(Minghui.org) Fa-rectification has reached its final stage, but a large number of fellow practitioners are still incarcerated in prisons and forced labor camps; some for over a decade. The practitioners in our city formed a team to rescue our fellow practitioners. During the process, we learned that after letting go of our human emotions and notions, we are able to experience the omnipotence of Master and Dafa.
The following is what I learned in the process. Please point out anything that is not appropriate.
Clarifying the Facts to Prison Personnel while Rescuing My Practitioner Husband
My husband was given a four-year sentence in 2009. At first, the prison administration prohibited me from visiting him because I'm also a practitioner. I told myself that I had to go see him regardless, because what the old forces say does not count.
I searched online, found the numbers of the prison administrators, and called every one of them to clarify the facts to them. Some of them were very rude and hung up on me before I could tell them anything. Some claimed that they were just doing their jobs assigned by their superiors.
The deputy head of the division where my husband was incarcerated lectured me for a long time when I called him. While he talked, I sent forth righteous thoughts. As soon as he stopped talking, I began to talk. With Master’s support, I remained calm and peaceful the entire time when I was on the phone with him. At first, he sounded very cold, but later he warmed up. We talked on the phone for over 40 minutes. Before hanging up, I told him to treat practitioners nicely, and he replied that he indeed had been treating them nicely. I said that they wouldn't permit me to see my husband, and asked him to help me. He told me that he would try. Our conversation ended pleasantly.
I went to the prison with four other practitioners the first time. The head of the education section and the head of the prison political section came out. They were very nervous to see the five of us. Before that day, the deputy head with whom I conversed on the phone told them to allow me to see my husband, so they had to let me see him. However, when I asked them to allow my cousin, one of the fellow practitioners who went with me, to see him too, they responded that, now, none of us could see him and left.
The guards told us that if we didn't leave immediately, they would put us in their vehicle and take us away. I was calm and unafraid, and they didn't know what to do. Then a person behind me asked why I wasn't allowed to see my husband. I told her it was because the person I wanted to see was a Falun Gong practitioner, so they tried to prevent me from seeing him. She told me where I should go to get help. It turned out that she was a fellow practitioner. I was grateful for Master’s arrangement to help me find a fellow practitioner in that area.
Next, we went to police headquarters to talk to the prison political section and clarify the facts to them. Due to my poor cultivation state, we were unable to disintegrate the interference. After we returned, we searched within for where we had fallen short, and I realized I had zealotry after my conversation with the deputy head went well. After that phone call, I slacked off in sending righteous thoughts. Meanwhile, I mistakenly regarded an ordinary person as someone I could rely on and forgot that everything was within Master’s control.
After I identified the source of our problem, things went well. We went to the prison once a month, and every time we sent forth righteous thoughts to disintegrate any interference. We also used our righteous thoughts to make the section head, who monitored our conversation in the next room, leave. My husband and I shared our understandings of the Fa, and we used righteous thoughts to strengthen him. We also used our wisdom to find ways to give him Master’s lectures and articles that directly target his situation. With a foundation of solid cultivation, he was able to follow the progress of the Fa-rectification in his heart, although his physical body was incarcerated.
Exposing the Persecution
My husband was locked up in a small confinement cell after an inmate reported him for clarifying the facts to prisoners and a team leader.
Before that day, I had dreamed about my husband a few times, and my mother-in-law also dreamed about him several times. I knew that something was going on, so our family drove dozens of miles to the prison to see my husband. However, their attitude was different this time, and we were not allowed to see him because, according to the prison authorities, my husband was “behaving badly.”
With Master’s help, I remained calm the whole time and ignored all distractions. I called the deputy head, who quickly made arrangements for us to see my husband. When my husband staggered into the visiting room, I saw his face was swollen, and it was apparent that he had not shaved or washed his face for a long time. The prisoners who were assigned to listen to our conversation were very nervous that my husband would tell us how the prison had been treating him. I asked him if he was locked up in a small confinement cell or if he was forced to stand for long periods of time without any sleep. He nodded his head to confirm that I was right. The guards cut our conversation short, fearing that more of their illegal conduct would be exposed.
A few days later, someone who witnessed how they abused my husband reported the facts on the Minghui website. By reading that article, I learned that my husband had been locked up in a small confinement cell for 34 days and was forced to stand holding torture instruments. He was only permitted to sleep three hours a night. It was cold since there was no heat inside the small cell, however, the guards used ice to wake him up if he dozed off, and they also hit him on his head. After he was confined for 24 days like this they deprived him of sleep for ten days straight. His legs got so swollen that he could not sit or stand any longer.
I described my husband’s situation to the deputy head. Because I was concerned about my husband, I didn't sound very rational. The deputy head became enraged, hung up on me in anger, and blocked my number on his phone.
After that, I pondered my husband’s situation from the Fa's perspective. The old forces manipulated the guards who did not know the truth to commit crimes against Dafa. A practitioner's job is to disintegrate the evil forces in other dimensions and save people in this dimension with mercy.
That deputy head had done many good deeds for Dafa disciples, however, my attachments had affected him negatively, which caused him to have bad thoughts about Dafa. Hadn’t I harmed a sentient being? Besides having human emotions towards my husband, I had also talked to the deputy head about things at a level too high for him to understand. Because he was an atheist, he didn't believe in karmic retribution.
Master said in “Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005”:
“If when you clarify the truth you talk about things at a level that's just a little too high, let me tell you, you will no longer be saving sentient beings but instead pushing them down. You can't talk about things at too high of a level. Talking about things at a high or low level is not a simple question of whether you are exercising good judgment. It is a question of whether you are saving sentient beings or destroying them. So when you clarify the truth you absolutely must not speak at too high of a level.”
After all, since he's also a practitioner, Master is looking after him. I don't need to worry about him so much. I should just do what I should: report their illegal conduct on Minghui, make phone calls, write letters, and make materials to clarify the facts and distribute them in our local areas.
The Prison Accidentally Let Us See My Husband
When I went to see my husband again, the prison authority refused to allow the visit, and that deputy head refused to help me anymore. I knew that the source of the problem was me. It was right for me to expose the evil forces, but deep in my heart, I was afraid that they would keep me from seeing my husband. I still had human sentiment for my husband and was still hoping to rely on ordinary people to help me. The other practitioners also believed that it was good for my husband to see us, and meanwhile, we should not allow the evil forces to commit crimes against Dafa. We decided that we had to see him that day.
While we were brainstorming ideas, I heard a voice shouting from the visiting room, “Who’s here to see so and so?” She was calling my husband’s name, so I dashed over. The female guard in the visiting room told me, “Just wait here. He’s coming.” I thought that the deputy head had made it possible for us to see each other again.
But this time, my husband came by himself without anyone escorting him as before. We exchanged our understanding of the Fa for over an hour, searching for where we had fallen short. Before leaving, I called that deputy head to thank him for helping me see my husband. However, I noticed that he was shocked to hear it and didn't say a word.
The next time we went there, the female guard in the visiting room told me that, because of me, all of the guards got yelled at. She told me that all the division heads had prohibited me from seeing my husband, but they had mistakenly let my husband out to see me because they thought he was just a regular inmate. I realized that Dafa was miraculous, and that Master helped me to see him at that time.
When sharing our thoughts and experiences, other practitioners often told me to look at things from other people’s points-of-view to completely deny the old forces’ arrangements. Our priority was to keep our foundation righteous and hold on to our righteous thoughts, so when other thoughts appeared, we could eliminate and disintegrate them right away. Fellow practitioners’ righteous thoughts have also caused many miraculous things to happen.
I deeply felt the mighty virtue of Dafa this time. I finally developed some understanding of cultivating in the era of Fa-rectification and personal cultivation. During those days, I focused entirely on saving people, and every single thought of mine was effective. When I truly stand on the base of Fa-rectification, being selfless, I could just use my thoughts to make anything to happen without actually doing it. It truly is like what Master said, “Cultivation depends on one’s own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one’s master.” (Lecture One in Zhuan Falun)
Through sharing with fellow practitioners, I enlightened that rescuing fellow practitioners is not our ultimate goal. Our goal is actually to solidly walk well on the cultivation path in the future after we have a clear understanding of the Fa: preventing more practitioners from being persecuted and helping more people to learn the truth. We are the protagonists on the grand stage, and we should play the major role in disintegrating the evil forces and saving people. It should not be that the old forces initiate the persecution and then we passively rescue fellow practitioners. We must help change ordinary people’s mentality and truly think and do things with Fa-rectification as our base.
After obtaining a deeper understanding of cultivating in the era of the Fa-rectification and personal cultivation, fellow practitioners in our area shared our thoughts and experiences, which helped us gain deeper understanding of cultivating in the era of Fa-rectification. This year, no new incidents of persecution have occurred in our area, and meanwhile, we have done a better job saving sentient beings.
The process of rescuing fellow practitioners is not merely for the purpose of seeing them in the visiting room. This process of rescuing practitioners also gives us the opportunity to help the involved ordinary people learn the truth so that they'll be saved.
Transforming Human Notions
As a group, we changed some of our notions. In the past, if a practitioner was detained, we tended to believe that it was because the practitioner had some attachments but failed to listen to our advice. Sometimes, we even thought that however hard we tried to send forth righteous thoughts for the practitioner, if he didn't change, it was useless. We used to work really hard rescuing fellow practitioners when they were first caught, but collectively lost hope when they were given sentences. Consequently, we also gave up our efforts altogether. Sometimes when we sent forth righteous thoughts, we focused on a particular officer and said that, since they were so vicious, let them meet karmic retribution right then.
Through constant Fa-study, and as we developed a deeper understanding of the Fa, we realized that the old forces persecute fellow practitioners by locking them up in labor camps or prisons claiming that these practitioners needed to get rid of their attachments or needed help to eliminate some karma. However, Master does not accept old forces’ arrangements, and neither do we. We realized that our notions actually assisted the old forces and worsened fellow practitioners’ situations.
After we changed our notions, we now completely deny forced labor, prison, or whether or not the fellow practitioners have fallen short in their cultivation. No matter how the practitioners are, Master has not arranged for practitioners to be incarcerated. Practitioners should not be incarcerated. Guards and prisoners should be saved by us; they are not our enemies. We should treat them with compassion, and stop them from committing crimes against Dafa. After we changed our mentality and eliminated those notions, our group's righteous thoughts are purer and more powerful.
We have found that the process of rescuing fellow practitioners is also an opportunity for us to genuinely cultivate ourselves. Master paved the road for us, and it's our job to walk it well with righteous thoughts.
The deputy head that I mentioned earlier in this article was irritated at me because I talked to him with attachments. After I identified my mistakes, I wrote a letter to him in a gentle and peaceful tone. I first apologized to him for my bad attitude on the phone and hoped that he would understand how I felt. I also explained why I practice Falun Gong, and what benefits I gained from practicing it. I told him the compliments my family and friends gave me, as well as why I helped spread the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party to assist people to withdraw from CCP. I could feel that Master had given me more wisdom.
He was touched by my letter and unblocked my number on his phone afterwards. When I called again, he was very polite and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be responsible for your husband.” After I purified myself, he chose a good future for himself.
After sharing, with strong righteous thoughts, our local practitioners decided to bring my husband home. Ten of us would go carry out the mission, and those who stayed home would send forth righteous thoughts to help as an entire body.
However, not only were we not able to bring my husband back, we couldn't even see him that day. We stayed there all day sending forth righteous thoughts. Afterward, five returned home, and the rest of us stayed. We studied the Fa, sent forth righteous thoughts, and searched within. Every one of us worked to purify ourselves.
We understood that our wish to bring our fellow practitioner home wasn't wrong. However, our group was attached to results, and this gave the malevolent forces a loophole. I was attached to relying on ordinary people and fellow practitioners and longed for results. I knew that Master wanted me to walk my own path from this experience. There's no example to follow in our cultivation.
The five of us stayed and sent forth righteous thoughts for two days. The second evening, a strong storm hit the area, and the thunder was deafening, but it rained very little. Master’s Fa came to mind:
“The thunder of the gods explodes,
dispersing the dark, dense haze”
(“The Heavens Become Clear Again” in Hong Yin II)
The next day was sunny and clear.
I enlightened that I did not need anything: I should not rely on others or desire see my husband. I wanted nothing but to tell the guards one thing, “I’m here to save you. Don’t commit crimes. I only want you to be good.” Arriving at the prison in the morning on the third day, we met with the political section head. Instead of being rude and mean as he had been before, he told me, “Wait here and let me go check.” A few minutes later, we saw the head of the education section, who smiled at us as if nothing had happened. They soon let my husband out to see us.
This experience helped our entire group realize that if we all search within, rectify ourselves, let go of ourselves, think from others’ perspectives, and harmonize what Master wants, things will turn around positively for us even though it may have seemed impossible earlier.
Those section heads were actually friendly to me. They let my husband see me every time I went to see him. Ever since my husband was locked up in the small cell and their behavior was exposed online, they changed their attitudes toward me. After searching inside, I found that the reason I had said many things that were upsetting to them was because I had bad thoughts and notions. I felt guilty that I had not done a good job saving them and that I did poorly in my personal cultivation. After finding my own weaknesses, Master removed many bad things for me. When I got rid of my bad thoughts, they stopped making things difficult for me.
Many other things also happened at the same time, but what impressed me the most was that even though the process seemed to be chaotic, when we looked back after we got through it, the chaos seemed to be orderly. Whenever problems occurred, Master used them to help us and the ordinary people to understand something, so we could break through inherent notions to validate the Fa and save sentient beings.
For example, when my husband was locked up in the small confinement cell, our entire family went to see him but weren't allowed to. After I called the deputy head, we were allowed to see him. My family was shocked. To them, it was unbelievable. First, we did not know him, and secondly, we did not give him any gifts, but we got permission to see my husband after making just one phone call. My sister-in-law commented, “Now I know what it is now. I’ll not give them any gifts anymore. I’m truly impressed by Dafa now.”
Many things reminded me of Master’s arrangements once we searched within ourselves. For example, the day they mistakenly brought my husband out to the visiting room to see us, and what happened after the five of us sent forth righteous thoughts for two days. Master wants us to improve as one body so that we can do the three things well. Meanwhile, we have also deeply experienced what Master said:
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughts
Master has the power to turn back the tide”
(“The Master-Disciple Bond” from Hong Yin II)
Master and Dafa are omnipotent. We gained more confidence to do our tasks well now.
