(Minghui.org) When the communist regime began the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999, slander and lies blanketed China, smearing Dafa and the founder, Master Li Hongzhi. One by one, practitioners stepped forward to support Dafa and seek to clear Master’s reputation, while the regime began to arrest and persecute practitioners without restraint.
My husband and I also stepped forward to petition and to clarify the facts about Dafa. We were arrested and held in a detention center.
Those were the days when the authorities were feverishly arresting practitioners. The detention center was filled to the brim with practitioners.
In the detention center, we tried to clarify the facts to the guards and other inmates with our most compassionate hearts and goodwill. In the face of tremendous terror and pressure, even beatings and torture, we stood firm in our belief, and continued to study the Dafa books and do the exercises. The other detainees were initially shocked by the sudden influx of practitioners, but they were slowly won over by our kindness and tenacity. From not understanding and even cooperating with the guards, to being awakened and even awestruck, to finally having their bewilderment turned into admiration.
By the end of 2000, the communist regime was arresting not only Falun Dafa practitioners, but also Christians who were worshiping at home, accusing them of participating in illegal gatherings and engaging in cult activities.
I remember one day the police arrested a frail elderly woman. The poor conditions in the detention center were very difficult for her to adjust to, but gradually, after listening to our recitations of the teachings, she visibly became more at ease.
After a few days, she seemed to pay particular attention to us and showed concern for us, so I looked for an opportunity to talk with her.
I found out that her name was Huang Juxiang. “Huang” can also mean the color yellow, while “Juxiang” refers to the fragrance of a chrysanthemum.
Auntie Huang had been seeking the truth all her life. More than ten years before, a relative led her to the Christian faith. Because of her belief, she was arrested and sentenced to a month in jail.
Auntie Huang told me in all sincerity, “This is my first contact with Falun Dafa. The teachings that you all recite sound really good, truly righteous!”
“Is that right? Do you understand what we are reciting?" I asked.
“Indeed I understand! Indeed I understand!” she assured me. “Every word strikes into the depths of my soul! I feel so moved! I have believed in Jesus Christ for so many years, yet I feel my understanding of the Christian faith is really superficial. This is different!”
I was happy that Auntie Huang’s perception and foundation were so good, so I told her all about Falun Dafa. I also shared with her my personal journey of searching for the truth and my understanding of other religions.
I could see that Auntie Huang was greatly touched. However, her long years of association with Christianity made it hard for her to fully accept another belief. She felt a strong emotional attachment to her Christian faith. Her biggest hurdle was her conviction that switching to another belief would be disloyal and double-dealing.
I posed a few questions to her and asked her to think them through. I said: "What is your fundamental purpose for cultivating? Do you think sticking with what you believe in now will enable you to reach your goal? Throughout human history, different enlightened people have come in different time periods to save people. If the previous spiritual paths had worked, then there would have been no need for the Master of Falun Dafa to come to disseminate the Fa. The enlightened people are gods, here with a single goal--to save people. Do you think they will be concerned about your choice of whom to follow? Would they want you to end up cultivating in vain?”
Auntie Huang became thoughtful.
The next morning, Auntie Huang said to me: “Oh, I had a dream last night. I dreamed I was paddling a boat in a vast ocean. Suddenly, the waves came up, and my boat was in danger of capsizing. Just then, a large ship came to my rescue. I saw Dafa practitioners waving at me. They helped me onto the ship and I was saved! I know this was to let me know I should practice Falun Dafa!”
A few days later, the police sent over hundreds of armed officers to cart off Dafa practitioners to the notorious Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Liaoning Province. The practitioners refused to go, so four armed officers had to pick up each practitioner and carried them off one by one. All at once, cries of “Falun Dafa is good!” and “Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa!” resounded throughout the entire detention center.
I was considered the “ringleader,” and the detention center wanted to make sure I was sentenced to jail. When my fellow practitioners were being taken off by force, I held on to the bars and called out: "Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa! Release all the innocent Dafa practitioners at once!”
When everything was over and all was quiet again, I discovered that all of the other detainees were in tears. Auntie Huang said to me, “This is so tragic! This is really magnificent! I will always remember this moment!”
After that, Auntie Huang began to openly study the Fa and do the exercises with me. When the captain of the guards discovered what she was doing, he was shocked and upset. He shouted at her, “Huang Juxiang, are you thinking straight?! You are already being locked up for a month for believing in Jesus. Don’t you know that this could have you locked up for at least three years?!”
This was Auntie Huang's response: “I am not afraid, captain. Before, I didn’t know what Falun Dafa was. Now I know that Falun Dafa is good. I’ve made up my mind, after thinking very carefully, that I will practice Falun Dafa and validate that Dafa is good! This is now a sacred thing to me. I don’t care when I can go home. I’ll leave it to Master Li Hongzhi to decide!”
The captain of the guards was stunned and rendered speechless. He turned to leave without saying another word.
That night, Auntie Huang had another dream. She had two chrysanthemum pot plants in front of the iron bars in her cell. One plant had lush foliage but no flowers; the other had a long straight bare stem without a single leaf. But on the tip of the stem bloomed a beautiful yellow chrysanthemum.
When the month was over, Auntie Huang was released on schedule. Before she left, she said to me, "I am very clear about the meaning of my dream: The first plant was like my previous practice: although I stuck with it for many years and grew lush foliage, it never blossomed. The second plant was the Dafa I’ve now obtained. Although I've only practiced for a short time and not even one leaf has grown, yet I believe if I remain diligent in my cultivation, it will bear flowers just like the beautiful yellow chrysanthemum. I understand Master’s hints, so don’t you worry! I had to serve this jail time so I could finally find what I’d been looking for all my life. I feel so lucky and so blessed!”
She was right. To be able to obtain Dafa in such an environment was truly a blessing. What a wonderfully lucky "Yellow Chrysanthemum!"
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