(Minghui.org) I am a veteran practitioner who obtained the Fa in 1996. I went to Beijing in 1999 to appeal to the government to restore the reputation of Falun Gong. I ended up being arrested and sent to a forced labor camp.
What happened to me later started a few years ago. I began to slack off. I did not do the three things well, such as telling people the facts about Dafa and helping people quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. I also could not keep up with doing the exercises.
I was recently preparing the documents to sue former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin when a practitioner asked me to find a veteran practitioner who had been held at the same detention center and forced labor camp as me.
I found her and we had a long conversation. For all these years, she had been very diligent and had kept up with doing the three things. Her righteousness stunned me. I saw the disparity between us and that I needed to be more diligent. I asked her to help me with my mother, who was in her 80s and was suffering from very serious illness karma.
Many of my family members practiced Falun Gong before the persecution, such as my dad, my sister, and my sister-in-law. However, they gave up after the persecution began. I had lost hope that they might return to cultivation.
The veteran practitioner came to my mother's home. She set up a daytime Fa study group at my mother's home for twice a week. My dad began to study the Fa and do the exercises again. He also has sued Jiang Zemin.
After my mom began to participate in the group study, she improved a lot. She is nearly illiterate. When she read the Fa during group study, she made many mistakes. To help her, we studied the Fa nightly in addition to the daytime study sessions. My mother no longer makes as many mistakes as before.
I did not expect my sister and brother-in-law would ever sue Jiang Zemin. The veteran practitioner reminded me that they were also victims of the persecution and had every reason to file a suit as well. So I began to talk to them about filing complaints, and they agreed immediately. I realized I was the one holding them back due to my notions.
A few weeks ago, this veteran practitioner said that she would like me to join her and other practitioners to clarify the facts to people. I told her that I would love to go.
The next weekend I went out with practitioners who were either handing out Falun Gong calendars or collecting signatures on a petition calling for the Chinese government to bring Jiang Zemin to justice.
I did not know what to say to the pedestrians, so I spent more time watching other practitioners. The following weekend I kept thoughts in my mind that Dafa would give me more wisdom, and so would Teacher, and I began to speak up and was no longer afraid of talking to strangers about the facts of Falun Gong. I felt I had found myself again.
I truly appreciate this veteran practitioner for helping me and my family members. I also hope more practitioners will step out to encourage people who used to be practitioners, and help them to return to cultivation.