(Clearwisdom.net) I am a veteran practitioner who started practicing as a result of the earlier classes Teacher taught. Thanks to my faith in Teacher and the Fa, I have come a long way during the past years. With Teacher's merciful protection and thoughtful guidance, I did well in some areas, whereas in others I failed, because I was not following the Fa, and walked the path arranged by the old forces. I would like to share with you and report to Teacher how I have cultivated myself while trying to rescue fellow practitioners.
Rescuing Practitioner A
At one of the local assistants' meetings, I heard that Practitioner A had been reported to the police by her husband and had been taken to a brainwashing center by the local 610 Office. Practitioner A was close to 60 years old and lived under one roof with four generations of her family. Her mother and sister both practiced Falun Gong and her husband had been quite supportive of her own practice. He helped her when she was doing Dafa work and did many of the household chores. However, when A's daughter-in-law, the wife of her younger son, wanted to learn Falun Gong, A's husband tried to stop the younger woman. He said that he had been forced to live like a monk for the past few years because A had been detained in a brainwashing center and was also forced to leave home for more than ten months to escape further trouble with the authorities. He did not want his son to have the same misfortune. However, the daughter-in-law, with the encouragement of A and her own mother, started to practice. A's husband was so angry that he called the police. Over a dozen police officers came from the local 610 Office and took her away. Her mother rushed down the stairs and shouted, "Why don't you take me as well!" Some of the officers carried the mother upstairs and others carried A downstairs. Both women shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" Many of the local practitioners knew A's husband but nobody was willing to talk to him, for fear that he might call the police on them, too. Still, I decided that I would try to reason with him.
I visited A's sister, mother, and two daughters-in-law at their jobs and found out more about A and her relationship with her husband. I was told that her husband was quite understanding in terms of her cultivation and Dafa work. In fact, he helped out a lot. I also found out that he had heard from A, who was being treated tolerably at the brainwashing center. He had reported his wife to the police in the heat of an argument, and perhaps he even thought that she could continue to practice after she came home.
I made the five-hour trip to his home and waited for him to arrive for a long time. I identified myself as a friend of his wife's, and although he was initially suspicious of me, we started to talk. I told him that I wanted to talk to him about ways to get her released and asked if he knew the head of the brainwashing center. He told me that the head was a very "bad guy" and that he had just come back from asking for his wife's release at the brainwashing center. His plea had been rejected. I said, "It's rather common that they beat people at the brainwashing center." He answered, "I am afraid that I will have to suffer retribution." I could tell that he regretted having reported her to the authorities. I said, "You do not have to explain yourself. We all know that you have been supportive of your wife's cultivation and you have done a lot. It has not been easy for you to shoulder so much for all these years. Please, calm down so we can think about the best way to get her out. You should not be too emotional. You have to look after yourself, too, as you still have this big family to support." He gradually calmed down. I knew that he could be saved if I only had faith in Teacher and Dafa.
It transpired that he went daily to the brainwashing center to demand A's release. After A was finally released, he had a stroke. He confessed to Teacher and regretted what he had done. He said to himself every day, "Falun Dafa is good," and soon he recovered. Although his symptoms were very serious, he recovered quite fast. The doctors and nurses all marveled at the speed of his recovery. He told them that he had received retribution for doing something terrible to a Dafa practitioner, but that he was remorseful and was therefore forgiven and saved by Teacher. He also told people how Dafa is being persecuted. He then started practicing Falun Dafa.
Rescuing Practitioner B
Practitioner B was a friend from out of town. After the start of the persecution on July 20, 1999, he appealed to many offices for the end of the persecution. He was very diligent in doing the three things and made a positive impact on the local community. He was arrested for organizing an experience-sharing conference. Since his daughter did not live at home and he was separated from his wife, it was difficult to get information about him, and his fellow practitioners worried that he might be tortured. No one knew how to help him.
After I heard about his situation, I went to his hometown and talked to some of the practitioners there. I found out that only the spouse had the right to demand his release. This meant that we had to get in touch with B's wife before we could start intervening on his behalf.
It appeared that B had had a stormy relationship with his wife before he started cultivating, but since he started Dafa cultivation, he practiced tolerance. Even before July 20, 1999, his wife physically tried to interfere with his exercises at the practice site. Once, she even hit him with a broken beer bottle, causing him to bleed. Yet, he said nothing. One practitioner tried to talk to her, but she reported him to his employer, causing him to lose his job.
In another instance, when B went to Beijing to appeal, his wife was so angry that she went to the practitioner's home where her husband had stayed before he left and caused a scene.
After B was released from detention, she continued causing trouble for him. Even the neighbors felt sorry for B. In the end, B's supervisor assigned her another apartment so they could live separately. The company deducted 500 yuan from B's monthly salary to support her. Even after their separation, his wife sometimes threw bricks at B's entrance door when she got angry.
After B was arrested, fellow practitioners left notes in her mailbox and pleaded with her to demand his release. She would show the notes to others and say, "Why don't they go themselves?" As a result, many practitioners did not have much hope for rescuing B. They thought that other than sending forth righteous thoughts, there was nothing else they could do.
At first, I didn't know how to deal with the negative feelings around B's situation, but then I adjusted my frame of mind and said to the other practitioners, "Our negative thinking in this situation will only cancel our righteous thoughts. It will not do us any good. From now on, we should all change our minds and deny the arrangements of the old forces. Please send out righteous thoughts to support me. I will go and talk to her. I believe that Teacher will give me wisdom." They all agreed and sent righteous thoughts together.
When I met B's wife, she was very guarded because she did not know me. I told her that I had been one of her husbands' students and that I was in town on business. I also said that I had heard that he was being persecuted and that she was not well, so I came to offer my support. I added, "He is a very good teacher, and he is a nice man, too. We all liked his lectures." Hearing this, she started to relax a bit and even smiled. She said that they had been high school classmates and that he had excelled at school as well as at work. She said that he was the most popular teacher at work, and that she was very proud of him. She even mentioned that she had recommended Falun Gong to B.
As she became more friendly, I told her about the spread of Falun Gong outside of China, and that only the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecuted it. I talked about Jiang's fears of the large number of Falun Gong practitioners and about the staged Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident. I mentioned the numerous broken families and the disastrous results of the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square Massacre. She cried and told me how much she had suffered since the persecution started and that she had not had a day of peace. She was constantly harassed by her company and felt her neighbor's distrust while her husband was being jailed.
I told her that I understood how she felt and asked her to trust that it was all temporary and that justice would prevail. I encouraged her to demand the release of her husband. She told me that the manager at his company helped the local police to arrest him. I suggested that she should go to the company to demand B's release and then talk to the police station and the police department every day. When she voiced concern about her heart condition, I told her to bring her medication, but to remain calm, firm, and reasonable.
She did as I suggested and was later told that if she had not asked for B's release and if he had been sentenced, she would have lost her financial support. With the help of righteous from fellow practitioners, B was finally released on medical grounds.
Helping Others, I Also Benefit
In trying to rescue fellow practitioners, I have explained the real situation of Falun Gong to practitioners' parents, spouses, children, neighborhood officials, court officials, and lawyers. Attracted by the power of Dafa, many experienced profound changes.
One practitioner's husband used to be so angry with his wife that he would fly into a rage whenever someone just mentioned her name. After I talked to him, he agreed to assist in rescuing her. He is a ministry-level official, and although he was sick in bed, he asked a practitioner to help him write an open letter to the authorities, appealing for his wife's release.
Another practitioner's husband worked in the Domestic Security division and was forced to retire because of his wife's faith. I went to see him numerous times, but he would not let me in for a long time. When he finally opened the door, he said, "You have caused me so much pain, why are you still here?" After I talked to him, he changed his attitude and reminded us, "Please be careful when you go to visit practitioners in the detention center and the prisons. There are plainclothes police around.
It seems that I was helping others, but I was the one who gained the most because my xinxing and realm improved. I then let go of anger and the feelings of being wronged, being treated unfairly or being miserable.
A few more points:
1. We should focus on cultivation, without pursuit, and understand that everything is part of cultivation. Focus on the process, not the outcome.
2. We should let go of self and listen attentively. Try to find a common ground with others. Try to understand the situations of the relatives of the practitioner in question. Once I found out what their problems were, I was more able to help them.
3. "Different Levels Have Different Fa ." (Zhuan Falun) I strive to maintain my xinxing and refrain from forming thoughts or assuming anything. I try not to be confused by what is on the surface and be moved. As a result, I am able to negate the arrangements of the old forces, and the situation changes.
4. "Preserving the good part and removing the bad part." (Zhuan Falun) Every time after I spoke to people, I reflected on what I did. I preserved the good part and removed the bad part. With time, this becomes automatic.
5. All practitioners working on a case should trust each other and support each other with righteous thoughts. The cooperation of the whole body is very important.
6. When something happens to another practitioner, others should not focus on their shortcomings. This will help to negate the arrangements of the old forces. The practitioner in question must look inward. We can assist him/her with this process after he/she comes home.
November 17, 2009