[European Fa Conference] My Cultivation Experiences While Participating on the Food Team for Shen Yun

(Minghui.org) I was fortunate to begin practicing Falun Dafa in 1995 and I moved to the UK in 2009. My wife once said that if I hadn’t begun practicing I would have been an unforgivable person.

I was a project manager for contracting projects in China. In order to get the project, in addition to giving gifts, sometimes I had to go to karaoke and bath centers as well as massage parlors with clients. I didn’t believe in the existence of God at all. I also joined the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). I was a true atheist.

I came home drunk every day. If my wife complained, I hit her and smashed everything in sight. I don’t know how many plates and bowls my wife had to replace.

Practicing Falun Dafa Saved Our Family

Just when my family was about to fall apart, one night in July 1995, my wife went out without telling me. I wanted to know what she was doing, so I followed her. She went to a place where about a hundred people were practicing some kind of qigong. I later learned that they were doing the second Falun Dafa exercise.

I was curious and decided to try. As soon as I imitated the posture, I felt a flash of white light on my forehead, and my whole body felt like it was enveloped by white light. I felt as though I was hugging a mountain.

After a while, a man touched my shoulder and asked me to put my arms down. I was really annoyed. But when I saw so many people around me, and my wife was practicing over there and didn’t know I followed her, I held my anger and let it pass.

I later learned that the assistant was just trying to tell me that it was time to change positions to Holding the Wheel in front of the lower abdomen. I thought: “I never experienced something so powerful! I’d like to have a look at this book.”

Zhuan Falun hadn’t been published yet. My wife managed to obtain a revised edition of the book Falun Gong. I started reading the book and it really touched my soul. We were later able to obtain Zhuan Falun.

After reading it, I was very excited. Falun Dafa is so amazing. Through reading the book I learned why people exist. I decided to practice Falun Dafa!

After studying the Fa and practicing the exercises for some time, many of my bad habits were eliminated, and my family relationships became harmonious. We also set up a group Fa study site in our home. Around 20 practitioners came to my house to read the teachings every evening from 7 to 9 p.m. The assistance center asked me to be in charge of the local practice site. Every morning, I got up at 4 o’clock and went with my wife to the practice site.

The Persecution Begins

On July 20, 1999, the  CCP began to suppress Falun Dafa. Officials from the local police station, local neighborhood administration office, and work units often came to my house to harass me. I had no choice but to transfer our hukou (household register) to my younger brother’s house. Within a month, my brother’s wife asked me to transfer it somewhere else. She explained that the police came every day, and the local neighborhood administration office also came. They said, “If your brother’s hukou is not removed from your household register, your family will not be given their low-income allowance.”

Because my brother was disabled, we had no choice but to move my hukou again. We then became displaced.

Because our family practiced Falun Dafa my child was not allowed to take the entrance exams to major universities after graduating from high school and she was not allowed to go abroad. Finally, we had no other choice but to transfer my daughter’s hukou to another family. She applied to study in the UK.

In 2008, my wife and I traveled to England and attended her graduation ceremony.

My wife stayed in England and applied for asylum since she was severely persecuted by the CCP in China for practicing Falun Dafa. I returned to England at the end of 2009 for a family reunion. I regularly began reading the Fa and doing the exercises and I actively participate in various Dafa activities.

I Knew I Needed to Rectify My Cultivation State

In 2018, the UK Falun Dafa Association launched an online group Fa study and send righteous thoughts to help find theaters for Shen Yun shows. I joined the platform every day to study the Fa and send righteous thoughts.

After the Shen Yun shows concluded in 2019, practitioners gradually stopped attending Fa study. I realized that we couldn’t just disband like this, so I called fellow practitioners and asked them to come back. We’ve kept studying the Fa and sending righteous thoughts for the Shen Yun project every evening even though sometimes only a couple of practitioners were there.

After the COVID outbreak, we could not study the Fa face to face, but practitioners from different countries persisted in studying the Fa online every day.

My wife and I started practicing the five exercises at 3:50 every morning and then we send righteous thoughts. Afterward, we read one lecture of Zhuan Falun with fellow practitioners. After consistently reading the Fa and practicing the exercises, my xinxing has improved significantly.

After studying the Fa and practicing the exercises on the platform during the pandemic, I have improved both mentally and physically. I used to feel that I did not behave like a practitioner who obtained the Fa 27 years ago because I’m still so far away from Master’s requirements. It’s a shame that I still have so many attachments that I haven’t gotten rid of. I made up my mind to let go of all my attachments and become a true Dafa disciple, so I’m determined to persist in studying the Fa and practicing the exercises.

One day when I read Zhuan Falun every word in the book, including the punctuation marks began spinning. I was very excited and knew that Master was encouraging me. I knew I must persevere in studying Fa even more and better.

In 2019, the European Fa Conference was held in the UK, and models of both Chinese and English versions of Zhuan Falun as well as Falun symbols were needed for the parade. The coordinator asked me if I could make them. There were only 3 weeks left, and I still needed to prepare the outer cover decorations for the float. I knew it would be difficult, but I didn’t hesitate and immediately agreed.

I worked with an elderly fellow practitioner. We did not feel tired at all because we read the Fa and practiced the exercises every day. We were able to prepare everything within a limited time.

The practitioners who made the outer cover also came to the practitioner’s home and worked with us. It was very close to the parade day. As usual, we got up every morning to study the Fa and practice the exercises. If any problems surfaced, we would resolve it immediately. We worked hard every day—sometimes until midnight, but we didn’t feel tired. We all knew that it was the result of Master’s strengthening. All the work was finally done before 4 a.m. on the day of the parade.

In August 2021, the UK Falun Dafa Association held a Fa conference, after which we began to promote the 2022 UK Shen Yun shows.

The leaflet delivery coordinator asked me if I could stay at the Shen Yun promotion based in London for a while. Our family lives in another city and London was three and a half hours away.

My daughter had three children. The youngest was only one year old and was recovering from a medical complication during birth. My wife and I took care of all the household chores and I did all the cooking.

Through studying Fa on the platform, I know that as a Dafa disciple I cannot shun my responsibilities because of family issues. So I stayed at the promotion base and cooked meals for the practitioners there. They were very happy to see the delicious dishes when they returned and the exhaustion of the day disappeared.

When there were few people to help, I went out with the team to distribute information about Shen Yun. I didn’t go home unless there was an emergency. Sometimes I just went home once every two weeks.

Immersed in the group environment we were able to study the Fa and practice every day, and each of us quickly improved. My daughter also started to study the Fa and her condition improved tremendously. Our compassionate Master is helping her.

My Cultivation Experiences While Participating in the Catering Team

In 2020 I was asked to join the catering team to prepare food for Shen Yun. At first, I only did simple chores such as washing dishes. My wife did all the cooking at home. I realized that I’m from northeast China, and I couldn’t even cook the most basic Northeastern dish.

I resolved to learn how to fry Northeastern dishes and mix in cold dishes. I watched online videos and through diligent study and practice, my cooking skills greatly improved. Every day, my family ate Northeastern dishes that I prepared. My daughter said that we did not need to eat at restaurants since we had such great food at home.

In 2017 and 2018 it was announced that they only allowed those who left China before 2005 to be on the catering team. I was not qualified since I came to the UK in 2009. I was very unhappy. I thought, “I’ve already participated for so many years. I’ve worked hard without any complaints. You can’t treat me like this.” I had trouble calming down and realizing that some negative factors were interfering with me.

After studying the Fa and sharing with fellow practitioners, I realized that I still have a lot of ordinary person mentalities to get rid of, such as jealousy, showing off, and all kinds of attachments.

I gradually realized that I wasn’t asked to participate because I still had so many attachments. I firmly believed that as long as I study the Fa more and eliminate my attachments, I would be able to return to the kitchen. During the past two years, I focused on learning how to cook Northeastern cuisine and cold dishes.

In 2019, the coordinator in charge of the catering team asked me to return to the kitchen. I was resolved to cooperate with fellow practitioners and do the kitchen work well. After the Shen Yun shows in the UK wrapped up, the kitchen team was praised by the artists. Afterward, the COVID pandemic broke out and Shen Yun did not come to the UK for nearly two years.

In 2021, the UK Falun Dafa Association announced that Shen Yun would come to the UK in 2022. I was very excited. I kept learning to cook Northeastern food online, and thanks to other practitioners’ advice my cooking skills improved significantly.

In January 2022, Shen Yun came to the UK. Each of us wanted to do our best so the artists could eat well. We got up at 3:50 every day to practice the exercises and then we went to the kitchen before dawn. We read the Fa every night. The dishes we made were really welcomed by Shen Yun artists, and because Master strengthened us we didn’t feel tired.

During the performance Master came. I greeted Master and did heshi (a gesture of respect). He said, “You have worked hard.” I said, “Not at all.” Master was compassionate and smiling. I was so excited I had tears in my eyes. I told the other practitioners that I'd encountered Master, and they were all very excited.

A week later, when Master came back from abroad, I saw him again. I saluted Master, and he said, “You are really attentive.” I thought to myself: “Master knows everything we’ve done.” Each of us worked hard to prepare every dish. After the shows, Shen Yun artists gave the UK kitchen team high marks.

After the Shen Yun shows ended in the UK, the coordinator in charge of the Shen Yun catering team asked us if we could come to Italy and cook for the Shen Yun artists for about 6 weeks, from May 23 to July 1.

I was the first one to sign up for the entire tour in Italy. I actually only stayed for 15 days due to various reasons and interruptions. During those 15 days, we got up at 3:30 a.m. and practiced the exercises. After sending righteous thoughts the coordinator would send us to the kitchen. In the evening we studied the Fa and discussed any issues we had and exchanged our thoughts with each other. We all worked together to improve based on the Fa and resolve any problems we had.

In the end, we agreed: No matter what, we must make sure the Shen Yun artists eat well, which is the purpose of our visit. Our chef adjusted the menu and tried his best to prepare the dishes that the Shen Yun artists liked. Although we had little time to rest, no one felt tired. We knew that Master was strengthening us.

Our team finally completed our catering service after overcoming many difficulties. The Shen Yun artists once again gave our UK catering team high marks.

Looking back on the process of my own cultivation, I feel that persevering in studying the Fa is the key to my continuous improvement. As you study the Fa, your understanding of Master’s teachings deepens, and you will gradually become more aware of and will continue to get rid of various attachments.

Because of the foundation established by studying the Fa, when participating in Shen Yun promotion and preparing food, I can maintain a good state, provide the best service for Shen Yun artists, and make my limited contribution to the success of Shen Yun’s performances and the salvation of sentient beings.

Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!

(Submitted to the 2022 European Fa Conference)