Maintaining a Peaceful Mind in the Midst of Tribulation

I would like to share the following understanding gained from my recent experiences: Let your mind be filled with Dafa. Teacher will protect you all the time. Be calm and peaceful when you encounter difficulties.

1. Clarifying the facts with wisdom while facing illegal arrest

At about 7:00 a.m. on June 4, 2008, when I went out shopping, I was stopped by three surveillance people assigned by the local police station. I saw that the situation was serious and headed home. One of them followed me to the front of the building and I began to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa to him. While talking, I turned around and saw two police cars approaching me. I quickly ran into my home and locked the door on the ground floor.

While walking upstairs, Teacher's words came to me: "'As soon as you evil beings come near, I'll grab you and I'll let the world's people know' -- that's the perfect time to expose them."("Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference")

I went directly to the balcony, opened the window, and shouted, "The police came to arrest a nice person. I practice Falun Gong and try to be a good and even better person. Is there anything wrong with being a good person? Please go back to the police station." They looked up at me. It just so happened that at that time a lot of my neighbours were doing things downstairs and there were many witnesses. The police drove off.

2. Support from my family

The second day the police called my daughter-in-law and told my family members to go to the police station. My husband went. After he came back, he told me, "The police want to send you to a labour camp for a year and are asking that you go to the police station for a medical examination. You might not have to go if your physical situation doesn't meet the requirements. They also said if you do not go, they will force open the door with a bar and also turn off the water and electricity to our home. They warned you not try to escape because their people are everywhere." My husband also told me that they were very rude to him, telling him that he was harbouring a fugitive by providing me with food and lodging at home. My husband said to them, "She is my wife. Where is she supposed to live if she doesn't live in our home. Is she a fugitive? We don't know. What we do know is that she is a good person that conducts herself according to the principle of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance. You may investigate to find out what kind of person she is."

My family members said to me, "To leave home or not, you make your own decision. Think carefully about where to go. If you decide to go by train, we'll go to buy a ticket for you. If you decide to go by bus, we'll drive you to the bus stop." I said, "I'm grateful for all you have done for me and sorry for all the suffering you have endured these years [due to the persecution]. From a cultivation point of view, you are helping a Dafa disciple. I'll go nowhere. You go reason with them, but do remember: Do not write or promise anything to the police behind my back." They said, "Please rest assured, we are also beneficiaries of Dafa. We would never write or promise anything to the authorities." I said, "Then let's work together to do a good job and thank Dafa for the salvation it offered us."

Facing tribulation, I chose not to leave, based on my understanding of the Fa. This thought was as solid as a rock.

The police station repeatedly said that they needed to see me, they must see me, they had to see me. So I wrote the director of the police station a long letter titled, "Hold the bottom line of conscience. Stop persecuting good people" .

My husband himself delivered the letter to the director. The director said to him, "If she doesn't want to come here to have the medical exam, you can go to the hospital of your choice. Just remember to give me this medical result document." Hearing that, my husband felt a little bit relieved: finally it seemed there was a way out. I said to him, "Don't be deceived. It will be too late when you realize you've been tricked." He suddenly walked up right in front of me, pointed to my forehead, and said, "You cannot have a stain, can you?" I said, "I must behave according to the requirements of the Fa. I'll never do anything to
cooperate with the evil forces." I saw cruelty in his eyes and sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate all the evil elements behind him. I also looked inward and found out that I had failed to negate the old forces completely.

The next morning my husband said to me, "You are right. We didn't do anything wrong. Why should we jump into their trap. I know how to write them a letter. They are doing things illegally even as they say they are implementing the law. Once the letter is done, I'll personally take it to the police station."

When my husband was at the police station, fellow practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts for him. He said to the director, "Director, we are in the same police station, and I do not want to make it a big deal. I'll show you a copy of my letter, and I'll keep the original manuscript. I absolutely do not agree with your continued persecution of my wife. I am determined to protect her. I'll expose this letter to the media, to the government, and to the whole society."

3. When one practitioner is persecuted, all others coordinate and clarify the facts

When my fellow practitioners learned that I was being persecuted, some of them sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the dark minions and rotten ghosts in other dimensions; some wrote letters to clarify the facts to the police; some exposed the evil persecution on the Clearwisdom website; and some compiled truth-clarification pamphlets. This did not reflect love among us, but responsibility for the Fa and for all the righteous elements in the universe.

4. "We do not have any enemies"

In the three months from the beginning of June 2008 to September, almost every day, someone sent by the police station would come knock on my door to see if I was at home. Faced with this situation, I maintained a compassionate and peaceful mentality. I thought, "I must be compassionate toward this person."

In the evening on July 4 and the morning on July 8, when the director and others knocked on the door, I absolutely resisted the intrusion and did not let them commit a crime against Dafa. I said, "Please leave." I asked them for the name of the person who monitored me and knocked on the door every day. They did not tell me. I said, "Then I'll call you 'young man.'" I began to clarify the facts of Falun Dafa to him, but he said, "Don't tell me this." Although he wouldn't listen, I still told him about the greatness of Dafa and told him, "It is illegal for you to knock on my door every day. You have been interrupting my normal life. I can understand that you yourself do not want to do it either, you only want to keep this job to make a living." He said, "The director said he would not arrest you, but he is afraid that you will go to Beijing [to clarify the truth]. So he asks me to make sure every day that you are at home." My husband said, "I'll sue you if you come again." He said, "Sue me in court, then."

The effect was less than ideal. I thought I would come up with a good solution. At this time, Teacher's new article "Fa Teaching at the 2008 New York Conference" had just been published, which gave me great encouragement and good guidance. I realized that I must look at things in a different way and regard bad things as something good for my cultivation. I wanted to show him the greatness of Dafa and the kindness of a Dafa disciple. Thus, whenever the young man came to knock on the door, I would say from the bottom of the heart:

"Falun Dafa is good
The vast firmament is lit by Fa's light". ("Dafa Is Good" from Hong Yin II)

I continued, "For your precious life, please learn something about Falun Dafa." He laughed and I laughed as well. Later whenever he came to knock on the door, I would say the same thing. Since the beginning of September, he has not come to knock on the door again. I do not regret it, and silently wish him good fortune. I hope he'll learn more about Falun Dafa and hope he'll always be safe.

During this whole process, when the fear mentality surfaced I truly experienced the power of Master's teaching, "Once your thought is righteous, evil will collapse" ("What's There to Fear" from Hong Yin II).
Now I'm more clearminded. I still have a lot of shortcomings and human attachments. I know I have a long way to go on my cultivation path. However, I'm sure I can make it.