(Minghui.org) Many Chinese Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) practitioners have been sent to prisons and detention centers because of their spiritual belief. They lost their freedom, were separated from their families, and were subjected to torture and brainwashing. Even so, many have not given in. They held onto their belief and cultivated themselves despite those harsh conditions. Their kindness and selfless actions touched many guards and inmates and, as a result, awakened their consciences.
A Falun Gong practitioner recounted several of his experiences in prison.
A Ruthless Thug
There was an inmate known to be a ruthless thug. One day, he said to me, “Be ready, I'll come for you!” He later took me to a secluded room in the back. When someone was tortured there, nobody could hear it.
He said, “The guards have given me the job of 'transforming' you. If I don't get it done, my sentence won't be reduced. So if you don't 'transform' today, you will not walk out of this room!”
Unmoved by his attitude, I calmly told him how my health had improved after I started practicing Falun Dafa and how I followed Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to conduct myself. I explained how the Tiananmen Square self-immolation was a hoax. I even spoke to him about how a righteous person should behave. I talked for almost two hours.
In the end, I said, “Even if you beat me to death now, I will not blame you. But you cannot make me give up Falun Dafa.
“If you were me, would you turn around and defame your master after all he had done for you?” I asked him.
He thought for a moment, then declared, “You are acting as you should! I will not bother you anymore. I will talk to the guards. You may go back now.”
One day he saw another inmate beating me and said to him, “Why are you beating him? He's a good person! Don't give him any trouble.”
Later, more Falun Gong practitioners were admitted to the prison. He never verbally abused us. No matter what the guards told him to do, he never participated in torturing us. To his own surprise, his sentence was changed from “life imprisonment” to “limited term of imprisonment” after a year and he was soon released.
A Big Time Criminal
Another inmate was a member of an organized crime group. After he heard the facts about Falun Dafa from practitioners, he became very respectful of us. Whenever the inmates were called to meetings, he gave his seat to a practitioner. When he saw other inmates torturing us, he scolded them. One time he got angry when he saw another inmate torturing a practitioner. He walked over and kicked the inmate and said, “Do not bully Falun Gong people!”
Another time he saw guards beating me. He went to the captain of the guards and spoke on my behalf.
One day, he saw a letter from my wife in the office. After he told me about it, I went to the guard to ask for it, but the guard claimed that there was no such letter. A few days later, he went to the office again and stole the letter for me. I was very moved. He helped me to send out letters to my family many times.
He was released a few years before the end of his sentence.
An Average Inmate
When I was held at a detention center, I met an inmate who liked to listen to me tell him about Falun Dafa. The circumstances there were really tough. Loudspeakers defamed Falun Gong all day long. The inmates were told to keep their eyes on us.
One day, this inmate asked me, “Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble by telling me about Falun Gong?”
“As long as you know the truth, it is worth it,” I replied.
He was very moved. After he was released, he started reading Falun Dafa books.
A Kidnapper
Another inmate was arrested for kidnapping. He told other inmates, “We are the bad ones. It makes sense that we're in here. But look at those Falun Gong—such nice people!”
Every morning, he would call loudly to practitioners, “Go practice!” I was usually able to find a corner where the security camera could not see me do the exercises.
A Murderer
I met a farmer who was convicted of murdering seven people. Newspapers called him a “monster.” No one dared to sleep next to him in our prison cell except me. He joked with me, “Aren't you afraid I will strangle you at night?”
He loved to listen to me talk about Falun Gong. He was very kind to me and even recited poems from Hong Yin (a collection of poems by Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa) with me.
When he got the notice of his upcoming execution, he was full of regret. “What a pity we didn't meet sooner! If I had learned Falun Gong earlier, I wouldn't have ended up like this today.” he said.
A Prison Officer
I met an officer in prison who had learned other kinds of qigong. After he talked with other Falun Gong practitioners several times, he gained a better understanding of Falun Dafa and the Tiananmen Self-Immolation hoax and was very sympathetic toward us.
One time, he wanted to transfer me to the Education Section of the prison. It's an enviable post that many inmates wanted. Prisoners assigned to this section don't need to do hard labor and have very easy jobs.
I declined his offer, saying, “I don't want to put you in a difficult spot. No matter where I am, I am not going to 'transform.'” I thought he might be forced to try to 'transform' me if I accepted the offer.
“No, I already have the transfer paper here,” he said.
Later I found out that he had called in a favor to get the transfer. I was very touched.
