(Minghui.org) I did not have many hobbies when I was young, but I liked to help those who were bullied, so I often ended up fighting with others. After growing up, I became an armed police officer and accepted another job upon retiring.
I got along well with gangsters and had many bad habits, including smoking and drinking. Together with my bad temper and impatience, I was considered a troublemaker both at work and by my family.
In my heart, however, I believed in Buddhas. Sometimes I looked up into the sky, wondering where my real home was. When I was young, I often saw a Buddha standing not far away from me. All these experiences made me long to be a monk.
Influenced by Dafa
I heard about Falun Dafa in March 1999, at the age of 31, after having been exposed to the corruption practiced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). My thoughts centered around entering a temple.
The coworker who introduced Falun Dafa to me knew me very well. He once said to practitioners, “He is a strong demonic influence. This could be the one and only chance for him to get to know Dafa.”
I agreed to watch Master's video lecture. Seeing Master Li Hongzhi's hand gestures at the beginning of the video, I suddenly understood everything and knew that this was a real Buddha. I asked for a copy of Zhuan Falun and began to read it from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. the next day. After reading Zhuan Falun, I learned that this qigong was a cultivation practice. When I read that Falun Dafa practitioners follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I thought that I could accept its principles.
I became a Falun Dafa practitioner. I was smiling every day and was very happy. As I was unable to sit with my legs crossed, I asked others to hold down my legs. It took me one month to manage to meditate with both legs crossed. All my bad habits were gone. The officials at my workplace were surprised that I had turned into a good person.
Quite a few practitioners and I went to Beijing on April 25, 1999, for a peaceful appeal. Upon returning to our hometown, we clarified the truth about Dafa to people in many places.
I also learned to improve my xinxing. One day when I was riding a bike, I was hit by a car and the bike was totaled. Had I not practiced, I would have fought with the driver. As I was a practitioner, I considered this an opportunity to practice forbearance and improve my xinxing.
Onset of the Persecution
After the onset of the persecution on July 20, 1999, many practitioners and I went to the provincial capital to appeal for the right to practice Dafa. Police officers dragged us into a bus and took us to a police academy, where we were told to give them information about ourselves. I refused to do so and went home.
When I went to the group exercise site the following day, there were only a few practitioners. I decided to visit other group exercise sites and met some practitioners. We realized that group Fa-study and group exercises should not stop. Then I heard that some practitioners had turned in their Dafa books and written statements that maligned Dafa.
There were many plainclothes police officers near the group exercise sites. Many practitioners were hesitant and did not know what to do. I shared my understanding, “Master has taught us to be compassionate and become better people. There is nothing wrong with that. We cannot turn in our books or slander Dafa.”
A few practitioners and I went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Dafa. Before the trip, I saw Master standing in a white kasaya with one palm raised. He also gave me hints to read poems in Hong Yin (such as “Assisting the Fa”, “Benevolent Might”, “Nothing Kept”) and articles in Essentials for Further Advancement.
After arriving in Beijing, we heard that Jiang Zemin, the former leader of the communist regime, told overseas news media that 99% of practitioners had stopped practicing after he banned Falun Dafa. To refute the lies, we collected many signatures from practitioners and turned them into the United Nations. Over 60 practitioners and I unfolded a banner in Tiananmen Square. I was arrested and taken to the Chaoyang Detention Center. Then I was detained in a local detention center for 27 days.
Upon hearing that practitioners from Anhui Province had to walk to Beijing because they could not afford the trip, I bought some food for them. Police officers then surrounded the mountain to look for us. They took me to the Chongwenmen Police Station, but I was able to escape.
Brutally Tortured
Police arrested my wife, me, and several practitioners in November 2000, and detained us for 19 months. I suffered torture during that time.
Guards tied my hands and feet to an iron chair on January 19, 2001. They also pressed a metal bar against my belly and locked both ends. After eating dinner, a couple of guards tortured me. Two of them released my wrists, pulled them up behind my back, handcuffed them again, attached a nylon rope, and pulled them back and forth. They exposed my back, and one guard shocked me with an electric baton, from neck to waist, back and forth, again and again. I felt excruciating pain.
I was sweating after a few minutes but refused to answer any of their questions. One guard told others to treat me even harsher. A guard kept pushing my arms, while others poured cold water on my back while shocking me with the electric batons. After a while, I lost consciousness. They poured cold water on me and I regained consciousness.
The guards then tied me tightly with rope. When they did this for the third time, the guards pulled even harder, stretching my arm from the back over the head to almost touching my thighs. At the same time, two guards pushed down hard on the chains that were tied around my feet. I lost consciousness once again. After regaining consciousness, I found that they had poured cold water over me and my upper arm had turned black. The guards then went downstairs for a shower.
After a break, the guards tortured me even more brutally. They shocked my neck as well as my private parts with electric batons. They also inserted the baton into my mouth to shock me. This went on for several rounds and officials wanted me to admit to what they claimed other practitioners said so that they could convict all of us.
The torture lasted for about 30 hours. After returning to the cell, I slept three days and two nights straight. I had fractures in my ribs and left foot. I had difficulty breathing and my blood pressure was unstable. My arms and legs were black from the bruises.
Other practitioners were also tortured and interrogated that night. The methods included being tied to an iron chair, feet being chained, tiger bench, stretching arms from the back over the head, pouring cold water on the back and shocking with electric batons. There was one practitioner whose belly was torn open by a guard with a metal rod.
One guard said that he had another torture method. If someone refused to admit guilt, the guard would break a beer bottle and insert the remainder with the sharp edges into that person's anus. He did apply this to a practitioner later on. The practitioner screamed in pain, but did not tell him anything.
Imprisonment
The local court scheduled a hearing for me and 12 practitioners in autumn 2001. About 1,000 practitioners stood outside the courtroom to protest. The hearing was canceled.
The second hearing was scheduled for March 6, 2002. Officials from the local court and procuratorate were present. I testified that Falun Dafa helped me to become a better person, but I was tortured for my belief. During the adjournment, guards beat me and shocked me with electric batons to stop me from testifying.
At the third hearing on March 8, 2002, I was sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment.
Four inmates were assigned to monitor me around the clock. I told the guards that they were violating my human rights. Since I had done nothing wrong, there was no reason for us to be imprisoned and watched by criminals. The guards had no answer to that and told the inmates to stop. More practitioners were imprisoned, and we exposed the torture. One political instructor in the prison stopped persecuting practitioners after listening to us.
When prison officials found out that we were studying the Fa, they tortured us. One practitioner was put on a death bed with four limbs stretched in all directions. Another practitioner had his private parts squeezed hard. After a practitioner lost his life as a result of torture, all of us protested. Because of that, several practitioners and I were transferred to another prison on February 23, 2003.
Refusing to Yield
When I first arrived at the new prison, family visits were allowed. Then, they intensified the persecution and asked “transformed” practitioners to brainwash us. I did not talk with them nor write a statement to renounce Dafa.
After returning to the cell, I thought about the torture experienced by these former practitioners. They could not bear the torture and helped guards “transform” practitioners. To help practitioners remain determined, I went into the hallway and shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” One guard kicked me and I was sent to an isolation cell. No one was allowed to speak with me or even look at me. Family visits were forbidden.
A practitioner was beaten with a belt. He shouted, “Master, please help me!” The guard immediately stopped beating him and told inmates to treat him well. Inmates asked this practitioner every day about Falun Dafa and got a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.
Then I overheard that after one 610 Office agent went to Beijing to report the prison's accomplishments, he came back with an order from Luo Gan, Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (PLAC). Luo instructed the prison to intensify the torture against a few practitioners, including me and two other determined practitioners. There would be no consequences even if we were tortured to death, said the order.
I knew that one of the practitioners on the list did very well. On freezing cold days, guards poured frigid, salty water on him and left him outdoors for a long time nearly naked. After his skin was burnt from electric shocks, guards covered it with paper and pulled it off after it dried to increase the pain. He was chained to a bed for a long time. Still, he did not forget to talk about Dafa. One inmate who monitored him quit the Party.
Because he refused to write statements that defamed Dafa, this practitioner was shocked with eight electric batons simultaneously. Seeing the practitioner's back all burnt, I shouted, “Falun Dafa is good!” Guards heard it and asked inmates to beat me. They kicked me in the face, knocking out a tooth.
Master's Encouragement
Officials took away my family visitation rights. My wife looked for me everywhere and was later allowed to see me. She came by train every month and encouraged me. Time went by quickly and our infant son was soon in school. My wife had learned to be independent, taking care of herself and the child. Other practitioners also helped her and sent forth righteous thoughts for me. Then, family visits were stopped again.
By the spring of the ninth year, nobody had spoken with me for over a year. The guards then came up with another idea. They forced me to stand facing a wall. Inmates were assigned to watch me and I was not allowed to talk with anyone. The extreme loneliness sent me into despair. With no access to the Fa for a long time, I had many questions: Is Master still looking after me? When would this end, so that I could get out of this hell? People here are already rotten, what is the point of saving them? I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
In those darkest and scariest days, I suddenly remembered that, when my wife visited me the last time, she reminded me to recite Lunyu. Even if I did not speak, I could always recite Lunyu. So I stopped the random thoughts and began to calm down, reciting Lunyu again and again.
One day when reciting Lunyu, I saw a large picture on the wall and it was a publication prior to 1999 with Lunyu printed on it. After a while, the characters became round and began to rotate, and later turned into individual Falun. On the wall, I saw a person opening a stone door and flying out. He arrived at Lantau Island in Hong Kong and with both palms pressed against each other, bowed in front of Master's Fashen (Law Body). I was surprised and happy, knowing that it was encouragement from Master.
When I lay in bed that evening, suddenly a demon said to me, “Ten years have passed. You will not attain Buddhahood or reach consummation. Too bad you have wasted 10 years here—so much suffering with no consummation.” I was shocked and thought to myself: Even if I could not achieve Buddhahood or reach consummation, I would not complain about it. This is because Master Li had taught me to be a better person and follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. There is nothing wrong with it and I would continue with this no matter what.
One day when folding a blanket after getting up from bed, I saw through my celestial eye one of Master's poems,
“A wicked person is born of jealousy.Out of selfishness and anger he complains about unfairness towards himself.A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion.With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy.An enlightened person has no attachments at all.He quietly observes the people of the world deluded by illusions” (“Realms” from Essentials for Further Advancement) .
I read the characters one by one and recited them. Then, a blue Falun emblem appeared above the blanket. As I was eating, I saw Falun in the bowl, too. I drew a picture of Falun with my spoon while remembering Master's poem,
“Eating, but caring not to taste—The palate’s attachments severed.Doing, but without pursuit—So constant, abiding in the Dao” ( “Abiding in the Dao” from Hong Yin) .
I heard Master telling me to follow the requirement described in the article “Realms” from Essentials for Further Advancement.
A guard asked me to report one day later, but I refused, so I was beaten. While continuing to recite the Fa, I saw Master's Fashen in a white kasaya pushing me up from a dark cave. I fell down again and Master pushed me up again. This went on several times. My celestial eye also saw the following passage from one of Master's articles:
“The principles of Falun Dafa can provide guidance for anyone’s cultivation practice, including for one’s religious beliefs. This is the principle of the universe, the true Fa that has never been taught. People in the past were not allowed to know this universe’s principle (the Buddha Fa). It transcends all academic theories and moral principles of human society from ancient times to this day. What was taught by religions and what people experienced in the past were only superficialities and shallow phenomena. Its broad and immense, profound inner meaning can only manifest itself to, and be experienced and understood by, practitioners who are at different levels of true cultivation. Only then can one truly see what the Fa is.”(“Broad and Immense” from Essentials for Further Advancement) .
I read it and memorized it word by word. In addition, I remembered many lectures that I had memorized in the past.
The guard asked me to do calisthenics, and I began to do the fourth set of Falun Dafa exercises instead. But, it had been a long time and I could not remember the movements. A guard then turned on the television and forced us to watch brainwashing programs. One scene showed Master teaching the exercises. This helped me remember the exercises one through four. I knew that Master was still looking after me.
One night, my celestial eye saw Master putting the scene of Jesus being nailed onto a cross in a box. I was enlightened that persecution like this against gods will not exist in the future, nor will practitioners be mistreated like this in prison. Master does not acknowledge the persecution.
Master also showed me that practitioners around the world were doing exercises in the morning at 3:50 a.m. Then I saw a scene from the Shen Yun performance. I also saw a candlelight vigil by Canadian practitioners dressed in white. From these, I learned about the Fa-rectification.
One day I could not do the exercises, so I sat with both hands overlapping each in the jieyin position. I saw white energy rotating in my hand. A lotus flower carrying Falun was rotating in my brain. My entire hand then changed into the book Zhuan Falun and I saw Lecture Four and Lecture Six. A yellow book appeared with words Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. Strings and strings of Falun flew from the sky and entered my brain, showing me many Fa principles. I also saw Falun rotating from my abdomen to my heart, which rotated when I recited the Fa and stopped when I stopped. Then, I saw Master's poem,
“With Zhen Shan Ren nestled in the heart,Cultivating oneself, in turn, betters a society.With Dafa never off the mind,Surely you will transcend others in time.” (“Clear Harmony” from Hong Yin)
I also saw my main spirit shining, and as a hard substance like diamond. Master took out my spirit to clean it. This went on many times, during which I was given hints, and which displayed the Fa principles. I came to understand that various life forms had been produced in different dimensions and at different times. The life forms also differed from each other. In addition, although substances could be transformed into other forms, they could not be purified. Only through Falun Dafa could one improve one's mind and truly attain health. However, it is impossible for these substances to return to their original purity, just like polluted water. But Master could turn the bad and impure into good.
Looking Within and Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts
Before practicing Falun Dafa, I had a temper and often fought with others. After beginning to practice in March 1999, I started to look within and improve myself, but I did not read enough Fa teachings. Then, I joined the April 25 peaceful appeal and began to oppose the persecution after it started in July 1999. Then, I was detained, with no access to the Fa or opportunities to discuss or share with practitioners.
One practitioner was later detained in the same cell as me. He recited Hong Yin Volume II every day, sang songs composed by practitioners, and told me how to send forth righteous thoughts. Guards found out and brutally beat him. I was upset and felt strong resentment.
One day, I could not find a pair of tweezers that was needed for work. Then, I found it inside layers and layers of wrapping. The practitioner and I looked at each other and smiled. Master was telling me to look within for solutions.
Then, I had the symptoms of thrombosis and could not move my legs on the first day. The second day I could move them, but they were still painful. I ignored it and walked as usual. I recovered on the third day.
My celestial eye saw a sword of righteousness, which could detect evil. One practitioner was sitting there with this sword penetrating him. When this practitioner chose to let go of jealousy, lust, and showing-off, the sword of righteousness would cleanse his body. I came to understand that one should let go of human notions. When I was able to look within and forsake these human notions, I saw my spirit walking upwards, and gods watched this with respect while placing their palms against each other in the heshi position towards me. When reciting “When the Fa is Right” and “Sage” from Essentials for Further Advancement on the following day, I suddenly saw my spirit leaving the Milky Way.
When detainees were doing calisthenics, I did the fourth set of Falun Dafa exercises. Guards took me to a room and shocked me with eight electric batons simultaneously. As I was lying on the floor, my celestial eye saw words from Master's poem “The Knowing Heart” from Essentials for Further Advancement II,
“Grand talk counts for naught when it comes to life and death, Actions reveal what is true.”
The electric currents shook my body, but I did not feel any pain. I found my body was covered with blisters and my skin was burnt. “Is your Master good? Will you still practice after going back?” asked the guard.
I did not reply, but I saw a golden Fashen of Master above the guard. I knew this was a hint from Master for me to send forth righteous thoughts. When the guard shocked me again, the baton stopped working. He threw the batons to the side, muttering to himself.
“Falun Dafa is good. I will continue practicing it,” I answered. Frustrated, the guard told me to go back to the cell. This was the first time that I witnessed the power of sending forth righteous thoughts.
Very often I saw in front of my forehead and eyes the Dafa principles Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I also saw Falun rotating and rising. In addition, there were heavenly maidens spreading flowers or flying. There were also life forms with a female upper body and phoenix lower body, who were playing drums, encouraging practitioners to remain diligent.
This way, tribulation after tribulation passed, and I became more diligent. I came to understand that the evil wanted to destroy me, but Master was helping me—someone full of karma—to succeed in cultivation.
Master also helped me enlighten that no matter what kind of situations we are in, we always need to look within, and then send forth righteous thoughts.
Later on after getting up in the morning, I would do the exercises and send forth righteous thoughts, thus cleansing the entire dimension around me. I only slept two hours each night. Throughout the night, Maser taught and enlightened me. I could thus study and recite the Fa.
In 2011, I was released and returned home.
Keeping Firm Faith in Master
During the most difficult days of being detained for 10 years and 1 month, I complained out of despair and fear. But as long as we have full faith in Master, there is no tribulation that we cannot overcome. At critical moments, we need to be clear that we are disciples of Master Li Hongzhi. That is, we want nothing but the Fa. With that, Master will reveal the Fa to us, explain the Fa principles, and give us faith.
I could feel the compassionate and considerate care from Master and the Fa. I also want to advise practitioners that since we have begun to cultivate in Dafa, no matter what had happened in the past, our thoughts should be righteous. No matter how difficult it is, regardless of the situation we are in, we need to have firm faith in Master and the Fa. This is because compassionate Master is looking after us every moment.
(From the 15th China Fahui on Minghui)
