(Minghui.org) I started to practice Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) in 1994. I was amazed after I began to cultivate, not only because I recovered from all my illnesses, but also because I learned how to be a good person.
Master asks us to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. As I am a cultivator, I do everything based on Falun Dafa’s principles. My moral character improved, and I experienced drastic changes. My coworkers say that I am a good person, and my family members witnessed my changes. My mother said, “I would never have imagined that you would recover from your illnesses.” My sister said, “You no longer have a bad temper.”
Since July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sought to denigrate Falun Gong through an aggressive propaganda campaign. However, there was a group of people who were able to tell right from wrong, and know the difference between compassion and being violent.
Arrested, Clarifying the Truth in the Detention Center
I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in October 1999. I was arrested, taken back to a local detention center, and held in the same cell as a few practitioners.
At first, inmates looked at us as if there was something wrong with us, because they were poisoned by the CCP propaganda. They watched us closely, but slowly changed how they looked at us. Although they still didn’t understand us, they were hostile and they verbally abused us. So, we clarified the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution to them, and told them how to be a good person.
Gradually, they changed their attitude because they realized that we were good people. They changed from stopping us doing the exercises, although they were ordered to do so by the guards The inmates watched the guards through the eye in the door – to protect us. Because we didn’t have exercise music, when we did the second exercise, someone watched the time and reminded us to change our hand positions. They began to trust us and talked to us about their problems. They helped us bring materials, paper, Dafa books, and so on to fellow practitioners. When guards were searching our cell, they helped hide Falun Dafa books.
There were three cells at our detention center, overseen by two women guards. When more women practitioners arrived at the detention center, one more cell was added for women.
We clarified the truth to these women guards. Inmates also talked to them about how good we were. Gradually they understood that we were good people. They changed their attitudes from persuading us to write a guarantee statement that we would no longer practice Falun Gong, to ignoring us when we were doing the exercises. When they heard that the cells would be searched for Falun Gong materials, one would notify us. Generally, the guard took the Dafa books to her office, and return them once the search was over.
Thus, we changed from doing the exercises and studying the Fa secretly to doing them openly. Every day at 5 a.m., we started doing the exercises, and in the afternoon, we studied the Fa together.
One morning, a guard was walking the aisle. He looked inside through the eye in the door and saw practitioners hadn’t started doing the exercises, so he reminded them, “They started doing the exercises in other cells, why didn’t you?”
Inmates fought less, and verbally abused others less. Some didn’t curse anymore. When they said a dirty word they showed that they were embarrassed about their actions and stopped. Some inmates studied the Fa with us. Some said, “If I had come across Falun Gong earlier, I wouldn’t have committed any crimes, nor would I be held here.”
Some people were blessed for helping us. There are many examples and here I just list one. One older woman and her family members killed her son-in-law. She should have been sentenced to a long term, but after she talked to us, she realized that although her son-in-law was bad, it was wrong to kill a person. She changed from hating her son-in-law to feeling guilty about killing him. She was sentenced to seven years in prison. Some inmates should have been sentenced to prison but were released.
Remaining Steadfast No Matter How Treated
There was the head of a cell who was poisoned by the CCP. She tried hard to get every practitioner who moved into that cell to write a guarantee statement to not practice Falun Gong. I was transferred to her cell after I stayed at another cell for over two months. When I moved in, she said, “Anyone who enters this cell should write a guarantee statement.” She saw I didn’t cooperate so she ordered me to clean every day. It was very dirty and not easy to clean. It was very difficult for me, because I had not done any household chores since I was a child. She spit on the floor and told me to clean it. At night, they made me sleep between two big beds. Every night, people could easily reach me and kick me when they stretched their feet, and I was frequently kicked, so I woke up.
I didn’t care about what she did. Every day, I was happy and talked to her about the facts of the persecution whenever I had a chance. Gradually she changed her attitude. She said to other people, “I see she works very hard and that life isn’t easy here. Her family and her work are good. She could be released if she wrote a guarantee statement. But she is steadfast. It is hard to imagine.”
One day, police officers from our city and district came to our detention center to interrogate me. My father also came. He said, “I know you don’t want to write a statement. The police officer from our city said if you just draw a vertical line on the statement, you can come home without writing a statement.”
I said, “Dad, Dafa is good, Master is good, it is not wrong to appeal for Falun Gong. Those who arrested me were doing wrong. They told us to write a statement to not practice. Otherwise we won’t be released. How vicious that is! Why would I draw that line? Even if I make a dot, it means I am wrong. I haven’t done anything wrong. Don’t worry about me. I will be released in a dignified way.” My father left sadly.
The head knew that and admired me very much. Later she approached me and no longer cared if I did the exercises. Later, she learned from me how to do the exercises. After that, whenever a fellow practitioner moved into the cell, she wouldn’t ask them to write the statement. And our practitioners could be like other practitioners in other cells, doing the exercises in the morning and studying the Fa during the day.
Released from Prison
Then, I went on a hunger strike to protest my being held. On the third day, the director, deputy director, and a group of guards asked me why I was doing that. I talked a lot about how I benefited from practicing Falun Gong. They listened quietly. The deputy director asked, “Is it true? Is Falun Gong so good?” I said, “Of course. I can bring a book for you to read one day.” Finally, the deputy director said to the director, “Let's release her. Her husband is also a practitioner. Who could help her get released? How could she get out?”
Five days after I went on hunger strike, I was in critical condition. The director had been busy helping to get me released. He even lost his cell phone in the rush. Everything was ready by 5 p.m. I was about to return home in a dignified way. There was a rule that we had to pay 20 yuan for food every day, and I had been held for half a year. The director was working on waiving the fee for me.
Arrested and Detained Again
I was arrested again in May 2007 and sentenced to prison. I was held in a detention center for half a year and then transferred to a women’s prison.
To force Falun Gong practitioners to give up their faith, guards used different ways to torture practitioners. Usually they used inmates by motivating them to shorten their sentences and used those inmates with low morale to watch practitioners. The environment was very bad.
Although I was tortured every day, I still followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I treated everyone around me well, especially those who tortured me. Sometimes it was hard to tolerate when I was tortured physically, verbally abused, and humiliated, so I argued with them. When it was over, I looked within. Master asks us to keep calm under all circumstances. I felt pity for them as they were used to persecute good people. I went through this step by step.
During that time, I wrote truth-clarifying letters to guards who were in charge of “transforming” Falun Gong practitioners. In the letter, I first pointed out that the persecution launched against Falun Gong had done damage to Falun Gong practitioners and their family members. In addition, the persecution turned the whole country into a disaster. I talked about how I witnessed the evil nature of the CCP, the beauty of Falun Dafa, the grand spread of Falun Dafa in the world, my experience of being persecuted, what I witnessed, and the torture I suffered at the women’s prison. I also listed two examples of fabricated stories that were used by guards in order to force practitioners to give up their faith.
Many practitioners were being held, but they still clarified the truth, no matter how difficult it was. In addition, guards and other inmates had close contact with us and realized from their hearts that we were good people. They respected Master and Dafa and admired Dafa practitioners who were still practicing Falun Dafa.
We finally changed the environment. Like other steadfast Dafa practitioners, we could normally do the exercises, study the Fa, send forth righteous thoughts, and do everything we were supposed to do.
One day, an inmate talked to me, “What family were you born into? You are of such good character.” I replied, “Not because of my family. It is because I practice Falun Dafa, so I am of good character.” Guards and inmates who watched me said to me and others, “You are such good people. What a pity that you are held here.”
Inmates Help Practitioners
During those years, I saw some inmates helping practitioners, including transferring messages and lists of names of those who quit the CCP and its youth organizations. This was so that messages could be posted on Minghui and other websites, and fellow practitioners could be contacted and encouraged so that we could protest against the persecution as a whole body.
What is more important, some helped Dafa practitioners get Dafa books (hand-written or copies) of Zhuan Falun, Minghui Weekly, and electronic books, mp3 and 4 players, etc. Some inmates started practicing Falun Dafa and became steadfast practitioners.
One day, when it was lunchtime, inmates from different cells lined up at the cafeteria to get meals when we saw two fellow practitioners who just moved into the special section where Dafa practitioners were tortured. A few inmates, enticed by guards, beat and verbally abused these practitioners and even used tapes to seal their mouths. So, inmates from my cell said loudly, “Falun Dafa is good.”
One night, at the beginning of January 2013, a guard was calling inmates’ names after he drank too much. He beat three Falun Gong practitioners. Inmates saw that and felt very sad. They didn’t dare to stop him but used their bodies to protect fellow practitioners. Some inmates’ arms were beaten to black and blue when they tried to protect practitioners. Even so, these three practitioners were badly injured. All inmates were angry and no one went to sleep at 10 p.m. They cried and demanded to see the head of the prison. The guards didn’t dare open the doors for them, and all waited for results. When there was no result, many inmates cried together. On the second day, near 300 inmates went on hunger strike and stopped working.
I had heard that some women guards couldn’t get pregnant or suffered miscarriages. The latter happened more frequently. People who knew this said it was because those guards persecuted good people. It happened at the women’s prison as well. One guard couldn’t get pregnant for a few years. Her family members especially her mother-in-law was worried. They tried many different methods and secret recipes, but nothing worked.
Fellow practitioners talked to her frequently and clarified the truth. Gradually she had a better understanding of Falun Dafa. She secretly provided help to us. Later, she became pregnant and had a son. The whole family was very happy. These cases were quite common – when guards and inmates treated Dafa practitioners well they were rewarded.
Farewell Celebration with Inmates When Released from Prison
The night before I was released, inmates at my cell said goodbye to me, other people also came to see me. They bought a lot of food for me. We sat in a circle, talked, and ate, and they were reluctant to see me go, but also felt happy for me. One inmate worried, “If the chief (the evilest one who persecutes Dafa practitioners), knows that we are saying goodbye to a Falun Gong practitioner, we will be in trouble.” Our team leader said, “Don’t worry. One member of our team is about to be released. It is normal to have a meal together. Don’t worry about the chief.”
While we were chatting, the team leader said, “Won’t another fellow practitioner also be released tomorrow?” I said, “Yes.”
She said, “Shouldn’t we ask her to be here so we can eat together.” I said, “Good.” I had thought about that. What a good chance and how I hoped fellow practitioners could come to share.
This kind of farewell party is very rare among inmates, not to mention Falun Gong practitioners. It reminds me of another time.
I was held at a detention center at the end of 2007. One night, people knew that I would be transferred to a women’s prison, and inmates at my cell were busy: some helped packing for me, some gave me some gifts, some cried... There were two who hadn’t quit the CCP and its organizations yet, so I urged them to quit soon. Other inmates at another cell cried, and they made a card that night. All signed on that card to express their admiration, sympathy, encouragement so we would remember them. It was very touching for a short period. At around 2 a.m. the second morning, I was taken away, I saw them all crying while leaning to the iron gate. They stretched out their hands and held my hands tightly, “Such a good person is sentenced. How evil is the CCP!”
Every time, when I think about what I had experienced at dark dens. In the darkest and dirtiest environment, Dafa practitioners shine with their unselfishness and give hope to sentient beings. It is because of Master’s mercy.
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