A Prison Inmate Awakened When I Let Go of Hatred

(Minghui.org) I was illegally imprisoned in Northeast China in 2003. Due to efforts by practitioners to resist the persecution, it has become easier to talk to people about Falun Dafa. The prison supervisors occasionally transferred practitioners to different units, and I realized that this was a good opportunity to tell more people about Dafa.

I was transferred from unit six to unit three. One night when I used the restroom, I saw an inmate struggling to wash his clothes. He stepped on the clothing with one foot and looked like he was in pain. I jokingly said, “Your method of washing clothes is unique.” He smiled and said, “I have no choice. I had a stroke almost a year ago, and no one helps me. My family doesn’t care about me, and the people here ignore me. I have to take care of myself, and take it one day at a time.” He was partially paralyzed, and I felt pity for him. Poor man!

After returning to my cell, I asked an inmate about him. He said, “His name is Zhang Kuan (pseudonym), and you should leave him alone. He led others to beat and insult Falun Dafa practitioners. He’s a bully—an arrogant and unpopular man. He’s getting what he deserves.” I was shocked and angry at Zhang Kuan. I thought, “I would tear into pieces those who mistreat practitioners.”

Lying in bed that night, I calmed down and reminded myself that I was a practitioner. I remembered Master’s poem:

“Righteous thought, righteous actionAdvance wholeheartedly, do not stopPurge the ghosts that disrupt FaTreat all beings with kindness”(“Righteous Gods,” Hong Yin Volume II, Version B)

Zhang hadn’t hurt me, but I hated him. I wondered, “Am I being kind to everyone? Am I being compassionate? Am I looking at things from his point of view? Maybe he is deceived by the false information about Falun Dafa? How can I awaken people when I have a hateful heart?”

I thought, “Zhang probably doesn’t know his misfortune is the result of having mistreated Dafa practitioners in the past. He is a victim of the propaganda spread by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). If I don’t talk to him about the goodness of Dafa and why we are persecuted, then there’s no hope for him. I must tell him!”

Once my righteous thoughts emerged, the elements of hatred in another dimension disappeared.

I saw Zhang in the restroom the next day, and I said to him, “An inmate told me about your situation. You poor man! I practice Falun Dafa. I can clean your clothes and bedding for you.”

He looked at me with astonishment. He paused for a few moments and then refused my help. I realized that the CCP’s lies were still at work. So I approached him little by little, and cared for him. I told him that Dafa gave practitioners good health, and taught us to be good people. In my case, my serious illness disappeared three days after I learned the practice, I eliminated my bad habits, and the relationship with my family improved.

I could tell that Zhang still had doubts, so I told him how the CCP staged The Self-Immolation Hoax on Tiananmen Square. His surprising reaction told me he truly believed what the CCP claimed. Although he dropped his guard slightly, he still didn’t let me wash his clothes.

A few days later, I talked more in depth about how the CCP fabricated rumors about Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa. I then sincerely offered to wash his clothes, and he finally agreed.

Zhang had a hard time walking, so I picked up his clothes and bedding the next day. It was a big bag. Since he hadn’t cleaned the bedding for a long time, the smell was unbearable. I didn’t want to embarrass him, so I said, “I’ll bring them to you when they’re dry.” I probably wouldn’t have been so calm breathing in the foul odor if I didn’t practice Falun Dafa.

I washed and rinsed Zhang’s clothes and bedding in a large basin several times. After they were dry, I folded and delivered them to Zhang.

He wept when I gave him the clean clothes and bedding, and thanked me. I think the ice in his heart finally melted. I said, “No need to thank me. This is what a practitioner should do anyway.” I washed his clothes for more than a year, until the prison built a unit for the disabled and transferred him there.

Washing Zhang’s clothes was not a big deal, but the story spread among the prisoners and the guards. Zhang came to understand what Dafa was about and told the prisoners around him. He later renounced the CCP organizations, and gave me several lists of people he helped resign. A villain who once hurt Dafa practitioners turned around and chose a bright future for himself.

I was later transferred to another unit, and I passed by Zhang’s unit when I went to my new cell. After he found out, he waited at the unit entrance every day and greeted me from afar, until I was released from prison. I felt his joy, a genuine expression of appreciation for Dafa and its practitioners!