(Minghui.org) I started practicing Falun Dafa in 2005. In the fall of 2009, I was arrested and then incarcerated until January 2016.
In prison, I refused to cooperate with or give in to the guards' demands. When I returned home, practitioners brought me Dafa books and recent articles. After I studied the Fa for a week, I realized that I had fallen behind in my cultivation.
The first time I participated in truth clarification activities after my release from prison, I chose a residential community where people who work in the court system live. Those who lived there were directly involved in the persecution, and I thought that, if they knew the truth about Dafa, they might decide not to participate in it.
When I arrived at the entrance to the residential area, I noticed three people talking with the guard, so I could not enter. I asked Master Li to strengthen my righteous thoughts so I could distribute Dafa materials. The people left in a minute, and the guard turned his back to me. I walked into one building and distributed over 20 brochures before several people arrived. But I left safely.
I gave a Dafa brochure to an elderly man, who agreed to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) when I approached him the next day.
Then, in August 2016, I met the head of the detention center where I had been held. He had already had a positive understanding of Dafa and once chastised drug addicts, saying, “You all should learn from Falun Dafa.”
We talked a little before I suggested that he withdraw from the CCP. He agreed and told me that, since I knew his real name, there was no need to use a pseudonym.
My hometown is a village in a remote mountain area. It takes an entire day to get there. I thought that most likely no practitioner had ever gone there to tell the villagers about Dafa, so I felt that it was my responsibility. Master said, “...not omitting a single area where there are people.” (“Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World’s People” from The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III)
I visited my hometown in April 2016 and took Dafa informational materials with me. Before I talked to people, I studied the Fa. Master said, “Pacify the External by Cultivating the Internal” (“Pacify the External by Cultivating the Internal” from Essentials For Further Advancement)
When I got to the first home, I met a young man in the yard and told him that I had some brochures he should read. He was hesitant, but an elderly lady stepped out of the home and said that she would take them. She invited me in to eat and repeatedly thanked me. Similar things occurred many times.
In the afternoon, I was tired and thirsty from walking. I met a woman with her little girl. I talked to them and gave them some brochures. The little girl handed me her water bottle. I drank a little bit, and she only accepted one yuan after I told her that I practiced Dafa and could not take advantage of her. She said, “You really are a good person.”
When I walked up to another home and held out some brochures to the owner, he refused to take them. But I talked to him, and he changed his attitude. I told him that Dafa teaches us to be good and to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Then I told him about the staged Tiananmen Self-Immolation and other facts about Dafa.
Many of the villagers were the elderly, women, and children. Most of those I approached accepted the brochures, but one person started to yell that he had “caught a Dafa practitioner.” Someone asked him if I'd done anything bad. Since he had to admit that I had done nothing wrong, he was told to let me go.
I live with my daughter and son-in-law who rent an apartment in a city.
One day after I'd returned home, my son-in-law said, “You gave me 200,000 yuan. While you were imprisoned, I sent you money and visited you. That's why I don't have my own house now.” A few days later, he demanded 250,000 yuan from me.
I didn't argue with him but I was angry in my heart. So I looked within and realized that I did not think of his needs. I resolved that, from then on, I should not only care about him but also try to understand him better.
My son-in-law's mother was also a Dafa practitioner who was persecuted to death while I was imprisoned. His father was depressed and had to be hospitalized. Later, he was bedridden after being discharged from the hospital and was looked after by his grandmother, who was in her 80s. What intense pressure he was under!
To reduce their burden, I worked parttime, did more housework, and communicated more with them. Soon afterward, my son-in-law was able to understand me and Dafa. Now he treats me well. He also offered to buy me new clothes and give me an allowance, which I would not accept.
They are okay with my studying the teachings and doing the exercises at home. But because of the persecution, they worry that I could be arrested again if I go out to clarify the truth.
It has been over eight months since I was released from prison. I know I still have far to go to meet Master's requirements and many attachments to be eliminated, such as impatience, only approaching select people about quitting the CCP, and sometimes becoming drowsy when studying the Fa.