[Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day] After Being Sentenced to Eight Years of Imprisonment at the Age of 70

(Minghui.org) I was arrested in 2015 when distributing truth-clarification materials and was illegally sentenced to eight years of imprisonment at the age of 70. As the saying goes, prison in China is a living hell. Given my lengthy sentence, some people worried that I might not make it back home. However, as a cultivator, I realized it was because I had not aligned my thoughts and actions with the Fa, which allowed the old forces to exploit my loopholes. I decided to turn the bad situation into a good one and treated the prison as a place where I would rectify myself.

Eight years have passed, and now at the age of 78, I look as if I am 60. My skin is fair and rosy, I have no wrinkles, and my white hair has turned black. I have gained weight, but my figure is better than before. The inmates often said, “Auntie, if I could be like you at your age, it would be great.” I told them that they should practice Falun Gong. I have demonstrated the extraordinary power of Falun Dafa to them.

Never Miss an Opportunity to Clarify the Truth

When I was arrested and taken to the police department, I was not afraid and had only one thought: I must not miss this opportunity to tell people the truth behind the persecution of Falun Dafa. Normally, getting in touch with these people (officers) is not easy, so I had to seize the opportunity. I kept explaining the facts no matter which room they took me to, or whom I encountered. Some listened seriously, some stood and listened for a while before leaving, some seemed to have never heard the information before and were quite surprised, some were remarkably sympathetic. It was good that they listened to the truth, more or less.

I was held in a detention center for 11 months. There were 13 people in my cell, most of them were young, and people come and leave frequently. During the noon nap time, each inmate would need to take turns being on duty for two hours. Some inmates were in poor health, while others were sleepy, making it difficult for them to fulfill the requirement. I decided to take over and do the duty for them every day, which would allow me to practice the meditation at noon time. Seeing that I was older and willing to do their duty for them, they were genuinely grateful and regarded me as a mother figure.

The young people didn’t know how to do chores, so I would take the initiative to do them. The cell head was moved and told everyone, “Come on, let’s shout together: Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” They were so fortunate that they could listen to the truth, and I was truly happy for them! My environment became more relaxed, and I could study the Fa and do the exercises with another practitioner.

The so-called trial date was approaching, and I thought Master had not arranged this, so I would not acknowledge it. I decided to turn a bad situation into a good one and used this opportunity, to tell more people the truth and save them. I prepared the content in my mind and memorized it.

The day of the “trial” arrived. The courtroom was packed, with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) personnel, my friends and relatives, and other practitioners in the audience. When it was my turn to speak, I remained calm and composed, with a compassionate heart to save people, and delivered the prepared speech from my heart. I talked about how Master introduced the Fa, how Dafa spread worldwide and gained global recognition and respect, the miraculous effects of Dafa on healing and fitness, the physical and mental benefits to all beings, and the persecution of Dafa and the consequences of some law enforcement personnel who persecute Dafa disciples.

Throughout the process, I could feel Master’s support, my mind was clear, and my speech was fluent. The audience was silent, not a sound was heard except for my powerful, resonant voice echoing in the courtroom, every word piercing through the evil spirits and the wicked CCP, saving sentient beings.

Back in the cell, the guards gave me a thumbs-up and said, “Well done, Auntie!” It seemed they understood the truth, and I was gratified. I thanked Master for arranging the opportunity for me to tell the truth and save people. A few days later, four of us practitioners were transferred to the provincial women’s prison. On the way there, we were supposed to wear handcuffs, but the police held the handcuffs without putting them on us.

Overcoming Challenges with Righteous Thoughts

When I was first brought to the detention center, I was in a terrible state, anxious and restless. Due to my lack of the Fa study, I couldn’t send righteous thoughts.

I realized that the evil’s purpose was to destroy Dafa disciples. Was I going to end like this? No! I cried out to Master, asking Master to strengthen my righteous thoughts. Then, a light came into my heart with this thought, “Completely deny it! I am a Dafa disciple, Master is in charge of me, no one else can touch me.”

After that, whenever negative thoughts came to my mind, I would completely deny them. As soon as I sent righteous thoughts, Master would remove the bad substances for me.

Whenever I felt lost and helpless in the detention center, these righteous thoughts supported me through difficult times. I have endured eight difficult years and created my cultivation environment.

Refusing to Comply with the Evils’ Demands

When I was put into the prison, in an attempt to achieve a 100% "transformation" rate, the prison officers confined me to a small cell as soon as I arrived. In 2018, they demanded that I write statements to renounce my belief and had an officer bring four pre-written statements for me to sign. The officer sat in front of me and pressured me to sign. I didn’t listen to her and started sending righteous thoughts: make her stop and go to sleep.

Before long, she stopped talking, placed the four statements on the bed, and fell asleep. Seeing her sleeping, I tore up the statements. She woke up at the sound of the tearing, saw what I had done, and angrily snatched the pieces of paper to report back to her superiors. After a while, the person in charge of “transforming” me came and said, “I told the team leader that it’s difficult to change someone’s firmly established thoughts, so we won’t try to ‘transform’ you anymore. The team leader agreed.” From then on, no one tried to “transform” me again.

Wearing clothes with the word “convict” on it was mandatory in the prison. Besides the prison clothes, even our own clothes had to be sprayed with the word “convict.” I refused to wear them, so four or five people would try to forcibly put them on me every day. I’m only 1.5 meters tall (about 5 ft) and weigh 45 kilograms (about 100 pounds), and I was physically weak. But, every time I stood firm, with fists clenched and arms crossed in front of my chest, so no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't succeed. My strength was so great that it amazed even me. I knew that, without Master’s support, how could a small older woman overpower several people?

For three consecutive months, they couldn’t get me to wear the prison clothes, and after that, they didn’t try again. Although my clothes and pants were sprayed with the word, I cut off the marked parts and sewed them back. The inmates who watched me saw what I was doing but said nothing. I refused to sit on the small stool, refused to undergo cell inspections, did not participate in any of their activities, and did not do forced labor.

Creating an Environment for Studying the Fa

Once we had established a good environment, the most precious thing we received were handwritten copies of Zhuan Falun, brought in by other practitioners from outside the prison, with each lecture made into a small booklet. Only three copies were brought in, which was already very precious! There were also some other teachings from Master, all of which were highly valued.

I treasured my time significantly. Every day, apart from eating, sleeping, and washing, I would memorize the Fa and send righteous thoughts. Even when I woke up at night, I would continue to memorize the Fa and send righteous thoughts, never wasting any time. I slept less and less, and I would feel energetic even with very little sleep.

Righteous thoughts come from the Fa. The more I studied the Fa, the more I would develop righteous thoughts. With strong righteous thoughts, the path of cultivation naturally became righteous. When the path was righteous, the environment naturally became more relaxed. Eventually, a practitioner and I in the same cell created an environment for studying the Fa. Not only could we study and memorize the Fa without interference, but some inmates in the cell also joined us in studying the Fa and memorizing Hong Yin.

Master said,

“If every Dafa disciple can think and act righteously as he goes about things and can look at things with righteous thoughts under any circumstance, none of you will become afraid when facing persecution. If that is how you are, who would dare to persecute you! If a person is completely in the Fa no one can touch him. Isn’t that having the ability to protect yourself?” (“Teachings at the 2005 Conference in San Francisco”)

I write this account of my eight years of a difficult journey, sharing some of my practice and experiences, to express my gratitude to Master and Falun Dafa on World Falun Dafa Day.

I am deeply grateful to Master and to Falun Dafa! I will strive to be more diligent in my cultivation and walk the remaining path of my cultivation well and righteously.

(Selected submission in celebration of World Falun Dafa Day on Minghui.org)