(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings, Master!
Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Shen Yun can save people. New York practitioners have been selling tickets over the past few years, which is one of our ways of assisting Master in the Fa rectification period. Every year it seems difficult, and indeed it has been difficult. However, I felt I have enlightened more and more each year through selling Shen Yun tickets. I am standing here before you in this sacred Fahui to share my experiences while selling Shen Yun tickets.
Last year, even before the tickets went on sale, I started writing down the names of all of my coworkers, friends, and acquaintances in a notebook, and analyzing them one by one. I believed that all of those people who are involved in my daily life or work must have predestined relationships with me. I wanted to assist them in obtaining salvation, as this is my divine duty. I tried my best not to leave a single one of them behind. While doing my full-time job, I used every opportunity to save the people around me. As time flew by, I was worried about how to sell so many tickets in such a short period of time.
Whenever I felt the urgency, I picked up the list I had prepared and tried to figure out how to approach each person in a suitable way. This way I would be well-prepared whenever I met with them.
I get along with everyone at my place of employment. So first I chatted with my coworkers a bit, and then I handed them a Shen Yun flyer. In the beginning the response was not that enthusiastic, but gradually a few people started to show some interest. So I spread the word around, hoping to get more people interested. When more than ten people showed interest, I set about organizing them for a group rate. When we had more than twenty people in the group, I went to the supervisor to promote Shen Yun, and she immediately agreed to buy a ticket for herself, and even encouraged me to go to other branches of our company to sell the tickets.
For those who purchased a ticket, I kept telling them how wonderful the show was and encouraged them to buy more tickets to give to their family and friends. As a result, they would buy two or more tickets. There was a lady who wanted to buy just two tickets, but after seeing the promo video of the show, she bought 20 tickets as Christmas gifts for her friends and family.
There was a Chinese lady in my company, whom I had always wanted to save, but did not know how to approach, as I didn't want to estrange myself from her. I knew that she had been poisoned by the evil CCP. She was later touched by the fact that I was really very nice to her. I bought her flowers and chatted with her, and showed a lot of caring for her. With gratitude, she bought a ticket. Later when she saw many people talking about Shen Yun, she was so proud, and told people, "In my name, there is also a Shen, the same character as in Shen Yun."
In the end, I sold far more tickets than the number of people working in my office. This, of course, was also related to my heartfelt wish and daily conduct at work. I made a wish when I first joined this company last year: I wanted to save each and every one in the company. So at work, in dealing with people, I always reminded myself of this wish. I worked very hard, always looked inside when I ran into conflicts. I turned enemies into friends and tried to make friends with lots of people. So when I told people at work that Shen Yun was good, they trusted me and were willing to buy tickets from me.
Since more and more people wanted to buy tickets, I took a practitioner's suggestion— that I would act like a floating ticket sales booth by having some tickets on hand at all times. But holding the tickets was like a burden that kept me worried and anxious every day. There was not a minute that I was not thinking about how to sell them. I started telling everyone I ran into about Shen Yun whenever time permitted.
One day, as I was walking on Sixth Avenue, I saw a stranger smiling at me beautifully. I wondered why he was smiling like that. It was such a brilliant and pure smile, as if he was smiling at an old friend. I looked around and saw nobody else. So I felt it would be an opportunity lost if I didn't give him what he had been waiting for. By then I had walked half a block away, but I went back to tell him about Shen Yun. He ended up buying a ticket without any hesitation.
On another day, I ran into my neighbor in the lobby of our building. I started to promote Shen Yun to him, only briefly, and gave him a flyer. I asked him to talk it over with his wife and get back to me if they decided they wanted to buy tickets. To my surprise, he asked no questions, but said to me, "Thank you for giving me this information. It is not necessary to discuss it with my wife. Just give me two tickets as you suggested."
Truly in a fleeting moment, he seized the opportunity to be saved.
Last year I had many similar experiences. The more I got involved in ticket promotion, the more experience I gathered. I treated each and every Shen Yun ticket as a sacred being. I truly cherished them all. I wrapped them up well, so I wouldn't even damage the corners of the tickets. Every ticket was equally precious and priceless. I put them in my bag and carried them everywhere I went, as if I was holding them in my heart. I treated selling Shen Yun tickets the same way as I did my work, if not more so. I kept a very clean record of the sales and never overcharged by even a penny.
I used different methods to introduce Shen Yun. The key was approaching everyone from a different angle. As I focused on imparting Shen Yun's beauty in everyone's heart and mind, some of them bought tickets right away.
I discovered in the process that everything was arranged by Master. Everything related to Shen Yun had been arranged by Master. If my methods and thoughts were in line with Master's grand plan, the tickets sold easily. We are just messengers who pass along the information, and whoever needs to be saved by Master will be. One day I tried to persuade a gentleman to buy the lower priced tickets, since I figured that he probably didn't have much money. As long as he could see the show, it would be good enough. But when I was checking the tickets I realized that I had no more of the lower-priced tickets available. I didn't tell him right away. At the same time, I heard him discussing the issue on the telephone with his family. He said, "I have never done this kind of thing for my family. I just want some expensive tickets, the best you can find." He took the only tickets I had left for that show.
During the process of promoting Shen Yun, I realized that in order to finalize the deal, I had to purify myself. I started to look inside to check every one of my thoughts. To start with, I had to eliminate selfishness and distractions, and let go of all human emotions and desires. I had to let go of the attachment to doing things for the sake of doing things, and let go of my sense of complacency. I needed to use the purest heart to promote Shen Yun. I believe that many of my fellow practitioners share the same understanding, that when we act and think like true practitioners, we can sell tickets, but when we act and think like everyday people, we can't sell tickets. Even if people want to buy tickets, they may still walk away from us. Since selling Shen Yun tickets is not actually selling goods, it requires us to use compassion to save ordinary people.
We are often faced with different excuses from everyday people for not buying the tickets. On the surface they are everyday people's attachments. Actually, such events are meant to expose our own attachments. I remembered that in the first few years I frequently ran into the same situation. People didn't pay attention when I talked about the show. Instead, they would ask me if I could introduce them to a Chinese girlfriend. I later realized that it was due to the impurities in my own field. I started to spend a lot of time sending righteous thoughts to eliminate this dirty substance and to look inside. I also adjusted the way I talked and the way I behaved. This issue was later resolved and didn't happen again. But other excuses would be used, like they had financial problems, they had no time, or they had to find someone to go with. Once we have transcended the endless human attachments ourselves, we can stay calm and help everyday people make the right decision when they come up with all kinds of excuses. This way, we assist them in obtaining salvation.
Last year I focused on my own traveling ticket sale booth and totally isolated myself from the overall cultivation environment. I deliberately alienated other practitioners and didn't want to speak to anyone, nor did I want to share with anyone. I didn't like the way others handled things and I was biased against some practitioners. So I was just focusing on my own cultivation. At the same time, I was very worried about the progress of New York ticket sales. Even if everyone from my own company and social circle bought tickets, it still amounted to a very limited number.
I struggled internally back and forth, and in the end came to a clear conclusion. We New York practitioners must meet the requirements and follow Master's arrangements. We should all cooperate with the Dafa association and form one body to accomplish the sacred mission of promoting Shen Yun. I had to change myself first. If I waited for the one body to form first and joined in later, it would be too late. I had to let go of myself and my selfishness. To proactively cooperate with others, I needed to join the rest of the practitioners to form the one body. I wanted to present everything I knew to fellow practitioners. It was really like sharing treasures, and I summarized all of my experiences selling tickets in previous years, and shared the best parts with other practitioners.
I have reached this level in my cultivation, and I have joined in Dafa's great current of saving sentient beings. My heart is now filled with the need to save sentient beings. Looking back at my experiences in previous years involving Shen Yun promotion, I feel it was just a journey of letting go of all my human attachments and letting go of my self. Due to the sense of guilt for not cultivating well, I isolated myself in the past, and my cultivation made little progress. I had little tolerance for a lot of things such as fellow practitioners' opinions. I didn't want anyone near me. Now I realize that the most diligent beings are those who are considerate of others and cooperate with others, not those who only offer instructions and order others around.
I have been purified through the process of selling Shen Yun tickets. There are countless moments to share. I am here to share with everyone my experiences from the past. The more practitioners we have at the ticket sales site, the better the field is. All of the practitioners who have sold tickets together have the same feeling. When our hearts and minds come together, we can sell the tickets, and when our hearts are apart and ideas are in conflict, we can't sell any tickets. The ticket sales reflect the overall state of all practitioners at the sales site. It is for the same reason that our New York Shen Yun ticket sales reflect the overall state of all New York practitioners.
When we were selling tickets in stores a few years ago, one day I let my guard down and left the tickets at home. When I got to the store, none of the customers showed any interest in buying tickets. Only two practitioners were there, and I couldn't feel an energy field. So I went back home to pick up the tickets and meanwhile made phone calls to ask more practitioners to come to participate in the sales. In the afternoon, we had more practitioners there handing out flyers, sending righteous thoughts, and talking to people about the show. One could feel the energy field was steady and strong. The tickets sales increased, and we eventually sold more than 30 tickets in total. It was the result of cooperation by fellow practitioners coming together as one-body.
In the New York area there are a lot of practitioners who are very busy, and there are other practitioners who have not come out for various reasons. We all hope that you hurry up and come out. Selling Shen Yun tickets is very simple and easy. You decide on how much time you can devote to selling tickets according to your own schedule. Actually, this grand path leading to heaven is not only paved for the people who see Shen Yun, it is also paved for the practitioners who sell Shen Yun tickets. This opportunity resides in a fleeting moment. Please seize the moment and don't let the opportunity slip away.
Thank you, Master!
Thank you, fellow practitioners!
