(Clearwisdom.net) Recently I was released from prison. I was illegally incarcerated for five-and-half years for practicing Falun Gong. While in prison, I never wavered in my faith in Teacher and Dafa, and I persisted in clarifying the truth to everyone I came across.
On February 26, 2000, the police illegally arrested me from my home and held me at a detention center. Nothing that I did to validate the Fa violated the law, yet the CCP's courts sentenced me to five-and-a-half years in prison on fabricated charges. I appealed, but the original sentence was upheld and I was sent to prison.
The guards at the detention center blatantly violate the law and arbitrarily violate people's basic human rights. A poster on the wall in each cell states the rights of detainees, "According to Article 4 of the People's Republic of China's Detention Center Policies, detainees have the right to be free from beating, verbal and physical abuse, and all forms of corporal punishment." The first time I was interrogated, the deputy section head of the Politics and Security Section slapped my face and cursed me before he started asking questions. They always hit me before asking questions.
I am a Dafa practitioner and I follow Teacher's words. I have nothing to hide in anything that I have done, and I have never done anything in violation of the law; therefore I was not afraid of them.
Before the court trial my son met with me and said, "I hired a lawyer. The lawyer said, 'Your father must agree to say bad things about Falun Gong in court before we can defend him.'" I said, "That's impossible! Falun Gong teaches people to be good! What is wrong with that? If this is the situation, I'll defend myself!"
When the trial began, the head prosecutor read the indictment and I defended myself. I repudiated each one of the charges against me, and I explained that the Constitution of China gives me the right to practice Falun Gong. The public prosecutor didn't say anything, and the whole court fell into dead silence. After a pause of more than 20 seconds the public prosecutor said, "You should not just talk about your rights, you must also fulfill your responsibilities." I said, "I didn't violate the Constitution, therefore I have been doing my part." The head judge asked me, "Do you think Falun Gong is a cult?" I said, "No!"
In the several months that I was held at the detention center, I often told the inmates about the amazing health benefits of Falun Gong. I also told them that Falun Gong requires people to be good at all times, and that the state-run media reports about Falun Gong are filled with lies. I further showed them that the things I did were not against the law, and how I had been wronged by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). After I clarified the truth to them repeatedly, the head inmate and some other inmates sympathized with me and gained a certain understanding of Dafa. Some of them said, "I'll practice Falun Gong after I get out of here."
I went to the guard and clarified the truth to him. He asked lots of questions and I answered them. He was shocked that he had been so deceived by the CCP's propaganda and said, "Falun Gong is supernatural! It's so wonderful!" I said, "Falun Gong is truly wonderful, otherwise, why would so many people persist in Falun Gong in the face of such brutal persecution?"
After I was sent to prison, the group's political head said to me, "We don't allow Falun Gong exercises here, and you can't teach people either. You must recite the prison rules and regulations." I thought, "Although I am here, I didn't commit any crimes, so I am not an inmate!" I said, "I'm in my 60s. I can't remember the prison regulations." He didn't pursue it any further. I thought, "Since I'm here, maybe there are people here for me to help save. I must clarify the truth (although they don't allow it), and I'll do the exercises (although they don't allow it)."
Because I didn't know too many people initially, I mostly clarified the truth to the people who worked with me in performing forced labor. Later, after I read Teacher's article, I got a better understanding of what to do.
"No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil's demands, orders, or what it instigates." ("Dafa Disciples' Righteous Thoughts Are Powerful")
Teacher also said:
"Every person you come into contact with in society is someone to clarify the truth to, and what's manifest in clarifying the truth is Dafa disciples' mercy and their salvation of the world's people." ("To All Students at the Nordic Fa Conference")
From then on I clarified the truth to everyone I came across. I explained the miraculous health benefits of Falun Gong, and that Falun Gong requires its practitioners to be good people and not to do bad things, not to return blows or verbal assaults, and so on. They saw that I was very healthy although I was in my 60s. They slowly gained a better understanding of Dafa, and their propaganda-instilled misconceptions about Dafa were wiped out. Some people said they would practice Falun Gong after they got out of prison.
The group political head talked to me many times. He repeated the lies disseminated in the media against Falun Gong and did his best to try to destroy my righteous faith in Dafa. At first I resented his efforts and just told him "Dafa is good." He could not convince me, of course, but I couldn't convince him, either. Later I saw that Teacher said,
"Exposing the evil and clarifying the truth to the people of this world is only to show them the persecution that Dafa and the disciples have endured, and its ultimate purpose is to save the people of this world, to get rid of the poison in sentient beings' minds that the evil has inundated them with, and to rescue them from the danger of being weeded out in the future due to their hostility toward Dafa. This is a reflection of Dafa disciples' grand mercy in saving sentient beings even while enduring persecution." ("No Politics")
With understanding gained from this teaching I changed my attitude and clarified the truth to him with compassion and with the intention to save him.
After I clarified the truth and compassionately exposed the evil many times, the division political head and the group political head learned what Falun Gong really is, and what the persecution is about. The division political head said to me once, "It seems that Falun Gong has really benefited you; otherwise, how could you remain so steadfast?" I said, "If I didn't practice Falun Gong I would have died a long time ago and wouldn't be here today." Later they stopped trying to "reform" me and there was a great change in their attitude toward me. They even showed me care and concern.
I held firm to the belief that I should add only glory and not ever stain Dafa's reputation; therefore I always conducted myself according to the Fa. I treated others with kindness and sacrificed self-interest. I demonstrated the demeanor of Dafa practitioners. The inmates, and certain officials and group heads liked me a lot and had great respect for me. I told them that I was acting according to what Falun Gong requires of practitioners, which helped change their understanding of Dafa.
On the other hand, I also created a relatively relaxed cultivation environment for myself. I didn't have Dafa books with me so I recited what I could remember, including Lunyu, Hong Yin, and more than 20 of Teacher's articles. Sometimes I had a chance to read Teacher's latest articles. In 2001, after I learned how to send forth righteous thoughts, I sent forth righteous thoughts daily, but not always on time because I didn't have a clock or a watch. In the past several years, although I did not do the exercises every day, I did them frequently, although I was only able to do the fifth meditation exercise. Certain inmates wanted to earn credits to get out of prison earlier, and they reported me when I did the exercises, but the group heads never gave me trouble, so I continued to do the fifth exercise.
After the illegally imposed sentence passed, I returned home and learned that Teacher had given numerous Fa lectures in the past few years. I read very little while in prison. I didn't know at all about "The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party," or the movement of quitting the CCP and its affiliated organizations. After I discussed with fellow practitioners I felt I knew too little of the Fa principles and I was behind in Fa rectification. I didn't want to stay behind, so I spent time making up for my lack of Fa study. Currently I am trying my absolute best to keep up with Fa rectification by doing well with the three things. I won't let Teacher down; I will fulfill my historic mission bestowed by the Fa.
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