Learning Falun Dafa Amidst the Persecution

(Minghui.org) I learned Falun Dafa after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to persecute the practice. Many people did not understand why I would take up the practice of Falun Dafa after the brutal persecution started.

Seeing Through the CCP's Slanderous Propaganda

I'm not a person that easily trusts others. It also took me a long time before I finally and firmly believed in Falun Dafa with all my heart.

Since childhood, I witnessed every political movement that the CCP launched. When the CCP said something was good, it massively used propaganda to promote it. Yet, usually the next day, the CCP would say that thing was bad and completely turn the story around. The CCP launched such movements every few years and persecuted and killed people repeatedly. Therefore, I drew the conclusion a long time ago that nothing in the newspaper, television and radio was credible.

Especially during the past few years, the entire society lost their moral standards and credibility due to the false propaganda from the CCP. From the central government to local governments, including the National Bureau's GDP, they are all fraudulent and all the people know it. Those hot products, which were promoted loudly by ads, eventually all disappeared. Liars are pervasive in this society. In this environment, it is not possible for me to easily believe in anything.

Before Jiang's regime started to persecute Falun Dafa, I had heard about it and knew that the practice could eliminate illnesses and strengthen the body. I thought that since I was not sick, I did not need to practice. I also heard that people had to get up early every day to practice the exercises. I thought that this was too difficult for me and I did not want to put in the effort since my health was fine. Thus, I missed the opportunity to begin studying the practice earlier.

Since Jiang's regime started the persecution on July 20, 1999, it slandered Falun Dafa overwhelmingly through all their propaganda machines. Although I did not understand Falun Dafa, I had a good impression about the practitioners around me. I never saw or heard of any abnormal behavior by practitioners like what the TV propaganda portrayed. Therefore, I never thought that Falun Dafa was bad. Instead, when I saw practitioners displaying great compassion and tolerance under this overwhelming slander and brutal persecution, and they peacefully but firmly clarified the truth about Falun Dafa to the public, I started to think, “What makes them let go of their personal interests, or even lives in order to stand up for their belief?”

Sometimes, when I went to work or left work, I saw that some practitioners, who had gone to the county government to appeal against the persecution, were forcibly dragged into vehicles and taken away by people who appeared to be plainclothes police officers. I asked a colleague, who was also my friend, “Why are those Falun Dafa practitioners so firm in their belief?” He also said, “I used to pass by a Falun Dafa practice site on my way to work and could hear their exercise music. The music was so nice!” Another time, a colleague talked about an elderly lady from his neighborhood, who used to be petty and calculating, but became broadminded and generous after she started to practice Falun Dafa.

At that time, during a TV program, it was broadcast that an elderly lady from southern China spent over 100 yuan to buy a dozen Falun Dafa books. The TV program was intended to slander Falun Dafa, claiming that the Falun Dafa group had somehow forced her to buy the books. During the TV program, one statement from this woman impressed me. She said, “I used to be illiterate. But now, when I study the Falun Dafa books, I can recognize all the words.”

Later, when I started to cultivate in Dafa, I also knew a few elderly and illiterate ladies, who learned how to read Dafa books within a short time.

In early 2001, when the Tiananmen Square Self-immolation hoax was broadcast, I did not pay attention to the details and did not know that it had been fabricated by the CCP. I thought if they really were practitioners, it does not mean that Dafa is not good. It only meant that these practitioners were brutally persecuted for their belief. They were fired, sent to forced labor camps or were even sentenced to jail, when they went to Beijing to appeal for Dafa. Their families were broken apart and they were brutally tortured in the prisons and forced labor camps, or were even tortured to death. Therefore, they had no other way to appeal, they could only use self-immolation to express their protest to this persecution. It was like the students, who were on hunger strike on June 4, 1989. It did not mean that practicing Falun Dafa will cause self-immolation.

Later, a practitioner told me that Falun Dafa teachings are against killing and suicide. In addition, the slow-motion video of the self-immolation revealed many flaws in the CCP's story. It was obvious that this so-called Tiananmen Square Self-immolation was totally fabricated by the CCP in order to stir up Chinese people or even the world's people to hate Falun Dafa, as well as to create an excuse for the CCP to brutally persecute Dafa practitioners. By that time, not many people supported the persecution of Falun Dafa. People knew it was just another political persecution scheme launched by dictator Jiang Zemin.

When I told a friend with a sense of justice that the self-immolation was false and fabricated, he said, “I knew it was false. If it was true, then more practitioners would go to Tiananmen Square for self-immolation, since there are so many practitioners. Why just those few?” The CCP's persecution of Falun Dafa was entirely built on lies, deceptions, frame-ups and fabrications. Although the CCP tried every trick it could, the people who can think independently won't be fooled.

Experiencing the Practice Myself

The CCP's atheistic indoctrination has destroyed basic morality and made the environment extremely stressful and harsh. I could not eat and sleep well, began relying on medicine, and my health became really bad. My internal organs ached, I suffered from rheumatism, and was often chilled. I was only thirty years old and wondered how I could go on living like this.

As things continued to worsen, I finally remembered Falun Dafa.

I knew a person who worked at the police department. I heard from others that he kept two Falun Dafa books, which he had confiscated from practitioners. I went to him and wanted to borrow these books, I told him that I wanted to read what it was all about. He knew my situation and was very sympathetic, so he lent me two Falun Dafa books. One was Zhuan Falun , the other one was Falun Gong .

Every time I could not sleep, I got up and read these books. I also followed the books and tried to learn the exercises, but I was still not sure if I did the movements correctly. So I visited a Falun Dafa practitioner nearby and told her, “I want to see what your exercise movements looks like.” She demonstrated them for me.

At that time, I did not tell her that I was learning Falun Dafa. Later, when I could not sleep, I still read Dafa books or practiced the meditation for a while. In the beginning, I could only sit in the half lotus position for 15 minutes, because my legs became numb, but afterward I slept very well.

Soon after I began studying Falun Dafa teachings, I began to give up my bad habits. For example, I did not play poker anymore. In addition, many of my illnesses disappeared. Actually, after I took up the practice, I did not take any medicine for ten years and saved a considerable amount of medical expenses. My body was relaxed and energetic. I truly experienced the magnificence of Dafa.

Holding Myself to Higher Principles

Since learning the practice, I followed the teachings in everyday life and was strict with myself. When I had conflicts with others, I looked inward and discovered my shortcomings. I always thought of others first and my family and friends also benefited from Dafa directly or indirectly. I used to get mad at my child when I was in a bad mood, but because of the Fa, I no longer lost my temper with my child. I also became more filial to my parents and other elders.

Dafa also resolved my grievances against the father of my child and his family members. I no longer fought with them for personal interests. I understood that there was a karmic reason for their mistreating me. It also helped me get rid of my attachments. Had I not been a Dafa practitioner, I could not have tolerated them at all. Some time later, my neighbors noticed that I contacted Dafa practitioners and that I did not play cards anymore. They all knew that I studied Falun Dafa. In fact, they all knew in their hearts that Falun Dafa can change people to become better. Master's Dafa books teach high-level principles of the universe using a language everyone can understand. As long as you read the book, you will experience positive changes. It is really a miracle.

The Persecution Is Groundless and Unlawful

Through more Fa study, I noticed that Falun Dafa does not just eliminate illnesses and strengthen the body, Dafa is the Buddha Fa that leads practitioners to higher levels. It also plays a very important role in improving the social spiritual and moral standards. Currently, the Chinese society is vicious, and all kinds of natural and social disasters happen endlessly. When an elderly person falls down, most have difficulty deciding whether to help him or not, for fear that they may get blamed and extorted money for the elderly person's injury. Yet this is something Dafa practitioners will do without hesitation. Only Dafa can lead society in a better direction. Only Dafa can save people. Dafa is the only hope for human beings.

Although Dafa disciples are being persecuted and endure tribulations, they risk their lives to tell people the truth earnestly and tirelessly and save sentient beings, who are poisoned by the lies of the CCP. Falun Dafa is legal in China, it is legal to exercise freedom of speech and expression, which is bestowed upon its citizens by the constitution. Dafa disciples use peaceful and rational ways to clarify the truth to the public.

I am an official, who worked in the court, but I did not have in-depth study of the persecution based on the law before. I only know that the CCP is pragmatic and establishes whatever law it wanted. The National People's Congress is merely a rubber stamp. Later, the authoritative people researched and noticed that during the past years of the persecution of Falun Dafa, even if they put aside the principles of freedom in the Constitution and all the laws and judicial interpretation, the CCP manipulated the NPC Standing Committee, Supreme Courts and Supreme People's Procuratorate in order to persecute Falun Dafa, so that they simply followed the political persecution, rather than going by a strict interpretation of the legislative and judicial system. So on the surface, those laws gave people the impression that it is legal to persecute Falun Dafa, actually the persecution does not have any legal foundation. So even within the current law of China, Falun Dafa remains fully legitimate.

For example, among the laws that the prosecutors and courts usually cited against Falun Dafa practitioners, the 300th item in the Criminal Law, which the CCP uses to persecute Falun Dafa, states “using a cult organization to interfere with the implementation of laws and regulations.” However, no where does it mention anything anywhere what “implementation of laws and regulations” have been violated by Falun Dafa or practitioners. The People's Congress and its Standing Committee, who have the right to interpret the law, do not give a valid explanation and definition of a "cult," nor did they provide any logical reasoning and interpretation that link Falun Dafa to this so-called “cult.” The Supreme Court and Supreme Procuratorate do not have the right to explain the law. Yet, they used the excuse that they can explain the law in order to create some so-called “laws,” which do not exist and are not legal.

In November 2004, the book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published. This book thoroughly exposes the evil nature of the communist party and its harmful effects for the past century. This book caused the global tide of people withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliated organizations.

I am glad that I was so fortunate to have found Falun Dafa and am able to cultivate myself. I sincerely hope that all predestined people can understand the truth about Falun Dafa, experience the magnificence of and benefit from Falun Dafa. I also sincerely hope that all people can understand the evil nature of the CCP, cherish their own lives and withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

Thank you, esteemed Master, for your compassionate salvation!

I thank fellow practitioners who have led me to Dafa and helped me on my path of cultivation!