Falun Dafa Minghui.org www.minghui.org PRINT

Rescuing Practitioners: Understandings from Cultivation and the Fa

September 09, 2017 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in mainland China

(Minghui.org) Recently, I have discussed with other practitioners the issue of rescuing practitioners who have been arrested, detained, or imprisoned.

1. Understanding from the Fa

Incorrect Thoughts Can Become an Excuse to be Severely Persecuted

Practitioner B told me that, in 2003, Practitioner A from Tsinghua University who was in his twenties was beaten severely on his head by police. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in Beijing. He became a vegetable and was sent to Inner Mongolia for his sentence. A rescue effort was not successful.

It turned out that Practitioner A had a thought of blowing up the detention center with bombs to “rescue” practitioners. Even after he was told that it was not a good idea based on the Fa and that it was thought karma, he would not let it go. Practitioners did not help him raise his level of understanding, and he did not cultivate enough compassion.

My personal understanding is that the evil beings we refer to are those in other dimensions, not ordinary people in this dimension. The people in this world are all beings we should try our best to save.

The reason why he was persecuted this severely was because he had killed others in history. However, if he did not have any loopholes in his xinxing, the evil would not have been able to go after him.

He was beaten badly because he did not want to save those police officers. He did not cultivate compassion. He did not enlighten to this and instead developed resentment, and he looked down upon those people. He did not reach the basic requirements of Dafa and did not even reach the standard of the old universe.

He had been released for several years. Because he did not cultivate compassion, Master could only resolve his tribulations to this level. If practitioners could help him find the root of his issues, dig out the root of his bad thoughts, and truly cultivate compassion in Dafa, he would have been able to recover quickly.

In fact, for practitioners released from prison because of illness, no matter how badly their physical bodies had been tortured, if practitioners search within to look for the root of the issue, they would be able to recover in Dafa. A main reason for not quickly recovering is that they did not cultivate compassion.

Resentment and Complaints Worsen Persecution

Practitioner C from Shanghai Jiaotong University went missing in April 2003. I saw that he was fully devoted to Dafa. However, he was not paying attention to Fa-study or assimilating to the Fa and compassion.

After he was arrested in Shanghai, he was beaten. While being transferred to his hometown in Jiangxi Province, he was held in several detention centers. Everywhere he went, he was brutally beaten because he owed lives in these places in history. He was finally beaten to death and repaid all the karmic debt. This is a typical example of having an agreement with the old forces in history.

Master says,

“… as long as you walk a righteous path I can actually give everything a benevolent resolution. I can make that extreme thinking become good for sure, and then I can make him not want his life back, since I can untie the knot in his mind with the Fa--I can do anything. But when you have attachments and can't let go, then it can't be untied and Master is put in a tough position.” (Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference)

After Practitioner C was arrested, he developed resentment toward the police who beat him. Because he owed many lives from the past, he was beaten brutally. He thought that those perpetrators were not savable. He did not clarify the truth to them. He did not want to save them.

In fact, many of those police officers could be saved. If he did, it would have been the perfect result. If he could treat them benevolently and had the thought of saving them, Master would be able to resolve all his past karma. However, he forgot what Master said: “If you cannot love your enemy, then you cannot reach Consummation.” (Teaching the Fa at the Fa Conference in Australia)

Comparing Detention to Cultivating in Isolation

Being arrested and detained are tribulations and persecution. Some practitioners had to cultivate in this difficult environment, reach certain levels, and save predestined beings in order to reach consummation in the current stage. Some reached their level in advance and were no longer persecuted by the old forces. This has to do with practitioners’ rescue efforts but also requires the detained practitioner to reach their own cultivation standard, with the latter being the main reason.

Being arrested means being isolated from the outside world. Isn’t this similar to cultivating in caves? This is to cut off any worries and ties in the human world and eliminate all desires and attachments in order to reach consummation. What one should do is to focus on sending forth righteous thoughts, clarifying the truth, and memorizing and reciting the Fa. One should never cooperate with the evil. If one can reach this standard, the old forces cannot set up any roadblocks, and it is easier for external rescue efforts to be successful.

Severe sickness karma is similar. This is as if the beings seeking one’s life has locked the practitioner up. One should immediately cut off human attachments and sentimentality. Some practitioners were told at the hospital that they were dying, but they realized this was a test and handled it well. They recovered very soon.

2. Righteous Action and Righteous Enlightenment After Arrest

If practitioners maintain righteous thoughts and actions after being arrested, rescue efforts often work well.

Believing in Master and the Fa

If one can enlighten to the fact that this is as if cultivating away from the human world, it would be easy to be determined in cultivating the Fa. If one is unsure or has doubt, the rescue effort would not be successful. When detained practitioners have fewer worries or fear, I can see that the righteous thoughts of practitioners outside are very effective.

Using Firm Belief in the Fa to Eliminate Fear

Master says,

“Those ordeals and the suffering, no matter how great or harsh you find them to be, are good things, because they take place solely on account of your cultivation. A person can eliminate karma and shed human attachments when he goes through ordeals, and through ordeals he can improve.” (Fa Teaching at the 2008 New York Conference)

If we truly believe in Master’s teaching, we would not be afraid. As long as we do well, Master would be able to help us solve the issues. What are we still afraid of?

If we can let go of our attachment to fear, we can pass the test of life and death. Once we reach the standard in this main area, it would easy for us to reach the standard in other areas.

Do Not Cooperate with Evil; Provide No Confession

Providing no confession is one way of not cooperating with the evil. Interrogations persecute you and other practitioners. If you provide any kind of confession, the evil will keep chasing after you. Some practitioners were deceived by the authorities and thought that they would let them go if they provided information. However, the more they “confessed,” the more karma they incurred, and the worse the persecution became. It also mades the rescue effort very hard.

Cultivating the Source of Eliminating Evil–Compassion

Some practitioners were fearless. They fought and argued with the perpetrators. Resentment and hatred grew, along with their temper. This did not alleviate their persecution. The rescue effort was often unsuccessful. Why? Is this what an enlightened being would do?

We should suppress the evil in critical moments. However, this needs to be rooted in compassion.

One practitioner shared a cultivation story. A police officer was beating a practitioner while his son was playing by his side. The practitioner said to the perpetrator, “Please don’t forget you are the people’s police officer! Please get your child away from here. Otherwise, when he grows up, he will know that you persecuted Dafa practitioners like this and would look down upon you.” This officer immediately stopped beating the practitioner and asked his son to thank her. He never again beat practitioners.

A practitioner clarified the truth to a judge calmly in court and then asked the judge, “Are you against Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance? I know you are not. I hope you can remember that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good so you can have a good future.” This practitioner was later released.

Master says,

“Compassion is an enormous energy, the energy of righteous gods. The more compassion that is present, the greater this energy becomes, and it can disintegrate anything that is bad. This is something that has never been taught, be it by Shakyamuni or cultivators of the past. The greatest manifestation of shan is compassion, and it is an expression of tremendous energy. It can disintegrate all that is not right.” (Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference)

With resentment, anger and hatred in one’s heart, righteous thoughts would not function fully. We should cultivate compassion in tribulations and treat others kindly. This way, righteous thoughts are more powerful in eliminating the evil persecution.

Searching Within and Reciting the Fa to Eliminate Evil

While detained, one should search within and recite the Fa more. If one can’t remember much Fa, one can keep reciting Lunyu. While undergoing brainwashing, one can keep reciting, “Falun Dafa is good.”

Master says,

“Saying "Dafa hao" is not only effective for ordinary people, but also for Dafa disciples since it clears away the bad things in the mind. When you have every cell in your body saying that Dafa is great, you will find that your entire body feels the reverberations. (Applause) It is the Fa that your mind is invoking, so that's why it is so powerful.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 International Fa Conference in New York”)

If you can recite “Falun Dafa is good” in a way that every single word manifests in front of you, all your human thoughts are eliminated and human attachments are gone. If you can do this, you won’t feel any pain when the evil beats you. The evil beings would be afraid of you and wouldn’t persecute you. They might not want to detain you anymore. In this case, outside rescue efforts would also be made easy.

3. Using Hunger Strikes Effectively

A hunger strike is effective in society as a way to protest peacefully. Many detained practitioners have used it. Some enlightened in the process. Many were rescued successfully and were released early. However, other practitioners did not have a good result.

One’s mindset is critical. Some practitioners went on a hunger strike to seek justice for Dafa. Some did it to obtain an environment in which to study the Fa and practice the exercises. Some protested the persecution of fellow practitioners… As long as practitioners’ hearts are on the Fa, there shouldn’t be any issues. This is cultivation.

Compassion, however, must be part of the process. When they force-feed practitioners, perpetrators often do not have evil intentions. If practitioners show strong resistance, people would feel that he really does not want to live. People would develop an antagonistic feeling against practitioners and Dafa, which would in turn set barriers in their accepting the facts of Dafa. Going on a hunger strike with compassion will move people around you and help people accept the truth more easily.

4. Cooperation of Practitioners Outside

Putting Public Opinion to Good Use

Master says,

“Exposing the wicked policemen and bad persons and publicizing their evil deeds is extremely effective at shocking and restraining those irrational, wicked people. At the same time, by clarifying the facts to the people on a local level it most directly exposes, and generates public awareness of, the wicked persecution. It is also a great way to save the people who have been poisoned and deceived by the lies. I hope all Dafa disciples and new students in mainland China will do this well.” (“Comment on a Student’s Article,” The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III)

Master says,

“You can report [the kinds of details you described] on Minghui, have students gather more precise information about the evil and report it, and have local students vigorously expose those bad people. These are things that Minghui should help with, and you should tell what I said to the students in those areas that haven’t done this or done enough of it.” (Fa Teaching Given at the Fa Conference Marking the Tenth Anniversary of Minghui’s Founding)

We have not been doing well in this area for a long time. We do not want to depend on ordinary people. However, this is a better way to clarify the truth. People pay attention to people and things around them. Public opinion plays a critical role in suppressing the evil and also helps tremendously in saving sentient beings. This is putting resources in society to good use. This will help save sentient beings and rescue practitioners.

Do not focus too much on formalities

Some coordinators are enthusiastic about the rescue effort. They even wish to have practitioners from other provinces participate in sending forth righteous thoughts. The critical factor is the heart. If everybody shares experiences and understandings from the Fa principles and does this with a pure heart, the result would be the best.

Focusing on the process and cooperation, not results

Do not impose bad thoughts on the detained practitioners. Help strengthen their righteous thoughts and focus on the rescue effort. No matter what the end result is, keeping it focused will help alleviate pressure on the detained practitioner and reduce the evil’s interference and persecution. The rescue effort and process are cultivation. It is a test of cooperation as one body.

An immediate release is not the only sign of a successful rescue. There are complicated factors. For practitioners who were not released until after their full term was up, it is also a successful rescue because they might have been arranged to die originally, and the rescue effort made them come out alive.

Process is what is more important. Maintaining righteous thoughts is critical.

Using Lawyers Wisely

Many areas have used lawyers to defend arrested practitioners. A lot of money has been spent on lawyer fees, yet most of the rescue efforts have not been successful. What was the issue?

Many lawyers took advantage of the situation and tried to make a profit by cutting deals with the court and prosecutors. They merely put on a show in court. Some lawyers even publicly claimed to the judge, “I will say what I have to say. You do what you want to do.” Practitioners should rectify these lawyers’ behavior.

I see that practitioners have done very well in some areas. They clarified the truth clearly to the lawyers. They formed one body, truly awakened the conscience of people in the legal system and suppressed the evil. In return, they successfully rescued arrested practitioners.

I also see that every time a lawyer was successful in rescuing practitioners, it was not because of the lawyer. Actually, practitioners cooperated well with each other both inside and outside, and they formed one body. Only when practitioners on both sides reached the standard would they be able to break through. The lawyers merely helped with communication and clarifying the truth in court. We should use lawyers wisely and not blindly follow what others do.

The rescue process is a test for every practitioner involved. It is a test of xinxing, cooperation, our understanding of the Fa principles, and our ability to cultivate together. We should not overlook the importance of cultivating compassion. Only with compassion can we eliminate the evil and save sentient beings.

This is my personal understanding. We should understand the Fa in our hearts and assimilate to the Fa in our behavior to truly elevate ourselves in the Fa. Please point out anything inappropriate.