How I Awakened to the Truth

My two neighbors are Falun Gong practitioners. Since the first day Falun Gong was banned in 1999, police continuously harassed them for not renouncing the practice. One went to Beijing to appeal for a stop to the barbaric persecution, he was subsequently arrested and detained for a month. He was released only after the police had extorted 10,000 yuan from his workplace and 5,000 yuan from his family.

When he returned, his body was deformed from the inhuman torture he suffered. Seeing him in such a state I asked him, "Why did they arrest you?" He replied calmly, "It is because Falun Dafa is so wonderful. It has cured all the illnesses for which I had been seeking treatment for a long time. I just want to tell the Communist Party this very fact and the truth, that 'Falun Dafa is good!'"

Over the past few years I saw staff from the Gestapo like 610 Office and the police harass him on New Year's Day and during other festivals, just because he was steadfast in his belief. Within six months his home was ransacked three times. The depraved officials pillaged through the entire home, but found nothing suspicious.

My other neighbors are a married couple of over 60 years. The elderly lady was slim and trim. Because she practiced Falun Gong, I have not seen her suffer from fevers, colds or any other illness. She was very kind to everyone. One day she handed out some materials to help people learn the truth about Falun Gong. She was arrested and sentenced to three years of forced labor. Her husband was summoned to the police station and found that police had cruelly beaten her. The officials wanted him to tell them where the materials exposing the lies and fabrications involved in persecuting Falun Gong came from. To protect fellow practitioners he did not say a word. They tortured him until he was close to death. To avoid being responsible for his death the police took him back home. Upon returning home, there was no one to take care of him. He could not get up and take care of himself because of the severe beatings. Therefore, he died not long after his release. I witnessed a happy family torn apart.

During the past few years, due to fear of the unbridled persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, people who did not know the truth about Falun Gong dared not speak to my two neighbors. They were afraid of being implicated, so they also fell victim to the wicked CCP. However, I knew my neighbors were kind hearted people, so I became their friend.

Later, we read some fliers explaining the truth surrounding the persecution that were distributed throughout our area. Gradually we understood that the Tiananmen Square self-immolation was orchestrated by the CCP to frame Falun Dafa. The CCP fabricated such lies in order to deceive the Chinese people. We also learned that Falun Dafa has been spread to over 80 countries and is well received by people around the world. However, in China many practitioners were arrested, badly beaten, sentenced to prison terms and worst still -- murdered. However, the worst of all is that the CCP has harvested organs from living practitioners and sold them for a high profit in the local and international market.

Falun Gong has been persecuted very severely. Then who gave practitioners money to produce these materials so that we can know the facts? Who supports them? Out of curiosity, I often went to one of my neighbor's home to find the answers. At the beginning he did not tell me. Later, when he found that I was not a bad guy, he said that practitioners paid for the materials from their savings and earnings. He said they just did what they should do. He also said that overseas practitioners had done a lot better. When I asked about it further, he told me that they save money from their small income to print the materials. He told me several stories. There were two sisters who practiced Falun Gong. When the Chinese Communist regime began persecuting Falun Gong they sold their house and used all the money from the sale to clarify the truth. There was a young practitioner named Chunchun who was only nine years old. During the Chinese New Year his grandparents gave him 100 yuan and his mother gave him 20 yuan. He gave all 120 yuan to the truth-clarification materials processing site. An older couple previously spent a lot of money on medicine. Since they are now very healthy and no longer need to take any medicine, they used all the money to let more people learn the facts.

My neighbor also said relatively speaking, he had a bit more money than other practitioners, though he still saved every penny whenever possible. All these years he did not buy himself new clothes and he tried to spend as little as possible on food. Though he was a lot thinner now, he was in very high spirits. One day in order to save 10 yuan he walked a long distance instead of taking public transportation when returning home. He had a blister on his foot, but he did not care.

The practitioners always help each other. When my other neighbor, the older lady who was detained at a forced labor camp for three years, returned home, she had no source of income because her husband had died. The local practitioners gave her 500 yuan for living expenses. She did not want to accept the money. Since the practitioners did not take the money back, she spent all of it for producing truth-clarification materials. She lived on vegetable leaves discarded at the vegetable market. She said that her suffering was nothing compared to all the troubles Teacher had suffered for sentient beings over the recent years.

The evil party has persecuted Falun Gong for seven years. Yet, materials exposing their crimes can be found everywhere. Since I had more questions, I again approached my neighbor. I asked him why practitioners would use their money, without being asked, for printing such materials, especially since they are not well off? Why don't practitioners just practice at home? This would be a lot safer and also saves a lot of money. He told me that this thought would not work in practice. "We are living today not only for ourselves but also for others. Teacher asked us to be benevolent and tell people the facts before disaster descends so that we can save them. Especially now, we clarify the truth and promote the "three withdrawals" (quiting the CCP, the Youth League and the Young Pioneers) so that the people can have the opportunity to choose a glorious future.

I also asked him, "Aren't you worried, especially since the persecution is so severe?" He replied, "There is nothing to be scared of since what we are doing is the most sacred and most righteous. What we are doing are the things that the evil is scared of the most. They are afraid of justice, afraid of the truth and afraid of the spread of Falun Dafa far and wide. Therefore, they are persecuting practitioners out of their selfish interest."

That's right. When practitioners are cruelly tortured they still think of others and follow Teacher to save sentient beings. Though the practitioners are not well off they still use the little money they have for clarifying the truth. The corrupt Communist officials have a lot of money, but spend all on their personal enjoyment. What a sharp contrast! All these facts helped me understand that the practitioners in China are like lotus flowers, rising out of the mud, untainted.

I was fortunate enough to get to know them well. Now I also read the book Zhuan Falun. I must find what I need most in my life.