PureInsight | February 7, 2005
[PureInsight.org] [Editor's note: Since August 2004, Falun Gong practitioners from around the world keep coming to the world's financial, cultural, and arts center – Manhattan - to tell the people living in New York and tourists from every corner of the world about the brutal persecution against Falun Gong in China, and to call for people's help to end the persecution together. Falun Gong practitioners from around world can be seen on many streets of Manhattan. Some carry Falun Gong's truth-clarification materials; some hold up posters that tell the truth of Falun Gong; some introduce Falun Gong to people and tell them about Jiang Zemin's genocide of and crimes against humanities against Falun Gong practitioners in China. In this series, we will publish the interviews with Falun Gong practitioners from around the world who come to Manhattan to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. By doing so, we will also be recording Falun Gong practitioners' cultivation experiences, their understandings of cultivation practice, and their touching stories that occurred in Manhattan.]
I came to Manhattan on September 15, 2004. I planned to stay here until the end of the year. I volunteered to act as a tortured Falun Gong practitioner at the torture exhibit by sitting in this small cage because I would like all the passers-by to learn that countless Falun Gong practitioners in China are suffering from this type of torture, and/or even more painful and appalling types of torture. During the torture demonstration, my arms felt terribly sore from being handcuffed to the bars above my head. In fact, my whole body felt painful from sitting in the small cage for hours. All the joints of my body felt sore. My legs felt especially numb and painful. But all the pain and discomfort went away since I started to send forth righteous thoughts. At first, my face felt itchy and developed rashes after I put on the makeup for the torture exhibit. Several fellow Falun Gong practitioners who volunteered to act at the torture exhibit also had allergic reactions to the makeup. Since we started to send forth righteous thoughts, we no longer have any allergic reactions to the makeup.
Some passers-by saw our torture exhibit and cried sympathetic tears. Some Chinese people did not identify with our cause and accused us of subversion of the Chinese Communist government. Some of them had even shouted bad words at us. Some Chinese people said we should never reveal the Chinese Communist government's wrongdoings to the outside world and said we were smearing the good image of the Chinese Communist government. I could not respond to their comments or misunderstandings while I was sitting in the cage. I felt very sad and was anxious to explain our cause to them. We are by no means trying to subvert the Chinese Communist regime. We are opposed to Jiang Zemin's persecution against Falun Gong practitioners.
I had many miraculous experiences when I sent forth righteous thoughts in the cage. One time the New York police came to our torture exhibit and told us that we shouldn't do this or that. The incident inspired me to reflect up the climbing crime rates in today's society. I thought, "The police may be able to deter people's criminal conduct but they are not capable of improving their morality. Only Dafa can change people's hearts." In the next second, I felt as if the cage and I both levitated in the air. I know many fellow Falun Gong practitioners had miraculous experiences in Manhattan as well when they had strong forth righteous thoughts. I now feel quite comfortable even after sitting for hours in the small cage while being handcuffed to the upper bars. My body has stopped aching and I don't feel tired at the end of day any more. It is becoming increasingly cold each day. Sometimes when I did not dress warmly enough, I would feel cold and shiver all day. But I always feel warm when I start to send forth righteous thoughts. We are in dire demand of practitioners helping with the torture exhibit, so everyone pitches in and take turns acting as torture victims at the torture exhibit. All of us feel fine. I have developed a routine of sending forth righteous thoughts as soon as I enter the small cage. I feel it is imperative to send forth righteous thoughts at the beginning of each torture exhibit. I will cleanse my own dimension first and then other dimensions. After sending forth righteous thoughts, I am capable of sitting in the small cage for hours without feeling tired or painful.
I started to practice Falun Gong in 1998. That year my younger brother (my foster mother's son) was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He thought he was going to die and would not have much time left for cultivation practice, so he asked a friend to bring Falun Gong's books to me in Japan so that I could start the cultivation practice. At first, I was not very diligent in studying Falun Gong's books because I worked long hours at our restaurant. I would read several pages a day at most and sometimes I went on many days without touching the books at all. It all changed in 2000. That year a tribulation hit my family and me in a big way. I started to put things into perspective and truly started my cultivation practice in Falun Gong that year. Prior to my cultivation practice, I suffered from arthritis and tonsillitis. I also had problem with bad memory. These problems have disappeared since I started to practice Falun Gong. I am now perfectly healthy. I can walk miles a day without feeling tired at all.
Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2004/10/27/29698.html
