Some Suggestions on Submitting Articles to Minghui

(Minghui.org) I’ve been thinking about the framework for submitting articles to Minghui.org lately and would encourage fellow practitioners who are capable of writing submissions to share their thoughts as well. The following are a few points based on my experiences in revamping practitioners’ submissions in the past, which I hope can be of some help to others. 

1. Poor Connection in Content

Some articles are very good in content, with each story described vividly, however, the reader may feel a bit lost due to a lack of logic in the write-up. It would be great if we could summarize the content in a concise manner. If we find it too difficult, we can always ask other practitioners to help out. My suggestion is that if the article has many details, it is better to have it arranged into smaller sections with subtitles, so the content is concise and clear. 

2. Overwriting

Some practitioners are not good at expressing themselves in a clear and concise manner but still enjoy sharing their views. There are such practitioners around me who would talk for half an hour about things that could be explained in just two or three sentences. Articles written by such practitioners tend to be long without a clear theme. 

I still remember a story our Chinese language teacher told us when I was a school pupil: There was a scholar who always believed that he had great talent in literature but was not appreciated, so he always harbored a strong feeling of frustration. 

One day, while he was reading, suddenly he had a strong aspiration to write something, so he picked up the writing brush and wrote a long piece, covering several pieces of paper. He was so excited and pleased with himself that he asked his wife to take a look at what he had written. To his surprise, his wife didn’t make any comment, but simply said, “We’ll have steamed buns stuffed with sweet bean paste for lunch.” 

At lunch time, his wife brought him a bun the size of a plate, and said, “This one is for you.”

The scholar was surprised by the size of the bun and took a bite immediately, but he couldn’t taste any bean paste. So he took another bite, but there was still no bean paste. He gave it a few more bites, still could not taste any bean paste. In frustration, he broke the bun in half and only saw one bean in the whole bun. He looked at his wife in puzzlement. “Yes, this is how I feel about your article,” his wife said to him. 

Overly written articles would take much editing or be rejected. So, please do not complain when this happens, because very often what we think is good might not be that good in a true sense. 

3. Influence of CCP Party Culture

I came across a situation a few years ago, which I thought was undermining the Fa. A few veteran practitioners also got involved. I felt rather indignant at the time and submitted an article to Minghui.org. I saved the article in my file and didn’t pay much attention to it afterwards. 

In fact, the situation wasn’t as bad as I thought, but my reaction was very intense at the time. From that incident, I have realized many of my own attachments and have improved in cultivation. 

One day when I was fiddling with my computer, I came across the article I had saved years ago. I was shocked by the content, which was full of complaints, criticisms, accusations and satires. I felt so disgusted by what I wrote then that I deleted the file immediately. 

“Minghui editors must have thought that I was one of those red guards during the ‘Cultural Revolution,’” I thought. But I was born after the “Cultural Revolution.” How on earth did I get this “fighting” mentality?

I made recordings of the book Dissolving the Party Culture and listened to them attentively, consciously letting go of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Culture influence in me.

In fact, most people from mainland China have been contaminated by the Party culture elements to varying degrees even though we might not always be aware of them. They might not show when our xinxing is held up, but will manifest when we slack off in cultivation. 

When we write articles, we must write with sincerity, kindness, and unpretentiousness. Only by doing so will the stories we write touch people’s hearts.

4. Going Through the Motions

There have been situations when some practitioners didn’t want to submit articles at the beginning, but changed their minds for fear of “lagging behind” when others said that submitting articles was also part of our cultivation. 

With such a mindset, they made a submission, thinking “At least I’ve submitted a sharing.” They knew their articles were not that good, but said “The key is participation.” 

When fellow practitioners refused to upload their articles because they were really not up to the standards, they got upset, saying that those practitioners were obstructing their cultivation, and that they would find someone else to submit the articles to Minghui.org.

However, such “participation” not only wastes the time and energy of those who take care of uploading articles to Minghui.org, but also that of the Minghui editors.

We must not follow the CCP Party culture in our conduct, such as going through the motions or doing things carelessly.

When submitting a sharing, we must be very clear about why we are making the submission in the first place. Of course, I don’t mean to discourage practitioners from submitting articles to Minghui.org. What I mean is that we must do it with our hearts, and be responsible to both ourselves and others. 

5. Group Submission

If we find it difficult to submit an article on our own as an individual, we can always share with others in our Fa-study group and make a group submission. We should not pay too much attention to our personal gain or loss but work together with others so that the submission would be more effective and powerful with joint strength and wisdom. 

If you make an individual submission, we can also share the draft with fellow practitioners or our family members first to get some feedback so that we can edit and enrich our sharing. As the current round of submission is for the general public, it is also very important to get feedback from non-practitioners. 

The above is just some of my current understanding, please kindly point out anything that is not in line with the Fa. 

Editor’s note: This article only represents the author’s current understanding meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare with one another in study, in cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)