(Minghui.org) I'm 34 years old and live near the Yangtze River. I make a living by running a cold drinks counter. I left school when I was 15.
My grandfather practices Falun Dafa, and I used to do the exercises with him, but I eventually stopped.
Agents from the 610 Office took my grandfather away in 2001 because of his belief. They threatened to withhold his salary as the village Party Secretary if he did not renounce his belief, but their efforts were in vain.
After my grandfather began practicing Dafa I witnessed the positive changes in him. He used to be an alcoholic and was addicted to gambling, but became a much nicer person and quit those bad habits once he began practicing Dafa.
Grandfather was trying to become a good person and had done nothing wrong, so I was shocked when he was arrested. Knowing how corrupt the Chinese Communist Party is and that it's persecuting this group of innocent people, I knew that Falun Dafa must be very moral and upright.
After my grandfather was taken away, I regretted that I had stopped practicing and realized that I should cherish Dafa. I began to diligently practice and cultivate myself. I was 19.
When I was about five or six years old, I started stealing money from my parents and grandfather to buy snacks. My parents often spanked me when they found out. No matter how hard they tried to correct my behavior, I kept stealing.
When I was ten years old, I stole ten yuan from my cousin who was visiting during the Chinese New Year. When she said that her money was missing, my parents immediately knew that I had taken it. They tried to have me admit it and return the money to her, but I was too stubborn.
My father was furious. He punished me and demanded that I stop stealing. The pain was unforgettable, but I still didn't change.
One day after I started practicing Falun Dafa, my father had me fetch some plastic basins from my uncle. As I was moving them, I saw a big bundle of cash in one of basins.
My desire surged. I'd never seen so much money. I could run away with it and have a lot of fun. Overcome by temptation, I grabbed the money.
It suddenly occurred to me that as a practitioner I could not take something that didn't belong to me. I was no longer that bad kid, so I put it down.
Instantly, I had another thought, “But it's so much money! Isn't this what I'd been dreaming of?” I couldn't resist the temptation and picked it up again.
I then remembered Master’s words:
“You are a practitioner. Thus, to gradually assimilate to the universe’s characteristic and release those bad things of yours, you must be a good person.”(Zhuan Falun)
These words woke me up. To be a good person I must correct my bad behavior. I told myself, “Put it down! Put it down now!”
From then on, I never returned to the thievery I'd been indulging in for 14 years. If I hadn't been practicing Dafa, I'd have run away with the money and wouldn't be able to face my loved ones today.
The deputy head of the village brought agents from the 610 Office to arrest my grandfather and detain him for a month. Shortly after, the deputy head was bitten by a poisonous snake. He tried various treatments but still died. Soon after, his son also died.
Those in the village believe it was karmic retribution because he had persecuted a Falun Dafa practitioner. The rest of the village authorities realized that Dafa is special and stopped persecuting us. Our cultivation environment became relaxed, and sometimes, practitioners from other areas would hide in our village for months at a time to avoid persecution.
In the spring of 2002, a practitioner told me that many truth-clarification materials production sites had been shut down by the 610 Office, and asked if I could help. I agreed immediately. I told my parents that I was going to work out of town and left.
The practitioner and I went to another town and rented an apartment. The persecution was very severe in that area, and we had to relocate frequently. At one point, we had to put our equipment in a basement because of the noise it made. But the basement often flooded, and we had to pump out the water.
Six practitioners worked together to buy supplies and maintain the equipment. We produced a large amount of materials, including Falun Dafa books, CDs, and information that exposed the persecution. We also took the materials to other practitioners to distribute.
Agents from the 610 Office followed us one day in July 2003. They found our production site and took all six of us to a detention center.
I went on a hunger strike for 28 days to protest the persecution. I became emaciated, and the doctor said that I would die because my intestines had knotted together. To avoid being held responsible for my death, the police took me to one of my uncles, who is a doctor.
My uncle told me that I couldn't eat anything for now, and had to rely on IV fluids.
I had a strong thought that I couldn't die because I still had a lot of important things to do. I knew that if I started eating I'd soon recover because Master was watching over me.
I asked my uncle for some porridge, and I ate the entire bowl. I felt some pain in my stomach, and asked Master for protection. I was fine.
I continued to eat porridge for the next few days, and my health was restored to a level better than before. Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa, saved my life.
I had a son in 2006 and I worked very hard to meet our financial needs. I purchased a motorcycle so that I could work late and still get home to my family.
One time, I packed up my stall at midnight and was about to go home, when a drunken man showed up and demanded that I give him and his friend a lift.
Before I could reply, he pulled out a machete. I immediately started running, but he chased me, slashing the machete around. My left hand and arm were cut open. As he slashed at my head, I saw a flash of light, felt the blade bend and fell to the ground.
He and his friend ran away.
I struggled to get up and walk, but after a few steps I blacked out and fell into a pool of my own blood.
Someone called an ambulance and took me to the hospital. The doctor said, “If the knife had cut just a fraction more, you would have been finished.”
The tendons in my left hand were severed. The doctor reconnected them, but I couldn't feel my hand. I asked Master to help me, because I still wanted to help save people.
The next day, I could move my hand and was able to get out of bed. The other patients were amazed at how quickly I was recovering. On the fourth day, I wanted to go home and do the exercises, so I asked to be discharged. The doctor initially disagreed, but I'd run out of money so he let me go.
At home, I kept studying Zhuan Falun and gradually recovered. I wholeheartedly thank Master for saving my life once again!
My wife witnessed my entire recovery process and was completely convinced of Dafa's wonderfulness. She started practicing in 2010. Our son has been practicing since he was little, and my entire family is blessed.