(Clearwisdom.net) Recently, I have been greatly encouraged by stories of fellow practitioners assisting Master in Fa-rectification, and so I decided to also write about: my experiences after obtaining Dafa, my cultivation, striving forward while verifying Dafa, and all those times in which I did not do well. I would like to share my experiences with all practitioners.
In July 1998, I was fortunate enough to obtain Dafa and shortly thereafter started experiencing many obstacles. Every test I passed made me understand the Fa from a more rational perspective. I was changing and improving every day.
After returning from safeguarding the Fa in Beijing on April 25, 1999, I was placed under surveillance by the local police and the neighbourhood committee. I cherished every opportunity to tell my persecutors about Dafa. In the early morning of July 20, I was forcefully taken to the local police station and because I clarified the truth to the police officers, was unlawfully detained for 24 hours and then transferred to a brainwashing institute. After that, I was constantly monitored by the neighbourhood committee. I simply continued to clarify the truth and tell the people that were watching me about Falun Dafa.
On October 15, 1999, after hearing that Jiang and his criminal associates were going to determine the "nature" of Falun Gong, some fellow practitioners and I were determined to safeguard the Fa by going to Beijing once again. Before I left, I said to my son, "Mom is a Dafa practitioner, you must understand Mom. I know that now is a critical time because of your exams and Mom should be with you and should not let you suffer something so big by yourself. You know that Mom sees your exams as very important but when my personal benefit comes into conflict with Dafa, I will choose Dafa." I said this even though my husband is living in another province and we have no relatives in the local area. I also encouraged my son and told him that I believed he would definitely succeed. My son cried and said, "I understand you!" After I returned from appealing in Beijing, I was unlawfully detained for 15 days. Inside the jail, fellow practitioners and I loudly recited Dafa, practiced the exercises, told people about Dafa, and let the Buddha's light illuminate the darkest corners.
At the end of November 2000, in order to let practitioners who had not stepped forward to verify the Fa, I went to Beijing for a third time. When I arrived at Tiananmen Square, I saw practitioners from all over the country gathered there. Some practitioners used helium balloons and peace doves to lift banners into the sky. I was most moved by a mother who put down the child in her arms and spread her arms and yelled, "Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa!" in order to divert the attention of the police while her husband opened a banner and ran and shouted out to the crowd the words on the banner. This scene caused tears to stream down my face and I felt proud of their selfless actions.
During the intense interrogations and searches for practitioners on Tiananmen Square, some practitioners continued to clarify the truth while others were taken home by their relatives. I pulled a banner out of my sleeve and shouted at the top of my lungs, "Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa." At this time, a patrol officer ran over from afar and pushed me to the ground and slammed one foot onto my head and pulled at my banner using both hands. I continued to shout aloud and clearly felt my voice penetrate the clouds. I know that Falun Dafa had given me enormous strength.
The Beijing police separated the practitioners who appealed in Beijing into two groups and jailed all those who refused to reveal their addresses . Practitioners loudly recited Lun Yu and Hong Yin, which deeply shocked the evil. A practitioner whose celestial eye was open said that Master came and looked after us for over 20 minutes. This brought tears to everybody's eyes. Some wrote "the Fa rectifies the human world" and some pulled out and hung the banners that they hadn't been able to show on Tiananmen Square. The banners fluttered in the wind and looked like colourful flags. That evening, the police placed us in a car and took us to a rural area. After interrogation, we were assigned a number, taken to the jail, and placed in a 20 square meter cell. The environment inside the jail was very harsh yet practitioners shared experiences day and night, studied the Fa, and practiced the exercises. Through our experience sharing, we discovered that many practitioners had been tortured and persecuted. Hot ashes had been placed into some practitioners' nostrils. When I was first arrested and while sitting in the car, a police officer hit me so hard that it felt as if a shockwave went through my head from ear to ear. However, my heart was very calm. Male practitioners were tortured more severely than us females. One practitioner had managed to bring in a copy of Zhuan Falun and everyone took turns reading a paragraph out loud. There were accents from every part of the country. A practitioner from Changchun City bought a few cotton blankets that she shared with everyone to relieve the cold. By the fifth day, the practitioners were gradually released. Everyone realized that it was Master's immense benevolence and at the same time realized that he had pointed out our duty. I suggested to everyone that they tell their local practitioners to step forward for Dafa.
In one detention center, I and many other practitioners were jailed together with murderers, drug addicts, and robbers. Falun Dafa practitioners never fought with these criminals for their own benefit and slowly the inmates were moved by our words and actions. One murderer said, "If I had heard the three words 'Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance' I would not have killed anyone." We saw that the principles of Falun Dafa had awakened their consciences.
After being detained at the local jail for 28 days, and while being interrogated, the police did not let me sleep for three days and nights. Later, I and some other practitioners were sent to the Masanjia Re-education Labour Camp. The sub-team that I was assigned to could very easily deceive one's heart. On the surface, it all seemed quite friendly. No matter whether you were from the city or the countryside, or whether you had money, everyone pooled everyday necessities and shared them with each other. The fake kindness caused some practitioners to lower their guard and soon, the evil started to use many ways to spread lies.
The environment was very isolated and we had to rely on our own enlightenment. If our hearts were not righteous, it was very easy to go astray. It was Master's benevolence that enabled us to return to the right path. New practitioners brought in Master's recent articles and everyone took turns reading them. Most practitioners realised that they had done wrong and all wanted to return to Dafa. I steadfastly decided to start cultivating again and before I fell asleep, an immensely benevolent voice said in my ear, "Giving you all another chance is called 'rebirth'." I immediately wrote a solemn declaration and Master immediately gave me a "guanding" (Buddhist Anointment). I was so moved and, deeply regretting my previous actions, started to cry with my head in my arms.
My declaration greatly shocked the sub-team and the police immediately gathered the first group of practitioners who had gone astray and ordered them to try to persuade me to give up Dafa. I told them, "Practitioners who let go of their lives to save sentient beings are truly showing unselfishness."
We clearly identified the road we wanted to take and many practitioners wrote solemn declarations one after another. Every time a new practitioner arrived, I would write a note to her that said, "Strive forward together, a bright future lies ahead". I helped practitioners to strengthen their resolve and also changed the atmosphere and environment of the sub-team.
One time, the labour camp asked a so-called Qigong master to give us a lecture [one of the brainwashing tactics to confuse Dafa practitioners and get them to renounce their belief in Dafa]. I and a few other practitioners walked out during the presentation. The team leader threatened to extend our sentences and the guards held a discussion about me. From then on, we used the test papers that we had to write to introduce the Fa openly and in a dignified manner. The environment around us became more and more relaxed and at the same time, I received the comforting and happy news that my son had passed the exams and was accepted into one of the country's best universities. I knew this was Master's immense benevolence and caring and also the power of Dafa. A practitioner said, "See? Once you let go of your attachments, Dafa will bring you much happiness."
Due to the fact that I could not study the Fa for long periods of time while detained, I did not have a clear understanding of sending forth righteous thoughts at that time. I also did not have a good understanding of Master's later articles and so I experienced some tribulations. When I returned home, after studying the Fa with a calm heart, I realised many of my problems. Master said, "When it comes to the Fa-rectification and what I choose, all beings' harmonizing and completing things according to my choices and contributing their best ideas and approaches--not to change what I want, but to harmonize and complete things according to what I've said--is the best thought a being in the cosmos could have." (Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference). When I understood this, I immediately started to do the three things that Master told us to do.
June 2, 2003
