(Minghui.org) We recently had a large scale parade. Before the parade, the conductor of the Tian Guo Marching Band told us that we would go through a high traffic business district and that we would march slowly so that more people would see our performance for a longer period of time.

During the parade, I realized that the parade route was a very long street. The conductor slowed down the pace a great deal. When we were in the middle of the street, I felt overwhelmed. Marching slowly is actually more exhausting than going at a normal speed. I wished that he would go a little faster.

While I was complaining in my heart, I noticed the conductor's hat was soaked in sweat. He was not comfortable, either, but he was taking his job seriously. When I saw this, I saw what compassion really is.

Practitioners who make phone calls to China often emphasize that we need to have compassion when we call Chinese people to talk to them about the facts of Falun Dafa. Although Master has talked about compassion many times, I didn't understand what compassion really is. I thought it meant being nice to others. I didn't know the profound meaning behind it. In my heart, it was just an ordinary word.

But the conductor's behavior in the parade helped me come to a better understanding of compassion. It is not merely being nice to people. It also means forbearance. A cultivator has compassion, not only because he or she treats others nicely, but also because a cultivator can forbear the hardships that everyday people cannot.

Before the parade began, a practitioner shared a story with me: Once he participated in a parade in Hong Kong. Hong Kong practitioners gave him a giant drum, which only had two hooks for the shoulders, but no belt to tie around his waist. So the weight was completely on his shoulders, making it very exhausting. However, he calmly performed in the parade for four hours. I believe this was the manifestation of compassion. Because he had compassion, he could endure such a big hardship.

Such compassion comes from cultivation. The higher one's xinxing level is, the more one can endure, and the bigger one's compassion will be. They go hand in hand.

In the past, I was worried that I didn't have compassion, and I didn't know how to develop compassion. I now understand that I must keep improving my xinxing, and endure the tests or tribulations in daily life without complaining. I must be able to smile when faced with conflicts. Even if they are painful or if I am treated unfairly, I must endure it and take them lightly.

If I can keep improving myself like this, my compassion will gradually emerge.

Once I came to this realization, I didn't think about when the parade would end. The only thought I had in my mind was to perform well and save people.