(Minghui.org) After the persecution began in 1999, an increasing number of practitioners were held in a detention center in a small town in Hebei Province. The surroundings there were very harsh. There were only a few dirty wooden boards used as beds in the cells, and some filthy bed sheets. Practitioners were tortured in different ways. They were frequently hung from an iron rod in the yard under the burning sun. In the summer they were bitten by mosquitoes, and in the freezing winter they suffered from the cold, and their hands and feet were frostbitten.
Many practitioners had their feet bound with iron rings and their hands fastened to their feet for over three weeks at a time. As a result of this torture, their flesh was torn open and the bones at their wrists and ankles were exposed. Their blood was everywhere. Since their feet and hands were locked together, they had to sit on the concrete floor day and night.
One guard's job was to watch all the women detainees in the center. At first, she also participated in torturing practitioners. Later, after she saw what was going on, she started to think rationally and began questioning the persecution. She talked to practitioners and repeatedly asked, “Many people detained here fight constantly. Why did they stop fighting after you came? Some practitioners were severely tortured, but they recovered very quickly without using any medicine. Why is that? Why is it that even while they were tortured, practitioners did not complain and were still calm and treated others kindly?”
Practitioners detained there talked with her about the facts of the persecution and told her that Falun Dafa is an advanced practice of the Buddha school for self-cultivation, that practitioners always try to be kind and conduct themselves according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, try to be selfless, and always think of others. They said, "Our Master is not wrong. Dafa is not wrong. We used to have all kinds of illnesses, but they all disappeared after we practiced Dafa and our minds were purified. Jiang Zemin used state-run media to defame Dafa and Master and launched the persecution of over one hundred million practitioners. We firmly believe that evil can never prevail and Master's fashen are always protecting us."
That guard came to understand that Dafa practitioners left the comfort of their homes and went out to talk to people not for themselves, but to save people. She started to have a clear understanding of practitioners and began to show her sympathy and protect them. Every time she saw other guards torturing practitioners, she said, “You guys only torture these nice people instead of criminals who commit murder and arson.”
Two practitioners from Zhangjiakou City who were held here were once beaten unconscious by the guards. They were hung up on the iron rod. The next morning when she came to work, that guard saw that they had been brutally beaten. She immediately set them free and asked others to take them back into the room. She bought two boxes of instant noodles and had others feed them. Eighteen people in the cell witnessed her actions and were all touched by what she did.
Ten practitioners were detained in the cell along with eight criminals. Four of the criminals had been given a death sentence. At the beginning, they fought with each other. They cried for no reason and did all kinds of things. Later on, when Dafa practitioners were there, and they saw that practitioners were very peaceful even when they were tortured, the criminals started to calm down. One day, a practitioner secretly brought the book Zhuan Falun with her. The practitioners told the criminals about the wonders of Dafa. Everyone in that cell started to study the Fa.
The magical book changed everything in the detention center. After studying the Fa, the criminal inmates' degenerated and dirty minds changed, and they became happy and optimistic. They deeply felt that Zhuan Falun was a most precious book, which they were anxious to read. They also began looking inward and talking about the wrongdoings they had committed. They said that if they had learned Dafa earlier, they would not have done bad things that ruined other people's families and lives as well as their own.
One morning, after we got our breakfast from the kitchen but had not started to eat, the head of our cell opened Zhuan Falun to Master's image and put the book on the heating radiator. She crossed her legs and put her hands together in a gesture of Heshi to Master. Seven other criminals and ten Dafa practitioners followed her and crossed their legs and also paid tribute to Master. One death row inmate wept and said, “Master, please accept us as your disciples! Although we have committed wrongdoings, if we only have one day left to live, we will practice Dafa.” The ten practitioners in the cell wept as well, and said, “Master is so compassionate that he also saved these death row inmates. Dafa can change everyone's heart!”
An hour later we remained seated there, and no one stood up. People down the hallway heard us crying. No one had breakfast. One guard on duty looked into our cell and left without saying a word.
When we were in the cell, we did not take a break, but did the exercises and studied the Fa every day. One day we studied eight lectures. By studying the Fa, everyone's character improved. One criminal whose last name is Liu had experienced pain and swelling in her hand joints for many years and was not able to do any hard work. She recovered quickly after studying the Fa for a few days. She did not know how to thank Master, so she insisted on washing all our clothes every day.
The practitioners were very happy for the right decisions that the eight criminal inmates had made. They also felt the profound compassion of Master and Dafa.
Witnessing the changes in the criminals and how peaceful the cell became, the sympathetic guard was amazed by the wonders of Dafa and also started to practice.
After her family heard that she was practicing, they hid Zhuan Falun from her and told her that they had burned the book. She cried and said, “The book is so precious that it's worth more than my life! Where did you burn it? Give me the ashes!” Seeing that she was so worried, her daughter-in-law returned the book to her.
When the head of the detention center and some guards saw the changes in our cell, they stepped up the torture of practitioners. They frequently checked the cells and searched for Dafa books. The criminal inmates used all kinds of ways to protect Zhuan Falun . Because they were very sincere and firmly believed in Dafa, several miracles happened.
One day, guards opened the door and made every one stand in a row in the yard. They then ordered some male criminal inmates to search us. Everyone had to bring her quilt and personal belongings to the yard to be checked. Everyone in our cell asked Master for help so the perpetrators would not find the book. The guards were surprised since they knew we had Zhuan Falun, but they simply could not find it.
After we all witnessed this miracle, we treasured the Dafa books even more.
Since the criminal inmates made the right choice, they all experienced changes in their cases. When asked about her case, a human trafficker replied, “It does not matter how many years I am going to be sentenced to, since I have already learned Dafa.” Her accomplice was very surprised, since she was the one that had fought tooth and nail for a reduced penalty. She is now like a different person.
This is one of many miraculous things that I encountered in the detention center. We all experienced Master's great compassion and how the power of Dafa purifies people's minds and bodies.
