(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. I attended daily group exercises and Fa-study sessions with fellow practitioners and also visited the countryside to spread Dafa. Those days, life was fulfilling and full of joy.
However, the good times didn’t last long, as the former communist regime head Jiang Zemin launched the persecution of Falun Dafa in 1999. I had just gotten married and moved to my husband’s city at that time. There were no Dafa disciples nearby, and I stopped practicing Dafa for nearly five years. Master did not give up on me and arranged for fellow practitioners to pull me back on track.
My husband and mother-in-law strongly opposed my resuming the practice of Falun Dafa because they believed the lies perpetuated by the Chinese Communist Party. They hid my Dafa books, burnt Master’s portrait, and said disrespectful things about Dafa.
My husband was very bad-tempered, and he would verbally abuse me and break things when he was upset. I was tolerant of him and his mother, as I understood that they did not know the truth. My mother-in-law was gradually moved by my kindness and was no longer opposed to my practicing Dafa. She said to her daughter, “Your sister-in-law is a very good person. She can practice Dafa if she wants to, as she does not do anything bad.”
My sister-in-law is very kind. She was never against me in practicing Dafa, and we have always gotten along well. Because she and her husband had no money to buy an apartment of their own, they lived with us after getting married. After our home was demolished by the government as part of its urban development initiatives, we purchased a low-cost home for them with the compensation money we received from the government. They were very grateful.
After the Chinese Communist Party seized power in 1949, it systematically destroyed traditional Chinese culture and its moral codes. As a result, extra-marital affairs are prevalent. My husband also had an affair and got his mistress pregnant. They were determined to stay together. Although my mother-in-law and sister-in-law strongly opposed it, my husband still insisted to file a divorce.
During the entire process, I did not swear at my husband or his mistress. I always remembered that I am a practitioner who lives by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.
I was given custody of our son, who was 10 at the time, after my husband divorced me. My ex-mother-in-law and ex-sister-in-law told my son a lot of bad things about his dad, which made him hate his dad. I always advised him, “Your dad will always be your dad, no matter what. He will always love you. What your dad and I do is between the two of us and has nothing to do with you.”
I also told my ex-mother-in-law and ex-sister-in-law not to sow the seeds of hatred in my son’s heart, but to help him to live a bright and upright life. “I have no problem with you making up with my ex-husband, and I hope you all have a good life!” I said to them. My ex-sister-in-law was moved and said, “Sister-in-law, you are so broad-minded!” I said, “If I didn’t study Dafa, I wouldn't have been able to do it.”
Now my ex-sister-in-law has made up with her brother and his new wife, and my son and his father get along very well, too. My ex-sister-in-law and I are also good friends. She came to me whenever she had a problem and I always advised her with Dafa principles. She said, “Sister-in-law, you always make me feel so much better.”
My son is now a big boy who is very kind and often helps his classmates when they have difficulties. One day he said to me, “Mom, I don’t feel anything less when I don’t have my dad at home. I’m still very happy! It’s just that you’re suffering!” I was very relieved to hear that. It is true that many children learn bad stuff after their parents get divorced. My son is lucky.
After I started practicing again, fellow practitioners helped me find a local Fa study group where practitioners were all very diligent and raised awareness about the persecution in their own ways. I had drifted away from Dafa for too long and saw a big gap between me and them. I realized that I had to read more Dafa books, clarify the facts and keep up with the progress of Fa-rectification.
As a full-time working mom, I had to use my time off to do some truth-clarification work. In the past few years, I made phone calls, distributed materials, and also persuaded people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I have also established a small informational materials site, providing materials for myself and fellow practitioners.
Over the years, I have fallen behind in studying the Fa and cultivating my heart because I was busy doing things. Hence, I developed many attachments such as overachieving, showing off, zealotry, jealousy, etc. Consequently, I was arrested, detained, and my home was raided five times. I managed to come out safely under the protection of Master.
In recent years, with Master’s help, I found a very easy job and had more time to study the Fa and do the three things well. As I studied the Fa more, my compassion grew and I was able to think of others. Though I was persecuted many times over the years, I no longer resented the police and people who detained/framed me, for they are the victims of the persecution too. Deceived by the lies of the CCP, they were used as a tool of the Party to commit crimes and have consequentially accumulated a lot of karma themselves.
In 2020, after the outbreak of the pandemic, I felt the urgency to clarify the facts to people. But because I didn’t pay attention to safety and did things with attachments, I was reported by someone when distributing materials and was arrested. I had clarified the facts to officer Chen before, and many Dafa disciples had also told him the facts of Falun Dafa, but he still participated in the arrests of local practitioners.
They put me in a small cell and took my house key from me. They confiscated my computer, printer, supplies, a picture of Master (Falun Dafa’s founder), Dafa books, and a speaker when no one was home. I sent righteous thoughts in the cell and reflected on what I had not done well that caused this arrest.
Just then, I heard two policemen talking outside, and one of them said that I would be detained. When I heard this, I was shocked and thought to myself, “How did I end up like this?”
But then I thought, “No, I have to deny this thought. I am a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple who has a mission to assist Master with Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings. My mission has not yet been completed, but whatever I have not done well will be rectified in Dafa. Prison and detention centers are not where I should be. I must go home today. I have been repeatedly persecuted over the years, which has had a negative impact on a lot of the sentient beings to be saved. I won't be persecuted again or let the prosecutors and others commit crimes against Dafa.” I kept sending righteous thoughts for hours.
At 7:00 p.m., a police officer called me to the interrogation room. A guard was there to take notes. He asked me about Dafa, and I clarified the facts to him. Then officer Chen came into the room. “We have video footage of you going to a certain neighborhood to distribute Falun Dafa materials: where you went and what you gave out, what you wore, and which buildings you went to were all recorded. You must explain,” he said. I thought to myself, “I cannot cooperate with you, as that will only harm you.” I started to send righteous thoughts in my heart.
Chen then said, “Don’t you Falun Dafa people follow Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance? You must tell the truth.”
I said, “Falun Dafa is completely legal in China. It is not among the 14 cults listed by the Ministry of Public Security. The Chinese Publication Administration has also repealed the ban on Falun Dafa publications.”
I also reminded him of the new civil service law and one's lifetime responsibility for handling wrongful cases. He said a little impatiently, “Don’t talk about that. It's my job.”
I knew many Dafa disciples had told him about this many times, and he seemed to be tired of hearing it. So I stopped talking and begged in my heart for Master to save him.
Less than a minute later, he said, “Are you begging your Master to save you?” As soon as I heard that, I guessed he might have felt Master’s compassion. Tears rolled down my face and I said to him, “My not cultivating well caused you guys to incur karma. I’m truly sorry. My Master said, ‘Dafa disciples are suffering, But who is ruined are sentient beings.’ (“Every Life Time Was for This Life,” Hong Yin III)” All of a sudden he had nothing to say. He probably felt the kindness of Dafa disciples.
I told Chen about several stories published on Minghui.org of police officers who incurred retribution after persecuting Dafa disciples. But there were also stories of police making the right choice after understanding the truth. I also told him that when the order from above and the morality of conscience are in conflict, one should choose conscience. He kept listening and did not interrupt me.
After I said what I had to say, I told him that I had to go home. He said, “Go home? No way.”
I said, “If you don't let me go home, where do you want me to go? If you persecute me, the case will be on your profile.” He said that he was not the decision-maker. I said, “You’re in charge of this case.” He walked back and forth in the interrogation room and I could see that he was conflicted, battling between good and evil.
At that time, the officer who was taking notes printed out the statement, and Chen asked me to sign it. I said, “No, I won’t sign it. But I will take a look at what’s written.” I noticed that not a single word he wrote was against me and the main points I said were all included. So I handed the piece of paper back to Chen, and he took it and went out. I told myself, “It is Master who decides whether I will stay or leave.”
After a few minutes, Chen came in with the director of the police station with a smile on his face. The director told me to sign the paper and then I could go home, I said, “I cannot sign the paper. If I signed it, it would become the evidence of you persecuting Falun Dafa.” They didn’t force me to sign. Thus, with Master’s protection, I returned home safely. I was glad that Chen and the director made the right choice.
I sincerely hope that they will do more within their power to protect Dafa disciples in the future, as it is also to protect themselves and choose a better future for themselves and their families. I also hope that more people in law enforcement, procuratorates, and courts, as well as the people in the world, will soon understand the truth about Dafa, quit the CCP, and choose a better future.
The above are my limited understandings. If there is anything improper, please kindly point it out.