Experiences of A Practitioner in A Detention Center in Hunan Province

I am xx, a retired worker from Hunan province. I had been afflicted with chronic diseases for a long time and the torture of the pain made me feel that I would rather die than stay alive. Fortunately, I started to practice Falun Gong in April 1996. At the beginning I just took it as an ordinary Qigong. After several months of practice, however, my illnesses were miraculously gone. I could eat and sleep comfortably. More incredibly, I felt Falun, the energy wheel, constantly rotating in my lower abdominal area. Big and small Faluns also rotated in the parts of my body that used to have diseases. Meanwhile, many incredible things happened in the process of giving up attachments, too. I know we practitioners all have experiences like these. In short, Teacher Li teaches us the law of the universe. Our cultivation is guided by the characteristics of the universe-Zhen, Shan, Ren (Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance). Falun Dafa practitioners are good people under all circumstances. We don't have organization, nor are we a cult. We request that the government rescind the arrest warrant for our Teacher.

In December of 1999, we went to Beijing to appeal to the central government. We were traced and then detained. In the drug rehabilitation facilities, some practitioners were beaten badly by guards for doing the Falun Gong exercises. We were jailed with other prisoners and were under their surveillance. We were not allowed to study the books of Falun Dafa or do the exercises. We were told to wash dishes, clothes for other prisoners and clean the floors. We all followed Teacher Li's teaching--take hardship as joy. We read and recited the Fa [the law and principles of Falun Dafa] together. We believe there is no test that cannot be passed; there is no hardship that cannot be endured. Later we gained the freedom to do exercises there.

Not long ago, we were sent to another cell in the detention center and we had to strive for our rights again. One day, a practitioner in the Center was beaten by a guard. Coincidentally, in our cell a prisoner also beat a practitioner. The next day all practitioners went on a hunger strike. The guards forced us to eat but we told them we'd continue the hunger strike if we were not allowed to do the exercises. They brought in a big box of liquid medicine and threatened us with nasal feeding. We said it was all up to them. They gave in and started to turn a blind eye to our exercises.

During the ninety-nine day detention, the food we ate was terrible, yet we were charged 2000 Yuan RMB for that. We didn't care about it and did not complain. We took this as a way to get rid of our attachments for interest.

Our detention time should be fifteen days, but they kept postponing it and we were released after ninety-nine days. We didn't consider this as sufferings; instead, we thought it was a good opportunity to spread Falun Dafa. In the detention center, from guards to dope addicts, they all gained better understanding of Dafa. They saw us taking cold showers in the snowy and icy weather. They saw us as healthy as before after many days on a hunger strike. Some of them told their relatives to learn Falun Gong. Some came to learn and practice with us. Some even got up in the middle of the night and hand copied Teacher Li's scriptures. All of these are the manifestations of the mighty virtue of Teacher Li and the power of Falun Dafa.

May, 2000