The Power of Righteous Thoughts and Actions in the Detention Center

(Minghui.org) I’m a Dafa practitioner who obtained the Fa in November 1996. Master Li has saved me, cleansed my body, and arranged my cultivation path. He guides and protects me while I’m walking toward returning to my true nature. 

I was once confused, selfish, and muddling along in this human world. Since I began practicing Falun Dafa, I have changed fundamentally. After 27 years of ups and downs, I’ve always believed in Master and Dafa and have righteous thoughts and actions in every environment. I feel so fortunate and honored to be a Dafa disciple, and I’m grateful to Master beyond words. 

In July 2022, I was arrested by the police when I was clarifying the truth about the persecution of people. I was later illegally sentenced to one year and three months in prison. But I had been jailed in the detention center and not sent to prison. 

During over a year in the detention center, I had always regarded myself as a Dafa disciple. I memorized the Fa, practiced the exercises, sent forth righteous thoughts, and clarified the truth to the people around me. I kept my righteous thoughts, eliminated fear, and fulfilled my vows. I witnessed the miraculous power of Dafa amid tribulations.

From the first day I was in the detention center, I refused to acknowledge the evil persecution and completely negated all the arrangements of the old forces. I surrendered everything to Master and believed that He was always at my side and watching over me. I was a cultivator; A divine being among humans. I would do what Master and Dafa require, not acknowledge the evil’s persecution. I was no longer afraid. With my righteous thoughts and actions, I created a relatively relaxed environment. Thanks to Master’s support and arrangements, I was not sent to prison, which alleviated the severity of persecution against me.

I insisted on doing the Dafa exercises since I entered the detention center. But the police refused to let me practice. I told them: “I was cured of my illness through practicing Falun Dafa. Can you guarantee my health if I cannot do the exercises? I was able to do the exercises during my past detentions. You can check the records if you don’t believe me.” But they still refused to let me do the exercises, so I protested with a hunger strike. I told them I would continue the hunger strike if they didn’t let me practice. 

Three days later, they allowed me to do the exercises. The guard in charge of my cell told me: “When you do the exercises, try to avoid indoor surveillance cameras. Otherwise, it will be tough for me to handle the situation when other officers see it.” 

During my detention, I did not forget my responsibilities. I regarded myself as a particle of Dafa during the Fa-rectification period. I tried my best to do the three things Master asks us to do. I did the exercises every day. Sometimes, I did the exercises twice or thrice, or even five times daily. At the same time, I recalled and recited Zhuan Falun and Hong Yin repeatedly, sent forth righteous thoughts for a long time to eliminate evil, and told people the truth of Falun Dafa to offer them salvation.

During more than a year in the detention center, I had been transferred to four cells. I always remembered Master’s teachings: 

“Imprisoned as you are,
don’t be sorrowful or sad
Carry on with righteous thoughts and actions,
and the Fa is with you
Calmly reflect on the attachments you have
Remove your human thoughts
and evil will naturally die out”
(“Don’t Be Sad”, Hong Yin II).

I regarded the detention center as a special place for cultivation. I behaved neither overbearing nor self-effacing, rectifying myself with Dafa’s principles. I maintained the proper demeanor of a cultivator, treated the detainees I came into contact with as predestined people, had no resentment against the officers, and used any opportunity to persuade them to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). More than 80 people quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. During the process, I realized Master was saving people, while His disciples just carried out their duties.

I want to share some amazing stories with fellow practitioners.

The Officer Said: “She Looks Like a Living Buddha!”

After I entered the detention center, the guards tacitly allowed me to do the exercises. I was then transferred to another cell, however the guard in charge was replaced. One day, I meditated indoors while other detainees took a break outside. The patrol officers discovered me, and they ordered two inmates to ask me to go out. I did not move and continued meditating. The two inmates tried to move my legs, but they couldn’t, so they carried me to the outside and put me down. I was meditating motionless during the whole process. The officers witnessed this scene and said, “She (referring to me) looks like a living Buddha!” From then on, they never interfered with my exercises. I knew very well this was the result of Master’s care and blessings for his disciples. Whenever I think of it, I feel gratitude for Master with tears in my eyes!

“She Won’t Sign! I’ve Never Seen Her Sign Anything!”

While I was illegally detained, I refused to cooperate with the so-called interrogations, regular physical examinations, and other persecutory actions against me by the police and judicial officers. When I came into contact with them, I proactively eliminated the evil beings and factors controlling them and explained the truth about Dafa.

I would not accept anything given to me nor sign any document, regardless of coercion. I once experienced vomiting and diarrhea several times while eliminating my sickness karma. The inmates in the cell reported this to the guard on duty. The guard insisted that I go to the hospital, but I refused. He was afraid of being held responsible and asked me to sign a form to go to the hospital. I again refused. 

After a long stalemate, another guard standing by said, “She won’t sign! I’ve never seen her sign anything!” The guard on duty said he was not in charge of my cell, and if I didn’t sign, he wouldn’t be able to report it to his superiors. The guard on the side tried to mediate and said, “How about writing ‘Reject’ on the form?” The guard on duty said that was fine. So I signed the word “Reject” on the form and did not go to the hospital.

Drug Addicts Sentenced to Death Get a New Lease on Life

There was a 43-year-old felon incarcerated for drug abuse and drug trafficking who had been detained for more than five years. She was told that she would be sentenced to death because a co-defendant who had committed a less severe crime than her had already been executed. I spent more than three months in the same cell with her. 

She was usually depressed and silent or restless, and few people had contact with her. But I showed care and compassion for her, not contempt. Gradually, we became close, and she told me what was in her heart. She said she was someone waiting to die. I talked to her about the principle that good is rewarded and evil meets with evil. She agreed and regretted the crime she had committed.

After that, I told her about the persecution of Dafa and persuaded her to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. I then asked her to sincerely recite “Falun Dafa is Good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good,” and ask Dafa’sMaster to save her so that her destiny would turn around. She would then be able to escape from death. 

I also told her a true story: There used to be a prisoner in the same detention center who was said to be sentenced to death. At the time, the CCP was most aggressive in persecuting Dafa. While watching a TV program that slandered Falun Dafa, she said, “It’s just a belief. It is doing exercises to become healthy. Why should they be persecuted?” With these words of conscience, the official verdict was issued, and she was granted a reprieve from her death sentence. This story shocked her greatly. She also told me she believed in the devil and knew that Master Li and Dafa is good.

I also taught her to memorize over a dozen poems from Hong Yin. After she memorized them, she often wrote them down from memory. When the detainees sang Communist songs once in the morning and once in the afternoon, she would not sing. Instead, she would recite, “Falun Dafa is Good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good!”

In the end, a miracle happened. The original verdict sent by the court sentencing her to death had been reprieved. She couldn’t believe it was true. After such a shock, she was so moved that she cried, saying that Dafa was mighty! It was Dafa’s Master who saved her life, and she was extremely grateful to Him!

Before she was sent to prison, she said goodbye to me. She mentioned she would tell her family that it was Dafa’sMaster who saved her life. She would let them know that Falun Dafa is good and advise her family to stay away from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. She promised to recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” read Dafa books, and begin practicing when she had the opportunity. After hearing this, I felt joy that this life was saved.

Remaining Safe While Others Tested Positive for Covid-19

At the pandemic’s peak at the end of 2022, everything collapsed overnight. There were more than 30 people in the detention center. Whether they were guards or other suspects, they all tested positive for COVID-19, one after another. During those months, the guards could not work normally and had to work in separate shifts every half a month. Everyone was anxious and exhausted, and the detention center was shrouded in gloom.

Of all the people, I was the only one who did not test positive. I took advantage of this miraculous thing to clarify the truth about Dafa and persuade others to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. I asked them to sincerely recite, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” to avoid COVID-19 and stay safe. In this special place, they witnessed the greatness of Dafa and Master, as a practitioner had received protection and blessings from the divine.

When I walked out of the detention center, the people in my cell were all watching, some with tears in their eyes. I made a “9” sign to them, and they understood and nodded, knowing that I was telling them to recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!”

When I met with fellow practitioners after I returned home, they were happy that I had firmly believed in Master and Dafa and acted with righteous thoughts in the detention center. They said I was now more energetic, my skin had become brighter and more delicate, and I looked younger. I knew Master was affirming and encouraging me through their comments.

I also reflected on myself. After the ordeal I suffered, I found many shortcomings in my cultivation. For example, I sometimes could not calm down to study the Fa solidly. I just stayed on the surface and did not have a clear understanding of Dafa’s principles; I still had the attachment of jealousy, resentment, and saving face. 

I’m also impatient, and I sometimes use ordinary people’s reasoning to judge right and wrong when encountering problems, looking outward instead of looking inward. I also struggled with omissions in safety and inadequate precautionary details when I clarified the truth and contacted fellow practitioners. The old forces may have taken advantage of these. Even so, I will never acknowledge that those mistakes could be an excuse for persecution by the evil.

I must study the Fa well, correct my words and deeds, assimilate to Dafa’s principles, do the three things well, fulfill my sacred mission, and be worthy of Master’s compassionate and painstaking salvation so I can return to my true home.