(Minghui.org) Because of my belief in Falun Dafa, I was sent to prison when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to persecute Falun Dafa in 1999. I suffered tremendously mentally and physically.
Prisoners who received heavy sentences with long prison terms often became depressed. They became ill-tempered and acted irrationally. Therefore, those people were referred to as the “leaders of the prison” or “prison rulers.” Even the guards couldn't do much about them.
However, I could see their pain and I would talk to them with kindness. Teacher said:
“In extremely difficult situations and when the most evil beings act most savagely, we’re still able to be so merciful—this is the performance of the most magnificent Gods. When we’re in the midst of the worst suffering, we’re still saving others.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in North America” from Guiding the Voyage)
We had to do intense, hard labor for more than 10 hours each day. When we returned to our cells, it became noisy right away, as prisoners were constantly fighting or arguing with each other.
I said to my cellmates: “Your terms are long, and the labor is very hard. When you come back to this cell, you should treat it as a home, because we live and eat here. We are together because we have a predestined relationship. You should be more tolerant towards each other, then we will be in peace. Life is very hard already, what's the point of making more trouble for yourselves?”
A woman with the last name Wang said: “That's right! We will listen to you from now on!” She said I was a good person.
Another woman, also named Wang, said: “My sister, I like to listen to you.”
A cellmate named Xiaoyan said: “My sister, you are so fair, you treat everyone the same way. I will listen to you!”
Another cellmate, Xiaoxia, said: “My sister, whenever I do something wrong, please point it out to me. I know you are good to me.”
The atmosphere among us became much more peaceful. After a while, someone asked why we did not fight amongst ourselves in our cell. Wang said very proudly: “Because we have a good person in our room!”
A woman surnamed Guo, who worked in the same workshop as we did, often fought with and swore at others. She said if someone bullied her, she would swear at that person the entire day. Therefore, no one dared to get close to her.
I said to her: “Ms. Guo, please think it over. For all these years, you have been fighting with and swearing at others. Except for the fact that everyone is scared of you, what have you gained? How is your bad temper going to help you when you are interacting with your family members, children and people in society?”
She replied: “I have been like this for more than 10 years. I can't change!” I said: “As long as you have the heart to change, you will.”
Soon enough, she stopped swearing at others and said to me: “Whenever I want to swear at someone, I look at you, and I just cannot do it any more! I liked what you said. When I get out of here, I will practice Falun Gong! Let's keep in touch.”
Others began asking why Ms. Guo had changed. She pointed to me and said: “She was the one who changed me.” Another inmate said: “Falun Gong is truly amazing! It can even change a 'hardened criminal!'”
