A Young Artist’s Ever Incomplete Family Portrait (Part 5 of 6)

(Minghui.org) Continued from Part 4.

An Act of Kindness

In correctional facilities under the communist regime, an inmate’s life is not valued or protected. Encouraged and even incited by the authorities, abuse and violence run rampant, exposing the dark side of human nature to its fullest.

In such a hostile environment, a small act of kindness seems even more precious. Despite the suffering they are subjected to, Falun Dafa practitioners quietly validated their belief by following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their words and deeds.

When food was so scarce that some inmates would get down on all fours and bark like a dog just for a spoiled piece of rice cake, only practitioners shared their already small portions with the elderly and the weak. To keep the inmates from eating too much, the pot was never taken off the stove so the porridge was always too hot to eat. When a bowl of pickled vegetables was dumped on the table, you had to fight for something or you got nothing.

Even though Mr. Yu didn’t have a lot of money and his cash card was often suspended, when he bought things at the prison store, he always got two of the same to share with those who had even less. When a lick of cane sugar was considered a luxury, Mr. Yu gave his small half bag of granulated sugar to a poor inmate who had just been diagnosed with cancer.

Stopping the “Electricity”

In Hailin Detention Center, the inmates were made to participate in a game called “passing the electricity.” With all inmates sitting behind one another in a single file, the last person started the game by punching the person in front of him in the lower back, then that person punched the person in front of him, and so on. Getting hit for no reason aroused anger, which translated into harder and harder punches. As the game went on, the inmates got more and more worked up.

But the “electricity” never got past Mr. Yu. He’d take the hit but never “passed it on” to the person in front of him, because the founder of Dafa taught not to fight back when beaten or sworn at. “The electricity is cut off,” the inmates would announce and start all over again. No matter how many times he got hit, Mr. Yu never hit anyone. Eventually, nobody played that game anymore.

Kindness Wins

Mr. Yu also saw that some inmates and guards who helped and protected practitioners within their power were kind. The prison authorities encouraged the inmates to tattle on Mr. Yu at quite a few division meetings, but nobody had anything bad to say about him.

Instead, some inmates openly praised Falun Dafa practitioners. “Such good people.” “Compared to Falun [Dafa practitioners] who are high up in the sky, so-and-so is low on the ground.” The guards and inmates called Falun Dafa practitioners “Falun” for short.

The Boss Is Convinced

Mr. Yu posed a big “problem” for the prison authorities because he would not renounce his faith. An inmate called Yang Qinghua was brought in from another division to “solve” the problem that was Mr. Yu. Who was Yang Qinghua? He used to be the boss of the local gang in Zhaodong City but was now imprisoned. He was the head of all inmates of the training division.

Yang always wore a scowl on his face and a black coat over his prison uniform. A few inmates followed him everywhere he went—one carried his teapot, one carried his cat, and another carried extra clothes. His presence always caused great anxiety in the inmates. When he entered a cell, everyone held their breath.

Yang at the time was eagerly looking for a “project” to impress and get on the good side of the prison authorities as he was in the process of petitioning to get his death penalty changed to a life sentence. When the guards asked Yang to “take care” of Mr. Yu, he agreed.

Yang had a letter delivered to Mr. Yu asking him to meet with the gang boss. As soon as Mr. Yu showed up, Yang said, “Falun, the higher-ups put me in charge now. As long as I am in charge, I will get this done. What do you think? I don’t care if you do anything else, but if you slow me down, I won’t tolerate that. Nobody can stop me. If you don’t write the guarantee statement today, you will be carried out of here instead of walking out by yourself.”

Yang’s face twisted into a scowl. Slowly, he put on a pair of white gloves and was ready to start the beating.

Though weak and skinny, Mr. Yu didn’t have the slightest fear in his voice. He calmly responded, “There was a thief in ancient times named Zhi. While on a job, he always went in first and exited last, but he still divided whatever he stole with his partners equally, that was his rule. Even the thieves in ancient times had principles they adhered to.

“Hu Yaobang, the high-ranking leader of the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], recounts in his memoir the one thing he regretted the most in life—when he knew full well that Peng Dehuai (a high-ranking CCP military leader) was wrongly accused during the Cultural Revolution, he still raised his hand and supported the prosecution of Peng.

“If a person goes against his conscience, he will never be at peace. I was diagnosed with a terminal illness and was told I didn’t have much longer to live. Without charging me a penny, Master Li, the founder of Falun Gong, healed me. Not just my body, he also healed my heart.

“When I worked for the library, I used company supplies to do my own freelance work. After practicing Falun Dafa, I made a list of the supplies I had used over the years and replaced them. Nobody told me to do that and I didn’t tell anybody about it either. I was in charge of purchasing in my department. When the vendors asked me how much to write on the invoice [by putting down a higher price on the invoice, the person in charge of purchasing could get more in reimbursement than the actual cost and make a profit], I told them that I was a Falun Dafa practitioner and would report the spending honestly.

“Master Li taught me how to be a good person. My sister Yu Zhenjie works for the local procuratorate as an accountant. When she prepared for a promotion exam, everybody told her to cheat, but she didn’t. We cultivate truthfulness. The director of the procuratorate heard about this and told my sister, ‘I can’t believe people like you still exist in this world. If we only hire one employee, we’d hire you.’”

Mr. Yu asked Yang, “If you were me, would you insult your own master against your conscience? If you beat me to death today, I won’t resent you. I never planned on leaving this place alive. I don’t need a way out. I will not write the statement.”

As he listened, the former gang boss’s expression softened. Impressed and deeply moved, he told Mr. Yu, “Falun, this is how humans should behave.”

A Change of Heart

While in a detention center, Mr. Yu’s bed was right next to a serial killer’s who was on death row for having murdered five people. This poor farmer was bullied and pushed around so much that he sought revenge. Mr. Yu explained to him how humans are supposed to act and taught him to recite Master’s poems. Before he was executed, he said to Mr. Yu with great remorse, “I met you too late.”

A gang boss from Suifenhe City was assigned to oversee over 300 inmates in Division No. 6. Mr. Yu taught him calligraphy. As his brush skills improved, the gangster became kind and gentle. He helped the weak and the elderly inmates and ensured justice fearlessly. Division No. 6 became the most outstanding division following his lead. Everybody called him “Big Bro.”

When a former director of the local 610 Office was appointed the warden, he had plans to turn the inmates against “Big Bro” and install himself as the new boss, only to see his plan fail miserably. “Big Bro” had earned the inmates’ trust and respect. After he was released, the inmates missed having such a kind division overseer who always cared and looked out for them.

Many other inmates agreed with Falun Dafa’s principles and some even took up the practice. Those who treated the practitioners with kindness were blessed, while those who were hostile and directly involved in mistreating and torturing practitioners didn’t end up so well. Of course, retribution is not what practitioners want to see.

The Most Precious Gift

While corrupt officials teach their children to ignore their conscience and rich businessmen teach their children not to trust anybody, Minghui’s parents always taught her to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

When Minghui saw her father’s injuries and bruises during a visit, she had hatred in her eyes. Mr. Yu told her a story of forgiveness. He told her to always look at the good side of people and look at the bright side of things. He explained to his young daughter that the guards didn’t have a choice and asked her not to resent them.

When Minghui visited her father before her college entrance exams toward the end of her senior year in high school, Mr. Yu said to her through the metal bars, “Kiddo, Dad didn’t help you with anything.” Minghui opened her eyes wide, waved her hand, and smiled, “Dad, that is not true at all.”

“One word at a time,” she said with all due seriousness. “Dad, you have given me the most precious gift for my soul.”

Despite having been put through absolute hell, Mom and Dad still managed to remain kind and sincere—like lotus flowers that grow out of the mud yet blossom into pure, beautiful and fragrant flowers in a chaotic world. Like a Vajra, who is beautiful because of his purity and indestructible because of his unfaltering faith.

Minghui is so proud of her parents.

(To be continued.)