Repentance with Concrete Actions: Story of a Police Station Director

(Minghui.org) Throughout the 5,000-year Chinese history, there has been the belief that the divine is watching every thought and move of mankind. Whoever revered the divine and did good deeds would be blessed. Those who defamed the divine and acted recklessly would be punished as a warning for them to make corrections. 

There was a story of an ancient scholar who wanted to see ghosts. He brought a big jar of wine to a graveyard and called out if any one in the netherworld would come and drink with him. Thirteen shadowy ghosts emerged not far from him, enjoying the wine that the scholar poured for them. 

When asked why they did not reincarnate into human beings, one of the ghosts said only those with good qualities could reincarnate while those with worst crimes would end up in hell. Among the thirteen of them, four would be reincarnated while the remaining nine were not good enough for reincarnation.

“Why don't you repent for your wrongdoings so that you don’t have to go to hell?” asked the scholar.
“You can only repent while you are still alive,” replied a ghost. “There is no way you can repent after death.”

Below is a modern story of how a police director in China repented for his wrongdoings.

After Chen was appointed director of a police station, he closely followed the persecution policy against Falun Gong. Besides issuing fines, he also ordered his subordinates to monitor, follow, arrest, or send to labor camps local practitioners. As a result, everyone in the police station was busy persecuting practitioners. Chen himself also received awards from higher officials for his active role in the persecution. 

Right as he was waiting for promotion, however, Chen was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was frightened and in despair. Thinking back on the things he had done in the past, Chen suddenly remembered several practitioners had urged him to stop his participation in the persecution. They reminded him of the Chinese saying that “good is rewarded with good, and evil meets evil.” He wondered whether his cancer diagnosis was related to his involvement in the suppression.

Without hesitation, Chen went to his office in the evening and took some Falun Gong materials confiscated from local practitioners back home. By reading them one by one, he realized that Falun Gong indeed teaches one to be a good person and that the persecution was wrong. He regretted what he had done to practitioners. 

While waiting to undergo surgery, Chen also watched DVDs confiscated from practitioners earlier on and talked to a practitioner about questions he had. Gradually, he learned that Falun Gong teachings are very profound and can only benefit our society.

Since then, Chen stopped doing bad deeds and started to help practitioners. When tipsters reported practitioners to him, he just ignored them. When his subordinates requested more vehicles to take arrested practitioners to the police station, he would reply, “It’s hard to find police vans. You can let them [practitioners] go.” For local practitioners who were forced to pay fines in the past, he called them to get the money back. When an elderly practitioner was about to be sent to a labor camp, he used his connections to have her released on medical parole.

There were many stories of this kind. One day Chen suddenly realized his stomach pain was gone. Not only could he eat well, he also regained energy. He was very happy and shared the story with his aide, Tang, who had worked at the police station for many years. 

“You are not alone,” Tang smiled at him and said. “Your two predecessors also chose to stop persecuting Falun Gong.”

The first director was Zhang, whose mother and sister-in-law are Falun Gong practitioners. He also told his officers that practitioners are good people. If everyone practices Falun Gong, society would be peaceful, he often said. His mother also repeatedly told him not to do bad deeds. Zhang listened and was later promoted. 

The second director, Qin, was even less active in the persecution. Citing an ancient Chinese saying, he said, “There are divine beings three feet above our heads watching [us].” He also said doing good deeds would bring blessings to the family and offspring. Both his son and daughter-in-law are Falun Gong practitioners. Upon their recommendation, Qin retired earlier. Because of some policy changes, his pension was even higher than his salary. 

Chen was glad he learned the facts and changed his ways in time, and wishes the same good fortune for others who had been deceived and made to participate in the persecution.