Doing the Three Things with a Calm Heart: the Brainwashing Center Can't Confine Me

By a Dafa practitioner from Dezhou City, Shangdong Province

(Clearwisdom.net) I am a practitioner who has been arrested and endured brutal persecution several times. During the first two times at the local police station, I did not have a strong righteous mind because I had not studied the Fa (1) deeply. Under threats and intimidation, as well as the persuasion from my own family, I complied with the authorities and wrote and said some things against Dafa. After paying the fines, my family took me home. After returning home, I regretted what I had done very much. Through Fa study, I realized why I did not pass the test and saw many of my attachments that had caused me to become derailed from my cultivation journey. Through experience sharing with fellow practitioners, I realized that I should study the Fa more, and better.

On the morning of October 2, 2003, several policemen broke into my home and dragged me into a police vehicle and took me to the police station. The police chief interrogated me and asked me to tell him how many people in my village were practicing Falun Gong and what their names were. I did not tell them anything. The police used all kinds of tactics, both soft and tough, but I always felt calm and clear-headed. Later in the afternoon, they sent me to the brainwashing center in Dezhou City. People from the police department, the National Security Department, the Procuratorate, the Communist Party Disciplinary Committee, the prison and the detention center were all in the brainwashing center.

In the evening, they started the interrogation. In the beginning, the police tried a soft way to try to lure me into cooperating with them. I refused. They then started shouting, and punched and kicked me. I told them loudly, "You will receive retribution for doing this." Such torture lasted three days. In the evenings they tried to deprive me of sleep. Then I started to send forth righteous thoughts and look inward and I found I still had some attachments, such as fear. I found that the way I behaved in the previous several days were not completely pure and rational.

Actually during the first several days in the brainwashing center, my heart was fully occupied with thoughts of how to get out of this dark place and that it was not a place where a practitioner should be. But then, this thought was replaced with a different thought: "Since I am here now, I shall do the three things that Teacher told us to do right here" (2). All the other thoughts such as wanting to go back home as soon as possible, worrying about my children and the farm work, etc disappeared. I started to clarify the truth to whomever I met. If there were many people, I would raise my voice. If there were few people, I talked to them quietly and slowly. If the police talked to me, I just sent forth righteous thoughts and told them the truth, regarding their words as nothing more than a whisper of the wind. If they did not talk to me, I would go look for them to tell them the truth about Dafa. On the way to the cafeteria, I clarified the truth loudly. When having meals, I also did the same thing. When they tortured me, I talked more. I also told them, "You are violating basic human rights! Don't you think about how much wrongdoing you have committed? Do you think it's worth it to become a scapegoat for Jiang Zemin's regime?"

I truly frightened the evildoers. They tried to detain me in a room far away from other practitioners, and started to talk to me with nice words, trying to ask me not to talk loudly anymore. I told them, "I could stop shouting. But you should treat Dafa practitioners nicely because we practitioners came to save the good people in the world. You should also think about your future and your children's future." At that time, I saw that they were really frightened but they still tried to stay calm. They said to me, "Don't talk so much. Just stay here." From then on, they did not treat me as viciously as before. I then took advantage of this situation and started to help other practitioners to strengthen their confidence and faith. Even when we met in the restroom, I would just say a few short words to them and remind them to stay on the right track, not to bring shame to Teacher and Dafa, and to be a qualified Dafa practitioner. Just like that, many practitioners who were wavering in their belief started to be firm. Once I saw them beating practitioners, so I shouted loudly, "You can't beat people. This is torture and extortion of confession." I said seriously, "If you keep doing this, I will tell everyone what I saw and how you torture people." They then stopped.

On the evening of October 31, the head of the brainwashing center came to me and told me I would be released the next day. I did not regard their words seriously and did not think about going home. At about 9:00 a.m. the next day, someone asked me to go to the office. They said that I was free to go home today. Then I realized it was true, and that I was indeed released. They told me not to talk carelessly. I immediately told them, "If I found you doing bad deeds against Dafa practitioners again, I would tell the truth to everyone, everywhere." The head of the center then said, "Hurry up and go." Thus I left that evil place.

Here I summarize several lessons I learned, to share with my fellow practitioners. We should study the Fa often and well, exam our various attachments deeply, find and get rid of hidden human notions, and always look to see that our words and behavior comply with Dafa. We must remain true and firm in our belief in Dafa. Dafa has boundless power and can do everything.

(1) Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa.

(2) The three things that Master Li has asked practitioners to do are to study the Fa, send forth righteous thoughts and clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and expose the persecution.

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