(Minghui.org)

Greetings, Master!Greetings, fellow practitioners!

I have practiced Falun Dafa for 24 years. Here I would like to share how I helped seek justice for a group of practitioners seized in a mass arrest in my hometown and how I raised awareness of the persecution in the process this past year.

A Hard Choice

The police arrested dozens of practitioners in my hometown within a day, over 10 of whom were later taken to a detention center. In the face of this harsh persecution, I was not sure if I should do something or what to do.

Then I decided to think about it from a different angle. Suppose someone asks me one day in the future, “What did you do when your fellow practitioners were arrested?” My answer might be, “In the past 20 plus years, I have never rescued or helped the practitioners around me when the police arrested them. This is because I didn’t want to be implicated or get into trouble. I didn’t know how to clarify the truth and communicate with their families. I didn’t know how to talk about it because I didn’t know the laws. I didn’t know what to do... In fact, I didn’t even go out sending righteous thoughts for them because of the bad weather...”

Thinking about all these, I felt extremely ashamed. I asked myself, “But, since those practitioners were arrested, don’t we need to do something? Why not just go ahead do it since it needs to be done? If I choose to do nothing and just wait for others, how could I deserve the sacred title of ‘Fa-rectification Period Dafa Disciple’?”

Still, it was a task that seemed nearly impossible for me to accomplish. I thought to myself, “I am not good at talking with others. If I want to rescue the practitioners, I have to clarify the truth to detained practitioners’ family members–who are scared and helpless–and persuade them to join the rescue effort. I have to communicate with lawyers and other practitioners to reach a consensus. I even have to face the perpetrators.”

Nonetheless, I still decided to try my best to rescue the detained practitioners.

When traveling back to my hometown for the rescue efforts the first time, I was unable to meet a single practitioner after walking for hours. None of them was at home or opened the door. When arriving at a practitioner’s home in the end, I was exhausted. I knocked on the door repeatedly, but no one answered. In my heart I asked Master for help. “I can’t walk any further and need to rest. Please have the practitioner answer the door. I will continue looking for other practitioners after taking a break,” I said. The practitioner then opened the door with sleepy eyes. We later found other practitioners and told them about the mass arrest. We reminded everyone to send forth righteous thoughts to negate the persecution.

When returning to my hometown the second time, a local practitioner and I found Fen, a family member of a detained practitioner. Fen, also a practitioner, missed our appointments a few times. Later the local practitioner told me that Fen had asked, “Is the person [referring to me] you found trustworthy?” It felt like a slap in the face. In fact, I also didn’t think of myself trustworthy as I had no experience and knew nothing about law.

I returned to where I lived. A few days later, I learned of the death of an arrested practitioner who had been released. So I went to my hometown again and stayed there for a few days. But I was still unable to gather any information or get hold of any family members of the practitioners still in detention.

I decided to give up and told a practitioner my decision. He responded, “A dozen practitioners were arrested, and this is a big issue. Without other practitioners’ cooperation, there is no way you can do it yourself. Please don’t be too hard on yourself.” I took it as a further excuse for me to quit.

When I contacted another practitioner who had experience in rescuing detained practitioners and shared my decision, she said something different: “You are a Dafa disciple. One person is enough.”

I burst into tears when I read her message. “Yes, I have Master and I have Dafa. Why am I attached to the fact that no one else is working with me?” I told myself. I then made up my mind to shoulder the responsibility of rescuing the detained practitioners in my hometown on my own.

I started to listen to Minghui Radio, focusing on the series of rescuing detained practitioners with legal tools. I had no legal background, so I listened to the series again and again. Every time I listened, I would learn what to do in the next step. During this process, I also became more assured and less attached to the end result. I realized that rescuing detained practitioners is an opportunity for people to be informed and be saved. I chose this path to validate the Fa, which was different from my other truth-clarification efforts. For example, when I talked to people face to face about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s persecution of Falun Dafa, I could always move to the next person if the first person refused to listen to what I had to say. When it came to rescuing detained practitioners, however, I could not move forward if their families refused to work with me.

A practitioner reminded me that all the arrested practitioners might have been followed and monitored by police for a long time. She cautioned me to pay attention to safety. In fact, there was an article on Minghui that talked about how a practitioner, upon being released, had a policeman come to his home and remove an audio monitor from his motorcycle’s exhaust pipe. Only then did he realize that he had been monitored for a long time before his arrest.

On my way to an arrested practitioner’s home, I was determined to persuade her husband to work with me because I couldn’t move forward otherwise. However, he refused to open the door. I knew that he was home because the window was open and the light was on. I went back three more times and still didn’t get to meet him.

The last time I went there, I stood in front of the door and sent forth righteous thoughts. I thought that I must see him. As I knocked on the door, someone answered. To me, this was not only a door to meeting him but also a door to rescuing his wife. The husband provided me with the information of another arrested practitioner’s spouse, who later actively worked with me in the rescue process. I was grateful for Master’s arrangement.

Among the arrested practitioners were a married couple. Their two children were in their early 20s. When I visited them the first time, the daughter Yu cried and said that she wanted to hire a lawyer for her parents, but other senior family members objected, including her grandparents and her uncles. She told me that her grandmother was absolutely against Falun Dafa. I told Yu, “You are an adult now, and by law you can make the decision if you want to hire a lawyer for your parents. If money is an issue, we can help you. You don’t need others’ approval.” She then asked me to help her find a lawyer.

On the day the lawyer came, Yu’s grandfather and uncles came too. They thought we might be trying to scam the girl out of money in the name of hiring a lawyer. When Yu took out the money, I decided to pay the lawyer with money donated by fellow practitioners. This way we could earn the trust of Yu’s relatives and help her gain support from her family. After all, with less pressure on her shoulders, she would be able to work with us better down the road.

Yu later told me that her family was satisfied with the meeting. “The lawyer is good. The practitioner [referring to me] said it well,” commented her grandfather, “She didn’t talk much but every word she said was to the point.” For a person who is not good with words, I knew such approval from Yu’s family was also an encouragement to me from Master.

After that, whenever the lawyer prepared legal documents, I would ask Yu to bring them home to show to her family so that they knew that the practitioners did not violate any laws. After Yu’s mother was released, Yu’s grandparents’ attitude toward her also improved. As practitioners, we know that family members’ responses in the process of rescuing efforts may also determine their future.

Righteous Thoughts As One Body

Although a practitioner said to me, “You are a Dafa disciple. One person is enough,” I realized that I did need to engage other practitioners to get involved in the rescue efforts.

One of the lawyers called the detention center in my hometown about the procedures of meeting the practitioner he represented. The guards said that he needed to provide results of his COVID-19 PCR tests done in both his city of residence and the detention center’s city. The detention center also demanded a record of places where the lawyer and his client’s family had been in the last 30 days. The appointment with his client could only be approved for one month later, and the police department would have to approve the meeting before the lawyer, police and prosecutor could enter the detention center.

The detention center later said no out-of-town lawyers would be allowed to meet the detained practitioners. The strict requirements made the lawyer turn his car around and go back to his own city.

I knew that it was time for our practitioners to improve and work together as a whole body. I shared my understandings with local practitioners one by one. In ten days, we were able to get the detention center to drop their unreasonable requirements, and two lawyers successfully met with the practitioners they represented. The lawyers were also able to review the case documents at the local procuratorate without any obstacles.

The next time we worked together, we successfully stopped a virtual trial. Because of the pandemic, most court hearings were held online. All the practitioners agreed that an online hearing would not work for us to defend our innocence, and hence the online hearing was canceled.

In addition, one of the detained practitioners was released without any charges. His lawyer told me that he had entered defended many Falun Gong practitioners over the years and that it was very rare to have a practitioner released without being indicted. I knew that our efforts had awakened perpetrators’ conscience and that they had made the right choice for themselves.

On the day of another trial, at least a dozen practitioners drove to the courthouse to send forth righteous thoughts in close proximity. There were also practitioners who came by bus and taxis from other cities and provinces. We all treasured this opportunity to work together. An elderly practitioner sat still in a small car and sent forth righteous thoughts all day. A practitioner told me that he felt a strong energy this time when sending forth righteous thoughts. Another practitioner took a day off from work and sat at home all day sending forth righteous thoughts. Many practitioners who were unable to come to the trial told me that they definitely wanted to come if something like this happened again.

Upon learning that many practitioners were coming to the courthouse to send forth righteous thoughts, I knew that we had formed one body to dissolve the evil and save sentient beings. Our thoughts would encourage the arrested practitioners and their families and lawyers, because this was a battle between good and evil.

Through meetings with their lawyers, the detained practitioners’ righteous thoughts grew stronger. Several of them refused to attend the illegal trial. When the guards dragged them out, one of them shouted in court, “Falun Dafa is good!” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” These detained practitioners felt our support.

The day before the trial, five detained practitioners’ family members and their three lawyers went to the local procuratorates, courts, and discipline inspection department to protest the persecution and filed complaints against the perpetrators. One of the lawyers warned us that agents from several local Political and Legal Affairs Committees planned to attend the hearing and that a police line may be set up. He said we and the family members had to try to enter the courthouse before anything happened.

We knew that the authorities may try to prevent the lawyers from going to the courtroom, so the lawyers stayed in separate places the night before the trial. However, the next day we did not see a disturbance. No one tried to block the lawyers from going to the trial, either. We did not come across any police, roadblocks, or questioning. All the families and lawyers entered the courthouse. Our practitioners formed one body and scattered the vicious elements in other dimensions. They could no longer form an environment to interfere with us.

Encouragement from Master

Facing the pandemic and various lockdown restrictions, it was hard to meet with the perpetrators. I decided to write a letter to wake up their conscience. In the letter I shared how my family improved our mental and physical health through the practice of Falun Dafa. I also described how key perpetrators in the persecution had received karmic retribution. When I showed the letter to the lawyers, the detained practitioners’ families, and other local practitioners, they thought that it was well-written. “Every word is loud and clear. Well done!” wrote a lawyer.

I photocopied the letter and mailed it to the local judicial and legal authorities. Someone asked, “Maybe the letter with the sensitive recipient addresses will be screened or withheld? They might not reach the recipients.” The day after I mailed out the letters, a practitioner went to the police station and saw the letter had already arrived. The recipient also commented in front of the practitioner, “Good handwriting. I will take it home and read it.”

A practitioner told me that when she tried to copy down the letter, she wanted to infuse her compassion into the letter. That was also my thought when I wrote the letter: “Have the letter bring Dafa practitioners’ compassion and righteous thoughts to the recipients. No one will withhold the letters because they will help save people.”

One day we went to a place hundreds of miles away to meet a practitioner. On our way back, we saw a gigantic rainbow extending from the ground all the way to the sky, like an aurora. A lawyer who was with us at the time was also impressed and recorded video of the scene.

Improving Myself

Resentment

In my understanding, resentment is deeply rooted in the specter of communism and it hurts mankind. When I started rescuing the arrested practitioners, I complained about the local practitioners being passive about my rescue efforts. In the process, things began to pile up one after another, and I complained that no one was there to share the load. I had to contact the lawyers and the detained practitioners’ families, get the details of the detained practitioners’ current status and the perpetrators’ information, write articles, report the perpetrators, make fliers to expose the persecution, contact drivers to pick up the lawyers, and learn to write all kinds of letters.

One day, among other things, I had to pick up four lawyers with different transportation modes at different times. I put up the to-do list and asked the local practitioners, “Can someone help with something? Anything?” A practitioner told me, “We all have families and jobs, unlike you, who don’t have anything to worry about. We only know how to clarify the truth face to face and are not good at any of the legal stuff.”

I was at a loss for words. It wasn’t that I didn’t have anything to worry about, but I chose to let go of these things. I knew what my real mission was and I chose to temporarily quit my job. I spent most of my meager savings on food and travels between my city of residence and my hometown. When I got really busy, I ate once a day and only had rice and pickles. When I got really stressed out, I reminded myself, “Can’t be lazy and selfish, don’t go to extremes and lose my patience. I must stay calm and rational and do my best.”

A practitioner who had been collaborating well with me suddenly told me one day, “I have to rethink everything and not let you mislead me.” It hit me so hard that I couldn’t get out of bed the next day. I asked myself, “You knew all the difficulties would happen before you started the rescue project. How come you still can’t get past it when it really happened?”

I started to study the Fa. I read Zhuan Falun twice in two days and watched the video “Teachings at the Conference in Australia in 2007” five times in a week. I was able to let go of my resentment a little.

A detained practitioner was later released. I thought she would be a good help because she could talk to the perpetrators as a victim of the persecution. At the time most of the detained practitioners’ family members involved in the rescue efforts were either non-practitioners or very young practitioners. However, things did not turn out the way I wanted; this newly released practitioner refused to step forward or let her child help me. Other than sending forth righteous thoughts, she did not participate in the things I needed her to. My disappointment reached a new peak.

After the hearing of some detained practitioners, a practitioner asked me what my plan was for the future. I answered, “I plan to quit the rescue efforts.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I knew that I had fallen into the trap set by the evil, which drove a wedge between me and other practitioners. However, the resentment I had accumulated got the best of me. I could not stop complaining about other practitioners, the detained practitioners’ families, the lawyers, and the mistakes I made. At the same time I knew how irresponsible I was to quit. After the hearing, I did not show up to meet the lawyers a few times. I forgot about my initial intention to rescue the practitioners and how I overcame all difficulties to save people in the first place.

Ten days later, another lawyer came to meet with us. I did not have any reason not to go, especially given that he was the one I invited to join the effort. I went to the meeting even though I still had not completely let go of my resentment.

Shortly after, a practitioner’s family member Hu had a dream in which he saw me and another family member standing next to Master. Upon hearing this, I suddenly eliminated the resentment I had. I chose to do this work and I must keep going, I said to myself. Master had already arranged Hu to help me, but I ignored him because he was not a practitioner.

Hu worked closely with us. Since the day I contacted him, he gave up his job overseas and returned to China. Till this day he had not looked for a job and continued to work with us. He had done a lot for the case and never complained. When I assigned him a task, he would take it and do a good job. Facing the judge who bullied us, he had a smile on his face and reasoned calmly. It did not bother him when the judge insulted him. All he said was, “I think I have to thank him for letting me see the true evil side of the CCP.” He always said, “No matter what, we try our best and won’t leave regrets.” To alleviate his family’s pressure, he did everything he could.

I understood that the old forces want to create gaps between us and make us resent each other. This way we can’t form one body to save people. I must always remember what Master says in “Dispelling Your Delusion” in Hong Yin IV:

“Do not complainBut hold on to your kindness”

Jealousy

Master said,

“There is this rule: If in the course of cultivation jealousy is not given up, one will not attain Righteous Fruition—absolutely not.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)

My jealousy caused me a lot of trouble in cultivation, yet I still did not know how to get rid of it. A practitioner who worked with me could memorize and recite a lecture of Zhuan Falun a week. I became jealous of her having the time to study the Fa, while I only had time to recite one sentence in the Fa each day. When a practitioner praised another practitioner, “You did so well,” I felt it was unfair instead of feeling happy for the practitioner.

I never could catch the attachment of jealousy before. After a year of clarifying the truth, now I can catch and see this filthy thought as soon as it emerges, and dissolve it. Jealousy can no longer separate me and my fellow practitioners. I can truly be happy for the practitioners who do well. When they have setbacks, I can sincerely help them to get past the tribulations.

Also in Lecture Seven of Zhuan Falun, Master said,

“If jealousy is not abolished, everything that you have cultivated will become fragile.”

Jealousy made me exclude fellow practitioners and dislike working with them. As long as we keep in mind the intention to save people, our vows, missions, and responsibility, none of our notions can stop us from striding forward. Nothing is more important than clarifying the truth and saving people. I will not allow any interference, including jealousy, to prevent me from helping Master rectify the Fa.

Fear

At crucial moments we should not allow fear to block our path and interfere with our fulfilling our vows. Nonetheless when fear emerged, it felt like anyone could be an agent following me, everywhere there could be a camera, and nowhere was safe.

After I had dinner with a lawyer and a family member of a detained practitioner one evening, we saw a police car parking in front of the restaurant. My immediate thought was, “No way, the police followed us here?” I quickly readjusted my thoughts and told myself that it was all an illusion and I would continue to do what I should do.

One time I was supposed to meet a lawyer in the morning. Before that, I had a dream. In the dream I saw a big pile of shoes, and I found one shoe that really fit me and put it on. The sound of shoe in Chinese (xie) is the same as that of evil. After I woke up, I asked a family member (a practitioner), “perhaps the dream hinted that there would be evil and I shouldn’t go?”

I still went because I did not want to miss the appointment. Things didn’t go well on the way to the courthouse. I took a wrong turn several times. I thought it was Master hinting for me not to go. The practitioner in the car said, “Look at things in a positive light. It was the evil that didn’t want you to go and created the phony dream. You must go.” I made up my mind, “I will go. Even if I just go there and do nothing, I am still eliminating the evil and saving people.” When we arrived, the family member and the lawyer had already finished reviewing the case and left the courthouse.

The worst fear I had emerged after a meeting with the families of several detained practitioners. Before we talked, I reminded them to take care of their cellphones in case their phones were tapped. After we finished talking, I realized what they did would not prevent the authorities from hearing our conversation over the phones. I went home and could not control my fear. I had never felt so much fear in the past 20 years. At that moment, I truly believed that I would never have to hide anything anymore because we had said so many things. If someone tapped and heard us on the phones, he would know all our information and what we planned to do.

According to our plan the next day, a family member of a detained practitioner and I would visit several lawyers. We had some legal documents to show them and wanted to clarify the truth to them. After we visited two law firms, our car broke down. I left the family member there fixing the car and went home. I was too scared to leave the house after that. I believed that it wasn’t safe outside and wanted to stay at home until I eliminated my attachment to fear.

The next day, a lawyer called me and said that he had time to stop by. I had called this lawyer every week for three months and he never had time. I really did not want to leave home, but I also did not want to miss meeting with this lawyer. We needed a lot of lawyers, and good ones were hard to come by. Also the lawyers’ schedules became unpredictable even for them because of the pandemic and lockdowns. There was no telling when he would be available again.

I remembered what Master’s words, “If you can commit your mind, no difficulties can stop you. I would say that there’s no problem.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)

I knew that I had to see the lawyer so that I could go outside and eliminate my fear. I set up an appointment with him and contacted the family of the detained practitioner whom the lawyer was intended for. I also found a driver to take us to the meeting location. Everything seemed to work out smoothly, and the result was good. The concerned practitioner was later released without any charges.

Master also said, “Fear can cause one to make mistakes, and fear can cause one to lose a predestined opportunity. Fear is a death trap on a human being’s journey toward divinity.” (“Pass the Deadly Test”, The Essentials of Diligent Progress III)

We must discern what is reason and what is fear. Sometimes we use reason as an excuse to conceal our fear and thus block our path of saving people. If we believe the fear the old forces imposed on us is part of us, we fall into their trap.

What I experienced in the past year completely changed me. Writing a sharing article this time allowed me to adjust my cultivation state and remember my intention from when I started on this path of cultivation. I can’t let the evil persecute practitioners at will and destroy sentient beings. I will always remember Master’s words,

“Cultivate with the heart you once had, and success is certain.” (“Fa Teaching on World Falun Dafa Day”)

I will continue to walk this path steadfastly. Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!