(Clearwisdom.net) Just before October 1, I was arrested and sent to a brainwashing center. With Master's protection and with fellow practitioner's collective righteous thoughts, I returned home after four days without making any compromises. Looking back at this experience, I have gained understanding. I write it down here to share with fellow practitioners; please correct me if there is anything improper.
Completely negate old forces' factors from our thoughts
Usually the first tactic police use is to trick us. A sentence that is often used is: We know what you have done; otherwise, we would have arrested other people as well. At this moment, we should not show any hesitation but firmly believe what we are doing is not wrong. We absolutely did nothing wrong by letting people understanding the true facts through all means. I said, "It is you who are doing the persecution. We did not do any thing against our conscious so we have nothing to fear." At this time, we should overcome our fear.
At the beginning, I viewed this arrest completely from a human angle. However, humans cannot overcome evil. We are practitioners and we firmly believe in Master and Dafa. We do not acknowledge any form of persecution. I repeatedly recited "Don't Be Sad" (Hongyin II)
"Your body lies in prison - don't be sorrowful, don't be sad
With righteous thoughts and righteous actions, Fa is here
Calmly reflect on how many attachments you have
As you get rid of human mentality, evil naturally disappears"
"Nothing to Hold You Back" (Hongyin II) (provisional translation)
"Cultivation has different paths
All are bounded under Dafa
When there is nothing to attach to
Your path will evolve before you "
I recited these poems repeatedly and looked inward to find my attachments and eliminate them. I found I had a strong competitive mentality. I would easily lose my temper whenever there was a conflict. This competitive mentality should not come from me and my true self should not be like this.
"Once a notion is formed, it can govern a person's life, dominate his mind and even his happiness, anger, grief and joy. It is something acquired. With the passage of time, it will dissolve in one's mind, in the real brain of one's own, and form one's disposition." (Zhuan Falun II)
I recited "Buddha-Nature" again and again. My competitive mentality disappeared.
At the beginning, when the police talked to me, I had fear. I was afraid of talking too much because they could find some evidence and beat me. Then I realized immediately what was behind the "fear" Wasn't it selfishness? "Fear" is a notion developed later in one's life. When we are afraid of hardship, afraid of this or that, we are thinking of ourselves, which is selfishness. Selfishness is a factor of the old universe. I remember Master said before,
"I also want to tell you that your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others--or even future generations--along with Dafa's eternal stability." ("Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature" from Essentials For Further Advancement)
I asked myself, "Did I do well on this?" Then I recited the scripture of "Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful,"
"The evil beings are being destroyed in large numbers in the Three Realms and the human world. They have already seen that they will end in failure, so they make their last-ditch effort even more madly. The most severely persecuted ones are precisely those students who harbor attachments."
After repeatedly reciting the Fa, these attachments no longer affected me anymore and my thoughts became more and more clear.
Completely reject persecution in language
When we are not selfish anymore, we will have no more fear. Notions developed later in our life no longer exist, we will have a peaceful mind and big heart, and our wisdom will be with us. When the police said, "Falun Gong has been labeled as a cult and if you practice any further, you will violate the law," I said, "What you are doing is truly illegal. You lied to me saying you would let me go after asking a few questions. I did not fall into your trap, so you mobilized more than 20 policemen to arrest me. It is you who are violating human rights and the law. You are truly evil. You force other people to give up their righteous belief. Anyone can practice Falun Gong; nobody is forced to practice. Why is Falun Gong banned only in China? Falun Gong can be practiced freely in every other country. Falun Gong has been spread all over the world."
During the debate with the police I talked about what true Chinese culture is, talked about Buddhist sculptures and paintings in famous rock caves, about kindness, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and the trustworthiness that people should have, about how Confucius and Lao Tse promoted ancient civilization, the Chinese Communist Party's Cultural Revolution, and the collusion of Luo Gan and He Zuoxiu to persecute Falun Gong for political gain. I urged the police not to abuse their power and to leave a path of retreat for themselves. Gods in heaven are watching the Earth. Whatever anyone has said or done has all been recorded. Once retribution starts, it will be too late to repent.
Eliminate the old forces with your actions
Master said,
"Why should you, a Dafa disciple, fear the evil ones when enduring persecution? The crux of the matter is that you have attachments. If not, do not endure passively, and face the evil people with righteous thoughts at all times. 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")
The day after I was forced into the brainwashing center, I started my hunger strike. They tried to persuade me to eat and I said that I wanted to eat at home. However, all the time human notions looked for a way to interfere, a thought came out: What should I do if they won't let me go home even if I am on a hunger strike? I immediately became alert, thinking this thought was not from me but my human notions trying to question and sway me. Then I recited the last paragraph of "Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. International Fa Conference,"
"So as a cultivator, what is truly remarkable is when you can be steadfast and have righteous thoughts so firm that nothing can sway you. Be solid and firm like diamond, or granite, and then nothing can affect you--evil will be afraid at the mere sight of you. If upon encountering trying circumstances your thinking can be truly righteous, then, when faced with the evil's persecution and when faced with interference, just one sentence of yours fortified with steadfast righteous thoughts can instantly make the evil disintegrate (applause), and it will make those who are being used by the evil turn and flee, it will make the evil's persecution of you dissolve, and it will make the evil's interfering with you disappear without a trace. One thought born of righteous faith is all it takes. And whoever can hold firm that righteous thought and go the distance will become a magnificent god forged by Dafa. (Long applause)"
I recited this paragraph repeatedly. I realized my hunger strike was to not cooperate with the evil. It would be an attachment if my purpose was to go home. I quickly adjusted my attitude.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, a policeman said, "Pack your stuff and go home." I became so happy. How could I not feel happy when I gained freedom? However, I immediately realized this was not right. Master told a story in Zhuan Falun about a person who reached arhat status and dropped down when he showed zealotry. I immediately sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the attachment of zealotry, and my true self stayed calm and was not influenced.
After I came back home, I wanted to write down my experiences. Then I had an obstacle. I was afraid I could not write well because my education is limited. I repeatedly reminded myself that I am a Dafa practitioner and should be able to do anything, and I must break through my notions. Good or bad, I just want to write down my personal experience. Please forgive me if there is any grammar issue.
