(Clearwisdom.net) During Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to France, the Paris police unjustifiably detained Falun Gong practitioners on several occasions. The total number of detained practitioners was as high as several dozen. Certainly this incident occurred because of interference and manipulation by evil factors, leading to individual officials in the French government being exploited, and the French police influenced by lies that defamed Dafa. We can utilize this event to identify where we need to further clarify the truth, so that we can convert the negative impact into a positive influence. However, from the standpoint of individual cultivation, the practitioners involved in this event should search inside immediately, and examine if there was any fault in their xinxing [mind nature, moral character] or anything that has not been done well throughout the course of this incident.
A portion of the practitioners did not resist the groundless police arrest at all. They were taken to the police station to fill in forms or records. Master Li said in the Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference:
" Speaking from another angle, my disciples, when the old forces are able to do what they want to do, isn't that because you've silently consented to what they want to do? When they tell you to go you go, when they tell you to write something you write it, when they tell you to do something you just do it, and when they arrest and sentence you, you just helplessly, silently consent to it."
Some practitioners claimed that the situation in France was not the same as that in China. Essentially, however, aren't both equivalent to making a compromise with the evil? After these practitioners were released from the police station, they complained that the French police were really bad. Such a remark completely treats this incident as a human persecution against humans. Master said:
"Are you clarifying the facts with the human mindset of disagreeing with the persecution of Falun Gong, or are you validating the Fa and saving sentient beings truly from the standpoint of a Dafa disciple?" (Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference.)
It does not matter if the actions of the French police were completely unjustifiable or if some articles of the so-called "laws" were available to justify their actions, we should not have let them arrest and detain us at will. Truth clarification is an act of enormous mercy, why should we be arrested and taken to the police station because of it? Of course, we do not resort to overreacting in our actions or statements. We have to clearly understand that by doing what they have done, the French police have failed to take responsibility for their future, and we should help them by clarifying the truth.
The following is what actually happened to several practitioners, including myself, when we encountered the police in Paris. I have written it down, hoping that it may be enlightening to fellow practitioners.
It was around 10:30 in the morning on January 25th. Several practitioners, including myself, left the hotel for the Chinese Embassy in France to attend activities as planned. When we were in the vicinity of the Embassy, several French policemen came over and stopped us. A policeman pointed to a patch of ground and demanded that all of the practitioners stand there. Then he summoned more policemen with his radio and told us that we would be sent to a police station. With righteousness a practitioner asked him why. The policeman replied it was French law. The practitioner asked, "What law, which article?" Another policeman pushed the practitioner. As he did so, the policeman kept saying irrationally, "I am the law! I am the law!" I was astonished by the policeman's remark. I looked at the other policemen around me. They did not dare to look me in the face as they knew they were in an indefensible position.
We had already heard that the day before, because they were handing out truth materials on the street, several practitioners were taken to a police station and detained for an extended period of time. I thought that we should not cooperate with the evil behind the police's actions any longer. We are Dafa disciples, and we should not have to go to places like the police station. What was happening closely resembled the unjustifiable arrest of practitioners by the German police when Jiang Zemin visited Germany. We ought to stay calm so that we can avoid making the same mistake.
At that moment, Master's words appeared in my mind, "Clarifying the truth is the master key". Holding several leaflets in my hand, that explained the facts of the persecution of Falun Dafa, I started explaining the facts to the policemen beside me. I pointed to one of the photos on the flyer, which showed the wounds of a Chinese practitioner. I made eye-contact with the policemen, and told them in a sincere tone, "Look, this kind of persecution is happening in China." I pointed to another photo showing a practitioner sitting peacefully in meditation. I told all of them that all we wanted to do in front of the Chinese Embassy was a peaceful appeal like that. I noticed that their serious facial expressions started to ease up.
A practitioner called the activity coordinator, and was told that we did not have permission for holding activities at the Chinese Embassy. By this time, more than ten policemen had arrived there. They lined up shoulder-to-shoulder and walked forward, trying to force us to back off from the Chinese Embassy. Practitioners sensed that even if they had not obtained permission, what the French police did was still an infringement of human rights.
Therefore, almost all of the practitioners on the scene started to take some action. One practitioner pointed to a photo that showed a tortured Chinese practitioner and told a policeman, "Look, this is my friend who is persecuted in China." The policeman looked at the photo, and asked, "Your friend?" The hostility shown on the policeman's face a few minutes before was almost gone. Another practitioner gave a truth-clarification flyer to a French passer-by. In English, which he barely knew, the practitioner said, "France, no human rights." This was the most straightforward, on-site exposure of the evil that hid behind the police. A French citizen passed by me. He looked at the policemen and us, wondering what was happening. I gave him a flyer and told him that the French police would not let us pass through the street. Another practitioner argued with a policeman, trying not to back off. The police fiercely pushed him. Two nearby practitioners photographed this scene. Another practitioner took pictures of the way the police dispelled the practitioners. These photos can be used in truth clarification in the future.
With the thought that the way the French police had treated Dafa disciples would bring a negative impact to their future, I took truth materials and walked towards the most arrogant policeman. I pointed at the photo and talked to him calmly and politely, "Sir, these people are being persecuted in China." I truly felt that it is our compassion that the evil fears most. The policeman looked at the photo, and then turned his head to dodge my eyesight. He muttered to himself, "I may or may not agree with what you say. But that has nothing to do with this."
Many practitioners on the scene did not cooperate with the evil. In the end, we were led to the nearest underground station, not the police station. At the underground entrance, I clarified truth to an undercover policeman. With a smile he said, "Falun Gong, I know, I know." Inside the underground station, another practitioner also explained a lot of details about the persecution to a policeman. Finally, we caught the underground to another place where activities were being held.
We would like to remind fellow practitioners to be diligent in self-cultivation and sending forth righteous thoughts. When the second parade ended, a practitioner said, "For such a large-scale activity with the participation of so many practitioners, we didn't send forth righteous thoughts before the activity took place. After forming the characters of 'Falun Dafa' beneath the Eiffel Tower in the evening, we failed again to send forth righteous thought sharply on the hour. The activity has become one held by everyday people." Maybe his statement is a little one-sided, but it points out some of our shortcomings that may have become factors subsequently interfered with by the evil.
