(Minghui.org) As a young Falun Gong practitioner, I still experience tribulations and have to get rid of attachments, just as older practitioners do.
It is not that easy to deal with tribulations and attachments, but with the help of Master and fellow practitioners, I have let go of attachments and learned to walk more steadfastly on my cultivation path.
Several days ago, I got a phone call that my mother, a practitioner, was arrested in my hometown. I was stressed out and could hardly breathe.
But she needed my help, so I left early the next morning for my hometown. I knew that this was a test that would help me elevate in my cultivation.
As Master said, “Each opportunity will not occur again.” (“Digging Out the Roots” in Essentials For Further Advancement)
It took a day to get home. I went straight to the local police station to ask for my mother's release and to tell them the facts about Falun Gong.
When I neared the police station, my heart started to pound and my legs felt like jelly. But I picked up my courage and went it. The minute they heard why I was there, the chief screamed at me. He refused to let me get in a word edgewise and made sure I left.
Then I went to a fellow practitioner’s home to study the Fa, but my mind was in turmoil. When I opened Zhuan Falun, I could not concentrate, because my mind was filled with the police chief’s crazed image.
The thought of going back to the police station the next day disturbed my mind. I felt something pressing down on my chest, and I could neither breathe nor open my eyes. I put my head on the table.
Then it became very surreal: It was as if someone was talking to me. The voice asked why I was feeling this great pressure, and I admitted that I was scared. When it asked why I was scared, I admitted that I worried that I would be arrested and detained. The voice told me that there was nothing to fear, because there is nothing wrong with practicing Falun Gong and trying to rescue someone.
It told me one more time that I need not be afraid, but instead to be dignified.
The incident helped me see this as an opportunity to clarify the facts about Falun Gong and save people. If I did not meet the standard, how could I save people? This thought opened my mind and awakened me.
I was afraid to rouse the police’s negative side, so I forbore and thought that this was kindness. But I was treated worse and not allowed to say the words "Falun Gong." I told them that they were doing wrong. They said that there is no law that said so and that I could take them to court. They made me leave.
Somehow, I thought that I had not handled the situation correctly and shared with a fellow practitioner. She told me that I was not in line with the Fa. In reality, I had begged the police, which did not show the dignity of a Falun Gong disciple.
I began to understand and also recalled Master’s words:
“Forbearance is absolutely not the limitless giving of free rein, which allows those evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts to do evil without limit.” (“Beyond the Limits of Forbearance” in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Before I left home the next day, I asked Master to help me handle the situation based on the Fa.
When I went to the detention center, the officials told me that my mother was not there. So I went to the police department and told the deputy police chief that if they refused to tell me where she was, I would report her as a missing person. He was somewhat taken aback and asked me to pay for my mother’s physical exam, food, and the fine before I could see her. I refused. He left the room.
Another officer tried to push me out the door. But it was not that easy to get rid of me. I found the domestic security team leader and no longer acted cowardly. He showed me my mother’s physical exam form and detention form. I realized that once I acted with righteous thoughts, Master would arrange a nice wide road for me.
I refused to pay, so they avoided me when I returned to the police department. Fellow practitioners suggested that I tell more people about Falun Gong instead of just the police.
I went to different government departments, including the Political and Legal Affairs Committee and the appeals office to tell the facts about Falun Gong. This effort helped me discover my attachment to saving face, competitiveness, laziness, and fear.
Master said:
“The attachments you can’t let go of around ordinary people all have to be let go. All your attachments, as long as you have them, all have to be worn down in different settings.” (Zhuan Falun)
I talked to a government employee and told her I just wanted her to understand the facts about Falun Gong. Before I left, she told me that she admired me but did not know how she would handle the situation.
I went to the Political and Legal Affairs Committee to clarify the facts—and just as before, they did not listen. So I sent righteous thoughts and told them that Falun Gong has spread to over 100 countries, how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) harvests organs from living practitioners, and why practitioners take such huge risks to tell people to quit the CCP and its affiliates.
One of the officials listened and said he would act according to his conscience. He asked me to bring my identification card and cellphone number to register, write down my demands, and prepare some documentation.
I talked it over with fellow practitioners and thought that I should not have agreed to put together any documentation. We held different thoughts, but in the end we decided that I would not go, that I would wait for what was supposed to happen.
That night the Minghui website published a fellow practitioner’s letter that advised local government employees to treat practitioners well. A fellow practitioner revised the letter to conform to our local situation.
This practitioner suggested that I go back to the office and take the materials she had prepared.
I immediately felt nervous but realized that it was the evil that was scared, not me. On my way to the office I recited Master’s poem over and over again:
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughtsMaster has the power to turn back the tide”(“The Master-Disciple Bond” in Hong Yin Vol. II)
When I arrived, they asked if I had prepared the materials. I said everything was in the envelope.
The head official opened the envelope. As he read, his hands began to shake. He asked over and over again when I had printed it out. I said that I hoped they would choose a good future. He urged me to leave, so I went downstairs to hand out copies of the letter to other offices. A security guard urged me to leave quickly.
I then went to the police department, handed three letters to an officer, and asked him to give one to the police chief, to the deputy chief, and the domestic security team head. Then I returned to the fellow practitioner's home.
The local police visited my house three times within an hour while I was at the others practitioner’s home. Several armed police officers knocked on my door the first time. The second time, there were only two of them, and the third time the domestic security team head with two officers knocked on my door. They told my neighbors that I did not need to pay anything and could pick up my mother the next morning.
Several practitioners commented that I did a good job and some other people said they admired me. This effort helped me mature more, because I walked on the path arranged by Master. I knew it was Master who guided me.
Master said:
“…in the several years of your cultivation, I have not only borne an incredibly great deal for you, but also, along with this, constantly given you hints for your improvement, looked after you for your safety, and settled the debts that you owed at different levels so that you can reach Consummation.” (“Drive Out Interference” in Essentials for Further Advancement II)
To rescue my mother, I went to the police department and other departments to tell them the facts about Falun Gong daily, and many practitioners sent righteous thoughts.
I felt ashamed for my past behavior. When fellow practitioners had tribulations, I did not help and told them that I was too busy. I did realize then that we are one body.
I understand that Master does not leave a single disciple behind. This time Master pushed me forward. I will repay Master for what he has done for me. What I can do is to walk firmly the rest of my path and do what Falun Gong disciples should do so that Master will worry less.