(Clearwisdom.net) I am a retired police officer, and have steadfastly progressed for the past 12 years under Teacher's care, helping Teacher to rectify the Fa and save sentient beings.
Strengthening belief in the Fa and working diligently
The persecution against Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began right after I became a practitioner. Faced with the deceptive lies and propaganda that was all over the media, I was confused as to whether Falun Gong was good or not. That continued until one day, a practitioner asked me, "Do you still want to practice or not?" I was stunned. Without thinking, I replied, "Sure I do." From then on, I took every spare minute to study the Fa and do the exercises. When I read Zhuan Falun, I was totally focused and did not think about anything else. I read five lectures in a row once and felt that my entire body was dissolved into the Fa. It felt wonderful. In my dreams, my thoughts were filled with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. In less than two months, I witnessed the wonders of the Fa, as all my illnesses disappeared.
Through studying the Fa, I realized that telling people the facts about Falun Gong, exposing the CCP's lies, and upholding the Fa were all a practitioner's undeniable responsibility.
There was a colleague in my company who believed in the CCP's propaganda and disliked me because of this. Occasionally, I would show him some of Teacher's articles and other Falun Gong materials, but it did not seem to have any effect on him. Then, one day he came to my office and began to ask me about Falun Gong. I told him how Teacher taught us to be good people, and helped him to see through the slanderous lies the CCP used against Teacher and the practice. I talked about Teacher's benevolence and greatness, the persecution against practitioners, and the courage of their peaceful resistance. We talked for nearly the whole day. Then he asked, "How can I learn the Falun Gong exercises?" I was truly happy for him.
In telling people the facts about Falun Gong, I was not afraid, no matter whom I met. My calmness in the face of these tests was the natural result of my diligence in Fa study. I have clarified the truth in a prison warden's office, and been to a prison manager's home to urge him to quit the CCP. I have successfully helped over 30 police officers to quit the CCP and its associated organizations.
When my attachment to fear did get the better of me. I knew that I had to break through it, and would recite:
"A Great Enlightened One fears no hardship
Having forged an adamantine will
Free of attachment to living or dying
He walks the path of Fa-rectification
confident and poised"
("Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions" from Hong Ying II)
After reading this poem my fear disappeared, and was replaced with the wish to complete a mission. At that time, no one could affect me.
Establishing a materials production site
We always used to have a lack of truth clarification materials in our area, so I had the wish to start producing these materials at my home. Teacher saw my righteous thoughts, and helped me to quickly establish one. I am no longer a young person, and had never used computers before. I really wanted to learn and asked Teacher for help. I would get up early and go to bed late at night. During that time I kept practicing to use the computer and was continually making notes. Pretty soon I learned how to surf the web, download materials, print, and burn DVD's. The materials production site soon became operational.
When the authorities found out about the materials production site, I should have just stopped production, concentrated on Fa study and looked inward to find my shortcomings. But I did not do this and kept on producing materials. I was later arrested and my home was ransacked. They put me in a forced labor camp for a year and extended my term three times.
Trying to be a righteous practitioner, even in a labor camp
When I was taken to the labor camp, I was put in the "special training group," and had two very nasty inmates who were assigned to monitor me. They forced me to watch DVDs that slandered Falun Gong and they tried to force me to renounce my belief. In my mind I promised Teacher: "I will never betray Teacher or fellow practitioners. I shall not let the lies and propaganda take over my mind. Teacher please protect me." I recited:
"Let nothing sway conviction;
of it comes right fruit and the blooming lotus"
("Diligence and Righteous Enlightenment" from Hong Ying II).
The two inmates did not allow me to sleep, and took turns in making me to listen to the CCP's propaganda recordings. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts to rid them both of the bad elements that were controlling them. No matter what they said, I would not listen. I kept reciting the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts. A month later, they gave up.
I deeply appreciated the importance of studying the Fa in such an adverse environment, and would not relax for a single moment. When I came out of the "special training group", they assigned two new inmates to watch over me. I would care for them in their daily lives, and used my righteous actions to influence them. I told them the facts about Falun Gong and the beauty of the practice, and helped them to quit the CCP. They would both watch out for me when I did the exercises at night, and one of them even read Zhuan Falun.
One morning the head of the guards called me to the office, and yelled at me: "I heard that you did exercises last night. Where do you think you are, scum?" I said solemnly, "Who did you call scum?" The head guard was stunned and remained silent, while his hands searched for things in the drawer to hide his uneasiness. Practitioners emphasize benevolence, but also have their dignity. I later learned that the guard told the inmates to allow me to do the exercises in the workshop.
Teacher told us a long time ago:
"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" from Essentials for Further Advancement II.)
I would not comply with any of the guards' orders. I would not announce myself when I entered the office, I did not fill out any forms, or write any reports, and when we were led outside to dig up weeds, I sat on the steps and did nothing. One of the inmates told me, "I respect you." I was surprised, "How come?" He said, "Not only me, so does the head guard and the other guards. I will practice Falun Gong when I get out."
When the guards searched our cells, they confiscated Teacher's article. I blamed myself for allowing it to happen, but also decided that I needed to get it back. So I began to strike, and would not work. When the other practitioners heard about this, they too began to strike, and sent forth righteous thoughts to support me. A guard then threatened to stop my visitation rights and extend my term in the labor camp. I began to recite:
"In life, nothing sought,
In death, regretting naught;
Washing away all wrong thought,
Buddhahood, with less
adversity, is wrought." ("Nothing kept" from Hong Yin).
The guards finally gave up, and returned Teacher's article back to me. But they also extended my term. The incident had quite a strong impact on the practitioners in the labor camp.
When the guards gathered all the practitioners who had been "transformed" together in a small team, I found an opportunity to get in touch with them and shared my understanding of the Fa. I told them that to renounce their belief and cooperate with the guards was wrong and no excuse could justify it. Through Fa study, everyone elevated their understanding of the issue, and eventually, the whole team publicly rescinded their guarantee statements to stop practicing Falun Gong.
When the guards tried to force me to write a guarantee statement to stop practicing Falun Gong, I remembered Teacher's words:
"As a Dafa disciple, everything of yours is formed by Dafa and is the most righteous, and it can only be that [you] rectify everything that is not righteous. How could you bow to the evil? How could you promise something to the evil? Even if it doesn't truly come from your heart, it's still giving in to the evil. This is bad conduct for humans, too, and Gods absolutely would not do such a thing. Even if a Dafa cultivator truly casts off his human skin during the persecution, what awaits him is still Consummation."("Dafa is Indestructible" from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I sent forth righteous thoughts in my mind and refused to cooperate with them. I was then confined to a room, and looked inward to see what I had done wrong. I found that occasionally my mind was not strong, and did not have sufficient benevolence towards the guards. Even though I still had shortcomings, there was still no reason why I should be persecuted. I continued to recite the Fa. Teacher said:
"When a tribulation arrives, if you, a disciple, can truly maintain an unshakable calm or be determined to meet different requirements at different levels, this should be sufficient for you to pass the test. If it continues endlessly and if there do not exist other problems in your xinxing or conduct, it must be that the evil demons are capitalizing on the weak spots caused by your lack of control. After all, a cultivator is not an ordinary human. So why doesn't the side of you that is your original nature rectify the Fa?" ("Expounding on the Fa" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
The guards ordered the inmates not to give me water or allow me to use the toilet. They did not allow me to wear enough clothing to keep warm, and used various ways to torture me, to force me to renounce my belief. The guards took turns cursing me, but I just ignored them. I was held in the "special training room" for over twenty days. One guard told me, "You are truly strong." I told him my experience of cultivation and how Falun Gong had spread around the world. He truly respected me and Falun Gong, and would bring food from home for me.
Under Teacher's guidance and protection, I remained steadfast and overcame my ordeals.
