(Clearwisdom.net) I am 61 years old, and I started to practice Falun Dafa in 1995. Before that, I had a miserable life and a tiring job. Exhausted both physically and mentally, I was lost. Then I was fortunate to see Master's book--Zhuan Falun. I cried when I first saw Master's picture. With tears, I finished reading the book. At that time, my tears did not stop, and in my heart I knew it was a predestined relationship. In this way, I started to practice. Since then I have benefited a lot, both physically and mentally. I could feel Falun rotate and my gong column increase while it was revolving. Through my celestial eye, I also saw colorful lights. I put all my effort into Fa-study, doing the exercises, and introducing the Fa to more people. In this way, many people around me also started to cultivate, including my relatives, friends, and coworkers.
In 1998, I was able to attend a lecture given by Master. I felt very blessed. I was bathed in happiness while being forged by Dafa. I could feel that Master pushed me to a very high level.
In 1999, the old forces started to attack Dafa. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used despicable means to persecute Dafa practitioners. Just like other practitioners, I wrote letters to appeal for Dafa and went to Beijing to tell government officials that Dafa is good. Similarly, I was persecuted many times, including home arrest and confiscation of my property. I was detained at a detention center, sent to a brainwashing center, and in the end forced to stay away from my home to avoid further persecution.
During these years, I also joined other practitioners to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. With caring from Master as well my righteous thoughts, I was able to walk along the path in these several years step by step.
Working as One Body and Breaking Through Tribulations with Righteous Thoughts
In Spring 2000, several of us practitioners were arrested at a practice site when doing group exercise. Several officers from the 610 Office also came and interrogated us. At that time, with pure thoughts we talked to them with compassion. We emphasized that we had not done anything to violate the law and it was wrong to arrest us. When fellow practitioners heard about this, they took the risk of going to the police station together with our family members to request our release. Because practitioners formed one body, the police released us on the same day. Meanwhile, we also heard some practitioners at another practice site were arrested during their group exercise, and they were sent to a labor camp.
On the next morning, several of us still went back to the practice site for group exercise to validate Dafa, and we continued to do so for 10 months. Our group continued until the CCP intensified the persecution, and practitioners went to Beijing to appeal.
With Care from Master, Eliminating Interference to Break Through Tribulations
In 2002, police from the 610 Office confiscated property from my home and took me to a detention center. One day during the interrogation, they deceived me, saying one practitioner gave a testimony that he had received truth-clarification materials from me. After thinking about it for a while, I took all of the responsibility. Police then pushed for the source of these truth-clarification materials, as if attempting to punish me severely for that. I said calmly, "I found them in the mailbox." They then asked why I was passing the materials to other people. I said, "I found that the articles in these materials are factual, and they are well written. Of course I would give them to other practitioners when they asked for them." Police said. "Is it as simple as this?" I said, "Yes, it is. Why would we want to make it complicated?" Police said, "Just from this statement by you, I can subject you to three years in the labor camp."
During a second interrogation, police from the 610 Office took out a document stating three years of labor camp detention and asked me to sign it. At that time, I was thinking, "Three years is not very long. Plus, my cultivation path is arranged by Master, not them." On the way back from interrogation, when seeing several female practitioners handcuffed with their feet chained, I had a solemn and stirring feeling. I even thought about some heroes in everyday society. Later, I realized that Dafa practitioners are cultivating Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the highest characteristic in the cosmos that forges great enlightened beings. We are not heroes in everyday society.
One guard said to me, "I do not want to change your belief or give you a hard time. Plus, it is not the detention center official here who arrested you. How about we have an agreement here? That is, I do not mistreat you and you do not introduce Falun Gong to other people." Then he said to inmates in the cells, "None of you is allowed to beat him or swear at him; otherwise, you will be held accountable." The cell inmates there said yes, and I also agreed. During the several days after that, my head was heavy and numb. I then became clear-headed, realizing that I had followed the path arranged by the evil. By reciting Master's articles and sending forth righteous thoughts, my head gradually became clear again.
I began to clarify the truth. Within several days, seven or eight people came to learn the truth. Inside the cell, there is an activity time of less than 20 minutes per day for people to walk around and have some exercise. Several people said, "Falun Dafa is good" when seeing me and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good" when seeing me again. I was also happy since inside the cell most of the time one has to sit straight on the wooden bed for a long time and is not allowed to speak. At night, it was even worse and everyone sleeps next to each other like packed sardines, which does not even allow one to turn over.
When sitting straight during the daytime, practitioners were mingled together with inmates so that they could not talk to each other. From time to time, the last person in the line--a thug designated by head of the cell-- hit the person in front of him hard in the lower back. That person then hit another one in front of him. Thus the hitting passed along the line. I was sitting near the end and behind me was a thug designated by the head of the cell. Every time he hit me, I did not hit the person in front of me. The thug was very angry and hit me hard in my lower back, but I did not feel any pain. He reported this to the cell head, who said he would come to beat me around noon. In my heart, I was asking for help from Master, "Master, please help Dafa practitioners from being persecuted." I was also quietly reciting the verse to send forth righteous thoughts. The cell head tried to hit me in the head with his fist, but something happened: his fist went to someone next to me. That person yelled out, stood up, and fought back. Some thugs also joined in the fight and the entire cell was chaotic. The conflict was not resolved until guards came and locked the head of the cell in a solitary confinement cell. People talked about it and they did not know why things happened like that. I knew clearly that Master had protected me.
After 23 days of detention, I was released unconditionally. As I walked out of the cell, everyone was happy for me, and they clapped their hands.
After walking out of the detention center, I looked up in the sky and spoke aloud in my heart, "Master, I have not done well in the past, and I will do better in the future." It was dozens of kilometers from the city, but I did not have any money with me. I walked on the road and asked several village residents for directions. They asked why I had been put in the detention center and how I got out. So I clarified the truth to them. By then a bus stopped there, and the conductor asked if anyone needed to a ride. One villager said to the conductor, "He (referring to me) is a Falun Gong practitioner and was just released from the detention center. He does not have any money, please give him a ride." The driver and conductor asked me to get on the bus. When I got off in the city, they shook hands with me, and the driver saluted me from his seat. I put my palms together and thanked them.
Do Well to Improve the Surrounding Environment and Save Sentient Beings
Because of persecution, I was once forced to stay away from home, and I lost my job. But wherever I went, I paid attention to my behavior to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I also explained the facts and saved people by asking them to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
In 2003, the 610 Office put pressure on my workplace to fire me. The head at my workplace knew the truth, and he took the risk of helping me retire with a pension payment. My delayed salary was also paid. The 610 Office once asked neighbors nearby to report to the police when they saw me go back home. But my neighbors knew the truth, and they helped me. So although the local officials made several attempts to persecute me, they all ended in vain.
In my family there were three Party members and several others who once joined CCP-affiliated organizations. After truth-clarification by my wife (also a practitioner) and me, they all agreed to quit the CCP or its affiliated organizations. Our family and relatives supported our cultivation and they knew Falun Dafa is good. Every time there was a party, they gathered together to play cards, etc., and it was always me and my wife who were busying doing the cooking and other chores. My parents were ill for five years; both my wife and I looked after them without complaint. Other members of the family and our relatives were impressed, and they thought that it was Falun Dafa that brought this harmony into the family.
Sometimes the truth-clarification did not go well. But when I had the thought of saving them and approached people with patience and compassion, the results were good. One day, an elderly relative was severely ill, and he had to lie in bed all the time. There were not enough people around to take care of him, so I went there to help. His son and grandson were very touched. They knew that I was so sincere and kind because I was a practitioner. In this way, three people in the family quit the CCP and five quit the CCP's Youth League. His daughter said, "I joined the CCP when I was 19, and now more than 30 years have passed. I can tell that the CCP has become more and more corrupt. Thank you for helping me quit the CCP. I also want to thank Falun Dafa and your Teacher."
During the process of truth-clarification and asking people to quit CCP, my wife and I have used all available opportunities to validate the Fa. Our paths of validating the Fa are becoming smoother and smoother.
Let us follow Master closely and walk well the path arranged by Master so that we can return home with Master.
