Bitter Snow and Icy Winds Do Not Prevent the Plum Trees from Blooming in Winter

(Clearwisdom.net)

Before learning to practice Falun Dafa, I was in very poor health after two major operations that had caused intestinal adhesions, and I had frequent abdominal pain. Later, the adhesions became increasingly serious and a large swelling occurred. Whenever I lay down, the swelled area would move as my body turned over. Simply walking would cause abdominal pain. Sometimes, while I was working, I would suddenly double over with unbearably sharp pains in my abdomen. I kept seeking medical treatment; but it was never cured.

At this time, my mother began to practice Falun Dafa. She told me how precious Falun Dafa was, and that it was a great predestined relationship for a person to obtain it. She introduced me to Zhuan Falun. When I began to read the book, I couldn't believe my eyes because every word I saw was shining with golden light and spinning. Sometimes, I could see the images of Buddha and I was deeply moved!

After studying Zhuan Falun, I came to understand many principles that I had not previously known. I learned how to "be a person," what is genuine compassion and what is actually evil, and how to discern good from bad. Ever since then, I have been on the path of Falun Dafa cultivation practice. It was really miraculous that not long afterwards, all of my former illnesses disappeared. The swelling disappeared and I had no more abdominal pain. From the bottom of my heart, I am grateful to our Teacher; and I appreciate the new lease on life that Falun Dafa has afforded me.

Cultivation practice is a serious issue. When conflicts occur, we should always look within ourselves C to see, for example, whether we have not done something well enough. When I treated myself as a practitioner, Teacher's words would frequently appear in my mind. I strengthened my righteous thoughts and regarded the Fa as Teacher. In this way, I was able to get rid of many of my shortcomings, as well as some old and unenlightened concepts. After learning Falun Dafa, I am now able to endure whatever conflicts may come my way, and have become a more compassionate and peaceful person. For example, when my upstairs neighbour's heating system leaked, water had soaked through the floor and was running down our walls, making our clothing and bedding all wet and dirty. Instead of finding fault with my neighbour, however, I was thinking that as a practitioner I should consider others before thinking of myself. So I went to the neighbour's home and helped deal with the mess for several hours until everything was repaired and cleaned up. The neighbour said, "You are such a nice person!" So I told him all about Falun Dafa and he said, "Now I know that Falun Gong is good, and that people who practice Falun Gong are good too."

In 2002, I went to Beijing to clarify the truth of Falun Dafa, and was arrested and detained in a forced labor camp. In the evenings, the forced labor camp police began beating people and shocking them with electric cattle prods. Miserable screams could be heard and the smell of burning human flesh always filled the air. I was very nervous and stressed there, and was continually so scared that I became mentally disoriented. Finally, the forced labor camp sent me back to my hometown.

Someone informed on me while I was promoting Falun Dafa in the rural areas and I was arrested for a second time. During detention, the guards beat me, kicked me, shocked me with an electric prod and tortured me by forcing me to sit on the "Tiger Bench*." About a month after my release, police came to my home and deceived me. They sent me to the Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp in Changchun City, where I was sentenced to two years of forced labor. My mother came to the labor camp but was not allowed to see me.

I was subjected to such brutal torture and all these inhumane treatments simply because I insisted on my belief in Teacher and Falun Dafa and refused to give up my cultivation practice. I was often slapped in the face or kicked to the floor. When I was down on the floor, one person would sit on my belly while about eight others would violently dig into my armpits or beat me until my entire body was black with bruises. Due to this repeated torture over a long period of time, the bones under my armpits became exposed from open wounds. Even though I was tortured almost to death, I never yielded to their evil demands, and I refused to write the so-called "guarantee statement. " ** The police guards in the labor camp forced me to sleep on the cold concrete floor for over six months. The cumulative effects of the torture caused me to become semi-paralyzed and I could not even walk half a step. Since I was unable to go to the mess hall or the restroom unaided, they had to get someone to carry me. Every step I took had to be with the aid of walking sticks, which left me completely exhausted.

Once, when I could not get to my feet, several policewomen began dragging me along while they shouted, "Come and look at this! Everyone come and have a look!" The skin on my feet was broken and bleeding.

All this extreme physical and spiritual torture was aimed at having me "break up with" Dafa, and to abuse Teacher and Dafa. By that time, I had already given up caring about life and death, but would rather have died than given up Falun Dafa.

There were about three hundred practitioners detained in Team Six at the Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp. How many people, with tears in their eyes, have written the so-called "statement of guarantee" against their will, under extreme torture and threat of death! How many people, after their release, have then reflected on the turn that their cultivation had taken, felt deep regret, risked their lives to solemnly declare that their words and deeds under forced brainwashing were null and void, and then returned to their cultivation path!

Later on, due to the inhumane persecution, my mind was always foggy and I endured frequent headaches. Feeling sick and dazed, I once accidentally bumped into a telephone pole. Although my head was badly bleeding, I didn't even feel it, and I often drifted into unconsciousness. My life was in great danger at that point. I was later told that the police guards shocked me with electric prods from my head down to the bottoms of my feet, in order to find out whether I was only pretending to be unconscious. At that time, however, I wasn't even aware of it. Expecting that I would soon die, the police guards informed my family members to come and get me.

I recovered at home and found that my paralysis was not permanent. To the contrary, I can now walk and lie down as normally as ever. How quickly I recovered after such extreme torture! Teacher and Dafa have given me the best of health. I will redouble my efforts to do well the things that a Falun Dafa practitioner should do, and will never fail to live up to the compassionate salvation of Teacher.

*Tiger Bench: Practitioners are forced to sit on a small iron bench that is approximately 20 cm. (6 inches) tall with their knees tied together. With their hands tied behind their backs or sometimes placed on their knees, they are forced to sit straight up and look straight ahead. They are not allowed to turn their heads, close their eyes, talk to anyone or move at all. Several inmates are assigned to watch over the practitioners and force them to remain motionless while sitting on the bench. Usually some hard objects are inserted underneath the practitioners' lower legs or ankles to make it harder for them to tolerate this abuse. (See illustration on http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/24/16156.html)

**Guarantee Statement: [A statement to declare that he or she is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.]

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/11/22/61075.html

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