(Minghui.org) In the Journey to the West, a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty, there was a sentence that kept going through my mind: “It is hard to obtain a human body – it is hard to be born into the Middle Kingdom – it is hard to come across the righteous way. If a person can become a part of all the aforementioned, he is one of the luckiest persons in the world.”
I am one of these lucky people. I started to practice Falun Dafa 20 years ago, and became a Falun Dafa practitioner. Master Li (the founder) has been protecting and changing me.
I started to practice Falun Dafa in August 1998 at the age of 34. My son was 13, and my daughter was 10 years old at the time.
I worked in a factory and my husband was a bank clerk. Soon after my daughter was born, my husband had a motorcycle accident. He hit an elderly lady who died in the hospital. He was sentenced to three years in prison, which was commuted to home detention. He was transferred to work in the boiler room in the bank. He had a hot temper, and resigned immediately. He had to pay huge fines to the elderly lady’s family, which made us be in debt.
To make money, my husband borrowed money for setting up a small business with his partner. But his partner was dishonest, and he went bankrupt. Giving tremendous pressure, he left home. The debtors demanded that I pay off his debts. One month I had only 15 yuan left after I paid back some of the debts. Life seemed hopeless.
My sister told me that she was practicing Falun Dafa in August 1998, and that Falun Dafa was so powerful that it could change everything, including my family situation. I was moved, and saw the hope of changing my family environment. The next day I started to learn Falun Dafa at a practice site.
I came to know about the origin of life, and the purpose for being alive on this earth, after reading Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa. I also learned that human beings are reincarnated, and have causal relationships. My mind was opened up. Zhuan Falun is a heavenly book, and when I read Zhuan Falun I discovered more and more the purpose of my life.
As I studied the Fa and did the exercises, my xinxing improved. I no longer had the thought of changing my family situation using Falun Dafa. One month later I didn’t have money to buy food. I said to Master Li in my heart: “Master, living in this world is bitter. I will cultivate diligently and follow you to return to my original home!” My children and I ate only potatoes these last few days. My determination in cultivating in Dafa, however, became stronger.
Family tests kept coming as I cultivated. My husband's behavior worsened. One day he came home drunk and dumped out a basin of water. I cleaned it silently. He was angered by my calmness. He lay down on the sofa, kicking his legs and waving his arms. He stared at me and said: “I would like to see how you don’t get angry today, and how Falun Dafa is so good!”
He stood up and started to beat me. After a while he saw me still calm, he hit my daughter for a while. Then he beat my son. Two hours later he felt tired and fell down asleep while walking to the bedroom. My children and I dragged him to the bed. I took off his shoes, and clothes, and put a blanket over him.
I didn’t get angry but didn’t feel calm inside either. I meditated beside him for about 10 minutes, and then my mind became empty. What just happened became a remote part of me. He said in his sleep: “Forbearance is an action of a high realm. Harmony is noble.” I realized that Master was encouraging me through his words. This reinforced my determination in cultivation, and my complete trust in Master.
The communist regime headed by former leader Jiang Zemin launched the persecution of Falun Dafa in July 1999. Our Master and Dafa were slandered and framed. Many practitioners went to Beijing to validate the Fa. I wanted to go with them. But, in my family I was the bread earner. If I left, who would look after my two children who were in primary school? My husband normally cursed at us or beat us. It was a hard choice for me. But when hearing the media slander Master, I decided to go to Beijing to appeal for justice of Falun Dafa. I would not return home if the Fa was not rectified.
I went to Beijing with my sister and sister-in-law in September 1999. Many practitioners were arrested at the petition office. There was nowhere we could go to appeal. We stayed in Beijing for over a month, and spent nights in a cornfield, the bush in the hills, and the basemen of a practitioner’s house, among mice and cockroaches.
Falun Dafa was declared an evil cult on television on October 26, 1999. The three of us sisters, and some other practitioners decided to go to Tiananmen Square to validate the Fa. The police were everywhere. We were arrested as soon as we arrived. We were taken to the Miyun Detention Center in Beijing. The guards kicked and beat me when I was doing the sitting meditation, stood on my legs, and kept jumping up and down.
They dragged me outside where it was raining and cold. The guard pushed me to the ground. Five guards beat me and pulled me up after 10 minutes. Then, they put a big rusty shackle on me. They handcuffed my hands behind my back. I didn’t hate them but felt sorry for them. They were used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The handcuffs were tightened, and rubbed my wrists which were sore. I asked another elder practitioner to put my legs into a full lotus position so that I could practice the meditation exercise. Then, within 10 minutes the handcuffs became loose and my wrist was no longer painful. The practitioner was surprised to tell me that my handcuff opened up itself. I was a bit moved for witnessing the power of Falun Dafa.
The guard came to the cell at noon the next day and was surprised that my handcuff was open. He knew that it was impossible to open the old-style handcuff. I felt gratitude to Master who used various means to enlighten sentient beings not to commit crimes against Dafa or Dafa practitioners and ruin themselves. Master was looking after practitioners all the time.
Several days later two guards broke my shackle with a big hammer. One of them started to curse at Master. I told him to stop because it was not good for him. His nose started to bleed. I gave him tissues. He immediately changed his attitude, and no longer badmouthed Falun Dafa.
I was held by the local brainwashing center for one month after I returned from Beijing. They tried to force me to write statements to give up Falun Dafa or guarantee not to go to Beijing. I was not released until they extorted 500 yuan from my brother.
I lost my job after I returned home. The local police often harassed me. On one occasion the police car with sirens on parked outside my home at midnight. My husband and children were constantly harassed and frightened. My husband treated me more harshly.
My sister and I were reported to the police when we were distributing Falun Dafa informational fliers in a village. We were held at the city's detention center. We clarified the truth about Dafa to the criminal inmates. Many of them got along well with us. We were sentenced to two years of forced labor 10 days later.
But the provincial forced labor camp refused to take us. The director of the local police station ordered two policemen to take us home.
My sister wrote a letter to the director, and delivered it to him in person. He said that he didn’t want to stay there. He was replaced later on.
My sister-in-law was arrested in August 2012 because she played prerecorded voice messages about Falun Dafa to the mayor over the phone. The police also searched my rented apartment, so I went to my sister who lived in another city.
I found a job as a housemaid for an elderly couple. One day I thought of my brother who suffered from bleeding in the brain, and my son and nephew who were still in police custody, when I was walking up the stairs. I fell and hurt my ankle, which began to swell.
I felt a lot of pain that night. I recited the Fa in my heart and sent righteous thoughts. I had hardly any sleep because of the pain. After I sent forth righteous thoughts at 6 a.m., I still stayed in bed. Suddenly, I remembered that the elderly man had told his wife to make breakfast. I did not think that his wife should make breakfast for me as she was already 90 years old.
While getting ready I thought I should prepare breakfast for them. I felt a cold energy moving to my foot, and it was no longer painful. I was amazed. When I thought of others' needs first, Master dissolved the tribulation for me. The two people were amazed witnessing the power of Dafa and withdrew from the CCP.