(Minghui.org) I am 64 years old. I used to be vice chairman of a section union at a large state-run enterprise and was once an accountant. I started to practice Falun Dafa to cure my arthritis. I was able to quit smoking without any pain when I was reading Zhuan Falun and felt my body was light. I went to Beijing to validate the Fa four times during the past 18 years. I became homeless because of this and was wanted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for 80,000 yuan. I was sentenced to 13 years in jail in 2002.
The prison guards persecuted me in all kinds of ways. My determination weakened because of my human attachments, but in my heart, I didn't give up cultivation. I practiced the exercises during the entire 10 years of my imprisonment.
Later on I got a letter from a fellow practitioner telling me to “take care of the people around me who are suffering.” I realized that he was asking me to tell people the facts about Falun Dafa and save them. This inspired my righteous thoughts, so I talked to the political instructor in my cell about my cultivation experience, indirectly filling in the facts about Falun Dafa. Finally he showed his sympathy and understanding. Then I started to clarify the truth to predestined people.
Lao Gao, formerly a banker, was sentenced to life imprisonment. When I talked about Falun Dafa to him, he was eager to learn. He told me that he saw a shining Buddha with golden lights on a mountain as big as half of the sky one day in his dream. I said, “You are predestined. You used to be wealthy and unable to bear hardship. You came to obtain the Fa in prison.” I wrote Master's articles that I could remember for him to read. He cultivated diligently.
Practicing Falun Gong Together in Prison
One day I said to Lao Gao that if we could have a room like the small grocery shop in the prison, we could share experiences. Master soon arranged for him to be an accounting clerk for the cell store with his own office. So several new practitioners and I had a place we could share our cultivation experiences. I taught them the five exercises. He practiced the exercises every day and he changed a lot. He looked young and his face radiated. His wife was surprised when she saw him so healthy at her visit. He told her that he had started practicing Falun Gong and that was the benefit he had gained. He also gave some of Master's articles to her and asked her to read them.
One day at noon he was reading one of Master's articles while sitting on his bed. He felt tired and fell asleep, but he was still reading the article in his dream. An inmate came and asked him what he was reading and tried to grab the article. He fended the other inmate off, and they had an argument. He knocked over a bottle of coke during the conflict and it spilled on the article. He was very angry and cursed the inmate so badly that the inmate left the room. When he picked up the article, the only Chinese characters that remained on it said, “Compassionate and kind with noble character.”
He realized that he was not compassionate or kind, even though it was just a dream, and that Master required him to be a kind and compassionate person with noble character. In other words, Master required him to behave according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
In another dream, a bright dot drew large Chinese characters in the sky that said, “The Cosmos is in chaos. The righteous Fa is spreading. Save the world's people. Save sentient beings.” I told him that was a hint from Master to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. Now that he was a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period he should keep up with the Fa-rectification process. So he started to clarify the truth.
Lao Yang was a murderer who had practiced martial arts since childhood. He had a strong character and didn't obey the guards. He was handcuffed and shackled all year round, which resulted in a crippled foot. His almost lost his eyesight as well.
He was assigned to my team in 2010. I often clarified the facts to him and mentioned the big flood from a pre-historic period. He was very interested and wanted to learn more. I hand copied several of Master's articles for him. He started to study the Fa and do the exercises. Every day he meditated for half an hour whether people saw him or not. One day when he was meditating, Master showed him the content of the article.
Two months later his foot healed, and he could run. His eyesight recovered as well. Because of this, the inmates who knew him wanted to practice Falun Dafa. Some asked for my telephone number so that they could find me after they were released. They asked me to write cultivation articles for them. At the time we created a setting in which to learn Falun Dafa. In his dream he saw people sitting on small stools in the prison, having a Fa experience sharing conference.
Those new practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts towards the guards every morning and evening. It was very different in our cell. More than 30 inmates quit the Party. About 10 of them started practicing Falun Dafa after I clarified the truth to them during the ten years I was there. Three of these new practitioners were released.
My sentence was slated to be reduced to half a year and all the procedures completed by November of 2010. The prison required every practitioner to write a statement promising not to practice Falun Dafa after they were released. I refused to write it, which caught their attention. Not until then did they realize that I was still determined in my belief. The matter was serious, because it involved a variety of departments, such as the cells, education, the prison political department, superintendent, and the court for their fraud and negligence.
Standing Up for Falun Dafa
The cell department and the education department talked to me a few times. They pressured me, threatening that if I didn't write the statement, they would not reduce my sentence. They asked other prisoners to destroy my faith in Dafa and threaten me. I didn't waver and told them that I would continue practicing Falun Dafa.
I enlightened that I could pass this test however hard or difficult it was, because we have Master and the Fa. I informed the officers from the 610 Office that I would expose their fraud if they continued pressuring me. This scared the director, who fell sick. Finally they decided to have another trial on the issue of reducing my sentence.
I didn't cooperate with them on the day of the trial, except to state my name. The prison arranged for an inmate and a guard to be my witnesses. They explained how well I had been doing in the cell. After 20 minutes, they reached a verdict to reduce my sentence. I knew that Master helped me as well as the practitioners outside and inside the prison who sent forth righteous thoughts for me. Finally, my sentence of nearly ten years was over.
As I passed the prison office on my last day, an officer held my hand firmly for a long time. I saw in his eyes that he would miss me. I had clarified the truth to him, which improved his level of kindness. My family and relatives had come in several cars to meet me. Though the 610 Office had a car ready to pick me up and take me to the brainwashing center, many practitioners outside the prison sent forth righteous thoughts, and my family picked me up.
After I returned home, fellow practitioners sent me an MP4 player and a laptop, and taught me how to visit the Minghui website. I bought the whole set of Dafa books and eagerly read them with tears in my eyes. I adjusted myself and started to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. I made phone calls to tell people the truth about Falun Dafa and distributed materials. I visited over 10 former practitioners, and some of them returned to Dafa and cultivated diligently.
This is my personal cultivation experience. Please point out anything inappropriate.