Coming Across Falun Gong Whilst Spending Time in Detention for Assault

Before I started to practise Falun Gong I was sentenced to a year in detention for assault. In the detention centre, I was fortunate enough to meet several Falun Gong practitioners. I used to be deeply misled by the state-controlled media, and I believed the lies told by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) about Falun Gong.

As time passed, and I lived with Falun Gong practitioners day and night, I gradually came to know the truth about them. They are not like what was described on TV. They are all good people and follow the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." However, even though I knew that they were good people, I did not think of learning Falun Gong from them until one day something miraculous happened.

I was not in a good health. I suffered from kidney problems, heart disease and other illnesses that the doctors could not clearly explain. I suffered a lot and it cost a lot of money in medical bills. Even though I took a lot of medicine, my situation never changed. Sometimes my hands and feet felt like they were burning and I would have to put my feet against a cold wall to cool them down. Later on, I learnt from Falun Gong practitioners that I could try to cross my legs in the lotus position and sit for a while if my hands and feet start burning. The burning started and so I sat with my legs crossed for over 10 minutes, and the heat under my feet suddenly disappeared. It was truly miraculous.

After that first experience, I practised the sitting meditation every day. Gradually, I felt that my health was different from before and that my morals had also improved. When someone cursed me, my first response was to argue with them - but then I would think of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." I thought that I needed to be tolerant, so I tried keeping quiet and just allowed them to continue their cursing. This kind of forbearance is really different. Before, if I kept quiet I would feel somehow suppressed. But this time I felt very light, as if a wide door had opened up. I was amazed and decided to learn more about Falun Gong from the practitioners. However, we were constantly monitored in the wards and I could not learn the exercises.

Later on I was transferred to a ward without a monitor. The detainees there were all Falun Gong practitioners. I quickly learnt the five exercises and memorised the founder of Falun Gong, Master Li's poems from Hong Yin as well as several articles by Master. I started to practise cultivation. I knew that I needed to let more people know the truth, giving them a chance to practise Falun Gong. More than 40 days later, one of the practitioners was released, and the rest were sent for re-education through forced labour. I was sent back to the old ward. By that time, I had become a different person. I had recovered from my illnesses and my mind was different from before. Even the supervisors noticed the changes in me. I spoke to them about Falun Gong, telling them the facts. I told them that Falun Dafa is a righteous cultivation practise and that Jiang Zemin spreads lies via the TV and other various media. Therefore everyone in the ward who knew me knew that Falun Dafa is good.

It was not long before I encountered a tribulation. It was about 40 days before I was scheduled to be released, and I was found practising the Falun Gong exercises at noontime. I was interrogated later. They asked me what I was doing at noontime and whether I was practising Falun Gong. I said, "Yes, it is Falun Gong," and clarified the truth about Falun Gong to them. I told them that when I arrived at the detention centre I was weak and suffered from many illnesses, and that now I had recovered through practising Falun Gong. They did not want to listen and talked about extending my term. I thought, "I have Master, and Master will take care of me." The next morning, I was called in again. The leader was there too. She cursed me and said that they would extend my term. I was not afraid. I told them that my health recovered after I practised Falun Gong and my illnesses were all gone as a result. They did not want to listen to the truth. They handcuffed me and ordered me to write a letter to apologise. I returned to the ward. I did not know what to write, but I knew that I should not write anything saying that I would give up cultivation. Therefore I wrote down the truth, telling them that Falun Dafa is good. When they read my letter they thought it was another means to spread Falun Gong and ordered me to rewrite it, therefore I added some statements to praise their work performance to the end of my letter. They then approved my paper. (At that time, I hadn't had the chance to read the Falun Dafa book, Zhuan Falun). They did not extend my term when it was due. I knew it was Master that protected me.

After I was home for a while, my mother and many people I know started practising Falun Gong one after another. They are all very diligent. It is just as Master said, that if one person practices Falun Dafa, people around will also benefit. I feel truly blessed to be able to practise Falun Dafa.