(Minghui.org) I had an unforgettable experience while being imprisoned for my belief in Falun Dafa in 2007. My understanding about righteous thoughts was shallow then. After being imprisoned for years, I knew next to nothing about what was happening in the outside world, especially other practitioners’ efforts to expose the persecution. The prison rules and activities were designed to confine inmates both physically and mentally. The authorities’ goal was to destroy practitioners’ willpower to continue cultivating. Without Dafa books to read, a practitioner could hardly keep his righteous thoughts, let alone do things to validate the Fa.

Nonetheless, a practitioner’s true righteous thoughts are deeply rooted in his heart. With my righteous thought intact, I managed to survive the harshest tortures in the prison’s “maximum security zone” and the “prison inside a prison.” I gradually blended in with the inmates and would like to tell you about one memorable incident.

Just before Chinese New Year, the prison authorities told the inmates in different zones to prepare some performances for the celebration party. Since I had yet to be transformed, I was not supposed to participate. The inmate who was designated to monitor me on a regular basis was hosting the party. She brought me along to the party as a favor, since we were on good terms.

After the scheduled performances, the organizers began to call individual inmates at random to perform on stage, and people cheered for them. Then I heard my name. The inmates began to chant my name and said, “Come to the stage!” I tried to ignore them, hoping they would choose someone else. But the cheers became louder. Finally, everyone in the audience chimed in: “Come on, come on!”

Everyone was looking at me. I told myself: “This is not a time to chicken out. I’m a Dafa practitioner, what will people think of Falun Dafa if I was too concerned about my self-image?” My righteous thoughts expelled my fear. I then stood up and walked to the stage.

I thought: “What should a Dafa practitioner do at this moment?” After being handed the microphone, I calmly said: “First of all, I want to say Falun Dafa is good.”

The audience became silent. My words resonated as if they came from the upper levels of the universe. I was surprised that my voice was so clear and pleasant.

A couple of seconds later, bedlam broke out. Some inmates were shouting their disapproval. The guards rushed in through metal gates and ran towards me. A guard told the inmates to call out “Not Good!” before sending them back to their prison cells. The party was over. They took me to the medical room.

The medical staff asked what happened. I briefly told them the story. They were silent. I refused to cooperate with their so-called physical exam, and there was not much they could do.

They called some supervisors to the medical room despite the late hour. People were talking about this with excitement. I calmly explained to them what I did and why.

After repeated requests, I agreed to have my blood pressure taken. The result showed high blood pressure. In the past, my blood pressure was quite low, 90/60. It had never been high. The medical staff was nervous and decided to keep me overnight.

Almost all the prison leaders came the next day, asking me to describe the incident. I repeated the same story over and over. They did not know what to say, not even a word of disapproval. All I did was verbalize my true feelings; nothing could be done to undo that.

They were making a big deal out of this and moved me to a private suite with a bathroom, isolating me from the other patients. They originally wanted to send me to a solitary confinement cell. But due to my blood pressure, they kept me in the medical wing instead.

The conditions there were very good. The room was spacious and bright and had windows with a view. I was not assigned any work. They also did not force me to take any medicine. My blood pressure gradually became normal.

The authorities told me I had to write a statement to meet certain conditions before they could send me back. I refused to promise anything. They talked to me several times, and each time the conditions were less than before. They ultimately just asked me to promise not to repeat the same behavior in the future. I said: “I cannot promise because I cannot change what’s in my heart.”

A month later, the authorities told me to return to my assigned prison cell. I was given three days to rest in a reading room, where I took a hot bath and washed all my clothes and bedding. I was able to return with dignity.

I knew Master Li protected my safety, and rewarded me with special treatment. The special detention was the easiest part of my imprisonment. I had much more freedom and comfort. It was triggered by my brief act of courage to validate the Fa. To me, this demonstrated the miraculous wonder of Dafa’s power.