(Clearwisdom.Net)
In the detention center I had been sent to, over one thousand Falun Gong practitioners have been locked up there. Through persistently clarifying the truth to people there, most of the cellmates have obtained positive understandings about Dafa. Some of them even started practicing Falun Gong. In this detention center, seeing a few cellmates studying the Fa or practicing Falun Gong together with Dafa practitioners was prevalent. Those people (cellmates) said that after they got to know Dafa, they had truly learned how to be a good person and would never do anything illegal again. Even the police in the center had to admit that it was Dafa that changed those cellmates for the better!
Ms. Luo, a young lady, was in jail for a money related crime. She was able to study the Fa and practice Falun Gong with us everyday. She could also recite many of Teacher Li's articles. She had been detained in the center for more than a year. During this period of time, she was beaten four times for practicing Falun Gong. She said, "After I leave here, I want to go to Beijing and appeal for Falun Gong. I'd like to tell people how 'Falun Dafa is Great' using my own personal experiences." She also said that she would tell people how she -- a person who had committed crimes -- became a good person. One day Luo joined a few practitioners to practice Falun Gong in public. As a result, she was handcuffed and beaten. Since then, she has been released.
Ms. Qi, also a young lady, was sentenced to jail for selling fake cigarettes. She joined in Fa study and practiced Falun Gong. She also helped practitioners deliver Teacher's articles and provided pens or paper to practitioners. Whenever she found some practitioners in financial difficulties, she would always try her best to help them.
Ms. Fan was sentenced to jail for the second time for drug trafficking. Her husband had divorced her and she nearly lost the will to live. However, during her detention period, Dafa practitioners changed her mind. She joined in our Fa study and practice of Falun Gong. She also paid much attention to her own improvement of Xinxing (moral standards). She never quarreled with others; instead, she often helped others around her. She said to us, crying, "If I hadn't met you and studied the Fa, I would certainly have gone back into selling drugs upon my release. Back then, before I had been introduced to Dafa, I would not have cared if I were sentenced to death. But now, I would never have such thoughts. After I am released, I will never do such flagrantly wrongful things, though I may live a poor and rough life. I will be a good person; a practitioner."
Ms. Yu, 23 years old, was given a death sentence, based on the law, due to her extensive involvement in drug trafficking. When she was sent to this detention center, she had a mental breakdown. By practitioners clarifying the truth of Dafa to her, she developed more peace of mind. She was able to listen to cultivation stories and also joined in Fa study and exercise practice. Her entire spiritual outlook changed as a result. When the police attempted to forbid her from practicing Falun Gong, she said to them, "I am unable to live without Falun Gong." On the night before the sentence was going to be pronounced, she dreamed that she was wearing white clothes and lying on a bloody road. A gentleman came and helped her up. He told her that she would not die. The next day at the sentencing she was granted a reprieve. This sentence was out of everyone's expectation. She told all the people she met that "It was Falun Gong that had saved my life!"
Ms. Zu was sentenced to a 5-year jail term for theft. She said she obtained Dafa in the detention center while waiting to be transferred to prison. On the first day she was sent to the prison, she started to publicly practice Falun Gong immediately upon unpacking her baggage. The police ordered cellmates to kick and beat her. They forced her to bend over at a 90-degree angle, with her head touching a wall, keeping her in this position for an entire day and night without any sleep. She was also required to carry out heavy labor everyday. However, no matter how late she returned to her cell, she never forgot to study Fa and practice the Falun Gong exercises. One day the police found out that she was distributing one of Teacher Li's articles to other practitioners. They searched her cell and confiscated all articles, as well as her meditation mat. She was locked up in a confinement room. They hung her up with both of her hands tied behind her back. She was pressured to admit her 'fault' and write a statement slandering Dafa. As she firmly refused to cooperate with the police, they brutally beat her.
She said to them, "There is nothing wrong in following 'Truth, Compassion, Tolerance.' I have been a bad person who had committed illegal acts. It's because of studying the Fa that I have become a good person. So I can't do anything against my conscience. No matter how you are going to treat me, I will never write such a statement."
The police left her hanging up and beat her face repeatedly until it was completely distorted. She went on a hunger strike to protest such persecution. On the third day, the police were afraid that she would die so they sent her back to her cell. Ms. Zu has strictly obeyed the standards of a practitioner. She was able to clarify the truth to people under any circumstances. Whenever she saw someone was persecuting practitioners, she would try to stop them. She told them, "Falun Gong practitioners are not guilty at all. Why do you want to beat them?" When many cellmates tried to convince her not to do this, she said, "I would practice Falun Gong even if they threaten to add 5 years to my term." Because she acted righteously, her cellmates even regarded her as a good, amazing person.
Among this special group of people, many obtained Dafa in the jail like Ms.Zu. It is the Lord Buddha's compassion and the magnificent power of Dafa that have saved those lives.
September 13, 2003