(Clearwisdom.net) Afterwards, I concluded, "righteous thoughts" are not a one-time impulse; they are the sublimation of the understandings in Dafa, which is forever, something that does not waver with the changes of time or environment. When encountering tribulations, if my mind is not calm but vacillates, indicating my righteous thoughts are not strong enough, I need to study the Fa (1) hard and strengthen my righteous thoughts. -from the author

At the opening of this "First Written Experience-Sharing Conference of Practitioners in Mainland China," I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our most honorable and respected Master. Master, thank you for shouldering our hardships for us during these years. I heshi (2) to fellow practitioners.

1. "Coming to the world with one heart, Having obtained the Fa earlier." ("Fulfilling a Wish," from Hongyin)

On April 26, 1996 I went to relax in a park by myself. I saw dozens of people practicing some kind of exercise. I thought it was quite interesting and asked them for information. This inquiry entirely opened my mind, which was covered with dust for so many of my past lives; thus I started out on the path back to my true home and towards becoming an enlightened being.

After beginning to practice Falun Dafa, I advanced diligently and cultivated my xinxing [heart or mind nature, moral character] while overcoming tribulations. I experienced significant physical and spiritual changes. During the first three years of cultivation prior to the suppression, I had built a solid cultivation base.

Since the "April 25" (3) incident, with experience gained from some similar interference that had happened before, our local practitioners' xinxing was quite good and improved tremendously; however, the suppression beginning on July 20, 1999, was still worse than anything we could have imagined in our wildest dreams.

Just as Master said, everyone was thinking about what would happen to them, what Dafa is and what kind of person Master Li is. After thinking through all these issues carefully, I started awakening and seeing through the widespread lies. I knew that cultivation was for reaching Consummation and going back to an indestructible paradise. However, it was clear that as a practitioner I should not merely cultivate and practice in comfort, simply to enjoy a happy life

I still had many human thoughts then. Although I had righteous thoughts toward Falun Dafa, my righteous actions were insufficient. These distorted human notions once put me into conflicts. On one hand, I knew the TV stations were spreading stupid lies, misrepresenting the Fa and quoting out of context; on the other hand, due to fear, I could not speak the truth from my heart.

When I was only doing self-cultivation at home, a fellow practitioner received several experience-sharing papers from the "Guangzhou Experience-Sharing Conference in 1999." When I started reading them I could not keep from crying. The divine language and the words, combined with righteous thoughts and righteous actions, are truly moving and inspiring. Master is the one who scoops us up from hell and who makes it possible for us to cultivate. When Master is framed and slandered, we, the Dafa witnesses, why do we not step forward and speak out for justice? If I dare not speak the truth, how could I be Master's disciple?

From then on, when local officers and policemen came to our home to monitor my mother and me, we clarified the truth of Falun Gong to them and shared with them the benefits we experienced from Dafa. We told them Falun Gong is totally opposite from the slander in the media. Facing the indisputable fact that we had gotten healthy and are continuously improving our morals and character from Dafa, those police officers had to admit the facts. A relative told me once, "Police from your area told me, 'Though the government claimed Falun Gong was very dangerous and harmful, Mrs. Xiao (referring to my mother) in our area has not taken any medicine, but her disability from polio has much improved. She does not look as lame as before. Isn't that amazing?'"

2. Compassion is the basis from which to clarify the truth, and belief is the premise of persistence in tribulation

When I started to clarify the truth I often got lost in an argument. So now I always look inward to find whether my truth-clarifying strategy is correct.

After January 1, 2000 (Chinese calendar), because some practitioners went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, the police were afraid that we would also go to Beijing. So they placed us under house arrest at our Street Administration Committee office, to hold a brainwashing class. Personnel from the office and local police raised many tough questions at that time. Fellow practitioners and I gave them reasonable answers and they were satisfied. They were not as vicious as before. Thus, this brainwashing class turned into a Fa-promoting class.

After January 15, the county authorities decided to put some of us steadfast practitioners into a detention center. The Street Administration Committee Party secretary cried and explained to us that this was an order from his or her superior. The secretary had no choice. Other fellow practitioners and I validated the purity and greatness of Dafa with our words and actions. Even the personnel from the local police precinct said that Falun Gong practitioners are good people.

I was held in the county's detention center. At first, I was not used to the environment, as the high wall was topped with electric wires and the prisoners abused each other. Some time later I thought, since I was put into this detention center, I should take this opportunity to spread Dafa and provide salvation to the prisoners. Therefore, I clarified the truth while working. Once, a prisoner of similar age to mine who was arrested for fighting asked me, "I was detained here for violating the law. You are so good! Nevertheless, you are held here. Is it worth it?" I smiled, "Who'd like to be here? It is Jiang's gang who arrested us with their autocratic powers. Think about it, if 'Truth-Compassion-Tolerance' is wrong and illegal in any country, what could then be legal?"

During three arrests and stays in the detention center, I continuously got rid of a lot of bad ideas and corrected my thought processes. The belief in Dafa is the basis for me to work through the tribulations. "Believe" is not a simple word. It demands very powerful righteous thoughts to reach a true belief state. As a practitioner, it is quite easy to find an excuse to justify not facing tribulations; however, in the end, he is deceiving himself indeed.

Afterwards, I concluded, "righteous thoughts" are not a one-time impulse; they are the sublimation of the understandings in Dafa, which is forever, something that does not waver with the changes of time or environment. When encountering tribulations, if my mind is not calm but vacillates, indicating my righteous thoughts are not strong enough, I need to study the Fa hard and strengthen my righteous thoughts.

To be continued...

September 26, 2004

Notes

(1) Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa.

(2) Heshi: a greeting or a sign of respect, in which one presses the two palms together in front on one's chest.

(3) The "April 25" event refers to April 25, 1999, when over ten thousand Dafa practitioners from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and other areas peacefully appealed at the National Appeal Bureau near Zhongnanhai, the Chinese leadership compound. Zhu Rongji, the Premier at the time, met with Falun Gong representatives. The Falun Gong representatives made three requests: 1) release the detained practitioners in Tianjin; 2) provide Falun Gong practitioners with an environment to practice Falun Gong freely; 3) allow the publishing of Falun Gong books. The detained Tianjin practitioners were released on the same day. All the Falun Gong practitioners who had gone to the National Appeal Bureau left around 9 p.m. without any incident.