(Minghui.org) Greetings, Revered Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Here is my experience of cooperating with fellow practitioners to rescue my husband.
My husband, also a practitioner, did not come home one night early this year. I went to a fellow practitioner's home to look for him and discovered that he had been arrested while making truth clarifying materials. As I returned home by myself around midnight, I felt an oppressive weight bearing down on me, and my head hurt.
The next day I broke the news to the other practitioners in our Fa study group. Everyone started to send righteous thoughts right away. They also went with me to the local police department to find out where my husband was being detained. We then submitted the information to the Minghui website to expose the evil.
Some practitioners suggested that I go seek my husband's release immediately. One said, “Do you dare to go?” I replied without thinking, “I do.”
After I left them, I asked myself, “Do I really dare to go? I have not been very diligent in my cultivation. And I am a person of few words.” I suddenly recalled what a fellow practitioner said to me, “What is important is the process. The goal of rescuing a fellow practitioner is to save people, including the police officers. They deserve our pity and sympathy, because they are the ones directly persecuting practitioners, and face a dire future."
I told myself, “I don't have a choice. I must forge ahead. Master and the Fa are with me. What seems hard to do is actually doable. I must do it at any cost.”
The first day I went to the police station, several practitioners accompanied me and many others sent righteous thoughts nearby. The police were angry and pushed everyone out of the building except me. My legs felt like they were about to give way. I said to myself, “Master is with me. So many practitioners are supporting me. It is a major test for me to eliminate the attachment of fear. I must conduct myself in an upright and dignified manner.”
An officer asked me, “Do you practice Falun Gong?” Because fellow practitioners had taught me how to answer this question, I replied with confidence, “That is not the issue here. Your question has nothing to do with my demand for my husband's release.” But the officer kept asking, “Do you practice or not?”
I said to myself, “Now it seems I cannot just follow others' example. I must face the challenge independently. I am a Dafa disciple and the evil is in no position to test me. I must put full confidence in Master and Dafa.” Suddenly a few words from Zhuan Falun came to mind: “...a tiny finger will be more than enough to crush it.”
I replied, “I do practice Falun Gong. Son, if I did not, I would not be here talking to you today. I would have been dead long ago. I used to suffer such severe heart disease that no hospital could cure.”
“You must have been cured by practicing Falun Gong!” A policeman passing by jumped into our conversation.
I asked him, “How do you know?” He said, “I know many practitioners enjoy good health after practicing Falun Gong.” I said, “Exactly! Falun Gong is so good. Why are you arresting my husband, who is just trying to be a good person by practicing Falun Gong?”
The first police officer said, “You should ask him. He is our chief.” I followed the chief upstairs and suddenly realized that my legs no longer felt weak.
The chief first asked me about the materials my husband was making. I again demanded that he be released. He said, “I am not the decision maker.” I asked, “Who is then?” He would not say and tried to push me out. Other officers would not say a word when I asked them. I shouted at them in frustration, “You expect me to be silent and just go away after you arrested my husband? Is there no one who will take responsibility? Who on earth is in charge?” After a period of silence, an officer suddenly shouted, “Master is in charge!”
That's right. Master is in charge. I am not going to beg you. I am going to save you instead.
The next day, a young fellow practitioner went with me to the police station to talk to the chief, while other practitioners sent righteous thought nearby.
The chief asked the other practitioner, “Who are you?” and tried to push us out. The other practitioner kept her righteous thoughts and looked directly into his eyes and said, “You are just not aware of what we are doing here. If you were, you would not treat us like this.” The chief then had to leave to attend a meeting, so both of us sat down to send righteous thoughts.
Three people later came to the police station on personal business. We sat near them and talked out loud about Falun Gong so that they could hear us. The other practitioner said to me, “Look, they arrested Falun Gong practitioners. Why do they only arrest good people and not bad ones?” As one of the three became interested in our conversation, the practitioner said, “Falun Gong practitioners believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and try to be good.” The person said, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is obviously good.” Then the other practitioner continued to talk to them about Falun Gong. Afterward she also brought out some amulets. The others who were standing by not saying anything could not wait to get one for themselves.
After attending a meeting, the police chief came back and was much more friendly. He asked us to come into his office and said, “You believe in Buddha. So do I. I just don't believe in Falun Gong.” As we kept trying to tell him more about Falun Gong, he said, “I even still have some Falun Gong books (which he had confiscated from arrested practitioners). I've also read Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and the Minghui website.”
The other practitioner said, “Since you can get on Minghui, you should keep reading it.” He said, “I agree with some of it but have reservations, too.” I asked him, “What do you agree with?” He said, “I agree with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” I said, “That means your original kind nature has not changed. So why then do you still participate in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners?” He replied, “The CCP orders me to do it. I have nothing to do with it. As police officers, we simply carry out orders.”
The other practitioner then told him a story. In the past, an executioner killed many cultivators for refusing to give up their belief. When he had killed 500, the executioner's head fell off, while the 500 cultivators all came back to life. The executioner thought he had not killed the cultivators willingly and was merely following the king's orders. However, he knew that those he had killed were cultivators, yet he chose to kill them anyway. It was the same as agreeing with the king's persecution policy. The moral is that everyone will be held accountable for their own behavior and has to pay for their crimes.
The police chief was touched by the story and it truly resolved his misunderstanding.
The practitioner then went on to say, “Although our meeting today may seem casual, we may have a predestined relationship. We are not merely here to ask for the release of our relative. More importantly, we are here to advise you not to participate in the persecution. Otherwise, you will experience all kinds of misfortunes for following the CCP in persecuting practitioners. Don't you believe in Buddha, too? Maybe we were related in our former lives. So I must tell you the truth so that you won't get retribution. Don't follow the CCP anymore. Quit it instead. And stop persecuting Falun Gong. You will then have a bright future.”
He kept nodding in earnest and told us to sit down. Another police officer came into his office, and we talked to him, too. He smiled and said, “My dad practices Falun Gong.” He told us that he fully agreed with what we said. In the end, the whole atmosphere became kind and harmonious.
As we left, the police chief lowered his voice and told us privately, “Remember you need to go find and make your request to 'Zhang Qing' (a pseudonym) from the Domestic Security Team.” We later confirmed that he had told us the truth, and that Zhang was the key person in charge.
Deputy police chief "Wang Nan" (a pseudonym) was the executive chief and the main perpetrator involved in my husband's arrest. Accompanied by my two daughters, I went to his office every day to clarify the truth of Falun Gong and ask for my husband's release.
He refused to listen to us and ordered the housekeeping staff to push us out. So we tried to talk to the housekeeping staff, who sympathized with us and did not use any force on us, just showed us the way out. The moment we left the police station, Wang Nan shut and locked the gate. It was obvious that the evil factors that were controlling him were very afraid.
One day my daughters and I brought some food and water and went to his office again. He knew very well that the housekeeping staff did not want to force us out, so he left us sitting in his office. My younger daughter later found him hiding in the adjacent office so she went to talk to him. He said, “Don't follow me.” My daughter said, “Let my father go. Then I won't follow you.”
After a while, he went off to a meeting. My younger daughter went to the meeting room, and at the entrance to the room, overheard him saying, “The case of Mr. X (my husband's name) has been published in the overseas media." (He meant the Minghui website) The chief said, “Let him go then. Don't bother yourself.” Wang Nan said, “If I let him go, what do I do with the Falun Gong books we found?” The chief said, “Pack them up and put them away. Let him go and save all the hassle.”
When Wang Nan returned from the meeting room, we kept talking to him about Falun Gong. All he could do was repeat the government propaganda, such as “Falun Gong is an evil cult” and so on. I told him, “The government has a list of 14 evil cults, but Falun Gong is not on it.” He took out a thick law book and started to flip through pages without any success. I said, “You have to to take responsibility for what you said. None of the lawyers and judges all over the country can find it in the law. How can you?”
He stopped and sat there, furious at us. Trembling with anger he stuttered, “It...it...it was Jiang Zemin who ordered it.”
As I watched him, I thought to myself, “As a poisoned being, how pitiful and how ridiculous he is!” I asked him, “Who is Jiang Zemin?” He murmured, “Former leader of the country.” I said, “He is the culprit in the persecution of Falun Gong. While persecuting Falun Gong, he is actually persecuting you guys. He has been sued all around the world. He wants to involve all of you in the persecution so that you will be held responsible, too. The persecution policy is about to end. Have you ever thought about how you will end up?”
He murmured again, “I will probably get the death sentence.” I said, “If you are implicated, what will happen to your wife and children?” He said, “Death sentences, too.” As I looked at him and heard what he said, I could not help feeling sorry for him and tears came to my eyes. I said, “Look at me and my daughters now. And think about how your wife and kids would fare without you.” With my tears running down my cheeks I continued, “We practitioners are kind. We don't want to see you end up in a bad situation. We hope you will enjoy peace and happiness and a bright future. That is why we keep handing out Falun Gong materials to everyone, including you.”
He was silent for quite a while and said, “You ought to find Zhang Qing from the Domestic Scurity Team. He can order me to release your husband with just a telephone call.” (He was telling the truth.)
Initially I went to the Domestic Security Team to get my husband released. They just kept denying any authority in the case and sending me back to the police station. I had talked to the guards at the front entrance about Falun Gong. So when my daughter and I went there again to look for captain Zhang Qing, they let us in.
Zhang Qing said, “Your husband printed New Year couplets and celebratory pictures.” I said, “I have seen them at the police station. They were all about teaching people to raise their moral standards and be kind to others, telling people Falun Dafa is good. This is all part of traditional Chinese culture. How is it illegal now? If these New Year messages are not allowed, do you want people to celebrate things like theft, extortion, and prostitution?” He laughed in amusement, “Who would want that?”
I said, “You guys don't allow people to be kind and good. My husband used to be quick tempered, and he drank and brawled all the time. He hung out and did not come home. After practicing Falun Gong, he became a good husband and a good father. You tell me if Falun Gong is good or not.” My daughters also told him about the tremendous positive changes in my husband. Zhang Qing said, “He was really like that before? I cannot imagine that from how he is now.”
I said, “I really don't understand. Why are good people treated this way? Isn't it just because Jiang Zemin ordered it? He did it out of his own insatiable lust for power. He has harmed you by doing this. Your life is in grave danger.”
He said, “I don't call the shots.” I said, “You can call the shots. The police station staff told me they could release my husband with a single phone call from you. They told me to come here and find you. Otherwise, how would I know your name?” He seemed to be convinced and picked up the phone only to set it back down again.
I said, “Good people are arrested just for practicing Falun Gong. Think about it. Is that right or wrong?” He told us to come back after the Chinese New Year for his decision.
The first business day after the Chinese New Year I went to the Domestic Security Team again. My daughters had to go to work and did not accompany me. As I arrived, I thought about my imprisoned husband and those police officers who were not clear about the truth and so remained indifferent, I could not help crying. The entrance guards were very sympathetic to me and let me in.
As I reached Zhang Qing's office, I saw him standing there and greeted him, “How was your New Year?” At the time, I was wearing a thick coat and had a lot of grey hair. He said in surprise, “Ma'am, how come you look so much older after just a few days? You have to stay well and not upset yourself over this. If you collapsed, you would worry your husband in prison.” I said, “My husband is a good person and has been jailed for nothing. How can I not be worried and not be under tremendous pressure? What is going to happen to my husband?” He still kept up his bureaucratic attitude and said, “His case is definitely different from other violent criminal cases that are potentially facing death sentences. However, his case is still pretty serious.”
I said, “Why is it serious? I already told you that the couplets and pictures he printed were all based on traditional Chinese culture. It is not a crime and does not deserve imprisonment. As decent human beings, we must be true to our conscience. Practicing Falun Gong is good for us and our families. Didn't you see my daughters?” He said, “Indeed. They are so well behaved, very polite and well mannered, unlike those brats you see nowadays.”
I said, “I educated my kids with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. They never fight for a seat on the bus and always give up their seats for seniors. Practitioners always keep others in mind and try to be considerate. We always remember that being nice to others is being nice to ourselves.”
Suddenly, to my surprise, he jumped up and seemed to be enlightened and said, “I so agree with what you just said. Being nice to others is being nice to ourselves. I would sooner change my family name than not help you while I can.”
He then walked me out for a long ways and said, “You must be well and go on with your life. I will do my best to help.”
A week later when my older daughter and I went to the Procuratorate to inquire about my husband's case, we were told, “You don't need to come again. The case has been returned to the local police station.” The next day I got a phone call from the police station and was told I could come get my husband.
In the process of rescuing my husband, I came to valuable insights.
First, studying the Fa is important. Every morning we went to the authorities and requested my husband's release. In the afternoon, we sat down and studied the Fa in a group. I just felt it was never enough no matter how much I studied the Fa. Once I studied the Fa, many things were resolved quickly. In the past, I had no clue what to say to the police. I did a lot of preparation the night before, but the next day everything seemed to change, negating all my preparations. I later learned not to prepare so much in my mind. Instead, I studied the Fa well and my wisdom just kept coming.
Secondly, cooperation and collaboration among fellow practitioners are truly powerful. During the month-long rescue effort, fellow practitioners kept sending righteous thoughts, including short distance sessions, and proactively and timely collecting photos and telephone numbers of the police officers involved, so that we could publish the information on the Minghui website. Other local practitioners kept up their efforts posting relevant information in public places and sending text messages to people about the case. Overseas practitioners were also calling the local authorities to exert more pressure. No wonder the police chief said to us, “When one of your fellow practitioners gets arrested, our telephones don't stop ringing.”
One day soon after I went to the police station, a fellow practitioner who was in the group of practitioners sending righteous thoughts outside saw someone who happened to look like me come out and get in a police vehicle. They thought I was going to the detention center to visit my husband, so they all went there to keep sending righteous thoughts nearby. At the time, I was inside the police station and began to feel cold all over. Only afterward did I find out why.
Around three weeks after the rescue effort started, I lost hope. Other practitioners sat down with me to study the Fa and share experiences. One said to me, “Master told us, 'The more hopeless things may seem, it’s possible hope will appear right before your eyes.'” ("What is a Dafa Disciple")
I regained my righteous thoughts and said to myself, “I ought to hold firm belief in Master and the Fa. Mater has arranged my path. The only thing left for me to do is keep walking forward.”
One night I had a dream where I was cleaning the glass on a ladder in the house. I saw my husband and asked him, “Who are you?” He replied, “Yu Huan.” (Note: Although this is a traditional girl's name, the pronunciation means, literally, "I want to go home.") I knew Master was watching over me and encouraging me all the time. During the whole process, I kept cleansing myself of my remaining human notions and attachments. The outcome was the best and it was only possible when I had no attachment to the outcome itself. I learned that with my firm belief in Master and the Fa, seemingly bad things can turn into good things.
Besides coming to the above understandings, I also eliminated my qing toward my husband. The day that I learned he had been arrested, I could not sleep the entire night, as my heart and mind were all messed up by his arrest. This was a manifestation of my attachment to him. Later, the request for his release turned into the effort to save more people, including the police officers. As more people were saved, I let go of my qing and developed compassion. My husband used to be an attachment of mine. Now he is a fellow practitioner.
I must cultivate myself better and save more people.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!