(Minghui.org) Greetings, Revered Master. Greetings, fellow practitioners!
1. I Finally Learned What Cultivation Means
I came to Australia from China in 2001. I wasn’t used to what it was like outside of China.
Near the Sydney International Airport I put up a poster that read, “Falun Dafa is good” so that Chinese tourists could see it when they arrived in Sydney. However, there was interference and I didn’t have enough righteous thoughts. I didn’t protect our rights and keep the poster up.
In 2003, several practitioners and I launched a magazine hoping to clarify the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong, and the truth of Falun Dafa to government employees. I used my income to cover practitioners’ basic daily expenses and the cost of running the magazine. A practitioner proposed to work regular hours and asked for a raise in the “salary.” I felt wronged because the magazine wasn’t my business and it belonged to every practitioner. I felt that everyone should help run it. In 2005, due to all kinds of interference and my own attachments, I didn’t pass the tests and had to leave the magazine.
Afterwards, I fell into a trap and couldn't get out of it. I believed that other practitioners were neither truthful nor compassionate. I refused to work with them, but I didn’t know how to look within to find my own shortcomings. During a Fa conference I heard Master speak. I then began to understand what cultivation is. My understanding is that cultivation is a way to better myself. When I feel wronged, I must find what went wrong with me and what I didn’t do well. I have to look at myself when I am mistreated. When I blamed others, I forgot to look at myself or cultivate. Instead, I was criticizing and judging others and being pushed around by my attachments.
When there were conflicts, I often fell into the thinking along the lines of who’s right and who’s wrong. Master said in Hong Yin III, “‘He’s right, And I’m wrong,’ What’s to dispute?” ("Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong") Even if I was right, it wouldn’t do me any good if my xinxing didn’t improve. The test Master set up for me was in vain. I saw my shortcomings the minute I understood this Fa principle. I realized that I wanted the magazine to be of high quality but I didn’t care whether other practitioners could take the pressure. I wasn’t looking at the problem from their points of view. I didn’t try to improve myself or look within. I forgot that improving myself was the fundamental guarantee of doing well in Dafa projects.
Through studying the Fa calmly, I came to admit that I did have problems. From then on, when facing a xinxing test, I always asked myself to look within and find my own problem.
I'm not good at expressing myself or communicating with others. When I felt bad, I didn’t feel like talking and wanted to be left alone. Sometimes other practitioners couldn’t understand me. However, I could feel that Master was constantly watching me. When I couldn’t pass a test and was feeling confused, He continued to remind me and let me see my shortcomings. Thank you, Master.
2. Becoming Mature while Working on Media
When promoting Shen Yun, I realized that I only had a few months between signing a contract with the theater and the time the performance began. However, it also took several months between making appointments and actually promoting Shen Yun in big companies. We had to use our media better to stay connected to mainstream society so we could promote Shen Yun all year long.
Master offered ways to solve problems once we made up our mind to do it.
“for this phase of history is given to Dafa disciples for validating the Fa; if you can walk this path well, nothing will block you, for it is all a matter of whether you walk it righteously.” ("Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference")
In August 2011, a CEO we once interviewed said that he had talked to several influential Chinese people and they wished to be interviewed by our magazine. Their being on the cover of our magazines drew us closer to western mainstream society and promoted the social status of our magazine. It worked wonders for us to promote Shen Yun to western mainstream society through the magazine.
In November 2011, I received an email from a well-known human resources company in Sydney saying that our magazine had won the Annual Award for the Most Popular Enterprise. I knew that Master was encouraging and supporting us.
At the award ceremony, we met other winning companies, including the largest children’s foundation in Australia. This built our connection with them for the future.
Beginning in 2011, our magazine became partners with the children’s foundation in all kinds of activities. Shen Yun and the magazine were made known to tens of thousands of their customers through their website and promotions. Their activities were a great success as well. Through this channel, it wasn’t hard to sell Shen Yun tickets.
When promoting Shen Yun, I must feel what people need with my heart and learn the service format of mainstream society. I must work toward being part of society and save people with the format they can identify with. The price of the tickets was never a problem. We must do our best to upgrade our xinxing constantly.
In 2013, we sold 60 tickets through this foundation. Its CEO watched Shen Yun with his wife and was amazed. He said that he would at least help Shen Yun sell 100 of its most expensive tickets in 2014.
In December 2011, I contacted the largest business association in Australia to introduce its members to Shen Yun. I met the association's representative in February 2012 and he was very interested. By March 2012, I learned that the briefing was approved. I quickly set up the meeting space with Shen Yun posters and banners. Two days before the meeting, I was told that there were too many posters and that I needed to remove some of them. I didn't even consider taking them down.
On the day of the briefing, it rained so hard that two major highways were temporarily closed down. I realized that the old forces were doing everything they could to stop Shen Yun from having influence in high-end society. “If Master asks you to work on higher-end society, just do it with righteous thoughts, and you will definitely succeed.” ("Be More Diligent")
That day, the briefing took place like it should and not even one of the posters was taken down. The host invited all the business partners to listen to the wonders of Shen Yun. After the event, the host put the information about Shen Yun in the newsletter and issued it to over 2,000 CEOs.
The vice president of the business association saw Shen Yun this year and signed the petition protesting the forced organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners imprisoned under the persecution. He also nominated me to be a member of the board. This provided me with a great opportunity to clarify the truth. During this economic downturn, I asked him how business was. He told me that it was great and that he was hiring. I knew that he had made the right choice for his future.
My understanding is, once a restaurant allows us to distribute our magazine, its food will taste great and business will boom. It’s a miracle that can’t be achieved by ordinary means. With good fortune from having a positive attitude towards Falun Dafa, the business is bound to be good. When I sign a contract for an advertisement, when I clarify the truth and the customer agrees with Falun Dafa, the outcome of his ads is bound to be good. If I don’t clarify the truth, then the ads would just be an ordinary ad. What’s worse, if the customer was trying to take advantage of the magazine, then the results of his ads are definitely not going to be satisfactory. It was because I, a Falun Dafa practitioner, didn’t do well in saving people. The effects of this person's ads in practitioners’ media when he understands the truth is definitely going to be great.
3. Cherish the Opportunities Master Arranges For Us
I got a call from my daughter’s school principal asking me to attend her breakfast meeting. My daughter attends the best private girls’ school in Australia.
During the meeting the principal told me that she remembered me from six years before. I used an iPad to show her my daughter’s pictures. I was very glad because I tried to attend as many activities at school as possible. I wanted to let more people know how wonderful Falun Dafa practitioners are and I wanted the opportunity to get to know the principal and the director of the board. This was the first breakfast meeting ever and only six parents were invited. I was very glad that I had made a good impression.
During one of the activities, the principal told me that one of her good friends, who is also a principal, suddenly disappeared. She asked me, “Do you feel safe in China?” That night, I thoroughly clarified the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Miraculously, that evening none of the parents tried to talk to the principal or interrupt the conversation.
One time, the chairman of the board told my husband and me that one of the students had just gone to Beijing as an exchange student. My husband said, “You are polluting your students.” The director nodded and said that he agreed that there were problems with education in China. Each day we seized every opportunity to clarify the facts about the persecution.
After the breakfast meeting, our magazine became the school’s partner in recruiting overseas students. The school was happy if 80 students showed up, but in the end 130 did. The principal told me it was because of our magazine. I knew it was because the principal and the director of the board made the right choice and had the right attitude towards Dafa and practitioners.
Master said,
“Of course, this difference will also manifest in your conduct. Ordinary people will feel that your disposition is different from others, or think that Dafa disciples are kind, and they will enjoy interacting with Dafa disciples. Since you are a cultivator, after all, the field around you is one of pure goodness—something ordinary people don’t have. So you are different in this regard, and people will sense it.” ("Fa Teaching at the 2013 Greater New York Fa Conference")
After the promotion activity, the principal expressed her gratitude for us in the school’s newsletter. The Chinese parents who normally wouldn’t talk to me because I'm a Dafa practitioner came to me and told me they respected me. I was happy that they had a positive attitude towards Dafa.
In the past couple of years, I've realized that to better save people and help Master rectify the Fa, I must eliminate the walls between myself and fellow practitioners. I have to let go of myself and stop judging other practitioners. I must work hard to communicate with other practitioners in order to coordinate with them and work well together.
Master said,
“Be sure not to forget that you are a cultivator. It is only because you have cultivation as your foundation that you can go and try to save people. Only with a foundation in cultivation and righteous thoughts that have grown strong will you succeed in saving people and complete your undertaking. So you must not neglect your own cultivation. This will always hold true.” ("2012 International Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital")
