(Clearwisdom.net)

Excerpt:

I noticed that whenever I clarified the truth about Falun Gong, that a death-row inmate would always bow his head in silence. One time he told me with a quivering voice and tears in his eyes, “If only I obtained Dafa earlier... how could I end up like this today? I regret not having found Dafa earlier!” I told him, “Don't be sad, the powers of Buddha are boundless." ... "You were able to meet me, which means you have a predestined relationship, so you are still fortunate. Remember to repeat 'Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,' and your life will change.” From that point on he repeated those nine characters daily whenever he remembered. Shortly afterward, a miracle did happen! When he received the notice that his sentence had been changed from death row to several years in labor camp, he knelt on the ground and began bowing to me. I pulled him up, “You shouldn't do that. It is Master who saved you.” He kept kowtowing and shouting, “Thank you Falun Gong Master! Thank you for saving me!”

– by the author

I struggled at the bottom of the social strata my entire life, and it was Dafa that gave me a second life. When the persecution of Falun Dafa began, I had to tell the world, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” Under the vicious environment in China, I was arrested five times and held in detention. I was also sentenced to three years in a forced labor camp. Master protected me every step of the way.

I am eighty-one years old, I had been working under dense smoke and dust-filled environments for dozens of years. I came down with all sorts of job-related ailments, including silicosis, liver disease, gastritis, and cholecystitis. I had severe shortness of breath, generalized pain, and worse yet, there was no treatment for me. I had to retire early.

I obtained Dafa in 1996, Master purified my body and all of my illnesses disappeared. I experienced for the first time what it felt like to be illness-free. My happiness was beyond words. The doctor I used to see was surprised to see me, “You are still alive?!” I knew it was Master who picked me up from hell and cleansed my body, and let me become a glorious Dafa disciple. I am so deeply grateful to Master. There is nothing I can do to repay Master for what he has done for me.

I began actively spreading the Fa, and formed many exercise sites and Fa study groups. On holiday weekends we rented big bus to introduce the Fa in distant counties, towns, and villages. I had endless energy. I felt that I was the happiest person in the world.

On July 20, 1999, the persecution began. Monstrous lies and Dafa slandering materials were everywhere. It was overwhelming. The police arrested people everywhere, and raided Dafa practitioner's homes. My life was given by Dafa, so how could I remain silent? I had to appeal for Dafa, for Master. I wrote letters to all levels of administrator and told them that the government made a mistake, and that Falun Dafa was good. Since the provincial government would not see me, I went to Beijing, where I was arrested at the railroad station and taken by the police to my hometown. That night, several policemen raided my home. They took all my Dafa books and tapes, and interrogated me. They wanted me to reveal fellow practitioner's names and addresses. They interrogated me all night and got nothing. They held me in a small cell in the basement with only a small iron door, I felt suffocated, and it was very hard to breathe. I settled myself down, then I meditated and memorized the Fa. The next day the guard told me that I had been sentenced to 15 days in detention. I asked, “I cultivate Dafa. I am a good person, and do the best deeds. What kind of crime did I commit?” They replied, “Disturbing law and order.” They dragged me to the police car and took me to the detention center.

At the detention center, people asked me why I was there. I told them that I had committed no crime, and that I cultivate Falun Dafa. I told them the facts about Dafa, and my personal story. I told them the principles of Dafa, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and about the universal law that “good begets good, evil begets evil.” They listened to me attentively. One inmate from Anhui Province was there for stealing, and he couldn't go home after his release because he had no money. I gave him the money all I had, and he was deeply moved. One inmate from Zhejiang Province, who was very poor, had only one blanket at home. I told him that when I was released he could have my bedding. He was touched. They people I spoke with said that Falun Dafa was good, and that cultivators of Dafa are good people. The cells were small but crowded with people. The toilet was in the corner of the cell, the smell was horrendous, and we could hardly stand it. After 15 long days, I was released.

Shortly after returning home, we received a pamphlet saying that a fellow practitioner was being persecuted, and we were worried. In order to rescue him, we printed the pamphlet that very night and sent it out immediately. Three days later, several police officers arrested me at my home. They interrogated me all night, asking where the pamphlet came from, and who else participated in trying to rescue our fellow practitioner. I told them that I didn't know. The director said he knew that I and my group did it. I asked him, “Why are you asking me if you already know everything? Why are you so afraid of a truth-clarifying pamphlet? You are brutally persecuting our fellow practitioners, you set up the false Tiananmen self-immolation, you are deceiving and fooling citizens, and blaming everything on Falun Gong. How shameful!” They had nothing to say. They forced me to stand for a long period of time and deprived me of my bathroom break. A so-called chief suddenly came up and used all his strength to slap my face. I was almost knocked to the ground. My mouth began to bleed. I saw that he wanted to hit me again. I pointed to his face and raised my voice, “How dare you still want to hit me, I am older than your father.” He stated, “There is no age difference in criminals.” I told him in a stern voice, “It is you who are committing the crime, not me. It is against the law to hit people, and you are knowingly violating the law, which is even worse.” The guards were all shocked. He left in silence. I was held in a small cell with no bathroom. There were feces and urine all over the corner of the room. It was awful, dirty, and filthy. The weather was extremely cold. I had no bedding, but I sat in meditation all night and recite “Lunyu” by heart. I was warm, comfortable, and I knew Master was supporting and reinforcing me. Tears ran down my cheek.

On the third night, I was transferred to a detention center in the city. As soon as I got there, I began to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa. The inmates were all surprised. The head of the cell was a death row inmate in his forties. After he heard the truth, his kind nature emerged. He told me to sleep next to him, and told the others, “I am warning you, nobody touches 'Buddha'!” I told them the facts about Dafa, and answered their questions and misunderstandings of Dafa. The inmates began respecting me. The warden asked me to his office several days later and made me a hot cup of tea and said, “It has been peaceful in the detention, center I heard that you were teaching them Falun Gong and how to be good people.” Then he asked, “What is really going on with Falun Gong, can you tell me?” I gave him a run down about the characteristics of Falun Gong, the moral requirements, and the truth about the persecution. I told him, “Justice will prevail, good will be rewarded, and evil will be punished. Make sure to treat Falun Gong practitioners with kindness.” He replied, “Yes, yes.” From that point on, whenever there was a disturbance in detention, he would tell them to be quiet and learn from me, learn to be good people. He didn't stop me from clarifying the truth about Falun Gong. I was truly happy for him.

I noticed that whenever I clarified the truth about Dafa, that death-row inmate always bowed his head in silence. One time he told me with a quivering voice and tears in his eyes, “If only I obtained Dafa earlier... how could I end up like this today? I regret not having found Dafa earlier!” I told him, “Don't be sad, the powers of Buddha are boundless. If you truly learned your lesson from your mistakes, and are determined to change, it is never to late. Our Master stated,

“Gods are merciful and have the greatest capacity to forgive, and they are truly responsible to beings, instead of focusing on a person's actions at a given time. That's because gods awaken a being at a fundamental level, and enliven a being's Buddha-nature at a fundamental level.” ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference")

“You were able to meet me which means you have a predestined relationship, so you are still fortunate. Remember to repeat 'Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,' and your life will change.” From that point on he repeated those nine characters daily whenever he remembered. Shortly afterward, a miracle did happen! When he received the notice that his sentence had been changed from death row to several years in labor camp, he knelt on the ground and began bowing to me. I pulled him up, “You should not do that. It is Master who saved you.” He kept kowtowing and shouting, “Thank you Falun Gong Master! Thank you for saving me!” Everyone was moved to tears by his expression of deep gratitude.

He was transferred to a labor camp the next day, but was reluctant to leave me. I closed my hand in Heshi and sent him blessings. When he left, he shouted out loud, “Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is good!” His voice shook the entire detention center. Everyone stuck their heads out to say goodbye. Even the warden was smiling at the door.

Someone asked me, “You are such a good person. Why are you here?” I calmly replied, “I am not here due to committing any wrong deeds. I am here to tell you all the good news of Dafa. If I was not here, how would you learn the truth about Dafa? If you had learned the truth sooner, you might not have ended up here.” They were silent upon hearing this.

After thirty days, the police department extorted 10,000 yuan from my family and released me. I gave away all my clothes to inmates who were in lack of clothes. Many said, “ Falun Gong is truly great!” I am happy for those beings who learned the truth.

After I came home for one month, there was an anonymous phone call asking for 100,000 yuan. They did not state any reason. I didn't respond. Several days later, the police came to my house in the middle of the night. They wanted me to go to the police department for a “talk.” I refused, but they insisted. My wife asked, “When will he be back.” They replied in unison, “Right away.” After I arrived, they asked me, “Do you still practice Falun Gong?” I answered, “What is wrong with practicing Falun Gong? To maintain a healthy body, save on medical bills, be a good person, improve my moral standard, and keep the society stable...” The head of the police became inpatient. He suddenly stood up and yelled, “Shut up! You are sentenced to three years in a labor camp! Come and sign your name!” I refused, and he stated that I had to go even without my signature. I didn't believe him, and asked to make a phone call to my wife. He asked, “Can she sleep after learning the news?” I pointed to their faces, “You promised her that I would be back right away, and now it will be three years! How can I not tell her!” I told my wife the situation. I didn't hear her response, I heard the phone hit the ground. I was sure she passed out. It was late at night, and she was by herself. Who could help her? At that moment I deeply experienced the difficulty and arduousness of cultivation and the police officers' conscious-less nature.

When I arrived at the labor camp. I was denied entry due to health reasons. But the police officer manipulated the situation and still left me there.

The labor camp ordered a drug addict to monitor me daily. He was in his thirties, and had a wife and a child. I talked to him about the truth of Falun Gong daily, about moral standards, about the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I enlightened his kind nature. I once told him, “Under the Chinese Communist Party's atheistic doctrine, people don't believe the universal law that 'Good is rewarded, and evil is punished.' The moral standard is sliding down at a terrible speed. People have no restraint and resort to all means, including killing, paying to kill, homosexuality, promiscuous sex, drug use and drug dealing. You need to know, that if humankind does not do anything to stop this, heaven will. It is extremely dangerous. You are still young. You should take care of your parents for raising you, but instead you suffer here, wasting your life here. How can you pay back your parents, your wife, and child? It is a predestined relationship that we meet, no one else will tell you this except me.” He began to cry and told me that his family no longer wanted him. I said, “How can that be? Their hearts are bleeding. There are no parents in the world who do not love their child. You really have to say 'no' to drugs from now on and ask your family for forgiveness.” He said that he didn't know how to read or write. I wrote a letter for him and read it to him. He was in tears and signed his name. Two weeks later, his parents and his wife and child came to visit him. They gave him some money and told him to take care of his health, get rid of his drug addiction, and come home soon. He was very pleasantly surprised, and wanted to thank me. I told him not to thank me. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed, “Thank you, Falun Gong Master for saving me!” He stated that when he returned home, he would practice Falun Gong as well.

On New Years Eve, several fellow practitioners in detention with me and I planned to exercise together at midnight. I was sitting on my bed doing the sitting meditation, and I felt the light of a flashlight on my face. I did not stop and finished my meditation. The next day, all practitioners were stripped of their clothes and forced to stand on the ground facing the wall. They were deprived of food and water, and sleep. Some even passed out. Some could not stand because their legs were injured due to the extreme cold weather. I felt the flashlight on my face that night, but the guard said that he didn't see me that night. I knew it was Master who protected me. I could not help but cry every time I thought of Master. In such a harsh environment, Master was protecting us every step of the way.

I used every chance I had to study the Fa. When we were doing forced labor, we used the opportunity to memorize the Fa. With the encouragement of the Fa and Master's support, we felt that we were enveloped with compassionate energy. It is so sacred to help Master rectify the Fa.

Master stated,

“If you are able to succeed in improving yourself this way, what you do then, with a pure heart, will be the best and most sacred.” ("Further Understanding" from Essentials for Further Advancement)

I am in my eighties. In the labor camp I had to work like everyone else, and the work hours extended into the night. We had to work over ten hours per day. We were fed moldy rice with radishes on top. Every morning we were forced to run in the field. Due to excessive labor and not enough nutrition, I developed generalized edema and shortness of breath. I constantly coughed up blood, and I passed out often at work. My life was hanging by a thin thread. I remembered that Master said,

“...a being's choice is up to him” ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A.")

I promised Master that I would use my life to validate the Fa, no matter how severely I was persecuted, and that nothing would waver my will. I asked Master, “No matter the state of my cultivation, Master please help me preserve my body. I want to help Master in rectifying the Fa, and accomplish my mission of saving sentient beings!”

The labor camp authorities were afraid that I would die there, so they sent me to the hospital. Their diagnosis included severe pulmonary edema, and a lump in my liver. I was released to seek medical treatment.

When I returned home, my symptoms disappeared, and I knew that Master was again helping me. I am back to Fa-rectification. It has been over ten years, and I have not taken a single pill. My heart is calm, my body is light, and others say that I am like a young fellow.

I will try my best to do well the three things, let go all attachments, and on this final path strive forward vigorously. I will not let Master down.

This is my experience during the Fa-rectification. Please kindly point out my shortcomings!

Heshi!

Thank you Master!

Thank you fellow practitioners!