(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
I’m 63 years old, and I’ve practiced Falun Dafa for 25 years. For this 20th China Fahui on Minghui, I’d like to tell you how other practitioners and I have helped to rescue persecuted practitioners and how that has offered us amazing cultivation opportunities.
Cooperating with Others to Rescue Detained Practitioners
In 2009, Fenfen (alias) was arrested and given one year of forced labor. One day Mei (alias) told me, “Fenfen was due to be released and her family went to pick her up, but the labor camp refused to let her go, claiming that she didn’t cooperate and was not ‘transformed.’ Her detention period was extended illegally, but her family members are allowed to see her.” I said, “Fenfen is determined and steadfast. We should ask her family when they plan to see her. We can go with them and encourage her.”
Mei and I went to see Fenfen’s sister, who is also a practitioner. I asked the sister when Fenfen’s husband planned to go to the labor camp and said we would go with him and talk to Fenfen. Her sister told us when the visit was scheduled.
Mei contacted two other practitioners, and we discussed how we should rescue Fenfen. The four of us agreed to work as a team. We took the long distance bus the day before and arrived late in the afternoon. Thanks to Master’s help, we found a hotel near the labor camp. We read the Fa, sent righteous thoughts, and shared our insights.
The three other practitioners were in their 60s, more than ten years older than I. They had strong righteous thoughts and thought through everything carefully. When I saw they’d brought bags of food, I thought bringing so much food was troublesome. But when we checked into the hotel, we had something to eat and that saved us time and money. We cooperated well as a team. We knew this was the power of Falun Dafa!
The next morning we went to the camp and waited for Fenfen’s family. Her husband, son, and sister came just after 8 a.m. Her sister said that Fenfen’s son didn’t want us to talk to his mother. One practitioner said, “Then we’ll just wait outside and send righteous thoughts.” I was not moved and said, “We shouldn’t listen to everyday people. The negative elements want to destroy Fenfen, so they want to stop us from talking to her.” We discussed the situation and decided we should try to see her.
When it was the time for Fenfen’s family to visit, two practitioners waited outside the labor camp and sent righteous thoughts. Mei and I entered the camp with the family. I told Mei, “Even if both of us can’t get into the meeting room, we can wait in the hall for her family and send righteous thoughts.”
We walked in a line, following the family. I was in front of May and we both kept a distance from the family. We turned round and round and it seemed like a long way. I was nervous but reminded myself to have righteous thoughts and that Dafa practitioners only move forward, not backward. I silently recited one of Master’s poems:
“A Great Enlightened One fears no hardshipHaving forged an adamantine willFree of attachment to living or dyingHe walks the path of Fa-rectificationConfident and posed”(“Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions,” Hong Yin II)
We had to go through three doors before we entered the meeting room. Mei and I walked behind Fenfen’s family. When we were four meters away from the first door, I saw a female guard standing there. When the family members entered, she didn’t say anything. I thought, “Don’t say anything to me.” I hesitated and thought, “Will she let me in?” When I got to the door, she asked quietly, “You are here to see her?” I said, “Yes.” She said warmly, “Please go in quickly.”
The meeting room was ten square meters with a long glass partition. People sat on either side of the partition and talked to each other via telephones. Guards monitored them.
When Mei and I entered, Fenfen was talking to her son on the telephone, and they were crying. He was trying hard to persuade her and said, “The labor camp said that as long as you say one sentence, you can go home.” He complained and said he suffered a lot. He used to think Falun Dafa was good, but because Fenfen had been persecuted so many times, he was upset. I knew he’d been brainwashed by the CCP’s lies. What he meant was that, as long as his mother said one sentence (which she would be doing against her will), she could return home. He claimed she could continue practicing Falun Dafa at home.
Fenfen’s husband, Mei and I stood nearby and waited to talk to her. When I heard the time was nearly up, I got anxious. Suddenly her son threw the phone down and walked to the window. Fenfen had firmly refused his demands. Then her husband picked up the phone, said several sentences, and put the phone down. Mei hurried over and picked up the phone. She asked Fenfen if she had enough necessities, like toilet paper, shampoo, and soap. They chatted a bit and then cried. The guard said the time was nearly up. I was worried because I hadn’t yet talked to Fenfen.
Then Mei handed the phone to me. I told Fenfen, “Sister, this is not the place you should stay. Father [by which we both knew I meant “Master”] is asking you to come home.” She said, “I know.” A female guard asked Mei what we were doing there. I said, “Family members’ meeting.” I looked around and saw that Fenfen’s family had already left. Mei and I hurried out.
Outside the gate of the labor camp, we met up with the other practitioners and returned home that afternoon.
Fenfen was released over a month later thanks to her righteous thoughts.
Rescuing a Practitioner Who Was Detained for 14 Years
Ying (alias) was often harassed and monitored by the police. She left home to avoid the persecution and was homeless. I stayed with her for a few days when I was displaced. She was arrested in another city, beaten with electric batons, and tortured so badly she was unable to walk. She was sentenced to 14 years in prison. She was brutally abused and tortured in prison and nearly died. Her family turned their backs on her.
Anqin (alias) said, “When Ying was illegally detained for 10 years, she became paralyzed after being tortured. Her abdomen was full of tumors, and her life was in danger. The prison wanted to release her but her family refused to take her home.” Anqin and other practitioners talked to her family, but they refused to listen or help Ying. Her family said that, if she was going to die, then let her die in prison.
Anqin and the other practitioners brought rice, flour, and oil and visited Ying’s mother on Chinese New Year. Her younger brother told them to leave and threatened to call the police and report them. He said, “The next time you come here, I’ll report you to the police. Take these things and leave.”
When I heard about her situation, the others and I discussed it. After many twists and turns, we finally found her sister. We told her that if she picked Ying up, we would look after her. Her sister was very touched and said, “We didn’t pick her up last year. The prison now doesn’t intend to release her. We can only visit her.” I suggested that she demand her release. She said, “I’m busy and I don’t have time to handle it.” She explained that her mother had the visiting card and gave us her mother’s phone number. We rang her mother and asked to see her. She lied and said she was not home. We were not able to rescue Ying.
Four years passed, and I estimated it was time for Ying to be released. I wanted to pick her up. Her sister had moved, and I didn’t know her new address. I contacted Anqin to see if she knew the address of Ying’s younger brother. I said, “Ying is about to be released, but a family member must pick her up. Do you know the address of any of her family members?” Anqin said, “Her younger brother threw us out last time. We didn’t go there again. I forgot his address.”
Ying had been imprisoned and tormented for 14 years. She was extremely fortunate to be alive. No matter the difficulty, I had to find a family member. I went to see Anqin again and asked her to think hard and try to remember where Ying’s brother or other family members lived. I also discussed Ying’s situation with the other practitioners. Some didn’t know what to do while others were concerned because her family members were hostile.
Master said:
“The next person’s things are your things, and your things are his things.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2002 Conference in Washington, D.C.,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World, Volume II)
I knew I shouldn’t wait or rely on others. Practitioners are a whole body and we are Ying’s family. When the old forces persecuted her, it was as though they were persecuting all of us. Practitioners don’t belong in prison. I would try my best.
I needed to find her family. I went to see Anqin again and asked her if any practitioners who went with her could remember her brother’s address. She told me that Wang and Hui had gone with her. I went to see Wang and explained I wanted to find Ying’s brother. She said she’d forgotten his address.
I went to see Hui. She said she roughly knew the location but didn’t remember the exact address. She said that another practitioner went with her and asked me to contact her. I went there and knocked on her door. No one answered, so I waited. Soon enough, she came home.
When I told her why I was there, she said she knew his address. I asked her to take me there right away. We arrived at Ying’s brother’s home and knocked on his door. There was no one there. We went to her elder brother’s home. Only his wife was at home. We told her why we came. She said she would discuss it with her sister-in-law (the younger brother’s wife). She rang her and then handed the phone to me. I heard, “Who are you? What happened?” I calmly said, “Hello, I have something to discuss with you in person.” She lowered her voice and said, “Then come here.” She told me her address.
We thanked Ying’s sister-in-law. We sent forth righteous thoughts on the bus to clear any interference. When we arrived, she said, “Just tell me.” She meant she would have the final say. We told her Ying was due to be released.
She said, “I didn’t know. We don’t care. We are not able to take care of her. Let her stay in prison.” Seeing she was very angry, we didn’t say anything else. We said we would return later. The other practitioner said to me, “My home is far from here. I won’t come again.” I said, “Okay, I’ll come by myself.”
I went to see Ying’s sister-in-law again. I tried to persuade her to pick Ying up when she was due to be released. She was not angry this time but still said that she didn’t care. She said, “Her sisters don’t care about her. She doesn’t have money or an apartment. She is very ill and her belly is full of tumors. Who has time to look after her? Plus, we’d need money to take her to a doctor. Just let her stay in prison.”
I said, “Falun Dafa teaches people to be good and kind. Your sister-in-law was imprisoned for being a good person. The CCP is persecuting her. If you don’t take care of her, who will look after her? After she comes back and can practice the exercises and study the Fa, she might get well.”
When I went to see her the third time, she said that the 610 Office had called and told her the exact date and time Ying would be released. She said, “Let the 610 Office pick her up. We don’t care.”
I said, “You know your sister-in-law is a good person. She has been imprisoned for 14 years and tortured. She has endured so many hardships. She was 41 years old when she was arrested, and now she’s an old lady. She is extremely lucky to survive. Some practitioners have been persecuted to death. When some were released, they were taken straight to brainwashing centers or forced labor camps and continued to be persecuted. We can’t let her leave the wolf’s den only to enter the tiger’s lair. We can’t pick her up if no one from her family is there.
“You said you don’t have money. As long as you are there when she is released, you don’t need to take care of her. We will look after her.” The sister-in-law looked at me in surprise. My sincerity and offer to take care of Ying moved her.
I said, “Ying was very sick. Didn’t she recover after she practiced Falun Dafa?” I told her that after I started practicing, my heart problem, neurasthenia, breast hyperplasia, gynecological diseases, and herniated disc all disappeared. I was not able to sleep due to neurasthenia. My back pain was so severe that I was not able to sit even for a little while and I limped when I walked. One leg was longer than the other. I took a lot of medications, both Chinese and Western, but I didn’t get any better. I recovered completely after I practiced Falun Dafa.
She said that Ying had recovered from her illnesses after she began practicing Falun Dafa.
Several days later I went to see the sister-in-law again to discuss how to pick up Ying. She said she didn’t have a car. I said, “I will find you a car.”
After I returned home, I realized that it was not safe for the practitioner who had a car to pick up Ying. Ying was so weak she couldn’t walk anymore, so that practitioner would have to drive the car inside the prison gate. It was not safe for that practitioner.
I went to see the sister-in-law to discuss the issue. Before I said anything, she said, “If your practitioner drives there, will there be a safety issue?” I told her I’d thought about that and it was true. She said, “I will find a car myself then.” I said, “It is so good of you to consider practitioners’ safety. I will come to get more information tomorrow. ”
When I went to ask the sister-in-law about finding a car, she said that she’d found one—she could use Ying’s second brother’s car. But it would cost him one working day plus the bridge fee, petrol fee, etc. I asked how much altogether. She said, “800 yuan.” I said that I would withdraw 1000 yuan and deliver it to her the next day. She was touched and looked at me. My sincere thoughts and kind heart of selflessness moved her. I took her the money the next day.
The sister-in-law also told me that she’d bought new clothes for Ying and had a blanket to put at the back seat so she could lie down. She said she would take her home and look after her. I was so happy for her kind thoughts. From not caring, she was now actively involved in taking her in.
I went to discuss all this with Anqin, who said, “I was waiting for you. We have arranged for one car that can carry about seven practitioners. We will just send righteous thoughts.” I said, “Master arranged everything long ago.” I realized that this was an opportunity Master arranged for us so that we could improve and elevate together as a whole body.
It was sunny the day Ying was released. We drove to the prison without a hitch. Ying’s family members arrived after 10 a.m. and picked up Ying. She was emaciated and on the brink of death. Thanks to Master’s compassion and protection, another Dafa practitioner was freed.
Ying adjusted herself mentally and physically. I brought her a copy of Zhuan Falun and several of Master’s lectures. I also bought about 150 yuan worth of vegetables for the sister-in-law. She returned the 1000 yuan I’d given her so that Ying’s brother could take off work and pick her up. She said that Ying had asked her to return the money.
Ying firmly believes in Master and the Fa. She quickly recovered after she practiced the exercises and studied the Fa. The tumors in her belly disappeared, her swollen legs returned to normal, and her mental state improved. She gained some weight and was able to work and make money. Her life is now carefree and she quickly got involved in the Fa-rectification process and does the three things to save people. Her steady recovery validated how wonderful, powerful and extraordinary Falun Dafa is!
Her family members were sure she could not survive. When they witnessed how practicing Falun Dafa changed her, they all knew that Falun Dafa was good! They were blessed for treating practitioners kindly.
Ying’s younger brother changed, too. When the 610 Office agent tried to coerce Ying to write the guarantee statement, her brother said, “What ‘guarantee atatement’?” His wife only earned 3000 yuan a month as a laborer. They later on got jobs in a hospital caring for a wealthy elderly lady. After she was discharged from the hospital, they moved to the big city with her.
We rescued dozens of practitioners. I will not elaborate on them here.
Thank you, Master, for your compassion and protection!
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