(Minghui.org) Greetings Master and fellow practitioners!
While I participated in several projects to validate the Fa my various attachments were exposed and I improved in the process. I would like to share my cultivation experiences in the past year.
I joined the media in late May 2024. My university major was mathematical statistics, which focuses on theory and programming—it has no connection to business or finance. When a practitioner from the media approached me during my final year of university, and asked if I could work full-time for the media after I graduated, I wasn’t sure. Not only was my major unrelated, but my previous experience in the media weighed heavily on my mind.
While still in school, I intermittently volunteered in the media, and did work unrelated to my major. Although that experience provided me with valuable extracurricular skills that I still use today, it also left me with significant stress due to certain challenging situations. After my last internship at the media ended, I told myself, “I will never work in the media again.” I often heard complaints about media work from those around me, which further reinforced my reluctance to join.
When the practitioner approached me again, I initially went to the interview with the intention of declining. However, the supervisor’s perspective on the media stirred something in my heart. Though I can no longer recall the exact words, they shook my preconceived notions. I began to question whether I should return to the media and what was preventing me from doing so.
As I worked to break through my old notions, I realized that one of my main reasons for hesitation was the media’s work model. Since I would be working in a field unrelated to my major with no prior experience, I worried about the lack of training and the overwhelming pressure I might face initially. However, as I sent forth righteous thoughts to clear these notions, my mind became much clearer. Initially, both my own thoughts and my family’s opinions leaned toward working in a regular company first to gain professional experience before returning to Dafa projects later. But I thought, since I would eventually return to Dafa projects, it didn’t matter whether I joined early or late, or which project I joined. I also recalled what Master taught us, “Everything has its karmic, causal relationships and doesn’t exist by accident.” (“Teaching the Fa and Answering Questions in Guangzhou,” Explaining the Teachings of Zhuan Falun)
Didn’t Master arrange for this practitioner to approach me? The challenges and tribulations that made me uncomfortable were tests I needed to pass and opportunities to improve my character. They wouldn’t diminish or disappear by changing environments; they would only manifest in another form. Since I couldn’t avoid what I was meant to face, why not confront it directly? With this realization, I ultimately returned to the media to work full-time.
When I first joined the media, the challenges I anticipated arose. Many peers and elders asked why I chose to work in the media. Though their questions seemed to inquire about my reasons, I could sense from their tone a lack of understanding about my choice. Some practitioners working in the media even asked why I didn’t pursue a regular job instead. At first, I explained my reasons for joining the media. But as more people questioned me, I realized the issue might lie within myself.
I began to look inward. Although I appeared to have chosen the media and was committed to working there, when people asked why I didn’t take a job aligned with my major or pursue data analysis for a higher salary, my heart was still moved, and I wondered if I made the right choice. It was my lack of firmness that manifested as others’ lack of understanding. I started to solidify my resolve, firmly believing that the path Master arranged for me must be the best. Once I let go of my scattered thoughts, the questioning voices gradually faded and eventually disappeared completely. Since then, my heart has remained steadfast.
One of my greatest concerns when I joined the media was whether I could look within unconditionally in a work environment filled with fellow practitioners. I had long held a harmful notion that passing tests with practitioners was more difficult than with non-practitioners.
A few days ago, I discussed this with a practitioner I hadn’t seen in a long time. I said that I found tests with fellow practitioners to be the most challenging. When facing conflicts with non-practitioners, I was able look within unconditionally. However, when conflicts arose with practitioners, I first looked inward, but immediately afterward, I would start finding fault with the other person. I even felt justified, thinking, “We are all practitioners of the same Dafa, cultivating according to Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. How could you not act according to these principles? Your behavior is so obviously not in line with the Fa!” I scrutinized the other person even more deeply than I did myself. After hearing my complaints, the practitioner asked, “Do you think you’re looking within unconditionally?” I thought about it and said, “Yes, my first thought is to look within.” He immediately responded, “That’s not unconditionally looking within. Your looking within is conditional.”
I was stunned. I never considered this. My so-called looking within was based on finding fault with others. This made my initial attempt at looking within superficial, as if I were making excuses or defending myself. This harmful notion also fueled a strong attachment to complaining, where I would grumble about matters big and small—I formed this habit without even realizing it.
In another project I helped coordinate, I once complained to a practitioner about another practitioner’s lack of cooperation. My attachment to complaining was strong, and I listed in detail how that practitioner was uncooperative, even bringing up incidents from the previous year or earlier. Although I felt that my complaining was wrong and that I should eliminate this attachment, I was still thinking from the perspective that I was right and failed to consider the other person’s viewpoint.
Not long after, the practitioner I complained about shared her cultivation experience during the group study. She explained that during that period, she was going through significant physical and mental tribulations, which were extremely difficult, while also bearing the pressure of the project. Hearing this, I felt deep regret. She went through such a challenging time, yet I misunderstood her as being uncooperative and harbored complaints against her. I should not have done that.
This experience also made me realize my selfishness. Where was my compassion for this practitioner? I never considered her perspective or thought about her situation. How could I complain about her without knowing the full context? Was her lack of cooperation perhaps due to my overly forceful tone or my failure to consider her circumstances at the time?
From then on, I began to suppress and eliminate my attachment to complaining. Whenever similar situations arise, I would first think: perhaps the other person is dealing with personal issues or going through a difficult test of character, which may have caused them to be unable to cooperate promptly or complete tasks on time. Sometimes, I asked if they were facing difficulties or needed my help.
I feel ashamed to admit that before I joined the media, I read the Fa with two or three practitioners and I did not join the young practitioners’ group study. At that time, the young practitioners’ Fa study was organized by another practitioner. When that practitioner was away from Toronto for a period and stopped coordinating it, I didn’t pay much attention to the situation of the young practitioners’ group study. After joining the media, I studied the Fa with the media practitioners in the evenings. Sometimes, I checked the young practitioners’ Fa study room to see if anyone was there, but I noticed fewer and fewer people attending. I felt a responsibility to take up the task of organizing group Fa study for young practitioners again, to provide a stable Fa study environment for those who couldn’t study face-to-face with family or weren’t involved in any projects which had group Fa study.
Initially, I only had this idea but I wasn’t determined to act on it. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. As young practitioners, some are busy with work, others with projects, making it hard to find a time that suits everyone. For example, I had project Fa study on Tuesdays and Sundays, group Fa study on Fridays, and young practitioners’ Fa study discussions on Saturdays, leaving only three days for additional Fa study.
However, more and more young practitioners and veteran practitioners approached me, asking if there was a group Fa study for young practitioners and whether they or their children could join. Some practitioners also discussed the situation of young practitioners with me, which made me realize the urgency of establishing a fixed Fa study group.
One day, when I went to wash my water bottle at the company, I didn’t go to the nearby restroom but walked to a break room far from my desk. As I was about to leave after washing, a young practitioner approached me and asked, “Would you like to join our Fa study group? It’s with young people you know.” I asked what time it was, and he said 8:30 p.m. My eyes lit up, and I said, “Would you be willing to adjust it to 9:00 p.m.? That way, we could make it a dedicated Fa study time for young practitioners.” He happily agreed.
On my way back to my desk, my heart raced with excitement. I rarely went to that break room early in the morning and seldom ran into that practitioner. I immediately realized that Master saw my wish to organize a Fa study group but noticed my hesitation, so he used this practitioner to give me a push. I am deeply grateful for Master’s ingenious arrangement. What seemed like a coincidence was actually carefully arranged.
Now, the young practitioners’ Fa study is fixed: we study Master’s teachings around the world first, then one lecture of Zhuan Falun every evening.
In addition to ensuring daily group Fa study, young practitioners also shared experiences after studying the Fa on Saturday evenings. Before the annual Canada Fa Conference, we organized our own small-scale Fa conference. We exchanged insights and reflections from participating in Dafa projects, such as encountering shop owners interested in Shen Yun while putting up posters, meeting audience members at theatres who wanted to learn about Dafa, connecting with predestined people at Dafa booths who wanted to learn the exercises, or facing resistance while promoting Dafa at universities but persisting in clarifying the truth. Listening to the sharings of young practitioners around my age, I benefited greatly. Even if I haven’t experienced what others are sharing, there’s always something someone says that touches me or helps me see my own attachments, bringing me a sense of a sudden breakthrough. This truly fulfilled what Master said: “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating,”... (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin).
On my work desk, I placed a small sign with Master’s poem “No Obstacles” from Hong Yin II. Whenever I faced difficult tests or challenges in work or projects, I thought,
“...With no attachment to anythingThe path underfoot is naturally clear”(“No Obstacles,” Hong Yin II)
I realized some attachment of mine caused the difficulties. This reminded me to look within unconditionally at all times.
These are my cultivation experiences during the past year. Due to my limited level of understanding, please kindly point out anything not in line with the Fa.
Thank you, Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
(Selected Sharing Article Presented at the 2025 Canada Fa Conference)