7. Concluding Thoughts: The Power of Principles

The peaceful appeals by Falun Dafa practitioners in China continue today, without let up. The courage of these appealing practitioners remains unwavering, despite ever-more-harsh opposition from Beijing. What we have presented here to you, the reader, in this overview and this report is merely a small window into the story of Falun Dafa. Our hope is that you may gain a sense for the magnitude of the Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance in the hearts of these practitioners. In what may be remembered as China's darkest hour, we have witnessed this past year the amazing goodness of Mr. Li Hongzhi's Falun Dafa shining forth.

Consider the power of Truthfulness amidst the lies:

It is Truthfulness that has led Falun Dafa practitioners to risk everything--personal safety, their jobs, their homes, and even their lives--to make known the truth about their practice. Truthfulness inspired tens of thousands to go to Beijing last July to appeal the ban on Falun Dafa, with over 35,000 practitioners arrested in the first three months alone. Truthfulness moves hundreds of practitioners to petition their government every week, knowing full well that they will be detained and punished--even tortured--for exercising their constitutional right of appeal. Some have even walked hundreds of miles to do this. And Truthfulness compels, despite the very real and immediate personal risks, scores of practitioners to meditate and unfurl banners in Tiananmen Square that proclaim simply, "Falun Dafa is Good!"

Consider the power of Benevolence amidst the wickedness:

It is Benevolence that has enabled Falun Dafa practitioners to cultivate kindness in the most oppressive and trying of circumstances. Benevolence allows practitioners to look into the eyes of their oppressors with deep compassion, seeing what is human beneath the cruelty. Benevolence moved practitioners last July to save a Beijing policeman being accidentally trampled by fellow security officers. Benevolence informed the female practitioner who removed her handkerchief from her pocket to gently wipe the sweating forehead of her torturer. The Benevolence of jailed practitioners has touched the hearts of countless prisoners and guards, leading one inmate to declare, "It is in jail that I learned to become a good person!"

Consider the power of Forbearance amidst the intolerance:

It is their commitment to Forbearance that enables practitioners to suffer the most inhumane of abuses--including torture with electric cattle prods, forced abortion, sanctioned rape, and even toxic injections--without succumbing to anger, despair, or violence. Forbearance gives practitioners the strength to nobly endure the penalties for doing what is right, upstanding, and constitutionally sanctioned. Forbearance allowed Ms. Chen Zixiu to remain committed to her principles even unto death by torture. And it is because of Forbearance that Falun Dafa and, in turn, the dream of freedom, remain alive in China today. Fifty practitioners have already given their lives for this cause.

In every instance, it is practitioners' unshakable faith in Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance that has inspired them to forgo personal interest for the sake of humanity. These practitioners have demonstrated to the world that one can remain true to higher principles under the harshest of conditions, in the face of the gravest injustices, and at the greatest of costs. They have proved, with their quiet, peaceful resistance that Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance are mightier than any force of hatred.

These practitioners continue their peaceful appeal to the Chinese government and to the world, enduring hardship, humiliation, and torture--sometimes even unto death. They understand that what is at stake is not so much individual interests or their practice, but rather the well-being of a higher principle, and the understanding of that principle by others. Contained in this conviction is the belief that peacefully defending this principle is the greatest gift to others. These practitioners have, in their sacrifices, done all possible to be worthy of Mr. Li Hongzhi's teachings.

They have sacrificed--so that the truth may stand a chance, and so that others may come to know it. For their belief in Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance, these Falun Dafa practitioners have lost their homes, assets, jobs, education, futures, and even their lives. Yet you will not hear them complain, nor see them pity themselves. They have forgone their personal security for larger, higher principles--not unlike those moral exemplars who have gone before us. History promises to reveal the grandeur of what these practitioners have done. This, we can count on.

We look to practitioners in China for inspiration. We look to them to learn the meaning of courage. And we look to them to see where we fall short. They have shown the world in the face of horrendous oppression that one can be a good person under any circumstances. They demonstrate daily that Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance are not merely philosophical ideals, but something that can be lived. In doing so, they indeed give to the world the greatest gift.