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Standing Strong Despite the Persecution

March 21, 2021 |   By Falun Dafa Practitioner Jin Lian in China

(Minghui.org) I’m in my 70s and began to practice Falun Dafa in 1998. I have had many tribulations during my 20-some years of cultivation, but with Master’s help and protection, as well as Dafa’s power and the righteous thoughts that come from the Fa, I was able to make breakthroughs. I am thankful for Master’s support. All I can do is to try my best and do the three things well.

Misfortune Turned into Blessing

My son had a serious car accident and was hospitalized for over fourth months in several hospitals in the provincial capital. We spent over 100,000 yuan for his medical treatment. He survived, but he was left with paraplegia. When he was released from the hospital, the doctor told me, “Your son’s situation is not optimistic. If things go well, he may be able to live another year. You need to be prepared.” The doctor’s words hit me like a thunderbolt, “What can I do now? My husband is already in bad shape with many health issues, and my grandson is only three years old.” I cried every day.

Then a relative of mine came to visit me and brought me the book Zhuan Falun. He told us that only Falun Dafa could help us. From then on, my husband, my son, and I all began to practice Falun Dafa, and my home became a site for group Fa study and group exercise practice.

My son couldn’t stand up, so he would study the Fa and do the exercises in his wheelchair. His situation was improving daily. My husband and I recovered from all of our health issues. We were grateful to Dafa and to Master Li, Dafa's founder, for giving us this second life. Fellow practitioners remarked that our misfortune had turned into a blessing.

Family Broken Up by the Persecution

China’s former dictator Jiang Zemin launched the persecution against Falun Dafa and Dafa practitioners on July 20, 1999. Our home became a target of the persecution. Police officers from our township, county, and the city police department came to harass us every few days. Sometimes they would even come several times a day, and each time in several vehicles. They confiscated our Dafa books. My husband was too afraid to continue practicing, and my daughter-in-law saw no hope and left, leaving her disabled husband and a three-year-old son.

The police continued to harass us again and again in early 2000. Not able to handle the intimidation, stress and mental torture, my husband became ill and passed away.

My son was distraught by the loss of his father. Without the Falun Dafa books, he wasn’t able to study the Fa or do the exercises. He succumbed to illness and passed away on June 5, 2001.

My once-happy family fell apart, and my little grandson and I were the only two left. But the evil regime still wouldn’t leave us alone and they continued to harass and persecute us. The police ransacked my home and confiscated all of my personal belongings. They even ransacked my relative’s shop and took goods worth tens of thousands of yuan. My relative’s family struggled financially because of it, and they were not able to re-open their shop.

Playing the Leading Role Despite the Persecution

Between 2005 and 2008, I was illegally arrested and detained three times by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for my belief in Falun Dafa. In 2008, I was subjected to two years of forced labor. My little grandson was left at home alone without anyone to care for him and he thus became a helpless orphan.

Even though I was brutally persecuted by the CCP, Dafa's principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance were rooted in my heart. I firmly remembered the three things that Master told us to do. When I was cursed at and beaten in the forced labor camp, my will to cultivate did not waver. I always kept Master’s teaching in my heart, 

“No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil’s demands, orders, or what it instigates.” (“Dafa Disciples’ Righteous Thoughts are Powerful,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)

I wanted to establish a cultivation environment, and I knew that Dafa disciples should play the leading role, no matter where they were. I knew that I had not committed any crimes, and I refused to be treated as a prisoner. I refused to wear the prison uniform, recite the prison rules, or do hard labor. I clarified the facts to the police and other prisoners, and told them about the beauty of Dafa. I told them that Falun Dafa is a true Buddha Fa, and Dafa practitioners follow the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to become better people.

Every day I asked Master for help and guidance. I knew that as a Dafa disciple, I have my mission, and Master is taking care of me. 

Master said, 

“As a cultivator, and especially as a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple, you shoulder enormous responsibility, and you have a great mission that history has bestowed upon you.” (Teachings at the 2004 International Conference in New York)

I was released from the forced labor camp after five months, due to my strong righteous thoughts. When I left, I brought with me a dozen names of people who quit the CCP and its youth organizations.

Awakening the Conscience of Sentient Beings 

Master said, 

“Each and every barrier must be broken through, And everywhere does evil lurk.Abundant troubles rain down together,All to see: Can you pull through?” (“Tempering the Will,” Hong Yin)

I have gone through many tribulations, but, I've tried to do the three things anywhere I went. Whether it was going grocery shopping or visiting friends or family, I would always bring truth-clarification materials with me. I distributed the materials and talked to people about the persecution wherever I went. 

Sometimes I would distribute Dafa booklets, and post stickers about Dafa and the persecution in public places at night. I would go with a fellow practitioner if it was far away and by myself if it wasn’t. I have covered every household in the nearby villages at least two or three times. Master often brought predestined people to me, so that I could clarify the facts with them face to face. In my village, almost everyone has heard the facts and quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. 

Over the years, I have seen several families who were in desperate situations. I went to visit them and told them about Dafa’s amazing power, and their situation completely changed after they believed, and recited, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” 

Woman in a Coma Recovers

Five or six years ago, one of my neighbors all of a sudden fell unconscious. She was taken to the hospital and the doctors found a tumor on the main nerve in her brain. They said that the risk of removing it by surgery would be too high due to its location, and so they sent her home.

I heard about it and went to visit her. She was in bed with her eyes closed, unconscious. I called her name next to her ear and asked her knowing side to sincerely recite “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” At the time, her son, daughter, and their spouses were all there, and I asked them to recite those words together as well. They agreed and they all quit the CCP. 

I visited my neighbor again after about 10 days and brought her an mp3 player. To my surprise, she was sitting up. She saw me and was very excited. She waved at me and yelled something. She had tears in her eyes. Even though she couldn’t speak yet, her mind was very clear. I then showed her how to use the mp3 player to listen to Master’s Fa lectures, and I told her that she would soon recover if she studied the teachings sincerely. She nodded.

When I was about to leave, she even said a short sentence, “I have the player.” She pointed in a direction and I saw a similar-looking player there. I said, “That’s a radio. This one is an mp3 player and it’s for you.” She cried again. 

After several days I went to visit again. Her husband was home and he was so happy. He said to me, “Aunt [a respectful term in China for an older woman], Falun Dafa is so great! My wife has changed a lot. Before you came, she was unconscious. She was incontinent and used diapers. Now, she can use the toilet and can walk with a cane. She can even speak some simple words. Thank you so much!” I said, “That’s the power of Dafa. It is Master who is saving people.” He said, “Your Master is so great!” The villagers were all amazed after witnessing this woman's improvement.

Power of Dafa

About five or six years ago, right after the Chinese New Year, I went to visit a relative. She told me that one of our distant relatives had fallen from a scaffold, which was about five to six meters above the ground. He was injured severely and had just been released from the hospital. So I went to see him. His family told me the situation. He'd broken his back and was hospitalized for over half a year. The medical bills were 180,000 yuan.

When I talked to him, my relative was flat on his back in bed, unable to turn his head to look at me. I asked him to sincerely recite “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” He said, “Yes, Aunt, I’ll listen to you.” I told him about the miraculous effects of Dafa and asked him to quit the CCP. He agreed without hesitating and said, “Help my entire family quit the CCP.” His family agreed to quit the CCP.

I happened to have the book Zhuan Falun in my bag, so I gave it to him, and I asked his wife to read it to him. They were very moved. After two weeks, when I went back to bring him an mp3 player with Master’s lectures, he was already able to walk slowly while holding onto his child’s stroller.

At New Year of the following year, he drove his tricycle to my home to see me and said, “Aunt, I’m here to visit you and thank you!” He talked to me about the Fa principles he'd learned from Zhuan Falun. I told him that he'd experienced the power of Master’s Fa. He said, “Thank you, Master,” again and again.

Recovering from Leukemia

Once I went to my daughter’s home to take care of her child. My niece’s family happened to come over at the same time. My niece cried very hard. She said her son had just been diagnosed with leukemia, and she asked to borrow some money from us. She is very poor and can barely cover her child’s school costs. My daughter gave her 2,000 yuan.

I said to her, “Lily, listen to your Aunt. The treatment for leukemia is very expensive. Even if you have 20,000 yuan, it’s not enough. What you really need to do now is to sincerely recite ‘Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.’ I have told you this many times before but you never paid attention. This time you really need to do it. Falun Dafa is a true Buddha Fa and Master is here to save people.” They all agreed and I helped them quit the CCP. 

After several days they went back to the hospital for a checkup. A miracle had occurred: everything was back to normal! They came to visit me during Chinese New Year with gifts. They were so emotional and didn’t know how to thank me. I said, “It is really Master who is saving people. You should thank Master!” They all put their hands together and said, “Thank you, Master!”

For over 20 years, I have continuously clarified the facts to awaken the conscience of sentient beings. It didn’t matter whether it was people visiting me, people I bought groceries from, or family and friends that I visited, I always clarified the facts to them.

Master said, 

“ Clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings are what you need to accomplish. There is nothing else for you to accomplish. There is nothing else in this world that you need to accomplish.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference”)

Dafa Gave Me Wisdom

When the evil persecution first started, Dafa and Master were slandered. Practitioners were arrested, and sentient beings were poisoned by the lies. I wanted to tell the truth about Dafa to the people but had no informational materials to distribute. 

A materials production site was started in a neighboring village in 2002, and every week I traveled a great distance to get materials. So I decided to start a materials production site in my home. Even though I was just an older country woman and had no clue about how to use a computer, but with the wish to awaken people’s conscience, I figured that I would be able to do it. There were many difficulties and tribulations that I encountered along the way, including my home being ransacked several times. But, I was able to manage.

I learned how to use computers and other electronic equipment, and how to do typesetting and insert pictures. I was able to make all kinds of materials and worked day and night. I was always thankful to Master for giving me the wisdom and ability to do this. 

Our materials production site was mobile due to the evil persecution. In order to find and destroy this site, the CCP persecutors had tried many times to find it in different fellow practitioners’ homes, but were unsuccessful. We have also been making truth-clarification letters and we send them to the evildoers in different regions where the persecution is the most severe. We have continued doing so until this day, and our purpose is for these people to not commit crimes.

Master said, 

“I’ll tell you, for years I have been continually saying that Dafa disciples’ abilities are tremendous, yet many people don’t believe this since those abilities were not allowed to be seen. Under the effect of righteous thoughts, everything around you, as well as you yourself, will undergo changes. Yet you have never thought to give it a try. The old forces as well as the interference from the evil elements are precisely exploiting the gaps in your thinking. That’s what they have been doing all these years.” (“20th Anniversary Fa Teaching,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)

Sentient Beings Protecting Dafa Practitioners

The majority of people in my village have known the facts and quit the CCP organizations. They have chosen a bright future for themselves, as they have been protecting Dafa practitioners. Once, three police cars showed up at my home to conduct a raid. My fellow villagers came and surrounded my home and the police. When the police were loading my Dafa books and personal belongings into the police cars, one of the villagers said, “Why are you police officers not arresting bad people, but are always harassing good people? She is only following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, why do you always come and bully her?” The officers felt ashamed and said, “If you keep saying it, I’ll arrest you, too!” The villager said, “Oh yeah? Come try it!” The police then left.

Another time, I was home and the police came to harass me again. They asked villagers whether I was home. One villager said, “She is often not home. She went to her daughter’s place to see her grandchild.” They all tried to protect me this way.

Several days ago, my neighbor came to tell me that she saw a police officer who had ransacked my home before. She said to him, “I know you. You came to my village several times to harass my neighbor, who is a senior citizen. She is such a good person, and has done nothing wrong. Do you know her family situation? Why do you guys come and harass her so frequently?” The officer said, “I know. It’s the order from the above and we are only carrying out our duties. But now I’m not involved in that anymore.”

Dafa Has Given Me An Amazing Family

The evil regime’s persecution had completely broken up my family. Yet, through the many years of cultivation and truth-clarification, my extended family have all understood the facts and several of my children and grandchildren have begun to practice Dafa.

My grandson, who lost his parents, is a grownup now. He knows all about the persecution and often helps repair our computers and printers. When he was young, he often went with me to distribute informational materials, and he brings the materials to practitioners’ homes. He has a high moral standard and is a very responsible person. 

My family is poor, and in today’s society it’s not easy to find someone who’d be willing to marry a young man from a poor family. But last June, he got married to a very beautiful and kind young woman, and they just had a healthy and smart baby daughter this year.

I understand that these blessings were given to us by Master. Our fellow villagers admire us and have said, “Dafa disciples are really different. It is as if they are protected by divine beings.” 
Just as Master said, “When one person obtains the Fa, the whole family will benefit.” (“Teaching the Fa and Answering Questions in Jinan,” Zhuan Falun Fajie)