(Clearwisdom.net) Editor's note: Master said in “Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference:”
“Only if one can persevere and continually forge ahead does it amount to true diligence. It's easy to talk about, but putting it into action is tremendously difficult. That is why it's said that always cultivating as if you were just starting will surely result in achieving your ultimate rank.”
The following is taken from a group sharing article at the 10th anniversary of the Minghui Website in 2009. Many of the practitioners involved in the Minghui/Clearwisdom website work cannot share their cultivation experiences in the same way as other practitioners outside of China. To address this issue, many practitioners co-authored this article for the purpose of sharing and mutual encouragement among Minghui website project team members at the Fa Conference marking the 10th anniversary of the Minghui Website’s founding. The article has been edited for publishing.
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Continued from Part 2
Part 1: http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/8/13/127445.html
Part 2: http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/8/20/127582.html
Part 4: http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/8/22/127618.html
Part 5: http://clearwisdom.net/html/articles/2011/8/24/127651.html
Master's Endorsement
January 19, 2000, was an exhilarating day. In the early evening, Master had a recent picture of his delivered to us. At that time, the editorial department didn't have a scanner. So that Dafa disciples could get the update from Master as soon as possible, we drove out to search for specialty stores that were still open. The next day, the Minghui website published Master's picture. In the picture, Master Li quietly watched the world from amidst the mountains after leaving New York following July 20th, 1999. January 19, 2000, was an unforgettable day for all genuine practitioners. We saw Master's recent picture. All of us were tremendously encouraged and felt Master's immense compassion.
On May 22, 2000, the Minghui website published Master's article “The Knowing Heart.”
At Master’s instruction, the website published an announcement of a new article on June 15, 2000. In the announcement, Master said,
“It is not that Minghui Net does not make mistakes, however, on important matters, practitioners must pay attention to the attitude of Minghui Net. The purpose of posting my photo and the article 'The Knowing Heart' on Minghui Net was to build a trustworthy website for practitioners.”
On July 18, 2000, the Minghui editorial department published “Our Compassionate and Venerable Master.” This article, written for all Dafa disciples, revealed deep historical truth.
Master's endorsement gave the Minghui project team more confidence. At the same time, we further realized our huge responsibility. When we thought we could not continue under the tremendous pressure, when we feared we would not be able to do well, we thought of Master's protection, of what Dafa needed, of practitioners' needs, and of the need for truth clarification. We would then gain sufficient righteous belief and righteous thoughts to go on.
Master pointed out in a 1997 article “Non-Omission in Buddha-Nature:” “From now on, whatever you do, you should consider others first, so as to attain the righteous Enlightenment of selflessness and altruism.” Looking back at the journey of the past 10 years, the Minghui project team truly experienced how the “selflessness” and “altruism” Master taught us was the key for Dafa disciples to sustain righteous thoughts, maintain pureness, and create miracles.
Dafa disciples know that after tens of thousands of years of wandering, honor, and humiliations, we have finally met our Master again. The current tribulation is nothing but an anecdote on our path to Consummation. Master and the Fa have been the force and source of our steadfastness in cultivation.
On October 21, 2000, Master appeared in public for the first time since the persecution was launched in July 1999. At the Western U.S. Fa Conference in San Francisco, thunderous applause welcomed Master to the podium. Hearing Master's opening sentence “It's been a long time,” all Dafa disciples burst into tears with mixed feelings of grief and joy. We kept applauding to express our feelings and the countless words we wanted to say to Master. We clapped until our hands turned red.
Shortly after, on December 9, 2000, Master gave another lecture at the Great Lakes Fa Conference in the State of Michigan. A Minghui editor recalled that, even after so many years, whenever she thought about being present at these two lectures and what she felt then, she would still cry. Master is full of selflessness and altruism. He understands and cherishes each one of us more so than we do ourselves. His open mind, righteousness, and manner are unparalleled. If people could calm their minds and listen to Master's lectures and witness Master's compassion and caring, we believe that most of them would sense spontaneous respect rising from deep in their hearts. It is a unique and rare blessing that we have witnessed it.
Perseverance
The pressure during the first two years was completely different from what it is now. Now, it is more about the pressure of cultivation and the workload itself. Back then, we felt that many substances were pressing down on us from different dimensions as if to suffocate us. An editor recalled that one evening when he felt he was about to collapse, suddenly a big Falun rotated on his body. Immediately, huge energy filled his body and head. He was able to quickly adjust himself and complete the work that evening. Early the next morning, when he greeted fellow practitioners, nobody would have imagined what had happened the night before.
In the following years, many fellow practitioners from different cities joined the work of the Minghui website. Everyone has his or her own career and family as well as many other Dafa projects going on at the same time. In addition to their careers, the website was another full-time job for them. This full-time job doesn't pay one cent, and the time they have is no more than 24 hours every day. However, some Dafa disciples have managed to find their own ways amidst the difficulties and constraints. They have persevered in their Minghui work, tempered themselves, and inspired others to do well together.
One editor was doing Minghui work full-time at the time. She worked seven days a week, 17 to 18 hours each day. From the morning to late at night, sometimes she didn't go downstairs for weeks.
This practitioner shared: “During those early days, I often didn't remember whether I had eaten or, if I did, what I had for my meals. However, I didn't feel any suffering. I had found the ultimate answer to my life. I was doing something very meaningful with a clear mind and doubled efficiency. A cultivator felt liberated, enriched, and detached.”
The situation evolved rapidly. The editorial department had to post important articles and information continuously. The website needed to stand by to post information all the time. One practitioner came up with a solution: he slept next to the computer late at night. He turned up the volume of the sound alert of incoming emails very loud. When other editors sent him articles for immediate publishing, the sound would wake him up. The editors didn't have to call him. He would post articles on the website at the earliest opportunity. Later on, the number of urgent cases lessened. However, he still worked till very late most of the time. Sometimes he stayed up all night. After a short rest in the morning, he went to work.
This practitioner shared that, sometimes when he saw his neighbor walking with her child, he wondered when he could have that luxury. Then he immediately reminded himself of the incredible value of his sacrifices. His time was spent in the most meaningful way. An ordinary person wouldn't be able to sustain such a regular over-capacity workload. However, he persevered in Fa-study every night before going to sleep. This helped him to maintain a cultivator's state and cultivate until today with an upbeat and energetic attitude.
Another practitioner had a good income. During the early days, he paid for a lot of the equipment for the website. He didn't mention it until other practitioners started sharing the expenses.
All these practitioners outside of China had relatively comfortable lives before cultivation. After they started cultivation, especially after they started doing Minghui work, they took on a lot of hardship and constantly expanded their capacities. The principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance elevated them. The responsibility of saving people and the righteous thoughts of aligning with the overall situation of the Fa-rectification encouraged and sustained them to closely follow the progress of the Fa-rectification and meet Master's requirement of “selflessness and altruism” step by step.
(To be continued)