Experiencing the Power of Compassion While I Was Incarcerated

(Minghui.org) My allergies, migraine headaches and eye disease disappeared after I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. I felt light and energetic and my perspective and values improved. I used to be hot tempered and couldn’t put up with anything. I gradually became tolerant and patient, and I placed others first.

I try my best to follow Falun Dafa’s principles in my daily life and at work. I experienced the power of compassion. Many difficult problems were resolved. Through our behavior people see how different Falun Dafa practitioners are and how wonderful Falun Dafa is. I understand that my behavior may affect how people think about Falun Dafa.

Whenever I realize that I didn’t do well, I rectify it immediately. I’d like to tell you about some of my experiences while I was imprisoned.

Bad-Tempered “Big Sister” Changes

There were five or six people in the cell, and I clarified the truth to them and taught them to sing Falun Dafa songs. We got along well. One night a girl and her auntie named Ah Ning was brought to our cell. Ah Ning was the “Big Sister.”

Ah Ning had a hot temper. She was brutal and beat three inmates who were small. They didn’t dare say anything and sat in the corner, crying. I was angry, but as a practitioner I knew I should restrain myself. Ah Ning didn’t stop there. She threatened everyone not to tell the guards.

She noticed the inmates trusted me and listened to me. In order to establish her power and make me listen to her, she called me into the toilet where there was no camera. She asked me what I would say if the guard asked. I told her that I had my own belief and did not give in to anyone. When she slapped my face I remembered what Master said: “...one should not fight back when being punched or insulted...” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun).

I calmly asked her, “Do you want to keep slapping me?” She was surprised. I said, “Your slap doesn’t work. I have my own principles. If you don’t want to slap me again, I’ll leave now.”

When I came out of the toilet, everyone was looking at me. When I saw their worried faces I smiled and said, “I’m fine.” Ah Ning’s niece wrote me a note, “This is my auntie’s fault. You are so good but she still slapped you. I didn’t stop her because I’m afraid of her.”

Everyone avoided Ah Ning after this incident. She didn’t expect this and stopped being aggressive.

When I was 21 I worked in a factory. A male coworker annoyed me, so I slapped his face. But now I was slapped. If I didn’t practice Falun Dafa, I couldn’t imagine how I would have reacted. I practiced martial arts when I was young and I had strong character. I was not the kind of person who could be bullied easily.

When I looked back at the incident with Ah Ning, I realized that I still had a fighting mentality, so she slapped me.

When the guard talked to me, I didn’t mention the incident. If I had, Ah Ning would have been punished. I knew she wasn’t a bad person and she could bear hardships. She might not be used to the prison environment. I felt that as time went on, all the issues would be resolved. I didn’t need to confront her directly.

Several days later she had a clash with the guard. When Ah Ning shouted at the guard she slapped her face and put handcuff and shackles on her. Ah Ning was still angry when she returned to the cell. She said, “So I was slapped this time. All of you are happy.” She said the guard lived in her town and she would find out her address.

I tried to talk to her. I analyzed the situation for her and told her that she might be sentenced. Her behavior hurt herself and others. I told her Master’s Fa:

“Compassion is an enormous energy, the energy of righteous gods. The more compassion that is present, the greater this energy becomes, and it can disintegrate anything that is bad.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2009 Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference,” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume IX)

I said violence was the weakest method and had the least power.

When she realized that what I was doing was for her benefit, she let down her guard against me and acknowledged Falun Dafa’s principles. She agreed that compassion was most powerful.

She gradually changed and got along with the other inmates. She also agreed to withdraw her membership in the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Youth League. She asked me to quit the membership of Youth League for her boyfriend. I told her that her boyfriend needed to agree before I could quit the membership for him. She said she would visit my son after she was released. She said that one would lose other things if they held on to something. When I was sentenced to prison, she ordered some dishes to hold a farewell ceremony for me. She hinted that I should not give up cultivation even in the prison.

Everyone in the cell cried when I left.

The Team Leader Changed

I was assigned to production Team Six soon after I arrived in prison. The team members were aggressive; they argued and fought with each other, but they were fair in dealing with issues. They talked about Team Four where the weak and elderly were bullied and even starved. I saw that their team leader beat an inmate who had a mental illness.

There was a big reshuffle in the prison six months later, and I was assigned to Team Four. One inmate had a mental illness; one lady in her sixties was bullied so much that she developed a mental illness and was on medication, and there was an elderly lady in her seventies. The three of them were not allowed to speak and were the last ones to get food or have a shower. The team leader got the rice, dishes and soup first and only left little rice, dish and soup for the three. They didn’t dare to speak out.

The team leader and her group didn’t treat me badly, but I knew I shouldn’t keep silent even though it was not related to my personal interest. As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I should demonstrate my compassion and the power of kindness.

What should I do? I gave part of my food to the mentally-ill inmate so that she had enough to eat. No one visited her or put money on her account, so she didn’t have any money to buy food. I helped wash the clothes for the two elderly ladies and cut their nails for them. I looked after them. I saw the inmates were kind, but they were lost in the CCP’s deviated environment. They all longed to be trusted, understood and be treated kindly.

I treated every team member kindly, and most of them talked to me. The team leader gradually began talking to me and I helped her withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Every team leader in the prison was arranged to monitor Falun Dafa practitioners. When the inmate on duty reported me to the guard, my team leader reminded me to protect myself and she protected me in front of the guard. The atmosphere improved, and the team leader told the three inmates to get their food first. She let the two elderly ladies take showers first. When their blood pressure became high, she asked the prison doctor to examine them.

The lady in her seventies chatted with me and said that the team leader was a changed person. This amazed her. The mentally-ill elderly lady on medication became better and was able to work like other inmates. I told the inmates that they would be blessed if they repeated “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” No one said anything as there were many inmates in the room.

The elderly lady later called me aside and asked me to repeat the “nine words.” She originally didn’t have a chance to have her sentence reduced, but a new policy was suddenly announced. She was the only one who met the conditions for a sentence reduction, so she was released from prison a year early.

A guard told an elderly lady in Team Six who practiced the Falun Dafa exercises, “Falun Dafa is good. You know what Team Four was like before. You see how it has changed after the practitioner went there. Falun Dafa is very good.” Everyone noticed the change in Team Four.

Treat the Person Who Tried to Transform Me Kindly

The prison tried to transform me—it was a long and difficult year.

When I was first transferred to the “transformation center” and heard those people curse Master and Falun Dafa, I was furious. There were several teams and each team had two people. They took turns trying to transform me. They changed team members every three months.

The team stayed with me all the time except when I slept. One member was imprisoned because of drug trafficking, and she threatened to beat me. I talked back and said, “Please beat me if you think you can make me give up Falun Dafa. I won’t forgive you, and I’ll tell your family members know what you did. You beat good people and persecute them. I’ll lodge a lawsuit against you. My family will contact the prison management bureau to monitor you and no one will reduce your sentence.” She was very angry and said, “You’re terrible. I hate you.” At the time I thought I had very strong righteous thoughts and that she didn’t dare to beat me. I was happy.

Another team came and tried to transform me. I went against them as well. One day when I talked back, I felt I couldn’t breathe and had difficulty talking. I suddenly realized I should look within. I found my heart of competitiveness. When I saw the hatred in their eyes, I was surprised. Did I cultivate kindness? Even though they were controlled by the evil, I’m a Falun Dafa practitioner. I changed my mindset. I no longer talked back or argued with them even if they behaved badly. When they were calm and rational, I talked to them calmly. When I guided them with the Fa’s principles they realized they were misled by the CCP.

We got along well. One inmate got my phone number, and after she was released she contacted my family members and told them my situation. One of her relatives was a police officer who persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners. She told him that it was not good to persecute good people and that by doing so he committed a crime.

The Power of Compassion

Falun Dafa practitioners are brutally persecuted in the oppressive prison environment. I treated everyone with compassion. When I was severely persecuted, or when I was unable to bear the hardships I always remembered that I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. I didn’t allow myself to become negative and make other people have negative impression of Falun Dafa. Many people asked me how I could endure such unbearable things.

One team leader was very harsh, but I treated her kindly. She later confided in me. She said that Falun Dafa practitioners did not spread rumors. She slept next to me and talked until midnight. One deputy leader in charge of the cells always talked to me kindly. Whenever I saw her, she greeted me warmly. My compassion touched their hearts and changed the environment around me.

Falun Dafa’s principles guide me no matter where I was. I always remember my mission and treat everyone kindly. When I was released, my mother said, “My daughter is blessed. I see kindness in her face.” I noticed that my complexion became fair. I felt that my hot temper was tamed.

Looking back, I always feel deeply touched. If I didn’t practice Falun Dafa, I would have dealt with things head-to-head and made things more complicated. I treat people and do things with compassion and kindness. People were touched and realized they could use kind methods, not wicked methods to solve problems. Those who were aggressive and combative no longer lost their temper, cursed at others or hit people. They became calm and peaceful, and treated people kindly. They have a positive attitude of Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa’s compassion cleansed their deviated thoughts and actions. I feel immensely happy and calm. I am so lucky that I obtained the Fa in this life time, have learned the meaning and true value of life.

Thank you Master! Thank you Falun Dafa!