(Minghui.org) I am an elderly Falun Dafa practitioner who started cultivating around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in 1998. Although I had a busy schedule, I finished reading Zhuan Falun in two days. I was very excited that the biggest mysteries in life were unlocked for me. I firmly believe that reading Zhuan Falun was the greatest honor in my life. I have since preceded without hesitation on my cultivation journey.
Within less than two months of Fa study and exercise practice, many of my chronic diseases had disappeared. I no longer suffered from stomach problems, migraines, or back pain. I was deeply impressed by the supremacy and glory of Falun Dafa cultivation practice.
Unfortunately, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Jiang Zemin, utilized the Chinese communist regime to persecute Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. I was shocked and wondered why anyone would persecute such a supreme cultivation school.
Despite the persecution, I remained determined to clarify the facts to save people, even though I experienced fear and family pressure. If everyday people could be grateful for small mercies, a Dafa practitioner who has benefited from Falun Dafa cultivation should surely be grateful to Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa. Seeing that Master was framed, Dafa was slandered, and sentient beings were being poisoned, how could I live like a coward? With these understandings, I stepped up to clarify the facts.
I was arrested not long after I started to clarify the facts and put into a forced labor camp for a year. One morning, as I was lining up in the yard in the camp, I felt my body tilting forward, and my right foot was unsteady. In the evening I was not able to get up. I became paralyzed.
The guard, who was sympathetic to Dafa practitioners, said to me, “I won’t sleep tonight. I will record all your symptoms so that you will be sent home soon.” The next morning, the labor camp officials sent me to a hospital, where it was determined that the right side of my body had become paralyzed. My wife was informed and came to take me home that same day.
Realizing that I was bedridden, my wife cried, but I was very clear that I must hurry up to do Fa study, send forth righteous thoughts, and plead for Master’s blessing. I thought that if I could once again stand up, I could truly validate Dafa. I recalled that before I began cultivating, a fortune teller told me that I would be bedridden for 13 years and then die.
My second son wanted to take me to a hospital. I said, “I am not going there.” My son asked, “You are paralyzed. Why not go to the hospital?” I replied, “I will get better soon.” He then asked, “How long will it take?” I answered with confidence, “A maximum of ten more days.” “If you can recover within ten days, I will learn Falun Gong from you,” he said.
Beyond my son’s expectation, after ten more days, I was able to stand up and walk slowly!
All my family members and relations witnessed again the miracles of Falun Dafa cultivation! When I visited my elder brother, he pointed at me and told his neighbor, “You see, you see, my brother became paralyzed, but within ten more days, he was able to walk unexpectedly. After more than two months, he was able to do manual work.”
In order to allow more people to learn the facts about Falun Dafa, I purposely took a picture of myself in a martial arts pose and sent it to the forced labor camp guard who had helped me in the camp. I hoped that he would pass on the message of my recovery to all the guards involved in the persecution so that they could see how miraculous Dafa was. I hoped this would shock them and awaken their benevolence and conscience so that they would treat Dafa practitioners kindly.
Sure enough, a month after I sent the letter, three people from the local 610 Office came to see me. They asked my neighbor, “Does Ben live here? We are from the local 610 Office.” I thought it was a good opportunity, so I opened the door with a smile and welcomed them.
They were surprised to see me. I offered them a chair and some watermelon. One of them spoke out, “We have no special purpose for this visit. We've had little communication with you recently. Today we just came to see you. We are not recording this conversation and you can say whatever you like.”
I talked about Falun Dafa for more than an hour. Below is a summary of our conversation.
“Thank you for coming to see me. I first want to explain the peaceful protest at Zhongnanhai. There were about 10,000 practitioners standing outside Zhongnanhai, but they were all orderly and no one held banners with slogans. It was an absolutely civilized petition. After meeting with the then Premier Zhu Rongji, the practitioners dispersed quietly without leaving any litter behind. Such a civilized and peaceful petition could be rated as a moral model rather than a siege.
“Secondly, the self-immolation on Tiananmen Square was a hoax. The Falun Gong principles do not condone suicide, so why would a genuine practitioner commit self-immolation? Why did it happen on a day that the police were patrolling with fire extinguishers on Tiananmen Square? Isn't that odd? Why don’t they carry fire extinguishers every day as they patrol? Was the self-immolation planned? Please think it over.
“Thirdly, our Master teaches the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in Falun Gong. Whoever practices cultivation must behave in line with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be a good person - then one can be counted as a genuine practitioner. Up to now, there have been over 100 million Falun Gong practitioners around the world, ranging from high-ranking officials to the general public, including celebrities, scholars, and experts, etc. If you haven’t practiced Falun Gong, how can you comment on whether it is good or not?
“Since the persecution started, many practitioners have gone to Beijing to petition for Falun Dafa. They just want to speak out from their hearts to say, ‘Falun Dafa is good! Master is innocent!’ Please form you own judgement whether Falun Gong is good or not. Have we ever used any violent means to petition? We have not. You are all intellectuals who can identify good and evil. I hope you can adhere to the truth and benefit society and future generations.”
After listening quietly to what I said, they stood up and we shook hands. “About today,” they said, “we will both keep quiet, which you should appreciate.” I nodded and saw them off. I was sincerely gladdened by their kindness.
I was arrested by the local police again a few years later. On the way to the forced labor camp, I was thinking about how to eliminate this unexpected persecution. I absolutely couldn’t accept the evil’s persecution.
After arriving at the camp, my blood pressure was checked, and the reading exceeded 220Hg. A doctor said, “The reading is too high.” The other doctor advised to use another device to check again. But the reading remained the same. The doctors advised it be checked again after half an hour, as the hypertension might be caused by tiredness from travel. But the reading still remained the same. The doctors refused to accept me and I was sent home.
Last year, a few practitioners and I visited a local 610 Office to ask for the unconditional release of a fellow practitioner. The 610 Office locked us up in the local detention center, on the grounds that we had posted letters to the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Supreme People's Court to sue Jiang Zemin. The police carried out an illegal interrogation of us and we all refused to answer any questions. After 15 days, we all returned home with righteous thoughts.
Looking back over my ten-plus years of cultivation, I walked my journey with many tumbles. There have been too few success stories, and too many failures. I really feel ashamed after receiving so much of Master’s mercy.
In the limited time remaining, I must hurry up to study the Fa more, look within, do the three things well, to save more people, and go home with Master.
A humble bow to Master! Heshi!