(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I have practiced Falun Dafa for over 20 years. Every time when encountering difficulties or tribulations, I could feel Master’s compassion. I have learned that, as long as we have the Fa in our hearts, we will succeed.
Master said,
“The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts.” (“Drive Out Interference,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
About 10 years ago, I resigned from my job at the age of 45, and devoted myself to assisting Master with the Fa-rectification, and saving sentient beings.
Cooperating as One Body
We visited remote villages in our area over the past years, first distributing materials, then clarifying the truth about Dafa on the streets, and later visiting residents from door to door. It is our honor to bring Dafa to people and assuring that they do not believe in the hate propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Given these experiences, we cooperated well and also improved as one body.
When we went as group to remote villages distributing materials for the first time, we were all very nervous. The last practitioner to join us looked especially tense. I greeted her, which eased her mind.
The roads in the mountains were bumpy, and there were many dogs in the villages. However, with help from Master, we delivered the materials and returned safely home. That practitioner told me later that she felt huge pressure getting in the car, as if it was a test of life and death. She also thanked me for the brief chat that helped her calm down. We realized that, as long as we step forward to do what we are supposed to do, the attachment of fear would be reduced, and our righteous thoughts would be strengthened.
Then, we organized such trips once every week. Divided in two groups, we would recite “On Dafa” and some lectures from Master such as “True Cultivation” from Essentials for Further Advancement, as well as “The Disciples’ Magnificence,” and “Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciples” from Essentials for Further Advancement II. This helped us send stronger righteous thoughts. Few practitioners joined in the beginning and motivated by diligent practitioners, many more joined later.
We have two Fa-study groups with about five practitioners in each group, and all are between 40 and 50 years old. Although we have different income levels, we each focus on cultivation and doing the three things well. In addition, every one of us has a computer and printers at home, allowing us to print Dafa materials for distribution.
Rescuing Practitioners
Some practitioners were arrested and detained, and most incidents occurred during face-to-face truth-clarification. But this does not intimidate us. In fact, we continued to distribute materials while rescuing the detained practitioners. During this process, we gained further understanding of what Master said, “You put in the effort and your teacher will handle the rest.” (The First Talk, Zhuan Falun)
We left in two vehicles one Sunday. One car drove to a mountain village, about a 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) drive, to the east, while another car drove to a plain area, about a similar distance, to the west. Our vehicle returned safely, but two practitioners in the other vehicles, Ms. Wang and Ms. Bai, were arrested after someone reported them to the police.
We contacted the two practitioners’ husbands and went to the local police station requesting their release. Upon arrival, we found that the 610 Office agents were already there with police officers. As we asked about the incidents, hoping these two practitioners could go home, an officer said he could not do that and wanted to check our IDs. To avoid further persecution, we left, while witnessing that these two practitioners were taken to a detention center. Ms. Wang and I looked at each other, and I could see her determination.
Because of refusing to give a blood sample, and undergoing a physical examination, plus the scratches on her, the detention center refused to admit Ms. Wang, and she returned home that evening. Ms. Bai, on the other hand, did not see through the police’s plot and agreed to be detained for 15 days. “You know, Ms. Wang was taken to a detention center in another city and she will end up in jail,” claimed the police station director.
Nonetheless, we practitioners did not acknowledge the 15-day detention term. Ms. Bai’s elderly mother, who seldom left her apartment, went with her son to meet Ms. Bai at the detention center. In addition to sending forth righteous thoughts, other practitioners, and I searched for the contact information of the person who reported Ms. Bai. Then, we distributed the materials, exposing this incident throughout that town. “Hey, buddy,” one of that person’s friends called him, “why did you do something so stupid?”
Because we practitioners worked together as one body and improved our xinxing, Ms. Bai also came back home on the 5th day, 10 days before the detention term expired. This gave us lots of confidence.
Master said,
“No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil’s demands, orders, or what it instigates. If everyone does this the environment won’t be this way.” (“Dafa Disciples’ Righteous Thoughts are Powerful,” Essentials for Further Advancement II )
When practitioner Ms. Cai was arrested in another city, we immediately went to the police station requesting her release. But we did not have time to contact her family. When Ms. Cai’s daughter-in-law saw us in the police station, misled by defamatory propaganda from the CCP, she told the police we were also practitioners. This led to the arrest of Ms. Dan, while the rest of us were able to escape.
Regretting over my lack of compassion to save Ms. Cai’s family and the police officers, I did not give up and went with other practitioners to Ms. Dan’s father, who agreed to work with us. Although it was already 3 a.m. by the time of returning home, I went with other practitioners the next day to rescue Ms. Dan and was told that she had been transferred to a detention center in another city. Her father agreed with us of hiring a lawyer. After the lawyer met Ms. Dan, we went to the police station again with Ms. Dan’s parents and the lawyer to ask for her release. Six days later, Ms. Dan returned home.
Defending Practitioners Based on the Law
We have hired lawyers 14 times in the past 8 years to rescue detained practitioners. This helped a lot to suppress the viciousness exhibited by the police, and raise awareness of everyday people.
One of the most difficult steps is to convince family members of the detained practitioners. They had been threatened by the 610 Office that doing so [hiring lawyers from other regions] would lead to longer prison terms. As a result, they refused to meet us, swore at us, or did not want to pay the legal fee.
Considering practitioners are one body, however, we did not waver because we cannot just sit here while practitioners are detained and tortured. Meanwhile, we are aware of the pressure experienced by these family members from both the 610 Office and police. So we went to them again, and again hoping to meet them. When one family member refused, we moved to someone else in the family. Moved by our patience and kindness, many people agreed to help.
After one practitioner was arrested for clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa, her husband changed from passiveness to active participation. He hired a lawyer and, by working with other family members, wrote letters to officials describing positive changes of his wife brought by Dafa. Officials involved were moved and the case was returned from the procuratorate back to the police. The practitioner returned home 30 days later.
To reduce the financial burden on these practitioners’ families, most of the legal fees were paid with voluntary donations from practitioners. The bottom line was that we do not want to delay hiring lawyers to rescue practitioners for lack of money. There were many stories of this kind. After we heard that a practitioner being arrested for clarifying the truth about Dafa, another practitioner immediately offered 10,000 yuan to help hire a lawyer. This amount was close to her entire year’s income. She still lived in a plain bungalow, and her son did not get married yet. Touched by the selfless help, the first thing this detained practitioner did after her release was paying back the legal fee.
Although the 610 Offices had tried many different methods to block us from hiring lawyers, they never succeeded. In fact, each time it was a battle between the righteous and evil.
It was just like what Master said,
“As Fa-rectification continually pushes ahead, that phenomenon will become more obvious, for your strength will be increasing as the evil's decreases. At times when your human attachments are severe and there is interference from evil and bad factors, however, it will instead be the case that when you get stronger it becomes weaker, and when you get weaker it becomes stronger.” (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Washington DC International Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX )
Stories: Rescuing Practitioners
“How Did You Get in?”
The first time we hired a lawyer was in 2012. We went to another city to pick up the two lawyers defending practitioner Mr. Liu. We did not have much experience back then. Still, we were touched seeing the two lawyers riding bikes instead of taking a taxi to reduce the legal fee.
When the lawyers registered at the detention center to meet Mr. Liu, another practitioner Ms. Wang and I decided to accompany them. We walked through two gates for registering, but nobody stopped us or asked for our IDs. Seeing us walking in front of the lawyers with no problem, the lawyers were surprised. “How did you get in?” one of them asked. When the lawyers requested the meeting, Ms. Wang and I sent forth righteous thoughts in the same waiting room. After reaching out to the 610 Office, an officer of the detention center said that the request was denied.
Although the meeting did not occur as planned, we gained confidence from this experience. Furthermore, through looking within, and examining ourselves, we found the attachment of fear and lack of righteous thoughts. My understanding was that, as long as we maintained a righteous heart and righteous thoughts, we would see the power of Dafa. After repeated requests from the lawyers, they met Mr. Liu later that afternoon and were able to give Master’s new lectures to him.
Mr. Liu had been badly tortured and was injured. Because of support from outside, his situation at the detention center improved.
The 610 Office continued to threaten family members, saying hiring lawyers from Beijing would result in a longer jail term. Although the case was returned by the Procuratorate twice to the police, it continued under instructions from the 610 Office. Once reaching the court stage, however, we could no longer contact officials and family members were hesitant to move forward, either. In the end, Mr. Liu was sentenced to five years of imprisonment, but this setback did not stop us from continuing to work on rescuing practitioners.
A Family Member: Practitioners Are Innocent
A practitioner, close to 70, was arrested in 2017 for putting up adhesive posters. She lives in the countryside and had already been detained three times. Each time, we did not hear about it until after she was taken to a prison. Every sentence was like a show trial—10 minutes at most, and family members were not allowed to attend.
We contacted this practitioner’s two daughters discussing hiring a lawyer. But both of them were reluctant. Their mother had been in jail most of the time for all these years and they had lived in fear since they were young. They gave all kinds of excuses.
We did not give up and visited the practitioner’s young brother with a gift. He was moved by our sincerity but considered the rescue to be very difficult. “You are so fortunate to have a sister who has righteous belief.” I said, “In fact, she told others about Falun Dafa out of a great compassion. Getting her out of detention would be a noble thing to do.”
We also told him that we would make the effort, and pay the legal fee. He just needed to work as a connection. He was very moved and agreed to help “A young practitioner used to teach me Falun Dafa in a prison before. I admire practitioners very much,” he said, adding that he stopped because he could not understand why innocent people would be jailed.
We traveled countless times between government agencies for this case. This brother also submitted materials to the police station, Procuratorate, and court. We worked with him, and sent forth righteous thoughts, which deeply touched him.
The lawyer delivered a strong defense during the trial, making the prosecutor lower his head, and unable to respond. The practitioner was also very energetic despite her age and detention. Moved by all these, the brother gave us a thumbs up afterward. “What the lawyer said is right—practitioners are innocent and it is those officials who committed crimes.” He said that his sister would not be able to get through this without Falun Dafa. The selfless efforts from practitioners totally changed him. “If you are doing something like this again, please count me in, because I want to help too,” he continued. Later on, he also resumed practicing.
The two daughters of this practitioner also changed. They not only learned the facts about Dafa but also offered to give a ride when we were working on rescuing another practitioner. While feeling bad for the suffering of this practitioner, we are also relieved to see her family change their lives.
Master said:
“I have said that the stage of history was set for and has been given to Dafa disciples for the purpose of validating the Fa and saving sentient beings. With all that you have done, the future is going to be, no matter what, something glorious. I just hope that you will really be able to do better, cooperate better, and work with each other better. ” (“Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IX )
Four Hearings: Battles Between the Righteous and Evil
Two practitioners in the countryside, Ms. Li and Ms. Wen, were arrested in late 2018 for clarifying the truth about Falun Dafa. Ms. Li’s family agreed to hire a lawyer, and plead not guilty. Ms. Wen’s family, on the other hand, had connections and spent over 10,000 yuan bribing officials. But it did not help and the 610 Office later appointed a local lawyer to defend her, but plead guilty.
Thinking this arrangement would hinder people from hearing the facts of Dafa during the hearing, we needed to do our best to correct this.
Master said,
“You should remember one thing: Today, mankind's stage is for Dafa disciples to perform on, and absolutely not for those evil ones!” (“Fa Teaching at the 2007 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. VIII)
We started with Ms. Wen’s husband. Before that, I already visited him several times, about 35 kilometers (or 22 miles) one way, but he was always cold, even though I brought a gift. This time, another practitioner and I went with two cases of baby formula. He smiled at us and I knew we did the right thing.
We explained that the 610 Office wanted to fool people on the issue of Falun Dafa. The persecution is wrong and lawyers from Beijing know that. He asked us to contact Ms. Wen’s adult son. We encouraged him to help his mother, because she was innocent. Noticing his worry over money, we assured him we would pay for it, and in the end he signed a contract to hire a lawyer from Beijing.
But, things did not go smoothly. The first hearing was canceled since Ms. Wen’s lawyer appointed by the 610 Office did not show up. Right before the second hearing, the 610 Office agents heard of the lawyers we hired from Beijing and canceled the hearing without explanation. In addition, agents visited Ms. Wen’s family with gifts to induce and threaten family members. Fearing added jail time, Ms. Wen’s son voided the contract with us, but he did not dare to tell us about that. Nonetheless, we sent forth righteous thoughts to void the arrangement.
More issues came up afterward. Three days before the third hearing, the Beijing lawyer for Ms. Wen called saying Ms. Wen’s family had terminated the contract. With two weekend days remaining before the hearing, there was no time for him to meet Ms. Wen or her family. Nonetheless, we did not want to give up. “Please come anyway,” I said to the lawyer. He promised to come and reminded us to be righteous.
A heavy typhoon hit our city on the day of the hearing. With trains not running, Ms. Li’s lawyer could not come. Ms. Wen’s lawyer, however, came two days in advance. Both of us were doubtful, though, because we did not know if the hearing would occur, and how much the 610 Office would manipulate Ms. Wen’s family regarding this case. At this moment, I saw a newly printed article from Master,
“Get going and get active, and, like the Dafa disciples in North America, don’t shy away from the difficulties that you meet with. Don’t be blocked by man-made constraints. And don’t be intimidated by the evil, for these historic days are given to you.” (“To the Fa Conference in France”)
This awakened me and I was very thankful for Master’s compassion.
We arrived at the court on time, so were the judge, 610 Office agents, Ms. Wen’s family, and other practitioners coming for support. The detention center opened at 9 a.m., but somehow Ms. Wen’s lawyer was allowed to visit her 30 minutes before that. Not knowing what had happened outside, Ms. Wen signed a contract with the lawyer, which was then submitted to the judge. By then, the judge was also notified that Ms. Li’s lawyer could not come due to the typhoon. The hearing was thus postponed despite the 610 Office’s attempted intervention of the legal presentation.
During the fourth hearing, both lawyers provided a strong defense. The families were convinced, so were officials in the courtroom. Both practitioners defended their own innocence as well and exposed how the CCP abused laws to persecute innocent practitioners. “Since it [Falun Dafa] is good, you can do it at home,” remarked the judge without thinking.
Conclusion
Looking back at what we have been through, every step would not have been possible without the compassionate caring from Master. I am very grateful and will do well on my remaining cultivation path.
I would like to conclude my sharing with a quote from Master’s lectures:
Master said,
“I often say that I don't worry much about the final outcome, as what is to be completed in the Fa-rectification is inevitable. No matter how harrowing things may get during the Fa-rectification, the outcome is certain. So I don't pay much attention to it, given that it's bound to succeed. What I value most is the process. Only with the entirety of the process that a being goes through do you have the complete entity that is that being. The entire process of Fa-rectification is the most precious--it is the entirety of the cosmos, and the most remarkable undertaking. The process of Fa-rectification is what's central, so the old forces cannot be allowed to just participate as they wish.” (“Fa Teaching at the U.S. Capital,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. VIII )
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented during The 16th Online China Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference on Minghui.org)
