(Minghui.org) I have been practicing Falun Dafa for 28 years, and am still healthy at age 69. I feel wonderful and am always energetic. I have not taken any medication or injections for nearly 30 years, and haven’t spent any money on medical expenses.
A few years back, city officials conducted a survey on the local retirees’ medical insurance costs. When they saw my record, they wondered, “What is going on with this person? There’s no record of any medical reimbursement, but she is still receiving her retirement pension. Is she still alive?” They later found out that I was a Falun Dafa practitioner—not only was I alive, I was as healthy as a young person. The officials said, “Turned out, what the Falun Dafa practitioners have been saying is true. So strange! Who is telling lies here? The government?”
Not only are Dafa practitioners healthy, but we also follow the universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in everything we do. Having seen how wonderful Dafa is through interacting with practitioners, many people are drawn to Dafa and want to learn it as well.
A local practitioner shared this story with me when I visited her recently. Her old neighbor paid her a visit a few days ago and said to her, “Wow. You look great and your complexion is so healthy. I’ve never seen you sick. You are strong and get things done quickly. I’m so envious of you. You told me about Falun Dafa in the past.”
She continued to remark that the persecution is wrong. I believe all of it and really enjoy reading the Falun Dafa truth-clarification informational materials you gave me. They are so well written, and I am certain that they are also true. I wanted to give the practice a try, but always worried about repercussions.”
“But look at me now,” the neighbor said. “I’ve been having a lot of health issues. We’re not rich and I have to continue working to support the family. Who is going to take care of my family if I get sick? The government sure isn’t. I thought of Falun Dafa—only Dafa can save me. This is why I am here today. You know, nowadays everyone curses the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and everyone knows that it is evil. The CCP officials don’t care about the people whatsoever. What else does the government do besides killing, suppressing the people, telling lies and abusing their power to get rich? Everyone is counting the days when the CCP is eliminated.”
He continued, “I’ve researched a lot of qigong practices, but I think Falun Dafa is the best. It is free of charge, and the practitioners voluntarily teach the exercises. Dafa teaches people to be kind and good. Dafa’s Master unconditionally helps true practitioners get rid of illnesses and stay healthy. Where else can you find such a great Master? I came to ask you to help me quit the CCP and its youth organizations. Also, please help me find a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa—I want to cultivate in Falun Dafa, too.”
The practitioner told her neighbor, “Don’t worry. I will help you. I only have one copy of Zhuan Falun on hand, but I will get a copy for you. I have some truth-clarification materials, please take them and read them. I will let you know as soon as I find a copy for you. Wait for the good news.” The neighbor thanked her and left.
The practitioner showed me a new copy of Zhuan Falun and said, “Look. I’ve found a copy for him. I’m waiting for him to pick it up.” I was so happy for her, “You’ve done such a great job. Through you, your neighbor saw the preciousness of Dafa and wants to cultivate it. That’s why he came to you. It is so important for Dafa practitioners to cultivate well. When we do, we can do a much better job of awakening sentient beings.”
When I was detained for practicing my faith in 2004, I met many criminal inmates and felons who later learned that Dafa is good. Two partners in dealing drugs were admitted and the younger one was placed in my cell. The guard told her, “Watch the Falun Gong [also called Falun Dafa] practitioners and learn how to act like a human being from them.” The guards often said this to the newcomers. At the same time, a drug addict Zhang and Zhao who committed theft were also placed in our cell.
The newcomers felt prejudice toward Falun Gong practitioners and looked down on us at first. Especially Zhao, who kept her distance and never said a word to any of us. She seemed to be extremely cautious and didn’t trust anyone. At night, she lay in bed with just a thin layer of pajamas on, curled up into a ball, she stayed up all night with her eyes open. I walked over quietly one night and covered her with my warm jacket.
At breakfast, the practitioners gave the new inmates bigger portions of the rice porridge that everyone liked. We also shared toilet paper and soap with them. Every day, Falun Gong practitioners did the dishes, mopped the floor, and cleaned the bathrooms. When it was “sitting time” where the practitioners were made to sit on our wooden beds for long periods of time, we recited Master’s poems from Hong Yin, “On Dafa,” and did the exercises. During breaks, we tried to talk to the inmates and tell them about Falun Dafa. We told them how wonderful the practice is, how to be a good person, and that goodness receives blessings and evil will meet with retribution.
Falun Gong practitioners strive to meet the high standards of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and always consider others first. Eventually, our kindness touched the new inmates. Zhao said, “The Falun Gong practitioners here are different than the ones I saw on TV. If I hadn’t met you and seen for myself that you all are such nice people, I probably would have believed those lies for the rest of my life. I would have treated you as enemies.”
A guard said to me a month later, “I’m going to transfer you to another cell so you can help Bai, the older one of the two drug dealers. She is depressed and very impulsive. She had tried several times to harm herself and already injured one of her eyes. We figured only a Falun Gong practitioner could calm her down. I trust that you’ll be able to help her.”
Bai and I hit it off right away and became close friends. During her first month there, she had already met some practitioners and saw how nice they were, thus was friendly toward me right from the beginning. We stayed up and talked for a long time the first night.
Bai told me she was from another province. When her husband was laid off, the couple faced financial difficulty, which caused friction and conflicts. They argued and fought a lot. After a big fight with her husband one day, she left home, leaving her only daughter behind. She moved to a big city to look for work.
“I found a job at a small restaurant and met a man,” she told me. “He was single and had never married. I moved in with him soon after we met. To renovate his apartment, I started dealing in drugs. The money came quickly and the renovation was done. We planned to do one more deal to upgrade the appliances, then I would stop. Who knew I would be caught doing the last deal.”
I was honest with her, “Bai, I’m sorry that you got arrested but you chose the wrong path. Drug dealing is a path of no return. So many people have lost money, their families, and even their lives because of drug addiction.”
I said, “There is a drug addict Zhang in the other cell. Her husband is also a drug addict and a gambler. The couple was arrested and now their elderly parents have to take care of their young daughter. They’ve hurt their family, friends, and co-workers by borrowing tons of money from them, causing them financial loss. Zhang told me that they’ve burned through millions of yuan on drugs and gambled their life savings away. When she received her sentence of four and a half years, her own mother told her the sentence was too light. Her family doesn’t want them back in their lives. She is unhealthy and skinny like a straw. You tell me, how many people have fallen victim to drugs?”
I told her, “As Falun Dafa cultivators, we believe that goodness is rewarded with blessings and those who are evil will eventually receive retribution. Some will get it in this lifetime and some will get it in their next lifetime. Sometimes even their children or grandchildren will suffer retribution. Nobody can escape the law of the universe. The CCP has been indoctrinating people with the ideology of atheism. Nowadays people don’t believe in heaven, earth, the Gods, or Buddhas. The CCP encourages people to fight with heaven, to fight with earth, and to fight with each other.”
“Monetary gain is placed above all in society, and people use all means to get rich,” I continued. “They laugh at the poor, but not the morally corrupt. Counterfeit products are everywhere, and food products containing poisonous chemicals are everywhere. People worship dishonesty, evil, and violence and attack the universal values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. People’s hearts are no longer kind and they stop at no evil. The heavens will not tolerate this and so there will be punishment in the form of natural disasters and plagues. The SARS outbreak in 2003 was just a warning. Don’t you agree?” She nodded and quickly fell asleep.
The next morning, we picked up right where we left off. Bai asked me, “Do you think my arrest was a punishment from heaven?” I smiled, “You’ve figured it out. That’s great! It may seem like a bad thing that you were arrested but it is a wonderful blessing to hear about Dafa. You have a great predestined relationship.”
I told her, “Falun Dafa is the supreme Fa of the Buddha School. It teaches people to be kind and good. As practitioners, we hold ourselves to Dafa’s teachings of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in our words and deeds. We strictly follow what Master taught us, “...one should not fight back when being punched or insulted...” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun). We are honest and reliable. We don’t cheat people and we don’t lie. We always consider others first. Dafa unconditionally cleanses a true practitioner’s body and purifies his soul so he is healthy mentally and physically. I am living proof of this.” I told her my story of cultivating in Dafa.
Before I practiced Falun Dafa, I suffered from many illnesses, such as high blood pressure, arthritis, and severe inflammation. Every vertebra of my spine, from the neck to my lower back, hurt so badly that I couldn’t lie down nor turn in bed. My wrists and each knuckle on my fingers were swollen from inflammation to the point that I couldn’t hold a rice bowl. My stubborn sinus infection couldn’t be cured despite all the medication I’ve taken over the years. I could only breathe through my mouth. To alleviate dryness of the mouth, I had to cover my face with a wet towel when I slept at night. Breathing through my mouth also caused infection of the respiratory tract and pharyngitis. I was losing my vision and my memory. My eyes grew increasingly sensitive to light and I became teary whenever it was windy.
I suffered from women’s diseases, including uterine fibrosis and cysts. My lower abdominal area and lower back were excruciatingly painful and I couldn’t even stand straight. As my kidney function weakened, I often had blood in my urine. My entire body was swollen and it took a lot of effort to even walk. I couldn’t open my eyes because of the severe swelling. I was always in pain and was barely living.
But everything changed the moment I took up Falun Dafa. Every morning I did one hour of the standing exercises in the park and I sat in meditation for half an hour at night. I no longer watched TV and used the time to study the book of Dafa principles, Zhuan Falun. I strove to live up to the universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Within a month, I saw a great improvement in my health. All the swelling in my body disappeared. I was able to breathe through my nose again. I was no longer in pain and I felt strong and energetic. I fell asleep as soon as I put my head on the pillow and slept like a baby until the next morning.
My husband was so happy. He told me, “Wow. This practice is so powerful. You’ve found a true high-level practice. You have to stick to it, practice well, and practice to the end.” I raised both hands cheerfully, “Yes. I will practice to the end.” I cannot describe the joy I felt. In two short months, Dafa turned a sickly and hopeless me into a perfectly healthy person with a bright outlook on life.
“It was a miracle! Look at how healthy I am.” I asked Bai, “What do you think?” She said, “Auntie. I understand now. It was worth coming here. I wouldn’t have the patience to listen to all this about Dafa if I wasn’t arrested. All I could think about was how to make money, and how to make more money. I wanted to live a good life and would do anything to make a quick buck. However, fate brought me here and I’m glad that I’ve met you, a Falun Gong practitioner. It is a true blessing that came from misfortune. I wish I had learned all about Falun Dafa earlier—I wouldn’t have made so many mistakes. Auntie, I want to practice Falun Gong as well. Do you think I can?”
I said, “Of course, you can. Master Li (Dafa’s founder) is the most compassionate. He cherishes every being. As long as you repent your mistakes, change your ways, and truly cultivate, Master will take care of you. Try to live up to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, be a good person, and a true practitioner.” She nodded, “Okay. I’ll practice.”
I taught her all the exercise movements, taught her “On Dafa” line by line, and many of Master’s poems from Hong Yin. I also taught her Dafa songs such as “Salvation,” “Falun Dafa Is Good,” “Song of the Lotus Flower,” and “Coming for You.” Bai is a fast learner and had everything memorized in less than a month. The guards didn’t interfere with us, instead, they told us we sang really well.
Bai asked me one day, “Auntie, based on the number of drugs they found on me, I probably will be sentenced to 15 years in prison or even more. What should I do? I am so worried.” I told her, “If you truly practice, Dafa has mighty powers and can resolve anything.” She made a promise to Master that night, “If I am released, the first thing I’ll do will be to practice Falun Gong. I will not go back on my word.” When she told me about the promise the next morning, I told her, “Whatever humans do, the heavens are watching. If your righteous thoughts are strong, you’ll have great power.”
Five months later, Bai received a sentence of nine years in prison, and she was so happy. She was going to be transferred back to her home province and serve her time there. I gave her a big hug before she left and told her, “Don’t forget your promise to Master. Help the Falun Gong practitioners there and do good deeds. Don’t follow the trend or other inmates. Maintain good xinxing and try to have your term reduced.” She said with all seriousness, “I will. I will look for you when I’m released.” I nodded, “I will wait for you.”
I returned home when my three-year term ended. My son was getting married and the wedding date was set for after my release. When we were at his new apartment checking on the renovation progress, I received a phone call from Bai. I was surprised, “Where are you?” She said she was in Beijing. “When did you get back?” She said, “Auntie, let’s meet in person. I’ll tell you everything.”
I invited Bai over a couple days later. She told me that after arriving at the provincial prison, she was assigned to monitor the Falun Gong practitioners because of her poor eyesight. She was told to report the practitioners if they studied the Fa or did the exercises. Bai just pretended not to see any of it and even helped practitioners. “When the guards showed up, I gave the practitioners a heads up and told them to be careful. When the guards left, I listened to them reciting the Fa. I also helped them pass along new scriptures. I recited the Fa that I memorized every day and asked Master to help me get out sooner.”
She told me excitedly, “Auntie, it was a miracle. Master truly looked after me. I had a dream one night. A doctor in white scrubs told me to sign some paperwork. She told me I could go home as soon as I signed it. I asked her, ‘How am I going to go home?’ A guard in my dream pointed to a car and said, ‘They’ll give you a ride.’ And I woke up. Who knew, I showed up at my check up and the prison doctor looked just like the one from my dream. After examining my eyes, she told me to sign a form so I could go home. I was confused—I didn’t have money to bribe the officials nor have connections to anybody in a high position, who would help me? I didn’t realize it was Master who helped me.”
“When I was told I would be released on medical parole, the news spread among the prisoners. Everyone thought I had spent tons of money on bribes, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been granted parole. Even the warden thought so. But, I knew it was Master who saved me.”
“What’s even more unbelievable is that the day I was released, I got a ride with someone that was released on the same day. The car was exactly the same one I saw in my dream. Having experienced all these amazing things, I am more convinced than ever that Dafa is powerful. Compassionate Master is powerful. Master saved me and I will keep my promise.”
Bai told me, “Auntie, I came to you to get a copy of Zhuan Falun.” I was so happy to hear that.
She told me, “Before I left, the practitioners asked me to tell you the torture they’ve suffered so you can expose it on the Minghui website.” I was so touched and asked her to write it down before I edit and send the article to the Minghui website. She said, “The Falun Gong practitioners suffered inhumane treatment in prison. The guards really try to kill them. You can’t even imagine the vicious methods they used to torture the practitioners. They are not even worthy of being human.”
She said, “Most inmates are in fact sympathetic towards Falun Gong practitioners but they dare not speak. Everyone knows that Falun Gong practitioners are good people.” I said, “Yes. Jiang Zemin [the former head of the CCP who launched the persecution] and his gang used their power within the Party and coerced people into persecuting good people for their faith. Such evil has never existed in human history. But, there is a principle in this universe that evil will never prevail. Whatever bad deeds humans commit they will have to pay back sooner or later. Nobody can get out of the palm of the Buddha.”
Bai stayed for dinner that night. She got her own copy of Zhuan Falun and a set of audio tapes of Master’s Fa teachings at the Guangzhou seminar. I helped her quit the Young Pioneers and the Communist Youth League, two CCP organizations. She told me she was staying with a relative that was not far from my home. A few days later, Bai brought a write-up of all the torture the imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners were subjected to. I edited and sent it to the Minghui website. It was soon published—the evildoers and their evil deeds were exposed to the world.