Cultivating to Be Truly Altruistic

(Minghui.org) I was born in the 1980s and began to cultivate Falun Dafa when I was 12 years old. No matter what I experienced, my faith in Master Li and Dafa has never changed. I’m grateful for his continual protection.

I’m quite good with computers and printers given my age, so I took on the responsibility of supplying printer cartridges for the material production sites in our county, as well as doing simple maintenance on computers and printers.

Clarifying the Facts to Police Officers

On the afternoon of July 24, 2020, a few officers from the Domestic Security Division illegally arrested me at work. They held me in an interrogation room. I didn’t know much about the law and always thought it was irrelevant to me. This was my omission.

They ransacked my home at 4 p.m. When they interrogated me again at 6:30 p.m., an officer said, “Look at how much stuff we took from your home and car. Here, look at the list.” The list included over 4,000 yuanbills with Falun Dafa messages printed on them, office equipment, and informational materials about the persecution.

The head officer said, “You have to think it over. Just for those fliers, we could sentence you to a few years in prison. But you have quite a few things here. Think about it.”

I clarified the facts to him and told him about the hidden character stone and the many prophesies that said there would be great disasters awaiting mankind. I said, “Look at all the disasters now taking place. We make these materials by living thrifty lives so that you can survive these great catastrophes. It’s not for us, but rather for you, so that more good people can be saved.”

I told him that the QR codes they found in my bag were so that they could overcome the Internet blockade. I encouraged him to check it out when he had time and then he’d understand.

He responded, “I have checked out more books and materials than you. You should quickly confess. If you didn’t say anything, I would have sentenced you just the same.”

I refused to answer any more of their questions and wouldn’t sign their document when they ordered me to. I believed that not providing any information and refusing to sign anything was the best approach.

They handcuffed me and took me to the hospital that night to draw my blood. On the way there, I continued to clarify the facts to them. They listened and didn’t interrupt. At the hospital, I refused to let them take my blood, so a few of them grabbed my arms. I kept shouting out, “Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is good!” louder and louder. They didn’t stop me from shouting.

After I was taken back to the police station, they put me in a small room with two female officers posted to guard me. When they changed shifts, I took the opportunity to tell the new guards about the persecution. I said, “You should never be against Falun Dafa. Dafa teaches people to follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and be good. Never believe the propaganda on TV.”

The next day, officers from the Domestic Security Division asked the guards if I’d spoken to them about Falun Dafa. They said I did. When they were asked if I did the exercises, they also replied yes. The officers told them, “You should not listen to her or let her do the exercises.”

I continued to talk to them, but some weren’t open to what I said. So I stopped talking, calmed my mind, sent righteous thoughts and looked inward. I ended up talking a bit more to those who were not against what I said.

On July 26, 2020, a cousin who is a police officer heard that I was on a hunger strike and came to see me. He said, “You should eat. Your matter can’t be resolved in a few days. If you were to continue on a hunger strike, they’d have to force-feed you, which is very painful. I came to see you, but I might not be able to in a few days.” He tried to hint that I might be held for a longer term. I said I would be fine and could live with that.

After he left, I thought: Could I let go of everything in the human world? My father was close to 70 years old, and I had a seven-year-old daughter. I then thought about everyone in my family. I said to Master deep down, “Master, I can let go of everything. I have no attachments. No matter how many years I could end up being imprisoned, even to the point of losing my life, I would never betray Master, Dafa, or fellow practitioners! I’m determined to cultivate in Dafa! I’ll leave everything up to Master and follow his arrangement!”

They wanted to interrogate me again, and I asked them why. One officer replied, “Since your cousin came, we want to give you one more chance.”

I told him that I still refused to answer anything. The officer said, “You should seize this opportunity. If you make a good confession, we’ll release you. If you don’t tell us who that stuff belongs to, then for sure you won’t get out of here.”

“I still refuse to answer or sign anything,” I replied.

The next day, one guard asked the Domestic Security officer when they could stop guarding me. He whispered to her, “Tomorrow we’ll take her to the detention center.”

I said to myself, “That is not where I should be. Master, please help me!”

About half an hour later, my cousin came in with another police officer, saying that after I signed their form, we could go home. I thought that they might try to transfer me to somewhere else. I looked at the form and saw that it was to release me. My excitement was beyond words and could only be understood by someone who had a similar experience. Master is so compassionate! It’s truly what Master said,

“Disciples’ righteous thoughts are strongMaster has the power to turn the tide” (“Master-Disciple Grace,” Hong Yin II)

Over and over again, I kept saying in my heart, “Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!”

Elevating Myself in Dafa

After I returned home, I thought I was fine because I was able to make a breakthrough in my cultivation. However, my cousin informed me that I was still under house arrest. My ordeal wasn’t over yet, I was only released temporarily, and my case had to be passed on to the procuratorate and court.

I browsed Minghui.org to check out the relevant legal articles. Only then did I know there was a Legal Forum available. There was a Q & A section that detailed relevant legal knowledge. I printed it out, picked out the parts pertaining to me, and read them carefully.

Only after I finished reading them did I realize that I should use the law to oppose the persecution in an upright manner. This was also the best way to validate Dafa and shock the evil. I was ashamed I’d only just realized this. At no time during my three interrogations did I reference the law.

A few days later, the police summoned me and took me into the same interrogation room. They wanted me to sit in the same iron chair like before. But this time, I said, “I won’t sit there! That chair is for criminals, but I haven’t committed a crime.”

The officer said this was the procedure, and I had to sit there. I told him that I would never do it, and I’d just stand to talk to him. He replied, “Do I have to force you again?” I looked him straight in the eye and told him not to be so mean, He responded, “I don’t want to be this mean, but you won’t work with us.” I just stood there and looked at him.

He turned around, headed back to his desk, and asked, “This is your fourth interrogation. Do you have anything to confess?”

I said, “Yes, I do! First of all, article No. 35 of the Constitution states that people have the freedom of speech.”

“You are not allowed to mention that,” he replied. “It is irrelevant to this case.”

I continued, “Out of the 14 cults listed by the CCP, there is no mention of Falun Dafa. Therefore, practicing Falun Dafa is not against the law.” He stopped me and told me to only answer his questions.

He asked, “Who you were going to give them [the materials found in my car] to?”

I replied, “The CCP has affirmed that of all the 14 cults, Falun Dafa is not one. Thus, what you are asking me has nothing to do with this case.” He asked other questions, such as who else in my family practiced Falun Dafa and who I often got in touch with. I gave him the same reply.

Finally, he asked, “What else do you want to say?”

I replied, “Which law did I undermine? To what degree? What harm did I do to society?”

They printed out the interrogation record for me to sign, but I noticed that they didn’t put down what I asked them to. So I wrote: “Whatever I said was not written down.”

When he tore it up, I said, “You didn’t write what I said, so I won’t sign that.” The two officers had a discussion and added in the words I said about Dafa, then printed it out again. This time, I signed it.

I believed I had submitted a satisfactory paper. However, after I returned home and talked to another practitioner, she said that I wasn’t very compassionate. I didn’t agree and thought I did what a practitioner was supposed to do, plus I didn’t hate my interrogators.

After having checked out the relevant Minghui articles, I started to see my loopholes. My mindset was off from the very beginning when I was arrested. During the whole process, I only validated myself, showing that I had no fear and I could pass this trial well. From my initial arrest to my interrogation and detention, I just focused on whether or not they’d committed a sin and that they would incur retribution for what they did.

But they were so pitiful! I shouldn’t let them commit a crime against Dafa. I didn’t think about it from their perspective or manifest my compassion for them.

Perhaps, if I could have thought about how pitiful they were, then the outcome might have been different. During the interrogations, if I only thought about how to help them with kindness, then the outcome wouldn’t have been “house arrest.” When I realized this, I felt my xinxing elevate.

I wrote “An Application to Rescind House Arrest” and “An Application to Return Confiscated Items,” along with a letter to the director of the Police Bureau, the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, the person in charge of the Legal Enforcement Division, and the head of the police station, My husband delivered the two applications and the letter I wrote to the head of the police station in person. They said they’d report it to their supervisors. I understood that I had my path ahead of me and should do what I’m supposed to do with compassion.

Having an Altruistic Mindset

Only after I was released from prison did I learn that Ms. Lin (alias) had given my name to the police, which led to my arrest. She wrote and told me that she betrayed me. I wasn’t moved. Everyone’s level of endurance is different. I should understand and tolerate her. She asked me to move all my belongings, but I didn’t listen and thought that, as long as my righteous thoughts were strong, I would be fine.

She came from out of town to deal with the selling of her house and stayed in our area for a few days. Her bail term was for one year and wasn’t up yet, so she had to return to her hometown. I got in touch with her and helped move some Dafa materials. However, I left some in my car and when the police searched it, they found them.

I had sincere respect for her and believed she understood the Fa principles very well. So I always looked forward to her return. I had been to see her many times, which came down to my sentimentality. The night before I was arrested, people from the Domestic Security called her over, to have her betray me due to her fear. She was released at 4 p.m. the next day.

I did not resent her but rather used my compassion to understand her. When I shared my thoughts with other practitioners, a practitioner told me that I should point out her mistakes. I disagreed and believed that she’d recognize her own mistakes. But this practitioner didn’t agree, saying that if she were clear, she’d have known the seriousness of this issue and wouldn’t dare to betray me. If she was still not clear on this issue, who knows if she’d do it again?

I replied, “I didn’t hate her to begin with.”

“You were selfish,” the practitioner responded. “To be truly responsible for a being, you shouldn’t have any selfish thoughts, just thoughts that benefit her, without thinking about anything else.” I agreed.

So I started writing a letter to her at 8 p.m. and finished it at midnight. I checked my wording and tried to express myself kindly without losing my dignity. After I sent it, I felt very relaxed and experienced the inner meaning of being truly altruistic.

Cultivating Solidly on My Path

I had only paid lip service to my cultivation, so I hardly saw any improvement in my xinxing. I now believe it’s very important (and also simple), which comes down to my every thought and action—whether it’s altruistic or not.

For instance, when I didn’t feel like doing the exercises, it was a selfish thought, as it was for my own comfort, without thinking about doing the exercises for the sentient beings in my world. When I was reluctant to send forth righteous thoughts, it was also a selfish thought, as if I didn’t care about clearing away the evil behind the scenes, so a large number of sentient beings couldn’t be saved.

When I used only one standard to see everything in my day-to-day life, to see if it was altruistic or selfish, everything turned out to be so simple.

One night, my mother-in-law made some steamed buns for herself and my family. When the meal was ready, I grabbed a few of them, then my daughter and I went upstairs to eat. After my husband finished eating, he also came upstairs. After a short while, he asked me, “Where are those buns you brought up? Let me have some.”

I was unhappy and began to challenge him, “Why didn’t you finish eating downstairs? I saved these buns for my breakfast.” He didn’t say anything and went to his room.

This wasn’t right! Was I considerate of him? I only thought about myself. So selfish! I went to his room and asked, “Do you want some buns? Let me get them for you.” I gave him a bun and said, “I didn’t cultivate well, I was too selfish. I didn’t think of you.” Even though I changed my attitude, I didn’t feel happy at all and still had a long way to go to improve myself. I will strive forward to cultivate well and reach an altruistic realm as soon as possible.

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