(Minghui.org) Something happened to me seven years ago that gave me a much deeper understanding of negating the persecution.
In October 2016, many Falun Dafa practitioners in our city were arrested, including me. My first thought was that this was unfair: “Why am I being persecuted again? What can I do to avoid it?”
As I was thinking this, my whole body started trembling. I suddenly realized that my thoughts were not in line with the Fa, and I had selfishness and fear. So I sent righteous thoughts to eliminate these attachments.
After a while, my mind stabilized and I stopped trembling. I began to look within. I remembered a sharing article I had recently written based on my understanding that Dafa disciples shouldn’t be persecuted. I thought, “Was my understanding of the Fa principles wrong? I have just been taken to the police station and am being persecuted!”
As I reflected on my understanding of the Fa principles, I concluded that what I had said in my article was correct. I had firm faith in Master and the Fa and did not acknowledge any of the old forces’ arrangements. Even though I had been taken to the police station, it was all a test, and things will change after I change myself. After all, wherever I was, that was my cultivation environment.
However, nothing happens by chance. I still had human attachments, areas where I did not conform to the Fa, and I needed to elevate myself—this must be why the test occurred! I needed to look inside, eliminate my gaps, improve myself, and turn a bad thing into a good thing.
As Dafa disciples, we should always look inside and cultivate ourselves, regardless of the circumstances. After doing this and eliminating my attachments, I became even more firm in the Fa. My faith in Dafa and Master became more solid, and the principles of the Fa were clearer to me. I removed my selfishness and fear. It didn’t matter to me so much whether I was inside or outside the police station. I experienced immense inner tranquility and enlightened to the Fa principle that both good and bad things are actually good things.
I felt no resentment for the police officers because I knew that all sentient beings are waiting for salvation through Dafa—it’s only that they forgot their original intentions when they came to the human world. The fact that they were participating in persecuting Dafa disciples would burden them with heavy karmic debts and even jeopardize their chance to be saved.
Although I didn’t resent them, my compassion wasn’t yet strong enough—I wanted to save them but lacked the urgency to do it. So I recited Master’s poem over and over again:
“...Dafa disciples are suffering,But who is ruined are sentient beings.All were lives from the heavens,Who descended to this world to await the Fa.While staying in the human world,Don't be deceived by the [Party's] lies....” (“Every Lifetime Was for This Life,” Hong Yin III)
I recited it quickly at first, letting the Fa fill my entire body at both the macro and micro levels. Then I recited it slowly, reflecting on the profound meaning of each word. The police were arresting Dafa disciples, so they would face destruction in the future! I imagined scenes of countless police officers suffering in agony on their path of destruction. They had been deeply poisoned by lies and had lost their way due to the temptations of fame and fortune. It was truly pitiable! My compassion arose, and I couldn’t help crying.
During the interrogation, I refused to cooperate and either stayed silent or talked to them about Falun Dafa. None of the officers mistreated me. When there was only one police officer in the room, he would either listen quietly or ask me questions about things he didn’t understand. One officer even kindly told me that there were cameras in the room. I was glad that they were willing to hear the truth and have good thoughts, which would lay the foundation for a better future.
At about 8 o’clock in the evening, a police officer from the city public security bureau arrived. He seemed like a leader and initially spoke in an unfriendly manner. He said he had come specifically to see me and that they were considering taking me to a detention center. I firmly denied this in my mind and thought, “What you say doesn’t count. Only what Master says counts! I only follow the path arranged by Master, and I reject all other arrangements!”
Then I thought that I shouldn’t let sentient beings commit crimes against Dafa, so I began to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa to him. His tone softened, and he asked me some questions. In the end, he said he enjoyed talking to me and liked hearing what I had to say. Then he left, and I realized that another life had laid a foundation for a better future.
Shortly after the police officer from the city public security bureau left, I was moved from the interrogation room to the duty room, where there were many officers. They told me that if I wrote the guarantee statements to renounce Dafa, they would release me. If I didn’t, they would take me away. I steadfastly refused to cooperate, maintaining my faith in Master and Dafa while negating everything that was not arranged by Master. I continued clarifying the truth to them.
They showed me a list of things they’d confiscated from my home and said that if I signed it, they would let me go. If not, they would take me away. The situation seemed very tense at that moment. I could see that the list only had details of the confiscated items and didn’t have any disrespectful remarks about Master or the Fa. A human thought came into my mind: “I know I shouldn’t comply with any of their orders or instructions, but if I sign the list, I can go home...” My thoughts started to deviate from the Fa, and my conviction wavered during this intense battle in my mind.
Realizing that my state of mind was wrong, I quickly looked inside to correct myself. I discovered my attachment to self and a strong desire to go home. Holding onto this desire to go home was the same as acknowledging the persecution by the old forces! I could cultivate in Dafa and help Master save sentient beings wherever I was.
As my thoughts returned to the righteous path, Master gave me a hint that reminded me that my husband (who is also a practitioner) and I had been arrested at the same time. If I were to sign the list and go home, the police might use the list as evidence against him, which would have brought harm to him as well as the officers! This realization sent shivers down my spine and made me even more determined to cultivate diligently. My every thought, every word, and every action must conform to the Fa. I should not sign the list, even if it meant I would end up in jail. At the same time, however, I believed that I would not go to jail because I was resolutely following the path arranged by Master—a righteous path free of any persecution.
When I truly enlightened to the Fa principles and solidified my understanding, it was just as Master taught us,
“When you are overcoming a real hardship or tribulation, you try it. When it is difficult to endure, try to endure it. When it looks impossible and is said to be impossible, give it a try and see if it is possible. If you can actually do it, you will indeed find, “After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!”” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
I returned home that night without cooperating with the police. I am grateful for Master's compassionate protection, for waking me up at a crucial moment, and for helping me gain a deeper understanding of the Fa principles.
I was told later that, before the police officer from the city public security bureau left that night, he had already decided to let me go. It was my own selfishness that kept me in the police station for another three hours.
Nothing happens to us by chance. Dafa disciples, let’s seize every opportunity to cultivate more diligently and elevate ourselves!