(Minghui.org) I recently heard that a former Shen Yun dancer has been attacking Shen Yun and Master on the internet. Many practitioners couldn’t understand why she would do that and how she could be so confused. But it began to make sense to me after I learned that she had gone to Beijing earlier this year and stayed there for several months. 

I came to the U.S. just this year. When I was in China, I was arrested for practicing Falun Dafa and forced to write statements to renounce Dafa. I think her experience shows exactly how evil the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is. The regime is so good at identifying people’s weaknesses and using them to manipulate us. I saw too many practitioners give up practicing Dafa after having their attachments exploited. 

In the early stages of the persecution, the CCP used violence and torture to try to force practitioners to submit, but it soon discovered that such methods were ineffective, so they changed their strategy. They arranged for practitioners who had given up practicing Dafa to brainwash those who were steadfast. It is easier for those former practitioners (collaborators) to win the practitioners’ trust, and what they say is more deceitful. Many practitioners who aren’t defeated by the relentless torture have fallen for such soft tactics.

After so many years of persecution, the CCP has gained a great deal of experience in manipulating practitioners’ minds. They know all too well what their weaknesses might be and how to shake their will.

In contrast to brutal torture, they might treat you very well, although they would still restrict your freedom, allowing you to move within a certain range or talk to certain people. They would give you the impression that you won’t be released if you don’t renounce Falun Gong. They might also tell you that everyone else has renounced Falun Gong, and you are the only one who hasn’t. They would carefully analyze everything you said and look for loopholes to get in, such as fear or any other desire. They would isolate you from other practitioners and use various brainwashing techniques to manipulate your emotions. One major tactic is to make you feel guilty for having caused tremendous harm to the people you care about by holding fast to Falun Gong. Sometimes it only takes a few days for the practitioners to fall into their traps and completely surrender.

I say this because I’ve experienced it myself. I was sad to see many practitioners writing statements to renounce Falun Gong shortly after being transferred to the “transformation” team. Some did so because they couldn’t stand the torture. But it was confusing for me to see practitioners who had already survived very brutal torture also write the renouncing statements. 

When I also submitted after months of brainwashing, I realized that, no matter how well we’ve cultivated, as long as we still have attachments, however small they may be, they can shake the entire foundation of our cultivation and make everything collapse overnight.

Some practitioners realized their mistakes after they were released and published solemn statements on Minghui.org, hoping to get a second chance to cultivate. But many practitioners I know haven’t yet written a solemn statement after being brainwashed in prison. I worry that they have not started cultivating again.

Master has said several times that practitioners outside of China shouldn’t travel to China before the end of Fa-rectification. I hope we can all heed Master’s words and be responsible for ourselves and the entire cultivation community.