(Minghui.org) Before I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998, my health was poor and I had a bad temper. My illnesses were resolved after I began practicing, and I became calm and kind. Because I refused to renounce Falun Dafa, I was detained and imprisoned many times, for as long as 15 years. But imprisonment and torture couldn’t shake my determination to cultivate.
I slept in the top bunk while I was imprisoned, and a woman who was convicted of murder slept in the lower bunk. I sometimes accidentally made noise when I got up to meditate. She cursed at me and said she wanted me to die. A few months later she was diagnosed with late stage rectal cancer, and had difficulty going to the toilet. When she could no longer bear the pain she asked me, “Can you please show me how to do the exercises?”
I replied, “Yes, I can show you, but it takes a long time to do all five exercises. I’ll start by teaching you to recite the two phrases 'Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.' Truthfulness means that you need to speak the truth. Compassion means that you become a good and kind person. Forbearance means that you don’t talk back or hit back when you are cursed at or hit. You hit back twice if someone hits you once, and you swear at the person 10 times if the person swears at you once. Are you able to put the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance into practice?” She said, “As long as I can recover from my illness, I can surely do it.”
I told her Master said, “When one’s Buddha-nature emerges, it will shake the World of Ten Directions.” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
When she was meditating on the third day, the inmate on duty saw her and reported her to the guard, who immediately called her into the office. The guard lectured her and cursed at her. She told the guard, “I won’t lose my temper even if you hit me.” The guard asked her why. She said, “The lady on my upper bunk taught me to recite Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good. My pain is gone and I feel comfortable when I recite these words.”
She did not have to work because of her illness. Instead she stayed in the cell. Ten days after she began doing the exercises, she came to the workshop. I was surprised and asked, “Why are you here?” She said, “I feel better, so the guard told me to come here.”
She told me that if she didn’t practice Falun Dafa, she would have died even if she were sent home on medical parole. She said that she was willing to stay in the prison for 10 more years if she could live.
She was released from prison earlier than me. Before she left I reminded her, “You must do the exercises and study the Fa. If you stop, your cancer will come back.” She said, “Yes, I will definitely continue practicing Falun Dafa.”
One inmate had severe emphysema and had difficulty breathing. I felt compassion for her when I saw how she suffered. I asked her, “Do you know the story of the lady in my cell who recovered from rectal cancer?” She said, “I know her. How did she recover?” I said, “She recited Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good, and she recovered. If you recite these words, your emphysema may ease.” She didn’t say anything.
When she came to the workshop that afternoon, she told me, “It works. It really works!” I asked, “Did you recite the nine words?” She said, “Yes, it really works. I usually have to stop five or six times and rest when I walk from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor. But today I only stopped once.”
She was not asked to work because she had emphysema. She gradually recovered after she started reciting the nine words, and was able to work.
One day I asked her jokingly if she dared to tell the guards that she benefited from Falun Dafa. She said, “Yes, I’m not afraid. Please tell me what I should say.” I said, “Tell them you recovered from your illness after a Falun Dafa practitioner taught you to recite Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good, and now you can work.” To my surprise, she actually told the guards.
She often asked her friends to remember “Falun Dafa is good.” But one person told her to stop talking about her story because the person believed the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda against Dafa. The inmate listened to her and stopped reciting the nine words.
When her emphysema returned she came to me again, and asked, “Can you please tell me those words again? I forgot.” I told her the nine words and she started reciting them. She recovered from her illness again.
After these two amazing experiences the guards were polite to practitioners. They no longer swore at us or beat us. They sometimes asked me what they should do when they were sick or their family members were ill. I told them to say, “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.”
Our Master is so compassionate that he even saves inmates in prisons. It is such a great honor that people can know about Falun Dafa, and that practitioners can assist Master in saving sentient beings! We must cherish this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
(Selected submission in celebration of 2025 World Falun Dafa Day on Minghui.org)