My Experience with Practitioners in Prison

Note: This article is the experience of a prisoner who was detained with Falun Gong practitioners. He was required to watch Falun Gong practitioners. During the years he stayed with practitioners, he saw them protesting the persecution, standing up for what is right whilst displaying great virtue. Now, he practises Falun Gong.

I first learnt about Falun Gong in 1998. At that time, in large parks and squares, Falun Gong practitioners were found doing the exercises in the morning. At that time, I thought Falun Gong was simply a kind of exercise that could help to prevent diseases and keep people healthy. I had a new understanding after spending time with some practitioners.

Inside the prison, I saw for the first time Falun Gong practitioners' steadfast and unyielding faith. They did not fight back even when they were unreasonably beaten and insulted by guards and prisoners enticed by guards. I was so shocked that I was dumbfounded when I saw practitioners just clarifying the truth to them. At the same time, I had more questions. Later, I learnt Falun Gong practitioners' principles are "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," which answered most of my questions. In fact, Falun Gong practitioners' cultivation is very difficult. During the process, they should not only resist temptations from ordinary human society, but should also endure the difficulties, defamation and misunderstanding from ordinary people led by the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) propaganda. To reach the requirements laid out in the Falun Gong teachings requires great effort on practitioners' part and in addition to their own problems, they have to endure persecution from such a massively evil and all-encompassing regime. I could only imagine how difficult this is.

In my heart, I deeply admire these practitioners. Even without formal cultivation, "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" is the highest level of virtuous cultivation in the human society. If more and more people followed "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance", human society would be more harmonious and happy. I hope that Falun Gong will be brought forward in the human society and that "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" become an automatic rule guiding people's actions.