(Clearwisdom.net) It was in late 1994 that I began to practice Falun Dafa. As a result, the chronic pharyngitis that I had for ten years completely cleared up. Since I started practicing Falun Dafa ten years ago, I have never had the need to take a single pill. I have enjoyed both physical and spiritual health. Our esteemed Master has given me a new life.
However, the Chinese government has used the most vicious methods to test Dafa practitioners. On July 20, 1999, when the persecution started, my fellow practitioners and I rented a bus and went to the Changchun Municipal Government to appeal and to tell them about how good Falun Dafa is. I thought to myself: I can give away anything to validate Dafa. Hand in hand, my fellow practitioners and I sat silently on the sidewalk. Several plain-clothed policemen came to drag me away. I would not stand up. I refused to get in their police van. It took six policemen to lift me up and throw me into the van. They drove us to the Police School in a suburban area of Jilin City, a place called Beixian.
At 2:00 in the afternoon, the policemen were getting extremely crazy. They shouted and screamed through a speaker. The military police held guns and surrounded us in several layers of circles. Vans came one after another to bring in the police from the Police Department of Changchun City. The police forced everyone to give their names and addresses. Those who refused to tell them were beaten. At that moment, someone told me that we could jump over the wall and escape to a certain place. I told him, "I will not leave. They are beating and swearing at practitioners. Some practitioners gave their names when they were subjected to beating and swearing. I want to stay here to uphold the reputation of Dafa." I, like many other practitioners, had not eaten anything for almost 16 hours. In addition, we were facing tremendous pressure. I felt my stomach was being tormented and my body was heavy. However, I knew for sure that it was absolutely the right thing to validate Dafa. I would appeal for justice for Falun Dafa even if I risked being beaten to death.
I walked up to the podium where the police was forcing practitioners to sign their names. In front of numerous policemen and thousands of Falun Dafa practitioners, I told everyone, "Falun Dafa is great! Falun Dafa helps one to heal illness and keep fit." I spoke loudly with all my strength.
A group of policemen immediately rushed at me. Those who were at the forefront knocked me to the ground. With great pain, I stood up again. When I stood up, I picked up a pen that fell when the policeman hit me and put it back to the podium. I was very calm. I thought: Master said that Jesus was crucified on the cross for sentient beings. He gave his life and suffered a lot. Why can't I give everything for Dafa? Back then, my understanding of Dafa was shallow. I didn't realize it this amounted to acceptance of the persecution.
What followed were all kinds of physical punishment. I still would not give in. I kept saying Falun Dafa is great and I would not reveal my name.
Those of us (six practitioners) who refused to reveal our names were sent to a classroom. A policewoman tried to persuade us hypocritically for a couple of hours. I remained unperturbed. They went to get the director and threatened to send me to the criminal police team and then to the detention center. I still remained unperturbed. In the end, they had to release me.
On July 22, 2000, I went to Beijing to validate Dafa with two female fellow practitioners from my work unit. Because our understanding was not righteous enough, we didn't do anything and came back after we found out there were no other practitioners at Tiananmen Square. Later, with a deepened understanding of Dafa, I came to know that going to Tiananmen Square to meditate, practice exercises or hold up Falun Dafa banners is an act of validating Dafa and is something we must do. In retrospect, I always admitted the persecution and didn't follow the path Master had arranged for me. Although, I seemed to be very firm, I had the thought that without going to Beijing, I could not achieve enlightenment. With such a pursuit and attachment, how could the old forces not persecute me?
On November 25, 2000, at 12:45 pm, I went to Tiananmen Square to validate Dafa with a dozen fellow practitioners. We went in two groups. Tiananmen Square was permeated with evil; I felt that the air and the time had frozen. Finally, I unfolded a banner that read "Restore Falun Dafa's innocent name!" I yelled out "Falun Dafa is Great!" "Falun Dafa is Great!" "Falun Dafa is Great!" My voice was shaking heaven and earth, shaking the whole universe.
Instantly, several policemen and plain-clothes policemen who were hiding in the vicinity rushed at me. They knocked me to the ground, then beat me and kicked me fiercely. I was thrown into the police van and sent to the Qianmen Police Station.
I was transferred to the Haidian District Detention Center in Beijing because I refused to reveal my name. Section head Zhao of the interrogation section kept slapping me for one hour and a half, trying to force me to tell my name and address. My face was severely swollen. Even my lips were swollen. Immediately after that, I was sent to the No. 5 cell. With the encouragement of the jailor, a criminal inmate poured cold water from a deep well onto me. When I was dizzy after so much torture, I didn't pass the "test of life and death." I gave them my address. In reality, I was complying with the evil. In retrospect, not resisting persecution is equal to accepting the persecution. I had wounds and injuries which they were afraid people would see if they released me. Thus their evil doings would be exposed. When the police from my hometown came to get me and bring me back, the jailors refused to transfer me to them. It was one month later that I was able to get back to my hometown.
The day before Chinese New Years Eve 2001, I was transferred to the Siping Forced Labor Camp from the county detention center. At the labor camp, I got to know many firm Falun Dafa practitioners. We studied the Fa together and shared our understandings with one another. Due to lack of understanding of Dafa, we only endured the endless persecution and firmly refused to write the so-called "Repentance Statement". The torture we endured became more and more severe. The political head, Zhang Xiaosen beat Dafa practitioners in a beastly manner. "Tying the ropes,"(1) "Hung up with hands cuffed behind the back," and shocking practitioners with electric batons were some of the torture methods that practitioners were subjected to. He even made a very vicious torture instrument that beats one's anklebone with a club constantly. Practitioner Li Qin's anklebone was beaten so badly that it was swollen to as big as a thigh. Under the policemen's endless persecution, we endured silently. Several practitioners succumbed to the brainwashing and torture and were "transformed." Because they had a warped understanding, they followed the orders the police gave and deprived firm practitioners of sleep for several days. They also tried forcibly to instill their warped understandings into the practitioners.
At that very moment, a relative of an imprisoned practitioner passed a message to us: "Master wrote a new article. Master said in the recent Jingwen that even if a practitioner writes the so-called "Guarantee Statement", Master will still recognize him/her as a Falun Dafa practitioner, but the practitioner needs to redeem the mistake." Because we knew she had been passing Teacher's articles into the labor camp, and she never gave any false information, we trusted her very much. We didn't understand the issue from the perspective of Dafa principles, and therefore we all made mistakes that led to adverse consequences.
This single message with warped understanding broke many firm practitioners' will. On March 17, I wrote the "Guarantee Statement" and my will was broken after that. More than ten days later, we were able to read Teacher's actual words. The article was "Coercion Cannot Change People's Hearts." After we read it, we felt extreme regret. What Master stated in that Jingwen was fundamentally different from what that practitioner's relative said. A God would never do such a thing as we had. Master does not recognize any of those things. We examined our mistakes after this painful experience and realized it was due to a lack of understanding of Dafa. At the same time, when we admitted and endured the torture, we all had the mentality of hoping the persecution would end soon, and this thus left a blemish in our cultivation.
In June, our compassionate Master taught us the Fa rectification formulas. We sent forth righteous thoughts as a group in the morning, at noontime and in the evening every day. Whenever we saw the police, we sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors behind them. When I was about to write a "Solemn Declaration", I encountered a major test. My family wrote to me, saying, "We are spending money to help get you out. Up till now, we have spent thousands of yuan to treat those who may be able to help you. (What they meant by "treat" was inviting them to restaurants for a good meal.) If you fail to cooperate, the money would be spent in vain." My attachment to freedom was affecting me. Sentiments for my loved ones were affecting me. My affection for my spouse who was painfully waiting for me outside was also affecting me. I experienced indescribable agony in face of all this pressure. After several sleepless nights, I wrote the "Solemn Declaration" with a determined heart. I will take the path Master arranges for me. I will put down life and death and all attachments to the secular world. I didn't lose anything. On the contrary, I was released unconditionally two months before my term was up.
On August 19, 2001, I wrote the "Solemn Declaration." I seriously notified the director and political head that the "Guarantee Statement" I had written was given against my will under coercion, and declared that it was void. I told them that I would firmly cultivate Falun Dafa to the very end. Later, the majority of Falun Dafa practitioners in the labor camp wrote "Solemn Declarations," which shocked the evil and had a very positive impact.
Four practitioners got out of the labor camp with righteous thoughts. We all realized from Dafa principles that we should no longer comply with the evil. We started to resist the evil and resist the persecution.
Eight practitioners started a hunger strike, requesting to release all Dafa practitioners and stop the forced labor. We heard that their lives were in danger after eight days on the hunger strike. Thus all Dafa practitioners joined the hunger strike to urge the evildoing persons to stop the persecution of those eight practitioners.
The leaders of the labor camp took the initiative to negotiate with us. I, along with several other practitioners, took advantage of the opportunity to clarify the truth to the director of the labor camp named Shan. Director Shan no longer has the portliness supported by the evil. He agreed the labor camp would no longer detain practitioners when their terms were up. The evildoing policeman, Zhang Xiaosen, was dismissed from his post. Soon, the Falun Gong group in the Siping Forced Labor Camp was dismissed. All detainees were transferred to the Liaoyuan Forced Labor Camp and the Yinmahe Forced Labor Camp. I was sent to the former. I came to understand it happened because the evil that was supporting Siping Labor Camp was destroyed. I must keep righteous thoughts. Wherever I go, I will validate Dafa and eliminate the evil.
There were several Dafa practitioners from Jilin City who were locked up in the same cell as me in the Liaoyuan Labor Camp. Their righteous thoughts and righteous actions inspired me. Their extraordinary wisdom in clarifying the truth about Dafa, their righteous thoughts of risking their lives for the sake of the truth and their unimaginable tolerance were the manifestation of the righteous thoughts and righteous actions of Dafa disciples in the Fa-rectification. Here, I found many attachments of mine, such as timidity, an attachment to different foods, and pursuit of comfort. For example, when there was no outside pressure I would be relaxed in studying the Fa. I also found that I couldn't, at anytime and anywhere, keep looking inward, maintain a clear mind, eliminate the evil, and save sentient beings.
I enlightened to something while studying the Fa: that clarifying the truth and eliminating the evil was also saving sentient beings. So when I was working in the daytime, I would clarify the truth to criminal offenders. Some of them said secretly in the cell that Dafa is good and they would like to be good people. When I came across the officials of the labor camp, I also clarified the truth to them and put forward reasonable requirements, "Don't extend practitioner's terms. Release Dafa practitioners when their terms are over. Don't lock up Dafa practitioners here."
When squad leaders and guards asked me to write reports of my thoughts, I pointed out righteously that their beating up practitioners and locking up practitioners by extending terms were illegal and were criminal conduct and told them the truth about karmic retribution for good or bad acts. While we were working in the workshop, I saw that the political head was reading my "reports" one by one. I thought, "It's time to eliminate the external evil factors behind you."
As the Fa-study progressed, I would recite the Fa for three or four hours a day. Sometimes I would recite Teacher's articles to fellow practitioners for up to one hour when we were working in the workshop. Since my thoughts were quite righteous, the guards didn't interfere with us. As the Fa-study advanced, it seemed that I had new understandings of the Fa every day. The principles of the Fa at different levels were revealed to me unceasingly, which manifested in the human dimension as my mind became more and more opened. I knew deeply that it's Master who created the actual states at different levels for me. There are no words that can express my reverence toward Master.
When I reflected on the obstacles I had as an everyday person, such as fear of evil or shrewd persons, cowardice, fear of trouble and reluctance of taking responsibilities, I found that many things were set before me so that I would let go of those attachments.
All the practitioners were forced to weave gloves in the workshop, where group leader Zhang Cheng who was extremely evil often maltreated Falun Gong practitioners. He once aided police officers to force-feed practitioners and almost suffocated one practitioner. I was a little scared of him, but I knew that I should let go of this attachment. One time, he madly kicked a 19-year-old practitioner named Meng. I made up my mind to stop this person's evil deeds and validate the Fa, so I shouted, "Stop it!" Zhang Cheng was shocked by my shout. Because nobody in the team dared to resist, Zhang Cheng was bemused at my acts. Then he abused me losing all his usual arrogance and went back to his seat. At the time, the whole room was quiet; all the prisoners surprisingly looked at me. Another time while a young practitioner named Liu was walking, Zhang Cheng suddenly kicked him violently. I immediately shouted righteously without any fear, "Don't beat people!" and Zhang Cheng left silently. I realized: If we truly have no attachments, the evil will become scared and the evil persons in this dimension won't do evil deeds.
Gradually we created a relatively open environment in the team and Zhang Cheng no longer created difficulties for us practitioners. When there was something to do, we did it quickly and then returned to the cell. Five of us took two to three hours or even longer to study the Fa and transcribe Teacher's articles every day. One time when I was binding booklets of Teacher's articles in the cell, political head Zhang Hongfei entered. I was a little nervous, because last time when he found a practitioner spreading the Fa, he put the practitioner into a cage and beat him up. But soon I thought I shouldn't have fear and should use my supernormal abilities to let him leave. I thus sent forth righteous thoughts and looked at him righteously, to make him leave. When he came to us and found the articles, he didn't say anything and left soon. Everything was gone peacefully. I knew that in other dimensions there would be a large battle between good and evil.
Since then, the situation has become better. It was now the right time to clarify the truth to the people around us. Later, I started to write truth-clarifying letters and edit truth-clarifying materials to disclose the evil. Because the light wasn't turned off in the labor camp, sometimes I would write for the whole night, and sometimes I only slept for two or three hours. The next day I would go to work as usual and had no feeling of tiredness. Due to the long-time writing under the bedding, my arms and waist were in extreme pain and I often sweated profusely, which would make a large area of the bedding wet.
One morning, we were distributing the materials for weaving the gloves. My label number was No. 106. At seeing this, my body shook all of a sudden and a thought flashed through my mind, "Master is telling me to go." At that time, I had no excitement of an everyday person, had no thirst for home, and only had an open mind as the evil was being eliminated. In less than 2 hours, political head Zhang Hongfei asked me to pack up and let me go home. The officials from my work unit and officials from upper-level bureau came to the labor camp to meet me in person. The Party secretary Meng asked me when the political head and the administration section chief of the labor camp were present, "Will you still practice?" I answered loudly, "Yes, I will!" He was shocked, but said nothing. The section chief said, "You are all tired from coming all the way here. So hurry up and go home." Thus I was set free without any procedure two months before my term was over.
The first thing I did after I came out of the labor camp was to disclose the evildoers' actions and the instances of retribution that they received.
After I returned home, the police officers repeatedly disturbed my family. The officials from my work unit, under pressure from higher authorities, tried to force me to write a "guarantee of not practicing," claiming otherwise they would send me to the labor camp. In the process of facing the evil I always kept my mind righteous. Since they didn't get what they wanted, they informed the police station. The police authority said that they would arrange a car to take me over there after a while. Half an hour passed; the car didn't arrive. They called on the phone and said that they were still holding a meeting and would come over later. Just at that time, my fear of police officers and police wagons came into my mind and I thought I would rather leave. Thus I found an excuse to get out of the evils' control and left for another city to look for a job. Now I understand that I didn't hold my righteous thoughts at that time. Since at that time the police already explained that nobody could come over to take me because of the meeting, it indicated that my righteous thoughts were able to eliminate the evil. But because of my attachment of fear, I brought even bigger trouble on myself.
In 1999 when I went to appeal to the city government in Changchun, I hid my ID card in a secret place in the police school to avoid it being taken away. In 2002 when I was looking for a job, I remembered that my ID card was still hid in the police school. Since I already let go of the attachment of fearing the police, I righteously went to the police school. With the help of a policewoman named Cao, the Division Chief of Students Residential Life in the school, I finally found my ID card, which had remained hidden there for 3 years. During my talk with the division chief Cao, I found that she had a negative attitude toward Dafa. Since I didn't want to expose my status at that time, I decided to clarify the truth to her by correspondence. I inquired about her name from a janitor at the gate. After returning home, I wrote her a truth-clarifying letter and wished her a good attitude toward Dafa and a wonderful future.
Soon I got a job. Due to a vicious person reporting on a Falun Gong practitioner from the factory, the city police department threatened the factory with halting its production, and thus several other practitioners and I had to leave the factory. I became jobless again after several months' work and had trouble making ends meet. I thought this was the persecution of the old forces using everyday people, and that I should follow Master's arranged path. Master says in Zhuan Falun, "At the same time, human beings need to have their living spaces and living conditions, and these need to be maintained and protected. Human beings need to sustain their lives and live normally." I enlightened from the Fa that I should be able to find a job and I should eliminate the evils when they interfere with Fa-rectification by persecuting Dafa disciples from financial and living aspects. I was very confident after I had found my identification card; however, one month passed, and I still could not find a job.
I calmed down thinking that my understanding in some area might have omissions. Through studying the Fa I understood what Master said,
"Wherever there's a problem, that is where you need to clarify the truth and save people. Don't take a detour when you run into difficulties."
("Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D. C. Fa Conference")
In fact, it was indeed my attachment in this aspect that I was driven away from home by the evil persecution. This time it was the same kind of persecution. I should break through it to clarify the truth and save those who need to be saved, and no longer think of the consequence and personal gain or loss. I then spent a whole day writing a truth clarification letter to the leader of my former work unit and mailed the letter. At the same time, I asked a fellow practitioner to send out the leader's phone number overseas, to let overseas practitioners help him further understand the facts. I also eliminated the evil that was behind the person who reported the practitioner.
On the morning of the third day, I went to a company for an interview for a position. I suddenly realized that I should completely resist the old forces' arrangement on this incident and should eliminate the evil factors (dark minions) behind the division head and political head in the city police department, eliminate the dark minions behind the leader of my work unit, and eliminate the old forces that made the arrangement as well. After realizing that, the company where I gave my interview decided to hire me. When I was about to start work, someone called me that evening, telling me I could go back to my former work unit to work. I chose to work in my former work unit because I felt my returning would validate Dafa, so I returned to my former work unit and took my previous position. In fact, everything is the manifestation of the Fa' power. Only when we follow Master's teaching, can we achieve what Master has talked about in Zhuan Falun,
"After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!"
Thinking over this incident, I felt I did not do enough in clarifying the truth. I still had attachments that were difficult to eliminate, my righteous thoughts were not strong enough and I was not diligent in cultivation. This made the rotten demons take advantage of me. Not many people in my former work unit knew that I was a Falun Gong practitioner. When I clarified the truth to the others, the first thing that came to my mind was to not reveal my identity and I felt it would be safer to clarify the truth in as a non-practitioner. In fact, it was a form of selfishness and fear; fearing to lose my job and fear of facing the persecution. Thus I lost many chances to clarify the truth. Through the incident of coming back to my former work unit, I realized that I should study the Fa well and do well in cultivation, be active in clarifying the truth and should not wait or rely on others. Thus I started to clarify the truth through all channels, from which I found my wisdom coming out from the Fa. There will be many methods as long as I put more effort from my heart. Any method would be fine with me if it could save people and change their negative attitudes toward Dafa.
Then I took any opportunity available, starting nearby, like visiting relatives, or while shopping in grocery stores or department stores, to initiate conversations with other people to clarify the truth. According to their ages and professions, I chose different talking points and then linked them to the issue of Falun Gong. I talked about the "Tiananmen Self-immolation" being a plot by Jiang Zemin's regime to frame Falun Gong, told them about the evil brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, talked about the wonderfulness that Dafa has brought to people, and about Jiang Zemin getting sued in more than 10 countries by Falun Gong practitioners.
I realized during the truth clarification that if we only talked about the tortures Falun Gong practitioners have suffered and did not talk about the wonderfulness of Dafa, it would help promote the aggression and make people feel the pressure of the current situation. Thus when I exposed the evil acts, I also talked about retribution cases, talked about spreading of Dafa in more than 60 countries, talked about Master and Dafa having received more than 1200 proclamations, and talked about the blessing of Dafa when people recite "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance" and "Falun Dafa is good" in their hearts. In this way, people will be able to understand what Dafa is and experience the wonder of Dafa. There are some examples of people around me, such as my relatives and colleagues who have truly understood the truth about Dafa and thus have gained blessings from Dafa
Clarifying the truth should not be confined to predetermined forms, as long as our righteous thoughts are strong and we do it with our hearts. It is indeed what Master has said, "The Buddha's Fa is boundless."
Sometimes I stuck banners on both sides of the street, which has the mechanism of shocking and eliminating rotten demons. I wrote and mailed truth-clarification letters, put truth-clarification materials inside envelopes and left them on bus seats or tables of the rest area in department stores. During mealtime, I put truth-clarification letters on the tables of stores or restaurants, or left them in telephone booths, etc. I sent forth righteous thoughts during the time of distributing the materials to eliminate vicious rotten demons that interfered with Fa-rectification, and eliminate the evil factors that hinder people with predestined relationships and make them have negative thoughts about Dafa. I did this so that when they read the materials they would have a correct view of Dafa.
There were a few times when I could say only a few words about the facts of the persecution to those passing by, and the results were also very good. I usually go to work or go onto the street on a bike. When I met other people who were traveling in the same direction, or at a brief moment of waiting for the traffic light, or if someone asked me for the directions, I would also briefly clarify the facts as long as I could pick a proper talking point to start. During this process, I removed a deep notion, which was that only seriously clarifying the facts and spending more time could save people and eliminate the evil. In fact, it is not true. Each person has a different background with different attachments, and sometimes just one word is enough to remove his puzzle and let him no longer resist Dafa. For some people, a few words are able to let them have a correct understanding of Dafa. Some people, however, may still have some resistance to Dafa, but after I talk about Dafa and send forth righteous thoughts, at least I can eliminate the rotten demons behind them and set a good foundation for the next time some other practitioners clarify the facts to them.
I believe that clarifying the truth should not have a specific form, such as how many flyers I distributed today or how many people I clarified the truth to today. Instead we must truly take responsibility for the beings and cherish each opportunity of saving sentient beings.
Wishing fellow practitioners and I together do well on the final path!
Thanks merciful and great Master!