(Minghui.org) Before I began to practice Falun Gong, I made a living by cheating and harming others. I was sentenced to imprisonment four times for stealing, scamming people, and fighting. All that changed after I began to practice Falun Gong. I have become a more considerate and happy person by far.
I caught an unusual disease shortly before I got out of prison in June 2006. I was weak and had no energy at all. I was unable to defend myself when other inmates picked on me or beat me up.
My mother told me how she practiced Falun Gong and that she had been detained, tortured and brainwashed for refusing to give it up. I thought that Master Li Hongzhi must be really amazing because his disciples were so devoted to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance that they could endure anything.
I looked to Chinese and Western medicine for a cure after I got out of prison, but nothing worked. My mother suggested I try practicing Falun Gong. Initially I refused and lost my temper, but eventually, since I had no money for doctors, I decided to give it a try.
Major Decision
I met with a lot of interference as soon as I began. For example, whenever I picked up the book Zhuan Falun and started to read, I got sleepy.
My mom later showed me how to do the Falun Gong exercises. An amazing thing happened the first time I did them. My lower back pain disappeared and I was filled with energy!
My aunt and I went to the market on my bike one day. My aunt, who is in her 60s, was riding on the back. There was a deep ditch next to the road, and we almost fell in. Just at that very second, I thought to ask Master Li for help. Instead of tumbling into the ditch, we landed on the side of the road. My aunt fell off the bike but was not hurt. My mother later told me that I must have had righteous thoughts at that time.
I quit doing anything illegal after I began practicing Falun Gong.
Before, I would sell my blood if I needed money, even if I failed the blood test. Our village leader once asked me, “You used to do anything to get money. Now you suddenly have a conscience?” I told him, “I was wrong before. Now I practice Falun Gong. I want to be a good person and get rid of those bad habits.”
There were six or seven people in the room, and they all were surprised to hear me say that. One said, “Falun Gong has been banned since 1999. Don’t you know that?” He even called his supervisor and told him that someone in the village was practicing Falun Gong.
Considerate of Others
I practiced the exercises with my mother each day. She could sit and meditate for a long time, but I could only do it for a short while. I remember wishing that Master would help me sit longer, so the next time I sat for half-an-hour. I was very pleased, but that was the attachment of zealotry, which I recognized should be removed.
I used to think that I was born to be a boss, but now I was happy doing any kind of work. The more work I did, the more energy I had.
As Master said:
“Speaking of the great heavenly circuit, though you are not allowed to levitate, you will feel that your body is light, as though treading on air. In the past, you would be tired if you walked a few steps, but now it is very easy no matter how far you walk. You feel as if being pushed while riding a bike, and you are not tired when going upstairs—no matter how many floors there are. It is guaranteed to be this way.” (Lecture Eight, Zhuan Falun)
At work, I told my co-workers what I was like before I practiced Falun Gong, and how I had changed to be more considerate.
A fellow practitioner later introduced me to my wife to-be. We got married and moved from the countryside to the city.
Our motorcycle ran into a taxi one day. Everyone who witnessed the accident thought we had been killed. However, my wife had no injuries at all, and I only had minor cuts on my leg and feet. I stood up and told the driver, “I'm a Falun Gong practitioner and have my Master to take care of me. I will be fine.” I also made sure to tell him that Falun Gong was not like what was portrayed on television. The driver insisted that I compensate him 1,000 yuan for the damage to his taxi. I thought I must owe him from a previous life, so I gave him the money.
Several days later while I was riding my motorcycle, I was hit by that same taxi driver. My possessions were scattered all over the ground. The driver came to apologize. I said, “I'm a Falun Gong practitioner, so I won’t ask for any money from you. Now, let’s find a broom and clean this up.” My arm was hurt and bleeding, so the driver drove me home. My neighbor said the taxi driver should pay me at least 500 yuan. I refused to ask for money, and the driver said he had truly met a good person.
In 2004 while my wife was in the hospital, she was burned by hot water and scarred. Someone told me that I should sue the hospital for 50,000 yuan. But I thought that, as a Falun Gong practitioner, I should not do that. When the head of my village heard about it, he said, “If he did not practice Falun Gong, he definitely would not have behaved like that.”
Clarify the Facts
The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published in 2004. I read it and thought it was very accurate, so I bought a small printer to print it out and distribute. A year later, I was sent to a detention center for handing out the Nine Commentaries. Even though guards beat me, I told them about how I used to be.
“I used to do what you are doing to me now, but now I've changed,” I said. “Beating and abusing people is not the right thing to do. You need to change, too.” One of the police officers who knew me from before said, “You've become considerate.”
I said, “I changed and began thinking of others first after I began practicing Falun Gong.” I told him that he should quit the CCP. He whispered that he had already quit with the help of a practitioner.
In the year 2005, I was later arrested and taken to a labor camp. I was locked in a dark room and given little food or water. I was not allowed to use the bathroom or to sleep. I was abused like that for over one month. Against my will, I was forced to write down some words smearing Falun Gong. Later, I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” They beat me for it, so I shouted it twice more and the guards treated me better.
As Master said:
“When disciples have ample righteous thoughtsMaster has the power to turn back the tide”(“The Master-Disciple Bond” in Hong Yin Vol. II)
More than 10 detention center officers came to my house a month after I was released from the labor camp. They asked me what I thought about Falun Gong. I told them, “The day I was released, I made a formal statement that I would continue to practice Falun Gong. Falun Gong is a righteous practice. It is the Party that is a cult, not Falun Gong.”
They were so shocked that their faces changed color. One of them said, “Haven’t you been 'transformed?'” I said, “ You guys know how I was forced to 'transform:' You did not allow me to sleep, eat, drink water, or even go to the bathroom. I refused to be 'transformed' for nine months and went on a hunger strike.”
I studied the Fa every day, practiced the exercises, and sent righteous thoughts. I slept for only a few hours. I also worried about the people who did not know the truth. I handed out materials, and when I had no money to buy paper to print more, I bought a bucket of paint and used it to write “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” on public places, including the police station gate.
Because I kept talking to people about the persecution, I was arrested and sentenced to prison for four-and-a-half years. After I was released, I was left in poverty. Many people gave me rice, flour, and other basic items that I needed to live. They knew that I had changed and was no longer a bad person, and they also knew that the reason for this was because I had been practicing Falun Gong.
These are my experiences. If I've said anything inappropriate, please kindly point it out.
