(Minghui.org) I was arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched its persecution of Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999. With the help and support of other practitioners, I obtained a copy of Zhuan Falun and began my journey of studying and memorizing the Fa, doing the exercises, and validating the Fa in prison.
I went on a hunger strike before I was sent to prison. I was put in solitary confinement under strict surveillance. During my second month in solitary confinement, my family member (also a practitioner) sent me daily necessities, and a handwritten copy of Zhuan Falun was concealed inside.
It was difficult to find an opportunity to read it as there were surveillance cameras everywhere and the cell was monitored around the clock. Even when I lay down to sleep there were inmates on both sides, watching me around the clock. I had no chance to read the book. I was later able to read only a small section of the book. Tears filled my eyes, and I said in my heart: “Thank you Master for helping me read Zhuan Falun while in prison.” I was also grateful to my family member.
I felt comforted, even though I only read a few lines. I knew that Master was beside me and other practitioners were helping me. I said, “I will not let Master down.” I recited Master’s On Dafa repeatedly during my six months in solitary confinement.
Whenever someone came to inspect or visit the prison, they always came to the solitary confinement cell. Every time I shouted with all my might, “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good!” The convicts on duty quietly told me that every time I shouted “Falun Dafa is good,” the prison guards were unsettled because they were usually accompanied by the prison head.
Receiving a Copy of Zhuan Falun
The prison guards transferred me to another section six months after I was placed in solitary confinement. On the surface, it was because they found that putting me in solitary confinement was of no use. Furthermore, I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good” while I was there and it embarrassed them. The real reason was that many practitioners outside helped send righteous thoughts for me and disintegrated the persecution targeted at me. I continued to shout “Falun Dafa is good” whenever I saw anyone. They locked me in a room alone and several convicts took turns watching me.
The next morning, the prison’s education department head brought five convicts, one of whom I knew. In the beginning they said they were there to visit me. They later started talking about things that deviated from Dafa. I knew instantly they were here to transform me. I remembered Master’s words:
“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 said, “You are here to get me to stop practicing. I have nothing to say to you!” I began to shout, “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good!” Whenever they opened their mouths to talk, I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good.” I stopped when they stopped talking. I did not listen to a word they said. They threw sarcasm at me, saying I was scared of them, but I was not moved. Although my voice was not loud when I shouted “Falun Dafa is good,” it was enough to let them know I refused to listen to what they said. They kept talking nonsense the entire morning while I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good.”
The department head asked me, “Can you communicate normally with these people?” I answered, “Of course but on the conditions that first, you give me Zhuan Falun and let me keep it. Second, I can read the Dafa books and Master’s teachings whenever I want. And third, if you want to talk, it must be on equal terms.” They agreed to my terms.
They gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun. This was the second copy I received while in prison. I opened the book and saw Master’s photo. Master was smiling at me. I was moved to tears.
Master said,
“Those who do the so-called ‘reform’ work, too, are people who have been deceived. Why not turn the tables and expose the evil and clarify the truth to them?” (“A Suggestion,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
I did what Master said and thoroughly clarified the truth to these people who had gone astray. In fact, all the things they said were just what Master taught in “A Suggestion,” Essentials for Further Advancement II. One will not be influenced by them if you reject their deviant interpretation of the Fa. It was as Master taught:
“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)
I used all my spare time to memorize the Fa. Because I didn’t know when my Dafa books would be taken from me, I decided to memorize Zhuan Falun as soon as possible.
I studied the Fa for so many years and I am very familiar with every sentence in Zhuan Falun. However I cannot remember the teachings in sequence or every word in each sentence. I thought that if I tried to memorize every sentence in the book, it would take a long time. However, it would be more manageable to remember the first sentence of every paragraph by heart. I set that as my goal.
I soon remembered the first sentence of all the paragraphs in the book – a total of over 600 paragraphs during the time they tried to transform me. I was able to recite all these sentences in one hour. Every day, I could memorize three lectures.
I said to Master in my heart, “Thank you Master! Now I don’t have anything to be afraid of.” At the very least, I can recite the Fa by heart now, and shout, “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good!” I clarified the truth through going on hunger strike, and I was even able to send righteous thoughts. I did the three things while in prison.
Every day, five people who twisted the teachings of Dafa were sent to talk to me. For two months they tried hard to transform me, but found that I remained steadfast in my faith. The prison guards told the inmates to take away my copy of Zhuan Falun. They used different torture methods on me until I lost consciousness.
I was usually able to grit my teeth and endure the torture. However on several occasions, I did not pass the test well. In the end, I overcame the tribulation through enlightening to Fa principles while memorizing the teachings. To cite one example, I was reciting a paragraph in “Martial Arts Qigong” (in Zhuan Falun) and was able to survive the beatings. At one point, the convicts kicked the muscles on my legs every day to force me to cooperate with them. Every time they kicked me, my heart was in excruciating pain to the extent that I knew if they kicked a little harder, I would faint. I was in conflict for the next few days… Should I give in to them?
One day, I recited this paragraph in “Martial Arts Qigong”:
“One will start to swing one’s arms and make the blood move backward to the arms, and one’s arms and hands will thus swell. They will actually be swollen. After that, when one slaps a rock, the bones will be padded and will not make direct contact with the rock. Thus one will not feel the pain as much.” (Lecture Six, Zhuan Falun)
I realized that yes, they will actually be swollen and not hurt as much. Indeed a few days later, my legs swelled. When they beat me again, my legs did not hurt at all.
I truly experienced that in this evil environment, I survived through following Master’s teachings.
After the prison tried to transform me for eight months and failed, they gave up sending people to convert me and stop me from going on hunger strikes. I continued my hunger strikes. Several months went by.
I only knew after I was released that practitioners in my hometown, in cities, in the area where the prison was situated, including practitioners in the city where my husband’s parents lived, and so on, sent righteous thoughts to help me.
To me, going on hunger strikes was a way to validate the Fa. In prison, convicts in the health center and doctors came to force-feed me once or twice a day. Falun Dafa practitioners’ refusing to give up their belief, going on hunger strikes to protest, using their lives to tell people the truth, told everyone, “Falun Dafa is good!”
While I was on a hunger strike, people thought I was in extreme danger. Yet I always felt calm inside. Approximately one year after I began my hunger strikes, my body developed abnormal symptoms. I thought this was not right for a practitioner. I even dreamed of deceased relatives. My rational side told me I should seriously consider whether I should continue to go on hunger strikes or use other ways to validate the Fa.
But what other ways are there to validate the Fa? The most direct way was to shout, “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good!” I kept persisting in hunger strikes and shouting “Falun Dafa is good.” Because when I did not eat anything, I had no energy, and my voice did not go far when I shouted, “Dafa is good.”
Speaking of shouting “Falun Dafa is good,” I recalled Master mentioned:
“An article published on the Minghui website described a student who told people the facts about Dafa and shouted ‘Dafa is good’ wherever she went. ‘No matter where they take me, I’ll ignore everything the vicious policemen say, and no matter how violently you beat me or how terribly you swear at me, I'll remain just as I am.’”
“That looks like human conduct, but in fact it’s not. That was because she reached that point through cultivation and truly arrived at that realm--‘Now that you’ve arrested me, I haven’t thought at all about going back. Now that I’ve come here, I’ve come to validate the Fa.’ So the evil was scared.” (“Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. III)
In the past, whenever I read these paragraphs, I always felt ashamed. I had been arrested on numerous occasions. Not one time did I do as Master said, “Now that you’ve arrested me, I haven’t thought at all about going back. Now that I’ve come here, I’ve come to validate the Fa.” After thinking it over, I wondered whether I should focus on shouting “Falun Dafa is good” in place of hunger strikes as my main method of validating the Fa.
I decided to stop my hunger strikes when conditions permitted. I negotiated terms with the prison, to give me back Zhuan Falun and I will stop going on hunger strikes, or else I will continue to go without food and drink.
They agreed and gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun.
My body recovered rapidly after I began to eat. I also started to do the exercises openly. I was free to do what I wanted. I studied the Fa whenever I wanted to. I was able to read all of Master’s lectures including Minghui Weekly.
There were cameras in the cell I was locked up in but I was transferred to another cell with no cameras. The prison inmate said to me, “The guards cannot see you doing the exercises.” One time, the head guard came to the prison and saw me meditating. He asked me, “What are you doing? Having a rest?”
As I regained my strength, I was able to speak in a louder voice, and my shouts of “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good!” became loud and clear. I was locked up in a higher level and I never went out. I leaned out of the window and shouted “Falun Dafa is good!” I noticed police officers stationed on prison walls look in my direction when I shouted those words. I looked for the most effective moment to shout “Falun Dafa is good,” when prison guards started or finished their shifts and walked past, or when the inmates finished work at the end of the day, when someone was inspecting or reviewing the facilities, and so on.
One must use wisdom when validating the Fa and do it effectively. When I shouted, the inmates would respond and shout with me. I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good,” and they would shout, “good” together. I shouted “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance is good,” and they would shout, “good.” I shouted “Heaven wants to eliminate the CCP,” they shouted, “eliminate.” I shouted “Quit the CCP to avert danger,” and they shouted, “quit.” Prison guards were amused to see the convicts shouting along with me.
I also shouted other phrases to clarify the truth. When I shouted other information, the inmates listened quietly.
When I asked the inmates, “Why do you follow me in shouting the phrases?” They said, “After slaving the whole day, we are dead tired. We want to curse the CCP but are afraid to. We follow Dafa disciples in shouting ‘Eliminate it’, which helps us let off steam!” I thought, if they could shout this in prison, they would be considered remarkable beings too.
I also observed that when my cultivation state is lacking, for example, I did not guard my xinxing in dreams at night, and someone would cause trouble and shout things opposing what I said. I cannot slack off in this evil environment.
When I went on hunger strikes in the past, the prison forbade me from being in contact with the prisoners. Other than the few who watched over me and those who force-fed me, I was not able to get other people to renounce the Party. After I stopped going on hunger strikes, my movements were not restricted. There are always new convicts coming into the prison. My environment is better and I can clarify the truth without reservations and get people to quit the CCP. Nearly everyone in my section quit. Only 1 or 2 in 100 have not renounced their Party memberships. Four prison guards also quit their Party memberships using aliases.
I hand copy the Fa whenever I have time. I copied Zhuan Falun twice. I wrote small characters on both sides of a piece of paper and then used transparent tape to cover it so that no matter how many times the paper is folded, it will not be torn. Thus it can be passed on to other practitioners to read. I passed the teachings to practitioners detained in the same area as me. Practitioners who work in the factory bring it to the workplace and pass it to practitioners detained in other sections.
In prison, there are righteous people who don’t practice Dafa but know that Dafa is good, and help us get Master’s new lectures. Through special ways, usually by the third day after Master’s new lecture is published, it reaches my hands. On the fourth day, practitioners in prison who are able to contact me will be able to read the new teachings.
Many practitioners detained in the middle section have published solemn declarations announcing their intention to return to cultivation. Some were able to do the exercises freely. Through studying the Fa, practitioners strengthened their righteous thoughts and passed me name lists of those whom they got to quit the CCP. I then sent it outside the prison quickly to be published online.
In concluding my article, I would like to share what Master said:
“I often see students like this: ‘You don't let me do the exercises, but I insist on doing them. You don’t let me study, but I insist on studying. I just won’t listen to you evil beings. All you can do is threaten me with death, right?’ Of course, Master has said that here to you, who are cultivators. But even so, Master doesn't want to say it, because if everyday people hear it they won’t be able to understand. What I’m telling you is that when you’re truly able to let go of the thought of life or death you can do anything!” (“Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. III)