(Clearwisdom.net)
When I first learned Falun Dafa, I felt like a child who had lost his way and was now back home with his parents. Looking back on my cultivation path, with more than ten years of hardships and atrocities, I am filled with emotion. No words can express my gratitude for Teacher's infinite grace. The only thing I can do is to be even more diligent.
Being Fortunate to Have Learned Falun Dafa
I am 66 years old and had been physically disabled since childhood. I suffered from hepatitis and gallstones, for which I had two unsuccessful operations. I had been to a lot of doctors, but none of them could cure my illnesses. I never had a single day that I could enjoy life. Every year I would spend over 10,000 yuan on medical expenses.
In late 1996, I was fortunate to learn Falun Dafa. I eagerly read Dafa literature and enlightened to a lot of Fa principles about which Teacher talked. I learned that there was a cause and effect in everything and the root cause of my illnesses was karma. I knew that I must repay what I owed. I also learned that the the real purpose of life was returning to your original, true self. Through Fa study and practicing the exercises, Teacher purified my body, and I reached the state where my body was very light and free of illness. My relatives and friends all witnessed the wonder and supernormal powers of Dafa.
Validating the Fa
On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute Falun Dafa in a frenzied manner. Many fellow practitioners and I went to the city government to appeal for Dafa and tried to explain the facts about the practice. I was a person of few words, but I was a beneficiary of Dafa, so I knew that I must speak fairly for Dafa. I went on stage without hesitation and began to talk about my own experiences after having learned the practice. I also said that Dafa brought numerous benefits and did not do any harm, so it should not be persecuted. As I spoke, I felt that Teacher was beside me so I had no fear at all. Finally, a leader from the city government said the issue of Falun Dafa was not one that could be solved locally and asked us to go to the central government if we wanted to resolve the issue.
In November 1999, fellow practitioners and I went to Beijing to validate the Fa. I was arrested and held at a detention center where we studied the Fa together. When the prison guards found out, they kicked us and used the handcuffs with teeth to torture us. The practitioners who had a firm belief in the Buddha Fa looked at a guard with righteous thoughts. Not long after, the robust guard could not bear it anymore. He looked pale, with sweat running down his entire body. Eventually he collapsed. Then he got up and left in embarrassment. We all knew that it was Teacher who saved us. On the following day, that guard asked me if we released gong. I clarified the facts about Falun Dafa to him and told him that Falun Dafa taught people to be good, cultivating themselves according to the universal principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I asked him not to persecute Dafa, otherwise he would lose de (virtue) and receive evil retribution. The local police sub-department sent in eight police officers and they asked me why we came to Beijing and where we were staying. I told them that we had come to Beijing to tell the government leaders that Falun Dafa is good and that Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa. As for where we stayed, I told them that some of us were not allowed to book any hotels in Beijing, so we just slept outside. When we were hungry, we ate cold steamed buns, and when we were thirsty, we drank from the sink in the public restroom. They shook their heads in disbelief.
I was detained for 15 days. On returning home, I began promoting the Fa and helping to save sentient beings poisoned by the Chinese Communist Party's evil propaganda. I knew that I was shouldering the mission of helping Teacher rectify the Fa and save sentient beings, so I began to distribute large quantities of truth-clarification materials. Gradually, I extended the area where I distributed materials to the rural areas. One evening, I put up banners along the two sides of the railway for a length of over one kilometer. The following day, the police reacted as if they were faced with a formidable foe. There were a lot of police cars and numerous officers. There were also a lot of onlookers. The banners I put up greatly frightened the evil forces.
Remaining Steadfast in Prison with Righteous Thoughts for Seven Years
In the summer of 2001, police officers came to my home in an attempt to arrest me. After managing to escape the arrest, I dared not return and was forced into homelessness. During that period of time, I slacked off in my Fa study, which left loopholes, which the evildoers took advantage of. The agents used our devotion to Dafa to lure us into a trap: They tricked practitioners into thinking we were going to a Fa experience sharing conference, but instead, many fellow practitioners, including myself, were arrested.
One officer said proudly that catching a practitioner would bring a 2,500 yuan reward, so they worked very hard to arrest practitioners.
In prison, I refused to answer any questions, sign any documents, cooperate with the evildoers, or betray any fellow practitioners. As a result, I was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment. I used the standards of Dafa to help me remain steadfast in all respects and did not give in to the attempts to "transform" me. I only thought that, since I was there, I must validate the Fa.
Every time the prison guards questioned me, I would clarify the truth to them. They used all kinds of methods in an attempt to "transform" me but failed. One day, a guard poisoned my food and asked several drug offenders to watch me finish my meal. Not long after, I felt dizzy, weak, and extremely sleepy. I instantly realized that I had been poisoned. I adjusted my state of mind, asked Teacher to save me, sent forth righteous thoughts continuously, and recited Essentials for Further Advancement and the poems from Hong Yin. With Teacher's support, I gradually woke up.
When the guard came and found that I was well, she was very disappointed. The guard, however, suffered from a very bad stomachache. She put her hands on her stomach and groaned in pain. I knew that she had received retribution and felt pity for her. Being locked up in a small cell, doing slave labor as well as being deprived of sleep, going to the toilet, or taking a shower were common practice. Yet, with steadfast righteous thoughts and a firm belief that Dafa can save people, I seized the time to clarify the truth to the guards and the drug offenders. Under Teacher's compassionate care I passed one test after another. I was held in the prison for 2,500 days. On February 1, 2009, I was released.
On returning home my husband was greatly relieved. He knew that the government had wrongly sentenced me to seven years imprisonment in an attempt to murder me. "It's quite unexpected that you would return home safe and sound. Thank God!" I said that it was the power of Dafa and Teacher's compassionate care that made it possible for me to come back home safe and sound.
When I first returned home, officers from the local police station and the neighborhood committee constantly came to my home to harass me, demanding that I go against my beliefs. Every time I clarified the facts of Falun Dafa to them, I truly hoped that they would be saved by Dafa. I also told them that practicing Falun Dafa was legal according to China's Constitution, and therefore they had no right to interfere with my personal freedom. When they found that I was very steadfast and very firm, they hung their heads in shame and never returned.
I lost seven precious years of cultivation and have a lot of shortcomings and attachments which I need to let go of. I will continue to follow Teacher's guidance to catch up with other practitioners on the path toward godhood. I must do well the three things, save more people with a predestined relationship, fulfill my prehistoric vow, and return home with Teacher.
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