(Minghui.org) Countless Falun Dafa practitioners have suffered from the persecution since 1999. More than 22 years have passed and practitioners are still walking their paths of cultivation steadily, firmly upholding their faith, spreading the truth, and “prevailing to be a clear stream in this muddy world.” They have moved people around the world with their compassion and displayed pure magnificence amid the mundane.
Helen Dong, who now resides in the United States, obtained Falun Dafa in China in 1994, five years before the persecution was launched.
“My story is very ordinary, and what I do is also very ordinary,” Helen said. “In the face of this brutal persecution, many practitioners in China have done a better job than I have. They have untainted perseverance, and still clarify the truth despite living in such a dangerous environment. The extraordinary power of Master and Dafa has allowed practitioners to cultivate so well.”
Attending Master’s Fa Lectures and Cultivating a Heart of Compassion
Helen was fortunate to attend Master Li Hongzhi’s Fa lectures in Zhengzhou City in June 1994. “Many years have passed, but when I think about attending the Fa lectures, I still feel very moved. Master was always so compassionate and benevolent, and I felt very moved, almost like I was seeing one of my relatives. The energy field was very strong and my hands were very warm. My body also felt very comfortable,” she recalled.
Helen had gone to a colleague’s house a week before the lectures were to be held. She had seen Master’s portrait in the living room of her colleague’s home and a deep feeling of respect arose in her. Her colleague told her that Falun Dafa teaches people to abide by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and to be better people. “I felt like an electric current ran through my body,” Helen recalled. Her colleague also told her that Master would hold Fa lectures in Zhengzhou city the following week. Helen decided she would attend. She bought train tickets and booked a hotel room.
Helen started to cultivate after attending Master’s Fa lectures. She strictly adhered to the principles of Falun Dafa at home and in her workplace to become a better person, cultivating her heart and being more compassionate.
“I did not complain at my workplace, and voluntarily did work that required greater physical exertion,” she recalled. “I did accounting and also worked overtime. When my son was attending elementary school, I even brought him to my workplace so that I could do overtime. This was something that I would not have been able to do prior to cultivating. If I had not cultivated, I definitely would have started complaining.”
Helen took several days off work to care for her mother-in-law when her mother-in-law became sick, and then voluntarily became the primary caregiver for her mother-in-law when she was discharged. Her mother-in-law praised her and said, “My youngest daughter-in-law is the best and the kindest.”
Helen said, “If it weren’t for me cultivating Falun Dafa, I would not have done such a thing. My mother-in-law has sons and daughters, there was no need for me to go above and beyond.”
Son Starts Cultivating After The Persecution
Not long after the persecution of Falun Dafa started in 1999, Helen’s son decided to start cultivating Falun Dafa. He had watched people slandering Falun Dafa on television and knew that something was not right. He wanted to watch Master’s video lectures and learn more about the practice for himself. After he finished his homework, he watched Master’s video lectures every night.
Helen said that her son’s cultivation process proves that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not only evil and ignorant, but it has also lost the hearts of the people. People who are clearheaded always try to understand and distinguish for themselves, because the truth always prevails.
Helen remembers reading her son’s Chinese comprehension essay from around that time. In his essay, her son wrote about the changes he saw in his mother after she started cultivating, and how his mother had become very compassionate.
He wrote: “I have always been by my mother. I saw how she became a better person. No matter how tired she was or how many things she was carrying in her hands, she would always stand on the bus, leaving seats for other people. My mother also worked overtime and sometimes took me along with her. She does all the work that others refuse to do. My mother is very kind, and she is right for abiding by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” The teacher marked the essay with the words: “No points given.”
Helen stated: “I was a bit nervous when I saw the teacher’s feedback. I was worried for him. But my son never mentioned it to me and I only found out about it many years later. My son is very thoughtful. Having experienced such a thing at such a young age, I don’t know how much he went through.”
Speaking the Truth, the Ultimate Truth
Helen was illegally arrested while hanging a truth-clarification banner in March, 2001. The police officer told her, “You will be released as long as you say that you won’t cultivate anymore.”
Helen replied, “I abide by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to become a better person. I will practice these exercises. I would be lying if I told you I won’t cultivate anymore.”
The police officer said, “Then you can just say “I won’t.”
Helen replied, “I can’t say ‘I won’t’ either. That is also considered lying.”
The police officer didn’t know what to do and asked Helen to kneel down on the floor.
Helen said, “I did not commit any crime. I will not kneel down. Why should I kneel down? You cannot treat me like a criminal.”
Helen paid no attention to the police officers and helped the janitor put away some cups. The two police officers stood there, staring blankly.
Helen recalled, “I was not scared and held no grudges. I only spoke the truth, the ultimate truth.”
Helen questioned the police officers, “What reason do you have for arresting me?! I am a good person who cultivates Falun Dafa and this is my right.”
The officers called Helen’s family in to pressure her, and Helen’s brother told her, “As long as you say you won’t cultivate anymore, they’ll release you.”
Helen replied, “I cannot say things like that. You know that I abide by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and I need tell the truth.”
Her brother was speechless.
The police officers did not know what to do with Helen so they sent her to a detention center. The guard in the detention center did not let Helen sleep and forced her to stand facing a wall. Some guards tied another practitioner’s hands in the air for almost two weeks. Helen looked after the practitioner every day and fed her.
Helen did not cooperate with the guards at the detention center and even clarified the truth to a thief. She told the thief about Falun Dafa and the thief was moved to tears. The thief said, “The guards would never tell us how to become better people while we are locked up in here. Only Falun Dafa practitioners teach us how to be better people.”
Banner Illuminates With Golden Beams
Helen was sent to a brainwashing center a month later. Sometime in May someone was able to bring materials in to make a banner, and Falun Dafa practitioners in the brainwashing center made a banner that read, “Hello, Master.” Practitioners hung it outside the window on May 13, which was Master’s birthday. Another practitioner who witnessed this said, “It was really a miracle. I saw that every word in the banner was illuminated with golden beams.”
The police officers had posted slogans that slandered Falun Dafa in the hallway. While the officers were in a meeting, a few practitioners quickly took down all of the slogans.
This caused a great stir in the brainwashing center.
Helen was released after her workplace paid a fine two months later. The police then stopped coming to Helen’s house to supervise her. They realized that they were incapable of stopping her.
Helen started to make truth-clarification materials at home, and provided information and articles to the Minghui website. She also printed materials for other practitioners.
After coming to the United States in 2017, Helen has used many different ways to raise awareness of Falun Dafa to Chinese people overseas. She hopes that they will no longer be deceived by the CCP and will have a positive attitude toward Falun Dafa. Only then will they have a bright future.
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