(Clearwisdom.net) My cousin's parents died when he was young, so my father brought him to live with us. Before his retirement, my cousin worked as a doctor in a detention center in a big city. After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, there was a constant flow of practitioners sent to the detention center where he worked.
He was in charge of physical exams. Although he does not practice Falun Gong himself, he knows that Falun Gong practitioners are good people, as three or four of his family members practiced Falun Gong before the persecution began. Thus, he always tried to help the practitioners he met in the detention center. He asked each if they had any illnesses. All said no. He would then ask if they had a history of past illness. They all said they used to have different diseases, but they fortunately all disappeared due to practicing Falun Gong. He was put into a difficult situation and was also confused about the situation. At times he took the risk of diagnosing someone with high blood pressure or cardiac disease, and those practitioners would be released from the detention center. He actually succeeded in getting a few practitioners sent home this way.
Once my cousin said to me, "You guys are so silly. When you are asked about your health status, why not just over-exaggerate your problems and promise not to practice Falun Gong anymore. Then when you are released, you can practice whatever you want." I told him, "We follow the principles of the universe - Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. We cannot tell lies." I also told him that what he was doing for practitioners was very precious and would accumulate great virtue for him. He said that he did not want good people like us to suffer in the detention center any more.
My cousin was the leading doctor in the detention center. He didn't like the forced-feeding of practitioners who were on hunger strike. If there were any practitioners on hunger strikes, he would ask their family members to come and take them home. When he saw Falun Gong practitioners reading Dafa lectures, doing the exercises, and calling out, he pretended that he did not see or hear them. He said all the other prisoners would rack their brains to find a way to bribe him in order to be released on bail for medical reasons. However, he noticed that practitioners did not do this. The prisoners who were in jail for corruption could not stand the hardships in the detention center. No matter how pompous they were in their jobs, once they were jailed, they felt humiliated.
One winter, a corrupt official came to the detention center with new shoes, whereas the newly imprisoned practitioners were in bare feet. My cousin asked the corrupt official to take off his shoes and stand in his bare feet like the practitioners. Seeing a practitioner wearing only a singlet and shorts, he took off his coat and put it over the practitioner. The corrupt official started complaining that the shoes were his. My cousin said, "You corrupt officials have been taking so much more than you deserve. People hate you very much. How can you compare yourself with Falun Gong practitioners? They are studying the highest level science, which includes the universe, all of life, and human beings. How many experts, scholars, and professors are practicing Falun Gong? They are all good people. They are saving the human race. My level is low, but I truly respect them."
As the persecution escalated, my cousin refused to participate and retired early. He found another job in a local hospital. There was a practitioner who used to be a doctor and had been imprisoned for eight years. His wife and children had left him and he could not find a job. All his IDs were confiscated, so he could only live in another practitioner's home. My cousin was able to find him a job at the hospital where he worked, and he became the practitioner's guarantor. When this practitioner told the hospital staff and leaders about the persecution of Falun Gong, some of them came to ask my cousin what was going on. My cousin simply replied, "Isn't what he said the truth?" Protected by my cousin, this practitioner worked at the hospital for an entire year.
During this time, a female practitioner came along with her child. She had been imprisoned in a labor camp for three years, and her IDs had also been confiscated by the police. Without an ID, she could not even rent a place to live. The practitioner who used to be a doctor gave her his place (which was rented to him by the hospital). My cousin applied for another place from the hospital. Because she didn't get much education, she was often turned down for jobs, either because she did not have an ID or she did not have an adequate education. At first, the doctor and I provided her with money. My cousin found some friends and sent her child to school. After the doctor left, my cousin became her guarantor and made sure her residence was offered at the cheapest possible rate. He even helped her to find a job within her means where she only needed to work two to three hours a day. This way, she could have a consistent income, while also having the time to do the three things. The practitioner and her child are finally returning to a stable life.
Whenever there was a holiday, my cousin would invite them to his house, treating them as if they were his younger brother and sister and giving them what he could. Once I told my cousin's friend that they were our long-time friends. Yet my cousin got angry with me and said, "They're new to this place; to prevent them from being bullied, I always tell others that they are my relatives."
Cousin, I thank you very much! You have my greatest respect! I wish that you'll always be filled with righteousness and kindness. As a Falun Gong practitioner, having people like you who are awakened to the truth, is our pride and joy. Your character is so pure, selfless, kind and worthy of being saved by Dafa.
