(Minghui.org) I’d like to share touching stories of some Falun Dafa practitioners who have remained steadfast during tribulations, and who have let go of the thought of life and death on their paths of cultivation.
A practitioner from out of town was imprisoned for 10 years. We went to pick him up when he was released. Staff from the local 610 Office intended to take him away instead. The practitioner had contracted tuberculosis in prison and frequently spat up blood. The 610 Office would not allow him to have medical parole or serve the sentence outside prison. If the 610 Office took him away, it would be like another arrest. Such cases of repeated persecution are common. We, and the practitioner’s family member, did not agree with the 610 Office staff, so we confronted the staff for a few hours outside the prison before we managed to get the practitioner into our car.
The practitioner is from a remote mountainous area and was one of the few people there to get into college, as he was a top scorer in the college entrance examination. The college offered him a position as an instructor when he graduated in 1999. However, he lost the opportunity because he would not give up practicing Dafa.
He was in his 30s when he was released. The 10-year imprisonment made him hunched and emaciated. Seeing his plight, we decided not have him return to his home in the mountainous village to avoid persecution. But he had no other place to go. I decided to take him to my home.
I did not discuss this issue with my husband beforehand. After getting home, I told my husband, “I am sorry. I brought this fellow practitioner home without discussing the issue with you.” My husband said, “I thought you would bring him home.” I smiled and was touched by his selfless attitude.
We cleaned up a room for the practitioner and bought some daily necessities and clothes for him. He often spat up blood, even while eating meals. The 610 Office was still looking for him, and so he did not go out. We did our best to take care of him and wished he would recover. He stayed with us, did the exercises, and studied the Fa together. He became better after some time.
The practitioner stayed in our home for several days. He then insisted on going home to avoid troubling us. He was steadfast in cultivation after going home. He rented a room and helped other practitioners repair computers and cell phones, and offered them technical assistance. Other practitioners offered him some money to pay rent and to cover living costs, as he worked hard and had poor health. He declined any monetary or other assistance. He made a living by doing odd jobs. He did not recover in the end. He passed out after spitting up blood one day and never woke up. He was 41 years old. He was lying on the bed calmly when I arrived. People were crying about his sudden death.
A practitioner told me one day in 2012 that practitioner Ailai had been released from prison and wished to see me. I agreed. Ailai came to my home and then said, “I wish to stay in your home for a while. Is that OK?” I said it was fine.
Ailai had been imprisoned for four and a half years and had been incarcerated for five years in a forced labor camp before that. He had suffered various forms of torture in prison, including being subjected to electric shocks, brutal beatings, sleep deprivation, and force-feeding. He did not compromise and faced the tribulation bravely. He did not have a place to stay after being released. His sister did not dare to take him in for fear of being implicated. He was made homeless and then came to my city. His wife had been arrested at the same time as him and had been sentenced to three years in prison. She had found a job cleaning a public bathhouse after being released. She lived and worked in the bathhouse.
The practitioner who brought Ailai to me said, “I am sorry. I did not know he would stay in your home. He did not tell me.” I said it was all right because we could not let him become homeless again, and we are one body to assist Master to save sentient beings. I bought some clothes for Ailai and let him stay in my home. We did the exercises and studied the Fa together. He passed this difficult time without worrying about room and board.
Ailai stayed in my home for a little over two months. He recovered and found a job. He later rented an apartment and reunited with his wife. Both of them are steadfast in cultivation. I am proud of them and happy to have been able to help them.
I, like many other practitioners, have also experienced tribulations. I was sent to a forced labor camp in 1999 and was dismissed from my work unit. I suffered torture, including electric shocks, force-feeding, and being handcuffed to a metal chair for more than 10 hours. Two guards handcuffed my arms behind my back, and each of them made one of my arms move up and then forward. I passed out from the pain. They poured cold water on my head to wake me up. I suffered memory loss and could not recall my child and husband.
My husband had to work when I was detained. He often left our child at home alone. Our child often went to sleep without eating because my husband got home so late in the evening. The police had illegally arrested me in front of my teenage child, who must have been traumatized.
A teacher taught the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) history from a textbook that did not match reality when my child was in middle school. He gave his teacher a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. The teacher did not dare read it and instead handed it to the Director of Academic Affairs. It became a big issue in the school. My child suffered a severe emotional blow from this and developed depression, making him unable to attend school.
Facing persecution, we do not retreat. We have no fear or resentment, and we manifest our extraordinary demeanor of sincerity, kindness, and of being steadfast. With great compassion and forbearance, we counter the inhumane persecution in a peaceful, rational, and tolerant way.
We do not forget our mission under any circumstances or in the face of tribulations. We should move forward diligently and fulfill our prehistoric vows on the path of assisting Master in saving sentient beings.