(Minghui.org) Greetings, revered Teacher and fellow practitioners.
I am a Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) practitioner from Heilongjiang Province and have been cultivating for 20 years. This is the first time I have ever participated in a China Fahui.
My mother visited me in a small mountain village in Jilin Province in the summer of 1999. I saw her reading a book and doing some exercises every day. I was curious. She told me that the book was Zhuan Falun and that she was practicing Falun Gong, a cultivation way of the Buddha school. I was interested and wondered if it could help me quit some of my bad habits. My mother encouraged me to try it.
At that time, I had many bad habits: I drank, I smoked, I gambled, I fought, and I beat my wife. Because I was prone to trouble, my wife always worried about me. I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn’t control myself.
After I began to read Zhuan Falun, I was deeply impressed by the principles described in it. I joined the group Fa study and did the exercises every day. Gradually, I changed and got rid of my bad habits. I felt surrounded by the Buddha's blessings.
Someone in our Fa study group had severe diabetes. She fully recovered after practicing Dafa for a short period of time. Witnessing her recovery further strengthened our faith in Dafa.
Shortly after I began to practice, however, the persecution of Falun Dafa began. Propaganda slandering Dafa flooded the media. All the practitioners in our Fa study group quit. It was difficult for me to continue, and my wife and I hid our Dafa books. But it was impossible for me to completely let go of Dafa in my heart. After I drifted away from Dafa, my bad habits returned. I was upset about myself every day but did not know what to do.
I moved to another city in Heilongjiang Province in 2006. Teacher arranged for me to meet the local practitioners and, with their help, I resumed the practice. I once again got rid of my bad habits. My relationship with my wife improved and we got along well. I worked diligently and treated people with kindness.
I have two children, a boy and a girl. My daughter’s health was poor since she was born, and she got sick easily. When she got sick again and wouldn’t stop crying, my wife and son decided to take her to see a doctor. On the way, they met a practitioner who put an amulet with the words “Falun Dafa is good” next to her. She immediately stopped crying and then fell asleep. They returned home instead of seeing the doctor. A few hours later, my daughter woke up fully recovered and started playing.
My wife witnessed our daughter’s amazing recovery and decided to practice Dafa. She used to have severe heart disease and bone hyperplasia, from which she recovered after practicing Dafa for three months.
Practitioner Ming invited me to distribute brochures about Falun Dafa and clarify the truth with him in the winter of 2006. I was excited, but the other practitioners were not happy to see me, someone they didn’t know, due to security concerns. I felt awkward, but Ming said he would team up with me.
On our way to our destination, we sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate any interference. Through my third eye I saw Falun shielding our destination. I knew that Teacher was encouraging me.
We went out in groups of two. When I put a brochure on the first door, I saw it radiating a bright light. These people were so fortunate to receive such precious information.
When I was about to put a brochure on another door, I saw a dog inside about to bark. I said to the dog, “I am here to save your owner.” The dog seemed to understand and did not bark.
During another trip to a village, one house was off by itself about 100 yards away from all the other houses. I was about to walk to it, but the other practitioner tried to dissuade me.
I said to her, “Let's not miss any house.” She said, “Sure, I will send forth righteous thoughts for you.” When I returned from leaving a flyer at the door, she asked me if the person she’d seen had asked me anything. I was bewildered since I did not see anyone, just a pile of bricks. But she said there was a person by the house. When I looked back, the pile of bricks was gone.
Nine of us—three men and six women—went to the rural areas to hand out Falun Dafa brochures in July 2009. My wife was one of them.
After we were done with a couple of villages, I was on my way home to fetch more brochures when I saw police cars driving around the villages where we had just been.
Practitioner Ling saw me and said, “The police are coming. Let's leave.” She got on my motorcycle and we started to drive away, but a police car was blocking the road just ahead. Ling dismounted and ran. I calmed down and kept heading toward the police car. All the officers began to chase her, as if they didn’t even see me.
I stopped by the police car, wondering how to help her. Suddenly I heard banging from inside the car. Another practitioner was locked inside and couldn’t roll down the window. I found a big rock and was just about to use it to break the window, when the window went down on its own and she jumped out. I took her to a safe place and another practitioner took her home.
I came back and continued looking for Ling and the other practitioners. By now, all of our cellphones were off. I roamed around without thinking about my own safety or worrying about my wife, but I did not find anyone else. A practitioner called me around 4:00 p.m. and told me to go home. I found out later that three practitioners were arrested, including my wife.
Efforts to rescue them were started that same night. The coordinator was concerned that I would be interfered with due to sentimentality for my wife and did not ask me to participate. Back home, I studied the Fa with a calm mind. I knew that human sentimentality could not interfere with me and I should join the rescue effort.
I talked to the coordinator about how I felt the next day and shared my idea of inviting the director of the Domestic Security Division for dinner. She agreed. The director accepted my invitation and came to the dinner with his wife that night. Two more practitioners joined us.
We did not beat around the bush but got straight to the point shortly after we began to talk. The director was very surprised that I was a Falun Dafa practitioner. He agreed that it was good to have a faith. We shared our personal stories with him and his wife and told them how wonderful Dafa is and why the government persecutes Falun Dafa. His wife expressed her interest in reading Zhuan Falun after she learned the truth. The director agreed to release the practitioners.
All three practitioners returned home two weeks later.
Over a dozen of us went to a rural area to distribute Falun Gong brochures in May 2009. We were reported, and the local police came.
Seven police officers chased me until I tripped and fell. They surrounded me before I could get up. Just as they were about to kick me, I cried out, “Teacher, save me!” Their feet stopped in mid-air, very close to my face. Teacher froze them. It would be hard to imagine the consequences if Teacher hadn’t protected me.
They took me to the police station. Another practitioner called me right after I got there. I quickly told him that I was in the police station and hung up, slipping the phone into my pocket. The police ordered me to turn over my phone. I refused since it had many practitioners' phone numbers in it. I said, “You will never get it.” They all came up to me and tried to take it away but simply could not. They were puzzled, but Teacher protected me again.
Later, only one police officer, Wang, was left to guard me. I told him the truth about Falun Gong and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He quit the CCP.
Two more practitioners were brought into the station. Wang was ordered to monitor the three of us. When I needed to use the restroom, Wang led the way. I asked him if the gate was locked. He said the front gate was but that the side gate was not. He also pointed out the side gate.
When I came back, I noticed that we were being held in a room near the side gate. It would be easy to jump out of the window and escape. I told the two others what to do. Then I took Wang out into the hallway to chat with him. We heard the sound of the gate closing and smiled. Five minutes later, he hinted at me to escape, too, but when I got back to the room, I saw that practitioner Ming, who was older, was still there. He said that he was too tired and said I should go. I did not want to leave him behind and decided to stay. Wang told us that his shift was about over and there would be no chance for us to escape after that. But I knew that everything was under Teacher's control.
Police officer Chen replaced Wang to guard us. I also told him the truth about Dafa and the atrocities committed by the CCP. To my surprise, he wanted to hear more about Buddha and cultivation which I told him. He withdrew from the CCP and its youth organizations then told us “not to escape” and went to take a nap. I understood and told Ming we could escape together. But he still could not, so I chose to stay behind with him. When Chen woke up and saw us still there, he shook his head.
After Chen's shift, Zhang replaced him. He listened to me tell him the truth about Falun Gong and went to sleep. When he woke up the next morning and saw us still there, he said, “You have no more chance to escape. Officers from the Domestic Security Division are coming to take you.”
Ming and I were taken to the detention center. In our cell, I began to send forth righteous thoughts, but Ming was too afraid to. I knew that Teacher was with us, and I was not afraid. When the head cellmate heard that I was detained for practicing Falun Dafa, he was respectful.
That first night, we got up to do the exercises. But in the middle of doing them, the chain on the cell door rattled, so we quickly went back to our beds and pretended to be asleep. One guard came over and cursed us. I realized that I had the attachment of fear and decided to do better the next day. The same thing happened the next night. After I heard a chain rattle, I did not move and finished doing the exercises. I heard footsteps but nothing more. I did the exercises every night after that.
With the help of our local practitioners, we were released in 15 days.
I worked in a factory polishing granite in 2010. I hired four laborers to do a particular job. They finished the work, but the client was not satisfied with the luster and insisted it be redone. Otherwise, he would deduct 4,000 yuan from what he owed. It was close to the Chinese New Year, and the laborers did not want to redo it, so I asked them to split the 4,000 yuan loss between them and they agreed.
However, after I went back to my hometown for the holidays, they found me and demanded I pay them 4,000 yuan. I refused. Then three of them began to beat me up.
I recalled what Teacher said:
“What is a heart of great forbearance? As a practitioner, the first thing you should be able to do is to not fight back when you are beaten or sworn at—you must be tolerant. Otherwise, what kind of practitioner will you be?” (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun )
I am a practitioner and did not fight back. Instead, I just stood there. The area around my eyes was hurt and bleeding. That frightened them and they stopped.
I said, “You have done enough beating.” They flinched. I told them, “You don't need to be afraid. I would not fight back since I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. If you are done, you should leave.” I felt that I was huge and they were tiny.
One person who came with them offered to take me to the hospital. I thanked him and went back to my brother's home. My brother was furious when he saw me and wanted to take revenge.
I said, “They would not be my opponents if I fought back like before. I did not want to fight with them now.” He said that I was foolish and also told me I should go to the hospital. I told him that I would recover after I read a chapter in Zhuan Falun.
He and my other brothers were so skeptical that they watched me read. When I was done, the bleeding stopped, the swelling disappeared, and the torn flesh was closed. All they could say was: “That is amazing.”
I took a job offer in Lhasa, Tibet, a few years ago. When I boarded the train to Lhasa, two railroad police officers came over to confirm my seat number and then ordered me to come with them. I followed them with one thought in my mind: “I will save both of you.”
In the next car, they stopped and told me to open my luggage. One of them said, “You are still smiling. Let's see how long you keep that up.” They found my laptop and told me to unlock it. I complied. The older police officer began to browse through it. The younger one told me to unlock my cellphone, too. I obeyed, and he handed it to the older officer, who asked me if I still practiced Falun Dafa. I replied, “Of course, it is such a wonderful practice.” The older officer told the younger one to guard me and left.
I began to chat with the young officer, “Why are you doing this kind of work? You are so young.” He answered, “Falun Dafa practitioners set themselves on fire.” I knew that he’d been duped by the self-immolation hoax. I asked Teacher to help me eliminate the evil elements behind him and save him. I told him the truth about the self-immolation. He listened carefully and understood. He told me that he would never do anything like this again. I said that he should stop right here. He agreed. When the older officer came back, he just left. I was happy that a life was saved.
The older officer told me to follow him. I did it cheerfully and asked Teacher to help me save him as well. We stopped between train cars and he said, “Don't try to lecture me. I am a veteran communist Party member.” I just smiled at him. He told me to delete the Falun Dafa e-books on my tablet and make a video recording of renouncing Falun Dafa. Then he would release me.
I told him, “If I do what you ask, it would be really bad for you.” He was surprised and asked why. I told him that Falun Dafa is a cultivation way of the Buddha school and that it would be a really bad deed if he made a practitioner damage the Buddha Fa. He was shocked at what I said and mulled it over.
Then he said, “As long as you tell me that you will quit the practice, I will let you go.” He called me stubborn and was about to smear Dafa. I stopped him right there and told him more about Falun Dafa and the evil things the CCP was responsible for.
He listened attentively and understood how bad the Party is. He asked, “What should I do with you?” I replied, “That's easy. Just let me go.” He smiled and released me.
I was so happy to see him smiling. I felt Teacher's compassion, his presence, and his protection.
After more than 20 years of cultivation, I continue to have this amazing feeling—it is wonderful to have a Teacher.