(Minghui.org)
Part 1: Falun Gong Practitioners Maintain Righteous Thoughts in Prison (Part I)
3. Eliminate Evil with Righteous Thoughts
(1) Towards the end of December 2009, a police officer came to shock a practitioner with an electric baton. The practitioner stood there firmly and kept sending righteous thoughts. She could smell her own flesh burning, but she had no fear. She just kept sending righteous thoughts, and before long the electric baton stopped working. The police officer tried to fix it but without any success. She got so angry that she raised the baton to hit the practitioner. The practitioner didn't move to dodge the baton, but shouted in her heart: “Stop!”. The police officer fell hard to the ground and couldn't get up after a few attempts. She had to be pulled up with the help of another policewoman. She stopped hitting the practitioner. Six months later, when the practitioner went on a hunger strike, this policewoman came to kick the her. The practitioner said to her, “Last time, you took a fall, and you want to kick me again?” Upon hearing this, the policewoman turned around and left. She never again participated in persecuting this practitioner.
(2) A practitioner's younger sister sent her a letter in the Spring of 2010. The practitioner was called to the office. She walked in without shouting out “report” as required, so the guard on duty was not happy. “Why didn't you say 'report' before you came in?” he asked. The practitioner said she didn't commit any crime, so she shouldn't follow the requirements for inmates. The policeman said, “There is a letter from your younger sister. I won't allow you to read the letter unless you say 'report'.” The practitioner said to him, “I have a right to read the letter and I should be free to communicate with my family.” The policeman called the inmate who had been assigned to monitor the practitioner and accused her of not doing her job well. He then told them to leave the office. The inmate told the practitioner not to be so stubborn. The practitioner clarified the facts to her loudly so that the guards could hear her too. The guard then said, “You two, stop arguing now. Go back to work.” Perhaps the truth-clarification had some impact on the guard. A few days later, the he asked the inmate to pass the letter to the practitioner.
(3) Prior to National Day in 2010, the head of a prison zone called all the inmates for a meeting, and in her speech she accused Falun Gong practitioners of not working enough. Afterwards, all team leaders started to make things harder for the practitioners. One day a practitioner saw a few fellow practitioners in her team being punished and being forced to stand to work, so she wanted to take this opportunity to clarify the facts to the team leader. By coincidence, the team leader called her to the office. When she walked in, the team leader said, “We haven't allowed you any family visits for a long time. I plan to call your family and let them come to visit you.” The practitioner said to the team leader, “Dafa disciples shouldn't be doing forced labor in the first place, but you even think they are not doing enough. You shouldn't do whatever your superiors ask you to do.” The team leader cut her short and said, “I've called you here to let you know you can have a family visit. I didn't want you to tell me all this.” The practitioner looked directly in her eyes and said, “If I don't tell you now you will blame me in the future. You may say that you knew we shouldn't be doing forced labor, but were still made to do it. Why didn't you tell me at the time? I'm telling you now ahead of time. I'm doing this for your sake.” Both women were silent. In the end the team leader said, “I don't want to get angry with you today. You can go back now.” After she went back, the practitioner thought to herself: I said those words to the guard to rectify this field so that they would commit fewer crimes. I've no attachment to the family visit, but I have a right to be visited by my family, and they will come to see me. She then kept sending righteous thoughts. Indeed, her family came to see her the next day.
(4) In September 2011, a practitioner realized from reciting the Fa that Dafa disciples shouldn't be doing forced labor in the CCP's prisons. If they work like the inmates, it would give the prison guards and inmates a wrong impression that they are guilty for practicing Falun Dafa and are the same as the inmates who are detained there for having committed crimes. This would encourage them to detain more Dafa disciples to make money. In order to be responsible to the people imprisoned there, Dafa disciples must help them gain a positive understanding about Dafa, and realize that they are innocent. Even though we are detained in the dark den, we must walk our path properly and we shouldn't do forced labor to make money for the CCP regime. We shouldn't have fear, as doing so would equate to having no regard to the safety of the people there. That night, she had a dream, in which she ate garlic, even though she knew she shouldn't. Immediately she realized: There is no such a thing as working for the evil in Fa-rectification cultivation. If we do, it would mean that we have mixed into our cultivation something bad, just like eating garlic in my dream. I know clearly that I shouldn't do forced labor, but I still do it. It's like knowingly committing wrongdoing. When she came to this understanding, she refused to do forced labor the next day.
She was called to the section head's office and asked why she refused to work. She said, “I shouldn't do forced labor as I didn't commit any crime. Besides, you tell people outside that we only work eight hours a day, but we are forced to work twelve hours a day. You said we enjoy public holidays and have a two-day break on weekends, but we only have one day off every week and have to work overtime. Even if I were a detainee, I would have worked far more than I should.” The section head said, “If you're detained again, we don't want you here in Section 8!” Team One leader said, “When your term is up, we don't want to keep you even a second longer.” The next day, the team leader said to her, “If you don't work, I will have the whole team sit with you after work till midnight.”
The practitioner said, “It won't work. You want to use implication, which has been used many times in each of the CCP movements to persecute people. It won't work with whoever you ask to sit with me.” Upon hearing this, a prison guard said, “Well said, right to the point.” The section head said, “How have you been treated since the establishment of the new division? (indicating that they had never beaten the practitioner)” The practitioner said, “This is your blessing in the future. One day I will give a testimonial for you.” In the end, they only called two team meetings in the next couple of days and dropped the matter. Nobody asked again why she was not doing any forced labor.
(5) In Autumn 2012, a practitioner felt that it was an insult to Dafa disciples to wear the badge for inmates. Just as she had this thought she tripped and fell, and the badge broke into pieces. She realized that she must not wear it again, so she announced that she would not wear the badge again. The inmate who had been assigned to keep watch on her got so angry that she picked up a mug to hit her. But the practitioner remained calm and kept sending righteous thoughts. The inmate started to cry and said she was afraid that the team leader would blame her. The practitioner clarified the facts to the inmate and told her that the evil CCP wanted to involve inmates in the persecution to force them to commit sins. Later the team leader called the practitioner into her office and asked her why she refused to wear the badge. The practitioner told her it was broken and she realized that she shouldn't have worn it in the first place. She said she didn't commit any wrongdoing and it's an insult to wear the badge.
A prison guard said, “It's broken. Then fix it.” Another one said, “Every Falun Gong practitioner wears the badge. How can we manage things if you don't wear a badge? You need to have consideration for us.” The practitioner said, “I'm doing this out of consideration for you. I must be responsible to justice and conscience. I won't wear it no matter who else wears it.” One other guard said, “Don't always try to make trouble. We don't want to do anything to you. You'd better put the badge on.” The practitioner said, “You have been treating Dafa disciples with kindness. This is an act of justice. In fact many people have started to do so long before you. My Master mentioned that it wouldn't be long before all China stands up against the persecution.” Another police woman said, “Every dynasty is the same. If you go against it, it will persecute you.” The practitioner said, “If that's the case, then there is no need for the CCP to advertize itself as being great, glorious and correct. Why bother to talk about progressing with time and organizing people to sing in chorus every day (the prison was doing this at the time). Now all the big four banks are filled with bad debts. If you have money, you'd better put your money in a bank overseas.” Everyone went quiet. In the end the guard said, “You can go now.”
Since the practitioner refused to wear the badge, she was not allowed to wash herself and brush her teeth. This practitioner always liked to be clean. In the face of this tribulation, she thought: In the past, even those who were cultivating in small groups didn't pay much attention to cleanliness. I'm a cultivator in Dafa, I'm not afraid of being dirty. “When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.'” (Zhuan Falun) In the beginning, she just endured it, but as she kept reciting the Fa, she began to realize: Although I don't smell, the inmates all know that I cannot wash myself or brush my teeth. They will develop negative thoughts about Dafa, thinking that arm is no match for the thigh; you don't wear the badge, so you get punished. This doesn't help sentient beings to gain a righteous understanding about Dafa, and they could be destroyed for holding a bad thought against Dafa. Dafa disciples shouldn't be persecuted and detained, and the situation shouldn't exist case where a Dafa disciple is not allowed wash and brush her teeth. I mustn't acknowledge this form of persecution based on the principles of the old universe, as it is absolutely no part of the cultivation of Dafa disciples who have the mission to save sentient beings. We have long passed the stage of individual cultivation, and such persecution is interference to Fa-rectification. After she came to this understanding, she kept sending righteous thoughts to disintegrate this persecution. One day, she felt her thoughts were very pure and she truly felt that she had no fear, and the evil was nothing. That night the inmate assigned to keep watch on her took her to wash herself and brush her teeth.
(6) Under the “Prison Law”, everyone serving sentences has the right to call home, but the CCP openly tramples upon the law and forbids Falun Gong practitioners to call home. One practitioner took every opportunity to clarify the facts each time other inmates called their families. Once when others were calling home during the New Year, she said loudly to the police and other inmates, “Like everyone here, we also have the right to call home. We also have loved ones! Our family members also have the right to receive phone calls from us! Falun Gong practitioners also celebrate the New Year! We have been forced to do a lot of labor and you police have put heaps of money into your pockets. But when it comes to calling home, none of you allow us to make a phone call. You have no conscience and are inhuman.” The police said, “It's not us who made the regulations to not allow you to call home. We're only following orders from above.” The practitioner said, “All right then. You take me to see those above, those who made the regulations. You are intensifying the persecution of Falun Gong.” This practitioner said all this without holding onto any sentiments or any attachment to her loved ones or making a phone call. She just wanted to use the opportunity to clarify the facts. What she said effectively deterred the evil, and each time when the team planned a phone call schedule, the police would try to do it in secrecy behind practitioners' back.
(7) Two vicious inmates deliberately tortured a practitioner while force feeding her. They pulled the rope tightly when tying her up and took the padded mattress off her bed. But the practitioner didn't bear any grudges against them. One of them hadn't been visited by her family for a long time, and when the practitioner thought that she might soon run out of washing powder, she decided to give her only packet to the inmate. When she took the washing power to the inmate, the inmate felt very ashamed and turned red in the face. She kept saying, “I don't need it. You keep it.”
Afterwards, every time she ran into the practitioner she would say hello to her. When the practitioner went on another hunger strike and the inmate was told to force feed her again, the inmate firmly refused to do so. The other vicious inmate was often punished for not working properly and often felt hungry for not having enough to eat. So, the practitioner often passed food to her in secrecy. The inmate was deeply moved. The practitioner was also very kind to those who had been assigned to keep a watch on her. Each time she had something nice to eat, she would share with them. After they left the prison, they asked others to send their regards to her, saying they missed the time they were together. Because this practitioner is very kind and compassionate, inmates all liked to talk to her when they felt like sharing their inner feelings with someone. They also liked to ask her for help when they needed to do some needlework. Before this practitioner was released, many inmates felt sad. One said, “Aunty, after you've gone, many people will miss you!”, another one said, “Sister, who can I talk to after you leave here!” The practitioner helped all these inmates quit the CCP organizations.
(To be continued)
