(Clearwisdom.net) My name is Gao Shuhua, and I am 48 years old. I was diagnosed with late stage breast cancer in 1998. However, I was fortunate enough to begin Falun Dafa cultivation soon after that. In order to validate the Fa and save sentient beings, I asked a fellow practitioner to write down my cultivation experience since my education is quite limited. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
In 1998, I went to a hospital for a checkup because of my poor health and was diagnosed with late stage breast cancer. My family didn't disclose this news to me until later. Nevertheless, when I found out about it, it was like the sky was about to fall on me, and I felt absolutely helpless. I had a 70-year-old mother, an 80-year-old father-in-law, and a child less than 10 years old. How could they survive without me there taking care of them? I went to a temple to pray for gods' help, but my health continued to deteriorate. My family was about to take me to the hospital for an operation when we were told that the success rate was not high, and if the cancer spread, there would be little chance of survival. On top of that, we were to pay twenty thousand yuan in advance.
While we were in total despair, I suddenly remembered something and asked my husband, "Your niece said practicing Falun Gong would cure illnesses, how about I give it a try?" He said, "Go ahead, as long as it can cure your illness, I'm willing to try anything." I went to the practice site the following day to do the exercises. On my way home, I experienced diarrhea and vomiting. I felt my body improving somewhat the following day. I started to read the book "Zhuan Falun." As I constantly studied the "Fa" and did the exercises, Teacher continued purifying my body. I again had diarrhea and vomiting and then started belching. I was belching loudly every morning when I did the exercises. After several months, I became stronger and belched less. The lump in my breast got smaller. My husband said, "Your health has improved a lot. Let's go to the hospital for a checkup." After the examination, the doctor said my cancer had disappeared and everything was normal. Looking at my medical record, the doctor was at a loss and thought I had been misdiagnosed. I couldn't hold back my tears. I knew that Teacher had given me a second chance at life.
While my family was celebrating my regained health, Jiang Zemin's regime started to spread lies slandering Falun Gong and Teacher using television, radio, and newspapers. I was very distressed for a long time. I couldn't figure out why they didn't allow people to practice such a good cultivation method. I thought to myself, "I have got to let people know that Falun Dafa is good and Falun Gong is being wrongly persecuted." Several fellow practitioners and I made plans to go to Beijing. The police arrested us before we were able to leave town, and we were taken to the local political committee. The local police wanted us to write a guarantee statement. When I refused to write it, they started to slander Dafa. I then grabbed a pen and wrote: "Teacher Li is the best of all and the most kind. Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa. It was Teacher Li who gave me a second chance at life." They locked me up for four days before setting me free.
My family owned a store and a piece of farmland, and lots of people came by our store. When they came, I would clarify the truth to them because I didn't want to miss anyone. I wanted them to know that Falun Dafa is good, the truth about Dafa, and my own experience. I did this day after day to expose the lies made up by Jiang's regime. Once, a special agent came to our store to buy cigarettes. He didn't want to listen to my clarifying the truth to him and reported me to the 610 Office.
In the fall of 2001, the local police arrested me. I thought to myself that I was not afraid of being arrested. I was to validate the Fa, and wherever they took me, I'd clarify the truth there. I recited "True Nature Revealed" by Teacher all the time. When police came, I didn't care what rank they were, or whether they were soldiers or officers. Just as Teacher taught us to do, I had the attitude of "As long as you were a human being, I'd want you to know the truth and that Falun Gong is good." I wanted them to have a bright future after knowing the truth. That was my responsibility. I was released after one month.
In the fall of 2002, while I was harvesting corn, local police suddenly arrested me and took me to a detention center. When the warden told me to memorize the prison's rules, I refused and told him, "I am not a prisoner. I practice Falun Gong to be a good person. I only memorize my Teacher's Fa." Seeing that I would not cooperate, in his anger he shackled me. I shouted every day, "Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa." After three days, they removed the shackles. I continued to shout until my release. Two months later, I was sentenced to three years of imprisonment at a forced labor camp. A fellow practitioner said to me, "You got three years and I got two." I told him, "We'll be out of here in three days." On the morning of the third day, the warden told me, "Don't eat breakfast this morning. I'm sending you to the Wangcun Forced Labor Camp." I thought it didn't matter what he said, I had Teacher to protect me and he wouldn't let him do that. As it turned out, I showed signs of a heart attack and the labor camp refused to take me. They were afraid that I might die there so they released me. While I was being escorted home, I clarified the truth to people and sang Dafa songs. My husband was eager for me to be home and paid three thousand yuan as he was told. I found out later and told him, "We need to listen to Teacher and not to cooperate with the evil under any circumstances."
On January 1, 2003, a fellow practitioner and I went to a small group experience sharing. While on our way, we distributed pamphlets and were arrested. The police asked me about the source of the material, but I refused to tell them. They handcuffed me to a heating pipe. They put a hat on my face and put their smelly feet under my nose. We were taken to a detention center that afternoon. I thought that as long as I was there, I shouldn't waste my time. Perhaps there were sentient beings to be saved. I thus started to promote the Fa and clarified the truth to prisoners. Seeing what I was doing, the police hung me up on a steel door outside. Since I couldn't clarify the truth this way, I started shouting, "Falun Dafa is good. Falun Dafa is a righteous Fa. It is not a crime to learn about Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Jiang is the biggest liar and he corrupts the entire country. He fooled you all. Jiang has fabricated all the news. They staged the self-immolation in Tiananmen Square and framed it on Falun Gong. Our Teacher taught us that suicide is a crime and even killing animals is wrong, not to mention killing a human being. You can all read Zhuan Falun and you'll know they are deceiving people. Don't be fooled by them any longer." A police officer came and beat me with a leather belt. Both of my hands were swollen from the beating, but I didn't feel any pain. I knew Teacher was enduring it for me.
I continued to promote the Fa and clarify the truth, and group after group of prisoners heard the truth before they were released. One of them told me, "How strange! Maybe I came in here just to listen to your telling me these things. When I was outside, I couldn't possibly hear this. After listening to you, I understand the facts. When I get out of here, I will no longer do bad things."
One night I had a dream that I was put in a cage and there were lots of lions surrounding the cage. The next day I told a prisoner about my dream, and he thought it was strange. Just then a policeman came in and told me to go out, and I found out that they were taking me to court to put me on trial. I thought that it might be good to have new surroundings to clarify the truth. As I entered the hall, they put me in a place just like a cage. I immediately recalled my dream. There were 40 to 50 people around me (I pictured them as the lions in my dream). There were reporters, photographers, regular people and policemen. The judge asked me, "Why did you write bad words?" I answered, "They are good words and they are the truth. Those words terrify bad people and make good people feel good." After I told him everything on my mind, the judge said, "Gao Shuhua, I summoned you here to hear the crimes you had committed, but you came here to promote your teacher's Fa." The trial ended without a verdict, and they sent me back to the detention center.
A few days later, while we were working, someone said, "There are visitors coming." I saw several groups of middle and elementary school students coming to visit. I thought that this was a good opportunity for me to clarify the truth and that I couldn't miss this opportunity. I shouted loudly, "Children, you must remember that Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance is good, and the Tiananmen Square self-immolation is fake." I continued shouting until everyone was gone. Prisoners said there had been 4,000 students. Police were shocked by my behavior and didn't move. They realized what had happened only when I stopped shouting. They then dragged me inside.
After supper, they were going to interrogate me. I remembered that Teacher once said, "Just by having your heart unaffected you will be able to handle all situations." After they took me to the courtyard, instructor Liu yelled at me, "Gao Shuhua, crouch down over there!" He approached and grabbed my hair to lift my head. He said to me, "You dared to stir up trouble today." He then kicked me to the ground and kicked my cheek viciously with his boot. I could hear the cracking sound coming from my lower jaw. My mouth started to bleed. After kicking me, he lifted my head and shouted at me, "Do you know that you are guilty?" I raised my head and said clearly, in front of a lot of families and police in the courtyard, "I am not guilty and I am a good person. I was only telling the truth to those innocent children. I wanted those children to be able to tell facts from lies. You are the guilty party, not me. You all follow Jiang in committing crimes. Heaven won't allow it." He was infuriated and told the guards beside him, "Lock her up in handcuffs and shackles." He left in a fury.
I was put on a device that locked my feet and hands together for 26 days. I could only walk while stooped. On the sixth day, when I woke up during the night, the handcuffs fell off when I moved my hands. The shackles also fell off when I touched them. I was very excited, knowing that Teacher was helping me. When the prisoners woke up and saw what had happened, they were very surprised. They all said it was such a miracle and they would learn Falun Gong when they got out of prison.
After ten more days, they told me that I had been sentenced to three years in prison and would be sent to the Jinan Women's Prison. I thought what they said didn't count, and only what Teacher said would count. I got there after 10 o'clock and went through a physical examination. When I entered the room, my face and hands were swollen, and I could hardly breathe. The doctor said that I had a severe heart disease and that they wouldn't allow me to stay there for fear of my dying. On our way back, as we were passing Weifang City, Sun Haibo, the policeman accompanying me wanted me to have another examination. So we went to the Waifang People's Hospital for an examination and the result was the same. The doctor said, "It is very strange. There was a person, who was less ill than her, yet they had to carry the person in. But she came in by herself." The doctor didn't say it too loudly, since he saw me wearing handcuffs and shackles and a policeman carrying my health record. Sun Haibo told the doctor, "How can she be the same as that person, she practices Falun Gong." The doctor said, "That's why. Then I don't have to prescribe medicine for her, since they don't need to take medicine and will be fine later." After we got in the car, the policeman murmured to himself, "This is really odd." He didn't say anything further. Twice they had tried to send me out and failed.
When I returned in the afternoon, prisoners were shouting excitedly when I entered the courtyard, "Come and look! Falun Gong has come back again." They helped carry my stuff. Someone said, "There were supposed to be some students visiting us. Since you weren't here, they didn't come. So we had to work." As we were talking, a group of more than 1000 students walked in. I realized it was for sentient beings to know the truth. I wouldn't let Teacher down.
During those eleven months and two days in the detention center, I did what a Dafa practitioner should do. No matter how high ranking of an officer came to see me, I would say, "Falun Dafa is good." Because of my heart condition, they didn't let me do hard labor. On November 2 of the lunar calendar, they let me go, afraid that I might die there.
Before I left, Chen Xiaodong, a 610 Office policeman, asked me, "Gao Shuhua, how much money do you have at home?" I answered, "Chen Xiaodong, don't even think of getting a penny from me. I only want to tell you that Falun Dafa is good and not to continue to persecute Dafa practitioners, and if you comply, you'll have a bright future." Chen Xiaodong said to me, "Why have you still not awakened?" I said, "It is you who needs to wake up." Just then, my husband came to take me home, and I left without another thought.
Through these years of cultivation, I realized that only when I have strong righteous thoughts would the evil be helpless. Just like Teacher says, "Gods and demons fear with awe." (From "Benevolent Might," Hong Yin).
