amount of taxpayers' money that has been spent by Jiang's regime to persecute Falun Gong practitioners.
Some sharing of my own personal experiences in the rescue operation
Recalling the entire rescue, I have also uncovered several hidden attachments of mine in the process. When my mother was arrested for the second time, I immediately asked for help from friends in Mainland China. They have also gone directly to the police department to find the people who are responsible. The police expressed that they would release my mother at once and asked my friend to tell me not to make phone calls from overseas anymore. My friends also asked me to relax and said that they would solve the problem. However, I still heard that "6-10 Office" wanted to send my mother to a forced labor camp. In the first few days, I did not dare to call the police department directly, for I was worried that I could not answer their questions. I was also afraid to tell relatives in Mainland China that I have exposed my mother's persecution overseas on a large scale. I realized that I had an attachment to fear. What am I afraid of? In the past, when I rescued other practitioners' relatives or called the police directly, I was not afraid at all. But why was I so scared when I was rescuing my mother? I told myself to face it. When I called the person responsible in the police department for the first time, he told me he would hang up on phone calls from everyone else except me. That turned out to be true. A few practitioners told me later that whenever they call this person, he would not listen and hung up right away. A few days later I held a news conference, and this news spread to my hometown quickly. Once, a person-in-charge in the police department got angry and asked me, "We've told you not to blow up this matter. Why did you hold a news conference? Don't you Falun Gong practitioners follow Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance'?" He said that I had lied to him. I told him that although you've shown some compassion in the arrest of my mother, our actions do not violate the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance". The news conference we held targeted the persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang Zemin. Once I made this clear, he did not complain about our news conference anymore. Because I had already gotten rid of my fear, and because I was really doing it for their sake, I used my real postal address, phone and email to clarify the truth to all levels of government in Hubei Province by phone, fax and email. This had a very good effect. When one of the directors of a workplace received my appeal letter, against my expectation, he said that my letter was written very well, and so were the attached documents. They were written in a well-organized way, he said. I thought, every sentient being has his good side, and when we treat them with compassion, the effect of clarifying the truth will be very good. In the process of rescuing my mother, sometimes I got so angry when I saw how the evil was persecuting Dafa disciples that I became attached to a competing desire. When that happened, I would remind myself that I should have a cultivator's dignity. Moreover, anger is an attachment, which needs to be gotten rid of. Therefore, I try to keep my heart peaceful and calm each time I call them.
1. Practitioners who have relatives being persecuted have to take action on their own initiative first. It doesn't matter how much you could do or how much other practitioners can help to do, the most important thing is that your own heart has to reach the standard. Regardless of whether there are any superficial changes, you have to keep on going and persevere.
2. Do not treat it simply as rescuing one's relative, but use it as a good opportunity to clarify the truth to all walks of society. Use all possible methods to clarify the truth, including phone calls, posting truth-clarifying materials, the Internet, news conferences, media reports, tracking reports, as well as every country's governments, human rights organizations, friends and relatives in mainland China, and share with local practitioners, and even go for a lawsuit. Each part of this process requires practitioners to coordinate the work and fulfill the task well.
3. All practitioners should be concerned with the rescue. The rescue operation is not only limited to one practitioner alone. More practitioners should also care about the rescue. Non-practitioners should also be encouraged to get involved.
In the process of rescuing my mother, I realized that over the past five years of persecution, there have been more than 60 Dafa disciples in my hometown, Gongan County, Hubei Province, who have been illegally sentenced, sent to forced labor or detained, among which one has been tortured to death. (I got this information from the police department; however, there are less than 20 practitioners listed on Minghui). Practitioners in my hometown have many stories to tell about appealing against the persecution and validating Falun Dafa. Because of limited time, I won't discuss their stories. A few days ago when I called my mother and told her that the Washington DC experience sharing conference was coming soon, I asked her if there was anything she wanted to say. She said, " Please pass on the word that practitioners in our hometown send greetings to Master!"
Note:
(1) Yuan is the unit of currency in China, where the average monthly salary of an urban worker is 500 Yuan.
