(Minghui.org) It has been two years since I returned from the prison where I was held due to the persecution of Falun Dafa by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Everything that happened in the past is very vivid in my mind, and I have a lot to say. Thus, I put together this article to share with fellow practitioners, with the hope of helping others by sharing what I enlightened to.
Refusing to Cooperate in Prison
When I was illegally arrested, I refused to cooperate with the evil and struggled very hard. Because of that, they tightened my handcuffs, which left trails of blood on my wrists and hands. Later they took me to the police bureau, where they cuffed my hands behind my back and tied my legs to an iron chair. A few male police officers forced open my tight fists. They kept pricking me with needles, saying they wanted to collect blood. I didn’t say a word during the entire interrogation process.
Master said,
“No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil’s demands, orders, or what it instigates.” (“Dafa Disciples’ Righteous Thoughts are Powerful,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
After that, I was taken to a large room. When I saw I was the only one with handcuffs among the people arrested, I demanded that they take them off. I thought, “I am a practitioner and shouldn’t have them on.” Since no one opened them, I had to take action myself. Without any effort, I took the handcuffs off, which left the police dumbfounded.
At the Harbin Detention Center
I was transferred to the Harbin Detention Center that night, to the same place where other practitioners were held. A female police officer named Zhang was very rude and verbally abused us. She also forced us to put on jail uniforms. But deep down, I knew that she was just a pitiful being manipulated by the evil CCP. Thus, I had no resentment towards her. One day, I overheard her mentioning to someone in the hallway that her wrist hurt so much that she couldn’t sleep well and was exhausted. I saw an opportunity to tell her about Falun Dafa and perhaps stop her from persecuting practitioners.
Next time I saw her, I asked her, “Did your wrist get better?” She was stunned at first, and then she used a peaceful tone that she had never used before and said, “Yes, it got better.”
“How about your sleep?” I asked. “If you don’t sleep well, you can try some honey water to help.” She was surprised again. Then she said, “Thank you!” At that point, she had tears in her eyes, which made me realize she had a kind heart.
Since then, her attitude improved greatly. With a more relaxed environment, we could also recite more Fa, send forth righteous thoughts and save more sentient beings. I was always in high spirits. I also didn’t feel any bitterness, as I had the Fa in my heart, along with Master’s empowerment and encouragement from other practitioners.
I remembered sharing a story with fellow practitioners: A master took a disciple to wander around during his cultivation. Unexpectedly, they lost each other and had to look for each other. Every time the disciple went through an ordeal, he always had the same dream in which he saw two sets of footsteps. He knew they were his and his master’s, for his master accompanied him to walk on the path full of hardship. However, when he was experiencing the greatest tribulation, there was only one set of footsteps. This confused him.
After many years, he finally overcame all his tribulations and got to meet his master again. He asked his master, “Whenever there was difficult time, I saw two sets of footsteps in my dream and knew it was you who safeguarded and accompanied me. But in my most helpless and difficult time, there was only my set of footsteps. What happened to yours?”
His master said quietly, “Actually, I was always by your side. That set of footsteps was not yours, but rather mine. In that most difficult time, only by my putting you on my back or holding you, could you break through.” Right then, the other practitioner and I hugged each other, and we broke into tears.
During the 15 days at the detention center, every day I felt like it was a battle between good and evil. Fellow practitioners and I worked together to clarify the truth to people. Besides, I had to make use of the limited time to recite more Fa and send forth righteous thoughts more intensively, as the detention center was where the evil appeared most often. Every time my attachments flared up and my righteous thoughts subsided, I could clearly feel evil interference and even saw ghosts and demons in my dreams. Empowered by Master, I managed to let go of my attachments time after time to strengthen my righteous thoughts and eliminate all evil.
A practitioner said, “This is like a demon cave. We are just like the Monkey King. Since we came here, we shoulder the responsibility of subduing demons and eliminating them.”
I remember once when I sent forth righteous thoughts for a long time, Master displayed a wonderful scene for me: The sky was filled with purple and yellow clouds, which were very beautiful. Gradually, four golden characters appeared in the sky, which read “Facing Brightness.” It is true: no matter how many tribulations and hardship practitioners have gone through, what awaits Dafa practitioners is a bright future!
In my very last night at the detention center, I wanted to invite the guard surnamed Zhang for a chat. She agreed and we went to her office. In our chat, I got right to the point, telling her the positive changes I experienced in practicing Dafa. I also tried to talk to her about quitting the CCP. Although she didn’t agree in the end, she said she would treat practitioners kindly going forward, as they were good people.
When we wrapped up our chat, she said to me, “If you didn’t practice Falun Gong, we could become best friends. How great would that be?” I said, “You said it wrong. If it weren’t for Dafa, it wouldn’t be possible for me to be here and get to know you.” She smiled.
At the Harbin No.2 Detention Center
I was transferred to the Harbin No.2 Detention Center the next morning. It was fully packed, with more than 30 people crammed into a large bunk. We had to have meals and use the washroom inside the cell. The newly admitted people had to take turns doing daily errands, including washing many rags with cold water, making beds, wiping the floor, and cleaning the toilet. They would be sworn at if they didn’t do a good job. Every morning when it came time for everyone to take turns using the washroom, each person had less than two minutes.
The most difficult part was that the guards didn’t allow anyone to talk or practitioners to contact each other. Thus, I always reminded myself to keep a peaceful mindset, treat those guards and inmates as sentient beings without any resentment or hatred, be considerate of them, and have them see practitioners’ kind demeanor so that their thoughts would go in the right direction.
Gradually, I gained the recognition and respect of guards. With that, my environment also become more relaxed. Fellow practitioners could share understandings with each other and clarify the facts to people around them. I remembered when the Chinese New Year came and the cell lead said, “No matter how bad Falun Gong is persecuted, I know they are all good people, as I have seen the goodness of Falun Gong from them. I hope all of us can also be good people by following ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.’”
What she said was very touching for us practitioners. I also felt glad for these precious sentient beings having learned the truth.
At Heilongjiang Women’s Prison
After a year at the detention center, I was transferred to Heilongjiang Province Women’s Prison. There was dedicated area where practitioners who refused to be “transformed” were punished, such as by sitting upright on a small stool for a long time. They put a wooden prong into the small hole in the middle of the stool so that people could only sit on the front half. The skin on their buttocks was broken within a few days. If one moved even a little bit, one would beaten or sworn at. Besides all that, practitioners were forced to watch DVDs defaming Dafa.
There was an assistant whose name was Li Wenxiu. Whenever new practitioners came in, she kept talking about her crooked theory and evil sayings, with the intent of “transforming” practitioners.
There was also a murderer whose name was Fan Xiumei. She viciously tortured, beat, and swore at steadfast practitioners. A room was set up specifically for this purpose. The windows were kept open in freezing weather. Practitioners were forced to wear thin clothes and sit on cold stools. They said that was their way of keeping practitioners awake.
They often pushed a practitioner to a corner that was not covered by surveillance cameras and had a few inmates surround the practitioner to beat and kick her until she ended up bleeding on the floor and couldn’t get up. They also had newly admitted practitioners stand by to watch them carrying out this evil deed.
Later, they rounded up every practitioner who either refused to be “transformed” or who had declared their “transformation” null and void, and took them to another room. In that room they were guarded by a strange, violent and psychopathic prisoner whose name was Kexin. In that environment, one heard endless cursing, beating, and other forms of torture. This was a hell on earth!
The most painful thing over the last couple of years was having no access to Dafa books or the ability to study the Fa. I could only rely on what I had memorized earlier. I always blamed myself for not spending more time studying. I felt a strong desire to read Dafa books.
Under Master’s protection and empowerment, I came through those unforgettable years. I also want to remind practitioners to treasure every step that we have taken, treasure the limited time for cultivation that Master has left for us, dismantle the evil persecution, and walk well on the path Master arranged!
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