(Minghui.org) Indoctrination by the communist regime affected me greatly throughout my childhood. I bought into the idea of violent revolution, and I was scared of nothing. I constantly fought with people and always got into trouble. I eventually ended up in a detention center.
During the peak of the persecution of Falun Dafa in 2000, I was arrested and imprisoned. I met many Falun Dafa practitioners while I was held in the center. Even while I was detained, I was still out of control and always picked fights with other inmates. The guards did not know how to handle me and suggested that I learn from the Falun Dafa practitioners, as long as I did not cause any trouble.
I was curious about this group of people who followed the principles Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and what made them so calm despite the persecution. I asked a practitioner who was about to be released to bring me a book about Dafa, as I had decided to learn more about this cultivation practice.
He brought me a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main book of Dafa. After I started reading the book, every sentence touched my heart. An enormous compassion from reading this book reached deeply into my heart, and tears covered my face. I had a sense of returning home. I had made up my mind: I will cultivate in this great Fa.
I asked practitioners to teach me the exercises the next day. The guards were all relieved when they saw me learning the practice. Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Dafa, cleansed my body shortly after I began to cultivate.
From that day forth, my daily routine included studying Master Li's teachings and doing the exercises. I soon told the guards and the head inmate to stop their mistreatment of practitioners. I made sure that all of the practitioners had Dafa books and stopped people from interfering with practitioners doing the exercises.
Because of my earlier reputation, other inmates would do things for me like getting my meals, washing my clothes, and making my bed. After practicing Dafa, I realized that it was not right to have others serve me. I should do it myself, and abide by the Dafa principles.
The guards often purchased some cheap merchandise and sold it to inmates at a high price. They would even take the inmates' possessions for themselves. One day, a guard told me to find some new socks for him. In the past, I would have told the inmates to hand over their new socks, but I knew that this was wrong. I refused to follow such orders going forward.
I had made a lot of enemies in the past. When I was arrested, they were very happy and wanted to keep me in jail for a long time. They joined forces and paid people to pursue false charges against me. They even went to the Provincial Procuratorate and set up a task force to investigate me.
They interviewed people that knew me and asked if I ever mistreated them or took their belongings. They wanted to add more crimes to my name. The result of the investigation shocked them. In contrast to what they were expecting, everyone was praising me for helping them.
During the peak of the persecution, the people in the system witnessed the power of Falun Dafa. A selfish, violent criminal turned into a considerate, kind, and helpful human being who lived by Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
“Falun Dafa is great,” said one of the guards. “The investigation to prove your criminal nature came up just the opposite of what was expected. You became a model person here by helping others at all times. Amazing!”
I spent close to 16 years in jail, but nothing could stop me from firmly believing in Falun Dafa and Master. I continue to study the Fa teachings and do the exercises daily, as well as everything that is required of a practitioner.
I have persuaded over 3,000 people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its youth organizations. After my release, many of my family members and friends were impressed by my change and also quit the CCP. Some also began to practice Falun Dafa.