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Strive Forward on the Path of Cultivation During the Fa-Rectification Period (Part II)
By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Hubei Province
(Clearwisdom.net) (continued) (Article for First Written Experience Sharing for Falun Gong Practitioners in China) Part I: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/10/28/53943.html
(3) To deal with painful lessons, one has to calm down to be able to study
the Fa, look inward, abandon attachments, and compensate for the damage in every
way possible.
I went to Beijing five times to validate the Fa. I was arrested by the
authorities and sent many times to prisons, brainwashing centers, and forced
labor camps. None of this shook my unwavering faith in Teacher and Falun Dafa.
This made me a little famous in the local area and fellow practitioners wanted
to share experiences with me. I was used to people telling me how great I had
done in my cultivation practice. This had a detrimental effect, as I was unable
to face these situations righteously, based on the Fa. Attachments to showing
off, zealotry, and being superficial were thus able to take a foothold and cause
serious consequences.
I forgot that as a Falun Dafa practitioner I not only should look inward
during conflicts, but also when being praised. No matter the situation, good or
bad, I can't forget to look inward. The evil is observing us constantly to find
our loopholes. The evil will do anything in its power to widen the loophole and
drag us down.
Teacher has warned us in Zhuan Falun and repeatedly in many other
articles that the practice is serious.
"For a cultivator, all the frustrations he comes across among everyday
people are trials, and all the compliments he receives are tests."
("A Cultivator is Naturally Part of It" from Essentials for
Further Advancement)
"The mind of showing off plus the attachment of zealotry will be most
easily exploited by the demonic heart."
("Definitive Conclusion" from Essentials for Further
Advancement)
"It is extremely dangerous to add anything human to cultivation
practice."
("Digging Out the Roots" from Essentials for Further
Advancement)
Every word and sentence in Teacher's Fa lectures point directly to all of my
attachments! However I did not grasp Teacher's hints.
In August 2003, the Wuhan "610 Office" listed me as one of their
primary targets for "transformation". People from the residential
commission, the police station, and the street office came to my house seven
times trying to persuade me to give up my practice of Falun Dafa. I didn't sense
that my attachment to zealotry and showing off emerged when I clarified the
truth to them. Every time I clarified the truth, it could go on for hours. At
times I hit the points brilliantly, and at times I would even use sarcastic humor
to expose the truth. Even I was impressed by my own performance. However, I
forgot this wit came from Dafa. It gave me wisdom. Teacher gives this power to
his practitioners. The attachment of showing off intertwined with the attachment
of zealotry, and they were intensifying. I had no idea that my level dropped
when these attachments made me act outside the Fa. A practitioner shouldn't be
in this state of mind. While it looked like I was clarifying the truth and
validating Falun Dafa on the surface, in fact, I was embracing the mind of an
everyday person and was validating my own speaking abilities. What a huge
loophole! Regrettably, I was unable to recognize this human notion until I had a
painful experience.
On October 15, 2003, while I was taking care of my home, Director Yang from
the "610 Office," three police officers, and two secretaries from the
residential commission arrived. When Yang tried to force me to slander Teacher,
I refused. They were going to arrest me and take me to a "legally
sanctioned re-education class." I told them, "I am not going to that
class. That is a Fascism class." Later I went to the bathroom and wouldn't
open the door. Officer Chen kicked open the bathroom door and dragged me out. My
daughter came to stop them and wouldn't let them take me. Chen yanked my
daughter's arm away and threatened to take her away if she didn't let go. At the
same time, a lot of my neighbors were watching this, but none of them made a
noise when these depraved people kidnapped me in broad daylight. In the past,
whenever these wicked people came to my house to harass me, a lot of my
neighbors stood up for me, "This woman is a good person, don't treat her
like this!" Since Director Yang and Li Wei both thought that my power to
influence the crowd was too great, they started to talk to my neighbors
individually. They spread lies and threatened and bribed my neighbors to keep
quiet and not interfere. As I was shouting "Falun Dafa is wrongfully
accused," they pushed me into the police car and sent me to the E'touwan
Brainwashing Center, the so-called "legally sanctioned re-education
center."
The brainwashing center brought ten staff members from its supervising unit
to brainwash me. I was the only practitioner imprisoned there at the time. The
second day they started to play the VCD's that slander Falun Gong to brainwash
me. They also played the recordings of the speeches of Wang Zhigang, Sima Nan,
He Zuoxiu, and Cai Chaodong. They distorted Teacher's lectures by citing bits
and pieces separately in order to damage the content of the lecture. I wouldn't
watch nor listen to any of it because I had practiced Falun Gong for seven years
and I knew Falun Gong was real and great and so was Teacher. None of this
slander had any effect on me. Four days later, practitioner Gui (an elderly
lady, first name unknown) was also brought to the brainwashing center. They
forced us to watch VCD's slandering Falun Dafa in the mornings and read similar
materials aloud to us at night. The content of all this material was so far
removed from the truth that it could only fool people who knew nothing about
Falun Gong. This material could not deceive someone like me, a practitioner who
had practiced for seven years and benefited from this practice immensely.
From October 16, 2003 on we were "listening" to all their material,
day and night. By November 1, 2003, they still had not transformed me.
Consequently, they put me in solitary confinement for four days. They did not
succeed. On the fifth day, the ten staff members divided into five teams, and
each team was closeted with me for four hours that day. This went on until
midnight. Then, on the sixth day they prohibited me from sitting down during
class. The weather turned rainy and windy, and the temperature was 3C (38F).
They forced me to stand outdoors for more than half an hour before I was allowed
to go back into the room. There was only an empty bed and nothing else. In the
morning of the seventh day, they woke me up before eight in the morning and
forced me to listen to the deceptive material. They still couldn't transform me.
Li Wei dragged me three times to the wall. He told me to bang my head against
the wall and commit suicide. I told Li, "I can't do that. Teacher said
clearly in the Fa principles that practitioners cannot commit suicide, as it is
the same as killing a life. Being a practitioner, I must follow the principles
Teacher taught us! Coercion cannot change people's heart!" There were two
other staff members, Lin and Wu (both first names unknown), at the scene who
witnessed the whole event. Because I refused to read the deceptive material with
the staff members, they came up with another torture method. They had me stand
still for six consecutive days. I was not allowed to sit down or take a break
during all those days. They wouldn't even let me sit down while eating. One day,
seven people surrounded me and pushed me down to the ground and put Teacher's
picture in my sock to humiliate me. Facing this group of depraved people, acting
in such desperate madness, no word can express the sorrow I felt about the
extent they had slipped into evilness.
After another six days, Li Wei saw that he couldn't transform me, so he
cuffed my hands and hung me up by the cuffs. My shoulders and lower back became
extremely painful. Li said, "This is meant to break your bones!" So
they cuffed and hung a 70-year-old woman for two consecutive days.
In this hell on earth, being surrounded by demons, I did not sleep on a bed
for eight straight days because they made me stand still for six days and hung
me up for two days. I felt that I couldn't concentrate anymore and I couldn't
think. I couldn't form any righteous thoughts. My hands were cuffed and they
forced me to put my fingerprints on a prepared "Transformation
Letter." This was the greatest humiliation and stain. A practitioner cannot
be cleansed from such a stain! For the longest time, I suffered unbearable pain,
regret and humiliation, and I couldn't seem to recover from it. I realized then
that the spiritual persecution of practitioners was harder to bear than the
physical persecution.
The next morning after I left the brainwashing center, I went to a
practitioner's home, kneeled down in front of Teacher's picture and cried
uncontrollably and with great anguish. Though I sent out a "Solemn
Declaration" the same day, I still was not sure what was going to happen
and what to do. I lowered my head when I saw sentient beings and was speechless
when I saw other practitioners. I couldn't do any of the three things a
practitioner needs to do. This continued until Teacher's lecture in Atlanta was
published. It was then that I was released from this suffocating pressure. I
dreamed of our compassionate and great Teacher standing on top of a mountain and
extending his hand to his student who has fallen down into the chasm. From
Teacher's hint in the dream, I realized that my own world was empty. I knew that
I had to start all over, from nothing.
First, I needed to break through my inability to calm down and study the Fa:
" ("Drive Out Interference" from Essentials For Further
Advancement II)
Through calmly studying the Fa and looking inward, I was finally able to let
go of the attachments to zealotry, showing off and vanity. If I thought about
the tribulations I had as an everyday person, I could not find anything to be
happy about. I therefore had no reason for showing off. It was Teacher's Fa that
gave me a brand new life. All the beauty I felt in my life was from the Fa.
Why did I lower my head in shame when I saw sentient beings? Why could I not
say anything when I saw practitioners? It all came from the attachment of
vanity. I simply couldn't bear the thought of losing face. Being a practitioner,
if I couldn't abandon these attachments, I could not validate the Fa. The road
was covered with the brutal persecution and the vow of a god would become
fragile. The lesson I learned was painful and heavy.
Teacher's benevolent compassion once again saved me. It freed me up to face
the future more steadfastly and more forthrightly. I must make up for the things
I did wrong and do even more to compensate for the loss I caused Dafa. Once my
righteous thoughts emerged, I immediately put them into action.
(1) First I told my neighbors and all my acquaintances the truth about the
brutal persecution perpetrated on a 70 year-old woman by Jiang's regime and his
depraved perpetrators. While I was imprisoned in the brainwashing center,
practitioners outside had already told my neighbors how I was being persecuted
in the prison. Now I could tell them in person and confirm this information to
my neighbors. They realized that all was true and it cleared the doubts in some
neighbors' mind. They all expressed their sympathy and were angry about the
persecution.
(2) After that, I filed a complaint with the responsible government agency
against the depraved individuals who carried out this inhumane persecution. The
persecution caused me tremendous trauma both physically and mentally. I suffered
severe consequences and was unable to recover for a long time. I demanded to
have an examination at a hospital and insisted that the authorities pay all the
medical expenses. Given all the facts, they had no choice but to accept my
demands. Now I have the proof and am ready to point out the crimes committed
against practitioners.
(3) I wrote letters to President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and
told them about the inhumane persecution I had encountered. I urged them, based
on the constitution and the laws, to severely punish the criminals whose hands
were stained with practitioners' blood.
(4) I heard on the news that "starting from this May to next June, the
Supreme Procuratorate has asked their agents nationwide to investigate
activities by government officials concerning abuses of power and violations of
human rights. The procurators will focus their investigations on five types of
human right violations by the government officials -- crimes of negligence at
work causing civilians severe losses of property or lives; illegal imprisonment;
illegal search; tortures during interrogations and using violence to obtain
evidence; sabotaging elections; and violating citizens' democratic rights and
torturing detainees."
I thought of the persecution I suffered in the "legally sanctioned
re-education class (brainwashing class)." This investigation will fully
target the crimes committed during the recent past. In the brainwashing center,
they set up a place not sanctioned under existing regulations in the
constitution and under existing laws. They unlawfully imprisoned me there and
tortured me. They forced me to give up my belief in "Truthfulness,
Compassion, Tolerance," which was the same as forcing me to give up the
right of wanting to be a good person.
I wrote a letter to the Supreme People's Procuratorate stating the above
situation and asked for justice to be served. At the same time, I consulted a
local procuratorate and prepared to file a lawsuit.
That morning I arrived early, before the district procuratorate was open. I
first sent righteous thoughts in close proximity to eliminate the evil factors
around the procuratorate. Then I repeated a number of times a part of Teacher's
article "Also in a Few Words":
" When the bell rang, I followed a man in his fifties into his office and
explained the purpose of my trip. I answered all his questions.
Now that I think about it, the process of consultation was in fact the
process of face-to-face clarifying the truth. It might look like I needed his
opinions, but in fact he was "consulting" me. Between questions and
answers, I clarified all the questions he raised such as the appeal on April 25.
1999, when the practitioners had gone to Tiananmen Square to validate the Fa,
the "self-immolation" in Tiananmen Square, practitioners killing
people, and Teacher making outrageous money from his books.
I sent righteous thoughts while I was talking to eliminate the evil factors
surrounding him and thus got very good results. I was totally calm and not a bit
scared the entire time. On the other hand, I could see him being unsettled by an
apparent conflict, given his words and his thoughts. He constantly turned around
to see if there was anyone around, as if he was afraid that people would
overhear our conversation. His attitude was mild when there was no one around
but turned serious and upset when someone entered the room. I understood from
his attitude that the evil had brought about the state terrorism. I became aware
of the heavy psychological burden this put on the Chinese people, including
these government officials. They had to make a living in such a suppressive
environment and had to live such a pathetic life. Suddenly, immense compassion
emerged from my heart. I again felt the heavy responsibility practitioners have
in order to save sentient beings. I realized that time is running out.
I talked for a little more than half an hour and said to him that I would
write an appeal letter after I got home. He said to me before I left,
"Forget about the appeal letter, the procuratorate would not accept any
Falun Gong case. Don't run around after you get home and be careful. If the
police officers find out what you are doing, you will be punished." I told
him, "Please remember this in your heart, 'Falun Dafa is Good.' If you are
in trouble, remember 'Falun Dafa is Good' and 'Truthfulness, Compassion,
Tolerance are good,' Teacher and Dafa will protect you."
For some reason, I didn't feel relaxed at all after I left the procuratorate.
I thought of what Teacher said in "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa
Conference":
"Every Dafa disciple will shoulder immense responsibilities in the
future. There are so many beings that need you to save them--there are so many
lives that need you to save them. During this period of time, you yourselves
need to harmonize and consummate everything that's needed for your own
Fruition and countless beings. Your mighty virtue and everything of gods are
within it. That's why I often say that in validating the Fa, you should do
well the three things Dafa disciples need to do, and everything is encompassed
in them. So I say that the most important goal for you in clarifying the truth
is to save even more beings in the process. This is what's foremost, and this
is the real purpose of clarifying the truth ... Saving beings should permeate
every single aspect of your daily lives at this time. If you can all
understand and really see its importance, I think you'll probably save more
beings."
I realized that so much was still waiting to be done by practitioners and
therefore we could not slack off even just for a short time. Teacher's immense
compassion for sentient beings moves me deeply. His high expectation for
practitioners encourages me. I must cherish Teacher's compassion for sentient
beings and not disappoint him and meet all his expectations for us. I must
follow Teacher's words!
During this time, practitioners in our area did a good job coordinating.
Practitioners made truth clarification materials using the true persecution
stories about me and three other practitioners (Huang Zhao died because of the
persecution; Huang Yongmei became handicapped because of the persecution; and
Liu Youqing suffered severe brain damage due to lack of sleep for 18 consecutive
days). The materials are being widely distributed in our area and are
intimidating the evil. I believe whoever sees the truth materials can tell right
from wrong, benevolent from evil, and gain righteous thoughts from them.
Now, no matter how busy I am with Dafa work, I make sure I read two to three
chapters of Zhuan Falun daily, plus other articles. Every day I target
the evil in the three realms, New York City, Beijing, and our local area, and
send righteous thoughts at least ten times. I send righteous thoughts as many
times as I can.
I remind myself daily that saving sentient beings is a sacred responsibility
Teacher asks of practitioners. I must not let the truth clarifying work become a
routine and treat it like a job. Saving sentient beings is not like finishing a
job: my positive attitude toward clarifying the truth will bring about different
results. I cherish every copy of truth clarifying material I have and refuse to
give up any opportunity to clarify the truth. Among the everyday people I know,
there is a part of them that indeed understands that Falun Dafa is good. They
had seen the nature of the brutal persecution against Falun Gong and the
practitioners. There are seven people who want to read Zhuan Falun and
learn the exercises. I follow Teacher's request and quickly arrange for them to
learn the Fa and the exercises.
The current of Fa-rectification is moving forward quickly and powerfully, and
the limited time left is moving faster and faster away from us. I have to seize
the time left and do the three things well. If all those worth saving are saved,
then I wouldn't regret what's not been done when the Fa-rectification arrives in
the human world.
In conclusion, let's review Teacher's article, "Let Go of Human
Attachments and Save the World's People."
"Dafa disciples as a whole have passed the stage of personal
cultivation. At present, because the enormous current of Fa-rectification is
charging forward, the stage of Dafa disciples' validating the Fa is approaching
completion and history is about to enter a new phase. From now on, the Dafa
disciples in China as much as anyone, both new students and veterans alike,
should let go of their long-standing human attachments and start to seize the
day and comprehensively save the world's people. Once the current time period is
over, the first large-scale process of weeding out sentient beings will begin.
For a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, personal liberation is not the goal
of cultivation: when you came, saving sentient beings was your great aspiration,
and that is the responsibility and mission history has bestowed upon you in Fa-rectification.
Thus great numbers of beings are to be saved by you. Dafa disciples, don't
forsake the magnificent responsibility that has been bestowed upon you in Fa-rectification,
and even less should you disappoint those beings, as you are now their only hope
for entering the future. For this reason, all Dafa disciples, students both new
and veteran, should get to work and begin comprehensively clarifying the truth.
This is especially so for the Dafa disciples in Mainland China: each must come
out and clarify the truth, bringing it to every field and valley, mountain and
hill, not omitting a single area where there are people." From the First Written Experience Sharing For Practitioners in China
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