Because I stepped forward to validate Dafa, I was placed in a detention center.
One day, an old country lady in her 50s was sent to the center. When she found out that I was a Dafa practitioner, she happily exclaimed, "Now, I feel relieved. I know that I will not be bullied while staying here with you, because you are all good people."
After settling in with her belongings, she began to talk about how, when she had first been put into the detention center, it was extremely cold and she had no possessions. One of the Dafa practitioners in the same room gave her a blanket. The practitioner also bought her a spoon and some tissues, and treated her very kindly. Nevertheless, she was afraid to go to sleep at night, and would open her eyes the instant she heard any movement. At that time, her only knowledge of Falun Dafa had come from the government-controlled TV stations, radios and newspapers. She was afraid that if she fell asleep, a practitioner might twist off her head. However, after two days of being cared for and told the truth, she began to understand Dafa. Three days later, she was transferred to my prison cell.
During the days that we stayed together, I kept clarifying the truth and promoting Dafa to her. I explained the characteristics of Falun Dafa, and my physical and spiritual changes since practicing it. I also told her why I went to Beijing and why I wanted to clarify the truth. She said that it was really pitiful that I was locked up in the detention center. I said, "Even though we have gone through a lot of suffering, our Teacher has endured even more. He also offers us an immense, glorious future--a gift we could never repay regardless of how many lives we live. Although we are suffering hardships, we have this rare opportunity to obtain the universal Great Law. We know its preciousness, so we need to promote Dafa and help our Teacher to save people with our benevolent hearts. In fact, those people who do not know the truth are the most pitiful. You are one of them. You have been fooled by vicious slanders and lies. You are muddled and don't know where [The Chinese president]'s irresponsible propaganda will lead you. According to the universal Great Law, the status of every being in the universe is being repositioned. What will happen to those people who are still holding to the way of thinking that Dafa is not good?"
After listening to all of this, the woman said that she felt lucky to have met our Dafa practitioners. "If I were not put into the detention center, how would I have gotten to know the truth? How would I have learned about 'Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance'? [The Chinese president] almost destroyed me. I really hope Dafa is rectified soon. After I go back to my village, I will definitely promote Dafa and tell the truth to my villagers; if not to the entire village, at least to half of the villagers. I will tell them of Dafa practitioners' every deed, based on what I witnessed. I will, of course, also tell them about 'Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance'."
Through this event, I further realized the importance of promoting Dafa and clarifying the truth, regardless of when or where it needs to be done. We must do it, especially in rural areas and those places where many people are in transit (e.g., train stations). If we do this on a large scale, people will not have to resort to learning about the truth in detention centers.
A practitioner from Mainland China
March 2001
