(Minghui.org) As a 54-year-old retiree, I have been practicing Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) for 22 years, and have thrived in my spiritual attainment and faith just as millions of other Dafa practitioners. Falun Dafa is an exceptional discipline – a claim I can back up by sharing some personal experiences from my own cultivation.
Power of Cultivation: Promoting Falun Dafa in Detention
I sustained injuries on my face and body when I was arrested and taken to a detention center just outside Beijing. I met a female detainee, a former manager of a business who has been jailed for some time. She said that she was incarcerated after her business has been seized by a state-owned enterprise. She has taken the matter to court, but there was no resolution in sight.
She had been positively influenced by Dafa practitioners and decided to protect newly-arrived Dafa practitioners from being bullied by drug addict detainees. However, she was in bad health and depended on another young female detainee (jailed for financial issues) for personal care. This young detainee was very sympathetic to my plight and tried to help. She pleaded on my behalf that the guard in charge take me to the hospital for a check-up. She suspected that I had a fractured skull, and such a serious condition would surely warrant my immediate release.
When the doctor at a public security hospital found out that I was a Falun Dafa practitioner, and was injured during my arrest, he said: “ You are a kind and decent person, I will try my best to confirm the extent of the injury to your skull, so you could be released.” This kind doctor used an x-ray and other equipment to examine me, over and over again, but had to conclude in the end that there was nothing wrong with my skull. I thanked him, he told me his name and said: “ Do come to see me anytime if there’s anything I can help you with. I don’t think I have met anyone as kind as you.”
The guard that brought me was heard cursing in the corridor. In a way, he was also hoping that the doctor would confirm my injury and give him a reason to release me. It was clear to me that Master had been protecting me. My head was fine but the kindness showed to me by the doctor, the guard, and the detainees were heart-warming. I will probably never meet these people again, but I hope they will be blessed for their acts of kindness.
The young detainee was concerned about her length of detention and potential sentencing. I clarified the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa, told her about the beauty of Dafa, and urged her to recite in her mind, “Falun Dafa is great. Truth-Compassion-Forbearance” is great.’ She was released a week later, no doubt because she accepted the truth about Falun Dafa, and was blessed for treating practitioners kindly.
After the detainee had left, a policewoman called me to her office. She told me she was worried about what the detainees on drug offenses might do to the sickly detainee and asked if I could take care of her. I readily agreed and told her that we treat everyone based on the Dafa principles of Truth, Compassion and Forbearance’. I did my best to look after that lady, and also taught her to recite some Dafa poems.
At the time, there was another elderly practitioner at the detention center. We were naturally drawn to each other and encouraged each other to do well in our cultivation under the current circumstance. We did earn the admiration of everyone around us.
The two of us were free to do the exercises, and recite the Fa. Some detainees would even compliment us about our exercise movements at times. We treated everyone kindly, told them cultivation stories, and about the beauty of Dafa. Our presence had a calming effect and fights between the predominantly drug addict detainees were becoming rare. We were cited as an example of good behavior and worthy of emulating in a meeting where the center director criticized the aggression and violence occurring in the male section.
The benevolence characteristic of us cultivators was slowly changing the vile atmosphere there, as the guards became friendlier, and everyone was keen to show us their support. People crave human decency, warmth, and sincerity even in the vilest of circumstances, and Falun Dafa cultivators provide just that.
I went on a hunger strike demanding my unconditional release about 20 days into my detention. The center director came and seeing the thick scab on my face, he said: “We will release you when the wound on your face heals over.”
Little did I know, after washing my face the next morning, someone exclaimed: “The scab on her face is gone!” Everyone in the cell marveled at the miraculous power of Falun Dafa, “You have to tell the center director, and see if he will honor his promise.” In that dark cell, the good news brightened everyone’s mood and they all appeared genuinely happy for me.
Under Master’s careful arrangement, I was released after one month of detention. On the day of leaving, the detainee who was treating me well from the beginning insisted on giving me some money, but Dafa practitioners never want to be rewarded for our acts of kindness – I did not accept the money. Two detainees with drug offenses declared:” I also want to practice Falun Dafa!” All of us have a desire to be good even under the darkest circumstances, this world needs Truth, Compassion and Forbearance.
I got home and reunited with my family on the day of the Moon Festival. Thank you Master Li (the founder) for watching over me and keeping me safe.
Taking Good Care of My Elderly Mother-in-law
Practicing Falun Dafa has transformed me from a sickly person to one that’s healthy, lively, and filled with joy. It has also reshaped my personality from one that was bad-tempered, jealous, and who hated to lose face to someone who was broad-minded and generous.
My elderly mother-in-law stayed with me after my father-in-law passed away. I took such good care of her that people assumed I was her daughter. I took her to a bathhouse one day, strangers there remarked, “ Your daughter is really nice to you!” My mother-in-law grinned,” She is my daughter-in-law!” They thought she was really lucky.
It did not bother me that my husband’s older brother and sisters were better off than us, but shunned any responsibility for their mother. My mother-in-law sometimes felt bad and balked at the idea that they were let off the hook. I would put her at ease by saying, “I am a Falun Dafa cultivator and will always act based on Master’s teachings. We are charitable and unselfish. I will not compare myself with them. You have provided for your children in the past, it’s only a matter of course that we should be taking care of you now. Anyhow, they might have their own issues, and you would be more understanding if you always think about the good things they have done for you, and how you can be more considerate towards them.”
When my brother and sisters-in-law came to visit their mother, I always did my best to make their stay comfortable. I never talked to them about how much I had to give up to care for my mother-in-law. I always assured them that their mother was being well taken care of and that they had nothing to worry about. I did what I had to as a cultivator, and never felt that it was unfair.
Sister-in-law Renounced CCP memberships
My sister-in-law’s husband works for State Security. She has been influenced by her husband who in turn has been blinded by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) vicious propaganda slandering Falun Dafa. On one occasion when she came to visit her mother, I talked to her about the benevolent nature of Falun Dafa, and explained to her in great length that it was the evil CCP that’s doing the wrong thing, and Falun Dafa practitioners are the innocent victims.
She was furious and threatened to report me to the authorities. Since I did not react or argue with her, she turned her anger towards my husband. A fierce argument ensued and they have ignored each other ever since. I wanted to play the peacemaker so I took every opportunity to visit her with gifts. She initially ignored me, but I continued with my merry way of helping with chores around her house and chatting casually with her. Eventually, the whole awkward situation between her and my family blew over, and we are now on good terms again.
When she realized my mother-in-law’s medical bills were quite high, she suggested to her mother that she should take up Falun Dafa. Obviously, she was convinced of the health benefits of the practice and did not reject it any longer. She visited me and brought me food when I was illegally detained, also kept me up to date about how my mother-in-law was doing, and how she missed me.
When the renouncing CCP memberships movement became popular I talked to her about it. She was annoyed and showed it, but I kept my calm believing that even though she appeared to benefit from her affiliation with the Party, in time she would surely recognize the evil, brutal Party for what it was.
In a family gathering, I begged Master in my heart to save her while I quietly explained to her the reason for renouncing her Party memberships, that it had nothing to do with politics, but it was rather to ensure her own safe future. She smiled this time and agreed to it. Thank you Master for saving her!
My Wife Is the Best
My husband was very supportive when I first started practicing because he could see that I was becoming healthier physically and emotionally. But that all changed with the persecution of Falun Dafa. I was arrested time and time again and the pressure from the police, from his workplace, and from society at large was too much for him. He tried stopping me, tore my Dafa books, and threatened to divorce me. At the time, I also had doubts about the survival of our marriage at such a turbulent time.
But, Master and his teachings had kept me going. At times when I was in despair and close to a mental breakdown, Dafa teachings would open a new window, poured light and warmth into my heart, cleansed my soul, and made me see the karmic relationships underlying many things in our lives. Sincerely and patiently, I kept explaining to my husband that Falun Dafa preached divine principles, and its cultivators strive only for personal spiritual growth and that the Party was in the wrong so must be exposed for people to have a chance to be saved.
Gradually, my husband’s attitude changed. He became stronger in the face of criticisms and cared less about the threats and ridicule remarks thrown at him. It was the evil Party’s way to get at your family if they could not get at you personally. My husband ‘s boss at work advised him to divorce me, “How can you be a leader at work if you can’t even keep your wife under control?” My husband retorted: “ My wife has not done anything wrong. She looks after my mother and our family. I can't divorce her.” While he was having a hard time under the constant external pressure, he knew I was not to blame.
He once helped save a practitioner’s marriage. Because this practitioner was targeted and harassed by the authorities, her husband beat her and demanded a divorce. My husband volunteered to talk to the husband. The two men did not really know each other well, but they talked for a long time. My husband told him: “ Now, I consider my wife to be the best wife. Cultivators are great people. You can’t divorce your wife.” I was very pleased to hear that. Even though he was not yet a practitioner, but Dafa had already changed him for the better, and he now has real respect for Master, for Dafa, and its cultivators.
My son had studied Zhuan Falun with me when he was little, and a lot of the teachings have taken root in his heart. I used to encourage him to abide by the principles of Truth, Compassion and Forbearance. Fortunately, he has grown up to be a kindhearted, morally upright person. I was worried about the bad influences he might face when he left home to go to a university, so I often reminded him to do what is morally right, particularly in matters of romance and marriage. In a recent exchange, I was surprised when he shared with me what he learned from reading the biographies of some famous people. He realized his analytical thinking ability was quite strong, because he would sometimes recall bits of the Dafa teachings, and found that all of a sudden his brain opened up, and his mind took him towards many unexpected and ever deeper explorations of a subject.
Promotion of a Friend
A friend of mine, a very nice guy from my hometown, was an editor at the biggest local daily newspaper. Once when I talked to him about the truth about Falun Dafa, he asked me why I would talk to him about such things. I told him: “You need to know both sides to a story. On the persecution of Falun Dafa, all you have been hearing is only one side of the story. Why don’t you also listen to the other side and then make a judgment for yourself?” He listened quietly, exposing little on his face. I also gave him two books to take home, ‘The Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party’ and ‘Disintegrating the Party Culture’.
I met him sometime later, “Have you read the books?” He said he had and was rather shaken by them. He readily agreed to renounce his Party memberships when I prodded him. Then he asked, “What can I do?” I said, “You know the Party tells lies and uses propaganda to prop itself up. Instead of writing about them, you can use your position to spread more stories about our traditional Chinese culture and do some good for our Chinese nationality.” I heard later he had transferred out of his original team of reporting on Party affairs to a new team that covers ordinary citizen matters.
When I first met him, he was a poor university graduate trying to make a living in a new place away from his hometown. His family was neither rich nor ‘connected’. But, within a few short years, after he had renounced his Party memberships, he got married, bought a decent house and moved his parents in as well. He also had two kids and has been promoted twice.
There are millions of people like him who have made the right choice in renouncing their Party memberships and benefited from Dafa.
