(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1995. Guided by its principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, I have benefited both physically and mentally during my 28 years of cultivation. I have experienced so many trials and tribulations, but with righteous thoughts and the willpower I cultivated in Dafa, I have made it to where I am today. I am grateful to Dafa’s founder Master Li! I am grateful to Dafa!
I went to Beijing in October and again in December of 1999 to appeal for justice for Falun Dafa. I was arrested and held in a detention center in a remote county. Most of the detentions I endured lead to prison sentences.
I met a female practitioner there who looked dignified and serious. She was 27 and had graduated from a renowned university and had a good job. As soon as she saw me, she said very solemnly, “Recite Zhuan Falun.” I was very surprised that she was able to memorize all of Zhuan Falun! I said, shamefully, that I couldn’t. She said, “I doubt if you are a Dafa disciple.” I was sad and began to reflect on myself. Although I had been practicing for five years, I hadn’t made much effort to study the Fa, let alone memorize it or solidly cultivate.
During the days we spent together, she helped me a lot. I memorized the Fa with her every day, and it was then that I started memorizing Hong Yin. She told me to get along well with our cell mates, so I took care of scrubbing the toilet, organizing things, and passing on positive energy.
After listening to me clarify the truth, a few police officers changed their attitude toward me, saying, “Other people are imprisoned because money, love, or anger got the best of them, but look at what you’re incarcerated for. Isn’t it unjust?” I replied, “I’m a beneficiary of Falun Dafa, and I want to use my voice to stand up for Master and Dafa. Falun Dafa is the most righteous and the best, and my master was wronged. It was the government that made a mistake!”
“The Palate’s Attachments Severed”
After the guards realized the truth, they treated me kindly and allowed my family to visit. My mother once rented a car and traveled several hundred miles to bring me a pot of pork stew, the aroma of which was so mouth-watering that the others in the cell swarmed over it and snatched it all up. For someone who hadn’t eaten any meat for over 40 days, there’s nothing more attractive than this. At that time, my mind also stirred, but I immediately realized my attachment. I recited over and over again “... The palate’s attachments severed ...” (“Abiding in the Dao,” Hong Yin), and suddenly the desire disappeared completely. I knew that Master had taken it away from me. After that, I had no desire or attachment to food.
At that time, it was more than 10 degrees Celsius below zero (14 degrees Fahrenheit), and there was no hot water. I had to break the ice to get water to wash my face, and I couldn’t take a shower for several months. The wind was freezing at night and snowflakes fell onto our quilts, so it was difficult to sleep. I never ate meat or greens in the detention center. Each meal was a bucket of salty water, with two or three withered yellow leaves and rice mixed with sand that had a nasty, musty smell.
Master said,
“The master takes you through the entrance, and cultivation is up to you, yourself. It all depends upon how you, yourself cultivate. Whether you can cultivate all depends upon whether you can endure, sacrifice, and suffer.” (Zhuan Falun)
I spent many sleepless nights reciting this passage of Master’s teachings over and over again. One day, the notice came that my fellow practitioner had been illegally sentenced to two years in prison, and she was going to be taken away. She cried, and so did I. It was painful and very upsetting. I took off my cotton-padded jacket and put it on her.
The Fa Has Standards, and the Fa Is Immutable and Unbreakable
I was released a month later. My relatives and the director of the cultural bureau where I worked drove hundreds of miles from my hometown to pick me up. Under Master’s protection, I finally got out of that devil’s den.
Master said,
“Whether you’ve done well or not; whether or not you’ve been susceptible to being persecuted; whether or not you’ve handled things correctly and to what degree you have been persecuted—all of this is directly connected to how you have walked your path and how you have thought about things.” (“What a Dafa Disciple Is,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume XI)
Master’s Fa gave me a wake-up call, and I reflected on the path I had taken. I learned the importance of solid cultivation and no longer chased after any superficial form of it. The Fa has standards, and the Fa is immutable and unbreakable.
In July 2016, I was arrested for distributing truth-clarification materials and urging people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. At the police station, I was interrogated and tortured. I held fast to the thought that I would not cooperate with any of their orders or instructions and would do only what the Fa requires. When the police saw that I would not cooperate, they beat me violently.
Six police officers hit me, kicked me, and grabbed me by the hair. They then dragged me into a small dark room, where they handcuffed me behind my back and pinned me to the ground, yelling as they shackled my feet. One office said, “If she doesn’t talk, put the Hat on her.” The so-called “Hat” is a torture device made of iron. They put it on me, and it was so heavy that I couldn’t straighten my back, I couldn’t see anything, and I had difficulty breathing. All I heard was them yelling and screaming, then closing the door and leaving.
I started looking inward, but I couldn’t find the key omission in my cultivation, so I began to recite “On Dafa” over and over again. I lost my balance, fainted, and lost consciousness. I don’t know how long I was unconscious, but I was awakened by cold water. I subconsciously said to myself, “I’m lacking oxygen.” I opened my eyes and saw many officers surrounding me, pouring water on my face and head. They saw that I was conscious and carried me into a police car.
Old Forces, Listen Carefully: “I Am a Disciple of Master Li Hongzhi”
When I got out of the car, I saw that four police cars and eight officers had been escorting me. I thought I was being taken to a detention center, but what I saw now was completely different. There was no sign at the entrance, and it was heavily guarded. There were several metal gates, and the “handover” point was only a small window, which was very strange. Four people in medical garb took my blood, measured my blood pressure, and weighed me.
I began to panic, knowing that the situation was serious. The cruel reality was right in front of my eyes. I knew that human thinking would be useless and could not solve anything for me, so I adjusted myself, rejected the human thoughts, and sent forth powerful righteous thoughts to dissolve all the evil beings. I asked Master to strengthen me. After 30 minutes of sending righteous thoughts, I felt very calm, and I was wrapped in an energy that filled my whole body.
I said in my mind to the old forces, “Old forces, listen carefully: ‘I am a disciple of Master Li Hongzhi. I assist Master to rectify the Fa and am doing the most righteous thing in the universe. Although I have omissions, I will correct myself in the Fa. I will only walk the path arranged by Master, and all other arrangements will not touch me.’” I then felt powerful energy strengthening my gong and soaring into the universe.
The police dragged me into a padded room with no windows and only a small cutout with a ventilation fan. They handcuffed me to a chair. On the table across from me, a large video screen played constantly. I didn’t answer anything the police asked me. Finally, they ordered me to sign a document. I wrote: “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!”
I then began to clarify the truth about the staged “self-immolation” on Tiananmen Square and the persecution of Falun Dafa initiated by Jiang Zemin and the CCP. They listened very attentively, and not a single one of them said anything. I continued to tell them how the CCP persecutes what is good and strikes down what is righteous, corrupting all of society and leading to its moral decline. I said, “Falun Dafa benefits the country and society. It is practiced in more than 100 countries and regions around the world; the whole world says that Falun Dafa is good. Shouldn’t you reflect on yourselves? Today, you utilized the state machinery to beat me up, a defenseless old woman, and brutally tortured me, leaving me with a bloody head and a swollen face. What crime have I committed? I hope my country will prosper, I hope its people will live and work in peace and contentment, and I hope that society will be harmonious. So what crime have I committed? I want to bring the goodness and blessings of Falun Dafa to you and to wish you and your entire families happiness and peace.”
At this point, two officers began to applaud and another said, “What you said was wonderful.” They released me the next day. Under Master’s protection, I broke out of the devil’s den!
This unexpected result filled me with confidence in Dafa. Once again, I witnessed Master’s teachings:
“If a person is completely in the Fa no one can touch him.” (Teachings at the 2005 Conference in San Francisco).
This incident also made me re-examine myself and served as a warning about the seriousness of cultivation.
If there is anything inappropriate in my sharing, please kindly correct me.
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Category: Cultivation Insights
