(Minghui.org) Greetings Master! Greetings fellow practitioners!
I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1996. Twenty-eight years have passed, and my initial excitement was gradually replaced by a mindset of routinely doing things. When I first started, the profound principles Master taught deeply moved me and changed my entire worldview. I was determined to assimilate to the Fa, and to follow Master to the end. However, truly cultivating myself and letting go of attachments was very challenging for me, and I slowly lost the enthusiasm I had at the beginning.
Everything We Do Is Meaningful
I worked as theater security during the Shen Yun performance in West Palm Beach this year. A few minutes before the performance, I entered the theater and sat in the back row. A woman, followed by two young people, greeted me with a big smile. She noticed my puzzled expression and said, “You gave us a flyer at the market last weekend.” She pointed to the young woman behind her and said, “This is my daughter. She bought me this ticket as a Mother’s Day gift, so we came.” I was happy for them.
During intermission, another practitioner told me that an audience member greeted him, saying they came because they received a flyer from him at an art festival.
I was very surprised. Out of so many people in the audience, was this coincidental? I thought Master must be trying to enlighten me about something.
I felt bad because I decided not to go to that market anymore because I wasn’t sure how effective my being there was.
That particular market is located in an upscale community. From the way people dress, you can tell they are mainstream society. However, when I went there people didn’t seem to be interested in Shen Yun, and I didn’t hand out many materials.
A few people were interested. One said her mother just saw the show in Pennsylvania and I told her, “If Shen Yun comes to your city, you must go.” Another person said she wanted to see it for years but always missed it. When I told her the show was in a week, she was surprised and said she needed to buy tickets. The woman who came to the theatre might have accepted a flyer without saying anything. Although a few people expressed interest, most didn’t seem interested.
I realized I must have some incorrect thoughts, and Master used this to enlighten me. Looking inward, I found many attachments.
First, I didn’t want my routine to be disrupted. I send forth righteous thoughts at 6 a.m., and then study the Fa, and do the exercises. The market required arriving before 7:30 a.m. Because it’s over an hour’s drive, I had to leave home before 6 a.m. This disrupted my routine, especially my regular Fa study, so I was reluctant to go. When I thought about it, what was the purpose of Fa study and doing the exercises? Didn’t I strive to improve myself so I could be more effective in saving sentient beings?
Master said,
“Clarifying the facts and saving sentient beings are what you need to accomplish. There is nothing else for you to accomplish. There is nothing else in this world that you need to accomplish.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the 2015 New York Fa Conference,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XIII)
The second reason was my reluctance to endure hardship. I felt leaving before dawn was too early, and I had to drive too far. I thought that if practitioners who lived nearby wanted to do it, they could continue applying; otherwise, I wouldn’t apply again.
Third, I have a results-oriented mindset. I focus heavily on the results and I’m reluctant to do something if there’s no good return. If many people showed interest that day, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back. However, when not many seemed interested, I felt unhappy and thought the trip wasn’t worth it. Now, I realize I shouldn’t seek results with a human mindset. I should just do my best and not worry about the outcome.
Fourth, I view things from a human perspective, measuring gains and losses. Shen Yun has been performing locally for almost twenty years, and many people know about it. Although many people didn’t take a flyer they saw the information and decided to come.
Our participation in various events reminds those with a predestined relationship that Shen Yun is here, and they should see it. Additionally, if participating in one event saves one person or if our promotion only plants a seed, shouldn’t we still do it?
These seemingly coincidental encounters in the theater showed me that everything we do is meaningful and not in vain. We must cherish every opportunity to save people. Everything we do is meaningful and for saving sentient beings.
If I decide not to apply for this market’s promotional activities, those arranged by Master to be saved here might miss out on the information about Shen Yun’s performance. That would mean I didn’t fulfill my role in assisting Master in Fa-rectification and saving sentient beings.
I learned a lot from this experience. Master reminds me to be diligent and practice as I did when I started.
Master said,
“My hope is that Dafa disciples can all be like how they were with each other in the old times, and as diligent as before when you first obtained the Fa.” (“What is a Dafa Disciple,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. XI)
Master wants us to practice as we did at the beginning. What would my mindset be if I acted this way when I first started practicing or helping promote Shen Yun? I remember more than ten years ago, when I first helped promote Shen Yun in Miami, it took two and a half hours to drive from where I lived. But back then, I was so excited just to participate. I felt extremely happy to be part of letting people know about Shen Yun. I gradually lost that initial enthusiasm as time passed.
Reciting the Fa
To regain my initial enthusiasm I felt I needed to make a breakthrough in Fa study. My mind was not calm when I read the teachings—instead I had many random thoughts. So, I decided to start memorizing the Fa.
I had not worked on memorizing Zhuan Falun for a long time because of my human notions, and I never even tried. I thought that reciting the Fa meant memorizing it completely from start to finish. I felt this goal was almost impossible for me, so I never dared to think about it.
When I wanted to change my cultivation state by memorizing the Fa and regain the feeling of cultivating I had at the beginning, I started reciting Zhuan Falun with other practitioners this summer. My understanding of memorizing the Fa completely changed.
The process of reciting the Fa is very important. It requires focus and a calm mind. Now, I recite sentence by sentence, then link them together. After persisting for a while, I felt the effect was very good.
Reciting the Fa and completely memorizing it is different. Reciting the Fa is a process of studying with a calm mind while completely memorizing; it is the result. It’s easy to give up when we focus on the result and can’t achieve it. However, cultivation emphasizes the process. By focusing on the process of reciting the Fa and aligning my heart with the Fa, I no longer worry about memorizing the entire book.
Before, I always harbored a subtle, lingering resentment toward my husband, thinking he constantly created trouble for me and gave me too many xinxing tests. While reciting the fourth lecture, “Improving Xinxing,” I suddenly realized that my husband had been helping me transform karma and improve my xinxing. I sincerely thanked him from the bottom of my heart.
Now, when I recite the Fa, I focus more on maintaining a calm mind and concentrating.
In “Teaching at the Conference in Australia,” a practitioner asked Master how we should handle distracting thoughts while reading Zhuan Falun.
Master said,
“This is all quite natural, and everyone will run into this problem. But you must overcome it. This is caused by the postnatally formed notions in your mind and karma created in your thoughts. They are interfering with your cultivation and obtaining the Fa.” (“Teachings at the Conference in Australia”)
I’ve been reciting the Fa for just over a month now, and I am determined to continue. Through the process of reciting the Fa, I aim to assimilate to Dafa and regain the feeling of practicing as diligently as I did when I first started.
Master said,
“As Dafa disciples, you mustn’t let up in your own cultivation. You need to seize the opportunity to cultivate yourselves. The more chaotic things are, the more so you can cultivate yourselves amidst the chaos; the more you encounter ordeals, or unpleasant things, the more it is an occasion for you to look at the problems in a different way and think to yourself, “All of these are stepping stones by which to cultivate and improve.” (“Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa”, Collected Teachings Given Around the World Volume XI)
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2024 Florida Fa Conference)
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