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In My Adversity, I Was Fortunate to Meet Dafa Practitioners in Jail Who Cultivated Virtue
(Clearwisdom.net)
Xiao Wang is a 27 year-old man with a Fine Arts degree in sculpture. He used
to work as a sculptor at a government-operated sculpture studio in Beijing,
where large-scale projects were produced for installation around the country.
When the facility closed, Xiao Wang became unemployed. He returned to his
hometown to become a retailer and had a very difficult time. Later he was
dragged into an underground "Debt Collection Corporation." He ended up
as a member of a gang, which extorted people's money and property. Eventually
he, along with some others, robbed a person who owed them property, and was
detained by the police. When the police were about to lock him up in the same
cell where I was being detained, they told him, "Learn from these Falun
Gong practitioners how to become a better human being."
After Xiao Wang entered our cell, we treated him with compassion, although
his attitude was very cold. We continually clarified the truth to him and
introduced him to the concepts of Falun Dafa. We helped him in his everyday life
and he gradually changed his attitude. He became less negative towards Dafa and
began to listen with interest to what we were saying. When we read aloud from Zhuan
Falun, he gradually became more comfortable with it and began to listen more
attentively. Over time, the situation evolved from us reading and him listening,
to him reading and us listening. In the end, he learned the 5 sets of exercises
from us.
After several days, we asked him how he felt and he seemed very excited. He
said, "I didn't know there were still such good people in the world until I
met you. Falun Dafa is so good. Previously I didn't know much about Falun Gong.
I had heard from others that Falun Gong is good and that it teaches people to be
good, but I didn't believe it very much. Later, when they began criticizing
Falun Gong on TV, I didn't believe that Falun Gong was good at all, and I even
came to hate Falun Gong a little bit. One morning when I saw a person posting
Falun Gong banners, I almost called the police. Now I see that Falun Gong is so
good. Falun Gong practitioners are all good people. Previously, I didn't want to
be a bad person. In the eyes of others, I was a talented and honest young man
before I lost my job. However, the hardships of reality forced me to take a turn
down the wrong road. Several years ago, I lost my job when my workplace closed
and I had no choice but to try to have my own small business in order to make a
living. I tried to find a spot to sell in a night market. I rode my bike through
many streets and market areas, but could not find a place. The other vendors
either drove me away or beat me up if I tried to establish myself in
"their" area. This went on for several nights. I hated it but didn't
know what I could do. One night, as I was being forced away by the other
vendors, several young men offered to help me get a place. I knew that they
weren't good men, but I had no other way, so I agreed. After my discussion with
these young men, none of the retailers dared to ask me to leave, so I finally
got a spot. I then had my stall and for some time made a living selling
audiotapes. Over time, however, I gave in to the intimidation and other
persuasive techniques used by the gang of young men and I agreed to join their
"Debt Getting Corporation." This is a euphemism for what it really is
- an underground gang that used violence and threats to collect debts owed to
others. They paid themselves a big commission from the monies collected. If we
came across anyone who wouldn't pay what they owed, we would beat him, rob him
and vandalize his property. In the beginning, my conscience was tortured. Later
on, the cruelty of reality and simple human greed led me to fall deeper into the
trap. I began to feel apathetic about life, so I would eat, drink, gamble and
meet prostitutes when I had the money. Seeing what was happening, my mother
knelt down in front of me and begged me to leave the gang and become a good
person again. I didn't promise her to change because the world I was immersed in
led me to disbelieve that there were still good people in society. I didn't see
any hope of changing my ways and becoming a good person. This hurt my mother's
heart, and she stopped recognizing me as her son. My girlfriend left me because
of this, too. She wouldn't even allow me to enter her home. I felt that I had
been abandoned by society and by my family. Sometimes I felt extremely hurt and
wanted to struggle out of the mess I was in, but I failed, unable to change
myself. I could have never imagined that I would get such good luck from a
disaster. In jail, I've been able to meet good and noble people like yourselves.
I have been able to learn Falun Dafa. These days I am able to understand so many
things. I know the real purpose of my life and I have found the true righteous
way. Finally, I can leave the gang and the sea of bitterness behind. I am really
lucky."
Xiao Wang stayed in our cell for 8 days and read Zhuan Falun 4 or 5
times. He also learned the 5 sets of exercises quite well. Over those few days,
we really saw how he changed from the internal to the external. On the 9th day
he was sent to the "light detention cell" to do some generic work for
the police. From there, he could freely go out into the yard. Every morning he
insisted on practicing Falun Dafa and would come to our cell to talk to us
whenever he had the chance. He used his freedom to help the visiting relatives
of practitioners to pass Master's new articles to practitioners. Every day he
also acted as a communicator between practitioners in different cells to pass
materials and experiences.
On the night before leaving the detention center, Xiao Wang came to our
window again to speak to us for a long time. He said that the 15 days of
detention had changed his life and had thoroughly remolded him. He said that
after going back into society, he would break with those people from the gang
and never again do those grossly unjust things. He would begin to make a living
with his own work. He said that he would not only practice Falun Dafa but would
ask his relatives and friends to practice too. He hoped that his relatives could
all learn Dafa. His girlfriend went to college here and he could tell her
classmates about the truth of Falun Dafa and clear Falun Dafa's name and ask
them to no longer be deceived. He also wanted to tell them that there were still
real good people in this world!
Upon saying good-bye, Xiao Wang sent a poem to us: "Becoming Fortunate
In Adversity".
Becoming Fortunate In Adversity
I have run in a maze since I was born,
á
Writer's notes: I have had the experience of being illegally detained several
times for going to appeal in Beijing. Prior to my stay in this detention center,
several hundred practitioners had already been detained there. Since
practitioners insisted on clarifying the truth and exposing evil, the
environment in this detention center was relatively good compared to other
detention centers. Previously they had held brainwashing classes and didn't
allow us to practice. The brainwashing class had to be dropped half way through
and police pretended not to see when practitioners were studying the Fa and
practicing the exercises. Some police, who understood the truth, often asked the
ordinary people who were detained to learn from us. We didn't give in to the
persecution by the evil, but even in this kind of environment, people were
saved. Some ordinary people derived great benefits from their adversity and were
able to learn the truth. Some were able to rid themselves of their
misunderstandings of Dafa. Some changed their negative attitudes towards Dafa.
Some became good people and chose to do good things from then on. Some started
practicing Falun Dafa under the benevolence and inspiration of the boundless
power of Dafa. Over the process of my several detentions, I met more than 10
people like this. Xiao Wang was only one of them.
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