My Cultivation Experiences While Producing a Travel Magazine

(Minghui.org) Greetings Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!

This year marks the tenth anniversary of The Epoch Times travel magazine, Travel Ontario. As the project leader, I would like to tell you about my cultivation journey while working in the media.

Learning to Let Go of My Notions 

Ten years ago when I first joined The Epoch Times as a salesperson, the newspaper was in the process of adopting a more effective business strategy. The sales department began categorizing major advertising industries and assigning each salesperson to lead in one or two categories. Sales people are required to study the industry and eventually become an expert in their field. Soon after I joined the sales team, the president of The Epoch Times suggested that I specialize in the tourism industry. My first thought was no. I had just started to do sales. I felt I should have a wide exposure to the market, and comprehensive development, instead of limiting myself to a certain industry. My stubborn notion made me resist his suggestion. 

As Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa, said,

“You know, why is it that many things, many attachments, can't be removed just like that? Why is it so hard? I've always told you that particles make up particles level by level from the microcosm all the way to surface matter. If you took a look in the extreme microcosm at the material formed by what your mind is attached to, [you'd see that] they are mountains, huge mountains, made of hard, granite-like rock, and once they are formed there's simply no way for a human being to move them.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Chicago Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. IV)

One day while I sent forth righteous thoughts, I was in a relatively tranquil state. I saw a stunning scene in another dimension: Huge jagged mountains covered with iron nails. They might have been there for a very long time as many of the nails were rusted. I told my roommate what I saw. I was surprised when she said that Master showed me the material manifestation of my stubborn notions in another dimension. Later, when I attended the 2004 Chicago Fa Conference and listened to Master’s teaching in person I was greatly shocked.

Now, standing in front of the president, I remembered Master’s words once again. I realized that my resistance was the result of those stubborn notions formed lifetime after lifetime. They were trying to restrain me from doing what I should do. The part of me that had already assimilated to the Fa’s principles knew that I should remove those stubborn substances and let my true self make the decisions.

It occurred to me that the media needed to further develop in order to clarify the truth and save people more powerfully. However, sticking to the past business model was not going to work for the newspaper. Our media required money to develop further. We needed to convert the old business model to a more proactive and professional one. As a new sales team member in The Epoch Times, I should cooperate with our media’s development and follow my supervisor in my career planning. I should not allow my notions to decide how I should develop. These good and bad thoughts quickly flashed through my mind. After a few seconds, I agreed with the president. Even though my mental struggle lasted for just a few seconds, I knew that thousands of years had passed in another dimension. Those huge mountains and hard rocks covered with nails began to loosen, fall off, and disintegrate. My stubborn notions began to be cleared away.

The arrangement proved to be the right one. During my first three years I established business partnerships with regional and destination marketing offices, tourism boards at different levels, in the private sector as well as leading travel companies. In the process, I discovered that both businesses and readers were pleased to see a Chinese magazine focused on Ontario tourism. With the support of the management, in 2011, the first travel magazine Travel Ontario was launched.

It became the first local Chinese travel magazine and enjoyed a wide range of Chinese readership. At the same time, it also attracted the attention of our competitors, who wanted to produce something similar. After trying, they gave up as we had already taken the lead in most of the travel market and they just couldn’t copy us.

Improving Performance with Sales Partners and Removing Party Culture

The travel industry continued to expand steadily. Following the first summer magazine in 2011, the first winter magazine was published in 2012, and the fall edition was added in 2013. The expansion of the business required new sales staff. The company assigned a young practitioner who had just graduated from university to join the sales team and become my partner.

She was young, smart, capable and creative. She understood mainstream society, and was talented in engaging with clients, and closing deals. While partnering with me in travel, she also established an education industry. Our sales performance was steadily increasing. Our travel magazine in 2013 achieved an outstanding revenue income and won an excellence award from the Canadian Ethnic Media Association. 

Just when I was full of ambition, one day I was suddenly informed by my manager that my partner would no longer be a salesperson, but a marketing manager. I was a bit shocked about the decision, wondering why management would take away my partner without discussing it with me and why my partner would just leave without even saying a word. I felt so wronged. I even developed resentment towards my co-workers and the management. I couldn’t help but complain to my husband. He asked me to take it easy as there would be a new partner in the future. He also reminded me to look inward to see if there was something wrong with me.

I barely had any time to look inward as I had to head out to meet clients. Then I found that without her I didn’t even know how to start a conversation with clients, or how to introduce our media and clarify the truth. I knew something was wrong with me. I cleared my thoughts and reviewed our cooperation in the past year. After she joined the team, I truly believed that as long as our partnership continued, we could make significant breakthroughs. 

I didn’t realize that I developed an attachment of relying on her. At the same time, I found I had strong Chinese Communist Party (CCP) culture. For example, while working on a proposal, I only came up with ideas, while she had to do the actual work, because I could not even write a decent email in English. While we came across different ideas in a project, I always imposed my opinions on her. Whenever there was a conflict with clients, I became upset and aggressive. People who live in Western society, like her, would find me difficult to get along with.

Master said,

“...your ways of thinking, those extreme ways of doing things that come from Party culture, your lying, and your halfhearted way of working really exasperate [others]. If you interact with Americans or people from free countries around the world, they will find you odd. Master has experienced this personally. Some time ago Master came here from China as well, but at the time I immediately sensed this issue and saw the difference in people. Sometimes when practitioners outside China are hesitant to accept you, or are hesitant to include you in their projects, it’s not because you have problems, but rather, the issue is that it’s really just impossible to work with you.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2014 San Francisco Fa Conference”)

I knew that the problem was with me, so I wrote an email to my partner. I sincerely apologized, and thanked her for her efforts and cooperation. I said that I learned a lot from her, and I hoped she could continue helping and supporting me in the future. She soon replied, and said that it was good to work with me, and that she would definitely continue to support me in developing the travel industry.

In the process of removing my resentment, I also realized that my working in the travel industry as a salesperson in The Epoch Times is part of the vow I made. While other practitioners could help and support, it is me who takes the lead, and it is my duty to endure hardship and to contribute.

In addition, I learned to cherish the team and each person who contributed to the project. There are two team members, who, although not salespeople, always work side by side with me. Together we develop even more travel products, such as our annual travel expo, a travel club, and several travel events with readers and clients as well as our travel website. With these platforms, travel took a prominent role in a more professional way.

Understanding the Fa in Depth 

In 2015, another young practitioner joined the travel team and together we reached another peak performance. We produced the fifth anniversary edition of Travel Ontario. We received congratulatory letters from tourism boards and industry leaders of different levels, including the Federal Minister of Tourism. Our advertising revenue exceeded $100,000 for the first time. 

In 2016 my sales partner left on maternity leave. I once again faced the situation of traveling alone and carrying on by myself. That year I also experienced a relatively large family tribulation. I spent a lot of time and effort but still couldn’t see any hope for a solution. When I drove out alone to meet clients, I felt that the road was long, the future was uncertain, and my thoughts were heavy. I felt I had no direction.

Master said,

“...our pupils will dilate under dark conditions, similar to how the aperture of a camera expands in poor lighting to ensure adequate exposure. And conversely, our pupils shrink when we walk outside into bright light so that we won’t experience a blinding glare. And the principle is the same for a camera, as the aperture has to similarly contract when flooded with light.” (The Second Talk, Zhuan Falun)

I realized that in order to do a good job in sales or in other projects or positions, we should look ahead to the long term. When encountering hardships or difficulties, we should enlarge our vision and capacity. We shouldn’t get stuck in the difficulties and darkness and begin feeling hopeless. Our mind should be stable, our vision should be rational, and we should not get overwhelmed. So, how could I break through my current maze? 

One day I participated in a car tour to expose the persecution in China and had the opportunity to tell other practitioners about my family tribulations and confusion. They told me about their experiences of overcoming tribulations. I was greatly inspired. I realized that I couldn’t find my way through the difficulties because I didn’t realize these were cultivation opportunities and that I should take hardship as joy.

In the first poem of Hong Yin “Tempering Your Will” Master said:

To consummate, obtaining Buddha’s fruitLet hardship then be treated as your joyTo work the body—hardship it is notThe hardest is to cultivate the heartThrough barriers and barriers you must breakAnd here and there, the demons everywhereA hundred kinds of hardships fall at onceTo see if you are able to surviveWith all the hardship in the world you bearTranscend the world, a Buddha you will be(“Tempering Your Will,” Hong Yin)

Master already made it clear that in order to achieve consummation, one must “Let hardship then be treated as your joy” (“Tempering Your Will,” Hong Yin). I felt that I had suffered a lot of hardships, the hardships of cultivation, the hardships of sales, the hardships of letting go my attachments, the hardships of eliminating sickness karma, and the hardships from my family, etc. The longer I thought about all this, I angrier I became. I felt resentful and that my situation was unfair.

I knew this was a wrong state. Soon after I changed my mindset, the company organized a sales team to go to New York for three days to learn from the New York sales team. In the head office, we listened to the president’s long-term plan, and shared with sales leaders our industry strategies and direction. I found that the travel strategy in Toronto was very similar to the one developed by the travel team in New York. Even our direction was roughly the same. I learned that I was walking in the right direction, and I felt confident. Those three days were full of joy and laughter. Fellow practitioners from the Canadian team said that I was laughing all day.

That winter, we held the first winter travel expo and invited the top five ski resorts and other prominent winter tourist destinations in Ontario to join the expo. They interacted with Chinese readers and promoted Ontario winter tourism. The result was good. A manager of the largest ski resort in Ontario told me, “My booth was so full of readers from beginning to end that I could barely take care of them.” He immediately booked the next year’s winter and summer expo.

Master’s Compassionate Care and Protection

Our advertisers have predestined relationships with The Epoch Times. They made a vow before descending here that during the Fa rectification period they would support The Epoch Times in the form of advertising to save more sentient beings. My mission is to find them and help them fulfill their vow. In order to find these travel businesses, I drove to every corner of Ontario to the east, west, north and south. I never stopped for a moment. Sometimes I went to four cities a day to meet five clients, and then I returned to Toronto at night. The next morning I was on the road again. As I traveled through mountains and sometimes remote areas, I felt Master’s care and protection. Many times my journey is really like what Master said in the poem “Eliminating Evil” in Hong Yin II: 

“A hundred thousand milesthis vehicle travels...” (“Eliminating Evil,” Hong Yin II)

One winter I was on my way to meet a client. I drove along snow-covered country roads. A car was slowly driving in front of me. It was a single lane and I was going to be late. I decided to pass the car. I couldn’t see clearly in the snow. When I sped up and entered the opposite lane, I suddenly saw a car in that lane driving towards me. If I didn’t speed up to pass the car and get back to my original lane, the consequences would be terrible. But the road was covered by a layer of snow, and I didn’t know if there was black ice beneath it. If I drove too fast, the car would skid, then the consequences would be equally terrible. I gripped the steering wheel with one hand, and erected my other hand in front of my chest. While sending righteous thoughts I asked Master to help me! With my foot on the accelerator, I quickly passed the car and made it back to my original lane, safe and sound. I immediately said, “Thank you, Master!”

One day I went to meet a client in a town in the east. It was already very late, and the next morning I had to head south to Niagara Falls to meet another client. I had to drive back to Toronto that night and then head out to the south early in the morning. It was already dark and there were many vehicles on the highway. I kept driving in the middle lane. Around 11:00 p.m., I felt tired, but still kept driving. Suddenly I felt like I was in a trance, and my heart thumped. When I came to my senses, I found that somehow the car had slipped into the right lane, with cars in front and behind me, but I did not crash into them. I knew that Master had protected me once again.

Another time another practitioner and I met a client in a town about four hours away. My GPS did not work well in the remote countryside. It led us to an unattended road and into a wild wooded area. With heavy rain pouring down, we drove through the woods for quite a while. I didn’t know how long we drove. The GPS lost signal and showed that we had to drive for another three hours. We were confused. Suddenly, the phone also lost signal. We were in the middle of nowhere and the sky began getting dark. We didn’t know what to do. I asked Master to help us. Then my colleague found that her phone showed a signal. With a weak signal, we downloaded the Google Maps app and half an hour later we drove out of the wilderness, and were headed to our destination.

In the process of doing sales, I felt that Master not only protects us, but also takes care of us in every aspect of life. My husband also worked in a media company and got a basic salary. We both worked from early morning until late at night. With a house mortgage and car loans to pay, we were not financially well off. Once on a business trip, I passed through a lakefront town. The town had a beautiful harbor with beautiful scenery. I thought it would be great to have a house here. In this way, I could meet clients halfway and not have to rush back to Toronto. I soon saw a waterfront cottage for sale at a reasonable price, and we bought it. The next year, the property increased in value by 40 per cent and we sold it and earned a good return on our investment. I know this was given by Master, and the only way for a disciple to repay Master is to be more diligent and save more people!

These are my cultivation experiences while working in the media over the past ten years. Please correct me if there is anything wrong in my understanding.

Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!

(Presented at the 2021 Canada Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference)