(Clearwisdom.net)

Obtaining the Fa

Following a major surgery, Ms. Zhang Zhiyun was forced to retire and became homebound. She was introduced to Zhuan Falun at the end of 1993. After reading the book in one sitting, she understood many life-related questions that she previously could not answer and felt that Falun Dafa was exactly what she had always searched for.

Ms. Zhang Zhiyun

She attended the classes taught by Master Li Hongzhi in Jinan City in January 1994. Before attending the lectures, she was a little overweight and suffered from many illnesses. After attending a series of 10 classes, all her illnesses and pains disappeared, she lost more than 20 pounds, and her body felt very light and free of illness. She told everyone she met, "I searched for the truth throughout my life, and now I have finally found it."

Spreading the Fa and Establishing Practice Sites

Later on, she attended Master's lectures in Zhengzhou City, Hefei City, Dalian City, and Guangzhou City. She also invited her children, relatives, and friends to attend Master's classes with her. After practicing Falun Gong, her temper and character changed greatly, and she became more compassionate and treated others with kindness.

During the last class in Guangzhou City, Master asked Ms. Zhang to set up a Dafa instruction center in Shanghai. The following year, she led veteran practitioners to set up many practice sites in each district and county throughout Shanghai. Then they set up practice sites in the suburbs.

There are several main districts and counties in Shanghai, including Chongming, Nanhui, Fengxian, Jinshan, Songjiang, Qingpu, and Baoshan. In order to spread the Fa to people in those areas, Ms. Zhang visited each town to find the best places for the instruction and practice sites. Since her financial situation was challenging and she didn't have any means of transportation, she had to walk to each town, often carrying food with her to save money and staying in a local hostel. She repeatedly walked to these areas over a long period of time in order to maintain contact with the new practitioners and help them set up the practice sites.

It was not easy to set up a practice site in a new area. Veteran practitioners spent much time and effort spreading the Fa, teaching people the exercises, organizing Fa study groups, selecting a local assistant, and guiding new disciples. Veteran practitioners stayed in the new location for quite a while, usually at least a month, to do the exercises and study the Fa with the new disciples in order to stabilize the new practitioners' cultivation environment. It was rare that Ms. Zhang stayed at home for a whole month, but her husband and children supported her.

Under Ms. Zhang's coordination, many fellow practitioners assembled groups to go out and spread the Fa and set up practice sites in the suburbs. Some veteran practitioners stayed in the suburbs for as long as six months to accomplish this task.

Coordinating Assistant Training with Selfless Dedication

Although the instruction center and many practice sites were set up in Shanghai, there were not enough assistants, as new practitioners still lacked a deep understanding of the Fa. Ms. Zhang organized training classes for assistants in order to help them stay within the Fa when they led the local practice sites. Assistants who had enough time attended the nine-day training, and those who worked during the week attended the training on the weekends. During the classes, everyone studied the Fa, did the exercises, watched videos of Master's teachings, shared their cultivation experiences, and discussed problems at the practice sites. In this way, all the assistants in Shanghai gained a deeper understanding of the Fa principles, and everyone improved quickly.

Since the training classes for assistants from Shanghai produced very good results, other assistants from Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province also came to attend the training later on. Fellow practitioners from abroad also attended the assistant training classes and then volunteered to pay for her expenses to travel abroad and conduct the training overseas. She politely refused, however, and said, "Although I wish to go, practicing cultivation is serious, and we should not spend others' money. Currently, I don't have the financial ability to go abroad, but I will reconsider if I have the economic means in the future."

Facing different fellow practitioners with different understandings and notions every day, Ms. Zhang often experienced xinxing tests through conflicts and misunderstandings. Some thought she shouldn't be the coordinator of the instruction center because she was not well-educated, some said that she had an attachment to showing off and to doing things, and some even wrote letters to the Research Society with accusations against her. Her response was, "If I have human notions, I will correct myself as soon as I identify my attachments. I am determined to remain undisturbed. The training classes for assistants are very important."

Ms. Zhang also said, "Actually, I hated to have conflicts with others when I was an ordinary person. I always wanted to compromise to maintain peace." However, she took a stand to actively protect Dafa, as she knew that it is the responsibility of every practitioner to defend the Fa and point out anything inappropriate without hesitation. She said, "Practicing cultivation is each person's individual matter and not done for others. Master spread such a great Dafa to us.We should use the Fa as our guide in everything we do."

Because Ms. Zhang was righteous, compassionate, and full of wisdom--because she did things according to the Fa and always considered others first--people respectfully called her "Sister Zhang" or "Auntie Zhang" and often felt comfortable sharing their cultivation experiences with her. Many CCP officials also admired her, even during the decade of persecution. Ms. Zhang Zhiyun didn't pursue fame or self-interest, and didn't fear the evil. Even though she passed away over a year ago as a result of the persecution, practitioners from Shanghai still miss her very much.