Poems from Prison
By a practitioner in China
(Clearwisdom.net) Foreword At the end of last year, I was sent to a detention center
because I refused to give in to officials' demands to give up my practice of
Falun Dafa. Seven months later, I was released due to lack of evidence,
regaining my freedom. Being sent to the detention center, I had no misgivings.
Stepping out of the detention center, I was unperturbed, because I had done
nothing to regret or be ashamed of. Even today, many people still ask me why I hadn't written a
so-called "Guarantee Statement" [A
statement to declare that he or she is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and
guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not go to Beijing to appeal for
Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.] or
a so-called "Repentance Statement" [In this statement the
practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practicing Falun Gong, promise to
give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to
Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.]. That way I could have been released earlier.
I tell them that while in detention, even though my body had been confined, my
mind was free. If I had written something that betrayed my soul, maybe my body
would be free, however from then on, my soul would be shackled. What I want is
real and integrated freedom, because I'm innocent. Today, I have done it. I have regained my physical freedom
and I retain my beliefs. That is why I want to share my experiences with the
people who love me, hate me, or have helped me. 1. Atone I was sent to the detention center because of my belief and
my conscience. A prisoner who had been sentenced to death asked me, "If you
are right and kind, why were you sent here? Don't you talk about
retribution?" I then wrote the following poem: Atone -For the inmate
and as a reply to "why am I here?" á I come here In this period of my
life I come here to atone
for your soul If you are willing Then It is mine You shall take care
of it for me Don't let it become
broken again And don't let it be
covered by dust Until that day You bring it and hand
it to me in good condition I'll then give it
back to you perfectly I come here To atone for your
soul In this period of my
life ... ... 2. Happiness is actually just a kind of feeling One day, while an
inmate was chatting with me, he sighed with emotion and said to me, "I have
never done anything that was against heavenly law or was harmful to my friends
and relatives. Why is God so unfair as to have me endure such hardship?"
Upon hearing that, I had a special feeling in my heart and wrote the following
poem: á Happiness is actually
just a kind of feeling --For the inmate
and as a reply to "why is God so unfair to me?" á Happiness is actually
just a kind of feeling God did an experiment He arranged the
destiny for every person But left the right of
feeling the destiny to the people themselves Then everybody
started their lives And God just stood
aside to watch in silence á He has seen: á Some people judge
life with money They feel rich or
poor; Some people judge
life with power They feel noble or
lowly; Some people judge
life with honor They feel glory or
shame; Also some people
judge life with others' lives They feel it is
satisfactory or unfair. á Thus, some people
praised, "Thank you, God! For granting us so
much happiness and fortune!" God smiled, "I only arranged
your destiny. It is yourselves who
have chosen your feelings." ... ... Some other people
complained loudly, "What kind of
God are you?! Why are you so unfair
to us? Why let us suffer so
many hardships and tribulations!" God smiles, "I only arranged
your destiny. It is yourselves who
have chosen your feelings." á Here, a fool came to
God He always accepted
God's arrangements compliantly all his life So he never felt
anything about his life. He told God without
any reservation, "God, your
arrangements had no meaning for me." God smiled, and then
turned his face away. á A wise man came to
God and borrowed God's wisdom eye. So he read his
destiny. Like having a feast, He carefully tasted
God's arrangements, Sometimes reverberant
and exciting, sometimes gentle and mild. At last, he came back
to God, "God, my Lord!
Thank you for letting me see all these clearly through your eyes. Thank you for
granting me such a generous present!" á God smiles, "If you could
not only look with my eyes but also think with my heart, You could become
me!" á 3. The Flowers of
the Future --At present you plant a seed of truth, for your beautiful
blossoms of the future I am a diligent
gardener, Who walked into your
heartland by chance, I saw the large land
out of cultivation, Seems there has not
been a spring for a long time. á So I said, "Let's cultivate
here a little. Make it a lawn." You said impatiently, "Forget it! You
are wasting your effort." I smiled, "Let's grow some
flowers here and make it a garden." You hesitated and
said, "Forget it. I
don't see any meaning in it." I drew your hand to
me and put a seed in it, a sparkling seed with fantastic splendor. á "This seed is
called Truth. It can blossom into
the most beautiful flower in the world." Curiosity flashed
through your eyes, "The most
beautiful flower in the world?" "Yes, people
call that flower Future!" á Then I held your
hands and planted the fantastic seed in the land. The Truth then took
root, sprouted, and had its first leaf. You were so happy,
you watered and fertilized it everyday. You blocked the wind
and kept the rain off á Just like this, Together with the
seed, You went through the
chilly spring, hot summer, desolate fall and piercingly cold winter. When the last chill
in the wind faded, The seed of Truth had
its first bud. You were so excited
that you could not sleep for nights. Waiting aside for the
flower to burst á Finally, on that
unusual morning, Butterflies dancing
over the grass, Birds singing on the
branches, The bud burst into a
flower, So beautiful and
moving. The splendor of Truth
suddenly cast colorful lights upon the meadow. You clapped your
hands and shouted loudly, "Hurry up and
look, Gardener. Our Truth has
blossomed. How beautiful is our
Future!" However, the Gardener
had already left quietly, leaving the beautiful Future for you. á Later, the meadow
became a garden, with beautiful flowers of Future all over. You named the garden
a pleasant name: "Future
Garden" á Will you still
occasionally think of me, the gardener? If so, just whisper
my name. I will definitely
hear you. I will quietly stand
above the clouds, And look at you with
smile.
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/9/3/56716.html
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