What is Cooperation?

 

(Minghui.org) Master has mentioned the issue of cooperation many times in his teachings. Recently, I have gained a deeper understanding from my own experience and observations in promoting Shen Yun.

When promoting Shen Yun in our local area, the problems that surface are reflections of our inability to cooperate well with others. Some of the reasons are due to being attached to validating oneself, jealousy, resentment, etc. Even everyday people know they need to put the project's success as the top priority. However, how can we accomplish that if there is strong resentment among practitioners? Some individuals simply do not want to work with others, and still hold grudges. This is certainly not a correct state for a cultivator, as there is no compassion in it. All these human notions are hindering our cultivation and our ability to save sentient beings. If we can't solidly cultivate, then it is only wishful thinking for us to be able to do well in promoting Shen Yun.

Last year, I was assigned to work with another practitioner to contact media. Previously, I did this by myself and did it well, but now I had to work with another practitioner. I believed it was Master’s arrangement, so I should cooperate well with the the practitioner and put the media work as the top priority, because it is related to saving people. As a result, we coordinated well with each other and were able to find many sponsors, using the work I had done in the past as a foundation. If I had put myself ahead of everything, believing that I was able to do it all by myself and exclude others, then the result would likely have been poor.

Later, we decided to do a spadea advertisement with a newspaper and it was negotiated by the other practitioner. I began to develop an attachment to validating myself when we decided to use this form of advertisement for the second time. The result was very good the first time we did it, so I thought that if this time, the advertisement was equally effective and all the tickets were sold, then all the mighty virtue would belong to the other practitioner. As a result of this attachment, we began to have different opinions on a different issue and had a big disagreement. In addition, our advertisement in the newspaper came out on a rainy day, which had an effect on ticket sales because newspapers are distributed to people’s driveways in the morning. In the end, we didn’t sell out all the tickets. If I had let go of myself and let nature take its course, the tickets would have been sold out and people saved. Isn’t that our purpose? Why did it have to be me who saves people? Why couldn’t the other practitioner save people? I also realized that when we coordinate well and save people, all of us get mighty virtue. When we refuse to support each other, and exclude others or sabotage one another, it results in people not being saved. Not only do we not get mighty virtue, we have also sinned. Therefore, supporting practitioners and cooperating well is part of the mighty virtue we get, while excluding or sabotaging one another are demonic acts that interfere with Fa-rectification. Of course, we validate Dafa and save people to fulfill our vows, as this is our responsibility and mission; our purpose is not seeking how much mighty virtue we can get from doing something.

I also see that among our local practitioners, many are paying close attention to what is being done by them or under their supervision. For example, when there are only several people selling tickets together, they pay attention to who operates the computer. If they are not given a “special” task, they are unhappy and start to exclude others out of jealousy. Their thoughts are strong interference that have a damaging effect. We are all practitioners who have come to help Master in validating the Fa, so we should respect and support each other with an open heart. As long as people can be saved, we can do anything and use any method. We don't need to do everything ourselves. If that were so, there wouldn't be any need for all of the gods to come help with validating the Fa.

In fact, we only seem to let go of fame, self-interest and other feelings in everyday work. I realize that when we have conflicts while doing Dafa work, we are in fact holding on to those attachments. We are attached to our own reputation and status, only this is more deceptive since it seems that we are validating the Fa. However, the truth is we are competing, deceiving and sabotaging each other for our own reputation and gain. It is not for the project or to save people. There are many such examples. Our unrighteous thoughts can destroy what we need to do, worse than what the evil can do. Although we can't point out where the problem lies, gods can see it clearly. I hear many people say, “When I do something by myself, it is very good; but when I tell others about it, I can no longer get it done.” My belief is that someone has sabotaged the effort out of jealousy and created negative thoughts. There is very little sharing on how to cooperate well. This is probably because we haven’t been cooperating well. I believe that we truly have to cultivate ourselves well and let go of self, so that we can cooperate well and fulfill our vow to help Master during Fa-rectification. We cannot just say it or occasionally remember it.

We should use Master’s Fa as guidance on how we can promote Shen Yun well,

“Get rid of any attachment you have, and don’t think about anything. Just do everything a Dafa disciple should do, and everything will be covered.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Washington, D.C. International Fa Conference”)

For areas that are doing well in promoting Shen Yun, have we really gotten rid of all our attachments? Are we truly doing what we should do? If not, how can we be cultivators? How can we save sentient beings? We can't be putting effort into building up our reputation or trying to gain things in Dafa projects and depart from our original intention for the project at the time when we should be saving people. Everything is arranged and controlled by Master. Master has been protecting practitioners, so why should we feel complacent with a small achievement and boast about ourselves? We are here to help Master validate the Fa, we are not here to do things for other practitioners or validate ourselves using Dafa, or using what we should do in saving sentient beings as some kind of “qualification” like everyday people would.

These are my understandings. I truly hope fellow practitioners can use the Fa as guidance, meet the Fa’s requirement to truly fulfill their vow and save sentient beings. Only then do we live up to the expectations of Master and sentient beings; only then are we really showing respect for Master and the Fa.