(Minghui.org) Laozi, an ancient sage in China, wrote in the Tao Te Ching, “The net of the heavenly law is omnipresent and catches all who commit bad deeds.”
Laozi’s idea of the long arm of the heavenly law summarized ancient people’s understanding of moral principles. From kings to ordinary citizens, there was a general belief that good was rewarded with good, and evil incurred evil. In Shang Shu (Book of Documents), one of the classics compiled by Confucius, it says, “Good deeds bring blessings, and bad deeds result in consequences.”
But after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seized power in 1949, it targeted these traditional beliefs and indoctrinated people with atheism and communist ideology. For example, the CCP instigated class struggle and pitted one group against another. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), coworkers, neighbors, and even family members turned against each other in an attempt to show their loyalty to the CCP, resulting in many tragedies.
Such tragedies have continued during the persecution of Falun Gong, a meditation system based on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Mr. Liu Dongxue was a technical expert at the Mancheng County Cotton Mill in Hebei Province. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer but fully recovered after he took up the practice of Falun Gong. Because of his belief, however, he was held in the Mancheng Detention Center, where guards beat him, allowed snakes to bite him, and forced him to eat human waste. His weight soon dropped from 70 kilograms (154 pounds) to less than 35 kilograms (77 pounds). Even though he was nearly dead, the authorities sent him to Tangshan Prison. The relentless torture took his life in May 2001.
Jing Hongchi, director of Hancun Police Station, was involved in the persecution of many practitioners, including Mr. Liu, including their arrests, detentions, and forced labor camp terms. When practitioners urged him to stop doing bad deeds, Jing dismissed them. “Retribution? I don’t believe it. If there is retribution, why I haven’t seen it?!” he said. In July 2005, Jing died in a car accident at age 36.
Li Lixin, political head at Luolun County Second Police Station in Inner Mongolia, often monitored, harassed, and arrested Falun Gong practitioners. He also interrogated practitioners to try to fabricate evidence to frame them.
Several years ago, Li borrowed about two million yuan on behalf of his relatives. But they were scammed when they used the loan to do something and ended up unable to pay it back. Li apologized to a Falun Gong practitioner, saying, “Life is so miserable that I would rather die. I know this is retribution.”
Across cultures, people believe in the cause-and-effect relationship. The nationwide, systematic suppression of Falun Gong in China has brought enormous harm to tens of millions of practitioners and their families. The detention and torture of practitioners, carried out by perpetrators like Jing and Li, has caused endless physical and mental suffering for innocent practitioners.
There is the saying “What goes around comes around.” We hope more people can learn from these lessons and heed their conscience instead of blindly following the CCP to do wrong.