(Minghui.org) A man answered a call I made one evening in 2013. I talked to him about quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations, and why it was important to do so.
“You Falun Gong people always say that the calamities and disasters will not come to you if you recite Falun Gong is good,” he said. “But, then why does the CCP arrest you and beat your people? Additionally, they harvest the organs of living Falun Gong practitioners. If it does not work for you, how can I believe it would work for me?”
I had just started to make Falun Gong truth-clarification calls and did not know how to answer his question. I gave a response, but he did not accept it and did not withdraw from the CCP.
As a veteran practitioner, I certainly know the answer. But it was not easy to respond to a person who knows so little about Falun Gong. I regret that I did not help him understand.
At home I thought deeply about the question, and I found the answer, which was quite simple: A person who does not cultivate can be blessed if he recites “Falun Gong is good.” However, cultivators have to bear hardships and tribulations to eliminate their karma before they can complete their journey of cultivation. It's similar to Monk Tang Seng from The Journey to the West, who had to pass 81 tests before he could obtain the real sutras.
Why, then, would non-practitioners be blessed if they recite Falun Gong is good? Throughout history there have been examples of how people obtained blessings when they respected Buddhas and Gods, while those who defamed Buddhas and Gods found misfortune.
Falun Gong is the Buddha's Law. Cultivators follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and cultivate to high realms. Their health is improved and their morality is raised.
Out of jealousy, Jiang Zemin, the former head of the Chinese communist regime, launched the persecution of Falun Gong. The lies were spread through the communist-owned media, which incited hatred toward Gods and Buddhas.
Whoever hates Buddhas and Gods will be punished by heaven. For example, the ancient Roman emperors persecuted Christians for 300 years. Great plagues swept through the Roman Empire four times because the heavens became angry. Countless Romans who hated Christians died in agony. The Roman Empire finally collapsed shortly thereafter.
Eighty million Chinese people died through the various political movements since the CCP came to power in 1949. On top of that, the CCP persecutes Falun Gong, which is the Buddha's Law. Heaven will definitely eliminate it.
Those who follow the CCP and hate Falun Gong will be buried with it. Practitioners do not wish for the Chinese people to be deceived and implicated in the CCP's persecutory acts. So they tell people the facts about this cultivation practice to clear their misunderstanding and hatred so that they escape from heaven's punishment.
If people can discern good and bad, know the truth, and make correct decisions for themselves in the battle between good and bad, notably amid the CCP's lies, such beings are remarkable and rational. They will be surely protected by Gods and Buddhas.
The ancient saying “punishment in this lifetime” means those who do evil deeds will be punished, while those who do good deeds will be rewarded. Many people who believe “Falun Gong is good” have recovered from their illnesses or survived disasters and calamities. Many even expressed their thanks to the Teacher of Falun Gong through the Minghui website.
Why do cultivators have to undergo hardships if they want to complete their cultivation? To make an analogy, there are a lot of shells on the beach and people can easily pick them up. But if people wish to collect the most colorful and precious of pearls, they have to dive into dangerous and deep water.
In The Journey to the West, Monk Tang Seng met with tribulations 81 times. Demons and ghosts even came to eat Monk Tang's flesh. He and his band of travellers faced life and death tests. Eventually, they succeeded in obtaining the real sutras.
Historically, Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha Guatama Siddhartha, was slandered and framed by other cultivation practices. His disciple Mu Jianlian was stoned to death because of other people's jealousy. The ancient Roman Emperor persecuted Christians for 300 years. Jesus was crucified. His many followers were crucified, burned to death, or eaten by lions. If Buddhists and Christians did not uphold their beliefs in the early days, these practices would not have been passed down from generation to generation for the past thousands of years.
Falun Gong practitioners' cultivation is different from other cultivation ways in history. Practitioners spend time and resources on making informational materials to let people know the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution at the expense of their safety. Their purpose is to save people.
If people believe “Falun Gong is good” and quit the CCP, they will have a good future. This is a manifestation of practitioners' compassion for sentient beings.
Practitioners have faced arrest, detention, brainwashing, and imprisonment. Their homes have been searched because they talked to people about Falun Gong.
Practitioners bearing tribulations and hardships is not just for their own cultivation, but also for saving sentient beings.
It has been a while since I talked to that gentleman who asked me that then-difficult question. I don't know if he has cleared his doubts and now understands the truth about Falun Gong. I hope that he, as well as other people, can appreciate practitioners' compassion and not refuse to learn the facts about Falun Gong.