Recalling Fellow Practitioners at Our Former Group Practice Site

(Minghui.org) On May 13, 1997, one of my college classmates participated in an event promoting Falun Dafa (also called as Falun Gong). She had been practicing Dafa for quite some time. When she returned, she shared with me the miraculous experience of a teacher at her school who had learned Dafa. I dismissed her story because my mind was filled with modern doctrines. She did not argue with me, but calmly replied, “I can’t argue with you, but you still need to understand what we are.” Then she handed me a copy of Zhuan Falun.

I picked up the book Zhuan Falun and began reading it. To my surprise, I found myself captivated, and read from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. the next day. The following afternoon, I continued to read between classes. I finished reading Zhuan Falun for the first time in one go. I felt as if all the questions I had about life were answered: Why do people live? The universe is so big, are there other advanced life forms? What are the mysteries of the world?

Since then, I have been fortunate to begin practicing Falun Dafa. Initially, I participated in the group exercises and Fa study at the school practice site, however I wasn’t very diligent at that time. It wasn’t until after I graduated that I discovered a group practice site in a park in the city where I worked. I felt like a lost child that finally found her home. The period from 1998 to July 20, 1999—when the persecution of Falun Dafa began—was the happiest time of my life.

At first, I did the exercises with a group in a park that was far from my home. Later, I joined an aunt from Northeast China to practice in a nearby residential community. We would do the exercises in the morning, and ride our bikes to the Fa-study site in the evening to study the Fa together. Over the course of just a few months, the number of practitioners at the community practice site grew from two to more than a dozen.

The one who impressed me the most was a boy around my age. As he passed by and saw us practicing Falun Dafa, he climbed over the community fence and anxiously asked, “What are you practicing?” After that, he took up the practice. One of his friends, who had previously been a troublemaker in the village, experienced a remarkable transformation after starting the practice. Within a week, he vomited a lot of pus-like substances, and after that, his rheumatism and other health issues disappeared. He seemed like a completely different person, which amazed the villagers. After the persecution began on July 20, 1999, they all went to Beijing to stand up for Falun Dafa, but they were met with violence from Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members. Despite the persecution they faced, practitioners remained steadfast and refused to give up their belief.

On July 23, 1999, our small practice site decided to continue our exercises to validate Dafa. The police waited until we finished the fifth set of exercises before taking us from the practice site to the police station. The practitioner who previously climbed over the wall at the practice site was tortured. The police tied his thumbs and hung him up, with only his toes touching the ground. He remained in that position for several days and nights. Afterward, he traveled to Beijing twice to validate Dafa and clarify the truth. He was followed by the police, arrested and illegally sentenced. In the den of evil, he experienced brutal persecution. He was handcuffed with his arms behind his back and hung up for a week. Although I haven’t seen him in over 20 years, I believe that he still cultivates Dafa sincerely.

Once, a young man from the special forces sat next to me on the bus. Out of curiosity, he took a look at Zhuan Falun and borrowed the book to read when he was back in the army. Later, when I went to visit him in the military, he said that he saw small Faluns of various colors hanging on the trees around us. He also observed that the Faluns in the book were glowing. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing evil persecution, his cultivation environment was destroyed, and we eventually lost contact.

An auntie in her forties joined our weekend practice site in the park. Because of rheumatoid arthritis, she could not bend her knees. When I first met her, her face was dark and full of worry. When practicing the second set of exercises, she was unable to lift her arms to hold the wheel, and it was challenging to maintain that position for even a few minutes, let alone engage in meditation in the lotus position, with each leg crossed above the other. She said that she could only sit in a loose cross-legged position, and it was painful for just three minutes.

It was this auntie who, after studying the Fa, discarded all the religious relics in her home and continued to study the Fa and practice the exercises. About two months later, I was riding my bike to the park for group practice, when a figure on a bicycle whizzed past me, shuttled through the alley very lightly, and called my name. I looked carefully and saw that it was this auntie! She happily told me, “I used to have straight legs when going downstairs, and I had to jump to walk; my arms were also painful and stiff; now I can move freely, I can do housework by myself, and I can also ride a bike.” She rode faster than I, a young woman at the time! When she was doing the second exercise, she was able to do it with us for 45 minutes. When she was doing the fifth set of exercises, Auntie said that she could only sit cross-legged for three minutes at first, and now she could sit cross-legged for 40 minutes! When she shared her experience, she was overjoyed, her face was flushed, and she had undergone a complete transformation. After the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa started on July 20, 1999, we lost contact. I heard that Auntie was taken abroad by her daughter, who was overseas at the time. I believe Auntie will also be able to continue practicing Dafa, and I look forward to the day when we meet again.

There was an older lady at our small practice site who was outspoken and has a temper. Before she obtained the Fa, she would chase her husband with a kitchen knife during arguments. After she obtained the Fa, she realized she needed to endure conflict, and happily shared with us, “Now when we quarrel, I don’t use a knife; I chase him with a broom.” Everyone laughed at her lightheartedness. Although she is uneducated, she diligently followed along with us to read all of Zhuan Falun. One day, after finishing her shift in the cafeteria, she joined our Fa study group to share an alarming experience: there had been a gas leak while she was cooking, which she hadn’t known about. When a fire started, a massive ball of flames surged toward her, burning several large holes in her sweater; yet, she emerged unharmed. Her eyebrows were singed, but her hair and skin were not burned. Her co-workers in the cafeteria were stunned and exclaimed it was a miracle! When she shared her story with us, everyone rejoiced on her behalf. She had just faced a significant test, protected by Master! She had been practicing for a few months when she was illegally taken from the practice site during a group session after the persecution of Dafa began. We have not seen each other since then. I heard that she was unlawfully dismissed from her job and subsequently returned to her hometown to find employment. I wonder how she is doing now.

At that time, my area organized a Fa conference that was attended by over 100 people. Among them was a fellow practitioner, a woman with short hair. Although we didn’t have much interaction at the Fa study site, I still remember her voice, appearance, and smile. Recently, I saw her name on the list of practitioners who lost their lives due to the persecution by the CCP.

During this happiest year of my life, I studied the Fa and shared cultivation experiences with fellow practitioners in the neighborhood two or three times a week. On weekends, I participated in events to promote the Fa in parks and the countryside. Each time I rode my bike to study the Fa or practice the exercises, I felt immense joy. At work I was conscientious, not caring about gains and losses, and I would rather lose my job than make false accounts. I was able to think of others first, and I changed from being a willful daughter into a filial one. I also went from being frequently unwell to enjoying good health. My family also witnessed the goodness of Dafa.

At that time, the group Fa study and experience sharing environment was truly a pure land. Everyone felt comfortable openly acknowledging their shortcomings and committed to constant improvement. I particularly remember the peaceful and genuine smile of the fellow practitioner who hosted the family Fa study site. She consistently looked inward to find her human heart, which contributed to the purity of our Fa study and experience exchange site.

However, after July 20, 1999, she was persecuted by the CCP many times. She was illegally placed under residential surveillance, taken to a brainwashing center, unlawfully sentenced to reeducation through forced labor, and unfairly dismissed from her public office. Additionally, she was taken to a psychiatric hospital for persecution, where she endured beatings, electric shocks, and handcuffing by the police and CCP agents. She was also injected with toxic substances, and had toothpicks inserted under her fingernails. She suffered through many types of torture.

After her release from prison, I visited her. The signs of persecution were still evident on her body: the muscles and skin around her wrists were black, and the flesh surrounding the handcuff marks was concave from being restrained to a torture bed for over a month. Between her fingers, there were traces of dried blood from where the bamboo sticks had been inserted. When she first regained her freedom, she remained unconscious due to being forced to take psychiatric drugs. Fortunately, she recovered after her family and fellow practitioners helped her study the Fa and practice the exercises. When I went to see her later, she was no different from a normal person except she was thinner and had scars on her body. She had resumed studying the Fa and practicing the exercises, and made progress diligently. Despite enduring such tribulations, she smiled and said to me, “I want to go home with Master.” I will never forget the look in her bright eyes, filled with purity, determination, and compassion. I believe she remains steadfast in her practice to this day.

My fellow practitioners, let us not forget our original aspirations, do the three things well, firmly follow Master, and carry the lives that are predestined to be with us back home together!