Previously, I didn't fully understand why we should "come out to tell the truth to the central government". I mistakenly thought that since I had appealed on "April 25" and "July 22" of last year, I had met the standard and it was not worthwhile to be arrested if I continued appealing. Later on, through the study of the Fa (great law, universal principle,) I realized that the standard I had requested of myself was very low. The stories of the practitioners who risked their lives to appeal to the government and to tell the truth to the public greatly moved and inspired me. On several occasions, I decided to risk my life to file an appeal to the government for the more than 60 deceased practitioners (note: the total is now at 72 deaths,) for Teacher, and for the justice of Falun Dafa. When I read Teacher's article "Rationality", I once mistakenly thought that we should not go to Tiananmen Square and it was irrational to show banners there. Gradually I realized that Falun Gong practitioners have to go to Tiananmen Square because there is no other way to appeal, to tell people that Falun Gong has been unjustly treated, to awaken the goodness in the worldly people, and "This is also offering people salvation. While the evil is being eliminated, you are consummating yourself in cultivation and strengthening the Fa's manifestation in the world."
As Dafa practitioners, we should stand up to protect Dafa during all critical moments and we should not use the idea of "Don't voluntarily be taken away by the evil" as an excuse to cover up our own attachment, karma or human thoughts. If no one was afraid of being arrested, stepping forward first, or standing up alone, there would not be this current situation of the practitioners appealing and peacefully petitioning since last year. The fearlessness and dedication of many practitioners has "assisted Teacher in the human world". Teacher says things above the human level can only be obtained through giving up first. If a person with karma all over his body just wants to get protection and doesn't want to give up anything, he is holding onto his karma. He can't bring anything that he cannot give up, into heaven and will not experience everlasting peace. Many practitioners have realized that: all of the evil would be eliminated if Teacher were to wave his hand; however, there would not be an opportunity for the practitioners who haven't reached the standard of their Consummation yet to cultivate further. In particular, recently the evils have become extremely vicious. More than 60 practitioners have been tortured to death. Thousands of practitioners are suffering inhumane treatment in jails. Even worse, now they are putting the label of "counter-revolutionary" on Falun Gong practitioners and are intensifying the persecution of practitioners. If you still cannot step forward and go to Tiananmen Square to tell the truth to the public under such circumstances, how can you face Dafa and Teacher? Do you still have a chance? Don't you feel guilty before your conscience and the practitioners? Do you regard yourself as a particle of Dafa? Teacher had told us, "During the Fa rectification, one thought about Dafa can determine their existence or extinction." "They just don't realize what a danger their real lives are in."
After I made up my mind to go to Tiananmen Square, many obstacles and interference occurred. But I immediately realized that it was just a test of my heart for Dafa. Any obstacles can be overcome as long as your mind is steadfast. I decided to resign first in order not to bring trouble to my company. Then I realized that peaceful appealing was the right of every citizen and I was simply exercising my right. After appealing, I should come back and resume my work. If the company fired me, it would be another issue. If I resigned, I was simply creating restraints for my own cultivation. The cultivation process is unknown to a practitioner and should not be affected by any personal thoughts, good or bad, so that the process arranged by Teacher will not be interrupted. Some practitioners had tried to persuade me not to go. Some said, "I'm not afraid of going but I'm afraid that if I could not put up with the abuse and torture once I were arrested, I might say or do something unfavorable to Dafa." Through exchanging experiences, practitioners realized that it was impossible to reach Consummation without getting rid of these fears. A true practitioner must have a firm belief that is as strong as being able to "cut off a mountain". He should also be able to face all kinds of suffering and have determination in giving up everything. Only so can he "Follow Teacher closely, and steadfastly cultivate Dafa".
Some practitioners had hesitated when they saw that the policemen and police cars were everywhere on Tiananmen Square. They said: we should not be caught in the police trap and should think over Teacher's words: "Validating Dafa with reason" At that moment, we recited the article "Rationality" together and finally everyone understood that it was not unwise to unfurl banners and peacefully appeal on Tiananmen Square. Rather, it was a great action of benevolence and tolerance that shows that one can give up everything and face up to everything, and that it was also a very good way to validate Dafa.
We agreed to find some materials on October 26 and then go to Tiananmen Square on October 27 to unfurl banners. On October 26, many practitioners at Tiananmen Square saw the police beating and arresting practitioners; the entire Square became a land of violence. Frequently, police vans would be loaded full of practitioners and driven off. According to some witnesses, practitioners and some photographers (including some foreign tourists) packed more than thirty police vans just on October 26. We had about thirty practitioners who had jointly decided to unfurl the banners at 11AM near the National Flag pole. I arrived at the gathering place a few minutes before 11AM. I saw a police seize a camera from a foreigner. He pulled out the film from the camera and pushed the foreigner into the police van. Many tourists were afraid of carrying cameras in their hands. Facing such blatant human right abuses, people were angry but were afraid of speaking out. The spectators even dared not to speak loudly. At noon, more people could be seen at the Square. A police van would arrive at a site if some people were seen running. A practitioner was just arrested near the flagpole. A practitioner standing next to me suddenly opened a banner in the crowd. Immediately four or five policemen rushed to him just like wolves catching a lamb. After a vicious beating, the practitioner was forced into a police van.
What a benevolent Falun Dafa practitioner! They risked their lives to stand up to validate Dafa and to offer salvation to the people. They didn't strike back while beaten up or shout back. At 11 AM, I decided to stand up although I hadn't seen the other practitioners. I quickly unraveled the yellow banner with the red print of "Restore the reputation of Falun Dafa" and opened it widely with both hands. Right then, the "hungry wolves" came up to me from different directions and started pouncing me. The heavy fists fell on my head and my face. But I didn't feel any fear and pain. I can't remember how they beat me. My only thought at that moment was that I should not let them catch me too easily. I continued to shout to the crowd, "Falun Dafa is good!" and "Restore the reputation of Falun Dafa!" A ferocious policeman pounced my face with his fist while cursing me. I kept shouting loudly, "Good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil." When I was pushed into a police van, my head bounced back with a loud sound. I realized that they purposely pushed my head against the doorframe. I didn't feel much pain. The van was fully loaded in a short time and was driven out of the Square. A practitioner next to me had a yellow banner with him. The practitioner and I immediately held the banner against the window. It could be seen clearly from outside. We held the banner all the way to the police station. Near the police station, several dozen policemen were waiting there. I saw some policemen exchange a few words while pointing to the banner we were holding. At the gate of the police station, a young policeman jumped into the van and said loudly, "You all get off except these two." He cuffed and kicked us violently. When he beat the other practitioner, I felt the pain in my heart. When he beat me, I didn't feel I was beaten. His fierce kicking was like falling on soft cotton.
I was fully aware that an ordinary person might be seriously injured if he encountered such beating. Because we practitioners had Dafa in our hearts and had the courage to sacrifice, we could bear all of these without any injury. I felt pitiful for the police because they couldn't tell good from evil and were used by the evil forces as a tool to beat future great Buddhas, Taos and Gods, and for the amount of karma they had created for themselves.
We were sent to a long and narrow yard in the police station and separated into two lines according to gender. There were more male practitioners than female practitioners. I found 79 people were arrested within 15 minutes around the time I was arrested, including a 12-year-old girl, a 7-year-old boy and an over 70-year-old woman. Two female practitioners' faces were bleeding. The blood had fully soaked the light-color sport wear of one of them. I asked a policeman to offer them help and have their wounds wrapped. I told them that it was very dangerous to bleed so much. He replied, "Isn't it a chance to sacrifice their lives for Dafa?" I said, "You are murdering people!" He changed his attitude a little bit and said a van was coming to pick them up soon. The two practitioners didn't get their wounds wrapped. They simply pressed some gauze against the wound. The policemen rambled around. Some held rubber sticks in their hands. Some had a fierce look and some smiled. A policeman with a smile said to the practitioners, "Don't have delightful minds". It seemed that he had read some Dafa books and knew Dafa a little bit. We told the policemen the truth of Dafa and at the same time encouraged each other with Teacher's articles and the principle of Dafa. We agreed with each other that we should not tell our names and addresses and should not let the evil do what they want. After a little while, we were packed into two buses and sent to a new prison near Beijing.
Just as Teacher said, "The actions they are now adopting in persecuting Dafa and its practitioners are extremely wicked and shameful, and they fear these will be exposed." They asked the practitioners without seats to squat down when we were put on the buses. I saw one practitioner in the front refuse to squat no matter how hard the policemen tried. I suddenly realized that they were afraid to let the public see that so many practitioners were arrested and were afraid to be exposed. If they knew we were bad people, they would not be afraid to be seen, instead they would like to show themselves up. Then I stood up quickly. Some practitioners nearby also stood up. Although the policemen stood nearby and were only less than 1 meter apart, we were not afraid. One policeman saw that I was the first one to stand up and immediately threatened me, "Stay squatting". I asked, "If you can give me a good reason why I should stay squatting, I will follow the order." He said, "It is for your safety." I said, "I can hold the banister tightly". He said again, "You will not get tired". I said, "If I feel tired, I will squat down by myself." He was angered and said, "It is the order." I answered with justice on my side, "Without a good reason, I refuse to squat down." I turned to other practitioners, "Let's all stand up." All the practitioners in the bus stood up. The police started to kick my knees to force me to squat down. The other practitioners shouted out, "No beating." He became afraid and stopped.
The jail was a large, new one. The first room I encountered when I walked into the lobby of the jail was the monitoring room. There were twenty TVs in the room that can monitor every prison room clearly. The female practitioners and male practitioners were put into two separate rooms. The ceiling of the room and one sidewall with windows in it was covered with metal mesh. The corner of the room was designated as Wooden boards that were not even as thick as a ping pong table were affixed on the concrete floor and used as the bed. The room reminded us of the cages that animals were kept in the zoo with the smell of feces and urine. Later I escaped the den of the monster in front of them as if I was not seen.
When I came out of the jail I had become enlightened to many of the principles of the Fa. Especially at around 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM on the 27th, I noticed there was some matter that filled the air of Beijing that was "neither a cloud nor fog". I understood that the more practitioners come out, the more effective it is in "assisting Teacher in the human world". We have no idea what tribulations are lying in front of us. Should we face up to them or avoid them? Teacher has gathered all the karma together and eliminated half of it. The rest has been spread out during our cultivation process. We cannot just want to gain without wanting to pay. We cannot "bring the things that we cannot give up in this world to heaven". We must eliminate all of the evil and the thought karma in order to reach the gates of the paradises and to reach Consummation. My experience of going to Tiananmen Square led me to deeply understand that it is a big comprehensive test and a very important test in the process of cultivation. I understood what is meant by "establishing the mighty virtue of the great enlightenment being" and the meaning of, "The future human beings will see the greatness of you; the future gods will remember this greatest moment of history."
Those practitioners who have not stood up, what notion has prevented you from coming out to validate Dafa and what notion has prevented you from standing up at the time when the evil forces are so bad? Do you have righteous thoughts? Are you thinking in the way that was pointed out by Teacher: "evil enlightenment", so that you cannot "do your best to eliminate the evil force positively and vigorously"?
Practitioners, come out and take actions! "The vows of Gods are being fulfilled", so let's "follow the Teacher closely, steadfastly cultivate Dafa". Once we change our human thoughts completely, the story will come true. Let us gather at Tiananmen Square and eliminate the evil from the root. Let us welcome the first light when the heavenly gate opens!
Practitioner in China
October 30, 2000
