(Minghui.org) I began to practice Falun Dafa in July 1997. I started to smoke and drink when I was eight and couldn't be without either for even one day. I was also addicted to fighting. When I was in the military, I led the battles and never lost once.
In July 1997, I visited my parents-in-law and they introduced me to Falun Dafa. I read the book Zhuan Falun from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. the next day, and I wasn't even tired. I was drawn to the content of the book and remembered my childhood wish, which was to cultivate. I looked at Master's photo and felt like I had seen him somewhere before. My mother-in-law taught me the exercises. Soon after that, I had symptoms of a severe flu and Master purified my body.
Quitting Smoking and Drinking
I used to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day and had a serious cough. I tried to quit several times but failed. When I read the part in Zhuan Falun that mentions smoking, I didn't quite believe it and lit a cigarette. I fell on the ground after a couple of drags and it hurt terribly. I got up and was not quite convinced yet, so I picked up the cigarette and was ready to smoke it again. I didn't want to fall again, so I sat on the bed and smoked. After one drag, I fainted on the bed. I was dizzy and couldn't get up for a while. I was totally convinced this time and have not had a cigarette ever since.
I did drink a dozen cans of beer and did not feel a thing. Several days after I had read Zhuan Falun , I went out with a few friends. In the hotel, I remembered Master's words from the book, but I still decided to have a few drinks. On our way home, I kept vomiting. However, I didn't feel ill. Since then, every time I smelled alcohol, it bothered me. I quit after that. I witnessed the power of Falun Dafa once again.
Giving up the Desire for Meat and Fighting
I loved meat and couldn't have a meal without it. Shortly after I started to practice Falun Dafa, one day I noticed that my wife brought home some meat and felt disgusted. I didn't have any that day. The next day I still didn't want any meat. This went on for a long time. Currently, I no longer feel disgusted when I see meat. It doesn't taste that good anymore, and I don't care if I have it or not.
Before, I always liked to fight. Whenever I felt like it, I started a fight and felt great after I beat someone up. When I gambled, I harassed the person who had won and almost never had to pay my debts. I was selfish and violent. When I became a practitioner, I no longer wanted to beat anyone. People who knew me told me that I had changed completely.
Believing in Master and Falun Dafa
In October 1999, after the persecution of Falun Dafa had started, the local authorities took me to the town hall and incarcerated me for five days. During that time, I was locked in a small cell with other practitioners, both men and women. We were not allowed to eat or use the toilet at night. The authorities tried to force us into signing statements to renounce Falun Dafa and stop going to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa.
From the Party secretary to the chief of the township, everyone tried to talk me into giving up the practice. I told them the wonderful things I experienced from the practice and held my ground. The secretary wanted me to choose between the Party and Falun Dafa, so I quit the Chinese Communist Party. They extorted 1,000 yuan from my family before they released me.
In 2000, I went to Beijing to protest the persecution. When I returned home, the police locked me in a detention center. The next day, I was tortured by six people from the police and the Party. They shocked me with electric batons, handcuffed me and hung me up by the handcuffs, hit my legs with chairs, and hit my back, legs, and ankles with rebar. When they were done, the bones on my back were exposed and my ankles were bruised. Master protected me and I didn't feel any pain. In the end, the police made up a confession and forced me to put my fingerprint on it.
Soon the secretary and chief of the county talked to me. I clarified the facts about the persecution to them, but they still detained me for a month. My family bailed me out. A month after that, the county police tried to arrest me, so I was forced to leave home and become homeless. I was wanted on television and on the Internet. I could not go home anymore.
Keeping Righteous Thoughts
In the summer of 2002, Zhu Junle, the director of the Jiacun Township Police Station, and Mu Pingjun, the secretary of the Township Political and Legal Affairs Committee, brought several people with them and illegally arrested me. They arbitrarily decided to lock me up in the Balizhuang Forced Labor Camp in Baoding City, Hebei Province.
In the camp, Li Dayong, the head of the guards, and collaborator Liu Chengsheng told me that as long as I promised not to practice Falun Dafa, I was allowed to go home and practice privately. I wanted to go home and agreed.
I later realized that I had made a big mistake. I wrote a solemn statement to Li Dayong and asked him to release me unconditionally. I went on a hunger strike to protest my imprisonment. The police then force-fed me; put me in solitary confinement; forced me to watch videos that slandered Falun Dafa; stabbed my fingers, toes, legs, and face with needles; and tied me on the Death Bed. I didn't give in, and none of their tactics could force me to renounce my belief.
In 2004, the guards instigated someone to beat the practitioner in the same cell as I. I stopped that person from beating him. Li Dayong then brought many guards to my cell and had four of them drag me to another room where they tortured me. Wang Lei and Zhang Lei wore military boots and kicked me until I was bruised all over and my head was swollen and battered. I wasn't afraid when they beat me. I remembered what Teacher had said in “Stop the Evil Acts with Righteous Thoughts” in The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III ,
“When Dafa disciples have strong righteous thoughts and no fear, they can use righteous thoughts to turn the tables on the evildoers.”
I thought to transfer the pain to the guards. I didn't feel pain when they tortured me. The two guards, on the other hand, complained that their legs hurt. The next day, they couldn't play soccer and walked like they were crippled. I knew that if I followed the teachings, the power of Falun Dafa would manifest itself.
Medical Miracles
In the forced labor camp, because of the tortures, I vomited constantly, and my muscles atrophied because of the long term handcuffing. The medical staff at the Baoding 252 Hospital told the police that I might not be able to walk for at least a year. When I was released, I was emaciated and someone had to carry me. Through studying the Fa and doing the five exercises, I was back to normal within a few days.
My neighbor was in her 60s and had bone cancer and couldn't sit up. After she had spend a lot of money for treatments, the doctor announced that she was dying. I told her to recite, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I helped her to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and had her listen to Teacher's lectures and watch the Shen Yun DVD. She recovered completely within six months and looked younger than before. Her husband witnessed this miracle and believed in Falun Dafa. He also quit the CCP.
