(Minghui.org) One day, I saw a woman collecting morning glory seeds. I also picked a few and planted them in a pot at home. A few months later, they bloomed. They opened in the morning and wilted by the afternoon. This reminded me of my experience in 2002 when I was arrested by police and illegally detained for more than 6 months.
I was illegally detained in a detention center in another city on June 22, 2002 because I talked to people about Falun Dafa. Many practitioners were confined in a small room. Space was so tight that we had to lie on our sides and we could not turn over. One practitioner said, “Once, the floor was so crowded with people that there wasn’t even space to lie down. It was hot, and some fainted. The police carried us one by one to the concrete ground outside to get some air.”
I instinctively looked out the window at the concrete ground and was surprised to see a patch of morning glories blooming brightly. They were sprawled across the same concrete where fellow practitioners had once lain. These morning glories were unique, and stayed open 24 hours a day. They bloomed day after day, month after month, from summer to fall. The cleaner said, “It’s really strange. It’s getting cold, but these flowers are still blooming, and their leaves are still green.”
Every day, practitioners studied the Fa and sent forth righteous thoughts. Even the non-practitioner inmates memorized the poems from Hong Yin. The cell leader kept watch, and alerted us if she saw a guard coming.
Practitioners told me, “This relaxed environment didn’t come easily. Practitioners went on hunger strikes and were tortured. They faced these ordeals with righteous thoughts and continued to clarify the truth, creating the current environment.”
Every day, one practitioner recited the Fa while everyone else listened, including the non-practitioner inmates. How did we memorize the teachings? The books were miniature printed editions smuggled in by outside practitioners. At night, young practitioners copied the teachings onto relatively smooth toilet paper. Each person received two or three sections to memorize. Once they memorized their part, they exchanged sections until the entire lecture was memorized.
During those six months, with the help of young practitioners, I memorized the teachings. It’s been more than twenty years since I was imprisoned, but the sound of practitioners reciting the teachings still echoes in my ears. I frequently recall the scenes of non-practitioner inmates memorizing Hong Yin and listening to the truth. It saddens me to know that the young practitioner who recited the teachings the most and had a clear, loud voice was later re-arrested and was tortured to death.
Practitioners didn’t have watches and estimated the time to send forth righteous thoughts. The cell leader had a watch and often said, “It’s very accurate.” During the day, everyone sent forth righteous thoughts together, and at night, those on duty did.
Practitioners also sent forth righteous thoughts for specific situations, like when a practitioner was persecuted or when surveillance was installed. Once, a female guard came towards our cell while we were sending righteous thoughts with our palms erect. I immediately sent out a thought, and the guard turned around and walked away.
The process of my persecution was also a process of clarifying the truth. I talked to everyone I met about Falun Dafa. Those who understood the truth played a positive role. Once, a newcomer said, “I was very scared before I came here. I was afraid of being beaten. The police who brought me here told me not to be afraid because there were many Falun Gong practitioners inside and they were all good people.” When she arrived, she saw how kind practitioners were.
Another time, an inmate came in crying. We quickly handed her tissues to wipe her tears, and once she calmed down, we explained the truth about Falun Dafa to her. She listened to us recite the teachings and Hong Yin. Within two days, she was cheerful. On the 3rd day, during her interrogation, she said, “I’m glad I met Falun Gong practitioners. If you take a step back, you see the vast sky and sea.” The case officer and the plaintiff were stunned. She went home two days early and left a new set of bedding for practitioners. Over six months, at least 200 people came in, and every single one of them heard the truth.
My home is not in this city. My husband was hospitalized, and my two children, also practitioners, were detained and persecuted. I shared the food and clothes fellow practitioners’ families sent with everyone.
During this persecution, I interacted with police from the security bureau, sub-bureau, police station, and detention center, and I told them the truth. Because I refused to be “transformed,” I was sentenced to three years in a forced labor camp. That labor camp was also a place where I had written truth-clarification letters and clarified the truth in person. When the police from the sub-bureau brought me there, the labor camp refused to accept me, and I returned home that night.
More than 20 years have passed. I want to tell the practitioners who were detained with me back then that the sacred predestined relationship with Dafa connects us, allowing us to cultivate as we did at the beginning, and returning home with our Master. I now have morning glories blooming around me every day.