[Minghui Net] (Editor's note: The following article was written and rewritten many times by an elderly woman with no formal education in China. It does not have any flowery writing, or profound messages, but simply describes the earnest belief of a Falun Dafa practitioner.)

I am a Falun Gong practitioner. I am 60 plus years old. I was introduced to Dafa in 1996. Because I am not an educated person, my original motivation to learn Falun Gong was to seek cure for my illnesses. I had all kinds of illnesses. The most obvious was my paralysis from a stroke. I could not take care of myself. I needed help for my everyday existence. I could not get around without a wheel chair or a walking stick. My existence was agonizingly tormenting. I had thoughts about suicide.

One day I saw many people practicing Falun Gong in a park. I asked them what kind of practice was Falun Gong. They said: "Falun Gong is a cultivation way." I then thought that a person who had all kinds of diseases like me must have done many unsavory things in the previous lives. I should practice cultivation seriously this life, so that I would not suffer as much in my next life. I asked the practitioners if I could join in the practice. One of them said, "we usually do not accept people like you who are unable to move their limbs." I said, "Do you need good limbs for cultivation? The cultivation in the Buddha's' temples does not have this requirement. I just want to do cultivation. Maybe I could just watch you do the exercises by your practice site?" So I started to learn to do the sitting meditation by watching them. Speaking of sitting meditation, I could not just sit down. I needed help to sit down and to get up again. Later on I asked a practitioner for a book, and this was how I started the practice of Falun Gong.

I also suffered from gallstones. The hospital wanted me to have surgery. At the time I was thoroughly despondent. Why surgery when I could not even take care of myself for my other problems? I wished to die soon so I could be free from all the sufferings. But unexpectedly, soon after I started practicing Falun Gong, my gallstones completely disappeared. I thought this practice was really good. After I continued for a while, I found that my gait became steady, my appetite improved, and I had more energy! I went to the park to join the group practice everyday. Later on I could go to get groceries and cook for myself. I saw rays of hope for living again. I did not want to die anymore. In 1998 when my husband passed away I was able to live independently.

I do not have any children, if it were not for Falun Gong, I would have ended my life together with my husband. Please consider this: as one who came alive after such despondency, how could I not embrace Falun Gong? Since I started practicing Falun Gong I have not spent one cent of the government's money on medicine. This is such a benefit to the country as well as to myself. It saves a lot of money. Why shouldn't it be promoted?

The government is persecuting Falun Gong. I think Falun Gong is being wronged; therefore I stepped out to ask for justice. Consequently, my home was searched many times and I was threatened by different people. Since I could not get justice from the local government, I went to Beijing to appeal. Can you imagine an elderly woman like me going to Beijing on my own? After I got to Beijing I did not know where to go. I took the buses at random, and by chance arrived at Tiananmen Square. In Tiananmen I shouted, "Falun Dafa is Good, Falun Dafa is the law of the Universe!" I was arrested immediately by plainclothes policemen and sent to Tiananmen Police station. Later, the police dispatched me and many other Falun Gong practitioners all over. I was sent to a place far away from Beijing and locked up. I explained to the person who locked me up how good Falun Gong was with my own experience! Later on I was spotted by a policeman from the local government's office in Beijing and sent back to the office.

The office itself was a place of crime through and through. As soon as the practitioners arrived, they would be body searched. All their belongings, including all the money, were confiscated without even a receipt. The only 500 Yuan RMB ($60) I had was taken away by the police within 10 minutes of my arrival. Later on the local police sent someone to take me home. He was late running his personal errands, so we had to rush. They then complained that I walked too slowly, so they shoved me along. When I could not walk anymore and fell down on the road, one policeman grabbed my arm and ran, dragging me, with total disregard. My arm was broken and my legs paralyzed! They wanted to throw me in the cell. I objected. They then had 6 or 7 men lift me. I felt numb and unable to fight them. When I was in the cell, I was body-searched again, and was not allowed to wear shoes. They took off all my clothes and gave me only a thin quilt. It was very cold. I slept on the concrete floor. I could not fall asleep. Besides, the police often beat and kicked me, without regard for my advanced age or fractured limbs! I was tortured inhumanly, hovering on the brink of death. If they could torture an elderly person like this, one could only imagine what younger practitioners had to go through!

Although I encountered all these tribulations, I kept promoting Dafa and telling people the truth. I would, with compassion, warn Jiang Zemin and his cadre that anyone going against 'Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance', could only go down in history as a disgraceful villain. I wish you would stop the atrocity soon.

April 2001