(Clearwisdom.net) I have practiced Falun Dafa for 16 years. Despite having been illegally detained in a labor camp and unjustly imprisoned, I never stopped cultivating due to my determination to follow the principles of the Fa and the hints given by Master. One thing I have learned from my experience is that, if at all times your every thought is on the Fa, then there will be no tribulations you cannot overcome. Looking back at the hardships I have been through in the past 16 years, I could always feel Master's mighty grace, and my heart is filled with boundless gratitude and joy.
Before I started to practice Falun Dafa, I was the head of a Buddhist association and had practiced cultivation for many years. I traveled far and wide, visiting many famous mountains and ancient temples in search of a Master who could guide me to attain the truth and Buddha status in this lifetime. I called upon so called "virtuous, esteemed monks" from Taiwan, Hong Kong, the U.S., and other countries, but the true Buddha Fa still eluded me. My dream of attaining the Buddha status in this life burst like a bubble.
On August 5, 1994 I was extremely honored to learn about Falun Dafa - a highly virtuous Fa. I was even more fortunate to attend Master's classes in Harbin. I saw Master's very dignified law body and flickering images of beautiful pavilions. I could not control my emotions and started to cry. In my heart, I kept saying: "The real Buddha has descended to earth! This is the Master for whom I have been searching for so many years!"
Master compassionately taught us the mighty principles of the universe and cosmos. Master bestowed upon us the greatest honor, which is envied by all beings in the universe. He said in Lecture One in Zhuan Falun:
"As a practitioner, if you assimilate yourself to this characteristic you are one that has attained the Tao--it's just such a simple principle."
I silently made a vow: "I must be Master's truly cultivating disciple and assimilate to the universal characteristics of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance until I attain consummation!"
From April 25 to July 20, 1999, the evil regime led by Jiang Zemin persecuted Dafa disciples fanatically. I went to the provincial government to seek justice for Dafa, then to Beijing to appeal and validate the Fa.
I was treated as a key person during the persecution and fired from my job. The local regime officials gave countrywide orders for my arrest. They could not find me and arrested my daughter, forcing her to reveal my whereabouts. They even threatened my family and friends. Consequently my whole family lived in fear and unease.
Never Forget to Validate the Fa at All Times
On November 23 1999, I was maligned by a villain and illegally arrested in Jinzhou. Then I was sent back to my hometown. They tried to mandate a heavy sentence, but I was not afraid. I passed one test after another with Master looking after me. I also told the officers handling my case at the police department and procuratorate about the beauty of Dafa. Finally the courts dropped all charges against me due to "insufficient evidence." However, I was not spared from being persecuted; I was subsequently illegally sentenced to three years in a labor camp.
On December 29, 1999, I was sent to the notorious No. 2 Women's Division of Masanjia Forced Labor Camp.
They first tried to "transform" me by pretending to be kind. Then they ordered collaborators to surround me and coerce me with threats and abuse. These collaborators even viciously beat Dafa disciple Li Li (from Dalian) in front of me to shake my willpower. They instigated convicts detained there to force me to remain sitting on a small stool, and they abused me from morning till night. Several days later, wardens Su Jing and Shao Yan secretly transferred me to the No 1 Group in Masanjia Labor Camp.
I strictly held myself to the principles of Dafa and was always considerate of others. All the regular convicts called me "Falun sister" and confided in me when they encountered sad things. I told them about the goodness and miracles of Dafa as well as how a person should conduct him or herself. All of them said that they would practice Falun Gong upon their release, and they promised not to break the law again. The head guard also trusted me and asked me to be a quality control person. I took the opportunity to introduce the Fa to her and told her of the miraculous things that I experienced after I began practicing Dafa.
One day, camp head Zhou Qin called me to her and told me: "I am on duty today and have some time. I would like to know why you refused to be 'transformed.'" I spoke from 7:00 p.m. until midnight. I talked about the magnificent things I saw when I attended Master's classes and the unique benefits of Dafa in improving one's health. I told her the story of how my small mud house escaped the wrath of the heavy floods that occur only every hundred years. I talked about the principle of 'good is rewarded with good, and evil will be met with evil' and that she should therefore treat Dafa disciples kindly because it is the same as treating herself well. Finally, she said: "My relative is also practicing Falun Gong."
On March 23, 2001, with Master watching over me as well as with the help of two guards who understood the truth, I was released on medical parole.
Miracles in Prison
In 2002 I was betrayed and sentenced to six years in prison for putting up Dafa messages and hanging banners around the May 13th World Falun Dafa Day. I was held in the Seventh Division of Liaoning Women's Prison. To "transform" me, the prison warden forbade me from speaking and restricted my movements. I was forced to work for as long as 16 hours every day and sometimes all through the night. I was not allowed to sleep at night and was forced to listen to the government propaganda. I rejected it and exposed all their evil lies.
In the middle of March, 2004 I developed an abscess as big as an egg on my right hand as a result of long term hard labor. The pain was unbearable. The guard advised me to have an operation done at the hospital, but I tactfully turned down the offer. One day, a convict named Yang Yuzhen asked me: "If you are so firm in your belief in Dafa, how could you be inflicted with this illness? If you make this abscess go away, I will believe in Falun Gong." I said without thinking: "Tomorrow, I shall make this abscess disappear." After finishing work at midnight, I started to send righteous thoughts at the abscess, commanding it to leave my body immediately and eliminating all evil factors causing it. I glanced at the abscess and saw that it was still there, but I was not too concerned about it. The next day at noon, Yang came to ask me if the abscess had gone away. I casually replied that it was gone and nonchalantly touched the abscess. It was gone! I was stunned by what happened. It took me a long time to recover from my shock. I was quite moved, and tears streamed down my face. Thank you, Master, for your great compassion. A miracle had happened to me because esteemed Master wanted to save predestined people in the prison. This was also an encouragement for me to be more diligent in saving predestined people in the prison. Yang Yuzhen said: "Falun Gong is truly a miraculous practice. I must learn this when I am out of prison."
After this incident, I would not let a single person slip by me. I told them Dafa is the world's most complex and wonderful practice. One becomes more compassionate through the practice, and it brings great, inconceivable blessings to people. Some of the convicts said, crying: "We believe everything you say is true. If we had learned Falun Gong earlier, we would not have done anything illegal." Afterwards, most of the convicts accepted Dafa, protected me, and helped me to pass around Master's articles.
On April 8, 2005, the prison passed down orders to achieve a target of 90 percent "transformation" rate. I was again listed as a "transformation" object in the Seventh prison ward. During the day I had to do hard labor. Late at night, they would take turns to drill me, forcing me to denounce Master and Dafa. During this long, difficult period of three months, I endured inhuman torture. My whole body became swollen, and my legs turned black and became numb.
One night, convicts Yu Feng and Li Guiru indoctrinated me with books defaming Dafa. I was extremely fatigued and in a state of semi consciousness. Suddenly I heard sounds of thunder and a voice begging for forgiveness. I forced my eyes open and saw Yu Feng, with his hands shaking, saying: "Master Li Hongzhi, I was wrong. Please don't blame me. I did not want to read this stupid book. The guards forced me to read this, you should blame them." Li Guiru said: "You insisted on reading despite warnings. This is your retribution." At this moment, another loud thunder clap came rumbling into the room from outside, turned three circles around the three of us, and disappeared. I thought it was raining and quickly opened the windows to look outside. The skies were clear with shining stars and it was not raining at all. I looked to the east and suddenly saw two golden, huge dragons. I called Yu Feng to come and take a look. She only saw a dragon's tail and quickly said: "Everything Falun Gong said is true. From now on, I will not read this evil book anymore. If I read this again, I will lose my life; I don't want to have my sentence reduced."
The next day, Yu Feng told the guard about the strange incident that occurred the night before. The guard called me for a talk and said: "I heard that you saw two huge dragons. Is that true?" I replied: "That's absolutely true. There are countless miracles like that in Falun Dafa." Then she said that from the next day onwards, I didn't have to study anymore. However, I must not tell the other convicts what happened that night. If someone asked about this, I should say that I saw two yellow plastic bags flying in the sky.
Not Withdrawing in the Face of Adversity
The prison gradually stepped up its persecution beginning April 16, 2006. The head of the prison transferred in a political operative named Wang Jian from outside the prison. This person was ruthless and used many evil tactics. Within a few days of his arrival, he tortured to death a Dafa disciple surnamed Liu from Zhuanghe. Wang Jian regarded me as a chip to gain merit and specially designed a strategy to persecute me. She also ordered convicted murderers Zhang Xueqing and Ms Miao to monitor me.
These two convicts acted as accomplices to the evil and locked me in the guards' changing room. This room was small, and there was a huge transformer emitting radiation at me every day. Acting under the orders of Wang Jian, these two convicts abused me day and night, non-stop.
I faced their abuse with unwavering faith. I truly felt that Master was beside me. Three months went by, and I was still not "transformed." Wang Jian started to yell at Zhang and Miao calling them useless. Later on, she secretly plotted to beat me and suffocate me to death. In the hot summer, all the windows in the small room were tightly shut, and the huge transformer was transmitting heat. As a result of the long term torture, I became very weak, and I went into shock twice.
On July 29 Zhang and Miao stopped abusing me. I felt a bad omen approaching. Zhang Xueqing was planning to beat me. This was also her last and most vicious tactic. In that instant, I remembered Master's teachings in Lecture One in Zhuan Falun:
"If you are a true practitioner, our Falun will safeguard you. I am rooted in the universe. If anyone can harm you, he or she would be able to harm me. Put simply, that person would be able to harm this universe."
I thought, "I am a true cultivator walking on the path of godhood. I am Master's true disciple. Who dares to touch me?" I felt strong and powerful. Just then, I felt Zhang throw herself at me from behind. I abruptly turned my head and held her shoulder with my right hand. I pointed at her with my left hand saying: "You are truly audacious. Do you dare to touch me? Do you know who I am?" She was frightened out of her wits and kept shaking. I released my right hand and said without thinking: "Go and climb the wall!" Indeed, she went to climb the wall with both legs off the ground, and then she quickly slid down. She laid on the ground with her mind unclear. She kept repeating: "Help me; I will not dare to do that again!" When she recovered her senses, I told her what happened. She did not believe me. Then Mao affirmed that what I said was all true, "I saw it with my own eyes; it was terrifying!" From that day on, both of them dared not torture me and instead kept guard over me. Every day I copied Master's articles onto a white cloth, while both of them abused Wang Jian.
Very quickly, two months went by. Wang Jian pointed at me furiously and said: "You are truly a stubborn person. I don't believe that I cannot convert you." With righteous thoughts, I pointed at her saying: "You have persecuted me for six months. Not only have you violated the prison rules, you have also privately, illegally tortured me. You have already committed a crime by what you have done. I want to see the head of the prison and sue you." She angrily replied: "I have been working in prisons for many years. No one dares to treat me like that. Tomorrow I will lock you in a cell. Let's see if you can sue me then." With that, she smashed a cup and walked away.
I became very sick from the long term torture. I was diagnosed in the hospital with an adnexal tumor, cirrhosis, ascites, and a swollen spleen, and my internal organs were severely damaged. I was admitted to the prison hospital for treatment. In there, I saw many anonymous Dafa disciples from the prison that were being secretly held in the psychiatric ward. Some had lost their senses as a result of the persecution and were forced to take unknown drugs every day. I knew a practitioner named Gu Changqin (from Huludao City) who was in the psychiatric ward. She had become skin and bones from the torture and could not take care of herself. She even had difficulty breathing. Yet she was abused every day.
This terrible environment, that goes unheard of, led to the deterioration of my health. The hospital issued a notice that I was critically ill. On November 30, 2006, the prison guards hastily sent me home as "released on medical parole." Early the next morning, my family took me against my will for an operation at Shenyang Cancer Hospital. The doctor told my daughter: "Your mother is beyond treatment. She can only live for three more months." My daughter pleaded with the doctor, saying: "It is better to die from treatment than to die for nothing." Thus the doctor decided to operate on me a week later. At this time, Master's poem "Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions" (in Hong Yin Vol II) reverberated in my mind:
"A Great Enlightened One fears no hardship
Having forged an adamantine will
Free of attachment to living or dying
He walks the path of Fa-rectification
confident and poised"
I knew that my life belonged to Dafa and that Master would decide my life and death, so I walked out of the hospital.
I obtained a new life through our great Master's compassion and the power of Dafa. Dafa has given me everything. Everything I have comes from Dafa. Therefore I shall give all these good things back to sentient beings. I solemnly remember Master's teaching us to be more diligent the closer it is to the end of Fa rectification, to study the Fa and send righteous thoughts more, save even more sentient beings, and follow Master to return upon consummation.