Under Any Circumstance, Never Forget Our Mission and Duty of Saving the Sentient Beings
By a Falun Dafa practitioner from Hebei Province
(Clearwisdom.net) On June 21, 2006, while clarifying the
truth of Falun Gong to others, practitioners A and B and I were taken away
by the local police. That evening we were sent to the county detention center.
During the unlawful interrogation, the police tried to find our
truth-clarification materials production site, trying to find clues from the
materials in our hands and obtained from our homes. The police hit and beat me
and practitioner B as well as threatened to send us to a forced labor camp. The
three of us faced the persecution with righteous thoughts and did not cooperate
with the questioning. Seeing no effect in the interrogation, the police then
illegally detained us for 10-15 days. To protest the persecution,
immediately we started a hunger strike. On the second day at the detention center, practitioner A and I stared to
clarify the truth to the police and others in custody. By the 5th day of our
hunger strike, practitioner A had become very weak and was not able to stand up,
and I was nervous and without any strength. We started to discuss about what
should be done. Practitioner A thought that if we kept going with the huger
strikes, we would not be able to clarify the truth and our sending forth
righteous thoughts would be of no power; then how could we save so many people
inside the detention center? Practitioner B had another consideration that
hunger strikes would be the only way for us to break away from here so we should
stick to it. Meanwhile, I remembered that Teacher had mentioned about the
following. One practitioner was shouting out, "Falun Dafa is
good" everywhere she went and she was able to clarify the truth safely
without any trouble; saving people is the mission and duty for all the
practitioners. Validating the Fa and saving the sentient beings must
be placed in the top priority. Thus, we finally decided to stop the hunger
strikes for the more critical mission of saving others. In clarifying the truth
to save people, we did the most righteous thing and there was nothing wrong or
criminal about it, so it was unlawful to detain us here. We refused to eat any
food provided by the detention center but had some bread and fruits sent in from
our family members. With this arrangement, we were no longer weak and had
stronger spirits and so we were able to calm down for Fa-study. We felt more
powerful while sending forth righteous thoughts, and were strong enough to stand
up for truth clarification. Dafa Songs Inspire the Sentient Beings The people inside the detention center were confined into rooms and the
separation made it difficult for clarifying the truth to them. What should we
do? At that moment I thought of singing Dafa songs. As Teacher's poem,
"Waist Drum Team" (from Hong Yin II) says,
"Every sound of the Fa drums pipes Zhen Shan Ren / Purging evil in the
Three Realms," we may use Dafa songs to eliminate all evil factors within
other dimensions of the detention center. In this way we can save people with
predestined relationships, through their hearing the songs. So again and again I
sang the song, "Falun Dafa is Good." While singing, tears flowed from
my eyes; I felt, from the tiniest particles of my life to my surface being, that
all my cells were crying. Opening up my eyes through the tears, I unexpectedly
saw Master's Law-body sitting on a lotus seat while smiling at us benevolently.
Immediately pressing my palms together to Him, I mentioned to the fellow
practitioners that Master was watching us from above and they should join in to
sing. The fellow practitioners joined in the singing and their tears flowed too.
We sang continuously for more than one hour; the song reverberated in the air of
the center for a long time and I felt that it moved the whole universe. After hearing our singing, the criminal inmates in the other rooms stopped
talking and tried to listen quietly to the song. Later, some sang along with us,
some clapped their hands along with the music's rhythm, and others gave us the
thumbs-up sign out of respect and said "Falun sisters, take a break and
don't get too tired before eating." Dafa songs inspire people's conscience, their root of compassion, and their
Buddha nature. Songs cleanse the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) evil factors
and bolster our confidence in saving the sentient beings. From that day on, we
sang the Dafa songs every day until we left the detention center. On that last
day, to leave Dafa songs forever in the air of the center we started singing
earlier. From 7:00 a.m. until the time we left, we kept singing and singing. Inside the Cage Clarifying Truth to the Police Although we lost our physical freedom inside the detention center, the cage
cannot enclose the hearts, the mouths, and the hands of the practitioners. We
used our hearts in reciting the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts, used
our mouths to clarify the truth, and used our hands to write letters persuading
others to be good. We realized that now that we were here, all the others
detained here were people we should try to save, including the detention center
police and the guards who had been misled about Falun Gong. To the police, in addition to clarifying the truth, we also told them the
history of the evil Chinese Communist Party and the possibility of the CCP
preparing to sacrifice a bunch of police as scapegoats. After that, most of the
detention center police realized the truth and made their sensible choice. They
stopped interfering with our reciting the Fa, doing the Falun Gong exercises,
singing, or clarifying the truth. When they encountered our activities, they
would pretend they didn't see it at all. Within those 10+ days , 42 people (31
detainees and 11 police officers) understood the truth and withdrew from the
evil CCP organizations. Looking at those whose lives who were saved under this
special circumstance, we wished them the best from the bottom of our hearts. It's Good Fortune for People to Know the Truth There were two detainees waiting for their final sentences. According to the
law, one might be sent to 5 years and another one to a 3-year prison terms.
During our clarifying the truth to them, these two not only withdrew from the
evil CCP organizations but also kept saying, "Falun Dafa is good" and
"Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance is good" every day. Both of them
also memorized Teacher's poems, "To Be Human" and "Tempering the
Heart and Will." At night they sat quietly reciting "Falun Dafa is
good" repeatedly. One of the two was full of tears while listening to my
truth clarification. He said, "Big sister, in my 30-some years I did not
remember the taste of crying. I did not have one drop of tears even at my dad's
passing away. Now I really know that tears are salty." He did not know that
it was his knowing side that was crying. A few days later, these two detainees
were extremely happy to receive a one-year and a half-a-year sentence,
respectively. Then I told them, "It was because both of you believe in Dafa, withdrew
from the evil party and recited 'Falun Dafa is good,' that you are so fortunate
and received such a good result. When you believe in Gods and Buddhas, they will
bless you." Others thought it was inconceivable for these two to receive so
light a sentence. Using Righteous Thoughts to Get Out Of the Evil Den and to Witness the Power
of Dafa On the 5th day of our hunger strike we became very weak, but in order to
validate Dafa, we persisted in doing the Falun Gong exercises inside the iron
bars. Then I saw various Faluns rotating and jumping around in the air as if
dancing. I realized that was Teacher's merciful hint to us. As we are based on
validating the Dafa and saving sentient beings, with firm belief in Master and
in Dafa, we would surely pass this test. On the 8th day, we heard that fellow practitioners outside the detention
center were displaying posters, sending forth righteous thoughts, and clarifying
the truth in order to rescue us. I was touched by this news and had tears in my
eyes. Then inside the detention center we calmed down and searched inwardly to
realize that our original base was not upright; hunger strikes simply for the
purpose of getting out of the detention center were selfish, not based on
validating the Fa and saving people. Furthermore, our hunger strikes did not go
on in a dignified and noble way; hearing about brutal forced feeding, we were
scared of that terrible suffering. Through our searching inward, the three of us
united to be of one body in our understanding. We wanted to tell them in a
dignified and noble way that it was alright for us to clarify the truth for
saving others, and that therefore we were not guilty of any crime at all; it was
unlawful to detain us. As long as we were inside the detention center, we would
protest with hunger strikes. From that day on until the day we left, we did not
touch any of the food sent in by our family members. Several days ago, to constantly remind myself, I wrote the following words of
Teacher's Fa on the wall of our cell in the detention center: "...you completely let go of everything, behave like an upstanding and
noble Dafa disciple who has no resentment or attachments, and leave it to
Master to arrange whether you stay or go." ("2006 Teaching the Fa in
the City of Los Angeles"), and, "When disciples have ample righteous thoughts / Master has the power
to turn back the tide." ("The Master-Disciple Bond" from Hong
Yin II) At that time I did not have a deep enough understanding, but now I have
enlightened to the Fa principle that believing in Teacher and in the Fa should
not be merely lip service; only doing it is the real cultivation. When we
realized this Fa principle, and we truly elevated ourselves and the three of us
united to be one body, again I saw the scene of many rotating Faluns in the air.
When sending forth righteous thoughts, I saw that my fellow practitioners were
covered by red light. Then I saw three female Buddhas hold up their right palm
and standing on lotus flowers, gradually fly up to the sky. I knew that our
benevolent Master was encouraging us for doing well. When the other detainees learned that we were to be sent home free that day,
one of them was excited to say that she would sing a song for us. She sang a
song with the following words: "Falun Sister is good. Falun Sister is good.
Falun Sister told me Falun Dafa is good. Falun Dafa is good. Falun Dafa is good.
Falun Dafa is the Righteous Fa. Buddha's light is shining all over the
world." After singing, she added,"Best wishes to you. May what you
wish for come true. And may you reach Consummation soon!" Another said,
"Big Sister, this time you are leaving. In the future when I come upon
others, I'll tell them that Falun Dafa is good and Falun Dafa is the righteous
Fa. I am willing to spread the Fa for you." Looking at these lives that had
been truly saved, I said to them, "May you soon get out of the bitter sea
too. All of you are lives coming for the Fa. Good things are waiting for
you." After our hunger strike of more than 10 days, we were still able to gather up
our own quilts and carry our personal belongings and walk steadily out of the
detention center in a dignified and noble way. People were surprised to see this
scene. Once again, we verified to the people in the world that Falun Dafa is a
magnificent practice. Sailing through the wind and rain for more than ten days, my most prominent
feeling is that "Buddha's Grace is Vast and Mighty." The greatest and
benevolent Master has always protected His disciples; it is beyond words for the
disciples to express their thanks to Him. We are also thankful to fellow
practitioners within and outside China for their joint rescue efforts and for
sending forth righteous thoughts to help us break out of the evil's den. During this tribulation, I realized that I had too many shortcomings,
including the following: I'll take the lesson from Teacher's poem, "Analyze shortcomings
explicitly, advance again wholeheartedly" ("Be Rational, Awaken" Hongyin
II). I shall do each of the three things well, and walk every step firmly
and steadily. I shall walk straight my path with a clear head and with reason,
and become more mature.
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/7/21/133602.html
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