(Minghui.org) When I was 19 years old in 1988, I was sent to a forced labor camp for three years for getting involved in a fight. The guards were basically gangsters wearing police uniforms, and they beat me very badly. In order to survive, I gradually became very cunning, aggressive, and ruthless.
I was deeply poisoned by the distorted principles of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I did whatever it took to get what I wanted, and I thought that I was clever and wise.
In October 1997, I was fortunate to be introduced to Falun Dafa. From then on, I followed Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. I understood that all the karma I created from doing bad things must be repaid. Every time my legs hurt unbearably while sitting in the full-lotus position for meditation, I told myself, from the bottom of my heart, that I would never do bad things in the future.
I feel so lucky that I was able to learn the great Dafa of the universe and know that the true purpose of human life is to return to one’s true nature. I keep the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance in mind and strictly demand of myself to follow these principles both at work and my everyday life. I quit smoking, drinking, gambling, and lusting after women. I stopped telling lies, stopped getting into fights, and got rid of all kinds of bad habits. My changes were well received by my family, colleagues, and friends.
Standing Up for Dafa
On July 20, 1999, former CCP leader Jiang Zemin launched the persecution against Falun Dafa. Practitioners were illegally detained, sent to forced labor camps, and sentenced to prison. There was no place to reason with the local governments, because they all said it was an order from the central government, and they could only execute it.
As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I felt very pained when I saw Dafa and Master being slandered. Falun Dafa teaches people to be good and have high moral standards. How could that be a crime?! Dafa can make a bad person turn around, abandon doing evil things and become a good person. I knew very well that the government was wrong, and I thought it must be because the government did not know what Dafa really is.
Even though my family, friends, and managers all urged me to reconsider, I still went to the Petition Office of the State Council in Beijing three times to tell them the true situation of Falun Dafa. I also went to Tiananmen Square to practice the Dafa exercises and displayed banners with the words, “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.” I was then illegally sentenced to three years of forced labor and was fired from my job. I was often harassed and threatened by police, Domestic Security personnel, and neighborhood committee members. In order to avoid the persecution, I was forced to stay away from my home for 19 years.
Taking Responsibility
Many practitioners in our region went to Beijing to appeal and they were severely persecuted. They were illegally sentenced and sent to forced labor camps. Some practitioners gave up cultivation, and some only studied the Fa teachings at home and were too afraid to contact other practitioners. After I returned from being detained in a forced labor camp for three years, I saw the overall situation in our region was not great, and I felt a strong sense of responsibility. I thought that we must form a one-body, but I didn’t have much experience and didn’t know where to start.
The other practitioners trusted me because I came back from the forced labor camp and had not given up practicing Falun Dafa. At that time, the persecution was very severe. The practitioners at the material production site were under a lot of pressure and did not want to continue producing truth-clarification materials. They came to me to see if I could find anyone who would be willing to take the equipment.
There were almost no practitioners who were producing truth-clarification materials or Minghui Weekly in our city. Very few practitioners could even access the Minghui website. I was able to find two practitioners who agreed to take over producing materials, and I took on the responsibility of delivering Master’s new lectures, Minghui Weekly, and truth-clarifying materials to practitioners in all the districts in the city, and the nearby remote mountainous areas. In this way, I started to get in contact with more practitioners.
Under Master’s arrangement, a practitioner who was good with technology came from the provincial capital, and a practitioner from another city came to our city. After two years of hard work, they established nearly 20 material production sites and trained some young practitioners.
A practitioner who ran a material site was arrested. Under severe torture, he gave my and my wife’s names to the police. The Domestic Security police monitored my home for nearly three months. When they saw that we did not return home, they went to look for us at our relatives’ homes. Our relatives were worried and frightened. They got the message to us and told us to not return home. We were forced to go from place to place for 19 years.
In order to avoid the persecution, we moved 12 times. We had little money and barely made enough to survive. We always bought the cheapest leftover vegetables. Most of the places we rented were simple bungalows. In winter, there was barely any heat and the water tanks froze. We had to wear hats when we slept. The conditions were difficult, but we knew our responsibilities and mission.
The Domestic Security personnel were always after us. We were regarded as key people for persecution, and they would get rewards if they arrested us. They searched for us everywhere. Our relatives’ phones were secretly monitored, and some were called in and threatened by the police.
Under Master’s protection we remained in our hometown and quietly fulfilled our responsibilities. We formed a one-body with other practitioners and worked hard together to save people. Whenever something was needed, I always tried to provide it.
A practitioner was imprisoned for four years, but he still openly validated Dafa. He wrote “Heaven will destroy the CCP” on the back of his clothes, and “Falun Dafa is good” on the wall next to the bed. In retaliation the prison guards severely tortured him. After he was released from prison he thanked us, “You exposed the persecution I suffered on the Minghui website many times and went to various departments in the provincial capital to report my situation; the prison director and guards received many calls from overseas and domestic practitioners. They were shocked and eventually stopped torturing me. Otherwise I would have been persecuted to death.”
During Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival, we brought gifts to visit the families of practitioners who were illegally detained in prison. During one harvest season, more than 100 practitioners went to help the families of practitioners who were imprisoned. This news spread throughout the township, and practitioners were praised and admired. A child of an imprisoned practitioner said, “If I could choose my friends, I would choose Falun Dafa practitioners.”
Our sincere help for the families validated the beauty of Falun Dafa, and also exposed the CCP’s lies broadcast in the media. Many people who had misunderstandings about Dafa hoped it would soon be exonerated.
Assisting Master in Fa-Rectification
During the period of suing Jiang Zemin for instigating the persecution, we tried to closely follow the progress of Fa-rectification. First, fellow practitioners in the city were divided into groups to share their experiences based on the Fa and discuss the lessons we learned from the past. We understood that it was not about doing things but about cultivation, not about just following the trends. Each of us must stand on the basis of saving sentient beings with the purest mentality. Many practitioners talked about their thoughts and understandings and found various human attachments.
Through discussions and sharing based on the Fa, we improved together and reached a consensus. Four practitioners took the tasks of sorting out and mailing the lawsuits in four parts of the city. We divided the work in an orderly manner, had open communication, and coordinated well. Every day we sent righteous thoughts as a group to eliminate the interference from evil factors, and we formed a very strong righteous field. Eight hundred practitioners in our city filed lawsuits against Jiang using their real names, and all were safe under Master’s protection.
Money with truth-clarification phrases on them is very common in our region. Many store owners and business people understood the truth and were very willing to use the currency. A lot of them received blessings, and their businesses thrived. About seven percent of the paper currency circulating in our local markets have the truth-clarification phrases on them.
After the publication of The Ultimate Goal of Communism, we distributed thousands of copies in our area. After reading the book, a government official told a practitioner, “The author of this book is very knowledgeable, and I admire him so much. If you practitioners need vehicles for any activities, I can help with that. Let me know if you need help with anything. I also want to let all my employees read this book. If another volume of this book comes out, make sure to give it to me as soon as possible.”
Our material distribution team, which I’m a part of, distributed millions of various booklets, and our vehicles have traveled a total of 250,000 kilometers. One practitioner said it was equivalent to circling the earth six times. A senior practitioner who clarifies the truth face to face said, “We did not let down our local people. We walked through all the city’s streets and alleys, various communities, farms, shops, and markets so many times. Many people have withdrawn from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and even those who used to not want to listen to us, now no longer say bad things about Dafa.”
A practitioner overheard a conversation in the morning market, “There are so many Falun Dafa practitioners now. I sometimes encounter several people a day who ask me to withdraw from the CCP!”
The world is going through various natural and man-made disasters, plagues, and life-and-death moments. It is a critical time for people to understand the truth about Dafa and withdraw from the CCP. We must keep a clear mind and have stronger righteous thoughts. We will give our best efforts and continue to fulfill our responsibilities, sacred vows, and assist Master in saving sentient beings.
I am so grateful to Master for creating the best future for Dafa practitioners as well as all sentient beings who understand the truth! Thank you Master for your compassionate salvation and protection!
Thank you Master! Thank you fellow practitioners!
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Category: Improving Oneself
