(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings revered Master! Greetings my fellow practitioners!
Since I was very young, my family's upbringing has led me to believe in the existence of Buddhas, gods, heaven and hell. Perhaps because of such a predestined relationship, my family of four was fortunate enough to attend Master's lecture series in 1994. At that time, I came to realize that this Fa would help people escape the cycle of reincarnation and I devoted myself wholeheartedly to cultivation. Once I learned that I needed to behave according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I wrote a letter of resignation, requesting to step down from the position of chief accountant and be re-assigned to a different position. I thought being an accountant would only hurt my cultivation, since fraudulent practices are common in China. There was not yet a published Dafa book to study, and my comprehension of Fa principles was unclear. Many of the things I did were extreme. However, I did manage to relinquish many of my attachments, such as those to recognition, status and material interests.
When the persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999, the state-controlled media outlets, including TV, radio, newspapers and magazines, went all out to defame and slander Falun Gong. Employers were told to force each of their employees to write a guarantee statement promising not to practice Falun Gong and to hand over Falun Gong books and related materials. I only had one thought--there is no way I could give up my cultivation or ever allow the evildoers to confiscate my Falun Gong books or Master's portrait. All these years I managed to keep the books and Master's portrait intact, even though my home has been ransacked several times. I knew that it was partly due to my strong righteous thoughts and Master's help.
I went to Beijing three times to validate the Fa. Each time, I was arrested, returned to my hometown and detained. The third time was at the beginning of 2001, just two days after the staged Tiananmen Square "Self-immolation Incident" took place. I unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square. Police officers knocked me to the ground and then took me to the Zhanqian Police Station. Later I was sentenced to one year of forced labor. One day when the evildoers were about to torture me, I suddenly remembered what Master said in "Suffocate the Evil" from Essentials for Further Advancement II:
"China's Labor Re-education Camps are dark dens of evil forces. Most of the disciplinary guards there are reincarnated minor ghosts from hell."
I thought to myself: If the guards are minor ghosts, those "helpers" (former practitioners who had chosen to go along with the persecution) must be demons. Why don't they fight each other, thus diverting the evildoers' attention from me? To my surprise, soon two of them began to fight. I didn't expect my thought would turn into a physical reality. Later on, when I studied "What Are Supernormal Abilities," I came across this passage:
"For instance, while doing Fa-rectification, when the righteous thoughts are very pure, their supernormal abilities are comprehensively utilized. Moreover, with righteous thoughts many disciples are able to use them at will--whatever they want to use, they almost always have it." (Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I suddenly understood that Master has bestowed me with supernormal abilities, which helped me suffocate the evil earlier on.
After my release from the labor camp, my employer stopped paying me an income and did not let me go to work because I refused to write a guarantee statement. Not long afterwards, practitioners in Changchun intercepted a TV signal to broadcast truth-clarification programs. The local authorities began a mass arrest of practitioners, including my husband. At that time, I showed symptoms of severe heart problems, so I was spared from arrest. A month later, my employer came to my home with the police and attempted to arrest my oldest daughter (also a practitioner) and me. With Master's protection we managed to escape through the window. Later on I learned that the police had surrounded my house. When my daughter and I emerged from the window, the person who was monitoring the area below the window happened to walk away to buy cigarettes. After I left my home, the police were stationed at almost every intersection. Only one road leading to another county did not have police guarding it, and I left through that road.
On October 21, 2001 my husband was illegally tried in court. The police not only forbade me to sit in court but also tried to arrest me. On the night of November 4, 2001, my younger daughter and I were at home when we noticed police officers surrounding our home. I quickly put all our Dafa books in my daughter's backpack and told her to protect them. The police broke in through the window. They waited a whole night in my home in hopes of arresting my older daughter. When dawn broke, my younger daughter told the police that she needed to go to school, thus taking away all the Dafa books in her backpack. I was then taken to a detention center and was transferred to a forced labor camp one month later. My husband was sentenced and imprisoned. My older daughter went into exile to avoid further persecution, and my younger daughter went to live with a relative. My family of four was broken apart.
While in detention, I resisted the persecution with wisdom. With the help of fellow practitioners and under Master's protection, I escaped from the labor camp. However, soon I was arrested again and locked up in a detention center. I went on a persecution-protest hunger strike. My sentence was for two years of forced labor, but with Master's help, I was released in just five months.
Despite the fact that my husband was in jail and my pay was suspended, I never wavered in my cultivation and I kept striving forward.
When I went to visit my husband, I got to know some practitioners in the area where the prison is located. I often studied the Fa and shared experiences with them. They did very well to encourage their local practitioners to step forward to do the three things well. I invited them to come share experiences with local practitioners in my area. Later on I rented a house to set up an information site and I had them back again to teach local practitioners how to make truth-clarification materials. I also cooperated with them to deliver Master's articles to detained practitioners. When the prison later banned my visitation rights, I went to appeal to the Prison Administration Bureau. In 2004, I also took some truth-clarification CDs to Beijing to distribute to people with predestined relationships.
I pulled through this challenging period largely due to help from the above-mentioned out-of-town practitioners. Their circumstances were even more difficult, yet they worked together to encourage each other to do the three things well. Some of them have since died as a result of the persecution while others are still in detention. When I cultivated together with them, I tried my best to follow Master's requirements and seldom considered my personal interests.
Later on, my employer offered me a retirement package with a monthly pension of around 1,000 yuan. My older daughter was also able to return to her old job. In 2006, my younger daughter was admitted to college. Since we didn't have enough money to pay the tuition, I sold our old house and bought a much smaller one. I have always had Master's portrait in my house, but I hid the portrait each time prospective buyers came to see the house. Even though many people showed interest in the house, none of them made an offer. I realized showing the house was a good opportunity to clarify the truth to people, so I kept Master's portrait in its customary place. Soon I was able to sell the house. Selling the old house and buying a new one and moving in took no more than one month.
In 2007, my husband was released and came home. At present, my whole family is busy doing the three things. I can be here and have come this far today because of Master's protection and guidance. I will use my righteous thoughts and actions to repay Master's compassion.
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