Play the Lead Role Well

(Minghui.org) Master says,

"You play the leading role in this period of history, and the existence of everything at present, whether it be evil or the upright gods, has to do with you. It is walking straight your path that is most important." (“Walk Straight Your Path” in The Essentials of Diligent Progress Vol. III)

1. Being Blessed with Falun Dafa

I started to practice Falun Dafa in early 1999. At the time, my body was wreaked with all types of diseases: severe hepatitis, cirrhosis, cholecystitis, to name but a few.

My husband sought cures for me everywhere. Whenever he read about relevant health propaganda in any newspaper or flyer, he would drag me there to check it out, no matter the distance.

We drove a few hundred miles away to a ravine in 1989 to see an old Chinese doctor and paid more than 200 yuan for a large box of Chinese medicine.

Other people buy a refrigerator to store meat and vegetables. I bought a refrigerator for my medicine.

I maintained my digestive system entirely on drugs. My back pain could flare up at a moment’s notice. For ten years, I would be bedridden for two months at a stretch, several times a year.

My neighbors felt sorry for me and said,"You are so young to be so sick."

My co-workers commented among themselves, "Look at her. So thin, and so frail. A gentle wind could easily knock her down."

My husband's family showed me contempt. My neighbors and friends pitied me. Their glances my way said it all.

I felt bad but somehow I believed I would get well, because I remembered when I was young, a grandmotherly soothsayer had predicted, “When you are 43 years old, a Buddha would deliver you from your sicknesses and grant you blessings.”

To have enough money for medical treatments, I scrimped and saved but still ended up owing quite a bit of debt.

I began to participate in different types of morning exercises and qigong in 1991 but nothing helped.

On New Year's Day in 1999, I came across a Falun Dafa practice site. When I did the second exercise, my normal cold hands and feet warmed up. That evening, I slept through the night for the first time in decades. Since then, my insomnia disappeared. That day I turned 43!

I participated ten days later in a large group exercise of a million people.

I saw Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) wearing a yellow exercise suit, smiling, sitting cross-legged in a full lotus position above the exercise site. I saw colorful Faluns (law wheels) rotating everywhere. The vision lasted a long while.

I put my palms together in front of my chest in a reverent “heshi” to show respect, and looked around in great excitement. Wow! How very amazing!

My body began to undergo dramatic changes. For over ten days, I didn’t eat or drink but felt fine. Every day, I was full of energy. I attended group Fa study and exercises regularly. I then had diarrhea for two days. The distending pain in my hepatic region and my whining colitis stopped troubling me. I could even straighten my long crooked back.

Falun Gong is truly wonderfully amazing! My gratitude to Master was beyond words!

Since then, medicine and I thoroughly parted company. I became healthy. I began to walk with a spring in my steps. I flew when cycling.

My in-laws commented that I was a completely changed person. My neighbors praised me for being good-natured and more beautiful than ever.

Having borne witness to my physical and mental changes, many of my family members, neighbors, and friends started reading Zhuan Falun and began practicing Falun Gong.

Shortly after that, we set up a Fa study and exercise site in my home. Every day we would get together to study the Fa, do the exercises, and clarify the truth, all the while basking in Master’s grace.

2. Standing Up for Falun Dafa

Six months after I started to practice Falun Dafa, the persecution began.

On the morning of July 20, 1999, I went as usual to the practice site to do my exercises. Two other practitioners showed up. The three of us sat down together to do the meditation exercise.

Meanwhile, several police officers arrived and forcibly stood us up, telling us we couldn’t continue.

I said to them, "Falun Dafa’s healing and fitness power is magical. Why can’t we practice? Somebody is making a mistake."

They were adamant. "The order comes from above. There’s no mistake."

I insisted, "People at the top can’t make mistakes? Wasn’t the Cultural Revolution a mistake?"

But then, people all around chimed in, "Hurry up and leave.You can’t fight the government."

And so, I rode my bike to check out the few practice sites in the city. I found police and party officials everywhere. Suddenly, I saw a town clerk I knew.

I greeted him, "Mr. Secretary, do you know how amazing Falun Dafa is in healing sicknesses? You only need to practice sincerely, in strict accordance with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, no matter how severe your illness, you will get better soon, I'm living proof!"

He stopped me from saying further, "Go home.” He warned me, “Stop talking or publicize what you’re saying here in the open!"

“It’s not a crime to do the exercises”

When I got home, two police officers were waiting for me. They said, "You have to go to the police station with us."

I responded, "No. My father has told me, you are all smiles and affable, but once we enter the police station, you immediately turn hostile, you glare, pound the table, and kick the benches. My father is in his 70’s. He is a good man and he was healthy. You summoned him to the police station, and now, his heart beats are elevated and he is developing physical problems. There’s no way I’ll go with you."

In a little while, the police chief arrived and asked, "What’s going on?"

I answered, "You want me to go to the police station so you can tell me not to practice Falun Dafa, right? Do you know why I want to practice Falun Dafa? Because it has amazing healing and fitness power. Falun Dafa only asks us to live according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, to be good people. What do you find wrong in that? During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong reverted himself and accused Liu Shaoqi of being a traitor. In 1989, so many students were killed in Tiananmen Square but the government said nobody died. This dignified government of a nation is repeatedly mixing up right and wrong,"

The police chief said to me in all seriousness, "Do your practice at home. It’s not a crime to do the exercises. Those who persecute are the ones committing a criminal act."

The police chief was later promoted to be the director of the Municipal Detention Center. Later still, he was promoted to be Municipal Deputy secretary. For all the years he was in office, he has not once participated in the persecution of Falun Dafa.

Under Jiang's despotic power, the Falun Dafa persecution continued to escalate. My family was subjected to harassment 24/7. Police officers showed up every day at my house, and every day I would talk to them about my personal experiences. I would tell them that Dafa is extraordinary and wonderful, that what it does is to teach people to do good. I would explain to them the reason for the April 25, 1999 peaceful appeal of Falun Dafa practitioners at Zhongnanhai, and so on.

Shortly after that, my unit notified me to report to work. I heard that several officials had talked to my unit director, and that the director said to them, "She has the courage to continue practicing Falun Dafa. Do you have that courage?"

The police kept up their harassment. They kept “inviting” me to the police station or to the security office for “talks.” I would generally not comply but would talk to them about the goodness and beauty of Dafa.

Clarifying the Truth in the Municipal Conference Hall

I was once "invited" to the Municipal Conference Hall, which is always filled with police officers and government leaders of all levels. The government makes use of such environment for the purpose of intimidating firm adherents of Falun Dafa, forcing them to make a stand in front of the Municipal Committee and the local 610 Office.

The Politics and Law Committee secretary asked me: "Are you still practicing?"The whole room was silent. Everybody looked at me. They already knew I had never backed down.

I smiled and said, “Mr. Secretary, all other qigong practices are practices for physical health, but Falun Dafa is cultivation and practice combined. It’s mainly about cultivating our mind and heart nature. In our main text of Zhuan Falun, it’s clearly stated:

“In cultivation practice, there may be two scenarios when dealing with specific conflicts or when others treat you badly. One is that you might have treated this person badly in your previous life. You feel in your heart that it is unfair, "How can this person treat me like this?" Then why did you treat this person that way in the past? You might claim that you actually did not know it at that time, and this life has nothing to do with the other life. That does not work.” (Zhuan Falun)

A police officer suddenly stood up and clapped his hands, shouting, "I understand! If you don’t get angry, you won’t get sick!"

Everybody in the conference hall burst out in laughter.

The secretary stood up, shook my hand, and said, "Okay. That is all for today. Thank you. We would love to have you teach us the qigong practice."

I answered with a smile, "I do know a lot of qigong practices, but Falun Dafa is the best. I can definitely teach you all."

The secretary was happy, "Well, thank you!” Then, he turned to give an order, “Driver, please take this lady home."

From our exchanges, I truly understand what Master says,

“If you can actually do it, you will indeed find: "After passing the shady willow trees, there will be bright flowers and another village ahead!"” (Zhuan Falun)

Soon after that, the secretary left the Municipal Committee.

“We even wore out three tires”

During the worst period of the persecution, Master often published short essays and verses so as to constantly keep us on the right path. I would be thrilled every time a new writing came out. I would carefully copy it down to read it over and over, and commit it to memory to ensure I followed Master every step of the way.

After I read Master’s "Hurry Up and Tell Them" from Hong Yin Vol. II, I immediately cut large pieces of yellow cloth into smaller pieces of different sizes and made them into banners with wordings of ”Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” “Tiananmen self-immolation is a hoax,” and so on, more than 100 truth clarification messages in all. Fellow practitioners and I spent one night covering the entire downtown area with these banners.

The impact was tremendous. The Party sent out a ruthless order: Catch them all and strip off the skin of the people who did that!

The police spent three months investigating and checking, and finally ascertained I was the culprit through my handwriting.

They were incredulous, "She’s so frail in appearance. How could she have done all that by herself?! We spent such a long time and exerted such effort and wasted such a lot of human and financial resources. We even wore out three tires with all our running around!"

From the police station to the police department, I always used my personal experience, physical and psychological changes to validate Falun Dafa.

Clarifying the Facts in the Detention Center

One night at midnight toward the end of October 2002, two police officers forcefully escorted me to the Municipal Detention Center.

I walked into the prison cell, and a roomful of people sat up and faced me. They wanted to know, "Are you an economic criminal?"

"No. I’m not a criminal. I’m a practitioner of Falun Dafa."

"Didn’t our nation outlaw the practice of Falun Dafa?"

"No, not our nation. It’s only Jiang Zemin. He’s jealous of our Master, and of how Master is able to attract so many people to Falun Dafa. Jiang is afraid of Master, just as Mao Zedong was afraid of Liu Shaoqi. So, Mao launched the 10-year Cultural Revolution and had innumerable innocent people unjustly denounced and murdered…"

I went on to tell them the miraculous healing and fitness power of Falun Dafa, and of the stringent requirements of its practitioners to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to be good people. I also exposed the flawed "Tiananmen self-immolation."

A very domineering person pointed his index finger at one of the people in the room and said: "You look at her! She practices Falun Dafa and is not afraid to say so. You came in but you didn’t dare to admit you practice Falun Dafa. That’s why you are still here after all this time."

All of a sudden, I knew, because I had no attachment to fear, that Master was helping me.

The next morning, the police handcuffed me to take me to be interrogated. I couldn’t help laughing out loud.

The officer asked, "Why are you laughing?"

I explained, "From when I was young, I’ve always had a strong and stubborn character. I suffered from a variety of serious diseases. They all miraculously disappeared once I started practicing Falun Gong. I worked hard and got recognition from the leadership and respect from my colleagues. I live according to Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. For that, I’m thrown into jail! Today I really understand who is truth and goodness, and who is the true evil, "

The officer said," However good you are, to go against a huge government like the Communist Party just will not do."

I answered, "We are not going against the Party. It’s Jiang Zemin who looked upon us as the enemy. But, you people are the real victims. I have a relative who worked hard for more than ten hours every day for the Party during the Cultural Revolution.

When the Gang of Four went down, he was thrown in jail. In the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, so many students were killed, but the Party told its people and the world there were no casualties. As for the Tiananmen self-immolation, anybody could see right away it was a fake.

In a little more than two months, with Master’s compassionate blessing and support, I changed from being rather passive to being decisively active.

I began to play the lead role. I became quite eloquent, using convincing and rational words to defeat the Party's tricks again and again, not only ensuring the security of fellow practitioners but also obtaining my release out of the detention center.

Just as Master says: "Though you may find one that has practiced cultivation for nearly one thousand years, a tiny finger will be more than enough to crush it." (Zhuan Falun)

“No one dares to control you”

After several bouts with the Party officials, my trust in Master and the Fa was not only strengthened but it also hastened my pace of awakening sentient beings.

I made use of every opportunity to clarify the truth and distribute Dafa materials to my family, my friends and relatives, officials and residents in my village and the nearby villages.

Whenever I came into contact with people, I did not miss a chance to try to awaken them.

My work unit, being a state-owned enterprise, has thousands of employees. From the unit director to the workers to their families and guests, I personally visited each one of them to clarify the truth and to gift them with Dafa CDs, pamphlets, and other materials.

My non-practitioner husband often drove me to the remote countryside to spread the Fa.

The Municipal Committee secretary said: "She's just like that. Nobody can control her. Just let her be."

The Domestic Security Division captain said: "No one dares to control you. I don’t dare to keep you in check. You’re too fearless. You can’t be intimidated. I’m afraid you’ll impact me adversely."

I said: " Nobody has power over me. Nobody has the right to keep me in check. I have Master to keep me in check!"

Saving Sentient Beings in Prison

After a while, due to the fact I was too eager to talk about the Fa and ended up spending an inordinate amount of time to spread the Fa, I began to neglect studying the Fa and became bombarded by all types of human attachments.

I replaced my personal cultivation practice with Dafa work and descended to the level of an ordinary person without even realizing it.

The old forces took no time to take advantage of my loopholes.

Right before the 2008 Olympics, my family had a dispute with the neighbors. All levels of the government agreed my family was absolutely justified under the circumstances.

However, the local 610 Office and the Domestic Security Division came to our house to ransack it. When the police didn’t uncover the evidence they were looking for, they told us to go to the police station with them.

When I asked for a reason, they said: "We’re just carrying out orders."

When I refused, they insisted, saying, "No matter. Today, you must come with us!"

Then, they picked me up, threw me into the police van, and took me to the detention center.

The guard in the detention center asked me, "What are you doing here again?"

I smiled and said, "The last time I was here to clarify the truth to you. This time, I’m here to save you."

Everyone laughed.

I was put into a prison cell and left alone, but my grievance against my neighbors and my resentment toward the police were keeping me awake. I was totally caught up in the thought and feelings of an ordinary person.

Inside the cell was another practitioner who whispered in my ear, "Do you remember Master's words in Hong Yin about not being sad when we are thrown in jail?”

I said, “Yes. I remember.”

So, we recited Master’s verse together:

"Imprisoned as you are,don’t be sorrowful or sadCarry on with righteous thoughts and actions,and the Fa is with youCalmly reflect on the attachments you haveRemove your human thoughtsand evil will naturally die out" (“Don’t Be Sad” in Hong Yin Vol. II)

I smiled. I thanked the practitioner. All of a sudden, my feeling of grievance and resentment dissipated. I began to feel sorry for my neighbors and the police officers.

I realized it was my own lack of diligence in Fa study that had created all my problems with my neighbors and the 610 Office.

I obtained pen and paper and started a letter writing campaign, taking advantage of every opportunity during the day to write to the police, the guards, and the prisoners, telling them about Falun Dafa and how it has been spread to more than one hundred countries around the world, about the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and how these editorials have exposed the evil of the CCP so that tens of millions of people in and outside of China have renounced the CCP and its affiliates and how the number is growing.

Everyone in the prison learned the truth and quit the Party. Some prisoners indicated they would start practicing Falun Dafa. There were three felons who began to recite "Falun Dafa is good!" every day and each was blessed with an early release.

When we had to sing Party songs together, I would sing loudly but changing the lyrics with words that praised the evil Party to ones that praised Dafa, eliciting laughter quite a few times.

When we watched TV every night, I would use the time to write letters to the director of the local 610 Office, chief of the Domestic Security Division, and the District Deputy director responsible for my arrest to the detention center. I would wait until the guards came to check our cells to have them deliver to the intended recipients.

I was in good spirits every day. I sang Dafa songs. I did my exercises. I recited the Fa. I clarified the truth.

Two months later, one day someone said, "Nowadays, once imprisoned, no Falun Dafa practitioner can come out. They are all sentenced to at least four years."

I responded, "Nobody has the final say so. Only our Master can decide. Once I’ve saved everybody who can be saved here, Master will get me out!"

So I continued singing. I sang quite a few songs. Everyone listened quietly. Instantly, I felt I was enveloped in the vastness of an empty universe with nothing but my voice echoing.

Suddenly, the iron gate to the cell was opened, and another voice rang out, calling my name,”Take your bedding and get out!”

All at once, everyone stood up, bustling to help me with my sheets, blankets, and clothing. Some hurried to stuff a phone number in my hands. They had just witnessed Dafa's extraordinary, magical power.

3. Play Well the Lead Role

Master said: "I don't like it when you blame yourselves, it's completely pointless." (Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Lantern Festival)

I listened to Master's words, paying close attention to Fa study, learning the new lectures, looking inward, determined to make up for past losses. I voluntarily approached my neighbors to seek reconciliation.

Two weeks after my release, a practitioner introduced me to a huge real estate construction site in the South to be a cook for a few Southern bosses. I knew there would certainly be a lot of people waiting to be saved. I quickly agreed.

At my first meeting with the bosses, I introduced myself, "I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. I’ve just been released from jail. I don’t know Southern cooking, but I’ll do my best to learn."

Then I went on to tell them about the miraculous healing power of Falun Dafa, about how practitioners adhere strictly to the principles of Truthfulnes-Compassion- Forbearance, and how we are good people, and that it has been spread all over the world, and so on.

The bosses were very pleased, "Now, go over there to take a look, and see if you’re competent to cook for five, six people."

I said: "Dafa is omnipotent. Dafa disciples can do anything."

The next day when I reported to work, I saw there in front of the bosses’ office was hung a large banner, on which were the words: “Do according to Truthfulness- Compassion-Forbearance. Put an end to false reports and fake procurements!”

So, the Southern bosses had demonstrated great wisdom!

I understood that the site included three large provincial construction companies. The bosses, the migrant workers, and their families made up over several thousand people. I wanted to make sure they would all know the truth and be saved.

The bosses told me,"We’ll give you 100 yuan every day for food purchases. Here is money for three days. Let us know if this is not enough."

I bought food every day and kept a clear account of everything.

The bosses were happy, "Unlike the others, you take your responsibility seriously. You are very trustworthy. We can put our hearts at ease with you. We’ll save ourselves some trouble and hand over to you all 3000 yuan for the rest of the month.”

And that’s exactly what they did every month.

Later, they told me, "You spent less than half on oil and rice than the people before you. You also spend within your budget and your food is much more delicious. Falun Dafa practitioners are truly good people… We still need a warehouse worker and a guard. Why don’t you find us two more of your people?”

I promptly recommended two practitioners. The bosses found them very satisfactory.

Every day, the bosses would send somebody to teach me to cook Southern food, I learned eagerly while clarifying the truth to each of them. I also introduced to my bosses such Northern cuisine as dumplings, steamed buns, pies, and noodles.

The bosses were happy and commented, "You are the best chef we’ve ever had. You cook us healthy and delicious food. You have good hygiene and a great attitude."

I said:"This is what Falun Dafa is about. It teaches us to live according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. No matter what we do, we will think of others first."

I and the other practitioners used every opportunity to clarify the truth and hand out Dafa materials to different groups of people. Many workers would use their break time to come over to have a drink of water and to learn more about Falun Dafa.

We helped the bosses, the technicians, the supply customers, the workers, and their family members to renounce the Communist Party and its affiliates.

Everywhere in the huge construction site was filled with the transmission of Falun Dafa information. Everybody felt really blessed. For over half a year, there was not a single report of any bad incident.

Not long after, I left there to work for a school.

A practitioner and I passed by the site five years later. Someone rolled down a car window and called out to me, "Auntie Falun Dafa! How are you? You look just as young as ever!"

It was one of the bosses.

I commented, "Wow! What a beautiful car you’re driving!"

He said: "Thanks to you and Falun Dafa. We have all bought cars."

I said: "It’s blessings from our Master!”

He agreed, "Right, right, right! It’s blessings from Dafa’s Master!"

Our city used to have a lack of technological skills and didn’t have the ability to give evil incidents timely exposure. Now, I have turned my home into a materials production and information dissemination site. I have also learned to print, burn CDs, and do voice calls.

Although all that I’m writing down are very ordinary and what Dafa disciples should do, but in the process of writing, I did uncover the good feeling that Master wants us to maintain, of "cultivating as if you were just starting". (“Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference”)