Cultivating Every Moment

(Minghui.org) With a humble heart, I’d like to share some of my cultivation insights with you.

Master’s Care and Protection

Reflecting on my 27-year-long cultivation journey, I am grateful for Master Li’s (Dafa’s founder) continuous care and guidance. After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I attended the Nine Day Lecture class, during which Master cleansed my body. Previous issues like migraine headaches, stomach pains, and backaches disappeared. At age 5 or 6, I suffered from viral myocarditis. I frequently received injections and urgent medical treatment. I could only attend half-day classes during elementary school and spent the afternoon in bed due to my health issues. It was like I lived in a glass room. I could not get cold or do any outdoor activities with my friends. I could not attend physical education classes. I can now climb mountains and run, something unimaginable before I practiced.

I remember the first time I memorized Master’s “On Dafa” in the book Zhuan Falun. When I later meditated I experienced the wonderful feeling of sitting in an eggshell. I felt this was Master’s encouragement to me. Whenever I struggled with my attachments, I remembered what Master said,

“Did you know that in order to save you the Buddha once begged for food among everyday people? Today, I once again make the door wide open, and teach this Dafa to save you. I have never felt bitter for the numerous hardships I have suffered. Then what do you have that still can’t be abandoned? Can you bring to heaven the things deep down inside that you cannot let go of?” (“True Cultivation,” Essentials for Further Advancement)

Compared to the suffering Master endured for us, what I encountered is really insignificant. Each time I finish reciting this passage my discomfort disappears.

After I began practicing I was pleasantly surprised when I realized all the skills I learned from childhood could be used to validate the Fa. For instance, the sewing skills I learned as a child were helpful during the initial persecution of Dafa when fellow practitioners and I sewed hundreds of Falun Dafa banners. I applied my sales experience to our media work. The skills I acquired in the corporate world were utilized for the websites fellow practitioners built, and so on. These are the result of Master’s careful arrangements.

Here I’d share some short stories of Master’s caring and protection.

About ten years ago, I suddenly felt that when I read the pocket-size version of Zhuan Falun, the characters were blurry. I had the thought that perhaps I had trouble with my eyes. I realized that this was a human notion and looked within. I felt I should read the Fa more. Even though the small characters were difficult to read, I still tried to read them.

Suddenly, the characters on the page I was reading became magnified, while the other characters remained small. I realized that only through persevering in serious Fa study could I eliminate interference.

When the persecution started, practitioners in Seattle initiated an SOS Walk, walking from Seattle to San Francisco, to tell the world about the brutal persecution happening to practitioners in China. Practitioners invited me to participate, so I joined for a week. I flew to Seattle, walked to Portland, Oregon, and then flew back. Along the way, I could feel practitioners’ diligence and righteous thoughts. The group consisted of people of different ages, including seniors and children. They persevered through various difficulties, usually sleeping in tents despite the cold and eating canned food. It was not easy.

On my last afternoon, I suddenly sprained my ankle. Our support vehicle had already gone to the hotel to prepare dinner, and we still had about 4-5 miles to walk before we reached the hotel. Calling the vehicle back to pick me up wasn’t practical, and telling the team leader that I couldn’t walk wouldn’t help. I had no choice but to continue. I had no other options, so I recited the verse for sending righteous thoughts and kept walking. I couldn’t get too far from the group in the remote wilderness. I just focused on keeping up with the group while repeatedly reciting the verse.

My mind became empty, and I stopped thinking about anything. I walked like this for over an hour until we reached the hotel. Only then did I realize I couldn’t walk any longer with my swollen ankle.

The next day, a fellow practitioner drove me to the airport. At the airport, I had to walk slowly to get to the boarding gate. When the plane arrived at my destination, something miraculous happened. When I stood up from my seat, my ankle was fine! It was as if the sprain never happened. I’m grateful for Master’s encouragement and care.

One year, I went to Seattle to support a local parade. After the parade ended, we drove back. We saw a beautiful rainbow ahead of our car. We were excited, feeling that although our journey had been arduous, it was meaningful. However, our joy was short-lived. Not long after we started driving, it began to rain. As we ascended the mountain, it turned into snow. Without much experience driving in heavy snow, we ended up driving through the mountains.

I was driving, and fellow practitioners were asleep in the car. It soon became dark. The further we drove, the heavier the snow fell. The sky was full of large snowflakes, and visibility was extremely low. I could only see a tiny distance ahead of the car’s headlights. All around us was pitch-black darkness. I dared not brake, fearing the tires might slip and I would lose control. I also didn’t dare to stop, worrying that if the road was closed, we wouldn’t be able to proceed. I had no idea how far we needed to drive to get out of the mountains, nor did I know where the edge of the road or the cliffs were.

When I couldn’t see the road ahead, suddenly, there would be a car in front of us. Through the heavy snow and with the faint light of its distant headlights, I could tell it was on the road. But after a while, that car disappeared. I could only continue driving slowly. This pattern repeated, with occasional cars appearing ahead, giving me the confidence to keep going. When we finally descended from the mountain, it was already 5 or 6 in the morning. We had driven through the snow-covered mountain roads all night. Without Master’s continuous protection along the way, it’s hard to imagine what might have happened.

Cultivating Every Moment

Since I began my cultivation, I’ve encountered various challenges in life, work, and projects—some challenges I’ve handled well, while others have not. I stumbled along the way. Yet I always feel Master’s compassion and enlightenment.

Last year, the company I worked for decided to phase out the old platform and transition to a new platform. The company had already undergone this transition in other states, learning from their experiences there.

We received three months of training. The company was confident that the California platform would transition smoothly. However, on the very first day, numerous problems surfaced. The company was understaffed, and we couldn’t immediately contact headquarters to solve issues. We only had to wait at the computer for one to three hours to resolve what were essentially non-issues.

During those weeks, I had a lot of complaints and negative emotions. During one online chat with headquarters staff, I even complained about how terrible the new platform was and how it wasted our time. I mentioned how the old platform never had such fundamental issues. In response, they sent a message saying that the company decided to use the new platform and we should adapt to it without dwelling on the old platform.

I felt ashamed. As a practitioner, I hadn’t approached the situation positively, instead, I complained. I also forgot about Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, not to mention I hadn’t even behaved as well as an ordinary person would. After I realized this, my negative emotions vanished, and I could face the significant changes at the company.

After Shen Yun performed in Berkeley we were supposed to head to Reno for the next show. However, the Shen Yun tour bus couldn’t reach the venue due to heavy snow, and the performance had to be rescheduled. I felt relieved when I heard this news, thinking I would have a few days of rest. Looking back now, I realize my thoughts were selfish. I didn’t consider it from the perspective of awakening sentient beings. The postponement of the performance might mean that some people wouldn’t have a chance to see Shen Yun. Instead, I was secretly glad about having time to relax.

Instead, practitioners in another state called me to support Shen Yun there. Everything happens for a reason, and nothing will be lacking regarding what needs to be done.

Last year, we were promoting Shen Yun Zuo Pin at the theater, and I felt the pressure. We started by selling Shen Yun merchandise, then selling books, then clothes, and now we were to promote Shen Yun Zuo Pin. Our staff is limited, and the theater space is limited too. However, promoting Shen Yun Zuo Pin requires a separate table and 2-3 practitioners dedicated to the task. I thought we were already so busy and just helping with sales was good enough. I didn’t realize I should put my heart into this project to awaken sentient beings.

Another practitioner stepped in to help coordinate the promotion of Shen Yun Zuo Pin. Several practitioners worked diligently on this task. Through this, I saw my gap.

Looking back, isn’t cultivation about constantly raising the bar and challenging ourselves? Master’s compassion provided us with opportunities to elevate our cultivation. Yet, I failed to recognize it and approached the task with an attitude of “less is better” instead of being grateful.

During the years I worked in media, we organized numerous community events to raise the profile of our media outlet within the community. We often encountered various disturbances during these events, such as venue cancellations. We had to maintain righteous thoughts to eliminate this interference and ensure the successful conclusion of each event.

My mother suddenly complained of severe leg pain one night before a significant event. I took her to the emergency room. We had to wait for blood tests. My brother took over at midnight, and I went home to rest. Shortly after arriving home, my brother called to inform me that the doctor recommended surgery for my mother’s leg.

My mind was in chaos. I was one of the main coordinators for the upcoming event, with over a thousand participants. The event would be significantly affected if I needed to stay home to care for my mother after surgery. What should I do? I turned to Master, sent forth righteous thoughts, and cleared away interference. I continuously sent forth righteous thoughts. Around 3 a.m., my brother brought my mother back home and told me the doctor said she did not need surgery.

During the pandemic, some theaters required staff to provide proof of vaccination for the Shen Yun performances. Our larger and smaller teams discussed this matter. I also had private conversations with fellow practitioners about whether or not to get vaccinated. Master even released new scriptures addressing this issue.

I was afraid of potential side effects from the vaccine. I thought that since I could work from home, I didn’t need to get the shot. Furthermore, only one theater required vaccination proof, so it didn’t seem necessary to get vaccinated just for that one venue. As for staffing at the front desk, I adopted an indifferent attitude, thinking that if there were enough people, we could sell more, and if there weren’t enough, we would sell less. Many practitioners in our team got vaccinated to support Shen Yun in the theaters. Many practitioners in other teams also got vaccinated to support Shen Yun. Many of them could work from home and were not required to get vaccinated, but they did it to save sentient beings.

Looking back, my concerns about whether to get vaccinated were solely about potential harm to my body. The decision to get vaccinated or not reflected each practitioner’s cultivation state.

Gratitude for Selfless Cooperation Among Fellow Practitioners

Being part of the Shen Yun merchandise team might appear easy on the surface, but the workload behind the scenes is immense. Some practitioners stay up until two or three in the morning to inventory the goods, others take the time to sell merchandise, and there are members from other teams who help roll up posters and move items. I want to use this opportunity to thank my fellow practitioners who have consistently assisted, supported, and cooperated.

There was a time when I went alone to another state to sell Shen Yun merchandise. I was scrambling to set up the goods before the performance started. At that moment, three fellow practitioners spontaneously came forward to help. With their assistance, we arranged everything smoothly before the audience entered.

During the Shen Yun season, I was also responsible for coordinating the program booklets for all the cities under our jurisdiction. I needed to ensure that they arrived at the theaters on time, traveling from the printing press in New York to our cities in the Midwest. The unpredictable winter road conditions and the theaters’ preference not to receive them too early often created challenges.

There were also minor incidents every year, like booklets not arriving at all or getting lost. Once, while traveling out of state, I was informed that the booklets wouldn’t arrive that day. There were less than five hours left until the performance, and I was at a loss about what to do. Fortunately, an experienced fellow practitioner at the printing press in New York contacted the local printing store and ensured the program booklets would be available for the first performance. There were even instances of fellow practitioners driving through the night to deliver the booklets. Many touching stories emerged. Every time a situation arose, fellow practitioners’ selfless cooperation led to a perfect resolution. My heart is filled with gratitude for these experiences and these practitioners.