(Clearwisdom.net) Reporter's note: Among the people around me who practice Falun Gong, many are academics, experts in science and technology and doctors of law. They have all experienced positive changes to their minds and bodies after they began practicing. Even under severe persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), these practitioners have remained steadfast in their belief. What is it about Falun Gong that can make these scholars and experts truly believe in it? I interviewed several doctors of law, professors, and experts in other fields. I hope their experiences can help answer questions that people still have about Falun Gong and help them to have a better understanding of the practice.
What follows is an interview with a practitioner who holds a doctor of law degree and works at a research institute in China. For safety reasons, I will not use his real name, only his title.
Reporter: When and why did you start practicing Falun Gong?
Doctor of law: I began to practice Falun Gong in 1998. At that time, I was already in good health and didn't have any illnesses. However, I saw the beauty of Falun Gong from the practitioners who were actively striving to be better people, thinking of others first and maintaining harmonious relationships.
When I read Zhuan Falun, the main book of the practice, I felt it was talking about ways to be a better person. It also talks a lot about high level science. I then became quite interested in the practice and I gradually became a practitioner.
Reporter: Can you explain in more detail?
Doctor of Law: Talking about human beings, people have a kind and a selfish nature. In today's society, people often indulge in fame, personal gain, and various emotions. However, they don't know how to extricate themselves from these things. Some then lose their kind nature and become more selfish, even hurting other people. Sometimes, they may become clearheaded, but that is short-lived.
After reading Zhuan Falun, I felt that the book revealed the nature of the universe and the principles of being a human being. The book helped me realize why people experience gains and losses, why they come across tragedies or have conflicts. The book also teaches people how to become a better person, think of others when doing things, look inwards when conflicts occur, and treat others kindly. More importantly, the book also explains the reason why we should become good people.
I found Zhuan Falun uses the most simple language to systematically explain the issue of whether matter determines mind or vice versa, from the most microscopic to the most macroscopic, from the human body and life to the universe, and from different levels and different dimensions. It has opened up people’s minds and transcends all academic theories and moral principles of human society. People are often restricted in the conventions of scientific knowledge. However, once they are able to think outside their confines, they will find an even broader world.
Reporter: What has been the biggest change you have experienced since you began to practice Falun Gong?
Doctor of law: Although I didn't practice Falun Gong for health reasons, my health has greatly improved. I haven't caught a cold for many years now and I always feel energetic.
The biggest change I experienced would be in my academic studies. Practicing Falun Gong has opened up my wisdom and allowed me to have a better overall understanding of my field. I also have a brand new understanding of the entire humanities and social sciences. I feel as if I have reached the realm where I have acquired a thorough knowledge of humanities both ancient and modem, Chinese and Western. I gain more inspiration in my studies, and it's easier for me to grasp the cutting edge problems in my specialty. Therefore, I am able to finish my research papers in time and my academic studies are widely recognized among professionals in my field.
On the other hand, studying Dafa has helped me resolve specific problems. Nowadays, relationships between people are very complicated. Being a simple man, I used to find it difficult to deal with human relations and would get frustrated whenever I got “trapped” in a complex relationship. After learning Falun Gong, I always look inward based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance whenever I come across a problem. As a result, the issues became very simple to resolve.
Reporter: You said that you have reached the realm of having a thorough knowledge of humanities both ancient and modem, Chinese and Western. What do you mean by that?
Doctor of Law: I began to reflect on modern sciences and gained a new understanding of ancient society. So, I try to include the ethics, beliefs, and traditional customs and social structure from ancient societies in my research. I have found that the scholars with their own understandings were also reflecting on our modern social science. I feel that only by correcting humanities and reviving the study of humanities can we really reach the highest academic realm.
Reporter: Were you persecuted after July 20, 1999?
Doctor of Law: I have been sentenced to three years of forced labor, was unreasonably fired from my job, and lost my personal freedom.
At the forced labor camp, I was forced to sit on a board for a long period of time, do forced labor, attend brainwashing sessions, and write a repentance statement along with other practitioners.
After I was released from the forced labor camp, the police constantly harassed my family and me. They often pounded on our door at midnight. We could no longer live a normal life. My parents, brothers, and other family members who do not practice Falun Gong also suffered both physically and mentally. My family could not get together any more.
Reporter: You are a doctor of law. What's your view on the April 25 appeal and the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong?
Doctor of Law: The CCP flung mud at Falun Gong. It arrested practitioners who went to make appeals. It used violence to suppress practitioners and blocked the normal channels of appeal. These were the real causes of the April 25 appeal. Due to the injustice, practitioners wanted to rationally appeal to the government and request a dialogue with the authorities. From a legal perspective, Chinese citizens are guaranteed freedom of belief in accordance with the law. Therefore, when their freedom of belief was unreasonably suppressed, people naturally had a right to appeal.
The persecution of Falun Gong by the CCP violates the law from the very beginning. Over the last 10 years, many practitioners have lost their lives and many happy families have been broken as a result of the persecution. The CCP systematically violates Chinese people's basic human rights and freedoms protected by both domestic and international laws. It is committing crimes of genocide, torture, and other crimes against humanity under international law. Its crimes in persecuting practitioners are being exposed in China and to the rest of the world.
Reporter: Some people think Falun Gong is political. What is your opinion?
Doctor of Law: Under the despotic rule of the CCP, it will label any person or group of being “involved in politics” if they do not obey its rule or do things in line with its power. It may also accuse you of "collaborating with the anti-reactionary forces at home and abroad." Therefore, it will fabricate a charge of “subverting the state." “Getting political” becomes a club the CCP uses to suppress people's conscience, persecute beliefs, and intimidate people.
By saying that Falun Gong is involved in politics provides the CCP an excuse to maintain the persecution. Falun Gong is a means of cultivation, and practitioners follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and are letting go of attachments to fame and personal gain. They have no interest in power, including political power.
The CCP defames and persecutes Falun Gong to try to prevent people from learning the truth of Falun Gong and coercing those who do not know the truth to do bad things with it. Therefore, it not only persecutes practitioners, but also the world's people. The practitioners clarify the truth and persuade people to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, so that they will no longer be poisoned by the CCP's lies and perish along with it. That is not political, either.
Reporter: Other people say that Falun Gong is the hope of the Chinese nation. What is your thought on this?
Doctor of Law: Falun Gong teaches people to pursue the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and helps them raise their moral standards and realms through cultivation. It has helped so many people to be kinder. Wherever they are, be it at work, in the society, or at home, they strive to be good people. They also try to do a good job in harmonizing their relationships at home and work, and think about others at all times. More and more people are coming to realize that the hope of the Chinese nation depends on driving out the Marxist evil specter, reviving moral standards and arts, and re-establishing society and beliefs. To cultivate Falun Gong is not for the purpose of reaching any goals in this human world, but to revive people's conscience and the culture that was passed on to us by the gods.
