(Minghui.org) I would like to share a true story that happened in a Chinese prison. Since this happened four or five years ago, not all of the details are completely accurate, but the experience made a deep impression on me.
There were between 70 to 80 illegally detained Falun Dafa practitioners in that prison between 2008 and 2009. There was a continuous flow of new practitioners being imprisoned, released, and transferred out.
Every practitioner’s cultivation state was different, and there were ups and downs in terms of overall cultivations state of all practitioners. However, practitioners gradually improved in their cultivation in this special environment.
By cooperating with each other, practitioners were able to create an underground experience sharing publication while inside the prison.
Figuring Out How to Cultivate While in Prison
Most practitioners went through the same process after they entered the prison. It began with pressure and feeling the terror created by the prison officials and guards, who tried to break our determination by coercing and torturing us. They attempted to force us to renounce our belief.
Instead of submitting to the demands, many practitioners became stronger in their cultivation. They learned how to react to the different persecution methods and how to continue cultivating in the brutal environment.
Practitioners were held in different wards, which had different environments. For example, practitioners in one ward did very well in validating the Fa, with many of the criminal inmates starting to practice Falun Dafa. Quite a few inmates read Zhuan Falun, and over a dozen inmates started studying the Fa and practicing the exercises.
Practitioners in another ward were able to transcribe the Falun Dafa books and Master’s teachings at night, and they distributed them to the different wards as needed. These handwritten books were clear and neat, and the size was perfect for passing around and storage.
Some practitioners were able to establish a good environment for practicing the exercises, and others were good at memorizing the Fa. There were also those who were good at persuading people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations. In addition, inmates who were friends or from the same hometown as the practitioners, and were positive about the practice, passed on information between practitioners and prison wards. They thus established an easy-to-manage information network.
Starting a Communications Network in Prison
Information that passed between wards was simple at first and contained just a few sentences. For example, “xxx practitioner was put into solitary confinement for practicing the exercises at night, xxx practitioner was beaten for passing on Master’s [Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong] teachings, fellow practitioners are asked to send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil,” or “the xxx team is intensifying the persecution, there might be a search in next few days, please store Dafa teachings well,” or “xxx practitioner has been on hunger strike for a week, xxx practitioner is leaving prison next month,” and so on.
There was only limited sharing about understandings of the Fa. There were also some disagreements among practitioners regarding specific issues and understandings, and some even resulted in distrust and misunderstanding.
Several practitioners proposed establishing a publication for practitioners in the prison to mitigate the lack of communication and sharing. As more practitioners heard about this, they thought it was feasible. After some discussion, the publication was called “Jin” (meaning diligent). Our goal was to increase communication and focus on sharing Fa understandings, stop the persecution, improve as whole-body, and do well in the three things.
There was much more, such as Falun Dafa news about overseas Fa conferences, publication of Master’s new articles, recent information regarding persecution in the prison, how to study the Fa and send forth righteous thoughts, how to persuade people to withdraw from the CCP and its affiliates, scenes from other dimensions, and discussion on special topics.
Practitioners with writing skills were encouraged to submit articles, and the materials were then edited, finalized, copied, and distributed by inmates in a ward that had a relatively relaxed environment. When that ward was closed, practitioners from several wards took turns producing the publication. By the end of 2009, five or six issues had been distributed.
Publications Important for Practitioners' Improvement
This publication played a very good role in helping practitioners improve as a whole-body. We published firsthand information from practitioners in the same ward, so that fellow practitioners could learn the truth and rectify any negative impressions. This effort quickly stopped any false information from spreading.
For example, one practitioner had been sexually assaulted by an inmate. However the incident was described as homosexual behavior, which led to misunderstandings among prisoners, even among practitioners. The editor published this practitioner’s personal account of the incident, so many practitioners learned the real story and were able to clear up the incorrect information that had spread.
The news of the Human Rights Torch Relay just prior to the Beijing Olympics really encouraged practitioners, but some of the discussions were also emotional. Master's article on the subject stopped that. Fellow practitioners’ sharing on righteous thoughts and actions also helped and strengthened newly-arrived practitioners. The detailed reports on persecution that was happening in different prison wards also allowed practitioners understand the overall situation in the prison, further adjust, and lock on targets while sending forth righteous thoughts.
We also published thoughts about helping those practitioners who had renounced the practice and suggestions on how to help them return to cultivation.
Clarifying the Truth to Guards
The editors of this publication suggested that all practitioners write to the guards to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa in January 2009. Most practitioners participated and wrote “stop persecution” types of articles. We eliminated the evil in other dimensions and shocked the evil people. We knew the evil was terrified of practitioners forming one-body.
Our sharing about persuading people to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations helped 80% to 90% of the inmates in several prison wards to withdraw.
I will always remember that practitioners persisted in their belief in Master and Dafa in the face of suppression, torture, and murder. This effort also removed many obstacles, improved cooperation, and created this publication in prison.
