(Minghui.org) I clung to one thought: I only speak the truth! When I see evil things, I expose them. That is cultivating truthfulness. As for what they had done, it had nothing to do with me. I belong to my Master! So, instead, I viewed myself as an outsider. I sat by the open door of the jail cell, watching all the chaos. During the night, prison guards assigned four people in teams to watch me closely. But regardless of who they were, I had the means to reform them and to help them be on my side and watch out for the guards. I was determined to never allow anyone to create karma by harming Dafa practitioners. Master gave me wisdom when I needed it.

Greetings, compassionate great Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!

At the end of March 1999, I was fortunate to obtain a copy of Zhuan Falun. Since then, my life has been filled with new meaning and significance, and validating the Fa has become my whole life. As a Dafa disciple during the Fa-rectification period, everything I own is given to me by Master and is a favor bestowed upon me by Dafa. In order to validate the Fa, I would like to share a few of my experiences.

1. “Do you know how wonderful it is to practice Falun Dafa?”

In the fall of 2001, as I was posting “Falun Dafa Is Good” on a tree, I was arrested and taken to a detention center. More than 20 heavily armed police officers put on a show of force intended to scare me. They then put me in a shackle attached to a cross to torture me for four days and nights. At that moment, I really had contempt for Jiang Zemin and the evil regime he represented. They were so fearful of Dafa and our Master that they waged war against even a lowly farmer.

Police officers called me “Falun child.” Although I was only able to recite two paragraphs of Lunyu from memory at the time, I could feel our compassionate Master beside me, protecting me. In this situation, I thought that, since I had already obtained Dafa, I just needed to hand myself to Master and had no need to worry about anything else.

I was joyful during the four days and four nights that I was shackled. I slept when I was sleepy. I was happy when I was awake. Sometimes I was awakened by my own snoring. Other detainees burst into tears when they saw me being shackled like that but still so joyful, even sleeping soundly and snoring constantly.

During the middle of the night, in order to provide more space for others to sleep, I asked for Master's help to let me withdraw my hands from the shackles. At dawn, I put my hands back in. The director of the detention center went into a rage and cursed me for “pretending to be stupid.” I simply disregarded him by asking, “Do you know how wonderful it is to practice Falun Dafa?” I did not say anything else.

One time when a prisoner was told he would be put onto a “shackle cross,” he knelt down to beg for mercy and wailed for half the night. People were afraid of it. Prisoners were curious about my endurance and looked for an opportunity to ask me questions. I told them my understanding of cultivation and what Master had said:

“As a practitioner, if you assimilate yourself to this characteristic you are one that has attained the Tao—it’s just such a simple principle.” (Zhuan Falun)

I told them to remember Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, that when they got out, they needed to look for Zhuan Falun and vow to cultivate Dafa in the future.

The celestial eye of a prisoner who took care of me attentively after I entered the detention center opened the following day. He had been imprisoned there for six years and had not seen his mother in all that time. In an instant, he said that he saw his mother with gray hair, sweeping the floor at home, and looking sad. I told him to send forth righteous thoughts with me and recite, “The Fa rectifies the cosmos, the evil is completely eliminated.”

When my mind was not stable, he told me that he saw a kid bouncing a ball on me. When I felt pain or discomfort, he told me that there were insects, potato bugs, grasshoppers, and ants lying on me. After we sent forth righteous thoughts together, all of those things turned into a pool of black liquid. After this experience, I realized that when a cultivator does not feel well, it is because of these things.

After four days and nights, they removed the shackles. I saw that the soles of my shoes were gone, and one of my toenails was missing.

Many prisoners wanted me to show them the Falun Dafa exercises. I demonstrated the first, third, and fourth sets of exercises quietly. I felt very peaceful, very warm, and huge while I was doing the exercises. Although we were surrounded by an iron gate, iron window bars, iron chains, and ghost-like prison lights, the whole place was so quiet, as if the air was frozen. Everyone present wept.

For the 20-some days I was there, people were transferred around every day. However, the prisoners all promised they would practice Dafa. Some even started to do the exercises with me.

On the day I was to be transferred to a forced labor camp, several of my prison inmates burst into tears. The guards could not control them. When we said goodbye, they were upset and shed tears. Holding back my tears, I again urged them to remember, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance!”

After arriving at the labor camp, I planned to escape with a fellow practitioner. Because I worried about having to become homeless, we were captured. The other practitioner was sentenced to one year of forced labor. In order to force me to give up practicing Falun Dafa, the evil mobilized “lobbyists” to besiege me non-stop. Every day several people would surround me and speak nonsense. I did not want them to pollute me, and neither did I wish them to increase their own karma, so I did not listen. I asked Teacher to put a cover over me so that when I sat up I would fall asleep. When they saw me close my eyes, they would shake me. I then started to snore with my eyes open. Lacking any other alternative, they sent me to the “literacy class” to learn how to write Chinese characters, even though I am a high school graduate.

Regardless of what I was confronted with, I was always in a good mood. If I talked with someone close by, I would sing a song to comfort us. As we talked and laughed, our minds melded together and we strengthened our belief in helping Teacher rectify the Fa.

One day, a captain sent for me. I entered his office and cheerfully asked, “Captain, did you want to see me?” Then I saw about 20 to 30 guards standing in two rows, armed with electric batons as if getting ready for a battle. I glanced at them and said in my mind, “Who can match me?” I asked the captain cheerfully again, “Captain, you were looking for me.” He waved his hand at the men with electric batons, smiled to me, and said, “Doesn't this look good? Happy guy!”

I laughed and said, “Of course I am very happy. Old people used to say that when people become outlaws, they cry. But my mother told me that when I was in a less-fortunate situation, I should smile. It is only because I am fortunate to be practicing Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance!” That made the captain laugh. He said, “Go back and get ready to go to the mess hall.” I knew that our compassionate Master had removed my tribulation once again.

The majority of the detainees in the labor camp were Falun Dafa practitioners. How many horrible crimes have been committed there! The crackling sound of electric batons and shouts of “Falun Dafa is good” accompanied me in my sleep. Trumpeting, stern guards, torture cangues, double-teamed assaults, and slave labor were all part of the scenery.

I remember a terrifying, rainy night in July when a burst of screams pierced the darkness. I was awakened from a dream and heard someone crying, “You Communist Party, you want to kill me! You don't let me do the exercises! It is Falun Dafa that is giving me life!” The prisoners in the room were all in tears as they leaned out the windows. The dismal wailing tore at everyone's heart!

A few days later, I put together a sad little song about that night in the so-called “thought report” and submitted it. It was like poking at a hornet's nest, and the whole labor camp brigade began scurrying about with condemnations and curses. Several guards wielding electric batons shouted, “Nobody heard anything, right?!” They were referring to the cries from the previous night.

I clung to one thought: I only speak the truth! When I see evil things, I expose them. That is cultivating truthfulness. As for what they had done, it had nothing to do with me. I belong to my Master! So, instead, I viewed myself as an outsider. I sat by the open door of the jail cell, watching all the chaos. During the night, guards assigned four people in teams to watch me closely. But regardless of who they were, I had the means to reform them and to help them be on my side and watch out for the guards. I was determined to never allow anyone to create karma by harming Dafa practitioners. Master gave me wisdom when I needed it.

I always kept Master's poem, “Benevolent Might,” firmly in my mind,

“Dafa is what you carry everywhere,

Zhen Shan Ren, rooted in the mind;

A great Arhat walks the earth,

Gods and demons fear with awe.”

(“Benevolent Might,” Hong Yin)

The harsher the environment, the firmer we remained in the Fa. I coordinated with two fellow practitioners to copy Master's lectures each night and gave them to other practitioners to read. The lights in the prison guard's room shone all night long and cameras watched us above our beds. The hallways were also monitored all night long. We made copies of scriptures and passed them around every day. If not for Master's blessing and enlightenment, we could not have possibly succeeded, especially considering that we were always being searched.

I remember once when I went to the restroom, before I unfastened my belt, a pen fell out of my shirt pocket and made a sound when it hit the floor. At the time, there was only one person guarding me. My first thought was to run away and hide the scripture securely. The person caught up with me and complained, “Why are you in such a hurry?” I smiled at him without saying a word. Although the environment in Mainland China was harsh, I never lost a single page of Zhuan Falun or other materials. I simply clung to one thought: Dafa has spread widely; whatever is given by Master, no one is worthy of taking!

A year later they sent me to a brainwashing center. I remember a graduate from a law school, who was hired by the brainwashing center to be put up as a front, asked me, “Why do people who practice Falun Gong not take medicine?” I replied, “Why take medicine if you are not ill!” He then asked, “How does doing the exercises keep one from getting sick?” I remembered what Master had said in Zhuan Falun about the principle of three thousand worlds. I patiently explained to him the relationship between the particles in the body and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance: When one conforms to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, then everything will be in order. That is why matter and mind are one thing. When people do not distinguish good and evil, the particle movement will be disorderly, and this causes collisions. When that happens, modern medicine considers it an illness. Then you need to use Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to mend it. Our Master is rectifying the Fa. When everything is righteous, then everything will be straightened out and in good order. Chinese medicine also says that when one's righteous thoughts are solid, no evil will be able to invade one's body. Our Master told us: “As a practitioner, if you assimilate yourself to this characteristic, you are one that has attained the Tao—it’s just such a simple principle.” (Zhuan Falun) Therein lies the significance in the righteous Fa cultivation of Dafa practitioners. Could you say that cultivation has anything to do with taking medicine?

He then said that he was opposed to anyone who was unpatriotic. Why had my master stayed abroad? I told him that Dafa had spread to every corner of the world. Our master not only took care of those of us in China, but also people overseas. My master went overseas in 1996, and the Chinese Communist Party started to persecute Falun Gong in 1999. I told him not to listen to the lies.

I then asked him, “What is your concept of patriotism?” and continued, “My master told us that the ruler of a country should cherish the land and take care of the people. The Communist regime has given away millions of square miles, and Mao Zedong spoke of fighting heaven and the earth. He caused tens of millions of Chinese people to starve to death. Deng Xiaoping once said that he was willing to sacrifice the lives of 200,000 Chinese people for 20 years of stability. Could he be considered a good person? Jiang Zeming and his family have made a fortune through corruption. Is that OK? How many Chinese Communist leaders' lives have ended well? Just look at Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, and Liu Shaoqi. They all fought honorably for the Chinese Communist Party, but they all died in disgrace. My uncle was once general Xu Xiangqian's bodyguard. He joined the Red Army when he was 15, and he suffered many injuries during the civil war. During the Cultural Revolution, he was denounced in public and lost both of his ears when he was forced to kneel on the street one freezing night. How about the grief of the mothers of those students who were killed during the 1984 Democratic Students Movement?

“My master teaches Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He teaches us to be truthful, to be kind to others even when others treat us badly, and to be tolerant in a conflict. He has hundreds of millions of disciples, but he has never accepted a single penny from us. He only wants us to have good hearts. What a great, unselfish mind! Are you not touched? Isn't he great! So I am willing to give my life to my master. I would use my life to praise him. This is my purpose and choice in life! The Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance that he teaches is the real treasure of every life. Whichever country pursues it, the morality of its people will be noble and the quality of its citizens' lives will be good. Could such a country be anything but prosperous and strong? Dafa began spreading in China, and, because of that, China is blessed. My master is a true patriot!”

His eyes filled with tears. He looked at me steadily and said, “Say no more, otherwise I'll be learning from you.” He went back to the people who were responsible for brainwashing Falun Gong practitioners and told them that my knowledge was too broad. Even if he spoke to me about calculus or quantum physics, he would still be unable to win me over. The news spread, and many people came to speak with me. Some sent me tea when they could find no opportunity to contact me personally. During those two months, all kinds of people came to chat with me.

One time the director of the labor camp came to see me. He talked like a bureaucrat: “President Jiang's policy is lenient, and he didn't label Falun Gong as an enemy. You should be grateful to him.” I was upset and immediately replied, “It is useless! Since we are close, let's just speak from the bottom of our hearts. Jiang did not label us as the enemy, but we are still being imprisoned. Even if he does considers us the enemy, so what? Persecute us abroad? We live in this world and need to be righteous. We are living in a society, and we are to be content with what we have. I advise you to think twice before you act!” A young guard clapped his hands, smiled, and said, “Going abroad will be just fine for me. I want to learn from you so I can go abroad.” We all laughed. To break the ice, he began chatting about the news on the new stadium for a moment and then he left. From that time until I was released, he avoided me. Well, it was my competitiveness and human mindset that prevented him from knowing the truth. I hope he will not miss the predestined relationship with Dafa.

2. Dafa Shines in Mushang Village - Sentient Beings Welcome Shen Yun

Since I became aware of Master personally leading Shen Yun, and since Shen Yun is saving sentient beings, I began putting in great effort to promote Shen Yun. In the process, I was bathing in the sacred Fa, and gradually I reached a state of benevolence, and happiness. As the Fa-rectification process increases and the years of clarifying the truth and promoting Shen Yun move forward, many of my friends, family members, and neighbors have grown fond of Shen Yun. They have often asked me not to forget them when the new Shen Yun DVDs become available. People have often sought me out in order to get it.

Dafa practitioners all know that Shen Yun has Fa content and is directly saving sentient beings, so we should have the same enthusiasm in promoting Shen Yun as we have in promoting the Fa. Personally, I think that people love Shen Yun and that acceptance of the truth has repaid Dafa practitioners' efforts. Shen Yun is Master's gift to sentient beings, and I cannot let my own human mindset and inadequacies obstruct what Master wants to do. I can only proceed with all my heart and might as a Dafa practitioner.

Sentient beings' love and earnest demand for Shen Yun DVDs has touched my heart. I once went with several practitioners to the Shanxiang County bazaar to promote Shen Yun. No matter where I went, I simply clung to one thought: “Dafa practitioners are following Master's arrangements in saving sentient beings. Shen Yun is a gift from Master and a favor bestowed by Dafa! One will be saved if one watches it and one should not miss this predestined relationship. Dafa is to save sentient beings.” I then fixed my thoughts: “Environmental changes will never make my heart waver.”

The first time we went to the bazaar, although it was very cold, several hundred discs were snatched away instantly, even before the fair was fully opened. Those who did not get one were very sad. They followed behind me and said, “Do bring more next time. I did not get one because I was late.”

The next time we went to the bazaar, all the discs were gone in an instant. Again, people followed behind me and said, “Do bring more next time. I didn't get one.” Some people asked us whether we had the discs from last year or the year before that. Some asked whether we had other discs with different content. We thus brought truth-clarifying discs with us on our next visit. Sentient beings' longing for the truth made us realize the urgency of saving them. Dafa practitioners could truly feel the sacredness in assisting Master's Fa rectification.

One Sunday we went to a bazaar that opened before the New Year. There were carloads of people in the festive hustle-and-bustle. This time we brought with us more than two thousand Shen Yun DVDs and hundreds of truth-clarifying DVDs, as well as several thousand wall calendars. In less than an hour, everything was gone. Drivers extended their hands and shouted for them. Some people who didn't even park their cars just jumped out and ran to us to get one. Some drivers honked their horns to get our attention. Some who had already gotten one came to help distribute the discs and shouted, “Hurry up! There aren't that many left!” Some shouted excitedly, “Falun Dafa is good!” Their voices vibrated throughout this remote village. Practitioners were touched by their happy voices. People who did not get a DVD told us to bring more next time.

On a clear day after it had snowed, we went to a large bazaar in a remote village. The bazaar was located at a large intersection. It was twice as large as the bazaar we had previously visited. This time we brought with us 2,000 copies of the Shen Yun DVDs, more than 1,000 truth-clarifying CDs, 5,000 wall calendars, several boxes of desk calendars, and paintings with words of blessing. When we told people that these items were presents for the New Year, they started to grab up the packages even without our distributing them. Some who had already gotten a package raised both hands to help distribute more to others. They shouted with excitement, “Falun Dafa is good!” Their voices echoed one after the other in the hustle and bustle of the bazaar. People were positively affected by their voices and the festivity!

Writing up to this point, I remember what Master said,

“I will have the people of the future repay Dafa—that is, the people who survive—and they are going to create for Dafa an era of the greatest glory, a time of unparalleled magnificence”

(“2012 International Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital”)

Nothing can hold back anything Master wants to do. The atmosphere at the bazaar let Dafa practitioners sense that the future's sentient beings would create a brilliant glory for Dafa.

3. Don't Let Illusion Create Doubt in the Golden Heart

For a long time, my cultivation state was nowhere near the standard of a cultivator, and neither was my studying the Fa up to par. I had encountered much interference, and I was inhibited by a kind of numbness. My main consciousness was not fully awake sometimes. I was very anxious, and I experienced the reaction of fear. Therefore, this sharing is long overdue. While writing this, I've made some breakthroughs in getting rid of a great deal of interference, gaining some new understandings regarding some problems, rooting out many of my human mindsets, and mending some notions that helped me sober up a great deal.

Master told us,

“Let me give you an example. In Buddhism, it is said that every phenomenon in human society is illusory and unreal.” (Zhuan Falun)

Thus, I considered the state of my cultivation being illusory, and I no longer emphasized it or felt it. I made myself strengthen my Fa study and send forth of righteous thoughts with a clear mind. I understood that all the illusions would be like wisps of clouds blown away by the wind.

Speaking of illusions, I recall what I went through one early spring when I needed to go out of town to purchase materials for validating the Fa. The materials were supposed to be shipped by passenger train. I incidentally discovered that the train line would pass through a strict police inspection point that would include passenger body searches. I realized that discovery was an illusion caused by my own fear.

A different time, after I was implicated by the arrest of a fellow practitioner, I was unable to stay home. That experience also touched upon my fear. From that experience, I knew that the current project involving the train could not be delayed, and I did not wish to add any mental burden to fellow practitioners. I thus asked for Master's blessing in helping me get beyond my personal shortcomings and assist the overall coordination of the project. Regardless of my deficiencies, I needed to overcome the attachment of fear on my unfinished cultivation path. I recognized that everything would be mended unconditionally in the Fa.

Thus, I quietly and patiently waited near the area of inspection. After three days, I saw out that only a handful of police vehicles remained, and that the police were no longer searching the trains or passengers. Without hesitation, I hurriedly bought a ticket to deliver the materials to our city.

On another occasion, a fellow practitioner and I went to visit an elderly practitioner. On our way home, there were many police vehicles patrolling the street. A police vehicle paused near us for a short while, so we took a detour. This incident also touched upon my fear, so I decided to expose the element of fear and clear it away.

Since the passing away of some family members, I have subsequently been forced to live away from home to avoid persecution. Many people have thus been concerned about me. However, as long as I do not change my heart of gold or lose my righteous belief in Dafa, all the illusions will be like wisps of clouds that are blown away in the wind. I believe I will mend myself in Dafa, and Master will succeed in saving me! I will use the rest of my life to praise Master and Dafa!