(Minghui.org) I am a 64 year-old woman who was born into a family that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had categorized as belonging to the “Black Five” group during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. My father died in prison when I was young. My mother and the three sisters depended on each other and were subjected to all kinds of persecution. I had no chance to go to school. After I grew up, I found a job in a state-owned enterprise.
My maternal grandfather practiced in the Taoist school. When I was young, he told us many prophecies, as well as stories that were about being good is rewarded and being bad resulting in retribution. He had also been detained in a CCP prison, and he advised us to not join any organizations related to the CCP. My sisters and I were very young then and didn’t understand what he meant. I only came to know what he was talking about after practicing Falun Dafa, also called Falun Gong.
I had been introduced to many forms of qigong and had also talked with people in various religions. They all had tried to persuade me to join them, but none of them truly felt right.
Someone introduced me to Falun Dafa in 1996, and I became a practitioner of this cultivation practice. I was amazed by Dafa’s principles when reading Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa. I felt that it was what I had been looking for. I did not start practicing Dafa for curing my illnesses. I just simply felt that the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance was what I was looking for. I learned that Dafa requires practitioners to become better and better people. Since then, my heart has never left Dafa, and I felt that I would not give up practicing Dafa for anything.
I had many illnesses before practicing Dafa, including migraines, rheumatoid arthritis, sinusitis, gallstones, heart disease, and sciatica. When the migraines were most severe, I could not bear others talking, my neck could not turn, and I could not sleep night after night. Sometimes the pain was so bad that I had trouble breathing. I was taking both Chinese and Western medicine and the symptoms improved only a little bit, before worsening again. The arthritis caused my legs to deform, and my knees became very large. Around 1994, the knuckles on both my hands and feet enlarged, and my legs became extremely thick. I could no longer squat down or hold a fist. The pain was almost unbearable.
I was diagnosed with gallbladder stones in 1992. I vomited a lot, couldn’t eat, and couldn’t stand straight. It was extremely painful. I also tended to get angry a lot, and due to the heart disease, my heart rate increased, and I felt very weak and fatigued. My salary was only a little over 100 yuan per month, and a large part of my family’s income was spent on treatments for these illnesses. Sometimes there was no money for treatments and I had to endure the pain.
An experience sharing conference/meeting was held not long after I started practicing Dafa. I listened to fellow practitioners’ sharing about their changes, and was very moved. I subsequently followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to improve myself. My condition was improving daily.
After practicing Falun Dafa I began to recover from my illnesses, until the only ill part left were my knee joints. I looked inside, and did the exercises. Sometimes, I would sometimes walk 30 miles distributing fliers. When I walked far and did the meditation, there were times when I felt I was reaching my limit for bearing the pain. I would think of what Master said,
“When it’s difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it’s impossible to do, you can do it.” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
My knee joints gradually recovered. My walking became easier, and sometimes it felt as if I was floating.
My health kept improving with Dafa practice. For the past 20-some years of cultivation, I no longer needed injections, nor medication. I am 64 now but people say that I appear to be around 50 years old.
I suffered from persecution and mistreatment by the CCP from a young age. After I got married, my ex-husband and his family treated me very badly. Along with all the illnesses I had, I became a very selfish person with a terrible temper. I was rarely happy, as I was suffering day after day.
Before I started practicing Dafa, I held a strong resentment for my ex-husband and his family. But after I started to practice Dafa, I understood my goals in life and learned the principles that helped people to be good. I began to think of others first, and gradually my resentment toward my ex-husband disappeared. I went to visit them with gifts, and clarified the facts about Dafa to his family. The entire family quit the CCP.
Several years ago my husband had hemiplegia and was bedridden, and I lost my job due to the persecution of Falun Dafa. I was frequently harassed and detained. But I felt happy in my heart. I became a very open minded person and never had conflicts with others, nor did I strive for personal gain and benefits.
Soon after Jiang Zemin and the communist regime launched the persecution against Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, my workplace demanded that I write a guarantee statement promising to give up Falun Gong. Also, some of my relatives, friends, and co-workers gave me the silent treatment.
I was then arrested and taken to the district Domestic Security Division by two police officers, because I gave some Dafa informational fliers to a coworker. I told the police that Dafa’s Master taught us to “... not fight back when hit or talk back when cursed at” (Fa-Teaching Given at the Conference in Sydney) and to be good people. I clarified the facts to a female officer for over two hours and she eventually understood and transferred me out of the Domestic Security Division. However, I was detained for 15 days and fired from my job.
I went to Tiananmen Square in Beijing to petition for the right to practice Falun Gong in late 2000. Just like many Dafa practitioners, I was arrested, kicked, and hit with rubber batons by police for shouting “Dafa and Dafa’s Master are innocent,” “Bring justice back,” and “Falun Dafa is good.”
I was taken to the Yanshan Detention Center and interrogated by two police officers. I told them to not to write anything bad about Falun Gong. I also asked them to take a look at Zhuan Falun. They said they would after everything was rectified. Several days later, two people from my workplace came to take me back, and I escaped on the way back home. I was then listed as wanted by the city police department. I returned home seven months later, and was again arrested by Domestic Security officers. This time I was detained for over three months.
A fellow practitioner was followed by an officer when she was on her way to my home on March 3, 2014. We were both arrested and my home was ransacked. We were interrogated by different people for the next seven days. I didn’t answer their questions, but instead talked to them about Falun Gong. When they told me that I would be sentenced to a prison term, I was not moved. I negated the entire situation in my mind. I repeatedly recited one of Master’s poems.
Master said in his poem:
In life, nothing sought,In death, regretting naught;Washing away all wrong thought,Buddhahood, with lessadversity, is wrought.(“Nothing Kept,” Hong Yin)
One officer was very mad because I wouldn’t answer his questions. He screamed and said that I would be sentenced for sure. I told him that those who persecuted people believing in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance would receive retribution. He stopped screaming.
My case was transferred to the district Procuratorate, and an officer interrogated me. I said to him that there was no law that stated that practicing Falun Gong was illegal. I did not sign the arraignment record, but I kindly asked him if it would affect his job. He said not really. I then talked to him about quitting the CCP. He agreed and told me his family name. I said, “If I get out I’ll help you to quit on the website. If not, then your heart has already been seen by heaven and when catastrophe comes, you will be safe.” He thanked me again and left.
Everyone being detained in the detention center was forced to write about their experiences. I wrote, “For the 20 some days that I’ve been here, the sisters in the detention center as well as the guards have all worked a lot because of my case. I thank you all. But I must do those things that I’m supposed to do, and I must do them well. Dafa taught me to be considerate of others, look within for my shortcomings when facing problems, and be a selfless person. I have not reached Master’s requirement and I still need to try harder. Please remember that ‘Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance’ is good. I hope that all of you will have a bright future.”
I advised the inmates to quit the CCP and its youth organizations. Sixteen out of eighteen inmates agreed to quit. The other two didn’t, but I talked to them about Dafa. A female guard had once threatened to confine me in a small cell. When I was released, I said to her in a low voice, “This Fa is very big. Let me help you quit the CCP.” She laughed and agreed. When I was released, six male detainees in the male cell all yelled “Falun Dafa is good!” I was very touched.
After the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was first published in November 2004, I started to distribute the booklets. I clarified the facts face-to-face to people, and asked them to quit the CCP. I started with my relatives and friends gradually became able to talk to whoever I met on the road. It didn’t matter whether it was male or female, young or old, rich or poor, educated or illiterate. From farmers, factory workers, officials, teachers, doctors, students, to people in the police department, courts, procuratorates, and the 610 Office, I talked whenever I had the opportunity. Most people listened to me and agreed with what I told them.
The apartment where I live was built a long time ago, and many units were being rented out. There was no management or cleaning services. Even though I’m very busy clarifying the facts, I always find time to clean the hallways and outside yards. Everyone knows that I’m doing the volunteer work. I have clarified the facts to everyone and many have quit the Party.
When I take the bus, and see someone who doesn’t have change to buy tickets, I immediately offer to buy them their ticket. This usually gets people’s attention, and I have the opportunity to talk about Dafa. Even though I’m only talking to one or two people, but I purposely raise my voice so more people can hear me. Sometimes many people circle around to listen and quit the CCP.
I don’t hesitate to clarify the facts when I meet police and CCP officials. Many of them quit the CCP. For instance, I once talked with a residential manager for two hours, and after she understood it, she not only quit the CCP herself, but also helped her husband and son quit. She said, “I constantly monitor you, and closely watch you. I found that you have a very good reputation.” I heard later from another staff member that she had transferred away from that position, so she no longer has to monitor people.
People asked me what type of work I do, and what degree I have. I just tell them that I’m a housewife in my 60’s and have never gone to school. People often can’t believe that I did not attend school, but Dafa has given me wisdom. I’m able to read all the characters in the Dafa books and Dafa materials. I have even memorized some.
My husband was hospitalized in 2008. In the hospital I met the president of one of the city’s courts. He was hospitalized for diabetes. I talked to him about Dafa. Many people were calling him, so he turned his phone off in order to listen to me. He quit the CCP and accepted many Dafa materials and amulets. I heard that he was promoted.
There was a 17-year-old boy who was diagnosed with uremia, who had to quit school when he was in junior high. I clarified the facts to him and he agreed to quit the CCP organization, the Young Pioneers. He also accepted a Dafa amulet but he didn’t want to learn the Falun Gong exercises. I gave him Zhuan Falun, as well as an audio player with Master’s lectures and exercise music. I went back to the hospital a week later and found that he had already been discharged. Two months later, I went to his home to visit and he had recovered from his uremia. He said that he was able to urinate normally by the time he read Lecture Five in Zhuan Falun. I told him to study the Fa well and follow the requirements for practitioners.
I met a person around 60 years old who seemed to be homeless in the winter of 2010. His mouth was crooked and snot and saliva were constantly dripping on his clothes. He was pushing a tricycle for support, and also used it for storage. Besides leg issues, he also could not raise or straighten his left arm. I asked him if he had any sources of income and he said no. I gave him 10 yuan to buy some food. At first he refused, but eventually accepted the money, as I insisted. I talked to him about Dafa and he agreed to quit the CCP.
When I met him six months later, his mouth was less crooked and he no longer had snot or saliva falling on his clothes. I gave him a Dafa amulet and told him to sincerely recite, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
I met him yet again after another six months. He had a bright smile and was much more energetic. He could raise his left arm and it was straight. He told me that the divines had saved him. I corrected him and said, “It was Dafa’s Master who saved you. You should thank him.” When I saw him again, he told me that he could run now and no longer needed the tricycle.
I heard from seniors when I was a child, who said that, “One inch of time is one inch of gold. It is difficult to buy an inch of time with an inch of gold.” I think that’s precisely talking about today. Time is so precious now. I will really treasure this time and use it wisely for all that a practitioner is required to do.