(Clearwisdom.net) I started learning Falun Gong in 1996 when I was 28 years old. It was at a time in my life when I had a lot of strong attachments and was in poor health. I lived in a remote village where there were only three families. One day, my sister came to see me and told me about Falun Gong. She told me that it was very good, so I was anxious to obtain the book Zhuan Falun. But as I lived in a very remote place, it was hard for me to get a copy. Luckily, a few days later, my mother-in-law returned from the city and brought me a copy of Zhuan Falun. As soon as I finished reading it for the first time, I enlightened to many principles. I realized the meaning of life and saw that there was light at the end of the tunnel, even though I had struggled for so many years. This is what I had been looking for. I cried deep from within my heart.
Before learning Falun Gong, I was like many other people who are stricken with all kinds of illnesses. I had lower back pain, migraines, low blood sugar levels, along with many others health problems. I was miserable. After I obtained the Fa, Teacher cleansed my body, and with a renewed life, I felt very hopeful for the future.
I was quick to share the beauty of Falun Gong and its powers with my friends and relatives. In those early days, I spent most of my time studying the Fa, doing the exercises, and cultivating my xinxing. I carried the videotapes of teacher's lectures and walked for miles to promote Falun Gong. I was busy, but very happy.
Unlike before, I felt very fulfilled and always looked within when tribulations occurred. Later, my husband also joined me in Falun Gong practice.
As I was immersed in this happiness, cultivating myself with my whole heart, the persecution started on July 20, 1999. Slanderous reports about Falun Gong were suddenly everywhere. I maintained my righteous thoughts, "My teacher is wronged and Falun Gong is righteous. The CCP is lying. I have to go to Beijing to seek justice." I left a note for my husband and went to Beijing the following morning, leaving my husband and child behind.
As the persecution escalated, I felt that we shouldn't succumb to any form of interference. I discussed with my husband how to save more sentient beings and decided to buy a car so we could transport and distribute truth clarification materials. Without any hesitation, my husband agreed. He drove long distances to collect the materials and filled the trunk of the car with them. He set off early in the morning and returned very late. When he returned, he ate his dinner, then drove me and other practitioners to other villages and townships to distribute the materials. We returned home in the early hours of the following morning. Although it was hard and tiring, we were happy to do this. As a particle of the Fa, we had only one thought, "Change the environment and save more sentient beings."
Unfortunately, one practitioner was arrested while she was delivering "truth clarification" materials and was sentenced to prison. Under intense torture, she informed the police about me. As a result, I was arrested and my husband was forced to leave our home, where we had lived for the past eleven years, to become homeless. The police ransacked our home and took away our new car, along with 200 yuan. What hurt me most was that they took away all the Dafa books and the truth clarification materials as well. I was sentenced to four years of imprisonment at the Harbin Women's Prison.
In September 2003, on the first day of my sentence, I was locked up in the Group Training Ward. All new arrivals were held there for 4-5 months. We were then sent to other wards to do hard labor.
One inmate named Xiao Hong had already been in prison for 8 years. She worked very hard and told me she was hoping to pay back for her crime through this hard labor. I talked to her about Falun Gong, and how it was spreading throughout the world. I told her that Falun Gong could change a person's fate, and how it can change a person both physically and mentally. She enjoyed listening to me and wanted me to tell her more. She listened attentively when I recited Hong Yin to her, and soon afterwards she could recite "An Upright Person." (Hong Yin) From then on, she studied the Fa and memorized the Fa with me, and she became healthier and happier. Every day, she had a smile on her face. People commented that she looked so happy, as if she had gotten something very precious. She became a Falun Gong practitioner, and eventually her prison term was reduced. She was released in November 2006.
Looking back on the days since I started Falun Gong, I know that Teacher has picked me up every time I have fallen. I have come a long way--from someone who did not even understand the Fa to a Dafa disciple in the period of Fa-rectification. My gratitude to Teacher is beyond words. I hope all practitioners can improve as one body and demonstrate our indestructible power to stop the persecution and save the sentient beings.
March 11, 2009
