(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
When I recall my cultivation journey I’m grateful to Master (Falun Dafa’s founder) for giving me a healthy mind and body. By following the Fa (teachings) I’m able to handle all kinds of situations.
I suffered from various illnesses, and in 1997 a relative suggested I practice Falun Dafa. My illnesses disappeared after I began practicing, and every day I lived a happy and productive life. I was grateful to Master and Dafa.
To help more people know how amazing Falun Dafa is, I joined other practitioners to introduce the practice to the public. More and more people began coming to the local practice site, and a coordinator suggested we set up another site. We established one near the police station and I bought a music player. Every morning, I arrived before 4 a.m. and we did the exercises, rain or shine.
The police officers often watched us and sometimes they also mimicked the exercise movements. We went to the police station and explained what Falun Dafa is and the director accepted a copy of Zhuan Falun(Falun Dafa’s main book). One officer said, “You practitioners are different from those who practice qigong systems who often throw things around and blast a big speaker. You even clean the area. When the music starts, everyone stands in neat rows.”
We also had a group practice site in my home and as many as 20 practitioners came. Every Sunday, we joined city-wide events to help more people learn about Falun Dafa. We were busy and happy every day.
Jiang Zemin, a former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader, started the persecution of Falun Dafa in July 1999. The defamatory lies deceived many people, and to us practitioners it felt as if the sky was falling. Having practiced Falun Dafa and witnessing the positive impact, I joined other practitioners to appeal for Dafa at the provincial government and in Beijing. Instead of listening, the officials arrested us. We were detained, imprisoned, and tortured.
I gradually understood the vicious nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Through practitioners’ consistent efforts, the general public, both inside and outside China, learned that Falun Dafa is good.
When I heard that a local practitioner knew computer skills but did not have a computer and needed a place to live, I bought a computer and invited him to stay in an apartment I owned. The police arrested him and confiscated everything. I asked them to return the equipment, but they refused.
After I went to Beijing for the third time and unfolded a banner, I was arrested and held in a detention center for over 90 days. I suffered both mentally and physically. When I came home, I found that the cultivation states of the local practitioners was not good. Most of the practitioners who went to Beijing had been arrested and detained. In order for us to keep in touch, I decided to learn computer skills.
Few practitioners knew anything about computers. I signed up for a computer class but had difficulty understanding. I only attended elementary school for two years and I even forgot pinyin. I thought that perhaps I should stop, since it was too hard. I later realized that very few practitioners knew anything about computers, so I needed to learn to keep up with Fa-rectification.
When I mentioned this to another practitioner, she said, “It is not that difficult. You don’t need to attend computer classes. You can just learn the skills you need and practice as you use them.” I agreed. She bought a computer for me and set it up. She very patiently taught me and I paid attention to the details. I learned some basic procedures that day. I was soon able to circumvent the CCP’s Internet blockade and read Minghui articles. I showed other practitioners how to access Minghui.org.
I went to the Minghui website every day. When I saw the picture of Master Li that was published in January 2000, I was moved to tears. Master sacrificed so much to save us. In my heart, I said, “Master, I will listen to you and walk the cultivation path well.”
Visiting Minghui.org is the happiest time of the day for me. Practitioners are able to share our understandings and improve together. I also remind my computer to do a good job so I can assist Master with Fa-rectification. I often recite the phrases of “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
I knew how to download files from Minghui, but I didn’t know how to type. A practitioner bought me a writing board and a stylus, which allowed me to submit the name lists of those who decided to quit the CCP organizations. After another practitioner helped set up an internal mailbox on the Minghui website, I was able to communicate with practitioners who help with Minghui.
I often downloaded various files, such as Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, Minghui Weekly, and Minghui Radio programs. After saving them them on SD cards, I was able to give them to other practitioners whenever they needed them. Some everyday people who knew the facts about Falun Dafa and the persecution were also interested in reading the Nine Commentaries and listening to the Minghui Radio series such as “Our Teacher.” I copied these files onto USB flash drives for them.
Using a computer has been a critical role in my cultivation. When I cultivate diligently, I’m able to access Minghui every day, despite the CCP’s attempts to block the website. I am very thankful to Master for his help.
After the Nine Commentaries was published, Minghui published text messages and MMS templates. One tech support practitioner showed us how to download them, and we taught others. At that time, buying SIM cards did not require real-name registration and we often bought dozens at a time.
The MMS messages were very effective. Because they had both text and graphics, people liked them. They said the MMS messages were well designed and easy to understand. For security reasons, we often split up, and individual practitioners took ten or more SIM cards and sent the messages in mountainous area or in parks.
The CCP eventually blocked our MMS messages so we switched to voice calls. Master helped me remove many attachments—including jealousy, zealotry, showing-off, and complaint. I didn’t know how to use smart phones, and I didn’t know pinyin or English. I thought smart phones belonged to the younger generation, not an old person like me. But I knew I should learn how to use them because we needed to use technology to help Master save people.
One evening, I went to the Minghui.org front page, and while I did heshi (pressing one’s hands together to show respect), I asked Master to help me. The other practitioners and I opened our hearts to learn from each other, look within, and improve ourselves. This project went well in my city and many people learned the facts about Falun Dafa.
One vendor provided us with many second-hand phones and SIM cards. After configuring these phones, we distributed them among practitioners who wanted to participate. We were able to reach out to more people by using an automated dialer and playing prerecorded audio files.
Because the prepaid SIM cards eventually expired, I sometimes went out with seven or eight phones for automated dialing. When other practitioners needed phones, I gave them some. One practitioner said she helped more than 2,000 people quit the CCP organizations during that time. Some practitioners who had fear or other concerns were also able to participate.
When I heard that other practitioners were filing lawsuits against Jiang Zemin for ordering the persecution of Falun Dafa, I was also interested. A coordinator brought a letter she drafted—we used it as an example and wrote our own. We helped other practitioners write theirs. Even practitioners’ family members began writing letters.
There were some interesting stories in this process. In the beginning, express mail went through postal officers. When they filled out the forms, staff members asked where the mail came from and who it was being sent to. The police began to pay attention and we could no longer send these lawsuit letters.
I saw a postal truck parked by the road one day, with a young man sitting in it. I chatted with him and he said he was responsible for receiving and sending mail. He said mail could be picked up at home. Because he received a commission, the more he picked up, the better. When I asked if he could pick up mail from my home, he said yes.
After he came, I told him the facts about Dafa and helped him renounce his CCP membership. I also explained why we sued Jiang. He was a nice person and very quiet. He gave me his phone number so I could contact him. He picked up many lawsuit letters from my home.
He once gave me a pile of press delivery bags and a bag of forms. He showed me how to fill out the form, and said, “Don’t worry about how many you have. As long as you follow the procedure, I’ll guarantee their delivery.” I was very touched and repeatedly thanked him. I was also grateful to Master for arranging this. The young man picked up many lawsuit letters, and we soon received the delivery receipts.
After some time, the CCP intensified the mail blocking. We had an important document that needed to be sent to the Supreme Procuratorate and other government agencies. I contacted the young man and he said he knew the mail blocking was getting tighter. “But I can find another way to send it,” he said. Two days later, we received the receipt from the Supreme Procuratorate and I was again thankful.
We sometimes had different opinions, and often argued about who was right or wrong. We all looked inward to see how we could improve. We knew this was interference from the old forces. We also shared our thoughts and reminded each other to cultivate well.
We wanted to expose the persecution, but we did not have the perpetrators’ information. Some practitioners asked their relatives to help. After we put our hearts in it, we quickly collected lots of information.
We didn’t have some information for the key perpetrators in my region. I tried, but didn’t make much progress. A practitioner tried to find information about a retired 610 Office director but did not succeed. I also checked but I didn’t find anything.
One day, I decided to try again. This time, I found out that his family had gone on vacation to celebrate a birthday. I found a photo posted online showing the entire family at the birthday party. The information was thorough and was exactly what we were looking for. We knew Master was helping us, and we were very thankful.
We needed to expose the vicious deeds of several police officers, but we couldn’t find their ID numbers or phone numbers. A practitioner remembered a practitioner who worked at China Unicom. After we contacted him, he said, “I’m glad you came today, because I was leaving tomorrow.” We were grateful to Master Li.
We also made greeting cards to Master and submitted them to Minghui every year. Besides using the templates from Minghui, we also designed our own cards. One practitioner said that instead of doing this, I should have gone out and told people about Dafa. I explained that contributing to the greeting cards is also important. “After so many years of persecution, we Falun Dafa practitioners are still determined in our faith. Isn’t this something we want people to know? Compassionate Master has sacrificed so much for us and we need to show our gratitude,” I replied.
I want to thank Master for always guiding and protecting me. I also want to thank practitioners who are part of Minghui for their dedication and support. Let’s all continue to do better, and walk our final steps well.
These are my personal experiences. Please point out anywhere inconsistent with Dafa’s teachings.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Selected submission for the 22nd China Fa Conference on Minghui.org)