(Minghui.org) As Master had told us, nothing is coincidental in Dafa cultivation. When I was arrested and detained for practicing Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) last year, I didn’t hold any resentment toward the police. Rather, I looked at it as an opportunity to improve myself.
Victims of the persecution themselves, the law enforcement officers who blindly participate in the persecution are in great danger. I want to clarify the truth and help them understand the reason for the persecution of this wonderful practice.
One night last April, at around 8 o'clock, a group of police officers showed up at my door. They barged in, ransacked my home, and arrested me. We arrived at the city detention center late at night and right away, I sensed the dense presence of evil substances and their interference.
I tried to recite the Fa but couldn’t remember much, not even the parts that I had memorized and recited many times before. I tried to send righteous thoughts, but couldn’t focus. I calmed my mind as much as possible, and looked within.
The next day, I was interfered with by the demon of lust while taking a nap in the afternoon. When I woke up, I felt pain in my lower abdominal area. I sent forth righteous thoughts continuously to clear my field of the demon of lust and all other evil beings. As my righteous thoughts grew stronger and stronger, I was able to remember more and more of the Fa.
I warned myself to not get comfortable at the detention center because that’s not where I was supposed to be. I needed to maintain righteous actions, as well as righteous thoughts. I switched with a cellmate to be on night duty, stayed up late to send forth righteous thoughts, and recited the Fa while others slept.
However, when I tried to go to sleep, the team lead and the person on night duty didn’t let me. They said that my loud snoring was keeping everyone awake. I couldn’t maintain my xinxing and snapped, “We switched shifts so you could rest the first half of the night, and now you won’t let me sleep? How about we stick to our own shifts from now on.” As I was speaking, I realized I shouldn’t have done that, and kept my mouth shut as the team lead lashed out.
The team lead also nitpicked all day the next day, and moved me to the bed right next to the bathroom. I didn’t say anything, quietly sent righteous thoughts, and looked inward. I was indignant, and had all kinds of unkind thoughts. It took me a long time to calm my heart, but when I finally did, my competitiveness and resentment became obvious. I also saw my strong attachment to comfort and jealousy.
A cultivator should be considerate of others and I needed to measure up to the standards of Dafa. Master said, “...practicing cultivation is the best form of rest...” (Lecture at the First Conference in North America)
I didn’t sleep anymore since that night. I stayed up all night sending righteous thoughts, and did the exercises. As I gained clarity, and my heart became more calm, I looked within, and found the mentality of showing off and my arrogance as the root cause for my arrest. I ignored fellow practitioners’ kind suggestion to pay attention to cell phone security, and made it easy for the police to tap into my phone and monitor me.
When I found these attachments, I asked Master for help. “Master. I didn’t do well, but will rectify myself in the Fa. Please strengthen my righteous thoughts. I will treat the guards and the inmates with kindness, and clarify the truth to them.”
“Where did you get the Dafa books?” The head of the local Domestic Security Division asked me during the interrogation.
I smiled, “Bookstores throughout the country used to carry them before the persecution.” Then he asked who gave me the truth-clarification posters. I told him that a practitioner gave them to me.
“Well Captain,” I said, “I’m afraid I won’t be able to share that information. I am here not because I have committed any crime, but because of my spiritual belief. The conditions here at the detention center are horrible, as you already know. I can’t let you arrest another innocent practitioner, and make that person suffer. We all have conscience as humans, don’t we?”
Then, he asked who gave me the computer and printer, and who taught me how to use them. I told him that they are my personal belongings, and that I bought them and taught myself how to use them.
I told them about the latest announcements. “The General Administration of Press and Publication has lifted the ban on Falun Gong publications. It is legal to possess Dafa books, fliers and posters,” I said.
He asked, “Did you know that you’re undermining law enforcement as a member of a cult?”
I responded, “Captain. I am just a housewife and have no power. What ability do I have to undermine law enforcement? Only a person in power, such as Jiang Zemin, could employ the entire country’s public security system to persecute a spiritual group, and undermine the law by stripping Chinese citizens of their constitutional right to freedom of religion.”
Then I continued, “I know you’re just doing your job and I respect that. This is not personal. The persecution against Falun Gong is a political movement, and it will end one day as all such political movements have done. Did you know that when the Great Cultural Revolution ended, hundreds of police offices were taken to Yunan Province and secretly executed? Their families were told that they were killed in action.”
“That’s impossible.” The captain seemed surprised.
“It is true,” I said. “You can look it up. There is a lot of evidence pointing to it. Falun Gong will be proven innocent one day. To stay safe, my advice to you is to stop participating in the persecution, and release me right away.”
When asked to sign the interrogation notes, I wrote, “According to Article No. 99 and No. 100 of the General Administration of Press and Publication regulations, Falun Gong books are legal. It is clearly stated on the administration’s website. Getting together and reading a legally published book does not break the law.”
Another local practitioner was arrested on the same day I was. She later confessed that she gave the the police my information during interrogation. She apologized repeatedly, and said that she regretted it very much and felt guilty. “It is okay,” I told her, “We have Master. He is always watching over us. Let’s send strong righteous thoughts to eliminate any interference.”
As soon as I said that, Master’s Fa popped into my mind,
“Be resolute cultivating Dafa, the mind unstirredClimbing in levels is what’s fundamentalFaced with tests, a person’s true character is revealedMay you Consummate—a Buddha, Dao, or God” (“True Character is Revealed,” Hong Yin Vol. II, Translation Version A)
I sent stronger righteous thoughts and more frequently. As long as I have Master and the Fa, nobody can force anything onto me.
Officers from the Domestic Security Division interrogated me again the next day, claiming that they had evidence that I provided other practitioners with bills with Dafa messages printed on them.
“So this is how you handled the case,” I smiled. “You first asked her if I gave her these bills. Then you told her she could go home if she gave you a name. Since you already gave her my name, wouldn’t she just go with your story and tell you it was me?” The officer chuckled.
I went on, “Officer, this is hardly personal between you and I. I respect you but you should not have lied to my family. You told my husband and my son that if I cooperate I’d have a chance to being released without a trial. Now, I see that you have been collecting evidence to bring a charge against me.
“If I told you I didn’t provide those bills, you wouldn’t believe me. But, if I don’t say anything, you’d say that I didn’t cooperate, and send the evidence to the procuratorate, who will take my case to court. When my family asks, you would just tell them that I didn’t cooperate, and they’d resent me for it.
“I have been practicing Falun Gong for 21 years, and have benefited tremendously from it. I try to live up to the standard of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and be a good person, a better person. But that is not acceptable, and you just want to put me in jail.”
“Ma’am, we didn’t intent to...” As the officers stated to talk, I quickly apologized, “I am sorry about what I said. It was a mistake. It is not you. It is Jiang Zemin who launched the campaign against Falun Gong, and dragged law enforcement into this. You are also victims of this persecution. You and I are just persecuted in different ways.”
When I was asked to sign the notes at the end of the session, I noticed what the officer put down in the summary was, “[She] was silent and didn’t speak.” I wrote below it, “I didn’t give anybody anything. I didn’t do it.” The police nodded at me and smiled.
With Master’s protection and the coordination of all local practitioner as one body, I was released after 26 days of detention.