(Clearwisdom.net) I work in a prison where Falun Dafa practitioners are detained. The attitudes of guards here towards detainees vary. What I care about every day is how they will treat our fellow practitioners.
Since I didn't know the situation of detained practitioners, I could only learn from others. I also clarified the truth about Falun Gong to my colleagues. One day, a colleague told me that Falun Gong practitioners detained cannot be brainwashed, and said that Falun Gong is good. I replied, “Yes – think of the pressure that these practitioners are facing, yet they still remain steadfast in their faith. Doesn't this tell you how good of a practice Falun Gong is?”
A guard, who was once exposed on the Minghui website for his crimes, had some problems with me due to an earlier conflict. I then worried about how he would treat my fellow practitioners. One day, he and I were arranged to work together. When we first saw each other, I greeted him cheerfully, hoping to put our issues behind us. After a day or two, he said, “I felt uncomfortable upon learning that we had to work together, not only because of our past conflict.” I apologized to him for our prior issues, and admitted that my attitude was wrong. He was moved, and said that he was really the one in the wrong, and not just with regard to the personal problem he and I had, but referring to his past actions against Falun Gong.
I asked him if he had encountered Falun Gong practitioners in jail, and he said yes. I asked if he tried to brainwash them, and he asked back, “How could I not have been involved?” I told him not to beat practitioners. He replied that he has to stop the practitioners if he sees them practicing. I told him that many of our colleagues could tell right from wrong and had treated Falun Gong practitioners compassionately. We then went over how the decision to persecute Falun Gong was made, not by the state or the people, but by one person, Jiang Zemin. It was a persecution against the people, perpetrated by one man. We talked about how other senior Chinese leaders were initially against the persecution, and that this persecution was harming so many people. I told him that I practiced Falun Gong, and although I still have many shortcomings, my heart in cultivating Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is the most precious thing. He then told me that his bad thoughts towards me had disappeared.
One day I saw a form in the education section, in which Falun Gong practitioners were categorized as criminals. After work, I wrote a letter to our leaders and guards, telling them that Falun Gong practitioners were not criminals and that this was unjust. I asked them to use their own judgment and kindness to end the persecution, and that they should stop living in shame.
