(Minghui.org) I hadn't yet retired from my job as a teacher when I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1997. Some of my family members also began practicing. Though we were detained several times after the persecution began, through our persistent efforts to clarify the truth to our family and friends, more family members and friends began to cultivate, while others understood the facts and were supportive.
In May 1999, my husband asked for a divorce because he wouldn't give up his life of dissipation. I agreed and our two children stayed with me. My son later graduated from college and started working while my daughter, also a practitioner, made it to her third year in college, but was expelled because of the persecution.
Overcoming Tremendous Tribulations
After the Chinese Communist Party started to persecute Falun Dafa in July 20, 1999, my daughter, sister, and I went to Beijing to appeal to the government.
One night, my daughter was arrested and I couldn't find her. When my son heard about it, he came to Beijing to look for me and made a scene. “Sister is studying well in school and you brought her to appeal. Where is she now?” He cried and said that he wouldn't go back to work. I heard that he went to every local police station to look for her. My daughter was afraid that the school would search for her, so she refused to identify herself.
Later, my sister and I were also arrested and sent to the detention center. The police and my school ordered me to write the guarantee statement or else I would lose my job. The associate dean from my daughter's college came and asked where my daughter was. She threatened that if my daughter did not renounce Falun Dafa, she would be expelled even though she was the school's model student.
While all of this was going on, my ex-husband took advantage of my being detained and brought a woman from the nightclub and they stayed in my house. Before this, they were living together. It was really like what Master said, “Abundant troubles rain down together...” (“Tempering the Will” in Hong Yin) If I was not cultivating, I would have felt like Master said, “What am I living for? Why don’t I find a rope to hang myself and put an end to everything?” (Lecture Nine in Zhuan Falun)
However, after I obtained the Fa I knew everything was decided by Master. In the detention center, I decided nothing would upset me and I would focus on memorizing the Fa. In the beginning, I recited Lunyu one hundred times every day. Later, I increased it to two hundred times and also tried to control my mind from wandering. As I recited, my mind became more relaxed and my righteous thoughts became stronger.
Later, I told the police where my daughter was arrested, and they brought my ex-husband to the police department to take her home. The school made her take a year off and said that if the Party did not go against Falun Dafa the following year, she could return. Otherwise, she would have to quit school if she didn't write the three statements renouncing her belief.
Overcoming Lies and Persecution
I went back to work after being held in the detention center for a month. My supervisor pressured me to write a guarantee statement and the 610 Office ordered my supervisor to sign a liability form and monitor my actions.
I am a Dafa disciple and have a significant historic mission. Validating the Fa is my responsibility--how could I be controlled by these things? I continued to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa. However, because I had the attachment to doing things, a mentality of showing off, and a competitive mentality, the evil forces took advantage of my shortcomings and I was arrested and illegally sentenced many times. I won't describe the cruelties that I endured in the labor camp, prison, and brainwashing center.
After the beginning of 2000, my salary was suspended. My supervisor kept saying that I went to Beijing in 1999 to appeal and that I set myself on fire on Tiananmen Square. At that time, we hadn't heard of self-immolation, so I was confused.
Later, people from the organization department and the police department clarified that this did not happen. When the section head of the organization department came to talk to me, I asked, “Why did the supervisor spread rumors that I went to burn myself? How did he think of such a rumor? The goal of cultivation is to be healthy. Why would I burn myself?” The section head said, “Forget it. They already said clearly that it was a misunderstanding.” At that time, I really couldn't imagine how anyone could have had that misunderstanding.
In 2000, I heard a practitioner in the labor camp say that someone from the police department said to her, “If you can't figure it out, go to Tiananmen Square and set yourself on fire!” That practitioner retorted, “Why should I burn myself? I must stay healthy.” Looking back, I realize that the self-immolation hoax in 2001 had been in the works long before it happened and that the rumors that were spread prior to it were setting the stage.
During that period, my name would be mentioned by leaders at a meeting and they would blame me instead of the persecutors, saying, “She did not want to work. She refused to write a guarantee statement to have her salary reinstated. Her daughter was doing well in her studies until she brought her to appeal and went against the government. Now she can't return to school. It's so hard to get into college, yet she didn't care about her child's future. Our school has had bad luck because of her and was often criticized, and some superiors were even fired...”
At that time, rumors start spreading and I became the talk of the town in the whole region. I was infamous in the local area. The pressure on my relatives was great and fingers were often pointed at them. That made them resent me. The police department often threatened my son. My son found a girlfriend and was prepared to get married. However, when his girlfriend and her family believed the vicious lies on the television that claimed that Falun Gong killed people, she broke up with my son. He then resented me, too.
Some acquaintances began avoiding me. Others who knew me well tried to persuade me to renounce my belief, saying, “You were highly respected. Now look what's happened. The Party will win. If you think that this practice is good, keep it to yourself, but tell the authorities that you won't practice anymore.”
I continued to ask my school for my back salary, but they refused unless I would agree to write a guarantee statement. I refused. They later asked my ex-husband to write one on my behalf. I stopped them when I heard about it. I said, “I am trying to be a good person and do not violate the law. I don't have to guarantee anything to anyone. I know that your intentions are good, that you want to help me retrieve my salary. However, when you write a false guarantee on my behalf, it is not good for you. I deserve my salary. There shouldn't be any additional conditions.” Later, they fabricated lies about all this, saying that I didn't not know what was good for me, etc. and that I "deserved it" for not doing what they asked in order to get my back salary.
Master taught us,
“Wherever there's a problem, that is where you need to clarify the truth and save people. Don't take a detour when you run into difficulties. When you see something that does us harm, or when you see something blocking our validating the Fa, don't take a detour -- you should face it, and clarify the truth and save those beings. This is the compassion (cibei) of a Dafa disciple, and it's our saving lives. At the same time, when you're clarifying the truth you can resolve the problem of many people having been deceived, the misunderstandings, and the prejudice. After all, the lies in the propaganda from this evil persecution that's happening in China have misled sentient beings. They have covered up the truth with a deceitful show. When met with the truth, people will think things over carefully, and how people respond to all this is their own choice.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. Fa Conference” 2002)
I followed Master's teachings and clarified the truth to people who had been poisoned by the lies. I wrote and sent 60 to 70 truth-clarification letters to the authorities of all levels. I also clarified the truth face-to-face to the local authorities and I cleared up the rumors about me.
I told them, “Someone said I went to Beijing to set myself on fire. That was a lie intended to frame me. The Party withheld my salary in order to pressure me to write a guarantee statement. That is persecuting my belief and my human rights. They said that I do not care about my child's future. My child wants to practice Falun Dafa to be a good and healthy person but was expelled by the school for this. The authorities are persecuting her. As for the school being criticized because of me and some superiors being dismissed, this shows that the government is evil and corrupt. They persecute innocent people. You should not listen the evil instructions from your superiors and should blame the Party for all of this, not me.”
I shared this with as many people as possible.
Overcoming Financial Persecution
Since 2000 when the 610 Office passed down instructions to suspend my salary, whenever I was not in detention, I kept asking to have my salary reinstated. I was told that would only happen if I wrote the “three statements” renouncing Falun Dafa. I asked, “Which law says that a citizen can only receive their salary if they write the 'three statements?'" I was told that "the authorities" made this rule. I had asked for several years, and each time, I was only given a portion of my living allowance. I thought that it must be due to my not clarifying the truth sufficiently.
In 2007, I wrote and sent more than 70 truth-clarification letters requesting my salary be reinstated to the central and local authorities. Twenty days later, they told me I would receive my salary. They returned my salary card to me and even wrote an I.O.U acknowledging they owed me hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Later, I was arrested and sentenced again. After I was released, I clarified the truth and asked for my salary. I told my ex-supervisors, ex-colleagues, and friends how I was sentenced and showed them the illegal verdict. I explained how being persecuted in those places harmed my mind and body.
After they heard my story, some of my friends were very angry and said that this was a political persecution. Some ex-supervisors told me to sue the authorities. Some classmates and friends even went to the authorities on my behalf and requested my salary be returned.
All these people helped me willingly. They knew that there was no legal basis for arresting and sentencing Falun Dafa practitioners. I showed the truth-clarification letter to them for their opinions before I sent it out to the authorities.
After some authorities received the letters, they made repeated phone calls to the local department in charge and wanted them to return my salary right away. They even treated my letter as a document and distributed it. They re-emphasized that practicing in Falun Dafa and salary issues are two different matters.
Later, the local authorities resolved my salary issue, but did not return the full amount to me. Hence, I needed to continue to clarify the truth.
Witnessing the Miracle of Dafa – Relatives Changed Their Mindsets
There was a big change in my family members' attitudes towards Dafa. First, my mother witnessed how wonderful Dafa is after my sister and I were arrested and sentenced at the same time in 2000. My sister's nine-year-old son, who is also a Dafa young disciple, was like an orphan. My mother held the boy's hand and cried. She did not eat or drink for a week. However, she found that all her illnesses went away. She truly felt that the family members of those who practice Falun Gong are protected by gods and Buddhas.
My mother was worried that nobody would take care of her grandson. Then, out of the blue, one of my late brother-in-law's student's parents came from far away and offered my mother five thousand yuan for my nephew's tuition. At that time, he did not know that my sister had been arrested. He said that he would take care of the child's school fees and living expenses from elementary school to college and also wanted to acknowledge him as a godson. My mother said that this was an arrangement by the divine beings and by Master.
The police once knocked on my sister's door in the middle of the night. My mother held the door shut with all her strength and followed us by reciting, “Destroy all the evil! Destroy all the evil!” The police soon left.
In 2002, my mother said that she wanted to practice Falun Gong and we taught her. She is illiterate, so she listened to the voice recordings to study the Fa and practice the exercises. She also clarifies the truth and sends forth righteous thoughts. She is 85 this year and is very diligent in her cultivation.
My younger brother liked to read truth-clarification materials and had also read some of the Dafa books. Often, when my sister and I were arrested, he visited us and brought us money and necessities. However, he felt that no one could win against the Party and was a little afraid of the persecution.
In 2007 when I managed to get back my salary, he was amazed. In 2008, he said that he wanted to cultivate. He studies the Fa and practices the exercises every day, as well as sends forth righteous thoughts. However, he is still a bit fearful when clarifying the truth.
His wife does not work and stays at home to look after the children. Although she does not cultivate, she believes in Dafa. She often reminds my brother and mother that it's time to send forth righteous thoughts. The five-year-old granddaughter that she has been taking care of respects Master and reminds them to send forth righteous thoughts, too. My sister-in-law always asks her friends and relatives to recite “Falun Dafa is good.” She often tells others that our family receives blessing from Dafa. Everything goes smoothly for the children.
My other younger brother and his family live and work elsewhere. He believes us when we clarify the truth to him. However, he felt that ordinary people are unable to prevail against the government.
He once bruised his ribs playing basketball. By 3 a.m., he was in such pain that he wanted to go the hospital, but it was the middle of the night. He then remembered our advice to recite “Falun Dafa is good” and decided to give it a try. As soon as he said it, the pain disappeared.
He gave me a call the next morning: “You asked me recite 'Falun Dafa is good.' It works!” He told me excitedly what had happened. I told him to say it more often.
Since then, he has recited it every day. In 2011, he became very ill and his company arranged for him to have surgery. However, he did not go and chose, instead, to cultivate Dafa. After practicing, the illness disappeared quickly and he is very healthy now. Although he is a new practitioner, he distributes software that breaks through the Internet firewall to his friends and also clarifies the truth. He shares his Dafa books with people who wish to learn and he is very diligent in cultivation.
The rest of my family members believe in Dafa, too, and every Chinese New Year, all the relatives and children return home. Before we eat dinner, we first thank revered Master for his compassionate salvation and for giving us blessings. Those of us who are practitioners share our experiences.
It is really fortunate to be born in this time when Dafa is spreading.
