Looking Within During a Media Project

(Minghui.org) It has been three years since I returned to the path of diligent cultivation. 

I realized that the difference between a practitioner and an everyday person sometimes is only a thought. The time I have spent on solid cultivation is too short, but I know that more time should be spent advancing, learning positive lessons, and not stopping.

Everything Comes from Dafa

In work related to the truth-clarification projects, I often felt the boundless power of Dafa helping me to do what I should do. As long as I could keep a pure mind, I can achieve twice the result with half the effort. I know Master has arranged this process to elevate me.

When I was a student, I was not good at writing. My English was not good, and I was not proficient in Chinese grammar either. But, I was able to use these skills when working on the editing project. In some cases, I understood the English quickly and modified corresponding Chinese paragraphs to finish the work in a short period of time. As time passed, I realized that these abilities came from Dafa.

As I continued to correct many unrighteous cultivation issues, my copy-editing skills were on the right track. It seemed like a no-brainer, yet I knew that this was not the case. It was like a story in Shen Yun’s show a few years ago: a Dafa practitioner became capable because a fairy helped him in another dimension. The wisdom of Dafa was the source of my abilities.

Master said, 

“I have almost depleted everything of mine for all lives. Of course, that kind of depletion isn’t what you understand, where there is nothing left. I’ve often said that I have incorporated into this Fa everything that can allow you to cultivate and advance, and everything that you can attain through cultivation. Although you are in different realms, none of you can truly understand the weight of my words. You will obtain everything so long as you cultivate. But do you know how many things of mine are incorporated into what you obtain? ” (Teachings at the Conference in Switzerland)

I could not see Master’s painstaking arrangement for me in other dimensions, but I truly felt the power of the Fa. Sometimes, this human thinking is trapped in the tribulations, and feels bitter and painful. When stepping out of the interference, one can feel a different realm. My recent experience is an example.

Attachments Are an Issue

I do editing work in the news center. In a Sunday meeting in March this year, the general counsel of the news department issued a notice: the headlines on the website now increased to 10 news items. This made my heart move. I was on duty for the editing process one day per week. But I did not have the authority to publish headlines, which often brought difficulties to my work. I was very uncomfortable when the relevant articles were not in the headlines. This thought was getting stronger and stronger. Every time I was on duty, I would be in a state of distress. Now the number of headline news had increased, the slowness of headline news updates would be more obvious. I requested technical support to grant me access to update the headlines. But this did not go well. 

I then sent a message to the coordinator of the project team to request the access, then followed up with three phone calls. I could not reach him, and did not get any response either. A very annoying substance arose in me.

Later, I contacted my manager regarding the headlines news update problem. She said that she had noticed this for a long time, and had reported to the related person in charge three times. The response was that they would consider it, but no action. After our conversation, she highlighted this problem in the group chat, but did not get an in depth response.

As a practitioner, I knew I needed to look within when facing a problem. I thought over the issue. Having the permission to post headline news wouldn’t bring me any benefit, but did I consider this as a privilege? The answer is yes. It would make my work easy and even satisfy my attachment to seeking fame. This should not be my motive to get the access.

Master said, “There is no fame, self-interest, or official titles in Dafa, but only cultivation practice. ” (“A Heavy Blow,”Essentials For Further Advancement)

Did I consider being able to post headlines as a benefit? This was ridiculous. If I were an everyday person, I might be a sharp person who liked to exploit others, but as a Dafa practitioner, this kind of attachment was a sign of stupidity.

On the surface, I was concerned about the project. I pointed out the staffing gap at that time slot, and it was just right for me to take the responsibility since I was on duty at that time. Things seemed to look that way, and my manager was very much in agreement with me.

At the end of our conversation, she said, “Thank you for taking responsibility for everyone.” Her words sparked a moment of contemplation. At first glance, I was for the betterment of the project, but I knew that my motive was not pure, and it was mixed with selfishness and ego. I was doing this not from the perspective of being entirely for others, but from wanting others to adopt my views and imposing my opinion on others. I was doing Dafa’s work mixed with the attachment of validating myself.

Master said,

“All that exists was made by the Creator’s handHeaven’s lords were each crowned at His command...” (“Revealing the Mysteries,” Hong Yin V)

In my work, I sometimes mistook the abilities that Master gave me to cultivate as my own, breeding a comparison mentality, seeking fame, impatience, competitive mentality, and complaining. I felt irritated because I mistook my attachments and false self as me, mistakenly thinking that my abilities were not being used instead of looking inward.

The reason for the so-called “not being able to exercise my abilities” is that my cultivation has not fully caught up. To all appearances, there was a disconnected workflow, but in fact, I became obsessed with fighting for the authority to do this job, and began to pursue this goal obsessively.

I went from not knowing anything to being able to do my current job because of Master’s blessing, and the power of Dafa. But now, I used this ability granted by Dafa to pursue something superficially. My attachments were exposed.

Master said,

“Younger people find it harder to handle themselves well, however. They might be good people under normal circumstances, and take worldly things lightly when they’re nobody special. But after a taste of success they are apt to fall prey to the lure of things like status and wealth, and start becoming ambitious about life, and want to throw their hat in the ring and fight for their piece of the pie. So it’s quite possible that they would regard their powers and newfound abilities as a means of achieving selfish, worldly ends. That’s a problem, though. Those powers aren’t to be used in that way, and doing so will come at the cost of energy. So these individuals would end up devoid of any energy.” (The Third Talk, Zhuan Falun)

At the same time, I also remembered an example Master gave in Zhuan Falun when he talked about jealousy:

Master said,

“Suppose there is someone who thinks that nobody at his workplace is as good as he is; he excels at whatever he does and really thinks he’s outstanding. He envisions himself doing just fine as a manager at the company, or even in a more senior position; even becoming head of state seems feasible to him. And his supervisor might concur that he’s very able and does everything well. His co-workers might say the same, praising him for his talents and skills.” (Zhuan Falun)

Looking at myself, have I already put myself in the position of having the ability to update the headlines in my heart? If not, I would not have taken the initiative to ask management for the job. So what was the reason that I did not get what I wanted?

Master said,

“The principle at work here is one that the average person isn’t aware of: that you will not get what you want if it’s not part of your life’s design, however deserving you may seem; while someone else who is incompetent might get it, if it is part of his life’s design. People might have their own takes on this, but their views aren’t spiritually informed. As higher beings see it, things in this world unfold according to higher designs that are in place. So what a person gets to do in life certainly isn’t going to be decided by how talented he is.” (Zhuan Falun)

Lack of Good Understanding of the Fa

This made me realized that one probably would not have taken on this role in a project if you do not have this mission. My active pursuit of gaining this permission to publish the headline showed my lack of a good understanding of the Fa in this regard. 

The day before this, I heard a fellow practitioner from New York say that clarifying the truth via a car parade was part of his historical vow. There were sentient beings he wanted to save via this project. This was a sacred predestination!  I teared up thinking of this. Fa-rectification is such a sacred thing. How could tiny human attachments sway it?

My cultivation state was reflected in my work. How could I not do well and pursue things that everyday people want? If I were not allowed to do that work, but I pursued it, it must be my problem. Master arranged my cultivation path.

Master said,

“If you’re a piece of steel, it won’t work to arrange things for you as a piece of iron. If you’re able to cultivate to Bodhisattva Attainment Status, arranging for you to reach Arhat Attainment Status won’t do, either. Everything is gauged accurately—when it’s gauged from up there, there aren’t any mistakes.” (Explaining the Content of Falun Dafa)

Did I treat the editing work as an everyday people’s work instead of a Dafa project? In everyday people’s workplaces, people would go for higher positions. But I fought for these rights in a Dafa project. This attachment of fame is not in line with the standard of practitioners. It must be removed.

Looking at Issues from the Perspective of Cultivation

I felt that I must look at this issue from the perspective of cultivation. That evening, I memorized the Fa with my mother. Afterward, I thought that any gaining among ordinary people is worthless, and nothing could be compared to obtaining the Fa.

The following day, the coordinator of the project team took the initiative to bring up the topic of headline authority with everyone. He said that he had been busy and did not get my message until yesterday evening. Everyone agreed to let me fill the vacancy. It turned out that I was obviously overthinking this matter, and it seems that those complicated thoughts were not really me, nor are they the actual situation, but just a false illusion created for me. The real obstruction turns out to be myself.

By looking carefully inward through this matter, I felt that I had really elevated.