(Clearwisdom.net)

A practitioner that I have not seen for a long time called me from near Tiananmen Square and happily told me that he had met two northern practitioners that he had not seen for three years. The two practitioners were an elderly couple who had just been released from prison. The guards there all knew that they were good people and did not want to keep them anymore. In addition, hundreds of northern practitioners were released unconditionally. It appeared that things were turning for the better. A day earlier, when police arrived at the temporary quarters where the two practitioners were staying, they told the police that they were Falun Gong practitioners. The police said that they had donewell and left without checking their identity.

After being released, the two northern practitioners then came to Beijing to appeal to authorities, which had not been easy. The police were watching everyone very closely; people had to condemn Dafa before they were allowed to board the train. The couple wisely took a taxi to another city first and switched to the train there to get to Beijing. The husband, an academic, used to be the local volunteer Dafa assistant. The wife operated a barbershop where she would clarify the facts of the persecution and Dafa to her customers. Not too long after she had obtained the Fa, her health became excellent. But now, after suffering the persecution, she can hardly open her eyes, and there is a scar on her eyelid from an acid burn. The husband's situation is not much better: one of his ears was damaged. The practitioner meeting them in Beijing also had an injury-- he had been beaten and one of his legs was broken as a result. An academic, a barber, and a young person-- three law-abiding citizens of different social status and background, were persecuted to such an extent just because they practice Falun Gong. Nonetheless, they are determined to uphold Dafa. They went to Tiananmen Square to validate Dafa immediately after their release and joined forces with practitioners in clarifying the truth. They went out to post flyers day and night despite their injuries.

In the past three years, practitioners in China have suffered indescribable tribulations. But whether in China or abroad, all practitioners' hearts are the same -- we all came for the Fa. No matter where we are, we are one body. We are here to fulfill the promise we made in pre-history, to follow Master to rectify the Fa. Let us "Strive forward together. A bright future lies ahead" (from Master's poem, "In harmony with the Fa")

2003-8-20