Reflections on My Ten Years of Cultivation

(Minghui.org) Greetings, venerable Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!

When I was in my 30s I was focused on my career and working on fulfilling my American dream. Ten years ago I had an opportunity to participate in an event organized by Sound of Hope Radio where I met a friend who practices Falun Dafa. Through her, I learned about Dafa.

Looking back on these ten years of helping Master rectify the Fa and saving sentient beings, although the path has been bumpy, I never hesitated. I’m grateful for Master’s continuous care, which enabled me to take on new challenges, achieve breakthroughs in my cultivation, and eliminate attachments.

Participating in the Tian Guo Marching Band

During the COVID pandemic, many practitioners moved from the Bay Area for various reasons, including several members of the Tian Guo Marching Band. I thought, the band needs people, and I should join to fill the spot. I didn’t have a musical background or know how to play an instrument. Although I knew learning one would require time—something I lacked—this thought grew stronger. I couldn’t resist contacting a coordinator.

Arrangements were made for me to learn to play the clarinet, and with the help of a fellow practitioner, I received a good-quality clarinet. When she handed it to me, she said seriously, “This clarinet has been idle for three years and needs someone to restore its spirit. I hope you can help it serve its purpose again.” When she said this it felt as if Master was instructing me through her to participate in the Tian Guo Marching Band.

I remember that before they officially joined the band, new members were required to pass a test on four parade pieces to participate in the next parade. We had to record videos of ourselves playing the four parade pieces. During the recording, we had to march in rhythm with a metronome and could not look at the sheet music. All four pieces had to be played correctly to pass. I thought this test would be easy since there were two weeks before the parade. I believed I could do it. So, I practiced the four pieces for more than an hour every day, eager to record them and get it over with.

However, I didn’t anticipate the difficulties. Although I thought I could play the pieces, as soon as I started marching in rhythm, my hands and feet seemed out of control. My mind was focused on the rhythm, which caused me to forget the sheet music, and I couldn’t produce any sound. It took a while to get used to marching while playing, but the pressure of recording made the situation worse. I kept making mistakes. After many attempts, I started to feel anxious and impatient. Nearly two hours later, I still couldn’t play the pieces without mistakes, so I had to try again the next day.

Two weeks passed, and I finally finished recording the fourth piece and submitted it. There were only two days left before the parade. However, the section leader informed me that this piece did not pass because I didn’t play the dotted eighth notes correctly. I needed to play it again and record it. You can imagine how I felt. Feelings of resentment, impatience, and frustration all surged up. I felt dejected. Just the thought of facing the camera again made me feel uneasy. A thought flashed through my mind: maybe I just wouldn’t participate in that parade.

But I immediately dismissed this negative thought. I started to look inward and recall my thoughts in the past two weeks. While recording, I was impatient, annoyed, and afraid of trouble and hardship. I wanted quick success. Isn’t this a manifestation of Chinese Communist Party culture?

I realized that participating in the Tian Guo Marching Band requires mental strength and willpower when learning an instrument from scratch and reaching a certain level in a short time; otherwise, it would be hard to persist. This thought came from a firm belief in Master and the Fa as well as steadfast daily cultivation. I treated recording the four pieces as a formality and didn’t realize this step was a process of cultivating myself. This step could determine whether I passed the band test and became a band member and joined the band members to save more sentient beings. How sacred this step is! I had to correct my attitude immediately and approach this test with seriousness and strong righteous thoughts.

So, I patiently practiced the dotted notes repeatedly until I could play the notes correctly. When I finally submitted the video recording, it was already 11:30 p.m. The next day, I was informed that I could join the parade.

Standing along with other band members shoulder to shoulder, I held my clarinet high, marching proudly. Parade spectators on both sides waved and cheered at us, taking photos. They were excited to hear the wonderful sound of Falun Dafa. At that moment, all the previous hardships turned into sweet nectar. I could feel that Master had been pushing me forward, enabling me to save more sentient beings through participating in the Tian Guo Marching Band.

Accepting New Challenges 

During the Shen Yun promotion in 2022, our local Shen Yun organizer secured two rare interview opportunities with mainstream TV stations. We hoped these interviews would help the audience better understand the significance and meaning of Shen Yun and boost ticket sales. Because I previously participated in several radio interviews about Shen Yun on radio stations, the main coordinator asked me to do the TV interviews. Although I agreed, I felt a lot of pressure.

One of the two TV interviews was a live broadcast, lasting five to six minutes. The other was pre-recorded. I was nervous when I thought about facing the camera. From past experiences, when the camera lens, looking like a big eye, stared at me, my mind would go blank, and I might forget what I wanted to say. Moreover, English is not my native language, and this time it was a live broadcast, leaving no room for mistakes. I thought, if I didn’t perform well, what would my fellow practitioners think of me? Would it negatively impact Shen Yun?

I quickly realized that these were attachments at play, as I tried to focus on my feelings and reputation. As a practitioner, my basis for doing anything should be selfless, aimed at validating the Fa and saving sentient beings, not being attached to whether I could do it well or not. I had to do this well.

I began to think about the details. I should suggest interview questions for the host to ask me and what I wanted to say about Shen Yun so people were inspired to buy tickets. I carefully read about Shen Yun’s nine characteristics, watched the videos on the Shen Yun website, and learned the language Shen Yun performers used to introduce Shen Yun and audience feedback. I spent a lot of time organizing my thoughts and thinking about what I wanted to say. Through audience feedback videos, I further understood Shen Yun’s global impact and its power to save people.

After organizing the script, the next challenge was how to express the prepared content so I could speak naturally and fluently to the host while we were on camera. I knew that just memorizing the script was not enough; I needed to practice my answers repeatedly through multiple mock interviews to build confidence. I asked fellow practitioners and family members to take turns simulating the interview with me, where they asked questions, and I answered. 

I was nervous and my answers were too long, so I revised the script repeatedly and deliberated over it. To respond concisely, clearly, and fluently without losing sincerity to the possible questions the host might ask, I constantly rehearsed the script in my mind. I practiced while walking, driving, and even while showering. I kept sending righteous thoughts while I prepared to clear my field and eliminate interference. I felt that Master had removed a lot of bad substances for me.

I arrived at the studio the day the live broadcast was scheduled. Since it was live, the shooting equipment was very advanced. There wasn’t just one camera in front of me as I imagined, but multiple robot-like cameras sliding on different tracks, filming the interviewee from different angles. The host did not follow the questions I provided but excitedly told me she wanted to watch Shen Yun for a long time and was happy to learn more about the show through this interview. The six-minute interview went smoothly. I remember my final sentence telling the audience to watch Shen Yun because it was the performance they had been waiting a long time for.

After I did the live interview, the second pre-recorded interview was much easier.

Master said,

“But that’s not true, because the side of you that has been successfully cultivated knows everything, and no matter how you do it, it will work, and no matter how you do those things you’ll be able to do them well. So you just need to have the thought. When you know what to do, just go ahead and do it, and while you do it your wisdom will continually come forth, because at that time the side of you that has been successfully cultivated will fuse together with the side of you here. That’s a god, who is omnipotent! So of course a small issue will be resolved in no time, and your wisdom will come forth—it’s different then! And if you get stuck Master will give you wisdom (laughs).” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference” Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume III)

Through this experience, I felt Master’s support, which allowed me to overcome my psychological barriers and bravely accept new challenges. I believe the path arranged by Master is the best. I also learned how to better promote Shen Yun, gaining elevation in my realm of cultivation through the process.

Guiding Young Disciples and Strengthening Righteous Thoughts

My primary cultivation environment is with my family at home. My husband, a Westerner, believes in Jesus and, although he does not interfere with my practicing Falun Dafa, he does not support it either. He also does not support our two daughters' cultivating, so we typically study the Fa and do the exercises when he’s not home.

It’s my responsibility and mission to guide young disciples well. When they were very young, I taught them the exercises, and they enjoyed studying the Fa with me. Although they only did it when I reminded them, under the protection of Falun Dafa, the principles of the Fa slowly took root in their hearts, keeping them healthy. As a mother, I guide them to use the principles of the Fa to overcome difficulties and discern right from wrong in today’s chaotic society. I remind them to study the Fa and do the exercises when they feel unwell. I’d like to share one example.

My 12-year-old daughter suddenly felt cold, had symptoms of a cold, and then started to have a fever and headache. She felt so uncomfortable that she cried. My husband was very anxious since the children rarely felt unwell, and this time she had a high fever. He urged me to take her to the emergency room. I thought it wasn’t necessary; I felt she was just eliminating karma. My husband pressured me, saying if I didn’t take her to the emergency room, he would. I thought, if you take her to the emergency room, we don’t know what will happen. But seeing my daughter so uncomfortable, I felt conflicted.

So, I asked her if she wanted to go to the hospital. She said no. I said, then let’s recite Master’s “On Dafa” together. I held her hand and recited the Fa. She felt very uncomfortable and reluctantly listened to me reciting. At this moment, my husband came in and said, “I’ll give you ten minutes to get ready to go to the hospital.” 

I comforted my daughter, telling her to be strong. If she didn’t want to go to the emergency room, the only way was to do the exercises. We had ten minutes, just enough to practice the third exercise, “Penetrating the Cosmic Extremes.” She felt too uncomfortable to get out of bed but didn’t refuse my suggestion. She always felt better after doing one or two sets of exercises. This time, I had to use strong righteous thoughts to persuade her to get up. She reluctantly got out of bed, and while my husband was not in the room, we started practicing. She wept as she moved her arms up and down because she felt so bad. I told myself not to be swayed by appearances. With Master watching over her, I encouraged her to finish the exercise. Those ten minutes seemed very long. I was afraid of being moved by emotion, so I closed my eyes, practiced the third exercise with her, and kept up my righteous thoughts.

After she finished the third exercise, she suddenly smiled and said she felt better. Just then, my husband came in and asked if we were ready. I took the thermometer, and measured her forehead, and the temperature was normal, no fever. I was surprised and excitedly showed him the thermometer. He was even more surprised but, seeing our daughter’s smile, he was amazed and decided not to go to the emergency room. Master truly watches over young disciples all the time. Because of this miracle, my daughter had more faith in Master and the Fa. During this summer, she voluntarily got up early every day to listen to Master’s lectures and practice the exercises.

Conclusion

These are some of my cultivation experiences over the past two years. I deeply feel how urgent time is, and the heavy responsibility of saving people. As Dafa disciples, we are the hope for sentient beings, so I must seize every second to study the Fa well and, through genuine and solid cultivation, break through my attachments, courageously face different challenges, and take on new responsibilities. I should do more and do it quickly and live up to the title of "Dafa disciple" during the Fa-rectification period.

Thank you, Master and fellow practitioners. If there is anything that is not on the Fa, please kindly correct me.

(Presented at the 2024 San Francisco Fa Conference)