Dafa Guided Me Through the Long, Difficult Years of Imprisonment

(Minghui.org) I began practicing Falun Dafa in January 1998. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began the persecution on July 20, 1999, I went to Beijing many times to appeal for Dafa. I organized local practitioners to step forward to validate the Fa and participated in various truth clarification projects. However, because I did not pay attention to studying the Fa, I was repeatedly persecuted. I was incarcerated in a forced labor camp and imprisoned for more than ten years.

In that most evil and terrifying environment, I reflected on my past shortcomings. I said to Master in my heart, “Master, I haven’t done a good job. I will correct myself, but I do not acknowledge the old forces’ arrangements. I do not accept this kind of persecution. I don’t want anything that is not arranged by Master.”

I begged Master in my heart, “Master, I am a Dafa disciple, so I have to study the Fa,. I can’t do it without the Fa.” When Master saw that I had this heart to seek the Fa and make progress, He made compassionate arrangements so that I could study the Fa wherever I was.

Through studying and memorizing the Fa, and under Dafa’s guidance, I maintained righteous thoughts and denied the persecution. Master, thank you for your compassionate protection!

Below is my experience of resisting the persecution and creating an environment to save sentient beings in forced labor camps and prisons.

Denying the Persecution at a Forced Labor Camp

Most of the people in the labor camp who tried to transform practitioners were former practitioners. I wanted to bring them to their senses and turn them around. When my righteous thoughts were strong, I truly felt that Master revealed the Fa principles to me. Sometimes five or six people coordinated to try to transform me, but I wasn’t afraid, and I refused to listen when they pressured me. Many of these people learned the truth about the persecution.

One group of people specialized in helping the prison guards transform practitioners. Since I wasn’t transformed, they came up with other ways to persecute me. They made me sit between them, and then read bad books to me every day, all of which were evil and harmful. I didn’t want to cooperate. One day, I stood up, took the book, tore it up and said, “If you read these evil and rotten things to me, I will tear them up. I will tear up a hundred copies if you bring them.”

They reported what I did to the captain of the prison guards. He asked me, “Do you mean to tear 100 copies of these books?” I told her I did. She asked me to sign the transcript, but I refused. She said, “Oh, Dafa disciples talk about Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, why don’t you sign it?”

I said, “They read those evil things to me so loudly. This is persecuting me. I tore it up when I couldn’t bear it.” The captain left. From then on, no one dared to read those things to me.

I resolutely refused to cooperate with physical punishment. When I closed my eyes to send righteous thoughts, some inmates were told to poke my eyes, but I refused to open them. I told them, “I will not open my eyes no matter what you do.” The guards wouldn’t allow me to sleep. At noon other inmates went to sleep, but a guard told an inmate to watch me and not let me sleep. I said, “Who arranged this? I have to sleep.” They couldn’t make me comply with their orders.

My environment improved a lot because I followed the teachings of the Fa. When I erected my palm and sent righteous thoughts, the captain shouted, “What are you doing?” and I said I was sending righteous thoughts. She said, “You can’t do that here!”

I said, “It seems many things aren’t allowed to be done here. We aren’t supposed to be beaten, so why do you tell them to beat me?” I continued sending righteous thoughts. I felt my thoughts were so powerful that my whole body felt warm.

The forced labor camp asked us to listen to a brainwashing speech. I resolutely resisted. The four captains carried me all the way to the hall downstairs. I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” One captain even sarcastically said, “This psychopath, quick, take a video of her, she is crazy. She was a very civilized person, but now she has become like this.”

I immediately sat up and said, “Yes, record me. I was fine at home, but now I am like this. Take a video.” After hearing this, they were silent and left. I realized that I couldn’t just refuse to cooperate with the police, but I also had to expose their wrong deeds. I had to let go of my fear, worries, and notions. When I really let go of everything, I could dissolve the evil factors in other dimensions and change the environment.

A miracle happened when I was in solitary confinement. It was winter and very cold. There was no heat inside the room. I was handcuffed and shackled to a tiger bench. I kept shouting, “Falun Dafa is good!” I also recited the Fa and sang Dafa songs. Before I knew it, I felt my body heating up. It was getting hotter and hotter. At this moment, I heard a “click,” and something fell on the ground. The tiger bench was broken into pieces, and only a handcuffed rod was left on my arm.

The captain saw it on the surveillance camera. She and a group of people came and took me out of the cell. How could the iron tiger bench be shattered? Ordinary people can’t understand it, but I personally witnessed the boundless power and miracles of Dafa.

The forced labor camp could not hold me any longer because I refused to cooperate with them, was not “transformed,” did not wear the uniform, or do hard labor. I exposed their wrongdoing and resisted the persecution. The director personally ordered me to be transferred, and they sent me to another brigade. There, I quickly created an environment for studying the Fa. I transcribed Zhuan Falun twice and memorized the Fa.

Dismantling the Persecution in Prison and Creating an Environment for Fa-Study

I was sent to an intense training prison division to be transformed. A lot of evil in other dimensions was gathered there, and I had a hard time breathing. I couldn’t recall any Fa and couldn’t bear the pressure. When it was the most trying, I shouted, “I’m a Falun Dafa practitioner, I can’t be like this!” My main consciousness was awakened.

Because I refused to be transformed or cooperate, they did not want to keep me. The section chief transfered me to another prison division where I was asked to work every day. I told myself, “Once I start to do labor, it will never end. Dafa disciples aren’t here to do labor. If I can’t study the Fa or send righteous thoughts, I will be finished. I shouldn’t do labor. I must make a breakthrough.”

I silently begged Master, “Master, I want the Fa.” Soon a practitioner who was detained in another team gave me hand-written copies of Zhuan Falun, Hong Yin, and other books. It was a miracle and I knew this gift was given by Master.

After receiving Master’s teachings, I talked to the captain, “I don’t do labor.” While I was away, Xiaoyun, the head of the production team, stole my books. I cried aloud, “Let me tell you: Dafa is more important than my life! I can give up anything; I can give you whatever you want. I can accommodate and tolerate you, but the Dafa books cannot be touched. I will use my life to defend them. Whoever took them, hurry up and return them!”

After I protested several times, Xiaoyun said, “In the future, I will help you. The only condition is that you don’t ask others for the books. I will help you get the books.” Since then, I have had an environment to study the Fa. Whenever there was an inspection, Xiaoyun helped me hide and protect them. I studied and memorized the Fa every day. I was extremely grateful to Master for the environment that enabled me to study the Fa in prison.

When my prison term was up, the transformation regime intensified, and the persecution of Dafa disciples who did not "transform" escalated. Some of them were severely beaten and were even admitted to hospitals. One of the prisoners sent a message to me, saying it was my turn and told me to get ready. After hearing this, I thought, “'Transformation' has nothing to do with me, nor was it arranged by Master, so I don’t want it. This was a trap set for me by the old forces. I cannot be moved by other people’s words.”

So whenever someone told me to be prepared, I always smiled and said, “It’s okay, the transformation has nothing to do with me.” I just kept one thought, “I don’t want it if it wasn’t arranged by Master. It has nothing to do with me.” In the end, nothing happened to me, and I was released.

Some people thought that my family bribed the guards, so that nothing happened to me. In fact, I knew in my heart Master protected me. I completely followed Master’s teaching, so the old forces’ arrangements were dissolved.

Protecting Other Practitioners

Whether I was in a forced labor camp or illegally detained in prison, whenever I saw other practitioners being tortured, I felt sad and anxious—it felt like I was persecuted. I never turn a blind eye or stand by idly. I definitely stand up to stop the torture, help fellow practitioners dissolve the persecution, and at the same time uphold Dafa.

Once, in a forced labor camp, a male guard tried to beat a female practitioner named Guilian. When I saw it, I said, “What are you doing? Don’t beat her. Can’t you just talk? Why do you want to beat her?” Then he stopped.

Another time, I saw a group of people holding a person with her mouth gagged and handcuffed. I thought: this must be a fellow practitioner. I ran over and tore out the gag and shouted, “Don’t persecute Dafa disciples!” Two people from that team tried to beat me. I yelled, “In broad daylight and in full view of everyone, how can you do this kind of thing! You even gag and handcuff her. You are violating human rights!” I kept shouting, “Falun Dafa is good! The persecution of practitioners is intolerable!” Because of this incident, the captain punished me.

Once, when a few wicked people in the forced labor camp tied up an elderly practitioner and tortured her, I heard the practitioner’s cries of pain in the next room, so I went over and kicked the door open and pointed at them. I said, “What are you doing? Stop! Don’t you want to accumulate some virtue for your children and grandchildren? Let her go.” One man threatened me, “I’ll tie you up tomorrow.” I said, “How dare you?” I ran down the corridor shouting, “Someone is being beaten!”

After a while, the captain came and asked me angrily, “What are you going to do? Why are you shouting?” I told her what I saw. When she took me up to the room, everyone had left. They accused me of having visual and auditory hallucinations. The captain slapped the table and glared at me, “Who’s beating whom?” I named all the people involved. I said, “Captain, I believe that you didn’t do this, you didn’t order them to do it.” The captain had to say, “Right, I just let them scare her.” I said solemnly, “But captain, you are also within the scope of the law. If you exceed your authority and you instruct them to do this, if they really hurt or disable people, you will also be legally responsible. For your own sake, you shouldn’t tell them to do that.” The captain immediately said she would punish them. Since then, this kind of persecution has stopped.

A practitioner named Mei was a college student in her twenties who was persecuted and imprisoned in the forced labor camp shortly after graduation. This young practitioner was very determined. Someone told me, “Oh, you see so-and-so [practitioner Mei]. She is finished; she is punished every day and deprived of sleep. People pull her eyelids when she closes her eyes. Because of the sleep deprivation, her lips are bluish.”

I was sad and anxious when I heard this, so I said to this person, “Can you do me a favor? When you go to see her again, tell her: ‘You are too obedient, see that so-and-so [referring me] is not obedient at all.’” I wanted to take this opportunity to remind Mei not to cooperate with the persecution and to deny the old forces’ arrangements.

When I heard that Mei was in solitary confinement, I went on a hunger strike. The captain asked me angrily, “What are you doing? You are on a hunger strike again, why are you doing that?” I said, “I heard that Mei is jailed in solitary confinement. It is so cold there! I am on a hunger strike to protest.” Later, Mei was released from solitary confinement and was not transformed.

I saw a practitioner who was beaten by an inmate in the workshop. I ran over and helped her get up and shouted, “Don’t beat practitioners!” I was dragged back and an instructor slapped me. I shouted to her, “I won’t let you beat me!” She was stunned. Another prisoner was sent to beat me. I rebuked her mercilessly. That night, this prisoner had a stomachache. After this incident, when I stood in line at night, I shouted at the crowd, “The instructor violates the law and beats people!” Since the guards were afraid of being exposed, I shouted every day for several days. After that, no one dared to hit me. As long as practitioners were beaten, I protested.

Once, a captain tried to persuade me to do forced labor, saying, “You don’t need to 'transform,' just do some labor. I will reduce your sentence.” Every inmate there wanted their sentence reduced, but as a Dafa disciple, I couldn’t do that. I told myself, “There will be other practitioners coming in the future. If I don’t create the environment here and cooperate with evil to do labor, then what kind of environment will other practitioners have? I have to consider other practitioners. I can’t leave a calamity for my fellow practitioners to walk into.”

Balancing the Relationship Between Practitioners and Sentient Beings

If we do not have a proper relationship with sentient beings, it is easy for us to have conflicts if they are being used by negative beings; it can even lead us to develop an antagonistic relationship with most people. If this is the case, the evil would achieve its goal, isolate practitioners, and deprive people of the opportunity to meet us, understand the truth, and be saved.

If someone asked me for help, I did as much as I could. Some of them were assigned hard labor and they were punished if they couldn’t finish. I helped them for an hour or two. Some came to me and begged, “Help me sew it.” I said, “Okay, just leave it there.” They were all grateful.

I also tried to help them as much as possible with daily necessities such as food, clothes, and other things. Whoever treated practitioners nicely, I would find a way to give them a small gift to express my gratitude. Little by little, they were willing to talk to me. They trusted and respected me because they felt my sincerity, kindness, and forbearance. Practitioners have selflessly benefited the people around them, and also changed the environment.

For the sake of the prisoners around me, I had the courage to speak out for everyone. Everyone was willing to help me. In the General Education Brigade, I had no trouble reading and memorizing the Fa. When there was an inspection, the whole team helped me hide my Dafa books. They understood that as long as they helped me to practice, I could help them in other ways and that I’d do good for them from the bottom of my heart. When I was tortured, they fed me, and when I was sending forth righteous thoughts, they quietly helped me.

Once, I refused to work overtime at night. The captain pointed to four prisoners and said, “You guys, go beat her!” She repeated it three times, but nobody moved. In the past, as long as she gave the order to beat someone, people would comply. The captain then said, “You guys will have extended sentences.” Still, no one moved. I told the captain, “What are you doing? You instruct others to beat people, are you worthy of being a captain? Is this what you should be doing? If they want to beat me, you should stop them. How can you manipulate them to beat me? How can you extend their sentences? You are breaking the law.” She saw that no one cooperated with her, so she finally left.

Stopping Persecution Is a Manifestation of Compassion for Sentient Beings

From the Fa, I also realized that when facing persecution, denying and stopping it not only upholds Dafa, negates the old forces, and dissolves the evil, it also saves sentient beings. Not allowing sentient beings to participate in the persecution is a manifestation of compassion for them. If we don’t stop them from carrying out persecution, how much karma will they generate?

I realize that we should not endure, cooperate, or accept the persecution. Some of us feel helpless and think: if you beat me, I will gain virtue from you. But, isn’t this thought selfish? I didn’t wear prison uniforms and refused to do labor. A captain once scolded me for being lazy, but I told her, “I’m not lazy. I haven’t broken the law or committed any crime. I believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I’m a good person. I don’t need to be re-educated through forced labor.” She had nothing to say.

I realized that once we understand and conform to the Fa and prioritize saving others, who can persecute us? I remember one year I was arrested by the police. They thought that I knew a lot of information that they wanted to extract to persecute more practitioners, so they intimidated me. They interrogated me for hours.

I told them, “Yes, I know a lot of things, but I can’t tell you anything. Why can’t I tell you? Because I’m a Dafa disciple. I believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. You are all doing bad things. It will not be good for you in the future. The persecution of Falun Dafa is a campaign in which you are the executors of the order, but you are also victims. I didn’t do anything bad. You are committing crimes by persecuting me today. If I betray others, and if you persecute others based on what I say, then your future sins will be even greater. For your own good, I can’t tell you.” When I said this, I felt that all the evil dissolved and the interrogation ended.

Epilogue

After more than ten years of being imprisoned, there are too many things to write down. This is only a part of what I’ve experienced. I’ve only highlighted the positive things in my cultivation, but I still have a lot of notions, attachments, and big loopholes, which made me suffer and caused big losses.

Master saw that I had a heart to firmly cultivate and defend Dafa, so he used the Fa to guide me step by step to get out of the persecution and validate Dafa, thus accomplishing my cultivation process in the prison.