(Minghui.org) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
It’s been five years since I started working full-time, taking senior roles in the workplace, and coordinating local Dafa validation projects, while also looking after my family. My schedule is very busy every day. The most important thing is that I must keep up with my Fa study, as all other things can be handled later.
I sometimes feel sad that I have some important Dafa validation projects to work on and feel I waste too much time on everyday jobs and doing house chores. I silently complain while admiring those practitioners who don’t have to work and can stay home, and who have plenty of time to read the teachings and do the exercises.
Looking within, I know it’s not that I don’t have time. I waste time on social media reading about other people’s lives. If I gave up these attachments, I would have plenty of time to do Dafa work and read the Fa. I understand that cultivation depends on cultivating one’s heart, and no matter what environment we are in we can still cultivate. A complicated environment is a good opportunity to temper one’s xinxing, endure hardships, and eliminate karma.
Master said,
“As a matter of fact, cultivation practice is about cultivating one’s heart and mind. The complex environment of the workplace, in particular, provides a good opportunity for you to improve your xinxing. Once retired, won’t you lose the best environment for practicing cultivation?” (“Practicing Cultivation After Retirement,” Essentials for Further Advancement)
Last year I was promoted to be the most senior scientist in my department. I treated the promotion as a way to make a living and worked hard to do my job well, as a practitioner should and not overthink things. However, I did think to myself that I worked hard and deserved the reward. Unfortunately, two of my colleagues who have been working in the field longer than me and had more experience, were still at the base level because they didn’t have the qualifications. They often picked on small things, speaking very loudly and rudely to me.
I knew this was a test and a chance to look within, as nothing that happens to practitioners is coincidental. I found that I had an attachment to fame and reputation, and only wanted to hear praise. I also had an attachment to money. I realized that I developed these attachments over time and I was not aware of them.
I treated these coworkers with respect and spoke to them with compassion. After a while they stopped talking about me and started to cooperate with the team.
My coworkers often say that they feel very calm when they work with me, and say it’s because I practice Falun Dafa.
After four years of not having Shen Yun in Adelaide, it was such an honor to be able to welcome Shen Yun this year. Thank you, Master, for arranging this!
Due to the Russia - Ukraine war and increasing cases of the COVID virus, many performing companies that initially planned to come to Adelaide canceled their shows, and we were able to increase from three shows to five, and therefore save more people.
I remember when Sydney first found a venue for this year, the COVID cases were high and the international borders were not opened in Australia. Practitioners asked the Shen Yun office if we should sign the contract with the theatre and book the venue given the current situation. The answer was, “Shen Yun will definitely come to Australia in 2022 to perform.” When we heard this we were filled with confidence and quickly secured the venue for Shen Yun to perform in Adelaide.
It was also a test for us to see if we truly believed in Master.
Soon after we began promoting Shen Yun, domestic flights opened, and then the international borders opened. All along I felt Master’s compassion, with things in the human world changing and turning more positive to bring hope to people.
Despite the COVID situation, non-practitioners did not hesitate to buy tickets and some even lived 2-3 hours away from Adelaide. They said they had been waiting for years to see Shen Yun. All of this was so encouraging and helped us to not to be affected by the pandemic situation. I did not pay attention to the virus cases because I believed everything is arranged for the Fa. Shen Yun is such an important project that nothing can interfere.
Any changes in the current celestial phenomena are in cooperation with Dafa disciples’ efforts to clarify the truth to save people. Nothing is as important as saving people, because everyone came for the Fa.
Master clearly stated: “Dafa disciples are humankind's only hope for salvation.” (“To The Fa Conference of Europe”)
We signed a contract with the theatre for three shows, one show on Tuesday and two shows on Wednesday. Then, four weeks before the show dates, the theatre contacted our coordinator and said we could have the venue for the entire week, as the other company canceled their shows.
After talking with another Shen Yun coordinator, we decided to change the show dates and move the shows to the weekend for better tickets sales and to save more people. After we got approval from Shen Yun’s production manager, we canceled the shows on Tuesday and Wednesday and switched to Friday and weekend shows, and increased to five shows.
Changing everything wasn’t easy. I was working full time on Shen Yun and had to make phone calls to about 75 customers, informing them of the changes to the show dates, and help them to exchange tickets. It was a lot of work, as I had to call or email most customers two or three times and leave messages. It took me a few weeks to confirm with all of them. I kept sending righteous thoughts every day to eliminate interference for the people who bought tickets. I kept telling myself I needed to persist and not miss anyone.
The digital changes were much easier, but printed materials were more difficult to change. Practitioners asked me what were we going to do with so many flyers that were already printed? With only four weeks before the shows, I said we wouldn’t use them. We would just print new ones to save time. Although practitioners were very busy, being involved in shopping center promotions, and many were doing letterbox drops every day, they felt the Shen Yun flyers were precious. Their hearts were very pure, and they designed and printed very professional labels to modify the existing flyers. Practitioners gathered together after Fa study and helped each other to update all the flyers in a few days. This created a very compassionate and righteous field in our group.
Although this may seem like a small task, everything we do as individuals seems small, but when we work as a group, our cooperation and compassion that we cultivate as Master’s disciples is displayed.
Finally with the cooperation and righteous thoughts of all the practitioners we successfully increased to five shows and ensured that all the people who purchased tickets to see Shen Yun would be at the theatre.
I’m fortunate to have local practitioners with whom to read the teachings online. I read a minimum of one Lecture of Zhuan Falun and read the newer lectures whenever I have extra time. This year while preparing for Shen Yun I felt the quality of my Fa study improve.
When the other practitioners are reading Zhuan Falun I try to silently recite along with them. This helps my mind stay very focused. Afterwards my mind is clear and I feel very energized. I never feel sleepy even though I only sleep a few hours every night.
Through solid daily Fa study every day human notions become less, I become more righteous, and decisions that seem difficult to make become easier. I can also look at things from the angle of what I can do to assist Master to save more people, rather than focusing on my own capabilities and pride. I thus become more selfless.
I try to keep righteous thoughts and do well with what I have to do, and try not to pursue the results, as what we do is extraordinary and not an everyday person’s job. I believe Master has arranged everything in other dimensions and I am not attached to the results.
Shen Yun provides practitioners with good opportunities to improve their cultivation. I feel that conflicts with practitioners are the hardest to pass because one’s heart is often moved.
I sometimes got very annoyed when practitioners talked about the affect of virus cases on ticket sales. Or that this method is not good, and they think that such and such is a good way, etc. I think that while we are practitioners we can still think like ordinary people. Because of this I sometimes do not control myself and I have some negative thoughts about the practitioner. I don’t act like a practitioner should.
I feel regretful afterwards and think, “Why did I say that?” Instead, I should have explained what my understanding was based on the Fa, and that maybe sharing in a big group may have helped so that we all could understand and improve. There are no coincidences in cultivation. I was looking for everyday people's reasons and finding ways to deal with it.
I realized that all the difficulties I encountered were directed at my attachment of being afraid of trouble. My cultivation level was too low and I had little compassion for other practitioners. I was very selective about who I wanted to be nice to. These are all my human notions that I developed over time, which I still need to remove gradually layer by layer.
For the last few years, we used the same hotel for Shen Yun. Therefore for 2022, six months before Shen Yun was coming, I began the process of booking this hotel. Practitioners told me I should ask for sponsorship and a discount, as hotels have little business during the pandemic and we should be able to get a good deal.
The price I got was similar to previous years, so I thought I’d wait and keep negotiating the price. But I did not reach an agreement with the hotel, and I hoped they would match a lower price offer.
About three months before Shen Yun came to Adelaide, the hotel staff emailed me and turned down my offer. They gave the dates to another group. I was shocked and could not believe this happened! I had not planned another hotel as a backup as this hotel was acceptable for years.
Time was running out. Then all kinds of blame started to pop into my mind. Why did I listen to other practitioners and try to negotiate! I then called a practitioner who was also supposed to work on the hotel with me. He said that I shouldn’t listen to other practitioners. I was the coordinator and should be more organized and set deadlines to secure the hotel and not keep negotiating for weeks and weeks!
I thought this was not very helpful, but I kept telling myself to calm down and not get stressed. Everything happens for a reason. I started to look within and understood it was not the other practitioners’ responsibility to look for the hotel. They were just giving me suggestions. When things didn’t go right, as a practitioner I shouldn’t blame others. After looking within my mind was calm.
That afternoon I searched online for hotels and found four potential ones, and made inquiries. The next morning one hotel manager rang me and asked what price could I offer? I offered him a lower price than the original proposal and he accepted. This hotel was better than the original one in all aspects. I was able to secure a hotel within 24 hours and did not waste any time!
Through this I know to look within when encountering difficulties and to not be afraid of them. If we maintain righteous thoughts and follow what we are meant to do, Master will arrange everything.
These are some of my experiences and limited understanding. Please kindly correct me if anything I said is inappropriate.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2022 Australia Fa Conference)