(Minghui.org) The following is a personal account from a practitioner who was held in a forced labor camp. Through being righteous and believing in Dafa, he was able to be released.
Because I practiced Falun Gong, I was sent to a forced labor camp in Southern China in 2002.
One day, a police officer and two other people called me into his office. As soon as I entered the room, he pointed to a small stool and told me to sit on it. I said that I might as well just stand. He then told me to sit in a chair, which I agreed to do.
Without him saying anything, the two people behind him, who each held an electric baton, hit a steel pole, which made a lot of noise. I didn't move, nor was I scared. I said to him: “We do not hate each other, why are they doing this? Don't be like that, can we talk in a peaceful manner?”
Afterward, this police officer waved at those two people, and they put their electric batons away. I then said: “Also, people who practice Falun Gong are law-abiding citizens. Our Teacher told us that wherever we are, we have to be good people and think of others first.”
He replied: “Right, your team leader was just here and told me that you work very well.” I smiled at him and said: “However, a good person was thrown into a forced labor camp. I am not blaming you, as you did not put me into the camp. As a matter of fact, if you didn't do it, they would have found someone else to do it. I only wanted to let you know what Falun Gong is and why I want to practice.” This officer smiled at me and said: “Thank you for your understanding.”
I then understood that because of my peaceful mentality, thinking of them, hoping that they would not commit bad deeds, and my heart being on the Fa, this benevolent field dismantled their evil thoughts.
One day after breakfast, guards forced some detainees to perform hard labor, including me. Four collaborators watched me. Four to five meters away from me, one practitioner suddenly ran towards a building and hit the wall. This shocked everyone that saw it happen.
After that, the political instructor called me into his office and asked me: “Why did he do this?” At that time my heart was very heavy, as I knew that for this practitioner to do this, it was probably because he had reached his limit of endurance. I said to him: “I can understand him.” Then that political instructor became agitated: “He was committing suicide, do you know that?”
I replied that I did, and he then asked: “Why do you still say that he didn't do anything wrong?” I then asked him: “What do you think about those detainees in the camp?” He said they were social scum. I said: “People who practice Falun Gong are good people. Would they lead exemplary lives if they where social scum? He only did this because he couldn't stand it anymore. Think about it: if he were free, would he have behaved like that? It is because of the persecution that he tried to commit suicide.”
Afterward, he couldn't help but ask: “Would you act like him?” I thought about it and then said clearly: “I don't want to say things you can't understand.” He then relaxed, smiled and replied: “We understand, thank you!” I reminded myself that in my cultivation, I needed to harmonize with the Fa and validate the Fa, as opposed to validating myself. Whatever we do, we should try to help others understand us and think about others.
One night, a deputy team leader was on duty. He called me over and wanted to chat with me, saying: “When I talked with other practitioners, they said that I was a demon, and refused to talk to me. Why is that?” I said to him: “Well, have you done something that a demon would have done? If not, you can explain it to them. If you say that you are an ordinary person, but often persecute practitioners who are good people, then what you did is totally wrong. I hope that you will give up doing bad deeds and pursue kindness.”
I then said from the bottom of my heart: “Why do I talk to you? We are not related, nor are we friends. It is because my Teacher told me to think about others first. Actually, I think that you are a nice person, so I decided to talk to you. I also told you that practicing Falun Gong is for cultivating oneself into Buddhahood. Think about it, why do you think we have Falun Gong in this world? Why did I tell you about this, even though I am only a prisoner. I think you should think it over. I believe that you have read the book Zhuan Falun . You are persecuting good people, people who cultivate to become Buddhas and Daos. If you owe them something, you cannot pay it back, isn't this frightening?” He listened very carefully and kept nodding his head.
I also talked to him about the fact that Falun Gong has been spread to over 100 countries around the world and is only being persecuted in China. I told him some stories about historical figures from the past and recent Chinese history. I knew that even though I had talked so much, I wasn't prepared for it. It was Teacher who had given me wisdom. In the end, he wanted to know which school I graduated from. I told him that I didn't even graduate from junior high school. He couldn't believe it. I told him that because I practice Falun Gong, I can talk in a knowledgeable way like this. He said to me happily: “I can agree with most of the things you have told me. I know now what I should do going forward.” We talked until 1:00 a.m.
The next morning I realized that my left ankle was a bit swollen. As soon as I started walking, it hurt. The following day, the top of my foot and ankle were swollen. When a guard saw that, he insisted that I see a doctor. I told him: “No, I don't want to go. I will be fine in two days.” The next day, it was swollen even more, and my toes hurt so much that I couldn't touch the ground. When the guard saw it, he insisted that I see a doctor, and told me that I must go. When I noticed that he was agitated, I said: “If I am not better by tomorrow morning, I will go with you.” He replied right away: “Sure, if that is what you want.”
After he left, I said to the collaborators: “I will be healed without going to the hospital. However, you have to give me a hand.” When they asked what kind of favor I needed from them, I said: “One of you please go to the door to watch, the other person can stay with me, because I am going to do the exercises. I'm afraid that they will punish you for what I am doing and increase your terms.” One of the collaborators said: “I'll keep an eye out for you. You can do the exercises now.”
Because I had clarified the facts to them, they supported me. They also found a mat for me to sit on. I then sat down, pulled up my legs and tried to sit in the lotus position, but I couldn't do it. As soon as I pulled up my legs, it started to hurt. I couldn't do anything else but think: “Teacher, please help me. I want to sit in the lotus position.” As soon as I finished that thought, I bit my teeth, and pulled up my swollen left leg. After I had managed to pull it up and sat in the lotus position, I didn't feel any more pain. Instead, I felt lots of energy coming from my hands and feet, which lasted for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, I let my legs down. The skin on the surface of my left foot to the ankle had become dark. An hour later, it was itchy between my two toes. As soon as I began to scratch it, the skin broke open, and pus began to flow out.
After another hour, I let my left foot touch the ground. I noticed that it didn't hurt any more, and I could stand up and walk. At that time, the collaborators were shocked. They said it was truly miraculous.
The next day, the guard came to take me to the hospital. I told him that I was alright and was healed. He asked me how that had happened and I said: “If I tell you, you have to promise not to give them a hard time or extend their term. You have to promise me first, then I'll tell you.” He said: “I promise, please tell me.” I then told him what had happened after I had finished the meditation. He thought that this was unbelievable and miraculous.
Later, he called me into his office and asked me: “Do you want to go home?” I said: “Yes.” He then wanted to know whether I could go home by myself. I was very surprised and said: “Yes, of course.” They then told me to pack up my stuff, issued a release certificate and signed it. They also told me they had bought a train ticket for me. Since I had to take a bus to the train station, they also gave me 50 yuan. I arrived home the next day.
After a month or so I went to my company and told my manager that I was back. He was very happy to see me and said: “It is good that you are back. You can choose which company you want to work for.” I then said: “Whatever you decide, I'll follow suit.” He smiled at me and said: “You are still the same, nothing has changed you. You can go to Company C, where you should be able to earn more income.” Then, he had the personnel department put together the necessary paperwork for me to go to work.
After working for a few days, our company organized a tour to a vegetable garden. A coworker said to me quietly: “Before you arrived, a few others had tried to get this job, but they couldn't. You did not bribe them, but you ended up getting the job!” I said to him: “This is probably because the manager agrees that Dafa is wonderful!”
I have experienced many good things, the above is only one of them. As long as we have righteous thoughts and stay within the Fa, we can experience Teacher's benevolence and care, as well as the miraculousness and sacredness of Dafa. What Teacher has given us is far from any manifestation in the human world, which is hard to describe with our human language.
The path of cultivation has almost reached its end. Only by being diligent will we not have any regrets and receive Teacher's saving grace.
