Former Drug Addict Finds a New Life

(Minghui.org) I smoked cigarettes since the third grade, and I was a drug addict for five years. In 1998, a fellow villager, who had been a heavy smoker himself, told me about the amazing effects of Falun Dafa. He said he practiced Dafa and suddenly quit smoking after reading the section about smoking in the book Zhuan Falun.

I didn’t quite believe it, so he read the passage about smoking to me. After that, I felt that cigarettes tasted different: They had a burnt taste. I was impressed and started to practice Falun Dafa. I quit my long term smoking habit!

Learning to Become a Better Person

I went to a local park and participated in doing the exercises taught voluntarily by fellow practitioners. They were very kind and patiently taught me all the movements. I also attended a group Fa-study at night and gradually understood that Falun Dafa teaches people to cultivate their xinxing and strive to become better people.

I used to drink, and I even beat and scolded my wife and children. After I began to practice Falun Dafa, I quit drinking and was no longer abusive to my family. I started to do honest business and stopped making fake products and deceiving people.

I also quit my drug addiction with ease after practicing Falun Dafa. I haven’t taken any drugs for the past 21 years. Dafa helped me understand the true meaning of life. When I quit the drugs, smoking, and drinking, I did not suffer any withdrawal effects like I had before. I felt completely reborn, very healthy, and pain-free. It was just like Master Li Hongzhi said:

“Because our practice is one in which the Fa refines practitioners, this means that some situations will arise from gong and the Fa. In the course of practice, different levels produce different situations. So someday or after my lecture today, some people may enter into this state.” (Lecture Seven, Zhuan Falun)

Being Persecuted by the CCP

Jiang Zemin’s regime and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched its persecution of Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999, about one year after I started practicing. That day, I was illegally arrested and imprisoned in a detention center for practicing the exercises at the sports center. I was detained for over 50 days and fined 4,000 yuan, 2,000 of which was for so-called transportation expenses.

I became a better person by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Falun Dafa is free to everyone and benefits our country. Why does the government prevent us from cultivating Falun Dafa? Moreover, freedom of belief is a citizen’s constitutional right, and one should not be deprived of it.

I decided to go to Beijing to seek justice for Falun Dafa. After I arrived, I heard the government was depriving its citizens of their right to appeal. When practitioners went to the appeals office, they were arrested and imprisoned. So I decided to borrow some money from another practitioner and go home. However, a group of officers arrested us when we met.

After taking us to a detention center, the officers tried to extort confessions from me and imposed fines. While I certainly would not admit to any of their false accusations, they subsequently began torturing me.

I was later taken back to the detention center and forced to do slave labor. Four guards once took turns torturing me continuously for a week and did not allow me to sleep. They also turned the air conditioner on in the winter and forced me to wear only very thin clothes. They then tied me to an iron chair.

My feet became swollen due to my being tied to the chair for a long time. I was so tired I fell asleep while being forced to stand. They beat me and poured cold water on me to wake me up. Even so, I kept telling them that Falun Dafa teaches us to be good people, and that I hadn’t broken any laws.

I was in poor shape from being tortured when I arrived back in the prison cell. But the guard still forced me to do slave labor work. I got up one night and practiced the exercises. The guard found out and put heavy shackles on me. I could not stand, eat, or go to the restroom. Some inmates were asked to feed me and take me to the restroom. However, they often stopped feeding me and even just threw me on the floor of the restroom. I could not walk or even stand after the guards removed the shackles. I also suffered from memory loss.

Although the police could not extort a confession from me or find any evidence, they still imposed unfounded charges on me and imprisoned me for a year and a half. I was heavily brainwashed and forced to watch video programs that slandered Falun Dafa every day.

Under pressure from the torture and brainwashing, I gave up practicing Falun Dafa against my will. During my imprisonment, my family was also broken apart. My wife was in Guangzhou. My son was with my brother in the countryside, and my daughter was with my brother-in-law.

After I was released, I became a bad person again. I often drank and scolded my wife and children. I played mahjong, smoked, or drank almost every day for over two years. My health condition deteriorated, and I had to take a lot of medicine. My life was bitter, tiring, and empty. I often missed the great feeling of having no illness while practicing Falun Dafa.

Returning to Cultivation Practice

After Falun Dafa turned me into a good person, the CCP turned me back into a bad one. I knew my behavior was no longer worthy of being a practitioner. When I did bad things, I was worried that people would say I was a Falun Dafa practitioner, which could give people a bad impression. I felt conflicted and very remorseful.

With the help of fellow practitioners, I had the good fortune to start practicing Falun Dafa again. The bone hyperplasia in my neck disappeared within a month. I quit smoking and drinking again and no longer played mahjong. I now have a healthy body and mind, and I became a kind person again. Falun Dafa is truly good!

I worked as a security guard in the market and often faced many challenges of personal interest. For example, many sellers in the market often charged me less. I tried my best to return the money and explained I could not take advantage of them as I cultivate the Buddha Fa and follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I also looked for opportunities to clarify the truth to them.

I went back to my hometown a few years ago and told an old friend and his wife how I benefited from practicing Falun Dafa. It happened that his mother walked by and mentioned she had a severe toothache. I told her to recite the nine magic words, “Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” She recited it a few times and told me she no longer felt any pain. She benefited from Dafa because of her pure heart.

The world needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Many people recovered from the virus by reciting these phrases, witnessing the miraculous effects of Falun Dafa. The CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa has greatly corrupted society’s morality. All Chinese people are victims of the persecution. They should not think that the persecution has nothing to do with them.