(Minghui.org) Looking back at what I experienced in cultivation as I read Master’s words, I became overwhelmed with emotion!
“So as a cultivator, what is truly remarkable is when you can be steadfast and have righteous thoughts so firm that nothing can sway you. Be solid and firm like diamond, or granite, and then nothing can affect you—evil will be afraid at the mere sight of you. If upon encountering trying circumstances your thinking can be truly righteous, then, when faced with the evil’s persecution and when faced with interference, just one sentence of yours fortified with steadfast righteous thoughts can instantly make the evil disintegrate (applause), and it will make those who are being used by the evil turn and flee, it will make the evil’s persecution of you dissolve, and it will make the evil’s interfering with you disappear without a trace. One thought born of righteous faith is all it takes. And whoever can hold firm to that righteous thought and go the distance will become a magnificent god forged by Dafa.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume VII)
While I was in prison for refusing to give up Falun Dafa, I wanted to show the prison personnel that my righteous thoughts are as strong as stone. They moved me around among the different teams. The team leaders got recognized if the prisoners under their charge were obedient. Thus, my refusing to do labor because I was illegally imprisoned caused them to lose face. One thought was rooted firmly in me: Dafa teaches people Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance; Dafa practitioners are innocent!
A few days after I was transferred to a new team, a cellmate gave me a heads up, “You are not to sleep at night.” I just smiled and did not think much of it.
Sure enough, as we were getting ready for bed, the night watch prisoner came up to me, “Team leader’s order, you are not allowed to sleep.” I lay quietly for a few minutes before getting up and said, “Nobody can disturb me tonight. If it is the team leader’s order, the team leader has to tell me herself!”
The next morning, the team leader came to the workshop and shouted at me, “You are not doing any work!”
“Why should I work,” I replied. “Are you trying to get free labor?”
She screamed at me, “You will do some learning tonight!” In there, “learning” meant hours of physical punishment.
“You will have to do it with me!” I continued, “Not allowing me to sleep, whose order is that? Does the head of the prison know? I must know who gave this order, so I can expose who is doing such an evil deed!”
The cellmates there made me sit down. The team leader stormed out. I learned later that she asked other prisoners to give false witness reports that I caused a disruption in the workshop, and she applied for a “small cell” confinement order as punishment.
Before the work day ended, the team leader called me to her office and accused me of shouting, “Falun Dafa is good” in the workshop. I calmly pointed out that her accusation was false. I asked to speak to the warden of our prison section to confirm the order of not allowing me to sleep. There was a guard in the office who listened to our entire conversation.
That night I was moved to another room. The “not allowed to sleep” order was never mentioned again.
One day the Falun Dafa practitioners and some criminals in our team were called to the office. The team leader asked sternly: “Are you [Falun Gong practitioners] going to salute?” “Salute” referred to how prisoners were instructed to kneel on one knee when speaking to prison officials. This is done to insult and humiliate the practitioners.
I immediately replied, “I won’t.”
“Who else won’t?” The team leader looked at the others.
A few stepped forward, and the rest stayed quiet.
After a short pause, the team leader said, “All of you will do some learning tonight.”
In prison, “learning” referred to the ways by which Falun Gong practitioners were mentally and physically tortured to coerce them to initially comply and to ultimately give up Falun Dafa. Criminals were used to monitor the Falun Dafa practitioners. Practitioners were not allowed to wash and use the bathroom, were forced to stand or squat for hours at a time, and were not allowed to sleep, etc.
As I was leaving the office, I sensed a strong black cloud of evil energy on top of my head. I set my mind to speak to the prison warden and walked straight into her office.
Looking at the prison warden face to face, I said, “The team leader ordered ‘learning’ as punishment. I will not allow people to commit crimes in front of me [since the criminals will say things that slander Falun Dafa]!” I continued, “It does not matter whether the person is a guard or a criminal, in my eyes, we met through fate, I treasure fate. You can lock me up in a ‘small cell’ if you want, however, I will expose everything I suffered here when I leave!”
My words were genuine, and the prison warden was a rational person. In the end, she said to me, “You can go back.”
That night, nothing happened in our team. No “learning” was mentioned.
Looking back at my twenty-plus years of cultivation, I am grateful for Master’s compassionate protection!
Thank you, Master!