(Clearwisdom.net)

[Note: On April 3, 2004, the police arrested Mr. Zhao Hongli, the author of this article, during a large-scale raid. He is detained at Wujiawa Detention Center in Zhaoyang City. Since the beginning of his incarceration, he has been on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. His life is in immediate danger.]

My name is Zhao Hongli. I live on Zhengnan Street, Jianping County, Zhaoyang City, Liaoning Province, and I used to work at a textile mill. I was born with congenital heart disease, and my parents were afraid that my condition would be fatal if I experienced any type of stress. So they pampered me since my childhood. I was so spoiled that I earned a demerit point on my school record while I was only in fourth grade. As I grew older, I was driven by the desire for material comforts, and I was polluted by the deteriorated moral standards. I committed many wrongdoings without realizing they were bad. I judged myself using the already deteriorated moral standards, and I even believed myself to be a good person. Finally, in 1992, I was sentenced to ten years in prison for a crime I committed. Also, all of my family's money was extorted from them by the police. In despair, an intense desire for revenge rose within me. The ghastly environment of the prison only strengthened my twisted mindset.

In 1996, a fellow inmate introduced Falun Gong to me, but I laughed at him at the time. Six months later, I finally picked up Zhuan Falun (1). I always liked Qigong before, and I learned many different kinds of Qigong, but I had no concept of "cultivation practice." In Zhuan Falun, the Teacher clearly pointed out: "Of the two words 'cultivation' and 'practice,' people only pay attention to practice and ignore cultivation." The Teacher also explained that the real gong (2) comes from one's cultivation, and "as a practitioner, the first thing you should be able to do is to not fight back when you are being beaten or sworn at". A practitioner must improve continuously and become a good person. After practicing Qigong for so many years, I finally understood that a practitioner must have high moral standards and must cultivate his character. This book was wonderful; the principles presented in the book opened up my heart. I was awakened to the fact that my tribulations were caused by my own wrongdoings: they were my retribution for all the years when I had caused so much damage to my family and society. Isn't this exactly the meaning of "immediate retribution in this lifetime?"

Through the study of Zhuan Falun, I got rid of many bad thoughts and bad habits, including drinking, smoking, fighting, and bullying people. I took hold of myself and worked hard regardless of unfair criticism or unjustifiable complaints. I no longer argued over personal interests, and I started to think of others before myself. My behavior after practicing Falun Gong was praised by other inmates and prison guards. Without realizing it, my congenital heart disease was cured, which was a miracle. What was more amazing was that Falun Dafa had untied the knots in my heart, and my moral standard rose as a result. Several years of forced reform in a prison did not change me for the better; on the contrary, I became worse. Zhuan Falun, however, helped me to turn from the path of destruction and find the goodness in my heart.

I began to copy the book by hand over and over. I had been a misfit of society, corrupted as one can get, yet the benevolent Teacher saved me. Not only do I now understand what it means to be healthy, but also the improvement of my moral standards and state of mind affected my surroundings most positively. Fellow inmates and prison guards were all willing to be friends with me. Due to my outstanding behavior from practicing Falun Dafa, my sentence was reduced three times within four years.

On July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin started the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa. Prison guards talked with me many times [trying to convince me to give up the practice]. They admitted that I became a better person after I started practicing Falun Dafa. They knew that Falun Dafa was good, but they were under too much pressure from their superiors. Some of them threatened that my sentence reduction would be reversed if I insisted on practicing Dafa. When my parents visited me, they too wanted me to give up the practice while in prison. They told me I could practice again after I returned home. I told them that a Falun Dafa practitioner would not say anything that is not true because he/she practices "truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance." I also told them that I would never give up Falun Dafa for a reduction in my sentence. No one could shake my determination in practicing Falun Dafa. At the end of 2000, I rescued a prison guard by chance, and my sentence was again reduced even though the process for reducing prison term for inmates had ended that year. Under the Teacher's protection, miraculously, I was released and able to go home.

As a fellow inmate put it, "People like you who practice Falun Gong must touch heaven and earth."

(1) Zhuan Falun - The book that contains the main teachings of Falun Dafa.

(2) Gong - cultivation energy.