(Minghui.org) I am 74 years old and have practiced Falun Dafa for almost 27 years. One month after I started practicing Falun Dafa, I recovered from chronic diseases that had tortured me for almost 30 years. I have been in good health and haven’t been on any medication for many years. I have changed my bad temper.
I was reported to the police when I was clarifying the truth to people in the spring of 2002. I was arrested and sent to the biggest detention center in Southwest China in early March 2002.
A female guard in her forties took me to the female second cell. She asked me to call her “squad leader Wang.” She opened the cell door with a key and shouted to the packed cell full of inmates, “Here comes another Falun (The inmates called Falun Gong practitioners ‘Falun’).” Two people in their thirties stood up, came to me, and took my luggage. They called me “elder sister” and said that they were practitioners. Wang said a few words and locked the door.
The two practitioners briefly introduced the situation there to me. They had been there for nearly a month. Wang was not strict with the inmates in the second cell. The previous practitioners had risked their lives and clarified the truth to the officers managing the second cell. They had validated Dafa with their actions and suppressed the evil with their righteous thoughts. They had suffered a lot but had created a relaxed environment for other practitioners. The practitioners didn’t follow the rules of the detention center, because we practitioners were not criminals. When the inmates were doing slave labor work, practitioners recited the Fa, practiced the exercises, and sent forth righteous thoughts. When Wang saw us, she just shouted a few words and then left.
The persecution was still brutal in other cells. I often heard the screams of practitioners in the other cells when they were force-fed or beaten by inmates. More than 40 people in the second cell were jammed into one room that was about 30 square meters [about 323 square feet] and ate, slept, and went to the toilet all in one room. We were not allowed to go outside at any time. Guards watched over us outside the door. Food was delivered through a small window. Some of the prisoners were drug traffickers and drug addicts. Some were prostitutes and swindlers. Some of them were corrupt officials. Through practitioners’ constantly clarifying the truth to them, some of them understood the truth, and some even learned Falun Gong.
The first night in the detention center was tough for me. I slept on the floor and got up at 6 am. When the whistle blew, everyone queued for washing and then sat down to recite the detention rules. Two practitioners dragged me aside, and we practiced the exercises.
When we had just started practicing the exercises, one woman in her forties came over to us, stood to the side, and followed us as we practiced the exercises. She was familiar with the movements, though she didn’t do the movements precisely. When we were practicing the meditation, Wang opened the door and came in. She said, “Guihua [alias], do you want to be a Falun? You see these Falun do the movements so well. You don’t look good (Guihua sat in half lotus position with one leg high). You are a fake Falun. Stop practicing.”
Guihua put down her leg and said seriously, “Leader Wang, I am a true Falun. I’ve only practiced for a few days. But I am confident that I will learn it well and practice it well. I wish that I would have met them earlier. I would not have done those bad things that harmed myself and others. When I am released, I will rectify myself and become a good person. I tell you leader Wang that your guards haven’t been able to change me in all these years, but Falun Gong has changed me. I have witnessed that the Falun Gong practitioners coming here one group after another are all kind people. They are really good to other people, not like the ones in the propaganda on TV. If I hadn’t met these good people, I would continue to swindle other people after this half-year detention is up. Falun Gong practitioners told me many stories about retribution and explained to me the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and how to be a good person according to these principles. The guards only swear at me and beat me. Leader Wang, you are not as bad as those guards. You’d better protect Falun Gong people. Please don’t call me fake Falun. You’d better call me genuine Falun.”
Facing dozens of inmates, Wang stood there and laughed. She said, “Guihua, I am just joking. Don’t take it seriously.”
Guihua studied the Fa, practiced the exercises, and sent forth righteous thoughts with us after that. She could recite many of Master’s articles and poems from Hong Yin. From our conversations with her, we learned that she was from a poor and harsh mountain area in Sichuan province. Her husband and daughter worked in other cities. Someone had suggested that she go to a big city to sell tickets in a square to cheat people for money several years ago. She had been detained numerous times. She had gone back to being a swindler every time after she was released.
Guihua said that she felt ashamed recalling those days. She felt very happy when she talked about Falun Gong. She said that she had felt uneasy and guilty in the past, though she had made some money from swindling. She had been in poor health and had felt physically uncomfortable back then. It might have been retribution. She felt good now because she practiced Falun Gong.
I stayed with Guihua for several days. We encouraged her to look for Dafa practitioners after her release in a few days. We told her to study the Fa, practice the exercises, and cherish this chance of a millennium. We also told her to ask for help from Master if she came across any issues. She nodded her head and said, “I will never give up Falun Gong. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance has already taken root in my heart.”
I was sentenced to one and a half years, and I have remembered Guihua all these years. I learned from the Minghui website that Guihua has been practicing Falun Dafa and has done very well in clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings. She was detained again, and the police had gone to harass her quite a few times. I felt sorry to learn this news, but also felt happy for her, for her perseverance in cultivation, and for her fulfilling her prehistoric vow.
I have been sending blessings to Guihua in my heart for the past 20 years and hope that she will be determined to cultivate with righteous thoughts, cultivate diligently and well, and follow Master to return to her original home.
I hope that people wake up, see through the nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Only when people behave according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance can human morality elevate and can human beings have hope.