Cultivating Under the Persercution in China

I began practicing Falun Gong in November of 1998. At first, I only felt that Dafa (Great Law) was good and that it taught people to be good. Although my understanding of the Fa¹ was not very good at the beginning, I continued to go to group Fa-study and do the Falun Gong exercises every day without interruption. This helped me realize later on that we cultivate "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance," and we should constantly improve our characters. Therefore, I always reminded myself that I was a practitioner; that I should work conscientiously, take hardship as joy, and not compete for fame, self-interest and success, but should instead take them lightly. As a result, I often received compliments from the company officials.

In May of 1999, I was asked to become a team leader. I kindly turned down the position, as my understanding at the time was that I should take fame and success lightly. However, the job was offered to me again and again, until I finally agreed to take the position. I came to an understanding after reading Teacher's article, "Cultivation and Work," that taking the position was a good opportunity for me to cultivate my character. Many of my co-workers are young and they take fame and personal interest very seriously.

When the Chinese Communist regime began its persecution of Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999, the Chinese regime used all the media in China to propagate its hate propaganda against the practice. Everything reported about Falun Gong on television and in the newspapers was lies.

Also, the practice site no longer existed, and practitioners were arrested and their homes searched. As a result, I had to practice at home, and no longer watched TV or read the newspaper. At that time, my understanding of the Fa was not very clear - I only felt that Dafa and "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" were very good - but I knew that I did not want to give up the practice.

My workplace later sent out a notice that they were going to confiscate Falun Gong books. I did not know what to do and asked fellow practitioners for their advice. They suggested that I hand in one book to cope with the situation. I eventually handed in one Falun Gong book after the cadres at my workplace constantly looked for me. Because I was poisoned by the evil party's education, and out of fear, I also declared that I would stop practicing Falun Gong. I thought I was "pretty slick" in openly declaring I would stop practicing because in my heart, I was going to continue to practice. However, after I deepened my understanding of the Fa, I came to understand that what I did was wrong. I then made a public declaration on a Falun Dafa website stating that what I said in my former statement was null and void.

Under Teacher's² merciful guidance, I met fellow practitioners who had a clear understanding of the Fa. From sharing our understandings with each other, it helped me realize that we did nothing wrong by being good people who follow "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance." With this realization, I went to tell the party officials at my workplace how Teacher only teaches practitioners how to become better people and how I obtained physical and mental health after practicing Falun Gong. I also shared with them how and in what ways Dafa made me a better person. After listening to what I said, they all agreed with me. Afterwards, I paid more attention to my words and actions, often reminding myself that I am a Dafa practitioner, and therefore I should truly help people feel the beauty of Dafa.

In 2000, my fellow practitioners and I began to do the Falun Gong exercises outdoors. When a party official found out about it, he called me to the office and said, "We care about you. You must think about your family, your children and your work. Don't practice any more." I was not moved by his words and remained steadfast in Falun Gong. As a result, he threatened that if I continued to practice, I would lose my job as a team leader. I replied, "I will practice Dafa to the end, no matter what happens, with no complaints or regrets." I also told him that I did not deserve to be arrested and detained for being a good person, that Dafa teaches people only to be good, to cultivate their hearts, consider others first, not to seek fame and self-interest, and to take hardship as joy. I requested that the official choose another team leader, and expressed that I would continue to do my work well as usual. A few days later, the party official told me that only I was capable of being the team leader.

I realized that I was only able to keep my job and was not reported to the police by my workplace because of Teacher's mercy and Dafa's magnificence. From this experience, I then required myself to always meet the standard of a practitioner and I earnestly studied the Fa, did the exercises and clarified the truth, to let people with a predestined relationship experience Dafa's wonderfulness.

I often explained the truth to my team members. Sometimes I would read Zhuan Falun, materials that expose the persecution for what it is or Teacher's articles to them, and they would all listen. They felt the greatness of Dafa. Once, the workshop official discovered truth-clarification materials in the workshop, and secretly asked the workers if I put the materials in their drawers. The workers said, "No," and asked the official, "Do you have some materials? Give us some to read." Since then, the party official no longer asked about it. I was happy for the workers' righteous thoughts.

I also tried to set an example for others in my team. I always acted the same way as I thought. I am in the maintenance team and I took the lead in doing the heavy and dirty work. I tried to be caring and understanding of each person's situation and help them to be technically proficient and helpful to others. In 2000, the workshop conducted an assessment. I took the initiative to look for everyone's review materials, and used my own money to make photocopies for each person. I was fair and strict on the distribution of the bonuses; I never took a cent more than others. This made them truly feel Dafa practitioners' unselfishness and kindness. Our team members received a good result in the assessment, and the party officials praised them.

At the end of 2000, the company laid off some employees and they had to wait at home for work. Someone, who did not know the truth of Falun Gong, reported to the company security section that a Falun Gong practitioner in our workshop was still working. The security section then called the workshop official. The workshop official told them, "My Falun Gong practitioner is different; he works very well." The security personnel did not know what to say.

In 2001, after the CCP fabricated the Tiananmen self-immolation incident, the security section notified every work unit to report on Falun Gong practitioners. The workshop official did not report my name, but instead protected me, a Dafa practitioner, and thus built a good foundation for his future.

In 2002, I was promoted to an advanced producer in a sub-factory. I know all of this comes from Dafa and Teacher's mercy. It also gave me an opportunity to do more Fa-rectification work, and made me understand the deeper meaning of Teacher's words,

"Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master." "A practitioner believes he should only focus on practicing, without paying attention to obtaining gong." (Zhuan Falun)

When we steadfastly believe in Teacher and Dafa, continually improve our xinxing, and do the three things well, our environment will be perfectly harmonized.

If there are any mistakes due to my limited understanding, please correct me.

Note:

1. Fa: Law or principle; the teachings in Falun Gong.
2. Master/Teacher: Respectfully referring to the founder of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi.