(Minghui.org) I was detained at the local police department for weeks because I filed a criminal compliant against Jiang Zemin. Three other Falun Gong practitioners were there for the same reason. I would like to report on how we seized the opportunity to inform people about Falun Gong and the persecution.
Doing What We Should as Falun Gong Practitioners
We understand as Falun Gong practitioners that, no matter where we are, we will do what we are supposed to do. Since we had no Falun Gong books, we helped each other recite the Falun Gong teachings from memory on a daily basis. We sent forth righteous thoughts together to eliminate the persecution. We also seized the chance to inform whomever we met about the persecution and the lawsuits against Jiang.
From the time when she was arrested, practitioner A kept talking to people, whether it was a policeman, guards in the detention center, or the security guard who took her in. She was able to inform many guards about the crimes committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and persuaded them to withdraw from the organization. No matter how they reacted to her, she would keep a smile on her face and kindly deliver the important messages. The rest of us followed suit.
Many of the people enjoyed chatting with us. One girl came in after her lunch hour. When practitioner A gave the young woman milk, noodles, and snacks she'd purchased at a high price in the detention center, she was very surprised and moved to tears. She was expecting a tough time and could not believe someone treated her so warmly.
I taught others to sing Dafa songs. They also enjoyed the stories of divinely-inspired culture—ancient stories about good rewarded and evil punished.
Searching Within and Rectifying Ourselves
While in detention, we often discussed that suing Jiang is an inevitable result of the Fa-rectification process. Hundreds of thousands of people are suing Jiang. It is another opportunity for sentient beings to position themselves, especially for those in the public security system and the postal service.
Many people took a stand, did what they should, and secured blessings for their future. Yet we found ourselves in a detention center. We must have loopholes that were seized upon. What were those loopholes?
Practitioner A said that she still had an attachment to fear; she did not reveal her real address.
Practitioner B felt that her motivation was not pure when she filed her complaint. She just wanted to go through the motions so that she would not be left behind, and she still had an attachment to fear.
Practitioner C wrote her complaint early on and it arrived at the Supreme Court quickly. She then developed an attachment to elation, slacked off in Fa study, and became attached to comfort and leisure.
I had been searching within ever since I was arrested. After I saw other practitioners' actions, I became more aware of my shortcomings and realized the deeper reasons for why I was persecuted.
I have been diligent in individual cultivation for many years even though, as a Fa Rectification Period Dafa Disciple, I realized that I must do the three things well. But I had been reluctant in carrying out my duties, only going through the motions with no sense of urgency.
My motivation in suing Jiang was not pure. I just wanted to accomplish what a practitioner should do and did not realize, at least at the time I was writing the complaint, that the purpose of suing Jiang is to save people, particularly those who are in the public security system.
After I went through the motions, I slacked off. I was busy taking care of my family and rarely went out to inform the public about the persecution. I did not do the exercises every day.
After we discussed and shared, we realized the seriousness of cultivation. We carry a historic mission on our shoulders and our path is very narrow. Only with righteous thoughts and actions can we make it to the end.
Put Through a Test
Since we all wanted to cultivate ourselves and to do better, Master helped us right away. We were provided opportunities to inform the guards and others that were detained there about the persecution.
Our attachments and human notions were also exposed, which caused conflicts among us. Although it was painful, we realized that we had to work through it, so as to eliminate those substances and elevate.
One day, Practitioner A suddenly refused to share and discuss things with us. She stated it was useless to do that since each person had a different level of enlightenment. Besides sending forth righteous thoughts, she would sit for a long time in a daze. I began to worry that something was separating us. I suggested that since we had the magic tool of searching within, we ought to put it into practice.
I started first when I heard some feedback from people who A talked to. Some of them complained that they did not care much for her conversation. Practitioner A always got right to the point. Her direct approach of delivering an important message was hard for some to take. They needed time to consider and think things over before they could reply to her. I seemed to agree with them.
Digging deeper, I discovered my jealous mentality. A was able to persuade others to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party and related organizations with ease, one after another. I was no match for her. I was far from catching up with her. My jealousy produced bad substances that interfered with her field. Instead of rectifying my problem, I was looking for faults in her.
Through discussion, I also realized that as long as her basis was the Fa and she spoke with a compassionate heart, Master would strengthen her. It was the enormous energy from compassion that dissolved any factors preventing people from hearing her message, and that was why they listened attentively, and acknowledged and appreciated her for her advice.
Practitioner A also pointed out that she did not quite share the same understandings as me. Due to my limited level, my reasoning sometimes was off track, and not so convincing. Through her words, I realized that I do need to break through and make progress. I have been stuck in individual cultivation for too long, and I need to catch up with the pace of Fa-rectification.
B also revealed her concerns. She has been friends with A for years. She worried that A did not balance well the relationship with her family, which caused interference in her cultivation and she had been stubborn about it.
A became very upset. “That's it! I've had enough! I do not want to talk to you anymore. You three are ganging up on me! Master knows about my cultivation.”
That night, I had a hard time getting to sleep. I was wondering since Master told us:
“if you sincerely do it for the other person’s sake, and there is nothing self-serving on your part, your words will be able to move the other party to tears.” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day”)
I felt I still had resentment toward A. I felt she did not know how to search within and had not cultivated well. Then my own mentalities of showing off and elation surfaced and added to the mentality of competitiveness. No wonder she objected to my words. I had so many self-serving purposes, how could she not be aware?
I found the problem, and sent forth righteous thoughts targeting those thoughts within me. I sincerely wanted to dissolve the substances that separated us.
The next morning, as we were memorizing the Falun Gong teachings, she joined us. She admitted that she did not pass her test well. Master reminded her last night and she saw a teary eye. She realized that she needed to improve. It was easy to point out shortcomings to others, but it was so much harder when it was the other way around.
A became herself again. When she realized that she would be released the next day, she stated that there were four people left that had not withdrawn from the party yet. After lunch, I saw her talking to all four of them. Later she told me that they all made the right choice.
Rectifying the Environment in the Detention Center
We were able to keep up our righteous thoughts in the detention center. With reinforcement from practitioners on the outside, the environment in the detention center was fairly good.
We completely negated the persecution. We did not report in the morning. The detention center rules and regulations did not apply to us, and we found that the attitude of the policemen and guards were completely different compared to a few years ago. They did not force us to do things that we refused to do. When we sang Dafa songs, they even commended us and said that they sounded good.
One guard brought in a young girl who was hopelessly addicted to drugs and had been in and out of the detention center many times. She asked us to teach the girl well, as she was fully aware that Falun Gong teaches people to be good.
For others who were detained, they could easily understand the facts about the persecution. Almost all of them withdrew from the CCP and other related organizations. Some even asked us to teach them the exercises and some wanted to learn Falun Gong after they were released.
One girl enjoyed the Dafa songs, as if she were waiting all her life for them. She said she would look for Dafa books when she was released. Others benefited from repeatedly saying the phrases: “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!”
One day as the four of us were memorizing the new Lunyu, we noticed that the girls sitting around us were listening attentively.
One girl seemed to have heard about the persecution before because, as soon as she came in and realized who we were, she said, “Falun Dafa is good. The whole world knows!” She repeated the phrases and said that she was also a Falun Gong practitioner, and wanted me to make sure to send her Falun Gong books!
Another girl told me that her close encounter with us in the last few days had completely changed her view of Falun Gong practitioners. She was impressed that we conducted ourselves in a dignified way and were kind, patient, and considerate to others.
She realized that she had missed a chance many years ago when she was introduced to Falun Gong. She regretted that she did not practice back then; she thought that her life would be different today, she might not have divorced, gambled, or been detained.
She promised me that she would practice Falun Gong when she left here. How wonderful it was for me to hear that!
Looking back at the several days in the detention center. I learned and improved so much in just two weeks. It reminded me of what Master once said: “Anything one encounters in cultivation is a good thing.” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day”)
