(Clearwisdom.net) Because of my steadfast faith in our revered Teacher, I have persevered for the past ten years despite the unprecedented persecution of Falun Gong in China. Especially, during the past seven years of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, I was fortunate to experience Teacher's compassion and the Fa's mighty power. I would like to share one particular experience with fellow practitioners.
I was once arrested by police without due cause. The police took me to a brainwashing center and asked me if I was still practicing Falun Gong? I said, "Falun Gong is such a wonderful cultivation practice that helps improve health and morality. Isn't Falun Gong wonderful?" The police asked if I planned to go to Beijing and appeal for Falun Gong? I replied, "If you continue to commit crimes against Falun Gong practitioners, I will certainly appeal for Falun Gong. It is my constitutional right as a Chinese citizen." I kept telling them the facts about Falun Gong. I had no fear because I held a specific Fa truth in mind. Teacher said,
"Why should you, a Dafa disciple, fear the evil ones when enduring persecution? The crux of the matter is that you have attachments. If not, do not endure passively, and face the evil people with righteous thoughts at all times. No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil's demands, orders, or what it instigates. If everyone does this the environment won't be this way." ("Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
When I realized that the police were not listening to anything I said, I looked straight into their eyes while sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all the evil elements behind them. When the police saw that I stopped talking, they left me at the brainwashing center and returned to their station.
Beginning with the day I arrived at the brainwashing center I refused to eat their food. I wasn't trying to go on a hunger strike. I simply thought of Teacher's words. Teacher said,
"No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil's demands, orders, or what it instigates." ("Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts are Powerful" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I decided that I must not eat the food they offered, as food prepared by these torturers must be of dark and evil matter. I lay in bed and had only one thought in mind: I am a Falun Gong practitioner. I should not be imprisoned. But how am I going to leave this place? I thought of Teacher's article, "What Are Supernormal Abilities." Every Falun Gong practitioner has supernormal abilities. I believe that I have the ability to pull off the bars on the window and jump out of the window. As long as I am determined to leave, our compassionate Teacher will make the necessary arrangement for me.
There were two more fellow practitioners who also stopped eating the next day. The torturers reported us to their leader. The two fellow practitioners' family members heard the news and visited them. It was getting dark, but the center had not locked the front gate, as the visitors had not left the center. I decided that this would be my chance to escape. But it was not completely dark yet. I asked Teacher in my heart, "Teacher, I know it's time for me to leave, but it is not completely dark yet. I am afraid of being discovered. Please tell me what to do." At this very moment, a fellow practitioner next door knocked on the door and told me that the front gate was not locked. I enlightened that it must be Teacher's hint. I closed the door and walked out. At the time my mind was blank. I had no fear. I knew only that I was walking out of the evil den. Once outside, I took big strides and walked briskly, but I didn't run because it was not completely dark. Thus, I escaped from the brainwashing center with righteous thoughts.
In the past, my husband had always thought that the only way to protect me was to keep a good rapport with the police. After this incident, my husband, a non-practitioner, finally realized that he was unable to protect me from being imprisoned and that only Teacher could protect me. I told him not to listen to anything the police promised any longer. Now that my husband understands more about Falun Gong, he is no longer opposed to me spreading the truth about Falun Gong.
Many fellow practitioners talk about having faith in Teacher and the Fa. I think that only when we believe from the bottom of our heart that all the Fa Teacher has imparted is absolutely true, will we be able to treat the Fa as Teacher at all times, be imperious to practitioner-turned-traitors' interferences, leave no loopholes for the evil, conduct ourselves according to Teacher's Fa at all times, have righteous thoughts and righteous actions and be diligent in our cultivation practice at all times.
