(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 1)
3. An 83-Year-Old Practitioner: “No One Can Stop Me”
An 83-year-old practitioner's education was very minimal—she only attended elementary school for three years. She worked as a babysitter afterwards. She later married and had six children. Because her life was stressful and difficult, she developed many illnesses, including asthma, rheumatism, ulcers, hypotension, and anemia.
All her illnesses were resolved after she started practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Dafa in 1999, she coordinated with other practitioners to raise public awareness of the persecution.
At first, she and the other practitioners copied fliers and gave them out. In order to reach more people, they needed more materials, so they bought their own equipment and the practitioner began learning to make materials.
She was in her 70s then but overcame all kinds of difficulties. She learned how to copy DVDs and prepare them for distribution in nearby counties. She often went out with other practitioners to talk to people about Dafa and distribute the materials. After some practitioners were arrested, incarcerated in labor camps, or sentenced to prison, her children worried about her safety. One of her children had her move in with them.
In the new place, she met several practitioners in their 60s and 70s, and together they went out to tell people about the persecution. They went to cities, counties and areas near train, bus, and minibus stations in the countryside. They went to villages and markets. They took the earliest bus in the morning and returned on the last bus in the evening. Sometimes they got back very late.
Their journey was filled with hardship and danger. While they met many people who accepted what they said, others reported them, and the police followed and arrested them.
She and four other practitioners once went to a township market to raise awareness. They carried several DVDs and printed materials. As they talked to people, they distributed the materials throughout the market.
After they left and walked along the road, police cars came. When several officers stepped out, the practitioners ran towards the woods. One practitioner ran faster and hid a bag of materials. Because the other four ran slowly, they were caught by the police and taken to a village police substation.
The police demanded to know their names, home addresses, and where they got the materials. Instead of answering their questions, the practitioners tried to persuade them not to participate in the persecution. The police interrogated them for half a day but did not get what they wanted. After supper, the police took the practitioners to a hotel for the night before letting them go home the next day.
When the 83-year-old practitioner and the other four practitioners went to a market in 2017, someone reported them. Local police came and arrested them. Several of them were sentenced to prison. She received probation and lived under surveillance.
She continues raising awareness with other practitioners. “No one can stop me from clarifying the facts and saving people,” she said.
4. An 81-Year-Old Practitioner: “No Difficulty Can Stop Me from Clarifying the Facts”
An 81-year-old practitioner had many illnesses including rheumatism, headaches, dizziness, and Meniere's syndrome before she practiced Falun Dafa. She took several medications and spent a lot of money, but nothing helped. Because she did not feel good, she developed a bad temper and often argued with her family.
She heard that Falun Dafa could resolve illnesses, so in 1997 she started practicing it. Her illnesses were soon gone. Her bad temper disappeared and her relationship with her family became harmonious. She no longer cared about personal gain and happily helped others.
After the persecution began in 1999, she contacted other practitioners to step out and clarify the facts. She began coordinating the distribution of informational materials. She was arrested, detained, incarcerated in labor camps, and imprisoned many times. In 2020, the police took her away three times. She did not cooperate with them and only tried to educate them about the persecution. Each time she was released without charges.
One day, the police knocked on her door and said she was seen on a neighborhood surveillance camera distributing Falun Dafa materials. They forcibly took her to a police substation.
A young police officer interrogated her rudely. She smiled and said, “Young man, I'm old enough to be your grandmother. People should respect each other and follow their conscience.”
The officer's attitude changed and, he asked her gently, “When did you start practicing Falun Dafa? Where did you get the book? Where do you distribute Falun Dafa materials?”
The practitioner said, “I had many illnesses before I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. They were resolved soon afterwards and I became healthy. Even though I'm 81, I'm healthy because I practice Falun Dafa.
“You ask me where I got the book Zhuan Falun. I bought it from a bookstore. Falun Dafa books were available in bookstores before the persecution. Falun Dafa is a high-level spiritual practice and teaches us to follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to become better people.
“I tell people the facts—that such a good practice is being wrongly persecuted. Wherever I go, I talk about it as long as people listen to me. I give people Falun Dafa materials. I do the righteous thing. It's not against the law to practice Falun Dafa. The persecution is wrong. Good is rewarded and evil is punished. People are always repaid for what they do.”
The police officer wrote down what she said and asked her to sign the paper. The practitioner said, “For your sake I cannot sign it—if I do, it validates what you are doing—which is committing crimes against Dafa.” The police officer said, “All right.” He offered to drive her home. She said, “Thank you, but I can take the bus.”
5. An 88-Year-Old Practitioner Recalls Difficult Years
A retired 88-year-old accountant lives with her daughter in the provincial capital. She and other practitioners were arrested and sentenced to prison in 2001. She was imprisoned for three years for preparing materials about Falun Dafa. She recalled the difficult years:
“I benefited so much from practicing Falun Dafa. When the persecution began, Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) was slandered and the CCP spread lies about Dafa. I knew I had to speak up. Several other practitioners and I worked together to prepare informational materials and distribute them.
“At that time, few practitioners in Yunnan could access the Internet, so we had to get the materials from other provinces. The choices were limited, and most materials were single-page fliers in black and white. I was in charge of taking the fliers to a copy shop and then bringing the copies to fellow practitioners. They gave them out to the public.
“Police had our area under tight surveillance. I could only bring the fliers to the copy shop in the evening and pick the copies up the next evening. Sometimes, I waited there to get the copies and returned home late at night.
“To find the source of the fliers and arrest the practitioners involved, authorities spent a lot of manpower and money. Security personnel were stationed on every street. They conducted illegal body searches—they were looking for anyone who had Falun Dafa materials. We faced many dangers but safely overcame them with Master's protection.
“The owner of that copy shop knew the persecution was wrong. Many copy shops did not dare to make copies of Falun Dafa materials, and some even reported us to the police. But this owner took the risk and made copies for us. He worked until late at night making hundreds of copies for us. When the police learned that he was helping us, he had to close his shop and move.
“Initially only one practitioner in our group had a computer. In order to produce more materials, the other practitioners asked us to learn how to use a computer. I was in my 70s then. I thought practitioners do not age, and I started learning how to use a computer.
“I sat in front of the keyboard, pressed both hands in front of my chest (in a gesture of respect) and asked Master to help me remember the English alphabet. I immediately felt a rush of warm energy, and my mind became very clear.
“From then on, it only took me a short time to memorize all the uppercase and lowercase English letters. While fellow practitioners patiently explained, I wrote down all the steps and they guided me as I did them. I practiced repeatedly when I returned home.
“In this way, I learned how to browse the Internet, download files, copy DVDs, and install MP3 and MP4 files for other practitioners. I shared the workload for those practitioners who prepared the materials. I experienced how amazing Falun Dafa is, and I truly appreciate Master for his compassion.
(To be continued)
