(Minghui.org)
Greetings, Master!
Greetings, Fellow Practitioners!
Over the last ten years of cultivation practice, I have experienced Master’s compassionate salvation and immeasurable compassion. By assimilating to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I am mentally and physically purified. I upgraded my xinxing and felt the greatness of cultivation. I especially felt the honour and responsibilities of a Dafa disciple.
I remembered when I first read the book Zhuan Falun, I finished it without stopping. In the depth of my soul, and in tears, I clearly heard a voice that was both strange and familiar that said, “I found it finally!”
Immigrated to Canada and Cultivated My Heart
In May 1999, my family immigrated to Canada. Shortly after we landed, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong in July of that year. I participated in the peaceful demonstrations in front of the Chinese Consulate. During that period, my attachments of showing off, comparison, competition, and self-righteousness were exposed. I prevailed in conversations, self-appreciation, and liked to comment on other people. I felt Master’s compassion when I let go of these attachments.
At a petition campaign event, I stood in the middle of the front row. I used to work for a joint venture in China, so I dressed properly and looked outstanding. I felt I was qualified to represent Falun Gong’s image in front of ordinary people. As I was feeling so good about myself, the coordinator came to me and asked me to move to the corner of the last row. I was so surprised at this arrangement and felt uncomfortable. I looked inward right away and asked myself what I did wrong. I realized right away that as a practitioner, I should have a pure heart when attending our activities. I should not have had the attachments of showing off and comparison.
I moved to an eastern city later on. Those attachments sometimes showed up again. For example, if other practitioners commented on something I could improve in my reports or articles, my attachments to validating myself and competition would be touched. I would argue with them and could not look inward. Master said in “Don't Argue” inHong Yin III):
“Don't argue when people argue with you
Cultivation is looking within for the cause
Wanting to explain just feeds the attachment
Breadth of mind, unattached, brings true insight”
Through Fa study, with Master’s hints and fellow practitioners’ help, I had a further understanding of my attachments and why I need to let go of them. I also understood that cultivation was serious. Master said:
"What we lose is actually something bad. What is it? It is karma, and it goes hand in hand with different human attachments." (Zhuan Falun)
“In order to eliminate this negative thing, you must first change your mind." (Zhuan Falun)
I understood that all the attachments are black substances. If we do not let them go, our own field will not be clean. How can we meet the requirement of assisting Master with Fa-rectification and save people with such a black field? At the same time, we cannot reach consummation, either.
Participating in Media Projects
I participated in media projects when I went to school and after I got a job. Through these media projects I improved in both cultivation and technical skills. I felt Master’s immense wisdom and boundless power.
I have worked as a reporter and editor for a newspaper, radio and TV station run by Falun Gong practitioners. I felt that participating in media projects required great responsibilities and was challenging. In addition, the projects required flexibility at times. Workdays, weekends, morning or evening can all be defined as news time in the media world. TV media especially, requests that reporters rush to the scene as soon as possible. I have a full time job, two young children and elderly parents. My husband does not practice Falun Gong. It is very challenging for me to participate in media projects.
Over these past years, I cannot remember how many times I skipped meals in order to finish news reports. I cannot remember how many times I stayed up to finish editing articles and had to go to work the next morning. There are a few times I finished the uploading at 7 o’clock in the morning and drove dozens of kilometers away to sell Shen Yun tickets. A fellow practitioner jokingly said that I was really a fairy. As a practitioner, I understood that all this was possible due to Master’s blessings. This is not what an ordinary person could do.
The first challenge I had was with the language barrier. I felt great pressure, especially when I reported news about activities related to the Canadian Parliament. I could not understand the terms. Even though some western practitioners helped translate, I still wanted to give up.
However, it was hard to find a replacement because there were not many practitioners in our area, and all the other practitioners were very busy. I told myself that a practitioner was supernormal and we had Master’s blessing. I remembered what Teacher told us in Zhuan Falun:
“When it is difficult to endure, try to endure it. When it looks impossible and is said to be impossible, give it a try and see if it is possible.”
I therefore stayed in media projects with righteous thoughts.
I improved a lot in my language skills and professional technical skills after a few years’ practice and with the deeper understanding of Fa principles.
Last October, we were required to interview local VIPs and ask them to voice their support. We would expose the Chinese regime's organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners, including the attempted defection of Wang Lijun (an upper level CCP politician with close ties to the organ harvesting).
At that time, the coordinator went out of town and asked two photographers and me to do this report. First we had to make appointments with VIPs and this required us to clarify the truth first. Then, after interviewing the VIP, we still needed to make 70% of the other background screens. It was very hard to edit such news. I did not give up. The only thing in my mind was to save people. Master arranged everything for us and helped us get the background videos.
We contacted about ten politicians and one VIP. They all voiced their support for us. Our interview was reproduced into video and text by other media.
There were a few touching stories during the process of producing the news. Once, a politician accepted an appointment to speak with us, but she had to cancel it because she had to go out of town to attend a funeral. She asked her assistant to reschedule it and told her it was important for her to meet us.
We met her two weeks later. During the interview, she told us that she'd already sent emails to her friends who work for the US Congress, urging them to expose the information that Wang Lijun provided to the US Consulate. She said she would ask the Canadian government to call for a stop to forced organ harvesting from persecuted Falun Gong practitioners.
A few days later, her secretary called us and told us that she already finished her speech and proposals and asked if we needed the live video in order to produce the news.
Once, a very busy VIP gave us only 5 minutes in the hallway for a brief interview. The hallway was very dark and we were not allowed to use our own lights. The video we made was not usable in the end.
Normally, it was impossible to make another appointment. Because he was so busy, it had taken us about one month to make the first appointment. I felt very guilty and hoped that Master could give us another chance to make up for this.
I calmed down and looked inward. I found my attachment to getting things done quickly. I did not do enough homework and did not cooperate well with the photographers. After I realized this, I made another call to his office and clarified the truth to him again. I told him that his voice of support was very important because the organ harvesting issue was an important issue internationally. I sent righteous thoughts more often. A few days later we had another chance for a second interview in his office.
When we got there, to our surprise, the secretary told me that the interview could not be done in his office. We had to interview him again in the hallway like last time. I sent forth righteous thoughts and asked Master for help.
I looked around and tried to find a bright corner in the hallway. At that time, I saw the Parliament media coordinator. He greeted me and asked if I needed help. I told him I need a bright place for an interview. He told me he had a good office and I could use it.
In this way, we successfully completed the interview. Our audio was provided to another media outlet and they also produced their reports on time. The photographer told me he was sending forth righteous thoughts and asked for Master’s help.
We had been complying with all the principles and behaved in accordance with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. This certainly gave other people a very good impression of us.
Reporting Shen Yun with Righteous Thoughts
Shen Yun is a project that Master participates in personally. I felt honored that I could participate in this project. I’d like to share with you an unforgettable experience.
When Shen Yun came to Ottawa last year, we needed to produce the news story before the show.
We had to wait for quite a few days for the snow to stop in order to shoot sunny scenes. Finally, we only had one day to put together the news story.
On the afternoon that we made an appointment with an interviewee, we were advised that he had to cancel due to a work related conflict and that we would not have another chance to interview him.
I called the interviewee and photographer and told them we had to finish the interview that day. I picked up my child from daycare and drove to the ticket booth 50 kilometers away. On my way, the photographer told me that security would not allow us to make the interview in the mall. We were told that the manager had to approve it in advance but the manager had gone for the day. We were told to come back the next day.
I sent forth righteous thoughts and asked the photographer to stay there and wait for me.
I had taken me an extra hour to get to the mall because of the bad weather. It was already 8 o’clock and the mall was closing in less than 2 hours. I bought my child some food and went to see the security personnel.
I clarified the truth to him while sending forth righteous thoughts. I told him I would only shoot the interviewee and would not shoot any scenes of the mall. We would not affect the business and any other people. But the security representative repeated the exact same thing to me that he had told the photographer earlier.
I left the information desk and continued to send forth righteous thoughts nearby. I looked inward and asked myself if I was too attached to this interview. I thought again, first we were really running out of time and had to finish the interview today, otherwise the news would not be timely. On the other hand, our shooting would not affect the mall’s normal business. So I told myself, “Shen Yun is what Master wants. Nobody can interfere with us.”
I went back to the information desk and asked security to consider my request again and suggested that he call his manager. He said it was too late to contact the manager. It seemed hopeless. I send forth righteous thoughts again. I left the information desk slowly. After I took a few steps, I heard him say that the manager just returned his call and agreed for us to do the interview.
Later, the photographer told me, “You broke one of my notions. I thought we needed to make appointments for everything in Western society. This would be impossible in a normal situation.”
Looking back at the path of my cultivation, it has been full of difficulties. I was once confused and stumbled and even fell hard. Master gave me opportunities to stand up and do well again and again.
Master said:
"Dafa disciples' doing Fa-rectification has no precedent in history. In the magnificent, grand feats of validating the Fa with rationality, clarifying the truth with wisdom, and spreading the Fa and saving people with mercy, each Dafa disciple's path of Consummation is being perfected." ("The Disciples' Magnificence" Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Please correct me if there is anything inappropriate in my sharing.
Thank you Master for giving me an opportunity to cultivate myself! Thank you fellow practitioners who gave me encouragement and help!
(Presented at the 2013 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)
