(Clearwisdom.net) I am 54 years old and a practitioner from a village. I was fortunate enough to learn Falun Gong in 1998. After I finished reading Zhuan Falun for the first time, I realized the extraordinary truth and the purpose of life. My ailments, numbering over a dozen, all disappeared after a few months of practicing, and I did not feel fatigued by any amount of work. I was so grateful to Teacher for his enormous compassion.
When Falun Gong began to be persecuted in July 1999, I began to validate Falun Dafa and disclose the negative actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Subsequently, I was taken advantage of by demons due to my severe attachments.
On November 12, 2002, when I was validating the Fa, I was reported, and the police arrested me and ransacked my home. I was detained for two months and then sentenced to three years of forced labor. In Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, I was deceived. I did something that a practitioner should not do and I felt deep remorse. Our compassionate Teacher, however, did not give up on me; instead, he watched over me and helped me enlighten. As a result, I returned to my path of cultivation. I realized, "Only if I have faith in Teacher and the Fa, and study well under any circumstance can I cultivate well."
I would like to share some of my experiences with my fellow practitioners:
While I was in the forced labor camp, there were long brainwashing sessions. Many so-called "scholars" were invited and they used many different tactics to try to "transform" us. I firmly believe in my heart that Falun Dafa is good, and I don't believe anyone but Teacher. As a result of that righteous thought, I was able to read Teacher's lectures several months later, even in that treacherous environment. While I was cleaning the guards' office, underneath a pile of detained practitioners' written reports on the table, I found many of Teacher's overseas lectures. I took two of them and hid them on my person. I read them under very dim light at night under the covers so that I would not be noticed. I was so anxious and could hardly wait to finish them. Later, when I was ordered to clean the office again, I exchanged them for two other lectures. I kept the last one until the Chinese New Year, and I also passed it on to other practitioners. Even though we had body searches very often, Teacher's lectures still found their way into the forced labor camp. I knew that was Teacher's arrangement, because our Teacher did not want to leave any one of us behind. As long as we have faith in Teacher and the Fa, no matter where we are or how evil the environment is, Teacher will find a way to let us be in touch with the Fa. Teacher's lectures surpassed layers of blockades to reach us, and every practitioner tried to pass them to the other practitioners. Once a practitioner got a lecture, he copied it down as soon as possible and then recited it. Sometimes the guards took it before the lecture could be memorized. When that happened, the lecture would be copied again and recited. Whenever one of Teacher's lectures came in, it would be copied and memorized.
Studying the Fa and reciting the Fa strengthened our righteous thoughts. We nullified the brainwashing nonstop, and we refused to cooperate with the evil's arrangement or follow orders. Meanwhile, we diligently clarified the truth to the guards. Once the guards knew the truth, they no longer read the slanderous articles. In addition to that, we also clarified the truth to the collaborators and recited the Fa to them. As a result, they were able to come back to Dafa. Later on, no one wanted to help do the brainwashing work.
It is so true that:
"The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts." ("Drive Out Interference," Essentials for Further Advancement II)
In that harsh environment, everyone treated Teacher's lectures as rare treasures and grasped every minute to copy, read , and recite them. During that period, we memorized the lectures whenever possible, we recited them before going to bed, and we did the same thing after we woke up in the morning. In reciting the lectures, we negated the persecution, we clarified the truth, and we saved the guards and other personnel who had kind hearts.
Later on, in a more relaxed environment, we studied the Fa but no longer recited it. When I was in the labor camp, I decided that, after I returned home, I would commit the entire book of Zhuan Falun to memory. Now I have been released for one year, and I can hardly recite half of it. I searched for reasons and realized that, since my environment is quite comfortable, my attachments have started to show up, such as fear, competitiveness, being mistreated, inferiority, etc. When I study the Fa, I run into severe interference: I cannot calm down, and I feel sleepy. I am also burdened with a lot of housework, I become muddle-headed, and I fail to send forth righteous thoughts. Recently, I have been reciting Teacher's article "The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be" again and again, and my state of mind has slowly improved.
Cultivation is solemn and can be like a boat going upstream: if you cannot go forward, you will go backwards. I have made up my mind that I will get rid of all of my attachments and the obstacles preventing me from studying and memorizing the Fa. At the same time, I want to remind my fellow practitioners who happen to be in same boat living in a comfortable environment: we should study the Fa more diligently, recite the Fa , and assimilate to the Fa.
