(Minghui.org) I am a university lecturer who began to practice Falun Dafa in 1996. I conduct myself according to Dafa’s standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I abide by the law and always think of others first. I never thought that I would be treated like a criminal and imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for being a good person.
While in detention, I had the opportunity to get to know convicts who are from the bottom strata of society. I observed that the CCP makes people lose their conscience and turns misguided people even worse – this is the truth of the Party’s so-called “reeducation” of convicts.
As I mingle with these prisoners, I am strict in my speech and actions and make sure they are in accordance with the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. The conscience of these prisoners are gradually awakened by the mighty virtue of Falun Dafa and as a result they have become better people.
After the CCP began to persecute Falun Dafa, I went to Beijing to appeal for justice. I was arrested and taken to a detention center. As soon as I stepped into the cell, I noticed a prisoner half lying on the bed surrounded by other inmates. I thought he must be the head of the cell.
Sure enough, the prisoners told me to sit next to him and he asked me, “Why are you here?” I replied, “I appealed for Falun Dafa.” I told him how all my illnesses were gone after I began practicing. I explained what the practice is and that practitioners simply want to follow their faith and be good people. He asked me with a frightened look on his face, “Are you transmitting power? Why is it that as I listened to you, I feel different? Falun Dafa is incredible!” I said, “When we conduct ourselves according to our Master’s teachings, the power of the Buddha Fa will emit from our bodies. You don’t have to be afraid, we do not harm others.” He calmed down and from then on, he treated me well and did not ask me to do anything.
Due to prolonged periods of detention, the psyche of these convicts becomes twisted and their behavior can be vulgar. They often fight among themselves over petty things. A few days later, a cellmate said to me, “Do you realize that ever since you came here, these people have changed?” It was only then that I discovered that indeed, these convicts had been transformed. They stopped swearing and became polite. They learned to give in to one another and the environment in the cell became harmonious like one big family. If a convict wanted to jump at another inmate all of a sudden, he looked at me and stopped swearing out of embarrassment.
I was fastened to a door panel for refusing to divulge my personal information and for going on a hunger strike to protest my illegal detention. A convict who was detained for stealing was responsible for feeding me. As I could not move my body for a long time, my back hurt terribly as if it was broken.
I felt pity for the young convict despite his frivolous attitude. I said to him, “My back hurts a lot now. If my suffering can lessen your sin and help you leave this place sooner, I will not have suffered in vain.” As I finished my sentence, my back stopped hurting instantly and I had never felt so comfortable. The young man cried and said, “Don’t worry, I will not steal anymore when I get out of prison. I will lead a normal life and earn my keep through my own labor.”
That afternoon, I was released. My cellmates surrounded me to say goodbye reluctantly. The head of the cell said, “You must come and see me when you come to Beijing again.” He gave me the address of the hotel he owned. I told everyone, “You must treat practitioners who are detained kindly.” They agreed.
A year later, I went to Beijing to appeal again. This time, I was arrested and locked up in a detention center on the outskirts of Beijing. I stepped into the cell and was surrounded by convicts when they heard I practiced Falun Dafa, and they asked me about Dafa. The head of the cell asked me to show them the exercise movements and I demonstrated them. Everyone watched intently.
The head of the cell said, “Why don’t you tell us about Falun Dafa.” I told them the real experiences of how people improved their health through the practice and that Falun Dafa teaches people to be good. I said, “You have seen with your own eyes how the CCP persecutes practitioners who are kind people.” A convict said, “We are witnesses!” I said, “That’s right, if you leave this place, you must tell your friends and family the truth about the persecution. This is a good deed and you will be protected by Gods and Buddhas.” That prisoner said, “When I leave here I will absolutely tell people the oppression practitioners go through while in detention.”
We talked for a long time, until past 10 p.m. As we prepared to sleep, a guard came to the cell and called out the convict who promised to expose the persecution, and told him to pack up his things. He was terrified and said, “I don’t want to go to another cell!” The guard said, “You are going home!” He realized he was going to be released. Everyone was astonished and said, “Gods and Buddhas are protecting us!”
I said, “If all of you tell people what happened in these prison walls just like him, you too will be blessed!”
I was subsequently taken back to my hometown by the local police. Because I refused to cooperate with the perpetrators and sign a statement promising not to practice Falun Dafa, I was once again sent to a detention center.
One inmate was the CEO of a big company in the province, detained on corruption charges. It was the first time he was put into such an environment and he had a hard time adjusting. He came to talk to me when he heard I practiced Falun Dafa and was a university lecturer. He wanted to know what Falun Dafa was. I told him the benefits of the practice and how practitioners improved their moral character. He then asked me what I thought of his situation. I told him that according to the teachings of Dafa, good is rewarded, but evildoers are punished. It seemed to resonate with him and he felt better.
Whenever prison inmates ran into problems or were unhappy with something, they talked to me. I told them the teachings of Falun Dafa and how they should handle the problem. They said, “We feel at ease talking to you and no longer worry,” and, “If only we had known you sooner, we would not have committed crimes.”
A small business owner loved to chat with me. He said, “Falun Dafa is great!” Another prisoner threatened him, “How dare you speak up for Falun Gong here, don’t you want to leave this place?” He answered, “I am not afraid! Falun Dafa is great!” The next day, the business owner was released while the convict who threatened him was censured by prison guards and punished. Later, he was sentenced to prison and unlike other cellmates, no one saw him off. This shows that one’s attitude towards Dafa determines one’s destiny. Such things cannot be explained using human logic.
One convict was a supervisor in a government department. He also liked to talk to me. I explained the facts about Falun Dafa to him. He asked, “How do you practice Falun Dafa?” I said, “Why don’t you sit and meditate now. Recite ‘Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance’ in your heart. When you get out, look for practitioners to teach you.” He sat in meditation and recited “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” in his heart every day. A few days later, he was informed that his charges were dismissed and he could go home. He was excited and came to say goodbye to me. When people learn and accept the truth about Dafa, they will receive blessings. There are many such cases.
One night, a convict suddenly developed flu symptoms. His nose and eyes were running. He felt terrible. As there were many people locked up in a cell, prisoners slept facing each other. It happened that this inmate was arranged to sleep facing me that night. The next morning, he said to me, “I felt terrible last night. However, when I saw you facing me, I thought I would be fine! Look, I am better indeed. My cold is gone. When I go out, I will definitely come to you to learn Falun Dafa. If you are in trouble, just come to see me. I have connections in the western part of the city.”
One day, the prison guard asked inmates to write down the supplies they needed on pieces of paper and submit them to the prison management. The head of the cell asked me to write my request first. I observed that everyone’s nails were long and dirty. I wrote that a nail cutter should be given to every cell. As I finished writing my request, someone sent a nail cutter to our cell. The head of the cell exclaimed, “You are remarkable! You just wrote your request and it was delivered.” Usually, things such as nail cutters are forbidden in prison cells lest convicts used them to commit violence.
After I was detained for a month, I was taken to a notorious labor camp. Except for several prisoners who had connections, everyone had to sit on small, hard stools and were watched by the convicts every day. If they did anything that someone didn’t like, they would be taken out and beaten up.
One day, I saw a convict with connections talking to himself. I approached him and said, “I know you are a kind person. I would like to speak to you alone.” He said, “Let’s find a time to talk.” One day, he called me to a room and said, “Just the two of us are here, you can say what you want.” I started to tell him about Falun Dafa and that he should not be involved in persecuting practitioners who are good people. He said, “I know all of you are good people. I know what I should do. I want to be friends with you. I admire Falun Dafa practitioners.” He stopped persecuting practitioners. He was later transferred to another division and became the leader of the convicts in his section.
One night, I had a dream. When I woke up, I knew Master was telling me I was going home! The sentence of the leader of the inmates was reduced and he would be released in a few days. We had a close relationship and he wanted to remain friends after he got out. After I had the dream, I told him, “I will be out of here before you!” He thought I was joking because he had a good relationship with the prison guards and they’d told him the labor camp decided to extend my detention.
When it was almost noon, a guard called me, “Pack up your bags and go home.” The convicts were astonished: “How extraordinary!” Later, I learned that the document extending my prison sentence was intercepted while on its way to the department of justice. It would have become reality once the seal was affixed. It was a close call indeed!
A few years ago, I was reported by someone for distributing information about Falun Gong at a farmers market. I was arrested and detained. When I stepped into the cell, everyone looked at me in fear as if they were afraid to come close to me. They told each other, “Stay away from him, don’t let him brainwash us.”
I did not talk in the beginning. I held myself to the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance and took the initiative to clean the cell. I was calm and steady. Gradually, the inmates began to talk to me. Initially, we only spoke about things in daily life. I did not clarify the truth about Falun Dafa. Later, they discovered I was unlike what the CCP portrayed on television, and they relaxed. They started to ask me about Falun Dafa. I explained that the propaganda they saw in the media was deceptive. They realized the truth and began to vent their grievances against the CCP.
One convict was a small business owner who was drawn to Buddhism. He liked to talk to me. I told him about the Buddhist way of cultivation and he was very receptive. His celestial eye opened and he saw magnificent scenes in other dimensions. One evening, he saw a giant character for “human” in the sky. He asked me why the character was written upside down. I said, “The gods and Buddhas are giving you hints that human beings came from the heavens and return to their origin through cultivation.” He nodded in agreement.
The evening before I was released, he knew I was going home. He told me he saw dragons, phoenixes and other auspicious scenes. I said, “What you saw is true. However, the other convicts cannot see it.” I thought for a minute, raised both my hands and pulled downwards. My intention was to show these inmates the extraordinary things the business owner saw. A prisoner immediately exclaimed, “Look at the sky!” I lifted my head and the extraordinary scenes described by the business owner appeared in the sky. The inmates cried out, “Falun Dafa is the way to heaven!” I said, “Falun Dafa is sent from Gods and Buddhas to save people. The CCP will be punished by heaven for persecuting Falun Dafa. Hurry, quit the CCP.” All of them agreed to renounce their memberships in the Party.
I have practiced Falun Dafa for many years and witnessed countless extraordinary things. Through my interaction with these convicts, I am moved by Master’s compassion towards sentient beings. Master treats everyone equally, even prisoners in the lowest strata of society cast aside by other people. Such compassion cannot be understood from the perspective of humans.
This year, on the eve of the lunar new year, Master published the article “How Humankind Came to Be” to awaken those who are lost in the maze. He has pointed out a path to brightness for sentient beings. People should treasure this and not miss this opportunity.
Thank you, Master!
(Selected Submission Celebrating the 24th World Falun Dafa Day on the Minghui website)