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Expanding My Wisdom Through Adversity: Marking the 20th Anniversary of the French Minghui Website

Nov. 10, 2020 |   By a Falun Dafa practitioner in Europe

(Minghui.org) There is a proverb in my native language: “One will become wiser through loss and misfortune.” By my understanding, my wisdom can be expanded through experiencing hardships. It reminds me of how we practice cultivation in this most complicated environment.

I am still a part of this team even though I've encountered many challenges. My native language is not French, nor were the articles originally written in French. It is also not spoken where I live. But I strive to do my best in my role in the French Minghui website.

I often have different views on things because I don’t have the same cultural background as other team members. Some come from Chinese or Western cultures,so I represent a third opinion. At times this is helpful in changing the dynamics of our group.

I recently translated an experience-sharing article explaining the training given on the RTC project. From the article I understood that team members come up with their own approach, gain approval from the coordinator and then implement these methods to clarify the truth. This is an extremely important part of the project. Those who used their own approach had greater success in getting Chinese people to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Everyone has their own understanding of the Fa as well as how things should work. The success of a project is largely dependent on whether team members are able to let go of their notions, not be jealous or show off, and do what is best. Flexibility and stability are important elements.

One day, due to the heavy workload and other pressures, the quality of my translation was less than satisfactory. I got an email from the editor who kindly gave me some constructive feedback. Not only was this a reflection of her sincerity, but it also showed how dedicated she was to the quality of our website. I was grateful to the person who assigned the article to me for translation because I saw where I was lacking through the incident.

I also want to sincerely thank all the editors for their compassion and patience in reviewing our work. It may not be perfect, but through taking turns to make corrections, the quality of our website has improved tremendously. The changes brought about are obvious to everyone, and at the same time it helps us avoid making the same mistakes.

After the conference held to celebrate the French Minghui website’s 20th anniversary, there was a small-scale gathering to exchange ideas on how to improve our website. Everyone was able to express their opinion on how to achieve this goal. My first thought was, if I saw a good article on cultivation experiences, I would send the link to both English and Chinese versions of the article to practitioners in my country. I observed other practitioners doing the same thing. Sharing links to good articles can improve the popularity of the website, and it can help practitioners who read it progress in cultivation.

Tribulations Happen for a Reason

My husband got upset with me because he was awakened when I stepped out of the bedroom. Without turning on any lights, I quietly went to another room to send righteous thoughts at 6 a.m. I had gotten into the habit of waking up early in the morning to send righteous thoughts before doing most of the exercises. I put on earphones so family members wouldn’t be disturbed by the music.

My husband was so angry he threatened to divorce me. I felt it would lead to serious problems if I could not do the exercises. I had recently translated an article where a practitioner’s husband asked for a divorce. While she prepared for the separation, her husband changed his mind. I didn’t know what to do. Should I agree to a divorce? Eight years ago, a practitioner told me I should get a divorce. About a year ago, a member in our project suggested I end my marriage. For nearly two years, my husband’s behavior towards me had been getting more and more difficult. He often complained that I was taking advantage of him financially and that my family remained penniless. Some of the things he said were very materialistic, but I knew that was not his true nature.

For several days, my father, husband and son who lived with us were angry with me. They slammed the door and yelled.

A few days later, my back began to ache at night. I was not able to go to sleep until 4 a.m. I got out of bed and did the first set of exercises a couple of times. Afterwards, I sent righteous thoughts. I felt better and was able to sleep. This took place when I was translating Mid-Autumn Festival greetings to Master. I was determined to finish my work and not let the back pain affect me.

I was a bit tired but felt fine that day. I finished the translation and even did the exercises for an hour. The same thing happened the next night. My back started to ache until 4 a.m. I did the first set of exercises again and sent righteous thoughts afterwards. I translated the greeting messages during the day. I began to think about why this happened. Perhaps the old forces wanted to stop me from translating the greetings. But I was still in a lot of pain that night after translating all the greetings. I told my husband about it when he asked why I got up at night. He told me I should see a doctor.

I thought about where the pain was and what it meant. The pain seemed to come from the left side of my back, as if someone was trying to push a knife into my rib cage from behind. The word “backstabbing” came to mind. I realized where I had gone wrong: I said bad things behind others' backs. My suffering was showing me where I needed to improve.

This experience helped me see my gaps in cultivation. If you see someone else’s problem, you must have the courage to tell them the truth in a way they can accept, which is much better than talking behind their back.

Cultivation is a serious matter. If we don’t see what we've done wrong, then it will be shown to us. In my case, it came as a tribulation. More importantly, we should remember that we are cultivating. We need to get rid of bad things and work hard to change ourselves.

I also felt this was a warning. I know I should do the exercises and study the Fa every day. I should also be mindful of what I say. It is also an arrangement so that I can do the exercises without my husband objecting. I told him I had to do the exercises or else my back would hurt and I couldn't sleep. He agreed.

I contacted my team and gained the support of other members. This is very important. Thank you, everyone.