(Clearwisdom.net) I am a Dafa disciple from Denmark. I feel extremely honored to share my experiences with you today. My gratefulness toward Teacher Li is beyond words. I will share my experiences before and after I started to learn Falun Dafa. Because I am a new practitioner, and my understanding of the Fa is not yet deep, please kindly point out any incorrect things in my sharing.
From a high school student knowing nothing about Falun Dafa, through tribulations of life and death, I started cultivation and became a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period. It was Dafa that gave me a new life.
When I was just 16 years old and in the 8th grade, living in China, an unexpected disaster struck my family. On a Friday afternoon, November 23rd, 2001, both of my parents were abducted by the police because they practiced Falun Gong. I was at school at the time. The police came to my school and inquired about me at the office. The sudden trauma dumbfounded me. Acting on the urging of my classmates, I ran away from school in a panic. From that moment, I, who had been living under the loving care of my parents without a single worry in the world, started a long journey of homelessness filled with loneliness, sorrow and fear.
That night I saw that my whole house had been shattered as if struck by an earthquake. I spent the first sleepless night hiding in a gunnysack in our neighbor's storage shed. With the police looking for me, the kindhearted neighbor sent me on the road to find my uncle, who was a farmer thousands of miles away. Surviving many dangers along the way, I finally managed to reach my uncle's place in the countryside of Fujian Province. Half a year later, one day in May 2002, the police showed up at my uncle's house. Suffering under threats of the police, my uncle could no longer keep me; he sent me into hiding in a warehouse in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province. I spent 13 months in isolation in the deserted warehouse. During this time I was surrounded by nothing but solitude, grief and horror. In the dark nights I often woke up in tears from nightmares. After waking up, I would curl up in a corner with my head buried, and cry my eyes out. Each day brought such pain and suffering that my mental health was seriously damaged. When I left the warehouse, I could no longer speak normally.
To save my life, at the end of June 2003, my uncle, who lived in poverty himself, took on a daunting debt in order to enable me to be taken to Denmark. Within a few hours of arrival, I was abandoned by those who took me abroad. A kind-hearted person took me to the Red Cross in Denmark, but I was still living in enormous fear and sadness. One night I woke up with a start from nightmares, which alarmed the staff on duty. The next day, the person in charge of the Red Cross shelter had a talk with me. Without knowing why exactly, I asked her whether there were Falun Gong practitioners in Denmark. With her help, I got into touch with Falun Gong practitioners in Denmark. Slowly I started to appreciate why my parents wanted to practice Falun Dafa. I came to know Falun Gong practitioners, and gradually understood Dafa.
I Was Fortunate to Obtain Dafa
The first things I always wanted to know were why my parents practiced Falun Gong, why the police arrested them, and why the police would not allow my uncle to keep me even though I did not practice Falun Gong. I had so many questions for Falun Gong practitioners. But once I saw them, I could not help bursting into tears. My first sentence was, "Could you help me find my parents? I miss them very much." One kind lady told me, "If you want to know why your parents were arrested by the police, you should come to our practice site next weekend. You can learn what Falun Gong is, and what Falun Gong practitioners are thinking and doing. Perhaps you will understand your parents and why they were arrested." The following weekend, I went to the practice site at the New King's Park in Copenhagen. The lady gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun, and urged me, "Read this book. You will find the answers to your questions." From that time on, I got to know more and more Falun Gong practitioners. Their kind attention warmed my heart.
When I first started reading Zhuan Falun, my mind was confused and my spirits were low. I could not comprehend anything. One day shortly after, I suddenly reached a state of tranquility when I was meditating. I saw my mom. She sat on a lotus flower. At the time I did not understand the book, so I did not know what that meant. Fellow practitioners told me that Master was encouraging me by showing me the magnificence of my mother's cultivation in another dimension.
A few months later, I finally managed to settle down and read the book. Psychological damage from the fugitive life had completely turned me into a different person. When I was in school, I had always been a top student with the best grades. But after the tribulations, especially after 13 months of isolation in the warehouse in Shenzhen City, I could not even express myself properly. My logic was confused. When reading the book, I could not finish one sentence without making a mistake. Fellow practitioners spent a great deal of time to help and encourage me. Sentence by sentence, they patiently corrected my reading. Firmly breaking down psychological barriers, I finished Dafa books one after another. Dafa unveiled to me a magnificent world. During that time, I spent every minute on Fa study, doing the Falun Gong exercises, and experience sharing amongst fellow practitioners. Gradually my heart felt lighter and lighter. I started to understand the root of all hardships, life's philosophy, and that the real meaning of life is to return to our own true selves.
Ridding Myself of Attachments and Walking the Path of a Dafa Disciple in the Fa-rectification Period
I greatly treasured my good fortune, accumulated throughout the ages, that led to my obtaining Dafa. I saved up as much as possible from my meager monthly allowance for tickets to Copenhagen for group Fa study and experience sharing. In a pure cultivation environment, I made rapid progress and was actively devoted to Fa-rectification cultivation.
On the World Anti-torture Day in June 2004, practitioners held their first anti-torture exhibition in the center of Copenhagen. I played a Dafa disciple being burned. I was reminded of my parents and of many other Chinese practitioners being brutally persecuted. I had to act it all out. Many onlookers were moved by our performance. I was thinly clad and maintained one pose from the beginning until the end. In the chilly Northern European weather, I did not feel cold at all. My mind was entirely focused on clarifying the facts to people in the world. When the event was over, fellow practitioners kindly asked whether I felt cold. Only then did I register chilliness and immediately I was shivering with cold. The power of this event was tremendous. All the practitioners who participated performed wholeheartedly, enduring physical pains from the anti-torture show. The energy field was extraordinarily strong.
Subsequently, I took part in anti-torture activities in various major cities in Northern Europe, including Finland, Norway and Sweden. Although life on the road was tough, I felt happy and content to participate in Dafa disciples' Fa-rectification activities.
In July 2004, on my way back from an anti-torture exhibition in Norway, I went through tribulations. At night I dreamt that my parents had passed away and that my uncle had signed a piece of paper under the threat of the police. Upon learning this, fellow practitioners in Denmark immediately called my uncle. For the first time, my uncle told me the truth. As a matter of fact, in April 2002, 5 months after they were arrested, my parents had both been persecuted to death. It was for this matter that the police called upon my uncle in May 2002. They would not produce any documents or evidence; they only insisted that my parents "had committed suicide." Meanwhile, they forced my uncle to sign a declaration to terminate all relationships with my family. Unable to protect me any longer, my uncle had to send me into hiding in a warehouse in Shenzhen City. In China there were no other relatives for me to seek protection from, and no other way out. To save me from the hands of the police, my uncle incurred a huge debt to send me abroad.
The news about my parents, that I had been looking forward to for so long, turned out to be death from persecution! The evil took their lives only because they believed in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. Again it was Master and fellow practitioners' compassion that helped me through such a devastating blow. I appreciated Master's merciful salvation.
In July 2004, my refugee application was rejected. There was only one chance left for an appeal. At that time, I felt despair again like an ordinary person. I had an incorrect idea. When I first came to Denmark, out of fear, I told the police something that should not have been said. Now my parents had passed away. Even my uncle, my only relative left in the world, dared not to keep me. I had nobody to depend on and no hope for anything. I felt it would not matter even if I were sent back. When fellow practitioners took me to see a lawyer, I answered the questions mechanically. I appeared numb and I was not clear headed. It did not occur to me to use my parents' case to clarify the facts. After the visit, fellow practitioners pointed some things out to me. They said, "Our visit was not meant to go through the motions or be attached to whether you would stay in Denmark or not. It was to clarify the facts based on your experience. Currently, you are the only orphan of Falun Gong practitioners who has come abroad. There are still children like you in China. Many are young kids being persecuted. They need desperately for us to rescue them. You need to have a clear understanding of your role in the truth-clarification. You need to be calm, clear-headed, and know what you should do as a Dafa disciple. Wouldn't you want to speak up on behalf of your parents?"
After Fa study that night, fellow practitioners explained to me compassionately, "We feel for you. You lost your parents. We lost our fellow practitioners. That's all the more reason for us to rationally expose the evil persecution to various levels of government and the people. This will ease the pressure of the persecution on Mainland practitioners. It will also give those kids still in China their own homes and stable lives. We have to save people in the world. Through understanding the truth about Falun Dafa, opposing the persecution, and helping Falun Gong practitioners, they will position themselves well."
Through this experience, I realized that I had omissions in my cultivation which made it difficult for fellow practitioners to clarify the facts. I made up my mind to diligently cultivate myself and get rid of attachments. From then on, every day I did the three things required of Dafa disciples. I performed the exercises, studied the Fa, sent righteous thoughts and told people around me about the misfortunes of my family. To supplement my limited knowledge of the local language, I asked fellow practitioners to print materials based on my experience, which we distributed everywhere in large quantities.
Believing in Master, Maintain Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions
In October 2004, the Denmark Refugee Tribunal held the final court hearing on my application. Most practitioners in Denmark went to the court to send righteous thoughts. Some practitioners even traveled from other cities. Maintaining peaceful and calm through righteous thoughts, I answered the Tribunal's questions truthfully. Even though fellow practitioners helped me put together truth-clarification materials about my parents' persecution, the decision was still negative, as news about my parents had only come out right before the final trial. The Danish government notified me to leave for China as soon as possible. In this situation, I did not falter. I firmly believed in Master and Dafa. I still did the three things Dafa disciples ought to do as usual: exercised, studied the Fa, sent righteous thoughts and clarified the facts. Through experience sharing, fellow practitioners enlightened to the understanding that we needed to take advantage of this opportunity to further clarify the facts to the Danish government and the media.
Subsequently, Dafa practitioners all over the world were mobilized. Truth-clarifying letters from various countries flooded the Danish government. Practitioners produced truth clarifying media reports based on my experience. In Denmark and other European countries, practitioners took to the streets to collect signatures and call for help from Congress, the media, non-governmental organizations, and the United Nations. Some very influential non-governmental organizations in Denmark wrote to the government to call attention to my case. The Chairman of the Legislative Committee in Congress gave several media interviews about my case. He was of the opinion that the government underestimated the persecution of Chinese Falun Gong practitioners. He clearly showed his support for my case. A local TV station also aired a special report about me. Many kindhearted people showed their sympathy towards Dafa, as well as their indignation against the Chinese Communist Party's brutal persecution. In doing so, they positioned themselves well for their own future.
As a result of strong support from practitioners worldwide, the Danish government revised their decision to immediately deport me to China. After solid truth clarification, the Danish government obviously appreciated the seriousness of the persecution against Falun Gong a lot better. Consequently, two other practitioners' refugee applications were accepted relatively smoothly.
In the environment of Fa study and sharing with fellow practitioners, I improved rapidly in Fa-rectification cultivation.
Later I was transferred to several different places far away from Copenhagen. I could not get together with most practitioners as often as I used to. Even though the cultivation environment was relatively lonely, I realized that being in different places where there were not many Dafa disciples, was an opportunity to bring Dafa to the people in those places. I could use my experience to clarify the facts to more people and save them. One has to create one's own cultivation environment. I quickly adjusted myself and set up group Fa study and practice sites along with several local practitioners. Each day I exercised, studied the Fa, sent righteous thoughts and clarified the facts. I kept my living standards to the lowest possible to save up for various Fa-rectification activities, and to send truth-clarification materials and the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party (published by The Epoch Times newsgroup), to China.
One weekend, a fellow practitioner and I demonstrated the exercises in a crowded place, which attracted a passing reporter. Despite language problems, I showed him my materials and clarified the facts in the few Danish words that I knew. The next day, a big photo of our practice was posted in the local newspaper.
After reviewing large quantities of truth-clarification materials, the Denmark Refugee Tribunal reopened my case for trial. At the end of April 2005, my refugee application was granted.
Treasuring My Precious Good Fortune to Obtain Dafa, Cultivating Diligently
As a kid knowing nothing about Dafa, I was very nearly destroyed by the persecution. Thanks to Master's merciful salvation, from the verge of collapse, I became a healthy cultivator both mentally and physically. Master truly saved my life. Words cannot express my gratitude towards Teacher. Dafa disciples worldwide gave me so much loving care. Dear Master, thank you! Dafa disciples worldwide, thank you!
My parents must feel very comforted in other dimensions. The path I am taking now is the path they hoped for me the most. It is the brightest of all, with the most beautiful future. I am determined to do well the three things that Dafa disciples should do and use my life's story to clarify the facts and save people in the world.
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