(Minghui.org) I was arrested in my office and sentenced to eight years in prison in July 2009 just because I practice Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong). I encountered many cultivation tests during my time in prison, but I always remembered what Master said: “...by having your heart unaffected you will be able to handle all situations.” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s),” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Master Encourages Me
When I was doing the standing exercises in the detention center one time, I clearly saw a bright star from far away flying toward me. As it got closer, it slowed down. It arrived on top of my head and slowly went into my body through the Baihui point [acupuncture point at the top of one's head]. While inside my body, it instantly turned brighter. It then came out of my body through my feet and flew away. I was quite excited and realized that it was Master encouraging me.
Master said:
“Although they have found several dozen deceivers—dregs of humanity—to put on this disgraceful act, just by having your heart unaffected you will be able to handle all situations.” (“Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s),” Essential for Further Advancement II)
Memorizing Zhuan Falun
I recited Zhuan Falun, the main book of Dafa, every night. Although I experienced interference at the beginning, I just carried on and never stopped. The more I recited, the more I felt calm and steadfast in my belief.
In the later years of my detention, the Fa| in my mind became vague and I couldn't remember all of the words. Sometimes, I remembered one paragraph but forgot another one. Reciting the entire book took me two to three months instead of the few days I needed before. But, no matter how difficult it was, I just insisted on reciting it every day.
I was interrupted by guards and inmates a few times while I recited the book in front of the window. One day, a guard asked me what I was doing there. I told him I was looking at the sky and thinking.
An inmate tried to scare me one day when I was reciting the Fa. He held two heavy boxes of materials, crept up behind me, and dropped them on the floor. The noise startled people around him, and even a guard from quite a distance away shouted at him. I just slowly turned around, smiled at him, and said calmly, “Why did you drop it like that?” He seemed shocked by my calm response and didn't say a word.
He told me later, “I purposely wanted to scare you the other day. But you weren't affected. Unbelievable!”
Kindness Changes Inmates
Some inmates wanted to monitor and report Dafa practitioners to the guards in order to gain points for early release.
An inmate who was incarcerated for drug dealing was going to beat me because I didn't give up my belief. He wanted to use this to please the guards and get a lot of points. One day, I said to him with a smile, “Don't hurry to beat me. Listen to me first.”
“We don't know each other, and I’ve never offended you. Why do you want to beat me? Is it just because I practice Falun Gong? I’ve been persecuted to the point of death many times. I am not afraid of dying, so how could I be afraid of being beaten? It’s not good for you to beat practitioners because you’ll create karma.”
Then I told him three stories of how people received punishment after they persecuted Dafa practitioners. I added in the end, “Beating people is illegal. Beating cultivators violates the law of heaven.”
I looked at him with a smile and dignity in my eyes after I finished. Others looked at him with mocking eyes. He said to me, “I'm sorry. Your words scare me.” He changed his attitude toward me from then on.
At least 8 people were in my 12-bed cell, and they were all ordered to monitor me. The head of the team and two others were responsible for recording every movement I made over a 24 hour period. We didn't talk to each other, but I tried to use my actions to influence them. I tried to help them and take care of them whenever I could. I treated them as if they were my children.
Gradually they relaxed, and some dared to talk to me secretly. One man, whose surname is Su, watched me closely and reported to the guards. Everyone was afraid of him and hated him. I asked him if I had done anything wrong. He said, “You're a good person. I haven't found anything wrong with you.”
I said, “If you think I'm a good person, why don't you let people talk to me? Who gives you the right to do that? You have to explain to me clearly. Otherwise, I will report you for violating my freedom of speech.” He got tongue-tied and didn't say a word.
The following morning, he reported my words to the guards. He was transferred to another ward. Before he left, I told him about Falun Gong and why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecutes practitioners.
He told me that he didn't know much about Falun Gong and wouldn’t get involved with the persecution in the future. Others all heard our conversation. After he left, no one fought or swore anymore. This ward turned into a model ward.
Cultivation Tests
In the prison's evil environment, anything that happens can be a test of one’s cultivation. If I hadn't let go of the attachment to life and death, I couldn't have passed any trials in the prison, even the very small tribulations.
Inmates had to wear a badge with their name and the crime they had committed. But I refused to wear it. We were also made to sing songs, which all praised the CCP. I refused to sing them, as I was innocent and hadn’t committed any crimes.
I came across a gangster who was well known in society. All the inmates were frightened of him. He was known to beat people hard.
When he entered my cell one day, all the inmates stood up. I was meditating on an upper bunk and didn't move. He glanced at me and said, “Are you a Falun Gong practitioner? No wonder you didn't squat down when the guard called your name during morning registration. No one dares to do that.”
He continued: “Before you came here, there was a guy who was also a practitioner. He refused to have his hair cut. I just walked over, grabbed his hair, and pulled him down from the upper bunk.”
“Stop talking,” I interrupted him. Everyone in the room, including him, were stunned.
“All the Falun Gong practitioners I know are kind people,” I said. “They don't hit back when attacked and don't talk back when insulted. Whatever they believe, that is their own business. You are helping the guards bully vulnerable people. Shame on you.” I told him more about Falun Gong, and he listened.
I was later transferred to another prison. He walked with me to the gate of our ward and asked me to take care of myself.
After a criminal in another province escaped from prison in 2014, my prison planned to force inmates to wear electronic wristbands in order to monitor us at all times. I thought it was insulting for a Dafa practitioner, so I kept sending righteous thoughts every day to deny this action. Half a year later, the project was canceled.
When inmates were released, they had to sign their name on a receipt before they got their money back. I made up my mind not to sign my name on anything.
The day I was released, I told the guards that I was not going to sign any documents. The guard showed me that there was no place for the inmate's signature. I left the prison with my head held high.
