Passing a Tribulation Lay in One Thought

(Minghui.org) As a Falun Dafa adherent, I felt that cultivation was difficult whenever I had an attachment or notion. I struggled when I didn't know how to deal with a tribulation. However, through believing in Master and the Fa, I realized that it is one’s thoughts that determine whether or not a tribulation is difficult.

The company I work for organized a competition to celebrate the anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) coming to power in China. Each department was to form a chorus and every employee had to participate. If an employee did not participate, it would affect the department’s score. After I saw the notice, I told myself that I would not participate even though my absence would affect my department’s performance.

There are many young people in my department who don’t cooperate, making them hard to manage. Sometimes it was hard to continue a project, so my department leader decided to use this opportunity to improve team morale. He asked us to prepare for the competition, and assigned my colleague, Ms. Li, as the coordinator. He asked us to do everything we could to win the competition.

Most rehearsals were held after work, but a few were held during the day. When rehearsals occurred during work hours, I sat at my desk and tried to ignore the interference. As the competition date approached, there were more and more rehearsals during work hours, and my colleagues became more active and more anxious to win the competition. I started to feel uncomfortable and even embarrassed by the situation. I was not sure what my colleagues were thinking about me. Did they think I was weird? Did they have a bad opinion about Dafa disciples? The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became.

Three or four days before the competition, Ms. Li said to me, “I understand why you don’t want to sing songs advocating for the CCP. However, if you don’t participate in this event, it will affect our department’s competition result. I have discussed it with the event committee. They said that considering your situation, you do not need to sing, but you need to be at the event as support staff. Our department’s score will not be affected if you can do that.”

I could tell it was not easy for her to come up with this solution. Her arrangement was a compromise for both me and the department. I thought I would sound unreasonable if I didn’t agree to attend. It was a difficult decision, so I said I would get back to her.

At home, I studied the Fa, shared with other practitioners, and looked for a solution to the issue. I was still unsure if I should go to the event. Ms. Li kept calling me and asking me to make my decision. My coworkers did not want to embarrass me but they did not want to affect the department’s performance either. I eventually agreed to go to the event.

I felt very uncomfortable with my decision. After putting down the phone, I felt like something was piercing my heart. I knew my decision was wrong, otherwise, I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. I tried to concentrate on studying the Fa, but I could not overcome the uncomfortable feeling—I burst into tears.

I calmed down and pondered my situation. My original decision to not participate in the activity was right. Dafa disciples should not advocate for the CCP. Most of my managers and colleagues know I am a practitioner and a good person. But they don’t know the evil nature of the CCP. They did not know that this event would spread the CCP lies and bring harm to people. I would be helping the evil if I participated in the competition. Knowing all this, it was hard to know what to do.

While I was thinking about this, I suddenly realized that my initial thought had been from the perspective of self. For example, my thoughts of “I will not participate,” “I can not be isolated from my colleagues,” and “What can I do so they will understand me?” were not aligned with the Fa.

Master said,

“I also want to tell you that your nature in the past was actually based on egotism and selfishness. From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism. So from now on, whatever you do or whatever you say, you must consider others—or even future generations—along with Dafa’s eternal stability.” (“Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

I realized that I wasn't thinking about saving my colleagues. I didn't have many opportunities to clarify the truth to them. Although most of them quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, they did not know much about Falun Dafa or the persecution. Most of them were indifferent to the persecution. Wasn’t this event a good opportunity for them to learn the facts? Some event committee members were new to the company so I hadn’t talked with them about the evil nature of the CCP. I remembered that the true purpose of coming to this world was to talk with sentient beings about Falun Dafa, and to save them.

I realized that my previous thoughts were not from my true self. I had habitually regarded such thoughts as my own. I had forgotten my mission as a Dafa disciple. I suddenly understood what I should do.

The next day, I talked to the leader who was coordinating the event. I told her the nature of this event and hoped she could adjust the scoring method and not require everyone to participate. She said it was impossible to make such a change when it was so close to the event. I wanted to tell the facts to every company manager, but it was not easy to speak with them individually.

I decided to write a letter to the managers. In it I told them how I obtained the Fa, explained about the goodness of Dafa, and described the persecution of Dafa disciples. I also told them how the CCP has persecuted Chinese people throughout the years. I explained why, as a Dafa disciple, I didn’t want to participate in the event.

I typed the letter carefully and used the font and format the company preferred. I gave a copy to Ms. Li first. The next day, she told me that she read my letter and understood my stance. She said she would take care of it.

The day before the competition, I gave the letter to every colleague in our department and several company managers. When I handed the letter to the company chief, he took it with both hands and expressed his sincere appreciation.

The reason I found this tribulation so difficult was that I had forgotten my role as a Dafa disciple. However, I easily came to a solution once I remembered my purpose in being here.