(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa while I was detained in a forced labor camp. Before then, I was an atheist but I always liked to read mythical stories. I very much hoped that divine beings did exist because I felt that then there would be justice in the world.
But because of the education I received, I did not believe in gods. I was pretty stubborn. When others talked about things such as gods and ghosts, I always liked to listen but I never believed them. Also, I believed in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and I admired the CCP police. I felt that they were the image of justice.
At the beginning of 2008, I was sent to a forced labor camp due to being involved in a corrupt pyramid scheme. I came in contact with Falun Dafa practitioners while in the forced labor camp. Their kindness made me very curious and very moved. They were quite different from what I had heard about Falun Dafa practitioners in the outside world. Because of my curiosity, I asked them many questions, and soon I had a thought of studying the teachings of Falun Dafa on my own to search for answers. In the beginning, I was actually trying to find fault with Dafa, because I felt that I was very rational, at least on the issue of ghosts and gods. I would only trust what I saw with my own eyes.
There were no Dafa books I could read inside the forced labor camp, so it was always Dafa disciples reciting them to me. I listened very carefully. I could memorize the four-line poems in Hong Yin after listening to them three or four times. I did not memorize them in order but only chose what I liked the most. When I got to “My Hope” (Hong Yin, Translation Version A):
Heaven and Earth, so vast, look small to my eye,
For who created the limitless Firmament?
Beyond the Cosmos ‘tis yet more boundless,
To fulfill my grand hope I spread the Great Way.
I thought, “It would be impossible for someone evil to be able to write this.” I believed that what one writes is a reflection of one’s heart. Without a broad mind, one would not be able to write such poems. It changed my opinion of Dafa and I accepted that Falun Dafa was good.
But I still didn't believe that the CCP was bad, not until later when I saw Falun Dafa practitioners being persecuted. I finally chose the path of Dafa cultivation after being disgusted by the cruel persecution. Now I understand why I had to go to the labor camp – it was to find Falun Dafa!
If I hadn’t been sent to the labor camp, I would not have been willing to get in touch with Dafa practitioners, and even if I did, I may not have believed them. In the labor camp I was with them every day and even after a month of asking them questions every day, I still had a lot of questions. Plus I saw their suffering, and all of this combined made me believe in Falun Dafa.
Perhaps those vicious labor camp guards thought that ordinary detainees like me would be scared away when seeing the torture. They would have never thought that it would make me believe in Dafa. The difference today is that now I understand that all these are predestined relationships and I understand why I truly cultivate.
I was in the labor camp for almost a year and was able to memorize Hong Yin, Hong Yin II, and some of the book Essentials for Further Advancement. The practitioners there recited these to me, as we rarely were able to see anything in print.
After I got out of the labor camp, I returned to my hometown. I did not know any practitioners there but I knew that there must be some and I really wanted to get in touch with them.
But after a month I didn't find any. I was very anxious. I learned some Dafa songs in the labor camp so I walked along the street while singing these songs hoping that other practitioners would hear them. But after a while I still was not able to find any other practitioners in my area.
One night I sat in the lotus position and asked Master to help me find Dafa practitioners. I usually go to work very early in the morning, but the next morning for some reason I didn't want to go to work. I was randomly walking along the street when I saw two elderly ladies. I walked up to them and felt that they were like my close relatives. Tears came out of my eyes even before I spoke to them. I directly asked them, “Are you Dafa practitioners?” One of them didn't say yes or no, but asked me, “My child, do not cry. What's the matter?” I said, “Nothing really. I just want to get in touch with Dafa practitioners.” And she really was a practitioner! Just like this I was able to get in touch with the local Dafa practitioners.
I wrote this down because I wanted fellow practitioners to know that Master indeed helps us in the right situations. For those practitioners who are cultivating alone and want to get in touch with other practitioners, you can ask Master for help. It is just a matter of your heart.
Thank you Master. Thank you fellow practitioners.
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