(Minghui.org) In elementary school, I was taught atheism and the theory of evolution and that human beings evolved from apes. I was taught that those who believed in God were superstitious and ignorant; I was an atheist and thought that I was smarter than they were.
When someone gave me a Falun Dafa book, as soon as I saw that it talked about Buddhas, Taos, and the divine, I stopped reading.
In 1998, I was miserable and tormented by all sorts of illnesses. A kindhearted neighbor told me about the healing power of Falun Dafa. He took me to an exercise site, along with a chair, because I was so weak that I couldn’t stand. Everyone warmly welcomed me, but I was skeptical and replied coldly, “I just came to observe.”
Looking back now, I am ashamed of my ignorance.
When they began to do the exercises, I followed along while seated in the chair. After the exercises, they began talking about their cultivation experiences. One practitioner said that she used to have severe stomach problems, but now she'd completely recovered and could eat anything.
Another practitioner had kidney disease and was bedridden. The first time he visited an exercise site, he had to be driven there in a car because he was so frail. The very next day, he recovered to the point where he could ride his bike to the exercise site.
One woman said that her husband was upset and abused her verbally, but she remembered what Master taught her,
“We have said, however, that as a practitioner one should not fight back when being punched or insulted, but should hold oneself to a high standard.” (Lecture Four, Zhuan Falun)
Based on Falun Dafa’s teachings, she changed her attitude and did not fight with her husband. She said if she did not practice Falun Dafa, another big fight would have erupted between them.
Another practitioner said that practicing Falun Dafa was great. He had six brothers and he was the youngest. Each year, the brothers would fight for a place to dry wheat after the harvest, which caused severe conflicts among them. This year, he followed the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and let his brothers have the good spots first. They ended up helping each other and getting the wheat home without any problems.
Everyone’s experiences moved me deeply. I understood that practicing Falun Dafa could improve people’s morality, which was wonderful. I also wanted to practice.
After the exercises and the experience sharing, I suddenly realized that my pain was gone. When I stood up, I felt relaxed and comfortable, and the tension I used to feel in my back disappeared. It was amazing!
What I experienced, witnessed, and learned from fellow practitioners over the last 20 years of cultivation shattered the atheism in me. I was able to experience Master’s compassionate protection.
When the CCP launched the persecution of Falun Dafa in 1999, I went to Beijing to appeal and was arrested and escorted to the local detention center.
A guard handcuffed me because I did the Falun Dafa exercises. Because my hands were cuffed together, I could not lie down and had to sleep sitting. After the lights were turned off, I slowly rolled one of the cuffs down to free my left hand, and later, I used my left hand to roll down the remaining cuff and freed my right hand!
The other detainees were dumbfounded; they said the more one rolled the cuff around, the tighter it was supposed to get. To them, it was a miracle that I was able to take the handcuffs off, and they were convinced that Master Li really protected practitioners!
I went out of town to repair a printer and was reported and arrested for practicing Falun Dafa. I was held in a detention center for over 20 days. The authorities planned to send me to a labor camp for 3-5 years.
One morning, I suddenly collapsed and had a seizure. I was rushed to the hospital, but my mind was clear. They did all sorts of exams. However, my situation stabilized by the afternoon and I was taken back to the detention center.
They later tried to take me to a labor camp. During the physical exam for entry, the labor camp doctor exclaimed, “We absolutely cannot take this one; her systolic blood pressure is over 200 mmHg, and her heart rate is over 100 beats per minute!”
The next day, they got the report from the hospital that showed that I had an infectious liver disease, heart disease, and hypertension. I was released shortly after that.
After I came home, everything returned to normal, with no hypertension or tachycardia. I knew that Master used the appearance of my being “ill” to protect me from being persecuted.