(Minghui.org) I live in a village in Shandong Province. I started practicing Falun Gong in 1997. Before cultivation, I had cancer and received chemotherapy. My life was miserable after the surgery. I lost all my hair. I developed eating and drinking problems and lost a lot of weight.
While I was struggling with the chemo side effects in 1997, a friend gave me the book Zhuan Falun. This is really a precious book. I read it every day so eagerly that I completely forgot about my disease.
The more I read the book, the more I liked it and cherished it. I put the book in a small box and placed the box in the best place in my home. I would always wash my hands with soap before I took out the book to read.
Although I did not clearly understand what it meant to cultivate, I behaved according to “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” Without being aware of what was happening, I was purified, physically and mentally, and became very healthy.
I felt myself to be the luckiest person in the world. Many villagers witnessed my changes and became Dafa practitioners themselves.
Letting Go of Ego and Saving people
When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution in July 1999, I was arrested and persecuted several times. I soon developed a strong attachment of fear. My fear was so strong that I would take another route if I saw a policeman or police car on the street. I would feel scared and tremble when I heard the sound of police sirens. I frequently woke up at night from bad dreams.
I thought of telling people the facts about Falun Gong, but I was afraid of losing my teaching job and my freedom. I was also worried that my actions might cause trouble for my relatives and affect my son’s college entrance examination. I just did not have the courage to step out, even though I clearly knew that this was not right.
To strengthen my righteous thoughts, I repeatedly asked myself: “Are you a Dafa practitioner? Should you speak out when Master and Dafa are slandered?” The answers were positive.
I studied the Fa nonstop and immersed myself in it. On two occasions, when I did meditation, I felt wonderful and very comfortable, as though I was sitting inside an eggshell. The comfortable feeling of being carefree cannot be described in words. I was relaxed, cheerful, and clear in thought. I could think about the persecution calmly, rationally, and intelligently.
Finally, from the bottom of my heart, I wanted to go out to save people.
My village did not have a Dafa informational material site at that time. I had no means to contact practitioners in the city, either. Since saving people could not wait, I asked other practitioners to make posters for me.
The message on the posters said: Falun Dafa is Good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Good, Falun Dafa is the Righteous Fa, and Heaven’s Law – Good is Rewarded with Good and Evil Provokes Retribution.
In one night I put up posters on every power line pole in the local marketplace, which is about six miles from my home.
My husband was worried about my safety. He stopped me from going out at night. I calmly studied the Fa while he kept watch over me. Once he went to sleep, I climbed over the neighborhood wall to get out.
One night, I encountered a police patrol car approaching from the opposite direction. The police generally go out at night to arrest practitioners. Without thinking, I left my bike on the roadside and jumped into a deep ditch to hide.
The moment I jumped in the ditch, I felt like I was caught by a big hand and lightly put down at the ditch's bottom. I knew Master had helped me. My tears of gratitude flowed down my face.
Other practitioners in my village later joined in one after another. On one dark night, another practitioner and I finished placing posters along both sides of one main street. We still had some posters left and turned into a rural road to put up the rest.
A cemetery was at the end of this rural road. It was very dark. The wind blew strongly, giving us an eerie feeling. Both of us were scared. I immediately realized this attachment of fear. I said to my partner, “Do not be afraid. Master is near us.” Before turning back we saw a car just passing by on a street not far away, the main street. We walked in that direction, but were stopped by a deep ditch. The only way to get to the main street was to carry our bikes and walk along a small path.
As we came to the street, I found the bike chain between the two wheels would not move. I remembered Master said that everything is sentient. I squatted down and spoke to the bike, “You also came for the Fa. You have done your job to the utmost extent tonight. Please take us home.”
Amazingly, as I finished the talking, the chain started to move.
In October 2002, I was arrested and sent to the police station along with other practitioners for two days before being taken to a detention center. I was severely beaten and passed out once.
In the beginning at the detention center, I was full of fear every time I tried to tell inmates the facts about Falun Gong. The attachment of fear subdued my righteous thoughts. That vexed me very much and made me sleepless at night. I knew that my fear came from the memory of brutal torture I had endured at the police station.
Master said in Righteous Thoughts and Righteous Actions in Hong Yin, Volume II:
A Great Enlightened One fears no hardshipHaving forged an adamantine willFree of attachment to living or dyingHe walks the path of Fa-rectification confident and poised
I recited this nonstop. I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate evil factors in another dimension. I rectified my words and acts. I completely put down my ego and unconditionally assimilated to Dafa. Two days later, my righteous thoughts finally overcame my fear. I then told the facts about Dafa to inmates one after another without fear.
Some inmates warned me. “Are you looking for trouble? You will be in grave danger if the captain finds out what you are doing.”
The head of the jail cells warned, “I will report you to the captain if you do it again.”
Thinking that Master would want me to save people and the captain would not dare to interrupt me, I smiled and said to the inmates, “I truly speak for your good. If you know the truth, can discern right from wrong, and believe that Falun Dafa is good, you will have an auspicious future.” Hearing that, they all smiled.
The inmates believed what I said. After understanding the truth, they followed the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance as much as they could to become good people.
An inmate who was an accountant said, “If I had known you earlier, I would not have come to this ghastly place. When I am released, I will practice Dafa and become a good person.”
The captain of the jail guards knew what I was doing from the monitoring camera. One morning, she called me to her office. I wanted to save her. I calmly sent righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors behind her.
I met her with a peaceful mind. She calmly asked, “Did you teach the inmates about Falun Gong?”
“Yes. They like to learn it because they want to be healthy like me,” I said.
“Why do they follow you?” the captain asked.
I said, “They have seen me calm and cheerful even when enduring hardship. They want to know about Falun Gong. They also want to become good persons.”
“How did you calm down that girl from Xinjiang who was considering suicide?” she asked.
I said, “I told the girl, 'Dafa practitioners follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be good persons. We practitioners are sent here even though we did not violate any law. We never think of suicide. We are always smiling in any situation. You must live to make up for the loss you have brought to your family and the society.' She listened to me and quickly let go of her suicidal thoughts.”
The captain said, “Days ago, this girl swallowed sewing needles to kill herself. She became rowdy and we had to put her in handcuffs.”
The girl's handcuffs and shackles were removed the next day. She thanked me for saying good things about her to the captain.
Our jail cell became very busy. Some actively memorized Master's poems. Some did the exercises. Some whispered, “Falun Dafa is good.”
Seeing their happiness after understanding the truth, I felt so good.
Our village has 170 families. Everyone knows that Falun Gong is good. When the persecution began, the CCP regime continually slandered Falun Gong and deceived countless beings through television programs, newspapers, and other media.
The lies were like the plague in our village; they poisoned every family. Villagers were no longer enthusiastic about Falun Gong. Some looked at us with suspicion. Some spoke to us coldly. Some went another way to avoid us and some disparaged us behind our backs and said we would cultivate into insanity. Some who were kindhearted advised us to give up the practice. Surrounded by the lies, most new practitioners gave up cultivation.
Only eight practitioners overcame the obstacles and firmly walked through the hardships. We met frequently and came to a consensus that we would save the villagers. Each of us took up 20 families.
The movement of quitting the CCP was not yet set up at that time. We just revealed to the villagers the viciousness of the CCP and helped them extricate themselves from the lies. We wanted them to discern between good and evil and made them believe the goodness of Falun Dafa from the bottom of their hearts.
The head of one family was deeply poisoned by the CCP lies. He badmouthed Master, Dafa and disciples. During my first visit, he did not listen and cursed me. On my second visit, he did not verbally abuse me and gave me a glass of water, but was still prejudiced. His daughter-in-law somewhat agreed with what I had said. On my third visit, he was still undecided, but his daughter-in-law completely understood the truth.
I visited another family. The homeowner sullenly asked me to leave before I could finish my greeting. I said to him, “I came to save you. Falun Dafa is a Buddha Law. You will not have a good future if you believe the CCP's lies.”
“I am afraid of knowing these things,” he said.
“Don't be afraid,” I said. “No one will find fault with you. The CCP only persecutes Dafa practitioners to stop us from saving people. It tries to bind itself to good people. It will be eliminated in time.”
When I visited him again, he happily asked me to sit and listened to me for more than an hour. Every member of this family understood the facts about Falun Gong.
After everything, we found that only one family in the village refused to listen, either the husband or wife in nine families knew the facts, and the rest completely understood the facts.
Quitting the CCP became a big initiative after the publication of Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. To have a good future, sentient beings must not only know the truth about Falun Gong, but also quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. I felt that we had to first convince the village officials to quit the CCP so that they would not stop other villagers from doing so.
The village party secretary didn't live in our village. I hardly ever saw him. One day, I called him in the morning and invited him to my home the next day. I sent forth righteous thoughts for a long time that night.
When he arrived, I advised him to quit the CCP. “I know that Falun Dafa is good,” he said. “but let's talk about it later.”
“Nobody knows what can happen and when. It is better that you renounce the CCP and its affiliates sooner. The gods will protect you. This will not affect your future.” He thought about it for a while, then agreed and asked me to help him quit.
Under the influence of our strong righteous thoughts, other village officials also quit the CCP.
Now, ten households in our village have the NTDTV dish installed and two are village officials. We will not give up on the two families who have not yet given up the CCP. We will continue to tell them the facts about Falun Gong.