By a Falun Dafa practitioner from Yantai, Shandong Province

(Clearwisdom.net) I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. Though I made some mistakes during the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) brutal persecution, I overcame the storms with Master's merciful protection. A year ago I finally assimilated myself into the Fa, realizing I am a Dafa practitioner and have a historical mission.

October 16, 2006, was a depressing day for our local practitioners, second only to July 20, 1999. Nine practitioners were abruptly arrested; much equipment and financial resources were confiscated. Experience sharing based on the Fa made us realize we should be no longer wait for, depend on, or ask for ready-made truth clarification materials. The arrests and massive losses happened because we relied on others. We should set up our own Dafa materials production sites; practitioners everywhere should do this.

With other practitioners' selfless help, I quickly learned how to access the Internet, to download, and to print and was gradually able to handle these tasks by myself. However, I developed a habit of doing things and blaming others and got into conflicts with practitioners and family members. The printer frequently had problems. I was unable to do well in Fa study and with the exercises. A few practitioners pointed to my problems. I was also aware of some, but I failed to correct myself promptly.

At the beginning of April 2007, local police arrested and imprisoned me for a month.

Based on my righteous belief in Master and Dafa, I was not as angry and hostile as I had been during my previous arrest. I remained calm when facing the many people from the local police station and the domestic security division who were subjecting me to unconstitutional interrogations. My compassionate mind made me aware of them facing a horrid plight because they follow the CCP. Tears ran down my face, and I clarified the facts to them with compassion.

While in the detention center, I worried about the Dafa materials and the equipment at my home and the safety of fellow practitioners coming to my home for Fa study. I was nervous because I imagined the police were shouting and tried to break down my door. I tried to calm down and clear my mind. Suddenly I saw a bunch of ugly skeleton heads in the detention room, and I realized I needed to send righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil. While sending strong righteous thoughts I appealed to Master for support, "Do not let the police search my home and persecute fellow practitioners!"

That night between 6 and 8 p.m., I felt an immense energy field around me, making me feel as if I were floating. I knew it was due to Master and fellow practitioners' support. While I slept briefly, a dream conjured a large umbrella-shaped tree loaded with ripe apricots. When I picked one and ate it, it was super sweet, helping me realize Master's hint, not to worry. During later interrogation and in the prisoners' noisy and slanderous environment, I was able to keep reciting the Fa and to send righteous thoughts and was not interfered with.

But sometimes I had negative, worrying thoughts, such as, "Will I be sent to a forced labor camp this time?" My mind would be troubled and unsteady. When I clearly realized that such thoughts are not actually me, I asked Master to support me to eliminate them. I had a sensation as if the mercury in my depression thermometer was descending, becoming normal, and then vanishing from my chest.

My experiences in the detention center and my eventual release taught me this: 1) Keep a compassionate mindset with everyone, even with the interrogating policeman; let them feel a Dafa practitioner's goodness to establish a basis to offer them salvation; 2) Be aware of odd/negative thoughts and eliminate them immediately, thus avoiding a wrong turn on the cultivation path when faced with a difficult situation; 3) Cooperation of the whole body contributes greatly to a positive environment among practitioners.

We later shared experiences about rescuing me. We agreed our efforts were well coordinated. Everyone was able to concentrate his or her energy for one hour of continuous sending righteous thoughts. The practitioners did not have the previous human notion that the arrested practitioners must have loopholes that led to their persecution. Everyone considered fellow practitioners' things as his/her own things. Especially when one of the practitioners suggested sending righteous thoughts intensely while transferring our equipment, it became a joint effort. The practitioners experienced the incomparable, supernatural power of the cooperating whole body.

Once home again from detention, I didn't hurry to go back to work. I wanted to study the Fa for a period of time and assist practitioners in setting up a Fa study group and a materials production site as soon as possible. One day, a practitioner visited and told me that she and another practitioner noticed that Practitioner A and I had developed sentimentality, and she regretted not having pointed this out promptly prior to my arrest.

A fellow practitioner is a mirror, yet I accepted her words with reluctance. I tried to find an excuse for my not letting go of this attachment. Afterwards I asked myself: "Do you want to hold on to this attachment on the way to reach the Consummation?" For this issue, I had a sincere discussion with Practitioner A, admitting I had relied on him and admired him, and felt whatever he did to be correct. Wasn't that dangerous? Once this problem was out in the open, he had an even broader understanding: "True, we came to this stage today from many generations in the past. Was it our destiny that we two became Dafa practitioners? What kind of predestined relationship makes us cooperate in Dafa work? We should really treasure this kind of sacred practitioner relationship. Love and hate are extreme human emotions. If we get rid of them during the Dafa cultivation process, the relationship between practitioners would be purer and purer and emotions would impact us less. Fellow practitioners would be able to complement each other and do better in assisting Master during the Fa rectification, offer sentient beings salvation, make better use of our immeasurable wisdom, and let them know of the mercy Dafa can bestow!"

A few days after my return home, out of concern for me, one practitioner asked me to temporarily stop producing truth clarification materials. I assertively and immediately said, "We need to continue with that! And I will do it better." I understood from the Fa to rescue all the sentient beings, to validate the Fa, that truth clarification materials are essential Fa weapons. I realized that whatever we do during cultivation is Master's great arrangement for our improvement.

Yet, soon some negative thoughts emerged: "Now that the location of the place where I live has been exposed, the police will be watching me, and I could be interfered with at any time."

I read:

"In the several years of your cultivation, I have not only borne an incredibly great deal for you, but also, along with this, constantly given you hints for your improvement, looked after you for your safety, and settled the debts that you owed at different levels so that you can reach Consummation." ("Drive Out Interference" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)

I had a sudden understanding: "I am Master's disciple, a Dafa-made being. I am assimilated into 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,' the Law of the Cosmos. Those old forces, Communist evil spirits, and ghost are nothing. They are against the great Law, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and will be destroyed. How could those evil spirits restrain me, a Dafa practitioner?" As soon as this righteous thought emerged I became rock-solidly firm.

April 23, 2008

Posting date: 5/24/2008
Original article date: 5/23/2008
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/4/24/177112.html

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