Clarify the Truth and Save Sentient Beings Using the Lawsuits (Part 1)
Synopsis of some practitioners sharing experiences
(Clearwisdom.net)
1. Our Lawsuits Are All the Best Cases in the Human World
Our legal cases are the best in the world because they demonstrate Fa-principles,
and are carried out by Dafa practitioners' cultivating on the basis of
validating Dafa. In "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference," Teacher
says:
"You need to be clear that a Dafa disciple's cultivation is about
stepping out of humanness; it is to step out of the old colossal firmament
that is restrained by all kinds of factors that result from endless,
countless, innumerable beings in this old cosmos; it is to gain a new life,
emerging from an environment that is at the last of the last stage of the
formation-stasis-degeneration-destruction process of the colossal
firmament."
A European practitioner said it well, "Everything we have done has all been
taken care and done by Teacher. All we have to do is to step out of humanness in
order to save sentient beings."
Our lawsuits target Jiang Zemin and his accomplices. This is a focused
manifestation of Dafa practitioners comprehensively clarifying the truth to save
sentient beings and validate the Fa in the human world. No case in the human
world holds more value. Our citing legal rules and precedents, and the strength
of our court arguments have been accomplished because we are able to use
existing materials in the human world at will. This is a tool and method to
facilitate our clarifying the truth to people.
2. Reiterate the Moral Principles of the Law
1). No Person is Above the Law
The law should not grant immunity to any previous or current government
officials' acts that violate international law. Jiang Zemin has designed,
ordered, implemented and directed a program of eliminating the practice of Falun
Gong in China (1), resulting in the selective murder, disappearance, widespread
torture and genocide against thousands of practitioners of Falun Gong. In 1997's
Clinton vs. Jones case in the Supreme Court, the American public witnessed that
even President Clinton did not contend that a President is above the law. Why
should the Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin be above the law?
2). Universal Rights Are a Higher Law, Not Subject to Manipulation for
Temporary Gain
Jiang's group continues to use diplomatic channels to contact U.S. government
officials, encouraging them with economic and other interests to dismiss this
lawsuit (1). The interference by the Chinese government with the separation of
powers in the U.S., interference in the law and the independence of the
judiciary, is unacceptable. The interference challenges and threatens the United
States' founding spirit of democracy and freedom. The international society
respects treaty law, international law and each country's judicial law and case
law. There are certain acts that are considered to be beyond, transcendent, or
universal, which are not contingent on the foreign policy of a country, or the
political and economical need of the moment. When someone violates these norms,
even if he is a current or former head of state, he has to be held accountable.
Abiding by these norms, people can cooperate and work together in a civilized
system. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Everyone has the right to be free from unwarranted searches and seizures, the
right to be free from that kind of the persecution that is going on in China.
These inalienable rights are universal, they are beyond and transcend national
boundaries.
3). Signatory Countries of International Treaties Have the Responsibility to
Follow and Implement International Treaty Obligations
Both the international torture and genocide conventions say that if someone
commits torture or genocide, he will be responsible regardless of his status.
Any signatory country has the responsibility to implement these treaties and to
stop similar violent acts from happening and to bring the responsible persons to
justice. The first immigrants of the United States came to this free land to
escape religious persecution. Freedom of belief is one of the founding
principles of the U.S. The writings of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Madison,
and Benjamin Franklin are replete with mention of the universal norms that
operate as the laws and principles of all civilized states. These rights
enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and in the Bill of Rights of the
United States Constitution are not contingent, but universal. They are the norms
of conduct that form the very bases and foundation of our legal, moral and civil
order. They are referred to as the "founding spirit of America" and the
"American values". President Bush referred to them as inalienable, God-given
universal values.
4). The Persecution Initiated by Jiang Zemin is Unlawful in China
The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is a catastrophe which violates
many different Chinese laws and many rights provided in the Chinese
Constitution. The creation and existence of the "610 Office" is a total
violation of numerous laws and policies. This persecution prevents China from
being in sync with the world. It completely destroyed China's newly established
legal system. The persecutory movement makes is profitable for people to engage
in criminal acts against their fellow citizens, but the lawsuits do not target
the Chinese people, they target Jiang Zemin and a small group of people who
follow him to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. The lawsuit is not simply for
the sake of Falun Gong practitioners' rights, but also for the sake of all basic
human rights, more universal rights, the right to be a good person and the right
to practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. This right is not yours, mine, or
his. It is shared by everyone. Just like the ocean, sky, earth and air belong to
everyone and are shared by everyone in spirit. Falun Gong practitioners' filing
lawsuits against Jiang Zemin is not meant to seek revenge and compensation
amidst the persecution. Rather, the lawsuits can help every Chinese person gain
the most fundament right of freedom of belief and return to good and kind nature
that they were born with.
5). The Lawsuits Help International Society Understand the Truth
The choice between personal interests and morality is an opportunity and a
test for every government and person. These lawsuits help international society
understand the truth in order to make the right choice based on one's own
conscience. As a Falun Gong practitioner said in a forum during the recent UN
Human Rights Commission's Annual Meeting when he proposed to condemn China's
human rights condition (2), "Falun Gong teaches people to practice the principle
of 'Truth-Benevolence-Forbearance.' A genuine internal cultivation following the
principle will inevitably lead to personal integrity, courage, and universal
love. This book, which documents the Chinese government's violence against women
and children Falun Gong practitioners, is a product of courage and love of Falun
Gong practitioners, who risked their lives to inform the world what is really
going on in China. Someone said to me that we have taken a confrontational
approach. I disagree completely. Our approach is completely peaceful. Ours is an
approach of courage and love. The Chinese people's quest of freedom, including
the quest of freedom of belief and religion, is a quest of courage and love, and
at the same time resists hatred and fear. Their quest is not just for
themselves, not even just for all Chinese, but for all humanity. With my
heart-felt sincerity, I call upon the world, vote with your conscience, vote for
your own humanity."
3. The Relationship between Clarifying the Truth to Save Sentient Beings and
the Process of the Lawsuits
In "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Midwest-U.S. Fa Conference" Teacher says:
"Actually, speaking from another angle, being able to bring the evil to
court and being able to sue it, I can tell you, that's because the evil has
decreased to such an extent. It no longer has the ability to deal with
things. It's too occupied to take care of anything beyond ensuring its own
life. You've seen how one after another the cases you filed have been
accepted and successfully litigated. That's telling. But some of you are
still thinking, 'What's going on?' It isn't about something going on. It's
just that the evil is on its way down."
Fa-rectification's progress determines our different lawsuits' progress in
different countries. Our cultivation state as a whole is the driving force for
the lawsuits' progress. Fa-study assures making good progress. If we as a whole
study the Fa well, have an in-depth understanding of the overall situation of
validating the Fa in the human world, and clarify the truth extensively and
powerfully, it will be easier for us to break through the obstacles. If an
individual studies the Fa well, his/her personal cultivation problems will not
accumulate, when working with fellow practitioners he/she will have fewer
conflicts, so the work can be done smoothly.
Does our current understanding meet the requirements? Through experience
sharing, many practitioners feel that clarifying the truth using the form of
lawsuits is a boundless process. When a lawsuit is processed at the first-level
district court, if our joint efforts of truth-clarification cover all necessary
areas and aspects, the overall situation may be pushed forward more smoothly. At
a higher level in the human world, the requirement we have to meet is even
higher. In terms of things that we have not been able to do well in the past, it
is not enough to simply follow the old standard to proceed. We must meet a
higher requirement in our understanding of the Fa-principles.
Recently, practitioners in two or three areas had the opportunity to explain
the true facts of the persecution to legal experts. Some practitioners had never
been involved in government or media work and didn't think that they had a good
command of English. When they clarified the truth to distinguished legal
professionals for the first time, they were scared and timid. With an intention
to save sentient beings, they constantly broke through this fear, and boldly
faced the world's experts.
Practitioners explained the facts of the persecution suffered by their
relatives and explained why people should pay attention to the persecution
against Falun Gong practitioners in China. They explained why a fair and
reasonable judicial system should help to stop the persecution, and why they
should make a choice of conscience when economic temptations conflict with their
country's founding spirit.
These efforts have achieved a very good effect. One of the reasons that they
were successful was because the practitioners were not attached to whether
people would sign or support a specific letter or proposal. Instead, they made
actual and solid efforts to let every expert who listened to their explanation
come to understand the true facts. Experts promised them that, when it is
possible, they would be willing to conduct classroom discussion/seminar on Falun
Gong related lawsuits. Some of the experts were willing to let their students
get involved in some possible cases, etc...
Another area's practitioners also made new breakthrough. They did not stop at
just clarifying the truth to individual experts. First they clarified the truth
to people who hosted a law convention. Then, they then asked the chairman to
give them three to five minutes to let them make a speech at the meeting full of
legal professionals, to summarize the true facts of Falun Gong. They have also
achieved a very good effect. Every night practitioners got together to share
their understanding and ideas of the day. They searched within themselves for
shortcomings. Every day they made great improvements. Every one of them
clarified the truth well. Ordinary world's experts were also satisfied with
practitioners' efforts and many people have expressed their gratitude toward
practitioners' truth-clarification of Falun Gong in a systemic manner.
However, we are not working among everyday people after all. Sometimes a
similar experience was less effective, because we repeated previous successful
actions without making improvements in ourselves as a whole body. Our estimation
of possible scenarios was inadequate because we did not have enough preparation
to make in-depth truth-clarification efforts with higher quality. Now, when
something backfires on the surface, rather than being intimidated by it,
everyone shares their understanding of Fa-principles to find possibilities to
elevate themselves.
By getting involved in the legal system, practitioners have seen a lot of
opportunities. The process of filing a lawsuit is full of opportunities to
clarify the truth. Practitioners don't aim at pushing their projects forward
when they clarify the truth, but truth-clarification is instilled in the actual
process. Practitioners also saw opportunities to clarify the truth to
professionals in different fields and people from all walks of life.
4. Searching Inside Ourselves as One Body
a) We still do not have enough people who took the initiative to participate.
Only "a select few elite practitioners" participate. This is a common phenomenon
in various areas which stems from different understandings: Some practitioners
claim: "I don't understand the law, therefore I cannot participate" or, "Others
are already taking care of it, so I can do something else", etc. At the critical
moment, some practitioners realized that because they didn't really understand
the situation well, and that their statements did not make sense, so they were
afraid to say something wrong.
This has caused trouble to the actual process of filing a lawsuit. As a
result, some practitioners don't dare to take the initiative to clarify the
truth. Instead, they asked practitioners with "good knowledge" to give them
talking points, to set the scope and to write a speech for them. Another related
phenomenon is that the filing of a lawsuit seems to be the concern of only the
litigant practitioners and practitioners in the area where the lawsuit is
submitted. Although those practitioners actively and diligently clarified the
truth, with only this number of practitioners, after all, they as a whole were
still not strong enough to form a big and powerful energy field of justice.
Looking at the overall situation, in terms of being diligent and taking the
initiative, they lacked the large-scale and large-scope coordination and
participation demonstrated by practitioners in other areas. For example, when
they first started processing the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, Chicago
practitioners clarified the truth in an in-depth manner to local government
offices and the law community's personnel. This is something that practitioners
in other areas have failed to completely catch up with.
b) Some practitioners became trapped and entangled in issues of law. We
should take the initiative to understand a lawsuit from the perspective of Fa-principles
and understand the relationship between Fa-rectification, saving sentient beings
and filing lawsuits. Subconsciously, some practitioners probably clarify the
truth to people with an attachment of pursuit. Just like what Teacher has
mentioned about our attitude toward the United Nations' human rights issue:
practitioners do not completely consider "saving sentient beings" the goal of
their work; instead, subconsciously, they focus on the progress of a lawsuit.
From time to time they appear as if they do well. They saw truth-clarification
as a route to make progress, rather than realizing that the filing of a lawsuit
is one of the forms of truth-clarification. Legal process is meant to resolve
legal issues. Our practitioners should be careful not to get wrapped up in the
legal aspects. We should completely eliminate our fundamental attachments. When
we file a lawsuit, we should consider truth-clarification the main goal, not a
"tool" in the legal process.
c) Some practitioners are unsure how to approach difficult situations.
Clarifying the truth to a judge, for example is indeed not easy. Practitioners
can meet in a certain setting with the judge and lawyers when convenient, but
how to clarify the truth well is still unclear.
Some practitioners feel that more people should be involved, but do not know
how to get involved themselves. Some practitioners needed the help of others to
guide them in clarifying the truth, and were not able to work independently.
This is caused by not understanding that they are saving those who listen to
their explanation of the truth. They are not considering themselves to be Fa-rectification
period disciples. They are attached to depending on others, obstructed by their
lack of legal knowledge, and afraid to break through their obstacles.
d) Some practitioners suspect other practitioners are not within the Fa. When
Canadian practitioners testified in a court, while one practitioner was
contemplating if the statement made by the practitioner before him was within
the Fa, the defendants' lawyer asked a question that exactly targeted at his
doubt. He immediately realized that the old forces were everywhere and were
constantly looking for loopholes like that. He instantly adjusted his state of
mind and patched up the loophole. Our compensating and coordinating with each
other as one whole body is the determining factor for our success. Another
Canadian practitioner said, "The key is not the battle of the law. Instead, it
is knowing that the old forces are on the other end and how they are fiercely
fighting with us."
e) Some practitioners did not have a good understanding of lawsuit
development. It is not necessary for every practitioner to have a thorough
understanding of each lawsuit. What is necessary is to be in the state of Fa-rectification
practitioners taking part in validating the Fa, fearlessly and steadfastly
forging ahead--the state that they will not be stopped by obstacles created by
any old forces. When a Canadian practitioner searched inside himself, he said,
"I am terribly sorry. I did not follow up on the case to sue Jiang in the United
States. Judging from the situation explained by Chicago practitioners, we need
to initiate an immediate large-scale truth-clarification effort. We should let
all practitioners understand the development of the lawsuits and understand the
existing problems. Otherwise other practitioners' participation with righteous
thoughts will be restricted. Can everyone's strong and powerful energy combine
together? Filing a lawsuit is not an isolated project. How are we going to let
all practitioners understand the situation, coordinate our efforts and combine
our righteous thoughts together when it is time to do so?"
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/4/26/73226.html
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