(Minghui.org) I am a 78-year-old Falun Gong practitioner who began cultivating in 1998. Because my family lived in poverty, I got little education and encountered a great deal of hardship. Discovering Falun Gong was the best thing that could have ever happened to me!
Unfortunately, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong in 1999, victimizing my family and myself. However, since the teachings of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance had been firmly ingrained in my heart, I was able to remain true to myself despite the CCP's slanderous propaganda.
I became a Falun Gong practitioner in April 1998. Falun Gong books were hard to acquire due to their popularity, so I attended a local Fa study session twice a week and had a fellow practitioner read the books to me. I recall that, initially, I was unable to understand all of the words in Zhuan Falun.
Eventually, I had the opportunity to purchase my own copy and began to learn the words more diligently. Two months later, I was able to read the whole book on my own.
I used to go to group study at another practitioner’s home. After the persecution began, however, he and his family were victimized on multiple occasions by the CCP, so they asked me not to come over anymore.
I was a new practitioner at the time, but this did not scare me off. Thankfully, my children did not object to having fellow practitioners come to our house to study the Fa.
The notorious Tiananmen Square self-immolation hoax was broadcast in early 2001 to make people despise Falun Gong. Prior to this, most Chinese, including government officials, sympathized with Falun Gong and disagreed with the persecution.
Many practitioners went to Beijing to protest the persecution, but hotels and businesses were instructed not to serve them. The CCP also arrested many practitioners in the area, rendering a number of them homeless.
I decided to help by providing shelter in my apartment for many of these homeless practitioners. They were able to eat, sleep, and share their experiences. They would also go to Tiananmen Square to do the exercises and often displayed banners with messages such as “Falun Dafa is good” and “Master Li Hongzhi is innocent” on them.
Along with fellow practitioners, I often helped hand out flyers in Beijing. We later went to 60 suburban villages to continue handing out Falun Gong materials. I witnessed the arrests of many practitioners. Eventually, I, too, was arrested and sent to a forced labor camp for a year and a half. At the time, I was in my 60s.
When I got to the camp, I recall that I had no fear. My only worry was about the safety of the materials I had to leave in my apartment. Fortunately, I later found that the supplies I left at home were safe.
After I was released from the forced labor camp, a dozen local government officials visited my home and asked me why I’d broken the law by handing out Falun Gong materials. They also asked me if I would keep practicing after being punished.
I responded by telling them about the goodness of Falun Gong. Of course I would keep practicing, I said, since it taught me how to be a good person. I let them know that only the CCP was afraid of good people.
They also asked for my opinion of the Tiananmen self-immolation incident. I broke it down step by step and exposed the hoax to them, opening their eyes to the CCP's slanderous propaganda.
To help explain that the propaganda was false, I told them that I used to repair cars when I was young, so I knew how awful gasoline tastes. Just a sip would make you throw up immediately. With this in mind, how would it be possible for the person on the TV newscast to drink an entire mouthful of gasoline?
Secondly, why did they wrap the child up with gauze so soon after she was burned? And how could she still sing after having a tracheotomy? After quietly listening to me, the officials left. They did not visit again, except for one policeman who occasionally came to check on me.
A few years later, I lived in an older building that belonged to my employer. It had not undergone routine maintenance in 12 years. One former resident had left an old toilet in front of the building. I piled more useless items at the entrance and eventually paid someone to remove them all.
I began to maintain the building by removing garbage whenever I saw it. Eventually, my neighbors also adopted cleaner habits, which further improved the sanitation of our building.
In addition, the sewer pipe often leaked and flooded the whole basement up to the street. Residents had to cross a wooden plank to get to the first floor entrance.
The community center had the pipe repaired several times in 2014, but the problem was only ever temporarily resolved. They said that it would cost at least 1,100 yuan to actually fix it for good and that each family would have to pay a portion of the bill.
One family on the first floor resolutely refused to pay. Other neighbors also said that it was the community center office's responsibility to cover the cost. However, the office stood firm, saying that their funds were limited. Several other neighbors threatened to report this disagreement to the newspaper so that none of the families would have to pay.
Summer was on its way. As a Falun Gong practitioner, I had not been ill for years and knew that I would be fine. But the other people would probably suffer.
I decided to give 500 yuan to the community center office to help resolve the maintenance fund issue. The staff was extremely appreciative and thanked me profusely. I told them to thank my master instead, because it was he who taught me to be a good person.
The office was able to hire a someone to repair the pipe in one day. The neighbors were touched by my generosity, and each repaid their share of the cost after they found out that I had covered it. As a result, I ended up not paying much to get the pipe fixed. I recalled that Master said, “Buddha’s light shines everywhere, propriety and righteousness harmonize everything.” (Zhuan Falun)
I have cultivated Falun Gong for 18 years now. Despite the fact that I am now 78, I have consistently been healthy.
In early 2015, however, I had a few health scares. One time, my arm and spine were seized with such severe pain and my heart beat so fast that I could hardly breathe. My doctor told me to go to the hospital.
As a cultivator, I knew that I should not spend time in a hospital. Besides, my family could not afford the fees. I convinced my children to take me home, where I asked Master to help.
A miracle happened! My heart began to function completely normally, and I was suddenly able to sleep well. A week later, I could do everyday household chores without any trouble. I threw away the medicine my family had purchased.
My youngest son has diabetes. He does not practice Falun Gong, but respects Falun Gong practitioners and often helps out when we are in need. In early 2015, he had surgery for back problems. Normally, diabetes patients’ wounds heal slowly, but my son recovered so quickly that I knew that he must have been reaping the rewards from helping practitioners.
My grandson helped me install anti-firewall software so that I could access the Minghui website. Twice when he suffered from kidney stones, I told him to repeat, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” He did, and soon his kidney stones were gone. He knew that Falun Gong was truly good because of his experiences with me and his in-laws.
My family has struggled financially and suffered a lot due to the persecution. Despite this, they have always supported me and believed that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance good. Thus, we live in harmony and are confident that a bright future awaits us.