(Clearwisdom.net) Since the evil began its persecution of Falun Gong five years ago, the practitioners in Sichuan Province have steadfastly marched through the ordeal with Teacher's care and blessings. It was joyful to witness the sentient beings learning the truth. It was also painful to learn some difficult lessons. I am describing the experiences of practitioners in a particular location in Sichuan Province where they persisted in their efforts in the past five years to clarify the facts to the public and gradually changed the whole atmosphere of the place.
At first practitioners there were severely persecuted. Some practitioners had their livestock or staples taken away. Some had their houses torn down. Some were deprived of their sleep first and then beaten up and forced to kneel while holding a bucket of water over their head. Some, carrying a baby on the back, were forced to wear a high hat and openly be criticized and humiliated in public and then forced to walk the streets. Some practitioners were beaten and injured or paralyzed, or even killed. Although a small city, they applied all sorts of evil measures with facilities including the detention center, jail, brainwashing classes, and psychiatric hospitals. The whole atmosphere was horrifying.
The practitioners were never intimidated. Rather, they steadfastly trusted Teacher and believed in Dafa. They were diligent in cultivation and followed Teacher in the process of Fa-rectification, and caused the local environment to change dramatically.
In March 2004, I went there again. When my car drove past a police station in a local town, I saw two banners hung from the telephone pole across the street. One said: "Falun Dafa is Great," the other said: "The Whole World Tries Jiang Zemin." The banners fluttered in the wind and appeared to have been there for days. I felt immediately that the practitioners there were truly doing great. After I arrived at the practitioner's house, I rode a bike to invite another practitioner over for experience sharing. On my way I found that the banners showing "Falun Dafa Is Great" were everywhere - on the roadside, at the intersection, on the utility poles by the fields, and on trees. During the experience sharing, I said: "You are doing great here. Banners are everywhere." She said: "It's nothing now. It would be fantastic if you came here half a month ago. You would see pairs of banners everywhere: on big streets, in small alleys, on trees and utility poles on roadsides and by the fields. One banner of the pair said: 'Anniversary of practitioner xxx's death,' and was decorated with little white flowers. The other said: 'Falun Dafa is great.' They were hung there for a long time and effectively suppressed the evil."
Practitioners even went to the homes of local party officials, policemen, and the 610 Office staff in person to explain to them the facts about Falun Gong. They did this perseveringly and would not give up until the listeners indeed appreciated the truth. On swap-meet days, everyone would gather in a practitioner's house around 10 am for experience sharing. The number of participants ranged from 20 to as many as 80. They had several mock trials of Jiang Zemin. The meeting would dismiss after practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts. The practitioners indeed formed one body and the news of the events spread fast.
The evil forces killed a practitioner. All practitioners in surrounding areas were informed and asked for support. As many as a thousand practitioners gathered during the few days around the funeral and studied the Fa and shared experiences in groups. The city 610 Office and the police department were alerted and came to check. They found that the practitioners had formed an indestructible body so they just drove away quietly. On the journey to the funeral house to cremate the passed-away practitioner, practitioners lined up for miles and chanted all the way: "Falun Dafa is great. Falun Dafa is righteous. Clear Teacher's name, Clear Dafa's name. Falun Dafa has been wrongfully accused." The scene strongly intimidated the evildoers.
Local residents witnessed the spirit of the practitioners and observed the way practitioners were helping each other and were quite moved. They joined the Dafa practitioners one after another, leading to a shortage of Dafa book supplies. None of the local practitioners were jailed in the local jail, detention center, brainwashing classes or the psychiatric hospitals.
The evil put three practitioners on trial in the city. Because the news was learned too late, only 200 practitioners were informed in time. They crowded the court, both on and off the stage. Practitioners formed an indestructible unity, chanting, "Falun Dafa is great" and other slogans. The judge was forced to close the session in a hurry. Afterwards practitioners voluntarily formed groups of a few people and went to the city court, city police department, the 610 Office and the city national police team to demand the release of jailed practitioners. Two of the practitioners were unconditionally released. Practitioners were doing their best to rescue the third one.
