(Clearwisdom.net) I am a Falun Dafa practitioner in Dandong, Liaoning Province. I have been practicing for over eight years. Master has given me a new life and happiness, and words cannot begin to express my gratitude to Master.
Falun Dafa is miraculous! I am a completely new person created by Dafa. Before I studied Dafa I suffered from migraines, bronchitis, eye disease, stiff shoulders, stomach and heart disease, adnexitis, and arthritis. I also had a malignant tumor in my stomach that resulted in constant pain. I went to many doctors and took loads of medications, all to no avail. Dafa miraculously cured all of my illnesses.
1. Miracle
On July 24, 1996, a colleague gave me a copy of the book China Falun Gong. While reading the book, I felt a gush of warmth surging from the top of my head throughout my body. I thought, "This practice is amazing, with such tremendous energy." In the evening, I read the book for over two hours and was completely absorbed in it.
Master teaches people to be good, and the principles directly point to people's attachments and teach people to take personal interests lightly. Falun Dafa is a practice that truly guides people toward high levels. I said to Master in my heart, "This Dafa is wonderful, I will practice it." With this thought, when I again read the book, I felt my abdomen turning like a fan, the area around my abdomen was cold as ice, and the other parts of my body afflicted with illnesses hurt as if they were being poked by needles. I thought it was strange, but I was determined to finish reading the book, which took two days. After I finished reading, I realized that the adnexitis was gone. When I went to a hospital for a routine examination, the doctor found that the tumor in my stomach that had tortured me for so long had also disappeared. I was very surprised.
Then I started reading Zhuan Falun. One week later another miracle happened. One day while I was reading the book, I suddenly felt like I was suffocating, and I vomited foam-like, filthy things. Because I was having difficulty breathing I said, "Master, help me!" I thought, "I haven't done the exercises and I have only studied the Fa, Master is not taking care of me yet. So now I will do the sitting meditation exercise." My legs were so stiff I could not cross them, and I sat with my legs strewn about. Within five minutes I felt a surge of warmth entering the top of my head and peppermint-like cold air flowing from my head to my chest. Soon my breathing returned to normal. From that day on, the bronchitis from which I had suffered for over four decades was completely cured.
I contracted eye disease when I was two years old. I was photophobic and I had poor eyesight. One Sunday, two months after I started practicing Dafa, my eyes suddenly turned red as blood, and pus seeped out of them. They hurt terribly. My husband urged me to go to a hospital but I thought, "Since I practice Dafa, it's nothing to be worried about because Master is cleansing my body for me." I was not afraid. It lasted one week, during which time I didn't take any medications or medical treatments. I read the Dafa books and did the exercises. One week later I was cured.
I had suffered from stiff shoulders for over 20 years, and my shoulders hurt on rainy and cloudy days. About three months after I started practicing Dafa, one day I could not move my arms or lift my head, and I was in great pain. An acupuncturist friend stuck a needle in my shoulder without asking me. The pain was unbearable. I subsequently played Master's lecture videotapes. Five minutes later I was so tired I couldn't open my eyes, and I slept for a few minutes. When I opened my eyes, I saw two large Falun [law wheel] turning on my shoulders, and I immediately realized Master was cleansing my body. I lifted my arms and I heard a snap, I was now able to raise my arms, and my shoulders no longer hurt. I was very excited because I saw with my own eyes the Falun adjusting my body for me. I cried and thanked Master for protecting me and removing my illnesses. Master endured tremendous karma for me, and Dafa manifested His mighty power through me.
Within six months, all of my illnesses disappeared as I studied the Fa constantly and did the exercises on a constant basis. I truly experienced the wonders of Dafa, and from then on I firmly believed in Dafa and Master. I was not only cured of my illnesses, my whole view of the world changed. I am very fortunate for having been blessed with finding Falun Dafa. Thank you, Master, for giving me this opportunity. I will cultivate myself according to Master's words and be a true Dafa practitioner.
2. Tests
Tests of my xinxing came one after another. My husband borrowed money at usurious loan rates from a private source because he lacked funding for his factory, and he hasn't been able to pay it back because the factory isn't doing very well. The creditor came to me with an aggressive attitude. At first I was unhappy that he treated me badly, but I thought I must endure this because I practice Dafa. Because I didn't study the Fa well, I had to try very hard to suppress my anger. When he threw a cigarette butt on the floor I picked it up. Later, I sat down to study the Fa and ignored him. I came upon the section "Transforming karma." My heart calmed down after studying the Fa as I realized I should not act the same as ordinary people. This was a test of my xinxing. My heart remained unmoved and the person left. I truly felt that for a practitioner, being able to guard one's xinxing is very important!
The second test came quickly. One of my husband's friends came to my work unit and asked for money. He verbally abused me and hit me with a stool. I was very upset and I went to my husband's work unit and said to him, "I don't know anything about things that happened between you guys. Yet, he came to my work unit and verbally abused and hit me. He made me lose face there." After I went home I studied Master's Fa and I realized all that had happened was to help me improve my xinxing. The reason he insulted me in front of people was for Master to see my xinxing and endurance. If I remained calm and unmoved, my xinxing would have been greatly improved. Although I endured at the time, I didn't understand it from the perspective of the Fa, so I shed a few tears. From this incident I realized what Master said, that practitioners must reach the standard and improve their xinxing. Master tested my xinxing from different angles through various methods, and I decided to do well next time and not miss another opportunity to improve my xinxing.
My father-in-law was hospitalized for cerebral thrombus, and my husband and I went to visit him a few times. I could not go to the hospital often because I had to work, but my sisters-in-law didn't work, and they stayed by him at the hospital. Once, one of my sisters-in-law stood outside my home and said, "Why don't you take food to dad?" I said, "I'm busy working. When I get off work it's too late. I guess you'll have to take on more responsibilities." She pounded on the door and window and made a huge row. My neighbors heard the noise and came out. I thought, "I'm a practitioner; I can't act the same way she does." I looked inward and I thought, "It's my fault. All of us should take care of the elderly, and I should find time to do it well." No matter how many people stood outside, I kept quiet and my heart remained calm. When she finished, I felt my body was warm, and I realized Master was transforming my gong column for me, because I guarded my xinxing this time.
Through Fa study and exercises I have improved my xinxing, and I feel like I've changed into a completely different person. I previously had a short temper and often fought with others, but now I can correct my bad thoughts and actions in a timely manner. I look inward and conduct myself according to Dafa's standards. Starting with small things, the changes that took place in me through Dafa practice are manifested in many aspects. Master gave me a healthy body and a completely new life, and he saved me from tribulations. I deeply feel Master's benevolence and infinite grace.
3. Persecution
On July 20, 1999, Jiang's rogue regime started the suppression of Falun Dafa. Police forbade Falun Dafa practitioners from practicing the exercises. When practitioners were doing the exercises, the police roughly confiscated their cassette players (used for exercise music). All practice sites had policemen on guard, and they arrested Falun Gong practitioners as soon as they came out to practice the exercises. The police said, "It is the central government that forbids you from practicing. If you want to raise your concerns, go to the central government."
Faced with this situation, Falun Gong practitioners started to go to Beijing to appeal, hoping that the central government leaders would permit Falun Gong practitioners to have a peaceful cultivation environment, protected by law. The police in Dandong City, however, blocked all major roads as well as train and bus stations. They tried to prevent us from going to Beijing to appeal. Falun Gong practitioners who tried all kinds of methods and managed to go to Beijing to uphold justice for Falun Gong were persecuted to various extents.
In July 1999, several fellow practitioners and I also wanted to go to Beijing but police guarded all train and bus stations. We were unable to leave the city. I felt very sad when the CCTV news slandered Dafa and our Master day in and day out. Our Master taught us to be good people, and better people. There's nothing wrong with that. As a Falun Dafa disciple I must go to clarify the truth. My fellow practitioners and I were therefore determined to go to Beijing together, to appeal for Falun Gong, and to tell the central government leaders the true stories of our Falun Dafa cultivation, and that we actually cultivate ourselves to be good people.
After encountering several setbacks, we arrived in Beijing for the first time on October 25, 1999. We saw uniformed police and plain-clothes police everywhere, in the main streets as well as the narrow alleys in Beijing. We learned that Falun Dafa practitioners who went to the Appeals Office to petition were completely denied their rights to speak out. Numerous practitioners stood outside the Appeals Office and were forbidden from entering. I also saw that many Falun Dafa practitioners went to Tiananmen Square to practice the exercises and yell out, "Falun Dafa is great!" They were immediately arrested and incarcerated. A 19-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner was doing the sitting meditation at Tiananmen Square. The police beat her brutally and kicked her legs fiercely. She was very strong-minded and continued to sit in the meditation posture. Later, several police lifted her off the ground and put her into a police van.
On the evening of October 27, 1999, my fellow practitioners and I watched TV and learned that Jiang's regime had defamed Falun Dafa and our Master, and had branded Falun Gong as an evil cult organization. We were extremely sad about this and could not sleep for the whole night. We then decided to go to Tiananmen Square. There were countless people at Tiananmen Square. I saw many of our fellow practitioners, and I knew we all had the same feeling. We stayed around and didn't go back to our lodging until several hours later. The next day we went to Tiananmen Square before dawn. We wanted to validate Dafa by practicing the exercises at the square. Unexpectedly, the police stopped us as soon as we got to the center of Tiananmen Square. They pushed us onto the police van and took us to the Tiananmen Police Station against our will. Many Falun Dafa practitioners had already been detained at the police station. The rooms and the courtyard were filled with practitioners. One of the policemen told another policeman, "We arrested approximately ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners this morning."
When we were sent to the Tiananmen Police Station, the police beat us, kicked us, and shocked us with electric batons. Oftentimes, several policemen together beat one Falun Dafa practitioner. The practitioner being beaten was often covered with blood, rolling on the floor in great pain. The police pulled out women practitioners' hair in clumps and beat male practitioners extremely cruelly. The police beat male practitioners so fiercely that they could well have beaten them to death. One police officer struck a 14-year-old practitioner with a dozen slaps. The young practitioner was very strong-willed. He was undisturbed and stood still! Practitioners were beaten to the point of bleeding, and many sustained skull fractures. The verbal abuse from the police was all around us. Many people shed tears seeing such a cruel scene. Chinese policemen were beating good people who cultivate "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance!" We held back our tears and started to recite Lunyu together. Our great, compassionate voices resonated in the universe and shocked the evil. The police stopped torturing and beating Falun Dafa practitioners as a result of our great, compassionate voices.
On October 28, 1999, Tiananmen Police Station personnel arrested more Falun Dafa practitioners. Among them were elderly people in their seventies as well as babies only several months old. There were state cadres, university professors, military officers, police officers, engineers, and teachers at universities, high schools, and elementary schools. There were also university students, doctors, workers and peasants. Practitioners came to Beijing from all over the country to validate Dafa. When we were ordered to write our identities on the forms, we discussed this with one another and unanimously decided to write down our professions, so as to let the police know we were knowledgeable people who have the capability of distinguishing good from bad. We were not the kind of people who were easily hoodwinked or deceived. We also wanted to let people know we are cultivating "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance," to become very good people. Good people were thrown into prison today and subjected to persecution. Falun Dafa was being attacked by slander. Our Master was defamed, and people all over the world were being deceived. We came to Beijing from all over the world to validate that our Master is innocent, and that Falun Dafa is innocent! The sole purpose was to tell people all over the world, "Falun Dafa is great!" The material broadcast on the TV news programs was sheer lies. All Falun Dafa practitioners bear witness to that.
At noon, the police took us to the Fengtai Sports Stadium. As soon as we got out of the cell in the Tiananmen Police Station, the police started body searching us. They discovered a copy of Zhuan Falun on one woman practitioner. More than a dozen police officers pushed that woman practitioner to the ground, searched her body and purposely and maliciously groped her, like hooligans. That practitioner held the book tightly to herself in order to protect the book. The police beat her cruelly, and as a result she had injuries all over her body. When we arrived at the sports stadium, the walls were labeled with the names of provinces and cities from all over the country. The police ordered practitioners to sit down on the muddy ground, in the area labeled for their city. The sky was a yellowish hue then. It was a rainy and blustery day. The police were dressed in coats, but they were still shivering in the cold. However Falun Dafa practitioners were forced to sit on the muddy ground in thin clothes. We were not allowed anything to drink or eat. It continued like this until police from our respective regions came to take us away at midnight. My fellow practitioners and I were sent to our local liaison office in Beijing.
Some practitioners were already detained in the local office in Beijing, and were handcuffed to chairs. As soon as we arrived, the police started the body search and grabbed our money and possessions. They even groped our bodies maliciously when they did the body search. After the body search, the police handcuffed several of us together and ordered us to lie down on the concrete floor. We could not move our hands, as a slight movement of the hands would cause the handcuffs to cut into the flesh. The second day, the police requested that we each pay 100 yuan for lodging. They confiscated our money and forced us to pay for their meals. On our way back we were forced to pay for all the meals, the bus and train fares, as well as daily consumables.
After we were back in Dandong City, the police put us in the detention center. The next day, the police brutally beat my fellow practitioner. Later, she was hung on a window frame, the door frame and subjected to additional ruthless beating by means of a triangle strip and bamboo board, as well as shocks from an electric baton. The male police stripped off the pants of women Falun Dafa practitioners and beat them ferociously. Practitioners' buttocks turned blackish purple. My fellow practitioners were beaten so badly that their flesh was cut and they had wounds all over the body. They could not sit or lie down, and their blood-soaked pants stuck to their bodies. The police also forced some of the practitioners to wear heavy shackles and cuffed their hands and feet together. They could not sleep, straighten their backs, or use the toilet. Practitioners were forced to do heavy-duty work. All practitioners who had been beaten had injuries on their backs and their bodies turned blackish purple all over. The prison doctors intentionally applied iodine to practitioners' wounds. Some practitioners fainted from the pain.
After I was released from the detention center, the police went to my workplace and demanded 2,000 yuan. They claimed it was for their travel fare to Beijing. This 2,000 yuan plus the money the police confiscated from us totaled over 10,000 yuan.
After I resumed my work, my salary was cut, which caused a lot of difficulties in my daily life. Later I went to Beijing two more times to appeal, and was arrested by police, and again sent to a detention center. When I was released from the detention center, my workplace dismissed me.
I started to do odd jobs and at the same time I clarified the truth to people. I told them I recovered from many diseases after I started practicing Falun Gong, that what is reported on TV is all fabricated lies and rumors, and that our Master teaches us to be good people. Many people think that what I say is really very sensible. My fellow practitioners and I delivered truth clarification flyers to every household, to let them know the truth about Dafa.
(To be continued)