(Clearwisdom.net) Continued from: http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/5/16/125251.html
While detained at the detention center we firmly followed Master's teaching. We formed a group study and exercise environment, spread the wonders of Dafa to everyone we met, and unified all the practitioners to work together.
After a while even the hostile guards became friendlier. We used every opportunity to clarify the truth to them. Instead of fighting their evil side, we chose compassion. We witnessed the power of compassion. One night we stayed up late for discussion. An older guard came by, tapped on the window and pointed at his watch, "It's getting late. You should go to sleep now so you won't miss the morning exercises." We couldn't believe our ears.
Once the detention center head decided to lock an elderly practitioner in a metal cage outside. The tiny cage prevented her from standing or squatting. No food nor extra clothing was allowed. It was mid November and snow had already fallen. We requested the detention center head to release the person. He exploded. Then one practitioner said to him, "If you haven't vented enough, please lock me up instead. At least - let her come inside to eat and warm up. How is she able to handle this, given her age?" Hearing that he shrieked, "Fine! You come out."
Handcuffing him to a heating pipe, the detention center head strolled up and down the hallway with his hands behind his back. "How silly," he commented, "that you want to swap with her! Do you have any idea how much suffering you'll go through? Why are you so silly?" The practitioner replied, "I didn't think that much of her. Watching her locked in the cage I only wanted to stop her suffering and quickly bring her back inside." About 30 minutes later the chief released both of them. We witnessed how a Dafa disciple's selfless action had awakened the detention center head's kind side, which validated the Fa and manifested the new cosmos's selfless characteristic.
3. Righteous thoughts and power come from the firm belief in Master and the Fa
I went with a few dozen practitioners to Beijing in Oct. 2000. With Master's protection, we arrived at Tiananmen Square. It was packed with police. Among the crowds, Dafa disciples constantly raised their voices, loudly and clearly calling, “Falun Dafa is good;” “Restore Master Li's innocence.”
Police kept pulling practitioners out of the crowd and into police cars. Yet more practitioners kept raising banners. All of a sudden someone put his arms around my back and pushed me forward, toward the police cordon. I had just learned Master's article “Rationality” in Essentials for Further Advancement II. My only thought was, “Don’t voluntarily let the evil take you away.” I turned around and shouted to the person who pushed me, “What are you doing?” He was in such a shock that he almost fell. Daring not to say a single word, he dashed back toward the crowd and disappeared, as if to escape from me. Seven days later, we returned safely home.
At the detention center once we finally obtained a copy of Zhuan Falun. Some practitioner copied the book by hand. Soon we had a bag filled with the copied book and Master's other scriptures secretly shared among us. One day the detention center authorities launched a sudden search. We knew it was for the bag of materials we had. I thought, “Dafa disciples are all equipped with divine powers. At a critical time like this, I must use my righteous thoughts to protect the Fa.” I put the bag underneath my covers; then left the room with the others. My mind was on the bag the whole time, as if I safeguarded it inside my head. The guards searched for hours and even turned over our beds, but in vain. As soon as I went back, I looked for the bag. It was where I left it, untouched! Once again I clearly witnessed the greatness of Dafa and the power of righteous thoughts from the disciples. Master, thank you for helping me save the books at time of danger. It allowed me to establish boundless righteous thoughts and confidence.
I was cruelly arrested at the end of Sept. 2001. My arms got instantly injured. The policemen pushed me into a mini-van onto the floor where one person started punching my face with all his force. Watching this insane person pathetically controlled by the evil, I felt nothing in my heart but pure compassion. I said to him calmly while sending righteous thoughts to eradicate the evil behind him, “I bet your son must be very proud of you as a policeman. What would he and his friends think if they saw you right now, right here, beating up a person who follows Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance? Would he still be proud?” His hand clearly slowed down. I continued, “You know what I think? I think he will hate you. He will hate you because you destroy his dreams. You make him ashamed in front of his friends because his dad, the dad whom he used to take so much pride in, has now become one of the evil beings who's persecuting the good.” Slowly he stopped his hand and lowered his head. He no longer beat up anyone.
I was brought into the same police station where I escaped before. Fearing I might walk away again, the police handcuffed my left hand to a thick metal pipe behind me. They then tightened the handcuff to make sure the metal went inside my flesh, and that the cuff was motionless when they shook it. They locked the door from the outside and left me with six or seven people in the room. I sent strong righteous thoughts, “I am Master's disciple. Master decides my cultivation path. This place is not for Dafa disciples to stay. I must leave here as soon as possible to make truth-clarification materials and to help offer sentient beings redemption. My escape itself would be a fatal strike to the evil. Master, please help me.”
At that moment, I felt that Master was right beside me, protecting me. I closed my eyes, to further focus on sending righteous thoughts. I asked Master to help me. I then recited a portion of the Fa. When I was at “However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is” ("In a few words” in Essentials for Further Advancement II), the handcuffs suddenly opened. My heart leaped. All of a sudden many of Master's teachings came to mind. I continued sending righteous thoughts, pleading with Master to arrange opportunities for me to escape. It was about 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. when all the people in the room wanted to go to bathrooms and left the door open. I walked out. A taxi just happened to come by. It was just as Master said,
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughts
Master has the power to turn back the tide.”
(“Master-Disciple Bond” in Hong Yin Vol. II)
I wrote the above to remind practitioners that the power of a Dafa disciple's righteous thoughts comes from the degree of his belief in Master and the Fa. Many times when we face persecution or go through a so-called sickness karma test, our lack of strong belief in Master and Dafa triggers our human notions, and thus our xinxing drops and we make mistakes. Master said, “One's gong level is as high as one's xinxing level.” (Zhuan Falun)
Master said in Zhuan Falun: “Good or evil comes from a person's spontaneous thought, and the thought at that moment can bring about different consequences.”
If we can truly let go of our humanness, our thoughts will be divine and the power will be mighty. But it is not so easy to correct our thoughts all the time. It reminds me of some not-so-diligent practitioners. Once caught by the evil, they use every opportunity to recite the Fa, and their diligence level goes up exponentially. Yet, after they are released, they slip again. They treat Dafa as if it's a straw they can grasp whenever they are at the risk of drowning. This is an extremely selfish act characterized by the old cosmos. We must cultivate it away. Whenever problems occur we must ask ourselves, “Do I really believe in Master and the Fa? Do I truly put myself in the hands of Master and the Fa? Do I follow Master's words one hundred percent?” If we ask these questions, it will be easy to diagnose the problems.
It was my firm belief in the Fa and my letting go of my attachments that saved me. As long as we continue to study the Fa, we continue to improve our xinxing and are steps closer to the standards set by Master and Dafa. Let's make Master less worry about his disciples.
