(Minghui.org) Ms. Han Yuejuan, a government official in Guangdong City of Guangdong Province, was sentenced to three years for her faith in Falun Dafa in 2002. She said to the presiding judge that the prison sentence was illegal and called out “Falun Dafa is good” three times. The judge immediately increased her sentence to six years. Every utterance of “Falun Dafa is good” counted toward one extra year, said the judge. 

Mr. Zhang Jinsheng, a Falun Dafa practitioner in Qingyuan County, Liaoning Province, was sentenced to 8 years for showing others how to access Minghui. When he defended his innocence and said fa lun da fa hao (these five Chinese characters together mean Falun Dafa is good) in court, his term was extended to 13 years. The judge said, “Each Chinese character you said is one more year of prison sentence.”

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a meditation system based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and it has been persecuted in China since July 1999. Above are just two of many examples of innocent practitioners wrongly sentenced for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of belief. If the persecution of Falun Dafa continues like this, what does it mean to every one of us, and our society?

* * *

One attitude that can earn trust is being truthful. One quality that can warm a heart is compassion. One realm that can draw admiration is forbearance. Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are the foundation of our existence. Only with a faith in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance can we revere the divine and exert self-restraint. Like a beacon in the dark night, Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance lights up the whole world and brings us hope. 

Honesty is essential for mankind. Since ancient times, our ancestors and sages over time have shown us the importance of integrity. In the modern time of materialism where “money first” and “money is omnipotent” are held as mottos, however, greed and desires have dominated the world, diminishing the role of honesty. Even scientific research and publication, one area with the highest rigor, has been compromised with fraudulence. Anyone who refuses to drift with the tide – be it researchers, scholars, or doctors – would lose opportunities for career advancement. 

With no honesty and integrity, however, doctors could turn a surgical tool into a butcher’s knife for “killing on demand to extract organs for transplant,” teachers could brainwash their students with lies instead of facts, lawyers could act against their conscience to rake in profit, and merchants could sell adulterated or counterfeit products such as poisonous rice, toxic baby formula, and many more. Given these, our world needs Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. 

Kindness is gold for us. When you are hungry and cold, someone offers you a cup of warm soup; when you are struggling in a rainstorm, a person hands you an umbrella; when you are about to fall in the abyss, a strong hand lifts you out of danger... 

For mankind, compassion brings an everlasting spring, acts like a beacon in the dark, offers guidance in the maze of life, and radiates our world with hope. Falun Dafa practitioners, in particular, have learned to be better citizens by following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. With their minds uplifted, their health improved, and their questions about life answered, Falun Dafa practitioners are full of gratitude to the practice and its founder. This is why they have bravely stood up for their right to uphold their faith after the communist regime launched a nationwide campaign against Falun Dafa in July 1999. 

There is a Chinese saying that “The favor of a drop of water should be reciprocated by a gushing spring,” which means that one should always be grateful for even the smallest amount of favor or even return small favors with much bigger ones. With their teacher being defamed and attacked during the persecution, practitioners felt compelled to stand behind Falun Dafa teachings – the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance – which have benefited them tremendously. This is what any normal person would do. Resisting the persecution requires courage, persistence, and efforts. This process – safeguarding mankind’s dignity – is also a testimony of who practitioners are and what they are here for.

Despite the 23 years of brutality and lies from the Chinese Communist Party, the melody and voice in practitioners’ hearts remain the same: The world needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and fa lun da fa hao.

Forbearance is a virtue and a realm. In the face of endless defamatory propaganda, discrimination, and atrocity, Falun Dafa practitioners have no hatred or resentment and still treat others with kindness. Such caliber is righteousness inspired by Falun Dafa teachings and it shows the realm of practitioners. 

Practicing Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is not a crime. Rather, it is a clear stream in the desert of moral degeneration in China, a hope in the sea of greed and chaos, and a guidance leading us to return to our heavenly abode. 

What’s unfolding in China is relevant to all of us. Without honesty or integrity, all of us might lose our future in the end. Thus, helping those vulnerable ones is also helping ourselves.