Surviving Extreme Torture - A Lotus Flower that Never Withers (II)

By a Dafa Disciple in Mainland China

(Clearwisdom.net) Editors Note: The "Lotus Flower" described in this article is Liu Xiaolian, a Dafa disciple in Mainland China who experienced extreme tortures, but survived. Her detailed story was published on December 29, 2003 in a Clearwisdom article, "Surviving Extreme Torture - A Lotus Flower that Never Withers."

Indeed, the Fa-rectification cultivation stories of "Lotus Flower" go beyond how she faced up to the inhuman evil in prison. Each time I recall her stories, tears come to my eyes.

The following is a story about how she clarified the truth after she was forcibly given a toxic injection, and the evildoers believed she would definitely die and released her. In order to let more people know about the facts of the persecution against Falun Dafa, this story was published in a flyer to give to the public. This is her account:

"After I was sent home, my family did not allow me to go outside. My husband used two locks to lock me in at home. Relatives came to see me and thought there was no hope for me to survive. My children were borrowing money from everyone to prepare for a funeral and the accompanying ceremonies. But, because I practice Falun Dafa, I am still alive. I wanted to tell people that Dafa brings miracles. Even though the evildoers hoped to get rid of me, I was meant not to be killed. The laws of the universe are just, and Teacher saved my life.

It did not feel right for me to lie in the bed. I am a Fa-rectification period Dafa disciple and my goal is to offer people salvation; how could I be lying in bed at home? Even though my husband and my children were still busy with things that they would have to do after my death, I needed to finish what Teacher asked me to do. So on September 14, 2002, I struggled to get out of bed and went to Honghu to distribute flyers and to rescue people from danger. Because I did not have many flyers, I wrote down my own story about the brutal persecution I had suffered, and Teacher guided me to the long-distance bus.

On the bus I talked to the people sitting on either side of my seat about the persecution of Falun Gong. They said that I did well and asked me to stand in the middle of the bus to tell everybody on the bus. I stood in the aisle and started to read what I had written. Strangely, I was not able to stand steadily on flat ground before, but now I did not even shake on the bus while it was lurching. All of the passengers praised me; even the bus driver listened carefully, turned his head and said, "Great!"

After we arrived at Honghu, late in the evening already, I passed out all of my flyers. I could not catch the ferry to go home. That day was very cold, windy and rainy. My body, which others claimed was on the verge of death, could not tolerate it any more. I walked to the front of a house and knocked on the door to ask the owner if they could provide me with one night's stay, but they declined. I stood outside and felt cold and hungry. My body also began to hurt.

Then someone walked close to me and yelled at me, probably because I was in his way. It did not bother me, but that person came back and apologized. He told me that he should not treat an older lady like that. I saw that he looked like a nice person and so I told him the facts about Falun Gong. He listened and showed sympathy. He condemned Jiang Zemin for being too evil and said that those policemen had lost their conscience. Then he asked me how I planned to spend the night by myself. I told him that the owner of the house refused to let me in. He helped me to knock on the door again and pleaded with the owners, but they still did not agree. He felt embarrassed and told me that his home was very far away and the roads were not easy to walk on; otherwise he would invite me to stay in his home. I thanked him and said that he did not need to worry about me. He accompanied me for a quite some time and then we parted.

The whole night was full of strong winds and pouring rain. I lay on a grass pile in the open air all night. The next morning it was clear after the storm, and I found myself not at all wet. I knew that Teacher was protecting me. At that moment, my physical body was at its limit. I did not know how I got to the ferry and how I climbed onto the bus. I was dizzy while the bus reached the destination terminal. I struggled to get off the bus and found that my husband and my children were there. It turned out that they had been looking for me after I had suddenly disappeared.

An elderly woman who had lain in bed waiting for death, whom the police thought to be dying for sure, got up by herself and took a bus and a ferry to clarify the truth and hand out flyers. I stayed outdoors all night, with a strong storm brewing all around me. Ordinary people certainly cannot imagine something like that, whereas I could do it because I am a Dafa disciple."

Practitioner's Visit Liu Xiaolian

One day, towards the end of the year, I went to Chibi, that small town by the Yangtze River, where I met Liu Xiaolian, "the Lotus Flower that never withers."

Walking along a narrow street in town, it looked somehow familiar to me. An accompanying practitioner pointed to the street we were on, which was several hundred meters long and told me that "Lotus Flower" walked on the same street when she made the trip to Honghu. A person, who was so close to death, while her family was already preparing for her funeral, actually got out of bed and rode on a long-distance bus all by herself. It was hard to imagine how she walked through the street; even the "Lotus Flower" herself said it was like "flying" at that time.

An ordinary building by the green hill appeared in distance, and the practitioner who went with me said that was where "Lotus Flower's" home was. Up on the third floor, from the hallway one could immediately see Teacher's new article "Foretelling the Fa's rectification of the human world" on the prominent wall of her home. The practitioner smiled and said that it had been changed again. Last time he came there was a truth-clarification flyer posted in that spot.

After we came in, I saw a slim figure with a bent back towards us sitting in front of a table, writing something. The practitioner called out her name. She turned around slowly towards us. She was very excited when she saw us and did not know what to do. Her shaking hand gradually pointed to the chairs and she said, "Sit down, please sit down." I noticed that her hand was misshapen from torture.

"Lotus Flower" said with her strong Hunan accent that she had a dream two days earlier. It was very clear and vivid. There were 13 disciples from abroad coming to see her. At the same time 13 geese were flying to her home, each holding a big character "Xi" (happiness) in their beaks. I counted - that was exact the same day when Clearwisdom published the story "A Lotus Flower that Never Withers."

"Lotus Flower's" body was badly tortured and devastated. It was obvious that the torture she received in prison was to blame for many of her ailments. Her head shook from a tremor while she spoke, her voice was faint and slow, but clear; her thinking was calm and logical. She went out daily to put up flyers. Her feet were crippled and the tips of her toes could not touch the ground. She could not allow bed covers to touch her lower limbs because hair follicles on her skin often bled. She could barely walk at home, even with help, but she never gave up posting flyers outside. She walked firmly every time she went out to post flyers and her health seemed to be better after she came back.

Her husband told us, "She was in terrible pain during the night a few days ago. Her whole body was in pain and she kept tossing in the bed. She has gotten better in the last few days."

The flyers from "Lotus Flower" were special; she hand wrote them all. Teacher wrote, "It doesn't matter how good or bad your handwriting is, they'll have energy!" (Zhuan Falun) It was really true. Lotus Flower always posted her flyers during the daytime, in the busiest and most visible places. Even the police would smile at her when they saw her.

She told us one day a neighbor downstairs had a party and many officials showed up. So, she placed the cassette player on the windowsill and played Master's new articles at the maximum volume. The guests downstairs heard the voice speaking and liked it, so she went downstairs with the cassette player and Dafa materials.

She handed Dafa truth clarification materials to one official. The man hesitated. Another official told him that it was OK, and told him to read it. While he was reading, the others said, "Secretary, don't be so selfish! Let other people read it, too!"

Her slow and gentle voice, emanating from her disabled body was really moving. I truly felt a Dafa disciple's compassion when I saw her. The practitioners who went with me said that what she said not only clarified the truth to people, but also helped people to obtain the Fa. It is indeed the case, as in the last few months since she came back home from the detention center, quite a few family members and friends attained the Fa. She had a cousin who is over 70 years old, who had a painful foot disease and couldn't walk any more. The weekly drug injections didn't help him. After listening to her explain the facts about Falun Dafa, he asked to read the Falun Dafa book, Zhuan Falun, and study the Dafa principles. His feet recovered soon after, and the man was even planning to plant a few acres of crops next year. He would take flyers from Lotus Flower and post them at various locations. He had just left when we arrived. Lotus Flower told us that he left his home at around 4:00 a.m. and walked more than 10 kilometers to her home. He then took the flyers from her and went to Jiayu County to distribute them.

Lotus Flower's sister is also a Dafa practitioner. Her brother-in--law used to oppose her practice and interfered with her cultivation, and also did some bad things against Dafa. When Lotus Flower came back from the detention center, her brother-in-law was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and was dying in a hospital. Lotus Flower asked her husband to carry her to the hospital. She sat on the edge of her brother-in-law's bed and said slowly, "I told you not to oppose Dafa and Teacher. My Teacher has come to save you, but you behaved badly, and you are now receiving karmic retribution. Go ask for forgiveness and apologize to Teacher. He will still save you!" By then, her brother-in-law could not speak any more, but he could hear and he nodded his head slightly.

A few days after, her brother-in-law was able to walk and went back home from the hospital. The news spread among his friends and relatives, "Falun Dafa is miraculous! Liu Xiaolian suffered so much, yet she is still alive. A few words of hers saved the life of a dying person. It seems that Falun Gong is indeed very good!"

"It has been three years, the hardships are bygones." Looking at her skinny and ravaged body, I deeply felt the greatness of Teacher. Only Teacher could bring up such an outstanding disciple. Nobody could block her way from offering salvation to sentient beings - nobody!

A few thousand copies of the flyer "The Lotus Flower that Never Withers" were distributed locally. The following are a few stories we heard recently: The elder brother of a practitioner is a leader at a local enterprise. After reading the flyer he said openly, "Why don't you sue them? Those evil people should be in jail."

A practitioner gave a copy of this flyer to a coworker. The next day her coworker told her that she cried for a long time the previous evening while reading it. Then she asked if she had a copy of Zhuan Falun; she wanted to learn Falun Dafa.

A few days ago I heard that this new practitioner had gone to distribute truth clarification materials with others.

The brother-in-law of a practitioner read the flyer and didn't say a word. Later, the practitioners learned that he had started practicing Falun Dafa.

The above stories are just a few that we know. There are a lot more we don't know, which have already become living legends.

Lotus Flower was arrested again at the end of last year. Though she is not around, her stories can still save people from danger and guide people to obtain the Fa. Isn't this itself a legend?

Think about it: With her disabled body, she wrote the flyers by herself and went out to distribute them to people with great difficulty. She even posted flyers in front of her own door. She praises Teacher and Dafa whenever she sees people. Her pure heart moves Heaven and Earth, indeed.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/2/28/68696.html

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