(Clearwisdom.net) I began Falun Dafa study in August 1997. Prior to that I was a qigong enthusiast and had studied many qigong systems. Because everything at that time belonged to the level of healing and fitness and some were even phony qigong, I didn’t make any progress in cultivation. When I was fortunate enough to encounter Falun Dafa, I knew then that it was exactly the true Dafa cultivation I had been seeking for so many years. Since then, I took a bright path of returning to my original, true self.
On July 20, 1999, the evil persecution started. The assistant and deputy assistant from the various assistance centers were the first to be persecuted and were illegally detained. I was one of them. Since then, I started the course of validating Dafa, negating the persecution and offering salvation to sentient beings.
1. Taking the Path of Fa-rectification
I didn’t understand at first what I was facing when the persecution began on July 20, 1999. I felt pained, but always held this thought, "No matter what the outside world says or does, no people or any power can change my firm mindset to cultivate in Dafa."
Having been influenced by several decades of evil culture from the CCP's propaganda and their warped concepts, I did certain things wrong. Contributing to my wrongdoing was the fact that I hadn’t studied the Fa in-depth and didn’t realize the solemn nature of cultivation. I used several tricky words and actions to deal with the TV stations, the police department, the Chinese Communist Party Committee in the work unit, the Bureau of Human Resources, and with some officials in our work system. I definitely refused to say something bad about Dafa and Master, and clarified a little of the truth about Dafa at my convenience. However even so, its negative effect was obvious at the time.
Later, by studying Master’s articles and sharing with some fellow practitioners, I realized that as a Dafa practitioner I should validate the Fa, clarify the truth, and rescue sentient beings, which are the missions of Dafa disciples. I then started to clarify the truth to acquaintances and colleagues around me; sent letters to those agencies I dealt with before, and to deliver flyers to people.
This then shocked the evil. They dispatched some people to do the so-called "reformation work" on me. I then clarified the truth to them. As a result, most of the people learned about Falun Dafa and considered it with a positive mindset and thought that Jiang Zemin's persecution of Falun Gong was irrational. The so-called "reformation work" thus ended.
Close to the end October of 2000, the evildoers sent policemen to my home. I was arrested and sentenced to an 18-month term of forced labor.
2. My Experience in the Forced Labor Camp
Before I was sent to the forced labor camp, I had already been illegally held in the local detention center for about four months. Since I couldn’t study the Fa, my righteous thoughts were weakening. Every day, all the people I interacted with were criminal suspects. What they cared about was mainly how to escape or lessen their punishment. In addition to the torture and overtime work, my human thoughts emerged.
Once in the labor camp, I gave in. This was due to the deceit, threats, and other high pressure from the police, from former practitioners who had a wicked understanding, and from the government controlled media. I felt agonized then. Deep down I knew what Master taught us was the principle of the universe and I believed in Master and Dafa. On the surface, though, I was so-called reformed. The labor camp authorities mainly used the deviated former practitioners to try and reform others. Those who were reformed would stay in the special Falun Gong lock-down division. Those who couldn’t be reformed were transferred to other divisions to be forced into slave labor and to be violently "reformed."
There was a division leader surnamed Hou who, in my impression, was a relatively decent police officer. Because his mind was deeply poisoned by the media propaganda, he held a negative attitude toward Falun Gong and was often anxious that he couldn’t reform Falun Gong practitioners. Some practitioners and I told him, "If you truly want to ‘reform’ us, you need to know us and Falun Gong. You need to know our Master’s lectures about the Fa." He thought what we said was reasonable and started to read our Master’s lectures. He also ordered all the police officers in the division to read them. As a result, most police officers read the Dafa books and changed their attitude toward practitioners. They thought that Falun Gong practitioners were kind people. One policeman even secretly told us, "It turns out what your Teacher said is all true. I also saw Falun of various colors. No wonder you are so firm in your belief. If I study more, I will be the same as you."
One day after he had read the Dafa book several times, the leader Hou suddenly excitedly told us, "I found the answer to Zhuan Falun; it was ‘serving people.’" I told him that Zhuan Falun contained very deep inner meanings. Many of us read the book several dozen times, or even one hundred times. None of us dared to say that we found the answer to it. You only saw some superficial principles. He was so excited and couldn’t hold back. He called the CCTV's "Focal Point Interview" program, the provincial Judiciary and Political Committee, the Provincial Judicial Bureau and the forced labor camp authorities. He also wrote his understandings on the blackboard in the division and held a meeting announcing that every person can learn and practice Falun Gong.
We knew that it came from his true nature; however, the evil Communist Party wouldn’t accept his actions. I kindly reminded him that he needed to be more rational. I said, "The Communist Party and other government officials may not understand you. We don’t want you to be persecuted like us." He said, "It wouldn’t be like that. I don’t practice Falun Gong. Still, I thank you for that!"
Since then the environment was relatively relaxed. We could obtain Master’s new Fa lectures and new articles. We knew clearly that the "reformation" was wrong. We also knew about sending righteous thoughts. Nevertheless, because I had strong fear and couldn’t understand correctly the relationship of personal cultivation and the Fa-rectification, I left the forced labor camp with this stain. Before I left, many practitioners and I also made a promise, "We will believe in Master and the Fa. Once we realize that what we have done is not in accordance with Master’s teachings it must be that we ourselves are wrong."
Not long after I was released I heard that leader Hou was punished and left his position ahead of time for embracing Falun Gong.
3. Disintegrate the Evil Brainwashing Session with the Power of Righteous Thoughts
After I returned home, I calmed down and systematically studied the Fa and read the Practitioners Exchange Insights and Experiences articles in Minghui Weekly. I truly looked inward and deeply understood,
"The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts." ("Drive Out Interference" from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I discovered the main reasons I was persecuted. The first: I was attached to the end of the Fa-rectification and, I was afraid that I couldn’t attain consummation. On the surface I was validating the Fa when in fact, I had my huge selfishness mixed in. I didn’t comply with the standard of a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period. The second reason: I had acknowledged the old forces' arrangements. I thought then that if only I had stepped forward to validate the Fa, to clarify the truth, and to hand out flyers I would be arrested and persecuted. Although I didn’t care much about the persecution and would still do what I should do, I thought the persecution was a necessary course during cultivation. The third reason: I had not realized the solemn nature of the practice and did not get it through my head that this is not a persecution of people against Falun Dafa practitioners, but people persecuting divine beings. So the evil took advantage of my loopholes and found the means to persecute me. That is why I later made huge mistakes in the forced labor camp and left behind blemishes. It was a serious lesson.
It is so fortunate that what we cultivate is the Great Law of the cosmos and Master is extremely compassionate and gives every practitioner enough opportunities to correct mistakes. I stumbled, and I needed to get up.
I was then the first person in our local area to be released from a forced labor camp. Everyday people couldn’t understand me; fellow practitioners misunderstood me; and my job, wage, and employment relationships and so on needed to be straightened out. I held just one thought, "I will take the path arranged by Master and negate the old forces' arrangements and persecution. I will handle those things well and righteously with a practitioner’s attitude and blaze a trail for fellow practitioners who are still suffering persecution." Because I had a clear understanding from the Fa and had a pure mindset, I encountered virtually no real difficulties in solving these problems. I soon resumed my job and was reinstated in my original position. My wages were also recovered.
In March 2002 I went to the police department's Political and Security Division to ask for documentation relating to forced labor and to tell them the illegal nature of sending us to these forced labor camps. It happened that the head and deputy head and the political head of the division were discussing the setting up of a brainwashing session. At that moment my righteous thoughts were very strong. I understood it was certainly not just a coincidence that I came across this incident. I told them right away, "You want to open a so-called brainwashing class. You think about it and have a look. What kind of people are those who practice Falun Gong? They mostly were weak and suffered many diseases before. Through practicing Falun Gong they got a healthy body and are trying to be a good person. They also have relatives or family members who are working in government agencies or the police departments. Are they cultivating for the purpose of taking over their power? The media broadcast slanderous rumors that Falun Gong has political purposes; isn’t that a ridiculous lie? You sent me to the forced labor camp for over one year; did it work? Who can change our minds? I advise you to forget about your scheme of setting up a brainwashing session!"
They looked at one another and nodded. The division head said, "I also think that there is no need to set up a brainwashing center." They didn’t mention this any more after that.
4. Eliminating All Kinds of Interferences; Walking Righteously on the Path Master Arranged for Us
In the "Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference," Master taught us,
"When the gong and energy that I left at this place in the cosmos, in the Three Realms, do things, if our students don't act righteously, then the old forces resist, and a state of obstruction appears. That's why I've told our students to walk a righteous path and not to let them find an excuse. Once they find a big one they'll ruin you. And that's especially so when it's at the end and they're making a last-ditch effort. When they can't find an excuse they don't dare to persecute you, because then they too would be violating the laws, and they understand that, so there'd be no need for me to eliminate them--the old cosmos's laws would eliminate them. That's because they are old beings who take strictly safeguarding the old laws to be what's most essential."
"If the attachments at your human-surface side aren't removed, then Master and the Law-guardian Gods are put in a tough position. But if your righteous thoughts are strong, then Master and the Law-guardian Gods can do anything for you."
After I resumed my job, at all times I conducted myself with a cultivator’s standard at work, at home and in society. At work, I follow the work place rules and I started my work and left work on time every day. I would do well whatever was within my responsibilities at work. I spent most of the spare time studying the Fa, sending forth righteous thoughts and clarifying the truth. Many of my colleagues know that Falun Gong is being persecuted. At home, I tried my best to handle well the relationship with my parents, my children and my spouse. Whenever I encounter a conflict I always look inside first, no matter who seems to be right or wrong on the surface. When a conflict occurs, there must be some attachments I need to eliminate. If it were completely caused by interference, I would send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate it.
Before 2003, the local 610 Office and police department would make plans to harass Falun Gong practitioners on the politically sensitive days or when the evil communist party was having a conference. Local practitioners had a discussion on it and we realized it was persecution arranged by the old forces. We must negate it and not comply with it. First, we should send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate their harassment plan; second, we should take advantage of these opportunities to clarify the truth, expose the evil and save sentient beings. After the discussion, every practitioner did so in their own unique cultivation environment. In 2003, there were no evildoers going to practitioners’ homes or work units to harass practitioners. Of course, it was also correlated with the progress of Fa-rectification.
During the 16th National Congress of the evil communist party, the "610 Office" secretly ordered each work unit not to let Falun Gong practitioners take vacations. I happened to ask for leave and was staying at home for some personal matters. My work unit deceived me back into the work unit, saying that there was a work assignment for me. After I learned what was going on, I immediately realized it was the persecution imposed by the evil and it was a good opportunity to clarify the truth.
I told my supervisors that if there was indeed a work assignment, I would have taken it seriously and come back to work; however, if it was because of Falun Gong, I could not accept it and I must take vacation as planned. My supervisors told me they didn’t have the right to handle this issue and they had to ask for permission from upper levels. I said to my supervisors, "I would not intervene if you decide to ask for permission from someone, but please tell them, as a law-abiding citizen and a staff member in a state-run enterprise, it is my right to ask for vacation when I have personal matters to handle. If you fail to get the permission, I will talk to them myself." I took advantage of this topic and clarified the truth to my supervisors and colleagues. They agreed that what the CCP is doing is against the will of the Chinese people. My supervisors asked for permission from several levels of upper departments. Staff from the political and judiciary committee, the police department and several police from the state security division came to examine my case. They found that I was very firm and they simply left with frustration. After they left, my supervisors told me privately, "You may take a break as long as you wish."
There was a practitioner couple in our region. Before they were illegally sent to forced labor camp, they were very diligent. Later, they had a warped understanding in the labor camp. After they were released, they gave up cultivation and were unwilling to talk about Falun Gong. Sometimes, they even talked negatively and brought a bad impact on other practitioners. I believed it was caused by the evil persecution. As fellow practitioners, we should not leave them alone when they were about to lose this precious opportunity which they had waited for for thousands of years. Every time Master published new articles, I would deliver the articles to them and send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the interference and persecution imposed on them by the evil. No matter what attitude they had for me, I would tell them something about Dafa. It took them almost ten months to come back to their senses. Now, this couple is very diligent in cultivation.
5. Gradually Getting Rid of Ordinary People’s Notions, I Established a Material Production Site
With the progress of Fa-rectification, it was asked of practitioners in China to establish small-scale material production sites like flowers blossoming everywhere. Local practitioners realized the necessity and importance of establishing material production sites. Before 2003, all of the truth clarification materials were delivered to us by practitioners in other regions. We were able to read Master’s new articles and Minghui Weekly, but we didn’t have much truth clarification materials. The amount was far less than what was required to help sentient beings learn the truth.
One day, I thought to myself, it would be wonderful if I could establish a material production site myself. Master made arrangements for me as soon as I had this simple thought. On the next day, a practitioner from out of town came and told me that there was a computer and a laser printer somewhere which needed to be disposed of. I told him I was just planning to establish a material site and didn’t know how to start. He was very happy and said to me, "They are yours now." Thus I got the equipment and got started without any difficulty.
Very soon, that fellow practitioner delivered the computer and the printer to me and helped to install software to break through Internet blockade. He taught me the basic techniques about browsing the Internet, downloading from Internet and printing. Within two hours, I was able to print truth clarification materials. Thus, a small material production site started running.
Before I established this material production site, I had a notion that was hidden deep inside. I thought I was fairly well known in our region and was blacklisted by the local police department. Whenever there was some occurrence involving Falun Gong, local police were likely to come get me. I thought it was not safe for me to run a material production site. Many responsible persons in different regions all had this notion, to different extents, which hindered themselves and practitioners as a whole from advancing forward. In fact, this is an ordinary person’s mentality and it is for the sake of one’s "self." Also, practitioners with this notion fail to realize that the persecution was not a human-to-human persecution. To put it more seriously, it is a manifestation of a lack of true belief in Master and in Dafa.
The reality in the past several years was that in our region, the production and distribution of truth clarification materials in cities and villages never stopped. The evildoers never came to harass me. After all, material production has to be done by someone! Only when a practitioner’s mentality deviates from the Fa in doing the project that he or she may encounter persecution.
From the experience in the past several years, especially the fact that our material production site has been operating smoothly, I have learned that when one follows the standards of the Fa and Master’s teaching, as well as following the basic security rules among everyday people, it would be the safest. Through years of tempering and maturation, we should know that the evil factors of the old forces exist in other dimensions. They monitor us at every moment, trying to take advantage of our gaps so as to implement their so-called tests.
On the other hand, Master is protecting and guiding us all the time and giving us supernormal powers to completely negate the old forces' arrangements to ensure our safety. As long as our righteous mind is strong and we walk on a righteous path, the evil would feel scared even when hearing our names and sound. The key is whether we are proactively doing the three things well with a pure mind or doing the three things passively with everyday people’s attachments.
Presently, the evil is indeed becoming scarce. Sentient beings are awakening. Before 2000, when everyday people saw truth clarification material, most of them would think of it as counter-revolutionary flyers and were scared. Some even turn it in to the police department. In 2005, when they saw truth clarification material, the majority of them would feel fortunate and take the initiative to pass it around. They think the communist party is indeed too evil. Sentient beings are indeed waiting to be saved. For this moment, they have waited for thousands of years, just as Master put it, "This instant is precious beyond measure." ("Teaching the Fa in the City of Chicago")
6. Believe in Master and the Fa; Take Each Step Well
The evil is poisonous and wicked, and it has to do bad things. I felt really bad when I read the daily persecution articles on the Minghui website. I felt pained whenever I heard that some of the practitioners known to me were persecuted. I calmed down after the pain and would think it over: were we able to study the Fa peacefully every day before being persecuted? Did we truly believe in Master and the Fa? To what extent did we? At this moment I recall two of Master's teachings,
"Validate the Fa with rationality, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and save people with mercy." ("Rationality" from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
"Clarify the truth thoroughly, eliminate the evil with righteous thoughts, save all beings, and safeguard the Fa with determination." ("Dafa is Indestructible" from Essentials for Further Advancement II )
Has each one of our practitioners thought these two sentences over with a peaceful mind?
Getting rid of the fear is not just sitting there and thinking the fear is gone; it is in the process of validating the Fa, little by little, that one gets rid of it. When I started to distribute truth clarification materials as my main way of offering people salvation in 2003, I had very strong fear. When I went to rural areas by bike in the evenings, I normally sent forth righteous thoughts after I planned to go. I kept strong righteous thoughts on the way up so the distribution would be pretty smooth; during two subsequent trips later on I felt much less fear.
Since we have few practitioners in our county and we began the Fa cultivation process relatively late, there were no practitioners in most rural areas. So in the past few years I went through almost all cities and towns when I was off work or during holidays. I distributed thousands of truth clarification booklets, countlesscopies of The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and CDs and flyers and other materials. During the winter or summer, when the village roads were inconvenient to pass through I would go on Saturdays or Sundays. I would distribute person to person when it is possible and leave the materials when not. I would put materials anywhere - by fields, at the entrance to a village or bridge, by a yard gate or a crossroads, wherever people can easily find the material. I would ride a bike to places nearby or take a bus with the bike to faraway places.
Initially, other practitioners delivered these materials. We started to create materials from 2004. We have not experienced any critical danger so far, only a few dog bites. People were commenting that "Falun Gong is doing really good; they distribute flyers with an airplane, they are everywhere." Others said, "Falun Gong people come and go mysteriously; flyers appear from nowhere!" Others also said that there were so many Falun Gong people distributing flyers that there is a person for each family … Out of hesitancy to show off, I have never been excited for each smooth delivery, and not even spoke of how many I’ve covered. I would normally tell those practitioners who were going to distribute materials that what we have distributed for which area, and what we should be careful of.
No matter how busy I became, I would take some time to calm myself and study the Fa every day, even if I studied only one or two pages, and at least ensured the three times of sending forth righteous thoughts globally. Each time we went out for Dafa work I would send forth righteous thoughts before leaving, but not perfunctorily, because I knew that we are cultivators validating the Fa, not ordinary people doing daily work. What we are doing is solemn and sacred.
As more practitioners stepped forward to validate the Fa, we needed more materials. The opportunity for me to distribute items was curtailed, but each time I went I would do it solemnly. Each time we had some issues with computers or printers and needed to send them out for repair, we would both pay enough attention to the security and were open and aboveboard, because we knew that we were doing the most righteous things; nobody is qualified to test us.
Toward the end of 2004, a few practitioners who had connected with me were arrested and persecuted; two printers were having problems. The repair was not done locally. I felt kind of sad and uncertain; one practitioner told me that somewhere practitioners were persecuted so severely that they betrayed some fellow practitioners and caused severe damage to their local materials production sites. If Master is trying to tell us something regarding our current situation, some practitioners suggested then to sell the two printers so that we could buy new ones after the peak of the persecution has passed.
At the same time this was happening, my family berated me severely. But I always thought Master would not arrange for us to stop making the materials; fellow practitioners would not betray me; the evil is not qualified to persecute me; the printers didn’t have big issues; it will be the safest only if we believe in Master and Fa. Then I calmed down and studied the Fa and found that I still hid my fear. I didn’t thoroughly negate the old forces' arrangements that caused the fluctuation in my mind. Once I understood the Fa the very next day, along with another practitioner, I took the printers to other cities to have them repaired openly and aboveboard. The printers indeed didn’t need much work done and were soon repaired. We returned home in the same day.
Some practitioner said, "You’ve made so many materials and handed out so many, and offered so many people salvation." I said, "I don't know how many I have shown the way to be saved, nor how many were rescued after reading the materials, but I would like to try to provide them an opportunity for salvation."
As the fast pace of the Fa-rectification is moving forward, the cosmic changes of divine power eliminating the Chinese Communist Party is apparent; rescuing those people whose minds had been poisoned by the evil Party became the current urgent matter. Master had recently published several lectures and articles. I clearly felt the moment of Fa rectifying the human world is coming.
Dear fellow practitioners, the opportunities that we have to assist Master in validating the Fa in the human world are getting fewer, but there still are many people not having been shown a way to salvation; some even didn’t get the opportunity for salvation. We are truly ordinary people’s sole hope. Let’s cooperate and coordinate together, improve together, work diligently, not to miss the opportunity of
"The countless years of hardship were all for this time."
("A Will That Ebbs Not," for Mid-Autumn Festival, September 18, 2005)
In conclusion I would like to quote Master’s article
"To the European Fa Conference in Stockholm" to encourage each fellow practitioner:
"Everything in the world was established and created for the Fa-rectification, and Dafa disciples are the great figures of our time. Since ancient times the beings in all realms have waited in anticipation. Gather up and rescue the beings that you are to save! Have righteous thoughts and righteous actions, dissolve all hindrances, and spread the facts widely. Divine beings are among men." (June 12, 2005)
Due to my limited cultivation status I welcome any compassionate advice and suggestions.