Walking the Path Righteously Amidst Tribulations

In September 2008, the Yunnan Women's Forced Labor Camp released me after persecuting me for three yeas and two months. As soon as I got home, the resident police officer showed up and demanded that I write a repentance statement. I told him that I hadn't written a single word even when I was forced to move three tons of cargo every day in the forced labour camp; when I was stripped of my clothes, beaten and kicked; when I was deprived of sleep; when my hand was injured by electric machines; and when I was forced to share a cell with AIDS and tuberculosis patients. What makes a being as indestructible as diamond in such a dangerous and evil environment? It is the Truth, the Truth of the cosmos. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is the Fa, the great Buddha Law.

After hearing what I said, he retreated. He wrote a half-page and told me to sign it. I said that I would not. He got angry and threw the pen and paper into the drawer, "If you are not 'transformed,' you will be fired." I said, "Even if I'm fired, I won't write anything."
By studying the Fa I see my attachments. During the last few years of resisting the persecution, subconsciously, I had hatred for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). "I have no objection if you fire me." Are we asking to be persecuted? Do we like to be fired? Persecution is a reflection of our attachments. Master said,

"As I've said, everything that happens today in the ordinary society is the result of Dafa disciples' thoughts. Even though the old forces do exist, if you don't have those thoughts they can't do anything." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A")

What is the purpose of resisting the persecution? It is to safeguard the Fa and save sentient beings. It is absolutely not to willingly accept persecution. Letting go of self interest is not the same as to hoping to get fired. When we expose the CCP's crimes and resist, we should not be attached to emotions.

Through studying the Fa, I see my extreme behaviour and attachments. So how do we walk righteously? How do we blaze a cultivation environment for Dafa practitioners? Do I choose to leave the company where I was arrested? Leave the messy house that had been ransacked? Leave the damaged material production site and the place where I was beaten? Or stay?

Studying the Fa, I rectified my extreme thoughts and eliminated the heavy burdens of emotions. When I again look at the people who ransacked my home, who monitored me, who persecuted me, I truly have compassion for them. People are in a maze, they are truly pitiful. More importantly, I feel that it is our responsibility to fulfil our prehistoric vows, to save sentient beings. Resisting persecution is not our goal. I want to blaze a most righteous path. I will go back to my job and cultivate in everyday life and work, validate the Fa, and save sentient beings in everyday life and work. Master said,

"In ordinary society, other than doing what Dafa disciples should do, there isn't any difference in form [from ordinary people], on the surface it looks the same as ordinary society, only you're a cultivator. That's how it should be. What you're doing today is establishing things for the future, and that's how this path should go. This is the most upright path and what cultivators of the future will follow, so you can't behave in an extreme way at all or go to any extremes, as that would create unnecessary obstacles and trouble for yourselves." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference")

Many practitioners have been fired--I am so stubborn, would they want to keep me? I am a disciple of Master: I don't want, nor do I acknowledge, any other arrangements. I will look within and eliminate each and every attachment. I will study the Fa and send forth righteous thoughts. I want to go back to work. I was put in prison twice because I went to extremes. It is very important for a Dafa practitioner to walk his or her path righteously. There is no "free ride" in cultivation.

After a few days, I met with the head of the company where I worked and told him about how I had been persecuted during the last few years. I also clarified the truth to him. I was assertive, calm, and righteous. I knew what to say and how to say it, and the outcome was exactly what I had hoped for. In the end it was arranged for me to return to work. I knew Master was empowering me.

When I returned to work, I found out that I was actually under surveillance. The head of the company was afraid of my giving them trouble by staying at home, so I have a position but nothing to do. I then asked for things to do, such as mopping the floor, wiping the desks, and transcribing cards. Master said in Zhuan Falun,

"...coming to work early and going home late. They work very diligently and will do any assignment the boss gives. They also no longer compete for personal gain."

New Year's was fast approaching, and I hadn't been paid for several months. I decided that I should go ask for my salary. Dafa practitioners are being persecuted and put in prison, and I wasn't being paid for working. From the perspective of compassion, my boss was in a maze. Shouldn't I remind him that this was a kind of financial persecution?

I waited until after New Year's Day to ask for my pay. I asked the company head whether he had had a good New Year's celebration. I also said that, while most families were celebrating the New Year, I didn't buy anything. When he asked me why, I said that, although I had worked for several months, I was still living off my mother, who was in her 70s, because I didn't have any money to buy anything. He asked the finance manager to come over and spoke to him. After a few days, I was given a new bank card. My pay for the previous months had all been deposited, totalling more than ten thousand yuan.
After I returned to work from the labour camp, I maintained a good mindset and helped my colleagues selflessly. I dressed neatly and I looked young and healthy. My colleagues noticed and approved of these attributes. Master told us to be "full of great aspirations while minding minor details " ("Sage" in Essentials for Further Advancement). If I were an everyday person, I would not pay as much attention to the dress code, etc. However, Dafa disciples have responsibilities, and a neglected tiny detail might cause damage to Dafa.

Just after I returned to work, those who had been involved in ransacking my home and monitoring or persecuting me, often ran into me. Under the righteous field of Dafa, they gradually changed and would come up to talk to me in a caring manner. Master said that "one cannot achieve Consummation if one doesn't love one's enemy." ("Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Canada") I have changed those "enemies" into friends and supporters of Dafa.

Some have said that it is difficult to offer people salvation and that it's more difficult to enable people obtain the Fa and diligently cultivate. My understanding is that if we harmonize Master's choices and oppose the old force's arrangements according to the Fa principles, we can indeed create a harmonious environment for validating Dafa. Now my office mate has became a fellow practitioner, and we study the Fa, send forth righteous thoughts, and share our understanding in the office every day.

During this past April, the bureau administration organized a province-wide academic conference. I was told to submit an article. I used the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to guide my writing. Seeing how I modified my article over and over, a colleague said, "I respect Falun Gong practitioners the most, unlike others who copy and paste from different published articles. I can see that every word of the article came from his own hands and heart." After I finished, I asked my colleagues and supervisor for comments and suggestions. They said that my article contained profound insights, and they recommended that I give an oral presentation at the conference.

Above is my shallow understanding. Please kindly point out any gaps.